Francois Dengah
I am a medical anthropologist interested in the relationship between cultural consonance and indicators of psycho-physiological stress. I recently completed my PhD fieldwork with Brazilian Pentecostals, examining how religion (as a cultural system) shapes coping resources and communal expectations which contribute to both salubrious and deleterious health outcomes. Over the course of 14 months, I combined traditional ethnographic methods with statistical analyses to study two church communities in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo.
I also conduct research on computer gamers who play massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). Specifically, I examine how players negotiate the cultural demands placed on them by virtual communities and the "real world," and how such involvement can lead to differential psychological health outcomes.
In addition to my research in medical anthropology, I have enjoyed participating on several archaeological projects in Albania, France, Utah, and Texas. Most recently, I helped employ remote sensing technology while surveying Angamuco, a newly identified Purépecha (Tarascan) city in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Mexico.
Contact Mr. Dengah at: dengah@gmail.com
Office: 23A ten Hoor Hall