Digital Commons Network^™

Evolving Patterns: Conflicting Perceptions Of Cultural Preservation And The State Of Batik’S Cultural Inheritance Among Women Artisans In Guizhou, China, Katherine B. Uram

Lawrence University Honors Projects

My exploration features Miao batik-making in Guizhou Province and explores several sets of overlapping questions. The first set focuses on the status of the craft of Miao batik-making and the perceptions of its future. Is batik-making a dying art form? To what extent is Batik-making a thriving cultural practice today, or do Miao in China (and other ethnic groups involved in batik-making) perceive an inheritance crisis? My next focus is on the role of institutions and the tourism industry. If taught less and less in the domestic sphere (traditions passed from mother to daughter), what role do public domains such …

A House Without A Roof, Adam Golfer

Theses and Dissertations

A House Without a Roof (AHWAR) is a project that scrutinizes the histories of violence and displacement connecting Europe, Israel, and Palestine. With photographs, appropriated imagery, and texts, I weave together fictions of my family history with representations from Israel’s founding and ongoing military occupation. Ethnic and national identities are ruptured and reassembled as the project interrogates contradictory histories and notions of selfhood. AHWAR questions how we understand global conflict and trauma in light of our individual experience.

Reconstructing Prehistoric Human/Plant Relationships At Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico Through A Microfossil Analysis Of Dental Calculus, Daniel James King

Theses and Dissertations

As part of a multinational project and with the help of other professionals, I gathered and analyzed 110 samples of dental calculus (fossilized plaque) from human remains discovered at Paquimé and the Convento site in the Casas Grandes River valley to identify various microfossils still present in the silica matrix. Once identified, I used the results to reconstruct human/plant relationships present during the Viejo (700-1250 CE) and Medio (1250-1450 CE) periods in and around Paquimé. My data suggest that maize was used throughout both time periods, supplemented by wild plants, and possible marine resources. Further, evidence for cultural food modification …

Tourism And Ethnicity In Insular Southeast Asia: Eating, Praying, Loving And Beyond, Kathleen M. Adams

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The late 20th century landscape of tourism and ethnicity studies in insular Southeast Asia has tended to emphasize a set of dominant themes, including ethnic commoditization in tourism and tourist arts; the politics of touristic ethnicity; tourism and cultural development; and the performative dimension of inter- and intra-ethnic touristic encounters. How have these earlier research themes transformed in our current era of intensified neoliberalism, cyber-connectivity and mobility? This article draws from the title of the blockbuster 2010 film Eat Pray Love (partially set in Bali) to highlight several emergent 21st century themes that bear relevance for our understanding of the …

A Means To An End: Articulations Of Diasporic Blackness, Class And Survival Among Female Afro-Caribbean Service Workers In New York City, Christine A. Pinnock

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the oral histories and personal narratives of Afro-Caribbean women who migrated to New York from 1961-2008 and explores how they articulate and negotiate multiple identities surrounding diasporic Blackness, class, and gender. This dissertation studies Afro-Caribbean women in the spaces they live namely, the Northeast Bronx, New York City, and Westchester and takes an interdisciplinary approach to theorize Afro-Caribbean women's experiences. Based on ethnographic research conducted over two and a half years, this study explores the challenges of Afro-Caribbean women working in the service sector who perform as: domestics, healthcare workers, retail workers, and food service workers and …

Ecology Of Conflict: Marine Food Supply Affects Human-Wildlife Interactions On Land, Kyle A. Artelle, Sean Anderson, John D. Reynolds, Andrew B. Cooper, Paul C. Paquet, Chris T. Darimont

Human-Animal Interactions Collection

Human-wildlife conflicts impose considerable costs to people and wildlife worldwide. Most research focuses on proximate causes, offering limited generalizable understanding of ultimate drivers. We tested three competing hypotheses (problem individuals, regional population saturation, limited food supply) that relate to underlying processes of human-grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) conflict, using data from British Columbia, Canada, between 1960–2014. We found most support for the limited food supply hypothesis: in bear populations that feed on spawning salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), the annual number of bears/km2killed due to conflicts with humans increased by an average of 20% (6–32% [95% CI]) for each 50% …

