Alison T. Smith

Alison T. Smith first stumbled upon the Camino de Santiago while hiking in the French Pyrenees in 1995. It was through the study of film, most notably Luis Buñuel’s The Milky Way, that her scholarly exploration of pilgrimage got its start. Smith has published several articles and book chapters on pilgrimage, and she regularly presents her research at conferences. A former Associate Director of Women’s and Gender Studies at the College of Charleston, Smith brings a feminist approach to her scholarship, and she promotes diversity and inclusivity in her pilgrimage practice. She has walked sections of the Camino de Santiago in France and Spain with colleagues, with students, and alone. Recently she served as a volunteer at the Ribadiso Pilgrim Welcome Center in Spain and walked the Kerry Camino with fellow pilgrimage scholars in Ireland.