Winifred Tate’s current research examines the intersection of political violence, illicit economies and conflict resolution efforts in the Putumayo department of southern Colombia. Based on life history interviews and structured focus groups with members of the Women’s Network in Putumayo, Colombia, that will be carried out during ethnographic fieldwork in Putumayo, this research will consider the history of organizing efforts in the region, how have women gained space for leadership, their impact on the conflict, and local participation in national demobilization and reconciliation efforts. With the presence of both guerrilla and paramilitary forces, this region is one of many experiencing both entrenched conflict and ongoing efforts to nurture civil society leadership in peacebuilding by the Catholic Church and nationally based non-governmental organizations. This research is funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute for Peace, and a faculty development grant from Colby College.
Winifred Tate is an assistant professor of anthropology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Her book, Counting the Dead: The Culture and Politics of Human Rights Activism in Colombia (University of California Press, 2007), won the 2009 Bryce Wood Book Award for outstanding work in the humanities and social sciences on Latin America in English. She was a post doctoral fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, and a visiting research fellow at the Nation Security Archive. She has researched political violence, drug trafficking and US foreign policy towards Colombia as a consultant for a number of international organizations, including UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the U.S. Institute of Peace, Human Rights First and Freedom House. She also worked as a senior fellow and Colombian analyst for three years at the Washington Office on Latin America.