Beyond Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learned Information In Forodhani Park, Jaimie Lynn Mulligan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This ethnographic study examines Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Mji Mkongwe (Stone Town), Zanzibar, and how ecological knowledge shared by locals on the island is formed and is shared among locals in a park setting. Using a framework of political ecology, this study specifically highlights ecological pressures of local population growth, global climate change on a local scale, and local economic changes as the key drivers for the creation and cultural importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. To discover both the ecological pressures and the examples of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, I conducted semi-structured, open-ended interviews in Forodhani Park, a public park on …

Bending And Binding: What Builds And Bounds The Ashtanga Yoga Community, Rosealie P. Lynch

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This thesis is an examination of how Ashtanga practitioners engage one another over issues of authority and community boundaries as they define and defend their commitment to a shared tradition. My analysis is grounded in ethnographic research from interviews with 10 Ashtanga yoga practitioners and in multi-sited participant observation conducted in Mysore, India at the Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI) and in various Ashtanga yoga practice settings in northwestern Virginia, U.S.A. In each chapter, I draw on practitioners’ practice narratives to analyze the relationship of an individual practitioner to her community and the importance of membership in …

Global Gains, Local Costs? Evaluating The Nexus Of Industrial Agriculture, Conservation Science, And Rural Livelihoods In The African Tropics, Rachel E. Palkovitz

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Industrial agriculture and protected areas for biodiversity conservation are two major drivers of land use policy in the African tropics, with consequences for both biodiversity and rural human populations. In Tanzania, conservation and development have led to the marginalization of pastoralists, including and especially rural Maasai. I examine how local perceptions of land use and livelihoods are influenced by recent and historical expansion of protected areas and large-scale industrial crop plantations in Longido, northern Tanzania. Using the framework of political ecology, I situate the emergence of industrial agriculture, especially that of palm oil, and protected areas in the African tropics …

Environmental Conservation As An Instrument Of National Political Economy: Culture, Livelihoods, And Territorial Rights Of The Emberá Of Panama, Sara M. Taylor

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper argues that areas of environmental conservation in the Panama Canal Watershed Zone were originally designed to fit an economic utility rather than to protect habitat. As a result there was an exclusion of forest-based communities in policy design and implementation, creating lasting impacts on indigenous Emberá territorial rights, livelihood opportunities, and traditional cultural practices. Based on recent fieldwork and a review of relevant secondary literature, this paper discusses how Emberá communities in in Chagres National Park have adapted their culture and livelihoods to accommodate environmental regulation and explores what prospects the Emberá see for future generations if they …

Young, Urban, Professional, And Kenyan?: Conversations Surrounding Tribal Identity And Nationhood, Charlotte Achieng-Evensen

Educational Studies Dissertations

By asking the question “How do young, urban, professional Kenyans make connections between tribal identity, colonialism, and the lived experience of nationhood?,” the researcher engages with eight participants in exploring their relationships with their tribal groups. From this juncture the researcher, through a co-constructed process with participants, interrogates the idea of nationhood by querying their interpretations of the concepts of power and resistance within their multi-ethnic societies. The utility of KuPiga Hadithi as a cultural responsive methodology for data collection along with poetic analysis as part of the qualitative tools of examination allowed the researcher to identify five emergent and …

Place(Ment), Ashley Lynn Byers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout her time at the University of Arkansas Master of Fine Arts program, Ashley Byers has been creating work about the folklore, landscape, and people of the Ozarks. Though she continues to create work with the Ozarks in mind, it became a motif used for a broader conversation about the ad hoc, holiness, painting, landscape, the figure, and intimacy.

In many ways, the concepts within her work are born out of the Ozarks.

