Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Wabanaki Confederacy, Willard Walker

Maine History

Willard Walker is a Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, at Wesleyan University who lives in Canaan, Maine. He did field work with the Great Whale River Crees in the 1950s and the Passamaquoddies in the 1960s. He wrote “The Proto-Algonquians ” in Linguistics And Anthropology: In Honor Of C. F. Voegelin; “A Chronological Account of the Wabanaki Confederacy, with R .Conkling and G. Buesing in Political Organization Of Native North Americans; “Gabriel Tomah’s Journal,” Man In The Northeast (1981); “Literacy, Wampums, the Gudebuk, and How Indians in the Far Northeast Read, ” Anthropological Linguistics (1984); and …

The Definition Of Fatherhood: In The Words Of Never-Married African American Custodial Mothers And The Noncustodial Fathers Of Their Children, Jennifer F. Hamer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This qualitative study explores the meaning of fatherhood from the perspective of never-married parents. Specifically, the study describes: how African American custodial mothers perceive the roles and responsibilities of their children's fathers; the extent to which these mothers' perceptions and definitions of noncustodial fatherhood are consistent with those of noncustodial fathers and the dominant cultural "ideal"; and what mothers do to enhance men's paternal participation. A convenience sample of 25 never-married,f ormer couples was drawn from the predominantlyA frican American population of a mid-sized Midwestern city. Data was collected via in-depth interviews with each individual respondent. The findings suggest that …

Election Monitoring In Oromia: What Are The Conditions For Democracy?, Frederick C. Gamst

New England Journal of Public Policy

Professor Gamst, a member of the Joint International Observer group (JIOG), reports the problems he monitored during the 1992 electoral campaign and voting activities in the strife-ridden region of Oromia in Ethiopia. His analyses illuminate the background institutional barriers and the politically competitive reasons for the failure of the elections. Gamst discusses the nature of the multitudinous Oromo people and the consequences of any election victory by them for the destiny of Ethiopia. He also describes the sometimes violent aftermaths of the failed election of 1992 and its follow-up election of 1994, in which the Oromo were again denied reasonable …

Nuclear Waste And Native America: The Mrs Siting Exercise, M. V. Rajeev Gowda, Doug Easterling

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Drs. Gowda & Easterling provide cross-cultural perspectives on issues of risk perception, equity and policy as they affect nuclear waste storage on Native American sites.

Words To Live By..."For Isaiah", Shaun Waters

The Griot

No abstract provided.

O Lenço Da Minha Mãe...A Reflection, Alicia Veiga

The Griot

A young Cape Verdean woman reflects on the head scarf worn by her mother. The head scarf serves as a symbol of her mother's strength, culture and constant presence in her life despite a move from Cape Verde to the United States.

Lost Souls, Bryon Williams

The Griot

Poem about the effects of drug addiction.

Larynx, Judithe Andre

The Griot

No abstract provided.

Chronic Love, Shaun Waters

The Griot

No abstract provided.

Cambodian Political Succession In Lowell, Massachusetts, Jeffrey Gerson

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article asks, What factors have in the past affected and will continue to affect the degree of Cambodians' participation and representation in Lowell politics? Gerson argues that five key factors, three internal — coming to terms with the legacy of mistrust resulting from the holocaust wrought by Pol Pot's murderous regime; lacking a tradition of democratic participation in their home country; and generational differences between those who regard themselves as Cambodian and the American-born — and two external — Lowell's two-tiered political system and the response of the city's elected officials to the influx of Southeast Asians that began …

Journal Of Pedagogy, Pluralism And Practice, Volume I (3), Fall 1998 (Full Issue), Journal Staff

Journal of Pedagogy, Pluralism, and Practice

No abstract provided.

