Pegi Vail

Pegi Vail
Born
Margaret Vail
Occupation(s)Anthropologist, professor, documentary filmmaker, travel & cultural consultant

Pegi Vail (also known as Margaret Vail) is an American anthropologist, documentary filmmaker, and curator at New York University.[1]

Career

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A former Fulbright Scholar, Vail began as a visual artist and museum educator. Receiving her Ph.D. at NYU in Sociocultural Anthropology in 2004, Vail's dissertation focused on the "backpacker subculture," travel narratives and the 'gentrification' of the Bolivian tourism industry, a topic she would return to in her award-winning feature-length documentary film, Gringo Trails.[2] Upon its release, Gringo Trails was featured in a number of international publications, including The Hollywood Reporter,[3] Condé Nast,[4] Der Spiegel,[5] and Globo.[6] Vail also appeared on interview with CNN International,[7] RadioLIVE New Zealand and RTÉ 2fm, in conjunction with the film's release.[8]

Vail began her academic career as an adjunct professor in Columbia University's Anthropology Department from 2007 to 2011. Since 2011, Vail has acted as an Associate Director at NYU's Center for Media, Culture and History, and teaches ethnographic documentary production in the Program in Culture & Media. She has appeared as a featured speaker at numerous universities, travel study tours, tourism conferences, and museums,[9] such as the Museum of Modern Art,[10] and the American Museum of Natural History.[11]

Vail has been a featured as an influencer in travel and tourism by The New York Times,[12][13] The Wall Street Journal,[14] and internationally in Spain's La Vanguardia.[15]

Along with her academic and filmmaking career, Vail has worked as a travel and cultural consultant, acting as the main anthropology consultant and APP co-writer for the Nomads virtual reality documentary, developed by Canadian-based digital artists, Félix & Paul Studios and the Samsung Gear VR.[16] Vail is also a founding member, curator,[17] and featured storyteller of the popular not-for-profit storytelling collective, The Moth,[18] and serves as a judge for the National Geographic World Legacy Awards.[19]

Personal life

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Vail lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Melvin Estrella.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "People – Center for Media, Culture and History". wp.nyu.edu.
  2. ^ "Pegi Vail , Alumni, Anthropology - New York University". anthropology.as.nyu.edu.
  3. ^ "'Gringo Trails': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 September 2014.
  4. ^ Dunn, Deborah (18 October 2013). "Film Festival Showcases the Good, the Bad, and the Strange of Tourism".
  5. ^ Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg (29 May 2014). "Dokumentarfilm "Gringo Trails": Vom Fluch des Reisens - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Reise". Der Spiegel.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Pesquisadora levanta efeitos negativos do turismo pelo mundo". 31 January 2014.
  7. ^ "The negative effects of global tourism - CNN Video". 3 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Press - Gringo Trails".
  9. ^ "About". wp.nyu.edu.
  10. ^ "First Nations\First Features". www.moma.org.
  11. ^ "Re-Seeing the Century: The Expedition on Film". AMNH.
  12. ^ Daniel, Diane (22 January 2016). "What Pegi Vail Knows About Backpackers". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "How Tourists Can Do Less Harm Than Good". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Lipton, Lauren (17 July 2015). "The Ultimate Bucket-List Travel Guide". Wall Street Journal – via www.wsj.com.
  15. ^ "La Contra: Pegi Vail". 2 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Nomads". Experiences - Oculus.
  17. ^ The Museum of Modern Art (2 February 2009). "MoMA and The Moth Present: Stories from Behind the Scenes of Nonfiction Film" – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "The Moth - Board & Committees". The Moth.
  19. ^ Society, National Geographic. "National Geographic - World Legacy Awards". National Geographic Society.
  20. ^ "Filmmakers Explore Tourism's Toll On Our Planet - NBC News". NBC News. 4 September 2014.
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