Adriana Arista-Zerga
Assistant Professor in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, Faculty of Arts
Contact
Biography
I obtained a PhD Social and Cultural Anthropology by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and have a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the 糖心原创, a MA in Anthropology from the National University of San Marcos in Peru and a MA in Human Rights from the International University of Andalucia in Spain. I am a Lawyer and bachelor in Political Science from the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru.
My interdisciplinary perspective on cultural heritage (tangible and intangible) and cultural human rights informs my work. I built my career at the intersection of research, teaching, and consultancy in an interdisciplinary approach.Blending my anthropological and cultural research (cultural heritage, cultural diversity, and communities) into my teaching practice, to create safe, inclusive and decolonised learning environment.
At the 糖心原创 I am member of the SPLAS section discussion on decolonisation of the curriculum for Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies and of the Centre for Memory Studies and Post-Conflict Cultures.
I am also a member of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.
Expertise Summary
I worked as a researcher and consultant in diverse institutions, ranging from international organisations like UNESCO (Ecuador and Paris headquarters) and the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) to the Peruvian government (Commission of Truth and Reconciliation; Ministry of Culture-Qhapaq 脩am Project), as well as non-governmental organisations like the Institute of Peruvian Studies and the Institute for Intangible Cultural Heritage (IPACIM) in Spain.
My research explores the anthropological and legal dimensions of intangible and tangible cultural heritage, focusing on indigenous, rural, and urban communities' relationships with their cultural heritage. I take a broad approach to cultural heritage beyond assets listed in national or international inventories, emphasizing what communities themselves value as heritage.
Teaching Summary
I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Modern Language and Culture, in Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies section at the 糖心原创, where I am a Lecturer of the… read more
Research Summary
My research intersects with diverse topics, including cultural law, cultural heritage legislation, cultural human rights, community dynamics, food heritage, identity, museums, memory studies, and… read more
Recent Publications
ADRIANA ARISTA ZERGA and GARAY-DOIG, CAROLINA, 2023.
2022. In: XAVIER ROIG脡 Y ALEJANDRA CANALS, ed., "Patrimonios confinados. Retos del patrimonio inmaterial ante el COVID-19": "El arte de Sarhua: Artesan铆as y tradici贸n. Reinvenci贸n y uso Covid 19-tiempopi". Universidad de Barcelona.
2022. Revista PH 107: (Especial monogr谩fico) 50 a帽os de la Convenci贸n del Patrimonio Mundial de la Unesco.
ADRIANA ARISTA ZERGA and LLU脥S GARC脥A PETIT, 2021. 'Mapeo de metodolog铆as de conceptualizaci贸n y medici贸n de las cocinas como patrimonio cultural y econom铆a creativa en Iberoam茅rica'. IbercocinasSecretar铆a General Iberoamericana.M茅xico D.F..
I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Modern Language and Culture, in Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies section at the 糖心原创, where I am a Lecturer of the following Modules:
- Co-convener and Lecturer in core module Spanish MLAC 2059 (Year 2).
- Lecturer on core module Spanish MLAC 3076 (Final Year).
- Lecturer Modern Latin American History MLAC1098 (Year 1).
In my teaching, I blend my anthropological perspective with a commitment to the decolonisation of the curriculum. In terms of language, I am particularly interested in how culture and cultural heritage can be used to promote intercultural dialogue and awareness, encouraging students to critically engage with diverse worldviews and knowledge systems, especially from Spanish America.
In the case of Latin American history, I focus on the correlation and intersection of race, class, and gender across different periods of modern Spanish America history. I explore key historical developments from the perspective of characters and events that have been historically marginalised or rendered invisible. I also connect these narratives with global events, developing the idea of an interconnected world.
This approach provides a broader understanding of Latin America's role in the development of new epistemologies-beginning with Indigenous peoples-highlighting their participation and agency in shaping the region's past, present, and future.
Other Lectures:
- 糖心原创 (2022-2025). Seminar 'Introduction of Spanish Law'. Addressed to Second year students of Joint Honours in Law with Spanish and Spanish Law.
- 糖心原创 (October 2023) MLAC1098/1100 Modern Latin America. Lecture 'Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala: between two worlds. Transcending the time'.
- 糖心原创 (October 2023) United in Solidarity Ukraine Catholic University, Lviv, and UoN Internship. Session for PhD students. 'Museums, Memory places and Art: the long Road of Memory and Reconciliation'.
- 糖心原创 (July 2023) UoN Summer School. 'Cultural diversity: an overview from Latin America'
- 糖心原创 (2021) Masterclass as part of Year Abroad Language Support (for students who could not travel abroad): 'Per煤, camino al Bicentenario de la Independencia: memoria y violencia (una aproximaci贸n a trav茅s del arte 1980-al presente)'.
