Digital Commons Network^™

The Disappearance Of Nyoman And Ketut, Laura Michelle Garvie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Claiming The Indomitable Wave: Masculinities, Sexualities, And The Realm Of Surfing In Costa Rica, Joseph C. Recupero

Student Publications

Examining the relationship between masculinity, sexuality, and the sport of surfing in the context of Costa Rica. Questions the nature of emergent counter identities in the hyper-masculine realm of the surfing subculture and the ways in which the emergence of counter identities changes the nature of the subculture. Focuses on the anthropology of sport, the anthropology of sexuality, and theories of territoriality.

‘Community Of Schools’: A Case Study Of Development, Participation And Integration In Cato Manor Township, South Africa, Anthony L. Wagner

Student Publications

By the end of the twentieth century, a subfield of anthropology known as critical development studies emerged - in large part due to the work of James Ferguson and Arturo Escobar - as a critique of post-colonial development programs and NGOs of the West that were at work in much of the developing world - most notably sub-Saharan Africa. Development was largely panned by these early researchers as a means by which Western powers habituated problems in the developing world so as to create a profitable industry of development. Contemporary anthropological inquiries have called for an increasingly field-based approach to …

Tuning Out By Tuning In, Chris Wallace

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

This poster is the result of an ethnography assignment for Anthropology 103.

The aim of this research project was to answer two questions: How does the use of personal technology impact interactions between students and non-academic college employees, such as receptionists, cashiers and advisors? How does the use of personal technology impact how the student interacts with the professor, inside the classroom and out? The primary focus of the study was not to gather empirical data, but to observe and record the perceptions and reactions of participants.

Marketing To Parkland College Students: The Shadowed Market, Willie Morris

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

This poster is the result of an ethnography assignment for Anthropology 103. For this research project the student interviewed the managers of several local businesses in Champaign, Illinois, to find out how they market to Parkland College students. He found that almost none of the businesses specifically market to Parkland students and only 1 in 5 businesses had associations with the college. He also concluded that Parkland College students are a hidden market overshadowed by a much larger university. This is likely due to the international prestige and worldwide popularity of the University of Illinois, as well as the university’s …

Pathway To Pathways: Examining Influences For Choosing Parkland Pathways, Tabitha Hanson

Ethnographies of Parkland Student Life

This poster is the result of an ethnography assignment for Anthropology 103. The Student conducted a research project that examines why students choose to enroll in the Pathways program at Parkland as opposed to: 1) becoming a non-Pathways Parkland student who will transfer to the University of Illinois; or 2) Beginning their college career at the University of Illinois. Her research shows that most local students who know about Parkland and have a strong interest in attending the University of Illinois consider the Parkland Pathways program as the best option.

Paper Wall: The Law As A Tool Of Social Division For Courtroom Officials, Aiden J. Egglin

Student Publications

The legal system is implicit with biases that shape how it runs on a larger scale, even if its individual members are hesitant about discussing racial, gender, etc. bias.

Changes In Middle Holocene Shellfish Harvesting Practices: Evidence From Labouchere Bay (49-Pet-476), Southeast Alaska, Mark R. Williams

Anthropology Graduate Student Publications

This paper uses zooarchaeology and community paleoecology to interpret the invertebrate assemblage from a middle Holocene shell midden in Southeast Alaska. The composition of midden 13.3 at Labouchere Bay (AHRS# 49-PET-746), which was occupied between 6,500 and 2,500 calendar years before present, reflects changes in how the human inhabitants of the site interacted with intertidal shellfish communities. The amount of shellfish from soft substrate habitats (mudflats) did not change significantly over time, while the amount of shellfish from hard substrate habitats (rocky tide pools) declined. This trend in the relative abundance of these shellfish in the midden may have been …

A Wampum Basket From New England: Discovery Of An Account Providing Verification Of An Oral Tradition, Marshall Joseph Becker

Anthropology & Sociology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Women’S Role In Their Reproductive Process: The Effects Of Authoritative Knowledge And Biomedical Interventions On The American Birth Experience, Shannon Sheffey

Masters Theses

The primary focus of this study is to analyze the effects of authoritative knowledge and biomedical interventions on women’s role within their reproductive process as it occurs within the US.I explore the technological advances surrounding childbirth practices within the United States and how through this technology, biomedical forms of authoritative knowledge of birth practices have developed and how these changes have benefitted as well as hindered women. Through interviews and interactions with mothers and pregnant women I evaluate how medical interventions emotionally and physically affect women; evaluate the necessity of increasing technological interventions as opposed to low technology midwifery assisted …

Paese Di Accoglienza: Il Successo Di Un Modello Innovativo Di Accoglienza Dei Richiedenti Asilo In Italia, Isabela Arena Secanechia

Senior Capstone Theses

This work discusses Italy's migrant reception system including its flaws and their effects. Furthermore, this work explores an alternative, sustainable model of migrant reception created in Riace, Calabria, that has been successful in varying towns across Italy. Ultimately, this work argues that this system, which is beneficial to both Italians and incoming migrants — specifically asylum seekers — can and should be implemented nationally to counter the current flawed system.

