Peter W. Van Arsdale

Peter W. Van Arsdale is an American academic who retired as director of African Initiatives at the University of Denver, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, where he also served as Senior Lecturer.He is a noted author, journal editor, and former president of the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology and known analytically for his “tree of rights”[1] and his “theory of obligation.”[2] He is co-founder of The Denver Hospice, and co-discoverer in 1974 of a band of previously uncontacted Citak people[3] in Indonesian New Guinea.He has served as an expert witness/analyst in cases involving Sudanese, Ethiopian and Bosnian asylum seekers, and, as a consultant on related human rights abuses.Often featuring refugee issues, his applied research and community outreach have engaged topics involving resource development, human rights, mental health, and humanitarianism.[13] More recently (in 2013), he was elected to the Arvada West (Colorado) Hall of Fame[14] and (through Rotary International, District 5450) in 2021 was recognized for work on water and sanitation systems.
AmericanUniversity of Colorado BoulderUniversity of MarylandHumanitarianismHuman rightsApplied anthropologyInternational developmentJosef Korbel School of International StudiesUniversity of Denverservice learning program