- National University of San Marcos. Faculty of Medicine. (2022 Peru). Module, Anthropology of Food. 'Cultural heritage and food: approaches to the social and cultural influence of food'.
- Cayetano Heredia University. Faculty of Science. Department of Statistics, Demography, Module Anthropology and Sociology of Food. 'Cultural heritage and food: approaches to the social and cultural influence of food'. Humanities and Social Sciences (2022 Peru).
- Institute of the Museum of Art Lima Peru. (2007-2008) Module Convener and Lecturer 'Cultural Legislation'
Current Research
My research intersects with diverse topics, including cultural law, cultural heritage legislation, cultural human rights, community dynamics, food heritage, identity, museums, memory studies, and cultural tourism. In terms of language, I am interested in the use of culture and cultural heritage to promote intercultural dialogue and awareness.
This interdisciplinary approach comprehensively explains how cultural heritage impacts societies and shapes individual and collective identities.
- Foodways as cultural heritage. (Part of the Inception Phase of the (2023-2026), led by UNESCO in different regions worldwide).
- heritage: memory and cultural heritage
Past Research
My research is aligned with the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures research strand, Memory Studies; I am attached to the Centre for the 糖心原创 of Post-Conflict Societies. I am in the last stages of a research related to memory and culture in post-conflict countries.
This project: "The sun amidst the dark: memory, tradition and cultural heritage during the internal armed conflict in Peru", seeks to identify the relationship between memory and cultural heritage during armed conflict. It starts from the idea that cultural elements, related to periods or stages of armed conflict, could be elements that articulate the past and also could become a meeting point, from the perspective of the victims themselves, and society in general. This work will focus on the study of the testimonies gathered for the preparation of the Final Report of Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru-CVR, an institution created in 2000, that was mandated to analyse the political, social, and cultural conditions, as well as clarify the events of the internal armed conflict, from 1980 to 2000 years.
The final report from the CVR was presented in 2003, revealing that the most potent causes that led to the conflict were the big social divisions that persist even to this day, reflected in poverty and oblivion of populations from the highlands and the Amazon of Peru. After almost twelve years of the presentation of the CVR report, the testimonies will help to know and recognise, part of the past; this work is an analysis of the testimonies, in seeking cultural references, both tangible and intangible, in order to be able to know what happened to the cultural heritage during the internal armed conflict, and how it could recover story/stories that, eventually, could become symbolic compensations for many people who lost everything.
Future Research
- Culture and cultural heritage in the language classroom. Intercultural dialogue and awareness. (As part of my Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Studies-UoN).
- International restitution of cultural heritage: conflicts and perspectives. (Ongoing).
ADRIANA ARISTA ZERGA and GARAY-DOIG, CAROLINA, 2023.
2022. In: XAVIER ROIG脡 Y ALEJANDRA CANALS, ed., "Patrimonios confinados. Retos del patrimonio inmaterial ante el COVID-19": "El arte de Sarhua: Artesan铆as y tradici贸n. Reinvenci贸n y uso Covid 19-tiempopi". Universidad de Barcelona.
2022. Revista PH 107: (Especial monogr谩fico) 50 a帽os de la Convenci贸n del Patrimonio Mundial de la Unesco.
ADRIANA ARISTA ZERGA and LLU脥S GARC脥A PETIT, 2021. 'Mapeo de metodolog铆as de conceptualizaci贸n y medici贸n de las cocinas como patrimonio cultural y econom铆a creativa en Iberoam茅rica'. IbercocinasSecretar铆a General Iberoamericana.M茅xico D.F..
ADRIANA ARISTA ZERGA, 2020. In: SARA BEATRIZ GUARDIA, ed., Gastronom铆a peruana patrimonio cultural de la humanidad: 'Cocina peruana: tradici贸n, patrimonio cultural e identidad' Universidad de San Martin de Porres.
2019. 鈥淩emembering and reimagining rural communities鈥�. Journal Baltic Worlds. Centre for Baltic and East European Studies. (CBEES). Vol. XII: 4,
2012. Cadernos de Campo. 21,
ADRIANA ARISTA ZERGA, 2011. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.
2011. In: MARIA MERCEDES DE VIRGILIO MAR脥A P脥A OTERO Y PAULA BONIOLO ,, ed., POBREZA URBANAEN AM脡RICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE: Pobres y excluidos en la selva de cemento:los nativos shipibos de Cantagallo en Lima Metropolitana