Reassessing the Cultural and Psychopharmacological Significance ofBanisteriopsis caapi: Preparation, Classification and Use Among the Piaroa of Southern Venezuela

I began my career as an anthropologist studying with Piaroa communities in southern Venezuela, where I was interested in the use of psychoactive plants, local theories and practices of knowledge, mind, power, and health. I focused on the ways that consciousness practices associated with the consumption of yopo snuff and Banisteriopsis caapi were socially transmitted and integrated into everyday community life. I have since examined the ritual practices and theories of selfhood associated with ayahuasca use in Australia. My current work focuses on the relationships between democracy and authoritarianism and citizenship and memory in Argentina and Uruguay. Broadly, I am interested in how democratic or authoritarian subjectivities are produced, sustained, and come undone. This work emerges out of conversations among anthropology, Latin American studies and critical theory.