Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Stewarding Our Mountains: A Program Evaluation Of Place-Based Service Learning On The Appalachian Trail, Bonnie Jean Harvey

Anthropology Theses

Appalachians’ relationships with the environment alter over time due to political, economic, and ecological factors. These changing relationships, for instance rural agrarian livelihoods shifting to urban contexts, can influence how an individual perceives personal responsibility in regional environmental stewardship, such as caring for and preserving local ecology. Observing that recent shifts resulted in less perceived youth stewardship for the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) created the Trail to Every Classroom (TTEC) program in 2006. The TTEC program attempts to foster stewardship through the practice of place-based service learning - a diversification of education where youth learn through …

Contested Landscapes: An Analysis Of Using The National Historic Preservation Act (Nhpa) For Traditional Cultural Properties (Tcps) In The Western United States, Kate Monti Barcalow

Anthropology Theses

In this paper, I predominately use a political ecology lens to evaluate the use of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in facilitating American Indians' engagement with ancestral lands now federally governed. I look at how agencies can implement effective consultation that lessens the power imbalance between tribes and the federal government that is inherent in the NHPA, as well as help alleviate conflict between tribes, agencies, and various public interest groups regarding proper land management and use. From July 2014 through December 2014, I conducted eleven semi-structured interviews of participants involved with five Traditional Cultural Places or Properties (TCPs) …

Community Media As A Forum For Resistance: The Case Of The Romero Theater Troupe, Michael Kilman

Anthropology Theses

Over the past several decades, mainstream mass media is increasingly becoming a conduit for the consolidation of political power and not as a vehicle to support and maintain democracy. Representing aspects of a western homogenous culture, mainstream mass media often lacks a means for local representation and can obscure coverage of important local and community issues related to social justice and the effects of structural violence. The Romero Theater Troupe in Denver, Colorado serves as an example of community media that acts as a network of local resistance. The Troupe uses community members instead of actors and a consensus model …

The Search For Interpretation Sovereignty: Accommodating Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) Voice In Protected Area Interpretation, Rachel E. Lahoff

Anthropology Theses

Within the Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) ancestral territory, an area that spans four states including Nevada, Utah, California and Arizona, there are abundant protected areas that are managed by both federal and state agencies. These agencies utilize interpretation as a means to educate the public about natural and cultural resources on the landscape, in situ. In this paper, I argue that protected area interpretation in the Nuwuvi ancestral territory follows a hegemonic model, in that it reflects cultural hegemony that places western science discourses over other discourses, including Nuwuvi ways of knowing. As a result, natural science themes dominate interpretation over …

Friends Of The Children: Portland Postsecondary Preparation Recommendations, Hillary Horn Montuori

Anthropology Theses

The process of defining "postsecondary success" is an integral part of preparing for it. Ultimately, postsecondary success begins as a goal within the formal education system because it denotes success after high school. But then we must ask, "What is the goal of that high school education?" In my time as a research intern with Friends of the Children (FOTC), concepts of productivity, access, and knowledge have all been central to answering this question. On one level, the question has a pragmatic answer: FOTC youth should be able to earn a living wage. On another level, the question is much …

Community-Based Approaches To Mental Health And Conflict Resolution In Post-Conflict Libya, Amanda Lubit

Anthropology Theses

Post-conflict Libya faces the challenges of establishing a national health system that is capable of addressing mental health needs for a population traumatized by decades of repression and a recent war. In order to recover, traumatized populations require feelings of safety, calm, empowerment, connectedness, and hope. To help achieve this outcome, programs must focus on medical and social aspects at both the individual and community level.

As part of an internship experience, I worked with Dr. Omar Reda, a Libyan psychiatrist at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) who helps communities, organizations and mental health professionals throughout Libya to address …

Strategic Neighboring And "Beloved Community" Development In West Atlanta Neighborhoods, Cheryl L. Case

Anthropology Theses

This study investigates the phenomenon of faith-motivated actors in blighted inner-city neighborhoods on the west side of Atlanta, Georgia. In merging community development literature with a framework of place, this research explores the role of faith in neighborhood transformation efforts. In particular, it examines the motivations and values of these actors that shape how they conceptualize their neighborhoods and in turn how these values are then inscribed into place. Fewer than 40 strategic neighbors are known to be active in Atlanta’s west side; of these 32 participated in the research through in-depth interviews, surveys, diaries and other qualitative research methods. …

Middle Bronze Age- Late Bronze Age Transitions In The Southern Urals (Russia). Case Study: Shifts In Settlement Patterns In The Kyzil Area, Chelyabinsk District., Denis Sharapov

