Maria Vesperi
Professor Vesperi is a cultural anthropologist who specializes in the analysis of contemporary social issues and the communication of anthropological ideas to the public. Using ethnographic data collection methods and symbolic theory, she focuses on identifying beliefs that underlie cultural constructions of age, ethnicity, and community. She offers courses in cultural anthropology, myth and ritual, history of anthropological theory, anthropology and literature, language, culture and society, contemporary U.S. cultures, and anthropological approaches to the study of aging.
Before joining the New College faculty, Professor Vesperi was a member of the Editorial Board and a staff writer and columnist at the St. Petersburg Times. She is author of the book, City of Green Benches: Growing Old in a New Downtown, and co-editor, with J. Neil Henderson, of The Culture of Long Term Care: Nursing Home Ethnography.
Before joining the New College faculty, Professor Vesperi was a member of the Editorial Board and a staff writer and columnist at the St. Petersburg Times. She is author of the book, City of Green Benches: Growing Old in a New Downtown, and co-editor, with J. Neil Henderson, of The Culture of Long Term Care: Nursing Home Ethnography.
Selected Publications
Vesperi, M. D. (2001). Broadcast news: Attitudes toward featuring
elders and responding to an aging audience. Generations-Journal of the
American Society on Aging, 25(3), 31-33.
Vesperi, M. D. (2001). Images of aging in media and marketing. San Francisco: American Society on Aging.
