Peter Van Arsdale

ph | 303.871.3281
e | pvanarsd@du.edu

Cherrington Hall 102G
2201 South Gaylord St
Denver, CO 80208 USA

• Profile

As an applied/practicing anthropologist, with specialties in cultural and medical anthropology, Professor Van Arsdale's career has covered 30 years (post-PhD). He has been affiliated with the Graduate School of International Studies since 1980, as adjunct professor, lecturer, research fellow, and-most recently -senior lecturer. Primary areas of professional interest and involvement have included mental health, community development (especially in overseas contexts), and human rights. Primary issues addressed through fieldwork and applied research have been those involving water resources for rural populations, the delivery of mental health care to minority populations (especially those within the United States), and the problems confronting refugees and immigrants. In these regards, the qualitative methods used in conducting field research also have been of particular interest, as have the "systems and actors at play." Professor Van Arsdale has conducted fieldwork in the US, Indonesia (including West Papua), Bosnia, Peru, Guyana, El Salvador, Sudan, Ethiopia, Romania, and-more briefly-Israel and Palestine. Denver-based assessments of programs in Bangladesh and Iraq also have been completed.