PhD Candidate
Charles Exdell is a PhD candidate in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. His dissertation research focuses on the anthropological and musicological exploration of Afro-Atlantic religions, processes of racialization, and cultural development policy. He recently completed ethnographic fieldwork on Black Catholic histories in Bahia, Brazil as a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellow. His other research interests include Latin American cinema and ethnographic filmmaking, and as a master’s student he directed the documentary I Thought Samba Was Easy (2017). Prior to his graduate research, he worked as an art-educator and community activist in a Ponto de Cultura – a non-profit educational and cultural center – in Capim Grosso, Bahia, where he helped run a community cinema, staged live concerts on the history of Brazilian music with local musicians, and taught photography. His work is informed by a commitment to social equality, racial justice, and the principles of engaged scholarship.
