Digital Commons Network^™

Living And Dying With Rats (Essay), Trent Mcfury

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

It is unlikely that a dystopian work would begin with, “Rats have not been seen for centuries, even in Venice.” [...]

Although many species disturb our peace, destroy our crops, and/or are outright dangerous, the eco-existential scaling of a rat (and mice), broonie or pixie-like, makes it a convenient analogical and projective emblem of invasion and subsequent extermination. That which abundantly reproduces, keenly clusters, transforms our bodies, challenges our wits, follows and then remains, travels and then stays, is also a psyche-mirror.

Everything But Wrestling: How Women Wrestlers Perform Dominance, Lauren Gherman

Anthropology Honors Papers

Women’s wrestling continues to grow at the high school level, with more young girls joining the sport each year. Yet, as more women join wrestling, a heavily masculine sport, questions about gender preintimation on women’s teams arise. This study asks three questions about the role of gender on women’s teams: 1) Does an individual’s gender identity, in a heavily gendered sport like wrestling, factor into the development of team culture? 2) What, if any, forms of gendered socialization emerge as women enter wrestling? 3) In what way are women socialized because of their gender? Data was gathered via interviews, in …

Castles, Lands, And Locks: Exploring The Social Capital Of Heritage Sites, Loren Carter

Research Symposium

This Honors thesis aims to analyze the social roles of heritage sites as modes of cultural communication and connection. Through combined ethnographic and archaeological research methods, I argue that while the museumification and industrialization of heritage does provide useful information for populations with little knowledge of cultural processes, the communities most closely related to the heritage sites lose both tangible and intangible cultural connections when their backyards turn to tourist destinations. Studies of heritage have long argued that heritage processes take place not just through tangible heritage artifacts but also through everyday intangible heritage activities (Smith 2006). Throughout this work …

Unearthing Silence: Deaf Archaeology As A Pathway To Social Justice And Accessibility, Abigail H. Steiner

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Deaf archaeology is an emerging field exploring the material culture, spaces, and histories of Deaf communities to understand their social lives and identities. This paper examines Deaf archaeology as a framework for uncovering the historical presence of Deaf individuals and promoting social justice. It begins by defining deafness, contrasting medical and cultural perspectives, then traces the field’s roots in sign language evolution, marginalization, and Deaf education. Through a timeline of findings, the study reveals how Deaf individuals have been recognized or overlooked historically. Engaging with the Southern Tier Deaf community, I explore accessible archaeology and the role of Deaf archaeology …

April 24, 2025 Nagpra And Tribal Relations Committee Meeting Minutes, Bryan Morey

University NAGPRA and Tribal Relations Committee

April 24, 2025 minutes for the WKU NAGPRA and Tribal Relations Committee meeting. Meeting conducted via Zoom.

Towards A Pedagogy Of Unruly Bodyminds, Muhammad Ali Imran, Jane L. Saffitz

Feminist Pedagogy

This commentary underscores critical practices from Jane’s “Unruly Bodies” seminar that Ali, a student in the course and Jane’s advisee, has since mobilized towards anti-colonial organizing. Purposely experimental, the seminar attempted to rethink embodiment as intercorporeal and thus as capable of generating new ways to think about agency and solidarity in contexts marred by forms of militarization, medical violence, and histories of domination. Thinking through our bodyminds as both terrains of contestation and weapons in broader struggles for liberation required us to cultivate a classroom space of radical openness and vulnerability. We describe these efforts, as well as our broader …

Volume 16, Maggie Duncan, Madeline Little, Alicia Hoffman, Megan Livesay, Gabrielle Quaresma, Serenity Allen, Laina Pfountz, Ainslie Allred, Sabrina Robles, Nicholas J. Duellman, Trinity L. Deguzman, Melissa H. Savage, Margaret Dudley, Jocelyn Escobar, Olivia Hildreth, Olivia Hopkins, Benjamin Gettier, Lee Kassay, Jade Riddle, Ashley Seiders

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Artist’s Statement Maggie Duncan

On Mentoring Dr. Lee Millar Bidwell

The Hujum Campaign in Uzbekistan and its Consequences by Madeline Little

Wet Cupping Compared to Dry Needling for Treatment of Patients with Low Back Pain: A Critically Appraised Topic by Alicia Hoffman and Megan Livesay

Optimization of eDNA Air Sampling Via 3D Printed Fan by Gabrielle Quaresma

Beyond the Classroom: A Qualitative Study of Teacher Attrition and Retention by Serenity Allen and Laina Pfountz

