CRI Director Receives Research Grant from the National Park Service

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Dr. Jorge Duany will lead a research team to identify, document, and assess ethnographic resources within or near the San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico. The National Park Service defines ethnographic resources as any natural resources or places having cultural importance, including any landscape or natural feature linked by a subject ethnic community to the traditional practices, values, beliefs, history, or ethnic identity of that community. The San Juan National Historic Site includes Castillo San Cristóbal, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Fortín San Juan de la Cruz (known locally as El Cañuelo), and three-fourths of the city walls.

Dr. Duany will direct this study with the assistance of two recent Ph.D.’s in anthropology and two research assistants. Following National Park Service guidelines, the research team will review, summarize, and evaluate existing information derived from published and unpublished sources, supplemented by ethnographic interviews with knowledgeable members of associated groups. The purpose of this study is to document the ongoing relationships between associated communities (such as long-term residents, neighbors, religious groups, youth, and underrepresented ethnic/cultural groups, including Afro-Caribbean communities, indigenous communities, women, and commemorative and patriotic groups) and the resources of the San Juan National Historical Site.

The research will be carried out under a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and Florida International University. The total budget approved for the project is $64,779.13.