All Hail Helix: The Internet’S Role In The Creation Of Culture And Narrative, Margaret Furtner 17

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

Ethnographic Design Lab Final Report: How Smithscape Came To Be, Geena Choo, Yoon Roh, Danyi Zeng

Anthropology: Student Work

No abstract provided.

Burial Plots: Finding Theatre In The Thanatology Of Colonial North Coast Peru, Connie Ericksen

Theses and Dissertations

Spain's invasion of the Andes initiated a social drama unprecedented in the experience of the Andean natives. Spanish and Spanish-conscripted native chroniclers wrote extensively about Inca pageantry, spectacle, and ritual, and hastily attributed pagan belief to performances they witnessed or heard about. With equal haste, the Spanish appropriated performance as means of introducing and enforcing Christianity. In this thesis, I treat performance as the central feature of Andean Colonial transition. Performance may be viewed as an ephemeral feature of the Andean transition but fortunately, in mortuary performances (dealing with death and treatment of the body); there are many theatrical elements …

Geographies Of Textile Authenticity: Marking Tongan Temporal And Social Relationships In Diasporic Cultural Production, Ping-Ann Addo

Pacific Studies

This study examines the production of traditional ngatu (bark cloth) and synthetic ngatu pepa among Tongan women, focusing on how these textile practices mediate cultural identity across diasporic spaces.

How The Tā-Vā Theory Of Reality Constructs A Spatial Exposition Of Samoan Architecture, Albert L. Refiti

Pacific Studies

This essay deals with a spatial exposition of Hufanga ʻOkusitino Māhina theory of tā-vā in which I argue that traditional Pacific concepts are recharged and extended by Māhina to create a new branch in Pacific Thought. I show that there is a consistency in the tā-vā theory of reality if one were to diagram its main tenets and, by doing so, enables the exposition of parts that sketch-out an overall form of theory. I also argue that doing theory is important to Pacific Thought because it allows for traditions and customs to be coiled-up into concepts allowing them to be …

Introduction: Tā-Vā (Time-Space): The Birth Of An Indigenous Moana Theory, Maui-Tāvā-He-Ako, Tēvita O. Ka‘Ili, Hūfanga, ‘Ōkusitino Māhina, Kula-He-Fonua, Ping-Ann Addo

Pacific Studies

An introduction to the special issue of the Pacific Studies Journal themed, "TĀ-VĀ (TIME-SPACE): THEORY OF REALITY".

Time, Space, And Culture: A New Tā-Vā Theory Of Moana Anthropology, Hūfanga, ‘Ōkusitino Māhina

Pacific Studies

This paper is primarily concerned with the formulation of a tā-vā theory of Moana anthropology. It does so by investigating the narrower conflicting formal and substantial relationships between Moana cultures as a form of social activity and Moana anthropology as a type of disciplinary practice in the broader complex interplay of temporality and spatiality. As a way forward, the paper calls into question the Moana phenomenon, exploring the formality, substantiality, and functionality of things within and across nature, mind and society, in the wider context of the tā-vā theory of reality. On this philosophical basis, the formulation of a tā-vā …

Tā-Vā Kāinga, Time-Space Relationships Theory Of Reality And Tongan Students Journey To Academic Achievement In New Zealand Tertiary Education, Telesia Kalavite

Pacific Studies

Tongan students’ academic achievement results when the different contexts of kāinga tā-vā, time-space relationships intersect or interact disharmoniously or harmoniously within and between the Tongan and Western cultures, especially between the students and the bureaucracy (puleʻanga), their families (fāmili), church (siasi), and wider group (their fonua/kāinga). Furthermore, inflexibility or flexibility within the two cultural relationships in terms of tā (time) and vā (space) by all parties could release social tensions, which can, if left to their own devices, provide obstacles to critical learning, or by mediating them through sustained harmony, can consequently …

Takohi: Drawing In Tongan Thinking And Practice, Hūfanga, ‘Ōkusitino Māhina

Pacific Studies

This original essay critically examines takohi as drawing in Tongan thinking and practice, which is connected with the intersecting or connecting and separating kohi (lines) and va (spaces) across the three divisions of Tongan art, notably tufunga (material) and nimamea’a (fine) arts. The word kohi is the older form of tohi, both of which mean “line.” Kohi, like tohi, is an expression of ta (time). By virtue of the indivisibility of ta (time) and va (space) in reality, as in nature, mind, and society, takohi (drawing) is equal to ta-va (time-space), with ta (time) spatially-composed and va (space) as temporally-marked. …

Circles Of Self: Tā-Vā Expressed In Traditional Samoan Dance, Culture And Self, Dianna M. Georgina

Pacific Studies

This study examines the tā-vā (time-space) theory and its application to Samoan cultural expression, particularly through the lens of the traditional Samoan dance.

