Wade Davis to discuss Amazonian botany at Universidad del Valle
Wade Davis Arrives at Universidad del Valle for Amazonian Botany and Indigenous Cultures Discussion
Anthropologist, writer, and photographer Wade Davis is scheduled to appear at the Universidad del Valle on February 4, 2014, for a public conversation hosted by the School of Social Communication of the Faculty of Integrated Arts and the Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences.
The event takes place at 9:00 a.m. in Auditorium No. 3 of the Meléndez University Campus. Attendees will first view the 2010 documentary Apaporis. En busca del río, directed by film professor Antonio Dorado, which draws upon botanical history documented in Davis’s book El Río. A conversation with Davis follows the screening at 10:00 a.m.
Global Fieldwork and Indigenous Documentation
Davis brings a career spanning fieldwork across East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia, Mongolia, and Greenland. His academic and literary work focuses primarily on native and indigenous cultures across the Americas. As a writer, he has contributed articles to publications such as Outside, Fortune, Men’s Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and National Geographic, where he serves as a resident explorer.
Nine of his books have been translated into Spanish. Among them, El río. Exploraciones y descubrimientos en la selva amazónica achieved notable success within Colombia. Beyond his botanical and anthropological texts, his book examining his experiences in Haiti investigating the case of Clairvius Narcisse served as the partial basis for the 1988 American horror film The Serpent and the Rainbow, directed by Wes Craven.
Literary Recognition and Conservation Advocacy
Recent literary recognition includes winning the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction for his book Into the Silence. Alongside his writing and research, Davis co-founded Cultures on the Edge, a publication created to draw attention to endangered communities. He maintains active participation in Ecotrust and other non-governmental organizations dedicated to planetary diversity conservation.
Admission to the February 4 event at Meléndez University Campus is free, though attendance requires prior registration due to limited seating capacity. Inquiries are managed by the Production Center of the School of Social Communication.