Katharine (Kathy) Seibold, PhD

Professor of Anthropology

Contact:: kseibold@collegeofidaho.edu

208-459-5882
Expertise:: Latin American indigenous peoples, Andean prehistory, indigenous textiles, indigenous religious traditions, indigenous environmental practices, development

Education

Ph. D., Indiana University, 1990

M. A., and B.A., Indiana University

Professional Experience

Before completing her Ph.D. Katharine Seibold worked as a librarian at Indiana University and was a self-employed professional artisan, selling her photographs and weavings in galleries. Since completing her Ph.D. she has consulted on Latin American indigenous textiles in several museums, including the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, Cusco’s Inka Museum and the archaeological museum in Ollantaytambo, Peru.

Personal Statement

Katharine Seibold began teaching at The College of Idaho in 1994. As the only anthropologist at the college, Dr. Seibold teaches a range of anthropology courses from the introductory course to methods and theory and all the classes in between, including Natives of South America, Native Americans, Cultural Diversity, Cross-Cultural Approaches to the Environment, Gender, Religion and Art. She appreciates the College’s recognition for generalists and the integration of knowledge rather than increased specialization.

In her research, Dr. Seibold has been conducting a long-term study of culture change in an isolated Quechua community in the Peruvian Andes using hand woven textiles as the lens through which to view the process of modernization. She began her study in 1986 shortly after the introduction of a road and a primary school and has followed the recent impact of electricity and television. She has given a number of presentations and published articles on aspects of this research and when the study is completed will publish her findings under the title, “The Last Incas: Modernization in a Peruvian Indigenous Community.”

In her 2000-2001 sabbatical Dr. Seibold was awarded a Fulbright and taught courses in Spanish on Andean prehistory and indigenous culture to Peruvian and other South American students for the masters program at one of the universities in Cusco, Peru, el Centro Andino de Estudios Rurales Bartolome de las Casas.

Dr. Seibold has led College of Idaho students on study abroad trips, including a winter trip to Mexico and Guatemala, and several spring semester trips to Cusco, Peru. She placed students with local families; they studied Spanish and anthropology and completed two week projects in the local surrounding communities that complimented their majors, such as a school psychologist for a psychology major, rural development projects for those interested in development, and medical clinic assistants for pre-med students.

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Katharine (Kathy) Seibold, PhD

Education

Professional Experience