On Tuesday, March 28, 2017, there will be a panel discussion on “Dark Skies: Celestial Events and Humanity” discussing the links between astronomy, religion, and anthropology. The event will host Dr. Aveni and Appalachian State University faculty: Daniel Caton, Physics and Astronomy, Dr. Laura Ammon, Philosophy and Religion, Dr. Cheryl P. Claassen, Anthropology and Moderated by Dr. Timothy Smith, Anthropology. This event will take place in the Rough Ridge room of the Plemmons Student Union at 2 p.m. This event is supported by the Dean’s Council and the College of Arts and Sciences at Appalachian State University, in collaboration with the departments of Physics and Astronomy, Anthropology, Philosophy and Religion, and the Humanities Council. We invite our community on campus and beyond to participate in these free events with an interdisciplinary approach to the sciences and humanities. For further information, please contact our office at (828) 262-3078 or visit the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Anthony Aveni
Anthony F. Aveni (A.B. Boston University, Ph.D. University of Arizona) is the Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy, Anthropology, and Native American Studies, serving appointments in both Departments of Physics & Astronomy and Sociology and Anthropology at Colgate University, where he has taught since 1963. He has also served in visiting appointments at the University of South Florida, the University of Colorado, Tulane University and the University of Padua, Italy.
Featured in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the ten best university professors in the country, Aveni was also voted National Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Washington D.C., the highest national award for teaching. At Colgate he has received, among other teaching awards, the Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching (1997) and the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society Distinguished Teaching Award voted by the Freshman Class of 1990.
Aveni has spoken or written on astronomy-related subjects on the Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel, PBS-Nova, BBC, NPR, The Larry King Show, NBC's Today Show, Unsolved Mysteries and the N.Y.Times, Newsweek, and USA Today. He has lectured in more than 300 universities around the world. Aveni helped develop and now is considered one of the founders of cultural astronomy, in particular for his research into the astronomical history of the Aztec and Maya Indians of ancient Mexico.
Professor Aveni has been awarded research grants by the National Geographic Society, the National Science Foundation and various private foundations for work in both American continents as well as in Europe and the Middle East. He has more than 300 research publications to his credit, including three cover articles in Science magazine and key works in American Scientist, The Sciences, American Antiquity, Latin American Antiquity, and The Journal of Archaeological Research.
Aveni has written or edited 35 books. His works include "Empires of Time," on the history of timekeeping, "Conversing With the Planets," a work that weaves together cosmology, mythology and the anthropology of ancient cultures by showing how they discovered harmony between their beliefs and their study of the sky; "Behind the Crystal Ball: Magic, Science and the Occult from Antiquity through the New Age" and "Nasca: Eighth Wonder of the World."
For more information about Dr. Anthony Aveni, visit his website.
Dr. Laura Ammon
Laura Ammon is an Associate Professor of Religion at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. She holds degrees in religious studies from University of Chicago and the Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. Her expertise lies in the area of the cultural history of religion, with specializations in the history of the comparative study of religion, the relationship between religion and colonialism, and the role of imagination in religion. Her love of science fiction and new worlds has led to research on visions of the future as well as exploring religion in the past. She can be reached at ammonll@appstate.edu.
Dr. Daniel Caton
Dan Caton (Caton rhymes with "Dayton"), grew up in Tampa, Florida and attended the University of South Florida, graduating in 1973 with B.A.'s in astronomy and physics. He stayed on to get a Masters in astronomy in 1976 and then moved to Gainesville where he got his Ph.D. in astronomy. Caton is a full professor of physics and astronomy and Director of Observatories. His area of expertise is in the study of binary stars--pairs of stars that orbit each other. Such systems include most of the stars in our galaxy--the single stars like our Sun are the exceptions. Other work includes CCD drift-scan observations of stars occulted by asteroids, CCD photometry of the transits of exoplanets around their parent stars, and studies of flare rates in flare stars in binary star systems. Caton also works to debunk pseudoscience and at the same time investigates claims of the paranormal in such phenomena as the Brown Mountain Lights, having appeared on specials on Discovery Kids, the Travel Channel, and the National Geographic Channel. He is part of a group of researchers on the lights, and operates two cameras nightly imaging the mountain and the Linville Gorge.
Dr. Cheryl Claassen
Cheryl Claassen started teaching at ASU's anthropology's department in 1983 with a PhD from Harvard. Over the years her research has moved from hard science to a humanities focus on ritual and beliefs 11,000 to 3,000 years ago particularly in the southern Ohio River Valley area. she has traveled, lived, and worked extensively in Mexico.
Dr. Timothy J. Smith, Moderator
Timothy J. Smith is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Appalachian State University. He did his undergraduate work at Tulane University, where he received a BA in Latin American Studies (focus on Mesoamerican Linguistics) and a BS in Anthropology. He did his graduate work in Anthropology (MA and PhD) at the University at Albany, SUNY, and wrote his dissertation while in residence as a visiting fellow at Harvard University and Columbia University. Given his training in both Latin American Studies and a four-field approach to anthropology, the themes of his research are varied and include the cultural politics of representation and indigenous movements, cultural and political constructions of knowledge, language and culture, contemporary Latin America, identity formation, the practical application of theory/knowledge, and grassroots indigenous politics in Latin America (Guatemala and Ecuador). In particular, he has a strong research focus on the history of indigenous languages and cultures in Mesoamerica.
Dark Skies: Celestial Events Panel Discussion
Dark Skies: Celestial Events Panel Discussion