Ana Maria Bidegain

Bio

Research interests:

Dr. Ana María Bidegain earned her PhD in History at the Catholic University of Louvain. She developed her academic career in Colombia, where she lived and taught for more than 20 years. Dr. Bidegain founded the History Department in the University of Los Andes and opened the field of Religious Studies at the National University of Colombia. In the 2003-2004 biennium, she directed the Social Sciences Research Center of the National University of Colombia.

Dr. Bidegain’s main research themes revolve around Religion, Society and Politics in Latin American History, on which she has published extensively. She has participated in many academic and international research teams in South America, Europe and the U.S. Since coming to FIU, Dr. Bidegain’ research interest has been related to two topics: the presence of women in Latin American Christian History and the Religious Experience of Latin American and Caribbean migrants. Among other initiatives, she has obtained a multi-disciplinary grant from the Colombian State Department for the study of Colombian Immigration to the United States at FIU. In 2008 she coordinated and edited a volume published by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Relations: Presencia Colombiana en Estados Unidos. Caracterización de la población immigrante.

Currently she is the Program Director for Research at the Latin American and Caribbean Center at FIU.