Gemma Celigueta is a doctor in Social Anthropology and Ethnology from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. She is interested in subjects such as authority and indigenous political representation, ethnicity, gender, development, material culture, collective intellectual property and the construction of peace. Her research is especially conducted with the Mayan peoples of Guatemala, among whom she has conducted several field work projects since 1998.

Since 2010, she is an anthropology lecturer at the University of Barcelona (UB) and a member of the research group CINAF (Indigenous and Afro-American Cultures) at the same university. In addition to research and teaching at the UB, since 2009 she has also been involved with teaching anthropology online (Open University of Catalonia, UOC).

Research at MEDIOS

 ”Rumour, mobilisation, conflict and communications media in indigenous contexts in Guatemala”

Following analysis of the uses and meanings of testimony and rumour as alternative collective narratives created in contexts of uncertainty, such as the mining conflicts (Fultz, 2016) or the kidnapping of children (Samper, 2002), I propose firstly to characterise the rumour as a type of specific narrative that serves to confront other hegemonic narratives and which has a certain potential to influence and mobilise in conflicts affecting indigenous peoples. I am specifically interested to know in what way these rumours are spread through the communications media and the consequences that this has in development of indigenous mobilisation. I want to compare the examples given above with the strategic lawsuit launched by a women’s organisation in Santiago Sacatepéquez to promote an initiative for the legal protection of Maya textiles. What types of communications media are used in the mobilisation and in what way? In addition to research on the communications media, field work will be undertaken over a month in different communities on the Guatemala Altiplano.