OBU Professor Publishes Ninth Book

Dr. Ronald Duncan, Oklahoma Baptist University professor of anthropology, recently completed the book "Crafts, Capitalism and Women," published by the University of Florida Press. This is Duncan's ninth book - his second on the art of ceramics in Colombia.

"Crafts, Capitalism and Women" is a study of gender, economics and the craft of pottery in La Chamba, Colombia, where the making of pottery is an ancient craft, but the women artists, despite their talent, do not receive the profits of their work.

Duncan visited La Chamba over a period of four years. After establishing relationships with the villagers, the women came to him with their stories.

"I need to tell their story and essentially that is what I am doing in this book," said Duncan.

According to Duncan, the women receive only three or four dollars for a piece of pottery that sells for $300-400 in the United States.

"They realize their ceramics are valuable because they are beautifully made, but the economics are such that the women don't receive the money," Duncan said.

Duncan also had an article published in the Spring 2000 edition of The Studio Potter Network entitled "The Village Potters of Raquira: Two Genders, Two Worlds," derived from his first book about Colombian ceramics. "Crafts, Capitalism and Women" will be featured in the fall edition of the same journal.

Duncan lives in Norman with his wife Gloria. They have one daughter, Vanessa.