Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Fractal Geometry In African American Quilt Traditions, Judy Bales

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

My first encounter with African American quilts was in the early 1980’s in Madison, Georgia. I have a distant memory of an exhibition at the Madison Cultural Center--I do not remember whose collection it was. But I felt an immediate kinship with the way these particular quilters worked, and the experience planted a seed for future interest in similar works. I had always rebelled against the precision and tidy stitches of traditional quilting, and these quilters seemed to favor improvisation, color, texture and “punch” over precision of stitches and precise repetition of pattern. The quilts seemed as much paintings as …

Indo-Portuguese Quilting Tradition: The Cross-Cultural Context, Patrick J. Finn

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

The arrival of the Portuguese in India at the end of 15th century marks the beginning of a significant period of bilateral cultural exchange of quilting concepts, designs and techniques. As early as the 4th century BCE, India had developed a rich and varied textile tradition recognized internationally. Subsequent to the Portuguese opening the trade route around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498, many Europeans voyaged to India in search of trade opportunities. However, it was the Portuguese who initially explored the potential of Indian embroidered textiles, including quilts. “It was their familiarity with Islamic and Judaic culture which …

Swedish Quilts In The Context Of The Hemslöjd Movement, Laurel Horton

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

During the late nineteenth century, when Swedes determined which textile arts would be promoted through their hemslöjd, or handicraft movement, they selected weaving and embroidery as representative of the indigenous textile expressions of their national heritage. In the twenty-first century, Swedes and tourists alike purchase kits to reproduce traditional embroidered items. Many modern Swedes order their own folkdräkt (folk dress) outfit representing their ancestral village, which are woven and sewn by artisans and worn for weddings and other ceremonial occasions. In all the ways that indigenous Swedish crafts are presented to the public, quilts are absent.

And yet, during a …

The Global Quilt: Cultural Contexts International Quilt Study Center & Museum 4th Biennial Symposium (Registration Brochure)

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

Thursday, April 2
1:30–3:30 pm Guided tours of Quilt Museum exhibitions offered every hour on the half hour; last tour begins at 3:30 pm. Shuttle service from Holiday Inn–Downtown provided: 1–4 pm.
1:00–5:00 pm Registration & Information at Holiday Inn–Downtown
6:00–7:00 pm Registration & Information at International Quilt Study Center & Museum
7:00 pm Keynote Presentation by Jennifer Harris, Deputy Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester (Manchester, UK) Reception to follow. Shuttle service from Holiday Inn–Downtown provided.

Friday, April 3
8:00 am–4:30 pm Registration & Information at Holiday Inn–Downtown
8:30–10:30 am Concurrent Sessions
10:30–11:00 am Break
11:00 …

Mathematical Classroom Quilts, Elaine Krajenke Ellison

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

In an effort to create a visual and historical basis to my classroom instruction, I began quilting high school mathematics topics in the early 1980's. The visual approach to teaching a lesson was successful in that the quilts engaged the students immediately. Students' motivation and enjoyment of mathematics were evident in their enthusiasm for the topic being studied. Cultural and historical connections evolved with the story of each quilt.

Quilting As A Mode Of Self-Expression Among Irish Women, Emer Fahy

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

This paper arises from the research work of my M.A. in Women’s Studies at UCC in 2005, which addresses the motivations for women’s involvement in quilting. This work is supported by a scholarship from the Irish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences. In this paper I will focus on the importance of disidentification for women accessing quilting as a form of artistic self-expression.

My research shows that for many women, it is the cultural invisibility of quilts and quilting, supported by the myths of frugality and functionality surrounding them, that enables women to comfortably access this medium …

Religion And Norwegian-American Quilts, Laurann Gilbertson

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

Quilts and quiltmaking have been closely connected to the religious identities of Norwegian-American women and to churches in the Midwest in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Lutheran Church was an important institution, socially as well as religiously, for many Norwegian-American families. Through Kvindeforening, or Ladies Aid, women learned to make quilts, practiced English, built and maintained social relationships, and sold quilts and textiles to fund local, national, and global projects. Immigrant women followed the churches’ teachings to avoid ostentatiousness by making quilts that, in the early years, were more modestly beautiful. Some quilts made by devout Norwegian …

2009 Symposium Speakers, Program & Schedule / The Global Quilt: Cultural Contexts / International Quilt Study Center & Museum 4th Biennial Symposium, International Quilt Study Center & Museum

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

The Global Quilt: Cultural Contexts will feature invited speakers, juried papers, thematic sessions, and panel discussions. Two days of presentations will be supplemented by pre-conference and post-conference tours, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the International Quilt Study Center's new museum, its state-of-the-art storage facility, guided tours of exhibitions, and special exhibitions at other venues in the Lincoln area. Keynote speakers for the symposium are Jacqueline Atkins, the Kate Fowler Merle-Smith Curator of Textiles at the Allentown Art Museum (Allentown, PA) and Jennifer Harris, Deputy Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester (Manchester, UK).

