Noted cultural anthropologist Loring Danforth, a member of the Bates faculty since 1978, explores a variety of international cultures through the prism of ethnic identity. His forthcoming essay in The American Ethnologist examines ethnic identity in connection with the sport of soccer in Australia, where teams were formed along ethnic lines until officials recently decided to reorganize the sport.

In late August, Danforth travels to Toronto where he will conduct interviews with child refugees from the Greek Civil War. He has focused much of his scholarly attention on Greece, Macedonia and Australia. His award-winning book "The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World" (Princeton University Press, 1996) concerns the claims to and construction of Macedonian identity in Northern Greece and Australia. He is also the author of "The Death Rituals of Rural Greece" and "Firewalking and Religious Healing: The Anastenaria of Greece and the American Firewalking Movement," both published by Princeton University Press.

The recipient of a number of prestigious grants and awards, including Fulbright and National Endowment of the Humanities fellowships, Danforth cuts a wide swath in his investigations. For instance, his course "Myth, Folklore and Popular Culture" examines a variety of texts, including ancient Greek myths, Grimm's folktales, Apache jokes, African proverbs, Barbie dolls and Walt Disney comics and movies in light of important theoretical anthropological approaches.

Although they don't need to leave Lewiston to do so, Danforth expects his students to conduct extensive research through use of the Internet and spends significant time finding Web pages for organizations linked to his course syllabi. "It's a way to lay the groundwork for students," he says, sparking their scholarly interest in topics as diverse as transsexuals and the U.S. Marines.