Anthropology Theses

The following paper focuses on the transitional period between the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) and the Late Bronze Age (LBA) in the Southern Urals, Russia. GIS-based analysis of Bronze Age settlement patterns in the Kyzil Area points to a number of important findings. The study concludes the demographic impossibility of an autonomous development scenario of the Sintashta – Srubnaya-Alakul cultural transformation, rejects the presence of ‘proto-city’ or urbanization developments in the region during the Bronze Age, and points to the shift to a more collective form of control over natural resources during the LBA period. The study also examines the …

Volunteerism In The University Culture, Stephanie V. Blocker

Anthropology Theses

This project examines how undergraduate and graduate students at a university in the Southern United States utilize and conceptualize volunteering at the beginning of the second decade of the 21^st century, a time when volunteerism is on the rise despite a severe economic crisis. I was interested in taking an anthropological approach to explore the reasons that people volunteered as well as how their decisions about volunteering might be impacted by different aspects of their identity, including their ethnicity, gender identity, student status, and affiliation with student groups. Based on in-depth interviews and surveys conducted with five undergraduate and …

The Lacy Hotel Site: Gender Ideologies And Domestic Activities In A 19th Century Boardinghouse Context, Melissa Scharffenberg

Anthropology Theses

The Lacy Hotel was a part of the "Great Locomotive Chase", a significant historical event in Kennesaw, Georgia during the Civil War (AD 1861-1864), yet little is known of this site. The Lacy Hotel was a boardinghouse that operated for roughly six years until General William Tecumseh Sherman burned it in 1864. This research utilizes historical records along with archaeological fieldwork in order to provide a more detailed analysis of daily life within the Lacy household. Dominant ideologies influence the roles of women concerning their activities and choices of consumption within the household. Although the results show that the boardinghouse …

Investigating The Ancient Maya Landscape: A Settlement Survey In The Periphery Of Pacbitun, Jennifer Weber

Anthropology Theses

This thesis presents the results of research conducted at the ancient Maya site of Pacbitun. The site, located in the foothills of the Maya Mountains in the Cayo District of Belize, offered a unique opportunity to investigate the relationship between the site core and various caves located in its 9 km² periphery. The landscape was a critical component of ancient Maya religion. The earth and all of its topographic features were considered to be alive and, as living beings, to interact in human affairs. Caves were seen as portals to the underworld and homes to deities. Pilgrimages to these …

La Vida Online: The Parallel Public Sphere Of Facebook As Used By Colombian Immigrant Women In Atlanta, Michaelanne M. Dye

Anthropology Theses

This thesis examines how Colombian women within the city of Atlanta utilize Facebook as a parallel public sphere, a cultural phenomenon through which the silenced use mediums of popular culture to discuss private and public dilemmas (Dewey 2009). Through ethnographic research in Atlanta, I analyze how these young women use Facebook as they negotiate their identity through the multiple contexts of their everyday lives. Drawing from feminist critiques, I explore whether Facebook provides an alternative to the traditional public sphere, while also investigating how power structures influence freedom of expression online. Through an international network of friends, these women tackle …

Labor And Identity: Latina Migrant Women And The Service Industry Of Atlanta, Kaitlin E. Case

Anthropology Theses

This thesis explores the work experiences and life histories of a group of Latina migrant women who work in specific sectors of the service industry in Atlanta, Georgia. I focus on janitorial/custodial as well as domestic labor in order to confront the social issue of the continued devaluation and exploitation of feminized wage work. This ethnography reveals how education and English proficiency tie into how migrant labor is viewed in the United States specifically, and asks how Latina migrant women might be able to achieve labor legitimacy in the future. My findings are based on in-depth interviews that I collected …

Aging Of The Lumbar Vertebrae Using Known Age And Sex Samples, April K. Smith

Anthropology Theses

The dimensions of the lumbar vertebrae are examined in order to determine if these measurements can be used to predict the age of an individual, and if the lumbar vertebrae exhibit sexual dimorphism. Various statistical techniques were utilized to analyze several dimensions of the lumbar vertebrae. Aging patterns in the lumbar elements are distinct between males and females, and females exhibit compression of the L3 element, which may be related to vertebral wedging. Some dimensions of the lumbar vertebrae are sexually dimorphic.

