Dr. Trentini is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Drake University, where she teaches courses in cultural anthropology.
She earned her PhD in Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, with a dissertation focusing on traditional healers in Mozambique. After completing her PhD, she moved to South Africa, where she served as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Dr. Trentini has conducted extensive fieldwork in Nampula, a city in northern Mozambique. Her research has led to the publication of her first monograph ("At Ansha’s: Life in the Spirit Mosque of a Healer in Mozambique”) as well as peer-reviewed articles on topics including spirit possession, Islam, matriliny, childhood afflictions, religious change, and gender.
She is currently working on her second research project, which is based on recent fieldwork in northern Mozambique. This project explores local stories of resistance to colonial occupation during the 1800s and 1900s and examines the significance these narratives continue to hold today.
Dr. Trentini is passionate about teaching students how anthropology can be applied to their personal and professional lives.
