Bretton Alvare

Biographical Information: Bretton Alvaré is a 4th year student in the PhD program for Cultural Anthropology at Temple University.  He currently holds adjunct professorships at Temple, LaSalle, and Widener Universities.  He has a number of articles in publication for the Encyclopedia of Slavery in the Americas, as well as the Encyclopedia of Latinos in US History and Culture.  He has studied Rastafari culture and identity extensively and has worked with Trinidad and Tobago Rastafari United (TTRU), the NGO that serves as the subject of his dissertation, since 2004.  Bretton examines the cultural and political forces shaping TTRU’s political strategies and the effects of these forces on the (re)production of its members’ cultural identities.  His dissertation analyzes the ways TTRU’s interactions and relationships with national governments, local and regional constituencies, and international philanthropic organizations are affecting the discourses, practices, and identities of their members.