Small Finds From Chogha Gavaneh Site In The Islamabad Plain, Central Zagros Mountains, Iran, Firoozeh Forouzan

Anthropology Theses

This study examines small finds from the site of Chogha Gavaneh, Iran, including zoomorphic clay figurines, geometric-shaped objects, and sling bullets in order to deter-mine if they served an economic function during the Early Chalcolithic period (ca. 5000-4000 B.C.E.). A total of 104 animal figurines, sling bullets, and geometric-shaped objects have been found at Chogha Gavaneh. This research challenges previous archaeological interpretations of animal figurines that have interpreted them as being magical or lucky objects for hunting and religious rituals, or for use as game pieces, educational objects, or toys. Through the use of XRF (x-ray fluorescence spectrometry) analysis and …

Borders And Barriers: Perspectives On Aging And Alternative Medicine Among Transnational North Indian Immigrants, Kanan B. Mehta

Anthropology Theses

This study explores the practice of alternative medicine among a group of senior, transnational Indian immigrants. I analyze how cross-cultural ideologies influence aging and immigrant experiences in healthcare. I explore the ways in which transnational networks nurture social relations and aid in acquiring healthcare resources. This study also examines the developments that alternative medicine underwent during the colonial rule and how those developments affected the trajectory of biomedicine. I focus on the practice of alternative medicine as a significant contributor to immigrant health. Finally, I argue that we need to strive for a symbiosis between alternative medicine and Western biomedicine …

Stitching Together: An Exploration Of Women's Sociality Through An Urban Knitting Group, Gillian Barbara Ruland

Anthropology Theses

The phenomenon of knitting groups is an increasingly widespread trend in urban settings. In this thesis, I argue that the resurgence of knitting groups in contemporary urban areas is the result of a nostalgic search for a sense of community within an otherwise complex and sometimes alienating urban landscape. Through ethnographic research in Atlanta, GA, I examine how women knitters whom I interviewed theorize their own interactions in the knitting community and the ways in which technology serves to facilitate these interactions. With lives revolving mainly around family and careers, the women who join knitting groups seek an escape from …

"Now I Turn The Remainder Of The Service Into The Hands Of The Pulpit": Leadership In An African American Church, Kaniqua Robinson

Anthropology Theses

The research study examines the influence of an African American religious preacher in organizing his congregation into a socioeconomic community. The research question is as fol-lows: How does the leadership performance influence (a) the social interaction of his congrega-tion, (b) the mobilization of congregates into members of a social group, and (c) the development of his congregation into an economic system? This study examines the Pastor, his role, influence, and management of power. Weber argued that there are three pure types of authority: rational, traditional, and charismatic. For an African American religious preacher, the authority would be considered to be …

Eating Disorder Narratives: Personal Experiences Of Anorexia And Bulimia, Veronica Ashley Przybyl

Anthropology Theses

The following paper explores the ways in which we currently understand eating disorders, examining the current theory and literature as well as providing the stories of three women and one man with first-hand experience with eating disorders. Through the use of formal interviews, the paper focuses not only on the ways in which an eating disorder affects an individual’s life but also on the ways in which an individual’s life affects the manifestation of his or her eating disorder.

Analysis Of Osteoarthritis On Appendicular Joint Surfaces In Known Age And Sex Samples From The Terry And Spitalfields Collections, Michelle Lynn Webb

Anthropology Theses

Arthritis is one of the most common manifestations of aging and is the single largest cause of disability in the UK, US, Australia, and Canada among people age 30 years and older. Osteoarthritis of appendicular joint surfaces exhibits alterations of bony tissue in and around the joint surface. The degree to which osteoarthritis of articular surfaces occurs as a function of age and sex can be resolved with cemetery populations of known individuals, such as the Terry (19-20th century) and Spitalfields (17-18th century) collections upon which I report (n = 322; 162 males and 160 females). Using the five point …

Human Cranial Growth And Shape Change: Are Fetal Rates And Morphologies Extended Throughout The First Year Of Life?, Dana J. Russell

Anthropology Theses

Selection for increased encephalization in humans necessitated extensive brain growth after birth. To estimate changes in rates of growth and corresponding shape changes during gestation and infancy, chord and arc distances were obtained from the frontal, parietal, and occipital bones of 44 human fetuses, neonates, and infants (one year old and younger). Rates of growth in chord and arc measurements were calculated and compared using linear regression of log-transformed variables, followed by ANCOVA. Curvature of bone lengths and widths were estimated by chord/arc indices. Fetal rates of cranial growth were significantly slower while the fetal frontal and occipital bones were …

Narratives Of Social Change In Rural Buryatia, Russia, Luis Ortiz-Echevarria

Anthropology Theses

This study explores postsocialist representations of modernity and identity through narratives of social change collected from individuals in rural communities of Buryatia, Russia. I begin with an examination of local conceptualizations of the past, present, and future and how they are imagined in places and spaces. Drawing on 65 days of fieldwork, in-depth interviews, informal discussion, and participant-observation, I elaborate on what I am calling a confrontation with physical triggers of self in connection to place, including imaginations of the countryside and village, sacred and ritual spaces, landscapes, and the environment. I also explore how the anxieties embedded in narratives …

