biography

I travel in Latin America and I have lived this way for many years. From a lower-middle-class home which put little emphasis on
education, I am an example of someone who successfully used college, and especially graduate school, as a radical process of
individuation. I have worked as a full time Personal Statement of Purpose Specialist for the last ten years.

My own research carried a very broad focus on the history of politics and ethics, especially with respect to Latin America, and, in particular, the politics
of gender affairs: men, women, the relationship between public and private spheres. I am also a historian of the Cold War, and since Central America, the
subject of my dissertation, was probably the most famous final chapter of that conflict, I too was involved. More recently, I am especially concerned with
development in Central America, and would appreciate the opportunity to assist those who are working in the area of promoting sustainable development.
In the photo above, I am with a child at the ruins of Zacaleu, en Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Here, the United Fruit Company covered the indigenous ruins
with concrete, rather than restoring them as has been done or is being done with other sacred sites of our cultural heritage. At the time, during the Second
World War, the U.S. based company thought that it was doing Guatemala and the world a favor. This problem is suggestive of some of the obstacles that
we must overcome together in America; north and south.

I am a scholar who bridges two wars: the Cold War, especially as it took place in
Latin America, and the new war, between what we might call
radical/anti-imperialist Islam, on the one hand, and the powers allied with the
United States on the other. I place this photo of myself with an M-60 U.S.-made
machine gun on my web site to illustrate the principal difference for me between
these two great anti-imperialist endeavors. During the Cold War, I was
personally allied with the international Left, especially with respect to Central
America. In this new war, I am a mere commentator. Nor do I see those who
fight against the U.S. to be somehow on the 'right' side, I suppose for two
reasons. First, radical Islam militates against women's freedom. Furthermore,
they kill civilians completely without mercy or remorse.

In the photo I am holding the big gun in El Salvador, Chalatenango, in July
of 1992. I was interviewing these young rebels for my doctoral
dissertation. It was their suggestion to take this picture of me with the M-
60. They were kind of bored, with little to do but play ‘futbol’ and sit
around waiting to turn their guns into the U.N. I am proud of the picture.
In the picture I was 34. Now I am 50.

I was born and raised in a small town in the United States. In this photo I am working construction with my
dad towards the end of the 1970s. I was not sure at this time what I wanted to do with my life, but I did
know that I was tired of being cold and dirty. I ended up at Indiana University about a year later.
Throughout the years of my undergraduate studies, I was not a distinguished student, more interested in my
social than academic life, but a seeker, gravitating towards Philosophy and Religious Studies and entering a
Master's program in the latter. As it came time to finish my Master's degree, I sought adventure as well, and
decided to translate one of a series of documents concerning social issues written by the Catholic Bishops of
Oaxaca and Chiapas México (known as the Bishops of the Southern Pacific Region). Thus, in June of 1987, I
left for my first, and extensive, visit to México.

I studied at I.U. for both my B.A. (Philosophy) and M.A.
(Religious Studies), from 1980 until 1988. I received my Ph.D.
from the University of Southern California (Religion and Social
Ethics) in 1995. My last undergraduate year at I.U. was also
spent trying to convince myself that I would become a
professional photographer. For the second year of my Master's
Program, I received a Teaching Assistantship in Religious
Studies. I am proud of the teaching award that was given to me
in my final semester, Spring 1987.

During the final year of my Master's Program at I.U., I did two very significant things that would turn
out to make lasting impressions. First, I worked as a staff person at what was, at that time, 1986-87, a
very small operation named MiddleWay House Shelter for Abused Women (I was the only male staff
person who worked there). The 8 or 9 months that I spent there helped me to mature greatly on a human
level, and inspired an intrigue with gender issues that stayed with me through my doctoral dissertation,
and until today. My supervisor and friend at the woman's shelter, Eva McQueen, passed away a few
years ago after a long battle with cancer; in the picture on the right with Ana, one of our clients. I wanted
to put this up to honor her.