The Treatment of Subacromial Impingement Syndrome with Platelet-Rich plasma Injections Verses …

Demography Of Bluff View Cemetery Vermillion, Sd, Ellie E. Schwartz

Honors Thesis

Cemeteries offer accessible, rich data for research on demographic reconstruction of past populations. Gravestones can give vital information such as date of birth, date of death, sex/gender, occupation, religious affiliation, and, implicitly, social and cultural values of the community at large (Dethlefsen and Deetz, 1966; Sattenspiel and Stoops, 2010). One of the drawbacks of cemetery data are that they more often than not do not provide details of the cause of death for an individual or in some rare occasions cause of death is on the gravestones (e.g., colonial graves during the tuberculosis outbreak in New England would often list …

Sex Differences In Adult Frailty At The Late-Terminal Classic (C. 750-1000 Ce) Maya Site Of Lower Dover, Rose Rioux

Honors Thesis

While it has been suggested that the compounded effects of population growth and climatic pressures over the Classic period (c. 300-1000 CE) led to a health crisis among the Maya, there is no current knowledge of whether there were significant sex differences in risks of mortality and frailty associated with metabolic stressors. This research assesses sex differences in frailty and mortality of adults (n=52) from the medium-sized Maya polity of Lower Dover in the upper Belize River Valley from the Late Preclassic (c. 300 BCE-150 CE) to Terminal Classic (c. 750-1000 CE). Osteological methods of estimating age and sex were …

The Middle-(Un)Man Of Desire: A Girardian Reading Of Perelandra, Clinton Manley

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

The French polymath René Girard presents a compelling argument that all desire is mimetic. According to Girard, we don’t actually know what we want; instead, we imitate the desires of others. These models of desire act as mediators, indicating what objects or ways of being are worth pursuing. For Girard, desire exists in this middle place between a subject, a model, and an object. He famously argues that all great literature leverages an awareness of mimetic dynamics; the greater the work, the more mimetically perspicacious the author.

Given Girard’s theory, we would expect the greatest fantasy authors to erect their …

Translation And Migration, Utopia And Dystopia: Representations Of The Labor Of Cultural Mediation In Fictional Eastern Europe And The Real Us-Mexico Border, James L. Richie Iv

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

With the publication of Moira Inghilleri’s book, Translation and Migration (2017), the linguistic act of translation and the social phenomenon of migration have been linked in the world of interdisciplinary studies, yet this linkage may obscure the relevance of works in which only one phenomenon (translation or migration) is presented. A case study in which a work exploring migration can be contrasted with a work exploring the function of translation may reveal in one another the social forces that condition both practices. In Lucas Pope’s independently created video game Papers Please (2014), the player embodies a border patrol agent in …

The Anthropology Of Citizenship And Its Importance In Educational Studies, Jagad Aditya Dewantara

Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan

No abstract provided.

Between The Land And The Sea: Belizean Voices In Environmental Governance, Kris-An K. Hinds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coastal communities around the world are at the epicenter of dynamic socio-environmental transformations driven by the impacts of climate change, shifting human–more-than-human environmental relationships, and the decisions made in response to these challenges. As environmental concerns intensify, the governance decisions made to address these impacts will determine the severity of the impacts and the future of affected coastal areas. In regions such as the Caribbean, Central America, and Latin America, environmental governance is complicated by uneven power dynamics, historical legacies of racialized environmental spaces, and the ongoing challenge of balancing national economic growth with environmental preservation. These transformations are not …

After The Economic Downfall At The Coastal Frontier: A Portrait Of Women Persisting Amidst Sea Abrasion In Northern Bekasi, Muhammad R. A. Ghifari, Gilang Mahadika

Antropologi Indonesia

This article explores the socio-environmental transformations in Muara Gembong, a coastal frontier in northern Bekasi, Indonesia, that once thrived as a hub for shrimp and milkfish farming but is now grappling with environmental degradation and economic decline. By drawing on feminist political ecology (FPE), the study examines how women in the region have adapted to the deteriorating environment, driven by coastal erosion, mangrove loss, and the collapse of fish pond businesses. While men traditionally dominated the local economy as aquaculturists, women have assumed critical roles in sustaining household livelihoods through creative economic activities, such as weaving wlingi laut (Cyperus malaccensis) …

Photo Essay: Japan’S Demographic Changes And Opportunities: A Tale Of Two Cities, Ryoko Yamamoto

