AU highlights Jeff Sluyter-Beltrao

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing political science professor Jeff Sluyter-Beltrao.

Titles of books entwined his office space. Ideas columned and rowed collectively stuffed into wall height bookshelves insulated his room, save for those places designated for work; two paper laden desks, a couple of chairs and mess.

We sandwiched our conversation between the entropy and he began to articulate bits of his history.

He earned his undergraduate degree at The College of William and Mary, and over a number of years, dedicated to learning both on and beyond college campuses Jeff attained his masters from Columbia University and a PHD from UC Berkley.

The turning point in his life, Jeff said, was when he capitalized on the opportunity to study abroad in England during his undergrad at William and Mary.

'“I know you didn’t come here to study English literature, I know you came here to experience life in a different culture. Consider English literature your second occupation' It was something like that,”” Jeff explained with a smile, “and so I did.”

Since then, professor Sluyter-Beltrao has dedicated his vocation and much of the life outside it to the further understanding of international cultures. While studying at the Goethe Institut, in Germany, Jeff traveled across Western Europe, ending up in the Bavarian region of Germany, working as a dairy farmer and interpreting dialects between locals and Berliners that came for holiday.

Since Germany Jeff has lived in countries all over the western hemisphere from Switzerland to Brazil. While living in Geneva, Switzerland his passion for Latin America was realized as he learned about the United States and its policies throughout South and Central America.

While living in Nicaragua Jeff found himself in the middle of conflict stemming from American suppression of the leftist Sandista government, which was pushing for sociopolitical reform.

“People that I was inspired by were being attacked by an army created by my government, that was a radicalizing experience.”

At this point Jeff emphasized that he is no militant rebel, just a concerned world citizen looking for educated solutions to global problems.

Professor Sluyter-Beltrao recently finished writing his first book, an expansion of his dissertation on the Brazilian labor movement and the scales of democracy within it.

Happy with his place in Alfred Jeff looks forward to his sixth year teaching the students of Alfred University in the upcoming fall semester.