When can remnants come together to become more than the sum of their parts? Derelict, easily dismissed objects, when set in the right context or viewed through …

Impromptu Domesticity: Housing Adaptations By The Marshallese In Springdale, Ar, Kera Lathan

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study analyzes the relationship between people and their spatial environment through the lens of cultural practices and experiences. By using theories of cultural identity and activity patterns to compare spatial usage in two differing circumstances, this study will help to better understand the spatial needs of Marshallese living in Springdale, Arkansas.

The analysis uses two in-depth interviews to establish a base of qualitative data to understand the unique needs of this specific population. Through constructs such as spatial fluidity, sharing culture, and ability to adapt to new spatial practices, the two cases are compared to one another in order …

A Gis-Based Investigation Into Social Violence And Settlement Patterns In The Gallina Area Of The American Southwest, Adam Muir Byrd

Anthropology ETDs

The Gallina area is an ideal location for an investigation into social violence using GIS-based methods. Situated in northern New Mexico, the remote Gallina region and the Gallina phase (A.D. 1100\u20131300) in particular have a clear record of violence that peaked in the latter half of the 13th Century (Borck and Bremer 2015; Constan 2011). Although there is an abundant record of violence, the source of the violence remains unclear. Were the Gallina attacked by an outside group or groups? Did the Gallina turn on each other? Or was some combination of internecine conflict and foreign attacks to blame? The …

In Pursuit Of My Eye: A Book Of Photographs, Amanda Piela

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This book progresses chronologically through photos that represent pivotal moments in my life. I carefully selected the photos I have included in the book from thousands of photographs that I had never so much as even looked at after I shot them and dumped them onto hard drives. The book functions as a way to organize my journey through photography and extrapolate on what I have learned over the years. I refer to teachers, professors, peers and advisors that have influenced me in countless ways as well as friends that have modeled for me and supported me over the years. …

The Western Diet's Negative Impact On The Health Of The Pacific Islands., Jessica Ruikka

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

In an already challenging environment, the Western diet has introduced noncommunicable diseases (NCD) such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease to the Pacific Islands (PIC). Without modern medicine, many of these regions, including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia are ill equipped to handle the long-term effects of these noncommunicable diseases. A high percentage of the Pacific Island population is obese and overweight; and the Islands are struggling to combat the epidemic. Many programs and proposals have been implemented, such as changes in trade policy, local activism, and government modifications, but there has been no evidence of a decline in noncommunicable diseases. There …

Trade And Transport In Late Roman Syria, Christopher Wade Fletcher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the relative notoriety and miraculous level of preservation of the Dead Cities of Syria, fundamental questions of economic and subsistence viability remain unanswered. In the 1950s Georges Tchalenko theorized that these sites relied on intensive olive monoculture to mass export olive oil to urban centers. Later excavations discovered widespread cultivation of grains, fruit, and beans which directly contradicted Tchalenko’s assertion of sole reliance on oleoculture. However, innumerable olive presses in and around the Dead Cities still speak to a strong tradition of olive production. This thesis tests the logistical viability of olive oil transportation from the Dead Cities to …

Yushin Huemena: Visions Of The Spirit World, Art, Design, Medicine And Protective Spirits In Shipibo Ritual, Warren M. Hern

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Ceramic Analysis And Radiocarbon Dating, Savana Deems

Symposium of Student Scholars

Ceramic Analysis and Radiocarbon Dating

Savana Deems

Student Scholar Symposium Spring 2016

Radiocarbon dating is not always a fool proof method of dating an archaeological site. There are many factors that can skew the data, such as back fill for a cultural feature coming from an area where a forest fire occurred thousands of years before, or at the very least, this data may not give the entire narrative of the occupation of a site. Sometimes a project may not be able to afford the hundreds of dollars required per sample to analyze charcoal remains. Ceramics however, are free to …

Sowing Seeds Of Opportunity: The Convergence Of Agriculture And Acculturation For Refugees In Atlanta, Cameron Owens Dunlap

