Every subject deserves a just storyteller, and behind every social issue is usually a human voice awaiting its vehicle. For anthropology professor Maria Vesperi, the art of studying and reporting these tales of the populace is as much a soul passion as it is a profound responsibility.
A cultural anthropologist, teacher and former newspaper columnist and editor, Vesperi has devoted her career to finding the flesh behind topics of age, poverty, ethnicity and urban living. She carries these insights from the field to the classroom, relaying observations she hopes may broaden her student's perspectives.
"I am very motivated by a sense of community responsibility and I try to share that with others," she says. "What's more important than taking responsibility for other people and yourself?"
Professor Vesperi joined the New College faculty in 1993, after 12 years as an editorial board member and a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times. She offers courses on myth and ritual, contemporary cultures and sponsors a tutorial for the student newspaper, The Catalyst. She is currently working on a book, entitled Finding A Voice: Conversations about Anthropology and Journalism, that discusses the correlations and contrasts between anthropology and journalism.
Both professions are attempting to uncover truths, Vesperi explains, but anthropologists focus on advancing scientific knowledge while journalists hold a more literary agenda.
"Doing hard news helped me not to take things for granted," Vesperi says. "I teach a class on anthropology and literature that focuses on narrative style and asks, how do you represent someone? You don't really have the right to do it, and there are lots of responsibilities to doing it."