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Japan is in the midst of a population implosion. Schools struggle to fill classrooms, and vacant houses are a common sight in smaller towns. While the demographic shift makes it difficult to sustain traditional ways of life, it also brings opportunities for new possibilities. This essay highlights the challenges and opportunities of demographic change through the stories of two communities: Tsushima City in Aichi Prefecture and Ikuno Ward in Osaka City. In Tsushima, residents have embraced a more inclusive approach to their autumn festival, inviting women and non-residents to perform roles previously reserved for male residents. In Ikuno, a closed …

Gendered Rehabilitation: Male And Female Offenders' Experiences In Reintegration, Ellie Hansen

Student Research Symposium

• Gender: Socially constructed roles, behaviors, and expectations assigned to women, men, girls, and boys (World Health Organization).
• Gender specific (responsive) programing: Tailored interventions addressing distinct learning styles, relationship dynamics, and life circumstances of men and women (The Oregon Intermediate Sanctions for Female Offenders Policy Group 1995).
• Recidivism: Relapse into criminal behavior after sanctions or interventions (NIJ).
• Reentry: The inevitable consequence of incarceration (Visher 2015).
• Rehabilitation: Programs reducing crime by addressing root causes and improving reintegration outcomes (NIJ).
• Reintegration: Reconnecting individuals with societal institutions as both a process and goal (Visher 2015).

Lubiya (El-Khirbeh): A Late Hellenistic, Roman And Early Byzantine Village In Lower Galilee, Yardenna Alexandre, Michal Oren-Paskal, Gil Tsioni

Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel

A small archaeological excavation carried out in 2005–2007 on a hilltop in the Lavi Forest in Lower Galilee uncovered a small area of the village of Lubiya that was settled in the Late Hellenistic to early Byzantine periods. The earliest exposed building complex was constructed on the bedrock and comprised parts of two residential units with a shared long wall, an internal courtyard and several rooms. An underground complex beneath the units comprised individual basement storage elements that were subsequently joined to form an underground hiding complex, dated by the associated finds to the time of the First Jewish Revolt …

Freedom Lyrics, Lily Allan

The Civil Rights Movement (HIS/BLS 347) Zine Project

No abstract provided.

Painting Stories And Filming Change, Coralynn V. Davis

Faculty Contributions to Books

Mithila Art has helped illuminate various aspects of the relationship between gendered Maithil social roles and Maithil women’s narratives in connection with a feminist participatory action research project conducted primarily in 2016-2017 in and around the northern Bihari town of Madhubani. While participatory action research philosophically and methodologically attends to process as much as product, Mithila Art played a role in the process and product of making a documentary film and in our capacity to understand and communicate with varied audiences about shifting Maithil gender norms. The research and filmic project provided insight into the complex relationship among the stories …

Vital Language Practices And Attitudes Among The Lumbee, Deven A. Hull

Senior Theses

The longstanding interest among linguists and linguistic anthropologists in Indigenous languages has increasingly adopted a Critical Indigenous framework, which has been promoted by Indigenous scholars and community leaders as a means of decolonizing “salvage” collection of Indigenous language materials. An important aspect of Critical Indigenous theory is the framework of vitality—that is, an emphasis in literature and community practice on the everyday living and lived elements of culture. One means of promoting Indigenous language within this Critical framework of vitality that is community-centered is centering vital language practices in community-based archives, which seek not to document the language as it …

Primates From Senèze, Eric Delson

Publications and Research

Senèze has yielded two primate fossils, neither from the recent field work. A partial ulna can be identified as cf. Macaca sylvanus. A nearly complete female skull is the holotype of Dolichopithecus arvernensis Depéret, 1928, now included in Paradolichopithecus. Emended and differential diagnoses are provided for this genus and species for the first time, and the Senèze skull is described and briefly compared to those of other species of the genus. Dental and cranial measurements are provided, along with comparative data. The macaque and Paradolichopithecus are moderately to highly terrestrial, respectively, and they suggest a woodland to more open …

The Blood Moon, Omar Shafi

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

What turns someone into a monster? Is it their nature—or what the world has taken from them? These are the questions at the heart of The Blood Moon, a short story that reimagines the origin of the werewolf myth through a tragic lens. Created for an upper-division honors course titled Monsters and Monstrosity, this project draws from literary research, folklore, and cultural analysis to examine how trauma, grief, and unresolved hatred can transform even the most innocent among us.

