Department of Religious Studies Faculty

Ana María Bidegain

Ph.D., Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
Associate Professor.
Christianity in Latin America,
Women in Latin American Religions,
History of Religion in Latin America

Dr Ana María Bidegain was born in Colonia Suiza, Uruguay, South America. She studied History in Uruguay and Belgium, where she earned her PhD, with great distinction at the Catholic University of Louvain. She developed her academic career in Colombia where she lived and taught for more than 20 years. Ms. Bidegain founded the History Department in the University of Los Andes and opened the field in Religious Studies in the National University of Colombia. Through 2003, she directed the Social Sciences Research Center of the National University of Colombia. Prior to joining us here at Florida International University, Ana Maria was a Visiting Professor in Harvard’s Women’s Studies in Religion Program.

Dr. Bidegain’s main research revolves around Religion, Society and Politics in Latin American History, publishing extensively and participating in several academic and international research teams in South America , Europe and the U.S. Currently, she is a member of the editorial board of the Cambridge Christian Dictionary and an editorial member of the History of the World Christian Movement, which will be published shortly by Orbis Books, N. Y. In 2005, she edited and published two books that resulted from her teaching and researching experiences in Colombia : Historia del Cristianismo en Colombia . Corrientes y Diversidad (Editorial Taurus) and Globalización y Diversidad Religiosa en Colombia, (Nacional University of Colombia Press). The focus of Dr.Bidegain’s current research is the presence of women in Latin American Christian History.

In 2000 she became a visiting professor of the 'Latin American and Caribbean Center' of Florida International University. Since then, she has continuously helped in the development of important ties between FIU and Colombian Universities . Dr. Bidegain strongly supported the Colombian Studies Institute, bringing to CSI/LACC the Colombian Migration Research Network’s coordination. In addition, she successfully presented and obtained a multi-disciplinary grant from the Colombian State Department for the study of Colombian Immigration to the United States at FIU.

This coming academic year, 2005-2006, Prof. Bidegain will teach the following courses through the Religious Studies Department: Contemporary Religious Thought in Latin America, a course which delineates the religious pluralism and diversity in Contemporary Latin American Religious Thought from the perspective of believers and the dynamic of religious transformations in their historical contexts; She also plans to hold a Seminar on Latinas & Religion in the Americas, which will focus on the active participation of particular individuals and the historical contexts in which they act. She will also participate in a project on Colombian migration, and will research religion’s role in the Colombian migration to South Florida. Presently, Ana María is working with L.Eduardo Guarnizo (UC/Davies) and Claudia Pineda (Harvard), to edit the book,“Colombia Transnacional” on Colombian Migration to U.S, and Europe.

Sample Syllabi for Dr. Ana María Bidegain's Courses

Contemporary Latin American Religious Thought