Rudy Gaudio, an academic delegate, took his bachelor's degree in the Russian language at Yale. Following that he received an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University and went on to study in the field of linguistic anthropology, receiving a PhD. from Stanford University. Prof. Gaudio has been at Purchase College since 2001, teaching primarily in the areas of Global Black Studies and Media, Society and the Arts.
A trip to Nigeria in the late 80's sparked a continuing interest in the ethnography of the Hausa tribe. The result of this study is his first book, "Allah Made Us: Sexual Outlaws in an Islamic African City," which describes the increasing intolerance towards so-called "deviants" in a predominately Islamic society. It is a trend observed, he says, not just in Nigeria but more generally throughout the Islamic world with the rise of Fundamentalism. He is currently seeking a publisher for this work.
On the appeal of his work with United University Professions, Prof. Gaudio says that he is "interested in fairness" and that he is "intellectually interested" in the union and that he feels he "has a stake in what's going on--why not be a part of it?" In addition to his service with the UUP, Rudy has been a member of several faculty search committees and is on two right now. He has been appointed to the Advisory Board of Anthroplogy section of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Executive Board of the International Gender and Language Association, and was recently elected co-chair of the Society of Gay & Lesbian Anthropologists, a division of the American Anthropological Association.
|