Symposium of Student Scholars

In 2015, there were 60 million people displaced by conflict and persecution. With refugees and asylees arriving en masse in foreign receiving countries, it is critical that host nations utilize methods of resettlement and integration that are both beneficial and sensitive to the needs of these vulnerable populations. This study documents an innovative win-win approach to community integration that benefits both hosts and refugees alike. Qualitative data was collected through more than 10 sessions of participant observation on community farms and more than 7 semi-structured interviews with program management and refugees to answer the question, what opportunities for these refugee …

Blue Eyes On Red Lists: Conservation And The Future Of The Blue-Eyed Black Lemur, Katherine Meier

Award Winning Anthropology Papers

The family Lemuridae represents a large and important group within the order Primate. Today, lemurs—endemic to Madagascar—are the most threatened mammal group on Earth. Almost every one of the 100-plus recognized species suffers from habitat destruction and other anthropogenic pressures. The IUCN lists the blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons) as critically endangered. Models suggest it will go extinct within the next decade and so far, conservation efforts have so far yielded little measurable success. For the blue-eyed black lemur, captive populations—typically serving as buffers against extinction— are experiencing problems that keep them from being viable for reintroduction into …

Integrative 3d Recording Methods Of Historic Architecture: Burg Hohenecken From Southwest Germany, Aaron C. Pattee

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This research explores the methodology and application of photogrammetric and laser-scanning recording methods to a castle ruin, with the primary purpose of digitally preserving the castle. Both methods generated interactive 3D models via the combination of still images (photogrammetry) and precise laser measurements (laser-scanning), which were then combined into a single model. The case study is the medieval castle ruin Burg Hohenecken located in the city of Kaiserslautern in southwest Germany. The castle was active from 1212-1689, as one of over fifty castles within the region of the Pfalz. The inhabitants included the noble von Hoheneck family and various …

Nature Connection: Theory, Evidence And Practice, Matt V. Bukowski

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

This presentation explores scholarly work at the intersection of mental health and the natural world in a variety of disciplines. My intent is to provide an overview of theoretical perspectives, research-based evidence, and clinical practices that support the idea that experiencing the natural world can improve human mental health outcomes.

Where The Water Sheds: Disputed Deposits At The Ends Of The Danube, Tanya Richardson

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Contesting The Political Economy Of Higher Education: Educating The Good Citizen, Alberto Nicotra, Fay Patel Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

In national and international sectors, citizenship is constantly contested, negotiated, and reinvented across geographical boundaries. Higher education institutions around the world have focused on embedding graduate outcomes that characterize the ideal global citizen across the curriculum. International mobility programs promote international staff and student exchanges as a strategy to develop global citizenship. This paper presents a critical review of the notion of global citizenship through the narrative of a doctoral graduate who made his journey as a good citizen within an international mobility context. A research network-based framework is proposed for the higher education sector to assess the impact of …

Middle East Research Institute. Iran: Meri Report. Middle East Research Institute Routledge Revivals. New York: Routledge, 2015., Maryam Kamali

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Navigating Cape Town: A Poetic Cartography, Sam Lin-Sommer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cape Town has long been the site of conflicts over urban space. This study explored the potentials of a place-based poetry workshop as a tool for critically engaging with the urban environment. With the assistance of a well-established local poet, the researcher facilitated a poetry workshop that brought three young and emerging poets to contested public spaces including District Six, Company Gardens, and Church Square. After the workshop, poets submitted their writing to the researcher, who compiled and narrated a poem that showcased the voices of these poets while drawing attention to salient ideas evoked by the poets’ work. The …

Saudi Arabia’S Raison D’Etre: A Challenge To The Authority Of The House Of Saud, Nima Baghdadi

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Niblock, T. State, Society and Economy in Saudi Arabia. New York: Routledge, 2015.
• Helms, C. M. The Cohesion of Saudi Arabia. New York: Routledge, 2015.

Aneesh, A. Neutral Accent: How Language, Labor, And Life Become Global. Durham And London: Duke University Press, 2015., Jobin M. Kanjirakkat Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Anderson, E. W. & L. D. Anderson. An Atlas Of Middle Eastern Affairs 2 Nd Edition. New York: Routledge, 2014., Amr Osman Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.