Jarita C. Holbrook
Assistant Research Scientist
The Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology
The University of Arizona, Anthropology Building Room 316
P.O. Box 210030, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0030
Phone (520) 621-6282 FAX: (520) 621-9608

Office: 350 A Geronimo Building
Phone: 001-520-626-3883
Email: Office Hours 2008: 2:30 - 4:30 pm Mondays

Old Web Page at UCLA: http://www.history.ucla.edu/csstm/holbrook/
French Translation: http://www.namosi.org/~holbrook/
Current CV

I'm a Fulbright Senior Specialist. This allows organizations outside the USA to afford to invite top-notch speakers and consultants for a visit. For requests click here . Word Format Form. PDF Form. Please note these forms are to be submitted to US Fulbright Commissions in country.

I am on the American Physical Society's Minority and Women Speakers List. If you are part of a physics department in North America and would like me to give a lecture, you can apply for a $500.00 travel grant through APS. See their website: http://www.aps.org/programs/minorities/speakers/travel-grants-faq.cfm.
To read some articles about me see Stars in Her Eyes and Physicist of the African Diaspora . Here is a podcast interview with me from 2007. Flyer for Lecture at Columbia University on Feb 19th.

Those of you who want copies of Cosmic Africa please email carina@mweb.co.za the cost is about $25.00.
The book "African Cultural Astronomy" is published! It can be purchased on Amazon or directly through Springer.

There are two degree programs available for students interested in the intersection of people and the sky, both in the United Kingdom. Master's Degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at The Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, at the University of Wales, Lampeter (formerly at Bath Spa). The Ph.D. program is being negotiated. The other program offers Master's Degrees and Ph.D. in Archaeoastronomy at The University of Leicester.

The Sophia Centre (Bath Spa University) hosted the July 2005 Sky and Psyche conference. All of the talks are available on CD, write a request to confcass@lineone.net. Order Form. My talk is "Sun Gods and Moon Deities of Africa." The paper can be found in the book Sky and Psyche published by Floris Books www.florisbooks.co.uk.

Conferences:

Big Event in 2006:

The Total Solar Eclipse Conference on African Cultural Astronomy for the week of March 26 - April 2, 2006. Cape Coast, Ghana.

Current Projects:



Image of the constellation Orion and part of Canis Major setting on the western horizon on April 22, 2004. Taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5700, 25 seconds without any image processing.

Research Interests:  I study the relationship between man and the sky. The night sky continues to fascinate people all over the world.  How people think about the sky, use the sky, and depict the sky is immensely varied.  Assuming that these variations reflect cultural and environmental differences, I use sky lore and sky knowledge as a way to probe cultures other than my own.  Oftentimes, I decipher the science behind the myths: For example, moon goddess myths often speak of the goddess growing larger and then shrinking and growing larger again.  This reflects the observed waxing and waning of the moon which occurs over 29.5 days. For Africa, I am collecting examples of how astronomy knowledge has emerged in the cultural forms studied in anthropology. I am interested in rituals and dance ceremonies related to astronomy knowledge.

The majoritiy of my research focuses on the functional relationship between man and the sky. Using celestial bodies for navigation, described below, is a common aspect of that relationship. Another area I'm exploring is the intersection between man, the sky, the environment and agriculture. I am trying to understand what role astronomy knowledge has in sustainable agricultural systems.

I'm currently editing a manuscript on my recently completed study of celestial navigation in three cultures.  The communities were located on Moce Island in Fiji, on the Kerkennah Islands in Tunisia, and at the United States Naval Academy.  All these communities continue to navigate at night on the ocean using the stars.  However, the way they use the stars and which stars they use reflects their physical location on the Earth as well as their navigation needs.  The book details the importance of navigation by the stars in this age of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Teaching Mission: The classes I have designed and taught always include the intersection between Africans/African Americans and the physical sciences. I often wonder if a cultural astronomy program is needed to train students in the United States, or if cultural astronomy should remain under anthropology, astronomy, or the history of science. For now, I teach classes crosslisted in astronomy and anthropology. In addition to those courses I have given lectures on African American scientists' assimulation strategies, representations of African American scientists in films, and about my education and career as an African American woman astrophysicist.
Classes:
ASTR/ANTH 345: Cultural Astronomy: Pacific.
Anthropological Case Studies in Navigation - Summer 2007 grad course at the Institut fur Ethnologie, Heidelberg, Germany.
ANTH_493-1: Ghana Internship Class

ASTR/ANTH_345: Cultural Astronomy: Africa

Though the terms archaeoastronomy, ethnoastronomy, and cultural astronomy are relatively new, the study of astronomy in diverse cultures has been an emerging field for about 100 years. Books that touch on this field tend to be sensational with very little scientific research. In response, I have made a reading list on Amazon that should help beginners: The Cultural Astronomy Reader .

Web Projects: As part of my research in astronomy and culture, I spend a lot of time in museums searching for artifacts.  What I find is art, instruments, and tools relevant to astronomy.  I have been toying with what to do with this information but for now I want to make it available to the public. If you do use any of this information for your classes or publications please cite this website. 

Linked Publications: A few of my papers and my students' papers are available on the internet. These have already been published so you can cite and refer to them as you would a normal paper article. There are also links to African Cultural Astronomy resources and syllabi on the WEB.

Web Projects and Publications.


This WEB page created by J. C. Holbrook. Last updated in 2007.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0003234 and No. 0233967. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author( s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.