The Empire Bites Back: Sherlock Holmes As An Imperial Immune System, Laura Otis

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Trained as a physician in the bacteriological age, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created a detective-hero who acts both like a masterful bacteriologist and an imperial immune system. Doyle's experiences as a doctor in South Africa taught him that the colonies' microbes were his Empire's worst enemy. In 1890, Doyle visited Berlin, where Robert Koch was testing a "cure" for tuberculosis, and in Doyle's subsequent character sketch of Koch, the scientist sounds remarkably like Sherlock Holmes. Based on Doyle's medical instructor Joe Bell, Holmes shares Koch's relentless drive to hunt down and unmask tiny invaders. Imperialism, by the 1880s, had opened …

Introduction, James Jennings

Trotter Review

This is our first annual issue of the Trotter Review. The reader will notice that it is longer than previous issues. A major increase in the number and quality of articles submitted to the Trotter Institute for publication consideration, motivated a change from a bi-annual to an annual edition. We have also decided to formalize a refereed and invitational framework for selecting articles for publication due to the increased number of submissions. As the reader may know, the Trotter Review has utilized a thematic approach to each issue since 1991. This practice will continue since it allows the journal …

Obstacles Facing New African-American Faculty At Predominantly White Colleges And Universities, Keith Mcelroy

Trotter Review

Many African-Americans beginning their first faculty appointment at predominantly white colleges and universities may be in for a surprise. They may be under the illusion that engaging in good publishing, good teaching, and to a lesser degree, good service will ensure their advancement to tenure. Although many authors have explained in detail the consequences of not publishing, few have focused on the obstacles involved in obtaining good teaching evaluations. In many instances, African-American faculty may find their teaching evaluations are based on students' personal opinions rather than on the professors' pedagogical approaches.

This essay will examine some of the obstacles …

African-American Enrollment And Retention In Higher Education: An Application Of Game Theory, Kofi Lomotey, Mwalimu J. Shujaa, Thresa A. Nelson-Brown, Shariba Rivers Kyles

Trotter Review

This study is a qualitative analysis of perceptions of institutional commitment to the enrollment and retention of African-American students at one institution. The study, which was funded by the Spencer Foundation, was conducted at Oberlin College and is based on 31 interviews of students, faculty, administrators, and staff. At many predominantly white campuses, low enrollment and poor retention of African-American students is a present and escalating problem. However, Oberlin College has unusually high enrollment and retention rates for African-American students. We wanted to explore the possible reasons for this uniqueness. We relate our findings to the process of constructing theories …

African-American Female College Presidents And Leadership Styles, Runae Edwards Wilson

Trotter Review

The leadership characteristics of African-American female college and university presidents have rarely been studied. The lack of research in this area is due, in part, to the absence of African-American females in leadership positions at four year higher education institutions. A contributing factor to the shortage of African-American female top level administrators is the "double whammy," or belonging to two groups that are discriminated against, African-Americans and females. The wage gap, institutional kinship, the old boy system, and role prejudice (a preconceived preference for specific behavior by the visibly identifiable group) are factors that have proved prohibitive to the ascension …

Killing The Spirit: Doublespeak And Double Jeopardy In A Classroom Of Scholars, Olga M. Welch, Carolyn R. Hodges

Trotter Review

One of the most difficult tasks we face as human beings is trying to communicate across individual differences, trying to make sure that what we say to someone is interpreted the way we intended. This becomes even more difficult when we attempt to communicate across social differences, gender, race, or class lines, or any situation of unequal power. We have conducted a nine-year longitudinal study of the relationship between pre-college enrichment experiences and the development of academic ethos (scholar identity) in educationally disadvantaged African-American adolescents. The study, Project EXCEL, examines how each participant constructs a definition of "scholar" and how, …

Let's Get It Started: Teaching Teachers How To Implement A Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Jamal A. Cooks

Trotter Review

In today's American schools, many teachers are faced with the problem of keeping African-American students engaged in the lessons taught in pre-K-12 classrooms, a problem which at times leads to low academic performance. According to data presented in the 1994 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 48% and 66% of African-American students scored below the basic competency level in reading and mathematics respectively. With many African-American students being labelled "not proficient" in some academic content areas, a growing achievement gap exists between African-American and European-American students. This gap contributes to fewer African-Americans 1) gaining access to institutions of higher education; 2) …