Body, Speech And Mind: Negotiating Meaning And Experience At A Tibetan Buddhist Center, Amanda S. Woomer

Anthropology Theses

Examining an Atlanta area Tibetan Buddhist center as a symbolic and imagined borderland space, I investigate the ways that meaning is created through competing narratives of spirituality and “culture.” Drawing from theories of borderlands, cross-cultural interaction, narratives, authenticity and material culture, I analyze the ways that non-Tibetan community members of the Drepung Loseling center navigate through the interplay of culture and spirituality and how this interaction plays into larger discussions of cultural adaptation, appropriation and representation. Although this particular Tibetan Buddhist center is only a small part of Buddhism’s existence in the United States today, discourses on authenticity, representation and …

Embodied Identities: Negotiating The Self Through Flamenco Dance, Pamela Ann Caltabiano

Anthropology Theses

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Atlanta, this study analyzes how transnational practices of, and discourse about, flamenco dance contribute to the performance and embodiment of gender, ethnic, and national identities. It argues that, in the context of the flamenco studio, women dancers renegotiate authenticity and hybridity against the backdrop of an embodied “exot-ic” passion.

Old Stories, New Narratives: Public Archaeology And The Politics Of Display At Georgia's Official Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center, Erin Leigh Andrews

Anthropology Theses

Presenting a case study of an American Indian exhibit at the Funk Heritage Center, I critically examine how this museum’s ideologies and preferred pedagogies shape public discourse about Southeastern Indians in the past and present. Using the methodology of Visitor Studies, this public archaeology project illustrates the benefits of incorporating applied anthropology into museological practice through collaboration with museum staff, volunteers, visitors, and American Indians. Operating within the theoretical frameworks of Charles R. Garoian (2001) and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (1991), my results imply that inserting archaeological narratives into institutional pedagogy alters a museum’s traditional “performance” of the past by challenging its …

A Prison Within A Prison: Segregation Of Hiv Positive Inmates And Double Stigma, Emily Hilyer Gaskin

Anthropology Theses

Although the majority of state prison systems have made the move away from segregated housing for HIV positive inmates, a few still continue this practice. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the experiences of women who have carried the double stigma of being HIV positive prisoners who were segregated within the prison system because of their illness. Drawing on interviews with HIV positive women who served time in a segregated facility and are now released, I was able to explore how double stigma and segregation affect identity and daily life. By asking these women questions about …

Boys' Love And Female Friendships: The Subculture Of Yaoi As A Social Bond Between Women, Amy Ann O'Brien

Anthropology Theses

In this thesis I argue that the yaoi community addresses a gap in subculture studies through the ways in which women use the genre to socialize. Yaoi is a genre of Japanese animation and comics which focuses on romantic relationships between two men and is directly geared towards women. Through ethnographic research in the United States, I look at how the women I interviewed conceptualize their participation within the community and what yaoi means to them. The women within the yaoi community are not rebelliously opposing the mainstream as many subcultural theories suggest, but are instead carving out a social …

Being Italian American: Performing Ethnicity In Atlanta, Stephen Murray

Anthropology Theses

What does it mean to be Italian American in Atlanta? While Italian Americans have lived in urban concentrations in parts of the United States for over a century, members of this ethnic group have been living in Atlanta only in small numbers and for a few decades. Considering theories of ethnicity and performance, this study investigates aspects of Italian American ethnicity in Atlanta. The thesis provides an ethnographic insight into what it means to be an Italian American in Atlanta.

The Effects Of Antiretroviral Access On The Creation And Maintanence Of Hiv-Seropositive Identity., Kyle Patrick Peplinski

Anthropology Theses

The study of identity based on the presence of disease has traditionally focused on landmark events, such as diagnosis or the introduction of treatment options. These events have been shown to significantly alter so-called “illness identities.” The project was undertaken in Atlanta, GA, which has a relatively high rate of HIV infection and a large number of HIV-related services and support mechanisms. This study contextualizes illness identities within a larger socio-political and economic paradigm, recognizing that individuals use multiple identities to inform their interactions and decisions, specifically those regarding the beginning and continuation of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. In addition, structural …

Movement Against Disaster: An Ethnography Of Post-Katrina Volunteerism In The Lower Ninth Ward Of New Orleans, Louisiana, Patrick W. Huff

Anthropology Theses

This thesis explores the experiences and practices of disaster relief volunteers. This thesis is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over a period of fifty-three days in the summer of 2007 at the post-hurricane Katrina Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. Through innovative practices and a commitment to the principle of “solidarity not charity” volunteers produce not just material aid, but an ideology of social justice. This thesis is also an exercise in engaged scholarship in that the author directly participated in the disaster relief effort as a volunteer.