Tatau: Symmetry As Conflict Mediation Of Line– Space Intersection, Sēmisi F. Potauaine

Pacific Studies

From a Tongan context, tatau (symmetry) also means mirror image, image, copy, likeness, same, and equal, among other things. My theoretical inquiry into tatau revolves around the tā-vā (time-space) theory of reality, which basically recognizes the philosophical fact that all things in reality stand in eternal relations of exchange, giving rise to order or conflict. By extension, the theory also takes into account the historical fact that because of these never-ending exchange connections, order and conflict are of the same logical order in that order is a form of conflict.

Samoan Cultural Perceptions Of Tā-Vā, Unasa L. F. Va‘A

Pacific Studies

This study examines the historical development and cultural significance of tā (time) and vā (space) concepts across Polynesian societies, with particular emphasis on Samoan cultural frameworks.

Vol. 40 No. 1/2 (2017): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and …

Concepts Of Tā-Vā (Time-Space) In The Art Practice Of Samoa-Aotearoa Artist Shigeyuki Kihara, Pamela Rosi

Pacific Studies

My paper considers concepts of tā-vā (time-space theory of reality) in the interdisciplinary art practice of Pacific Islander Shigeyuki Kihara, whose art is internationally acclaimed for its beauty, social criticism, and Moana identity linked to ties of community. With creative examples, I explore how Kihara’s constructions of tā-vā (a) reclaim Samoan histories and identities by subverting western fantasies of “dusky maidens” and a timeless South Seas Paradise; (b) challenge western binary norms of heterosexuality and gender from the traditional space (vā) she occupies as a fa‘afafine; and (c) embody Samoan deities to honor Moana spirituality and epistemologies. …

Tatau: Symmetry, Harmony, And Beauty In The Art Of Sēmisi Fetokai Potauaine, Kolokesa Uafā Māhina-Tuai

Pacific Studies

Tatau: Symmetry, Harmony, and Beauty in the Art of Sēmisi Fetokai Potauaine is generally informed by the tā-vā (time-space) theory of art and Tongan ethnography. This paper will look specifically at the body of works created by Potauaine for his exhibition Tatau: Fenāpasi ‘oe Fepaki / Tatau: Symmetry, Harmony, and Beauty held at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, from July to October 2010. This exhibition and its associated catalog of which I was cocurator and coeditor, respectively, included ten multimedia works ranging from tufunga tākupesi (graphic designing), tufunga tātongitongi (sculpture), and tufunga tākohikupesi (sculptural …

Nabataean Subadult Mortuary Practices, Courtney Dotson Ewert

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides the beginnings of further research on the correlation between Nabataean mortuary practices and specific biological age ranges. It seeks to answer the question of whether Nabataean infants were absent from, or under-represented, in Nabataean cemeteries. Several quantitative analyses and descriptive statistics were performed, comparing Nabataean adult and subadult burials from fourteen sites. Nabataean cemetery populations were also compared with Walter Scheidel's model life table. These analyses demonstrate that Nabataean burials typically consisted of either a single adult or multiple individuals of various age ranges. Subadults, individuals under the age of 20 years, were rarely found buried by …

Alaska Native Artifacts; Eskimos And Aleuts Of The Bering Sea Rhythm Of The Sea Collection, Marcia Sue Taylor

Masters Theses

“Only his artifacts provide his earthly testimony” (Thiry 1977, p. 5). The purpose of the research is to catalogue Eskimo and Aleut artifacts that comprise an unprovenienced (anonymous) collection in the Anthropology Department at Western Michigan University, and provide a corresponding ethnography. This will be accomplished in two ways: (1) a museum curation project, and (2) an ethnographic study that will focus on cultural synthesis within the parameters of artistic styles of harpoon head artifacts and geography as these pertain to the artifacts and their distribution. Analysis of the collection’s harpoon heads will provide both artistic and inventive evidence of …

Anything But Race: Content Analysis Of Racial Discourse, Christopher Smith

Masters Theses

This research adds to previous scholarship on colorblind racism which investigates the ways in which students at Western Michigan University use new language compared to the Jim Crow past to defend or challenge the modern racial order in the United States. Using data collected from 15 voluntary participants I conducted a content analysis of participant’s responses to questions regarding race and racism with the purpose of demonstrating the use of colorblind racism or the challenge to the dominant racial order.

Archaeological Evidence Of Architectural Remains At Fort St. Joseph (20be23), Niles, Mi, Erika K. Loveland

Masters Theses

Throughout New France, Native and non-Native peoples frequently interacted as a result of French colonialism. These prolonged relationships affected the ways in which people identified themselves and others around them. To explore this dynamic process, historical archaeologists can examine the material culture left behind. Architectural remains are particularly informative because inhabitants construct their buildings in accordance to their needs and cultural values. Fort St. Joseph, an eighteenth-century mission, garrison, and trading post, is utilized as a case study to examine architecture and how it was employed to express identity. Daily interaction between Native and French peoples in the fur trade …