Lauren Elizabeth Miller , Ph.D. Associate Professor - Ethnology

Areas of Specialization

Tourism, pilgrimage, performance, martial arts, capoeira, sustainability, African diaspora, Latin America, Brazil, Belize, and the anthropology of higher education.

Current Research Interests

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Education

I received my Ph.D. (2010) and my M.A. (2008) degrees in cultural anthropology from Indiana University. My B.A. in anthropology was awarded at Texas A&M University (2003).

More Info

My research takes an interdisciplinary approach to tourism, embodiment & performance in Latin America and the U.S. My first book, In Search of Legitimacy: How Outsiders Become Part of the Afro-Brazilian Capoeira Tradition (Berghahn Books, 2016), examines the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira and its international practitioners.  I coined the term “apprenticeship pilgrimage” to describe the journeys non-Brazilian capoeiristas make to Brazil as a way of alleviating anxieties about their ability to embody a foreign cultural tradition. My second book, Apprenticeship Pilgrimage, looks at this more extensively. My writings have also appeared in the Journal of Sport and Tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, and Theatre Annual. My latest monograph, Graceful Resistance, looks at the connections between capoeira and various acts of social justice. I also recently released a textbook titled, Anthropology Anywhere, which provides an updated look at classic anthropological concepts. 

My more recent work has focused on issues of gender within martial arts, including issues related to sexual harassment and discrimination. I am interested in the connections between fear and trauma as they relate to various martial arts such as Brazilian jiujitsu as it is practiced in the US. I have also conducted research on culinary tourism, cultural heritage, and sustainability in Belize, which is a topic I would encourage prospective graduate students to pursue under my direction.

Curriculum Vitae