Preparing White Undergraduate Pre-Service Teachers To Teach African-American Students: What Does It Take?, Frances Y. Lowden

Trotter Review

A strong appreciation and knowledge of diverse cultures is vital in delivering what the Association for Childhood Education International position paper identifies as the curricular areas that should be addressed in a preparation program for teachers of young children. Thus, undergraduates must develop: 1) an acquaintance with great music, art and literature, 2) a knowledge of health, safety and nutrition, 3) an understanding of the physical and biological aspects of the world and the universe 4) a knowledge of mathematical concepts 5) an ability to read with comprehension, then to analyze, interpret, and judge a wide range of written material, …

The Implementation Of Radical Constructivism Within The Urban Mathematics Classroom, Randy Lattimore

Trotter Review

One of the most serious problems in mathematics education continues to be the dismal statewide mathematics proficiency test performance of African-American students in urban schools. It has been argued that one of the best ways to improve performance is by connecting the pedagogy of mathematics to the lives and experiences of these students. Although many theories have been implemented in the urban mathematics classroom to assist African-American students in developing and increasing conceptual understanding, members of the urban mathematics education community should take a closer, more serious look at the implementation of radical constructivism within urban mathematics classrooms.

A number …

Commentary: An Interview With Dr. Clarence Williams, Special Assistant To The President Of Minority Affairs, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Harold W. Horton

Trotter Review

Dr. Clarence Williams is a champion of commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in higher education, and is an individual who as folks might say with admiration and colloquially, "never forgot where he came from." Quietly, but powerfully and effectively, Dr. Williams has been a force for racial and ethnic diversity in higher education. Interview conducted by Harold Horton.

A Phenomenon Of Religious Relevance Developing At Predominantly White Institutions, Donald Brown

Trotter Review

In a recent conversation with a colleague at a neighboring institution, we reflected that in the nearly twenty-five years that we have worked at predominantly white universities, little has changed with respect to Black students dissatisfaction with campus life. Since the 1960's, a considerable amount of research has been done on the causes of attrition among Black students in higher education. A number of themes have emerged as causative factors of dissatisfaction and, in far too many cases, attrition among Black students. Three themes, however, seem to re-surface repeatedly. They are the feelings of alienation, isolation and loneliness. Many Black …

Ebonics, Local Color, And Official Language: Who Resists Whom?, Richard L. Murray

Trotter Review

At a time when the media has branded Ebonics "a second class language for a second-class life" and worse, a time when politicians have sought to legislate standard English as the only official language in an increasingly linguistically diverse United States, the link between the power of a single language and the power of those who determine its dominance should come as no surprise. Those who, like columnist Ellen Goodman, oppose recognizing Ebonics as a separate language hark back to the melting pot era in which the children of immigrants were "Americanized" in the public schools because "there was ... …

The Dream Of Diversity And The Cycle Of Exclusion, Stephanie M. Wildman

Trotter Review

The racial transformation of society envisioned in Martin Luther King's dream has been an emotional and powerful ideal. That vision has gone through its own transformation: it was first described as "integration," then "affirmative action," and then "diversity" and "multiculturalism." As each of these phrases acquired negative connotation from reactionary, conservative backlashes, a new phrase has had to be invented to carry forward that transformative vision. Yet the cycle of exclusion that gives privileges to the dominant cultural status quo continues.

Help Wanted: Building Coalitions Between African-American Student Athletes, High Schools, And The Ncaa, Patiste M. Gilmore

Trotter Review

This essay focuses on a topic of intense debate emerging over the last several years: strategies to improve the academic preparedness of collegiate student athletes. The issue should have been resolved with the passage of Proposition 48 in 1986. This measure stipulated that first-year students who wanted to compete in intercollegiate athletics Division I institutions must meet three requirements: 1) Completion of high school core curriculum; 2) Achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale); and 3) Earn a combined score of 700 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), or score 15 or better on the …