Michelle Wibbelsman is originally from Ecuador.  She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2004). Prior to joining the faculty in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at The Ohio State University she taught at St. Edward's University and The University of Texas at Austin.  Dr. Wibbelsman’s interests and areas of specialization include South American indigenous cultures, ethnographic studies and ethnomusicology.  Her work in Andean Ecuador since 1995 has focused on symbolic and semiotic analytical approaches to indigenous performances, ritual practices and politics. Her current research explores indigenous transnational migration, diaspora and cosmopolitanism.