Deana L. Weibel

(MENAFN- The Conversation)

• Professor of Anthropology, Grand Valley State University

Profile Articles Activity

I am a Professor of Anthropology at Grand Valley State University, with a joint appointment in GVSU's School of Interdisciplinary Studies. I earned my Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California, San Diego in 2001, and my B.A. in Linguistics from the University of California, Irvine in 1991. My research focuses on the anthropology of religion, focusing on pilgrimage (particularly in Europe) and the cultural and experiential dimensions of space exploration based on ethnographic research with astronauts and space professionals. I explored varying interpretations of a Black Madonna shrine in my first monograph *A Sacred Vertigo: Pilgrimage and Tourism in Rocamadour, France* (Bloomsbury). My latest book, *The Ultraview Effect: What We Can Learn from Astronauts about Awe, Humility, and Exploring the Unknown* (University of California Press), examines the way experiences of outer space can be culturally, psychologically, and spiritually transformative.

Experience

• –present Professor of Anthropology, Grand Valley State University

Education

• 2001 University of California at San Diego, Anthropology

Honours

Fulbright Fellow (France, 1998–1999); Fellow, The Explorers Club (FN'20); Aviation Space Writers Foundation Award (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2026)

MENAFN31032026000199003603ID1110924518