Ethnic Quilting Traditions In Magazine Articles 1900–1980, Colleen Hall-Patton

4th Biennial Symposium of the International Quilt Museum: Proceedings

Quilting, while often seen as a quintessentially American art form, has a long history throughout the world. Americans’ exposure to other traditions has been intermittent, but reflects other trends in the study of ethnic arts. In the 1950s, interest in folk art overlapped with interest in ethnic art as both create an exotic “other” to readers. Before 1960, that “other” was primarily Hawaiian and European. The 1960s added Cuna molas, and the 1970s saw an explosion of interest in worldwide quilt traditions from Tibetan to Amish.

This paper is a content analysis of quilting traditions referenced in magazine articles from …

Shipbuilding And The English International Timber Trade, 1300-1700: A Framework For Study Using Niche Construction Theory, Jillian R. Smith

Nebraska Anthropologist

Much scholarship has been undertaken with regards to the evolution of the European shipbuilding traditions and their physical changes, but few explanations for the changes are given. This paper seeks to identify the correlations between the expansion of the English timber trade in the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries and the changes in shipbuilding at the time, thereby creating a framework for future study of this correlation and its possible relatedness using Niche Construction Theory as a framework. Directions the research can take and the data needed are the focus of this work.

The Expansion Of Class Concepts And The Colorado Coal Field War Project, David M. Amrine

Nebraska Anthropologist

The Colorado Coal Field War Project was an attempt by McGuire, Reckner, and others to develop a 'working-class' archaeology that served the public as well as the archaeologists performing excavations and research. The attempt was successful, promoting and supporting ideas that had been discussed in archaeology about gender, class, and the treatment of archaeology as a craft. Their example of using archaeology to benefit communities as well as academic interests can and should be tested in other regions of the United States as well as the rest of the world.

A Preliminary Survey Of Lesser-Known Polyandrous Societies, Katie Starkweather

Nebraska Anthropologist

To challenge the common misconception that there are only four societies in the world that allow polyandry, this paper uses types of polyandry, suggested by Levine and Sangree (1980), to identify polyandrous societies from India, Africa, South America, and North America. Basic issues of these societies are examined within the context of four commonly cited attempts to explain the existence of polyandry. The goal of the paper is a preliminary look at the existence of polyandry around the world and an initial exploration of issues that mayor may not be associated with this form of marriage.

Life In The Truck Lane: Urban Development In Western Rough Cilicia, Nicholas K. Rauh, Rhys F. Townsend, Michael C. Hoff, Matthew Dillon, Martin W. Doyle, Cheryl A. Ward, Richard M. Rothaus, Hülya Caner, Ünal Akkemik, Luann Wandsnider, F. Sancar Ozaner, Christopher D. Dore

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

What combination of forces precipitated urban development in the ancient Mediterranean world? Are the remnants of such forces identifiable in the archaeological record? Since the Mediterranean basin presented itself as an ethnically diverse region where goods and services were transported largely by water, to what degree was urban development at the local level stimulated by the expansion of overseas empires? More specifically, does a ›world system‹ theoretical construct adequately address the phenomenon of urban development in the ancient Mediterranean world? This construct has gained significant popularity with those attempting to explain the pace and scale of development in the pre-classical …

Sojourners In Mexico With U.S. School Experience: A New Taxonomy For Transnational Students, Víctor Zúñiga, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

There are many school-age children involved in the transnational movement of peoples between the United States and Mexico. Among those currently in Mexico (typically regarded as a sending country rather than a receiving country), most expect to return to the United States someday, although not necessarily permanently, and they variously identify as Mexican, Mexican American, or American. This suggests that the prospect of enduring geographic mobility affects the complicated work of identity formation and affiliation. Central to this negotiation are Mexican schools, which, like U.S. schools, are not deliberately designed to consider the needs, understandings, and wants of an increasingly …

