Deb Aronson

The Human Condition

Anthropology professor examines how people think and act

First appeared in Illinois Alumni Magazine in September 2010 under Profiles

Before you meet her, the credentials of Virginia Dominguez may intimidate you.

The University of Illinois professor of anthropology holds a prestigious Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell professorship, plus she’s president of the American Anthropological Association, the largest and most visible international organization for anthropologists (“like an elephant in the savannah,” Dominguez says). For five years she was editor of American Ethnologist, one of the most respected professional journals in the field. She is a prolific scholarly author who co-founded and now serves as consulting director of the International Forum for U.S. Studies.

But then you meet her, and you find a woman - with short, dark hair generously sprinkled with gray, wire-frame glasses, red lipstick, long, dark eyelashes - who is a blend of yenta, den mother and guru. Her face is a three-ring circus of expressions, and her entire being is animated with a kind of enthusiasm and energy that is nuclear- powered, burning strong and clean. At just over 5 feet tall, she has the presence of a much taller person.

Wendy Finley ‘08 LAS, a first-year graduate student and legal anthropologist, couldn’t imagine that someone of Dominguez’s stature would be at all interested in helping her. “But then she started to reach out, [saying], ‘I haven’t heard from you in a while; how is everything going?’ And so I thought, maybe she is interested in my success. And it turns out she really does care.”

And there in a nutshell is the key to what fuels Dominguez: a keen interest in all things anthropological and her energetic support of newcomers to the field. But what, precisely, is anthropology? The term derives from the Greek anthropos, meaning “human,” so anthropology - the study of human beings - covers everything that relates to people. That can include physical aspects, social and cultural practices, or archaeology (which looks at physical artifacts created by humans).

“Anthropologists are interested in the varieties of ways in which humans organize themselves,” says Dominguez. “The variety of ways in which humans think, the variety of ways human societies do everything from laugh, cry, raise children, wage war, make art, speak to each other. That variety has been there as a main focus of interest for most of us.”

Dominguez’s own interest in anthropology came from her peripatetic childhood and from her teachers at Yale University, where she was in the first class that included women. Dominguez’s family was part of the Cuban intelligentsia prior to Fidel Castro’s rise to power in the early 1960s. She lived in six countries (Cuba, the U.S, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Lebanon) in her first 18 years. As her support for her students shows, Dominguez enjoys people as individuals, but she also is fascinated by how groups of people see themselves and others.

Her work has taken her to Israel, Hungary and Suriname as well as the Caribbean and parts of the United States. She speaks numerous languages, including French, Hebrew, Arabic, Hungarian and Saramakatongo (a Creole-based dialect spoken in Suriname).

Dominguez asks questions about things like: In which societies is art considered worthy of fine-art museums, and in which is it shown as craft or “primitive”? Who makes that interpretation? Which languages are thought of as difficult but worth learning? Who believes the untrue statement that “everyone speaks English”? How does such an idea circulate, and who benefits when it does?

“I’m mainly interested in power and politics when people aren’t always aware that politics are involved,” she says.

The very breadth of human study can create some confusion, but it also creates opportunity - for example, in her own work, Dominguez has used legal research, public discourse analysis and census data. She has never hesitated to go wherever her curiosity leads her.

“She has a unique commitment to interdisciplinary work and a willingness to engage in it,” says Michele Hanks, a sixth-year graduate student. “She draws from lots of areas, not all anthropological.”

And Dominguez supports her students in doing the same.

For example, Hanks is researching how knowledge about the paranormal is created and circulated in England through ghost stories and ghost tours. She credits Dominguez for supporting her admittedly unconventional research.

“She did point out that some people might raise their eyebrows,” says Hanks, “but she said, ‘If that is where your passion is, then that is what you should follow.’”

Beyond exhorting students to follow their passion, Dominguez provides concrete support as well. And, despite her jaw-dropping load of professional responsibilities, her students remain one of her top priorities.

At professional meetings, Dominguez makes a point to go to every panel her students are on, “no matter how early or poorly attended,” says Hanks. Dominguez is there when students get so nervous they are hyperventilating, she is there to share in their triumphs, and she is there to introduce her students to her colleagues.

“She’s a bridge [to established anthropologists] and makes a point to introduce her students to the leading experts in the field as opportunities arise,” says Finley. “She’s a great help with networking, she’s a great mentor, she’s a great adviser, and to do it while she’s so busy is crazy to me, but you never feel rushed at all.”

Perhaps one secret to Dominguez’s success is that, while she takes teaching very seriously, she also clearly enjoys her students both as individuals and as a collective. After being sworn in as AAA president amid a crowd of anthropology “rock stars,” she could be found happily chatting with her students in the hotel lobby.