Laura Zarrugh, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist. Having received her doctoral degree in cultural anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley, she has over 25 years of research and teaching experience. Her doctoral dissertation and much of her subsequent research have focused on immigrant (e.g. Latino and Arab) and ethnic groups (e.g. Scandinavian and German) in the United States, as well as employment issues. For the past 10 years, she has been engaged in long-term, ethnographic research on recent immigrants in the Central Shenandoah Valley. Dr. Zarrugh is an adjunct professor in Cross-Disciplinary Studies and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at James Madison University. At JMU and Blue Ridge Community College, she developed and teaches a course entitled “Immigrants in American Society.” As an independent consultant, Dr. Zarrugh also provides cultural competency training for private and public sector employers and is currently consulting on a research project for the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University. She has published and made numerous presentations on immigrant-related issues. Contact info: zarruglh@jmu.edu

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ON DR. ZARRUGH

Area Anthropologist A ‘Hot Commodity’
Professor Researches, Discusses Valley’s Latino Immigration
http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=4823&CHID=2
June 13, 2006

Cultural Anthropologist Explains Latinization of the Shennandoah Valley
as History Conference Kicks Off
http://www.jmu.edu/news/TheNewsroom/Laura-Zarrugh.pdf
April 8, 2006

First-Ever Hispanic Festival Set For County Fairgrounds
Fiesta Virginia Reaches Region’s Burgeoning Latino Population
http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=3185&CHID=2
February 27, 2006

CJ RESOURCES ABOUT DR. ZARRUGH’S WORK

Bienvenidos a Virginia!
Source: Four hundred thousand Latinos now call Virginia home. While many are concentrated in Northern Virginia, Laura Zarrugh (JMU Anthropologist) and Pablo Davis (South Atlantic Humanities Center) say much of the recent growth has been in rural areas and small Virginia towns, where Latinos are changing the cultural landscape. This special edition of the weekly radio program WITH GOOD REASON, produced by the VFH, originally aired the week of Nov.12-18, 2005, and also included an interview with folklorist Debra Lattanzi Shutika (GMU).
Location: You can hear the program at: http://www.withgoodreasonradio.org/archives/2005/november05.htm You can also order a CD copy by phoning 924-6895 or emailing lydiawilson@virginia.edu

From Workers to Owners: Hispanic Entrepreneurs in the Shenandoah Valley
Source: This December 2004 research paper analyzing responses to questionnaires was prepared by Laura Zarrugh (zarruglh@jmu.edu), a JMU cultural anthropologist who studies Latino immigration in the Shenandoah Valley.
Location: http://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/services/burruss/ZarrughPaper.aspx