The summer of 1988 I tramped
through the Guatemalan war zone in
the department of Quiche. The border
between Chiapas, Mexico and
Guatemala is an artificial border. The
folks are the same, mostly Indigenous
Mayans, badly mistreated on both
sides. You can get a better sense of
the repression of indigenous people
on my research page. Most of 1992
and part of 1993, I spent traveling
through El Salvador and Guatemala. I
went back to Chiapas for the summer
of 1995 to see the Zapatista
revolution for myself.

The Zapatista revolution was announced to
the world on January first 1994, the day
that the “Free Trade” Agreement between
the United States, Canada, and Mexico came
into force. The Zapatista “Revolution” had
been in the planning stages for years. And it
is still there today. The Zapatistas rose up
and took several towns, most notably San
Cristobal de Las Casas and Ocosingo. The
Mexican army was able to drive them out
within a few days but only after heavy
casualities in the marketplace of Ocosingo.

The Zapatistas are still armed, entrenched in the Lacondon jungle, and skirmishes still
occur. Numerous small towns under Zapatista control have declared themselves
independent from the State Government of Chiapas and the Federal Authorities in Mexico.
Scattered violence occurs intermittently. These photos, above left are popular post cards
sold in the region. For my part, I worked as an observer at the peace negotiations with the
government and did independent research for the book that I am writing on the history of
gender relations in Mexico and Central America.

After Guatemala in 1988, I spent the summer in Managua, Nicaragua in 1989. It was the
last year that the Left (the Sandinistas) were in power. I taught English at the National
University (for free of course) because I wanted to be helpful and I couldn't think of what
else to do. The percentage of male students was very low, especially in Languages. I felt
guilty, being a 'gringo' with dollars in my pocket and staying at the National University
with all the pretty girls while the boys were fighting in the countryside in a war created and
funded by our (US) tax dollars. This made me very angry and sad.

One day, on the edge of campus, I was sitting under a tree crying softly; one of my few
male students came up to me and told me that he wanted me to know that he thought
that he knew why I was crying, and that, the pen is mightier than the sword. He was a
very kind young man. Someday, I hope to contribute a little bit to proving him right.
Nicaragua, like Honduras, is a desperately poor place, hot, with few tourists, for good
reasons. The picture on the right is of part of my English class. On the left, the goat, the
university mascot, is trying to drum up support for the fourth annual, anti-fascist,
anti-imperialist encounter.

My Ph.D. degree was not awarded by the University of Southern California until the
Fall of 1995. It took me forever. It was entitled: "Gender, Violence, and Empire in
Central America" and it covered all the way from pre-columbian times until the
present, which is, of course, a mammoth scope. This contributes, I am sure, to why I
still have not published it, but have just kept working on it. My interest in gender
dates from the last year in my M.A. program at I.U., not only from the women's
shelter, but also from the fact that the resident feminist in the Religious Studies
Department, Mary Jo Weaver, was my thesis director. Intrigue with gender stays with
me, the politics of relations between Central American men and women. Much of these
political dynamics have a lot to do with poverty. I hope to be able to begin to share my
book, now entitled "Sexual Justice in Central America," with those who are interested
here on the Internet, within the next year or so.

For a variety of reasons too numerous
and boring to mention, I did not get a job
teaching in my field. The fact that I am a
white male ( Black T-Shirt) with a special
concentration in Sexism, Racism, and
Third World Studies, did not help a great
deal on today's job market (something
which, ironically, I fully support). So, I
enrolled in yet another graduate program
in TESOL at the University of Illinois
(1995-6). I taught Intensive English at the
Language Institute and had a lot of fun
with my students, who were from all
over the world.

After I left the University of Ilinois, I had the
privilege of teaching in a one year exchange program
with the University of Barcelona in Spain. Next, I
taught English in South Korea for a year. But, I new
that my heart was in Central America. I went back to
Central America, therefore, and lived for a couple of
years in San Salvador, El Salvador. I ran a
more-or-less successful language academy.

Example Personal
Statements

Let's Get
Started! Your
Interview Form

MY BIOGRAPHY PAGE

Founded by Roberto Fostor Ph.D.
Personal Statement of Purpose Specialist
Since 1999
Degree: Religion and Social Ethics
University of Southern California (1995)