Michael Di Giovine

Michael A. Di Giovine is Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (USA), and the Director of the West Chester University Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology. He is also an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to teaching introductory courses in cultural anthropology, he teaches courses in museum exhibit design and management, cultural heritage, tourism, religion and Italian/Italian-American culture.

Michael’s research in Italy and Southeast Asia lies at the intersection of global mobilities (tourism/pilgrimage, and immigration), heritage, development, foodways, and comparative religious movements.

A former tour operator whose research frequently centers of tourism and pilgrimage, Michael is highly involved in promoting and furthering anthropological tourism research. For the University of Toronto Press, Michael is currently writing the textbook, Tourism: Anthropological Insights. He is also the Convenor of the Anthropology of Tourism Interest Group at the American Anthropological Association, which he helped to found and served as its first Program Chair, coordinating highly visible sessions and events. With a strong belief in the benefits of interdisciplinarity in tourism scholarship, he is a founding member of the Tourism-Contact-Culture Network, sits on the academic board of the International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, and serves as Book Reviews Editor for both the Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change and Journeys: The International Journal of Travel and Travel Writing.