Set in a mythic past, The Blood Moon follows Warrei, a young, wolf-like creature known as a Wolven, who loses everything …

“To Ponder And Dream”: Gettysburg’S Conflict Heritage And Cultural Constructions Of History In Its Museums, Camryn Counsil

Student Publications

After providing brief historical context and a review of relevant literature, this paper analyzes four overarching concerns that inform the work of Gettysburg’s museums and historical organizations: ensuring commercial success, including underrepresented stories without alienating visitors, balancing scholarly and emotional approaches, and acknowledging the larger political implications of their choices. Using an anthropological approach, this work shows how these larger economic, social, and political concerns influence the construction of history and memory in a conflict heritage site like Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Unveiling Marginalised Voices: Female Indentured Labourer’S Narratives In Island Literature, Arifah Arum Candra Hayuningsih

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

This study examines the lives of female indentured labourers from Java and India, as portrayed in Liliane Saintomer's La Bayou de Nouméa à Jakarta (2016) and Gaiutra Bahadur's Coolie Woman (2013). Both authors, grandchildren of the central characters, offer personal and historical insights. The research explores how these novels enhance our understanding of the complex identities and lived experiences of female indentured labourers in colonial contexts. It investigates memory as a site of resistance, reclaiming silenced narratives and addressing the shared struggles of Javanese and Indian women in plantation life.

Res Historica, Volume 4, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2025 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Samuel Sanders, and Julia Ackerman. The cover art for this volume is an open access image.

Suspended Agency And The Habitus Of Waiting In A Migrant Shelter In Tijuana, Liam K. Ogden Iii

Senior Theses

This thesis explores idea of suspended agency and the development of a habitus of waiting within a women and children’s migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. Relying on ten days of participant observation and an interview with a shelter director, I examine the lived experiences of residents, workers, and myself as a researcher navigating humanitarian space. Shelters are designed to be short term spaces, but migrants are often forced into long-term, uncertain stays due to restrictive border policies and structural barriers, resulting in a social stasis defined by boredom, anxiety, and monotony within the shelter. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of habitus …

Stop Looking Away: On The Zone Of Interest And Palestine, Trevor J. Matteson

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest is a radical interrogation of complicity, silence, and the carefully curated distance that enables atrocity to unfold in full view. Through a cinematic language defined by absence - of violence, of sentimentality, of conventional storytelling - Glazer collapses the walls between the viewer and the horror we are trained to ignore. The film’s haunting sound design, unflinching cinematography, and alienating formal strategies construct a domestic world nestled against a genocide, daring us to recognize our own proximity to suffering. By situating the Hoss family’s banal cruelty alongside the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the essay …

Controlling The Narrative: How The United Daughters Of The Confederacy Shaped Collective Memory Through Romance Novels, Karie L. Cobb

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While existing scholarship on the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) reveals the immense influence the organization wielded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, I assert that their legacy has had a broader and more insidious reach than previously believed. Through close analysis of two foundational romance novelists’ works published during the rapid escalation of the genre’s popularity, I contend that the rhetoric of the UDC shaped generations of Southerners as demonstrated through repetitions and parallels of the Lost Cause ideology found in UDC publications and sponsored materials within romance novels written by white Southern women who came of age …

Crusading Against Vice In The Progressive Era: American Anti-Profanity Leagues And Their Legacy, Evan J. Christensen

Roland D. Sawyer Scholarship Papers

During the Progressive Era in the United States, the rise of Anti-Profanity Leagues—such as those led by Roland D. Sawyer and Arthur S. Colborne—mirrored a growing national moral sentiment against profanity that aligned with broader ideals of social reform and public virtue. These leagues responded to widespread concerns about the perceived erosion of public decency and sought to promote “clean speech” through grassroots organizing, religious engagement, and civic advocacy. This paper situates the Anti-Profanity Leagues within the larger framework of Progressive Era moral reform movements, including temperance, anti-vice campaigns, and social purity efforts. Drawing on period newspapers, archival materials, and …

The Semantics Of Sin: Profanity, Reform, And Cultural Authority In Progressive America, Evan J. Christensen

Roland D. Sawyer Scholarship Papers

During the Progressive Era, language reform movements such as the Anti-Profanity League sought to regulate everyday speech as part of broader efforts to preserve public morality and cultural identity. This paper examines the rhetorical strategies and cultural assumptions underpinning the anti-profanity crusade, focusing especially on Reverend Roland D. Sawyer’s leadership. Using historical sources including league literature, newspaper accounts, personal letters, organizational records, and sermons, it argues that profanity was framed not merely as a religious or moral failure but as a threat to social cohesion, character, and national values. Efforts to suppress swearing reveal how language functioned as a marker …