María del Pilar File-Muriel

María del Pilar File-Muriel is a PhD candidate studying Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology. She holds an MA in Anthropology from UNM, an MA in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management, and a BA in Folklore from Indiana University. An activist anthropologist interested in the dynamics of peace building, her dissertation centers on peace practices and the multi-scalar relationships that sustain peace in Colombia, specifically in territories of peace and humanitarian zones. Pilar’s research has been supported by the LAII PhD Fellowship, the Tinker Foundation, the UNM Department of Anthropology, and the Graduate and Professional Student Association. For several years, she has held an Interdepartmental Fellowship through the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, where she has taught introductory language courses as well as upper level topics classes related to her dissertation research. She co-directs the Study Abroad Colombia program and is founder of the Interdisciplinary Colombian Studies Group at UNM. Pilar currently serves as the secretary for the Colombia Section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and as an advisor to the the NGO Witness for Peace Solidarity Committee.