Katherine Borland, Associate Professor, studies and teaches about the artfulness of ordinary life, and the ways in which traditional expressive arenas constitute contested terrain. Her current research projects include a book length study of Nicaraguan festival performances, entitled The Naked Saint: Masquerade and Identity in Contemporary Nicaragua, a study that includes considerations of traditional cross-dressing, carnivalesque performances, miracle discourse, and pilgrimage within a changing political climate. In her teaching she works particularly with undergraduate students to test theory against practice and practice against theory in order to build a solid foundation for critical inquiry.