Instructors:
James received his B.A. in Spanish and Linguistics from Miami University, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics at The Ohio State University. In addition to his studies and research, James teaches Advanced Spanish Grammar. Prior to joining the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, James taught high school Spanish, teaching all levels including AP Spanish.
In high school and undergrad, he was the member of a number of choirs, including the Miami University Men’s Glee Club. Growing up he was an avid participant in the musical theatre productions and enjoyed making music with his sister and twin brother.
Erin holds a B.A. in Music with an emphasis on trumpet performance from the University of Notre Dame, a post-baccalaureate certificate in Anthropology from Northwestern University, and is currently a PhD Candidate in Ethnomusicology at Ohio State University.
Her research, supported by fieldwork grants from the School of Music and the Graduate School, focuses on brass and drum styles from around the world and the role of street music in facilitating civic and political engagement in the public sphere. At Ohio State, Erin has taught both major and non-major courses in the School of Music, including Music Cultures of the World, African American Musical Histories, and the History of Rock and Roll. In addition to playing trumpet with several of the brass bands included in her research, Erin has been a multi-instrumentalist with the OSU Andean Ensemble since its inception in 2014.
Gordon Ulmer is a cultural anthropologist with 9 years of research experience in Andes-Amazonia. He holds a B.A. in anthropology with honors distinction from UT Austin, an M.A. in anthropology at OSU, and is currently a PhD candidate finishing his doctoral work. Gordon recently spent 16 months conducting research in Andes-Amazonia Peru supported by a Fulbright-Hays DDRA and FLAS from the Department of Education, the Tinker Foundation, and university grants. He has instructed lower and upper division courses in anthropology at Ohio State and enjoys drawing on his extensive fieldwork experiences to teach in the classroom. Gordon is also a passionate musician and a multi-instrumentalist, and has been a member of the OSU Andean Ensemble since returning from fieldwork in 2015.
Director:
Michelle Wibbelsman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. As a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist by training, she also holds courtesy faculty appointments in the Department of Anthropology and the School of Music. Originally from Ecuador, Dr. Wibbelsman teaches courses on indigenous cultures of Latin America, musical cultures of Latin American and ethnographic theory and methods. She is the founder and director of the OSU Andean Music Ensemble where students learn to play Andean musical instruments and sing in Spanish, Quechua and Aymara. She is currently working on a book-length project on musical diversity among indigenous communities from the Andes in local and transnational contexts.