Utopian And Communal Societies: The Importance Of Institutionalized Awe Through Ideology, Matthew H. Brittingham

Nebraska Anthropologist

America s utopian and communal societies have a long history of using transcendence as a commitment mechanism for followers and converts. The most prevalent commitment mechanism is institutionalized awe through ideology. This principle is extremely important to utopian communities and societies in terms of longevity. Sometimes the ideologies need to be changed in order to help a community sustain awe, and, through the awe, membership. Some of the most successful utopian communities in American history utilized the flexibility of their ideologies to maintain awe and sustain the needs of their members, especially in tragic and difficult circumstances. The American communal …

"This Countries Ladies": Gender Negotiations At The Northwest Company, Grand Portage, Andrew E. Labounty

Nebraska Anthropologist

French interactions with Indians during the fur trade were characterized by intermarriage and cultural assimilation. Later, when Canadian traders took over, women were notably present at the Northwest Company s depot at Grand Portage, and participated in its affairs. Although the seasonal workings of Canadian fur trade depots are well-established, gender roles have been typically overlooked in the day-to-day recount of fur trade societies. This paper will thus investigate the aspect of gender at fur trade posts, and particularly at Grand Portage, as a study in cross-cultural negotiations for the fulfillment of gender roles.

Domestication And Significance Of Persea Americana, The Avocado, In Mesoamerica, Amanda J. Landon

Nebraska Anthropologist

The avocado (persea americana) is grown all over the modern world in tropical and subtropical climates for food and cosmetics (Humani 1987). In antiquity, the avocado was important to the Ancient Maya not only for food but also as a part of their mythology. Avocados were grown in sacred gardens, and important ancestors were thought to become reborn through fruit trees, including the avocado. Here, I examine the cultural context of the avocado and the issues related to understanding the domestication of the avocado and other tropical fruit trees. I discuss archaeological and molecular evidence, and offer direction …

Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 24 : 2009 Table Of Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

The Expansion of Class Concepts and the Colorado Coal Field War Project (David M. Amrine)

A Preliminary Survey of Lesser-Known Polyandrous Societies (Katie E. Starkweather)

"This Countries Ladies": Gender Negotiations at the Northwest Company, Grand Portage (Andrew E. LaBounty)

Utopian and Communal Societies: The Importance of Institutionalized Awe Through Ideology (Matthew H. Brittingham)

Domestication and Significance of Persea americana, the Avocado, in Mesoamerica (Amanda J. Landon)

Trends of Pathogen Overload and the Influence on Social Behavior (Dylan Wall)

Shipbuilding and the English International Timber Trade, 1300-1700: a framework for study using Niche Construction Theory (Jillian R. Smith)

Trends Of Pathogen Overload And The Influence On Social Behavior, Dylan Wall

Nebraska Anthropologist

A review of the literature has been undertaken showing that higher levels of pathogen stress have been positively correlated with multiple aspects of social structure: non-sororal polygyny (Ember et al. 2007; Low 1990), exogamy and bride capture (Low 1990), resource defense (Barber 2008; Hames 1996), and male-female body alteration (Singh and Bronstad 1997). Non-sororal polygyny is the most effective reproductive strategy to defend against pathogen stress, as it promotes much genetic variability within gene pools, allowing for more pathogenic resistance in individuals because of heterozygous al/eles. In order to secure mates while faced with ecological extremes, individuals will modify their …

Animal Helminths In Human Archaeological Remains: A Review Of Zoonoses In The Past, Luciana Sianto, Marcia Chame, Cassius S. P. Silva, Marcelo L. C. Gonçalves, Karl Reinhard, Martín Horacio Fugassa, Adauto Araújo

Karl Reinhard Publications

The authors present a review of records of intestinal parasitic helminths from animals in human archaeological remains, reported since the emergence of paleopathological studies. The objective was to relate paleoparasitological findings to geographic, biotic, and abiotic factors from the environment in which the prehistoric populations lived, and understand some aspects related to the process of human dispersion and biological and cultural evolution. Modification of eating habits and the incorporation of new cultural practices are analyzed from the perspective of zoonoses from prehistory to the present day, especially in Brazilian indigenous populations. Three tables identifying the helminths, their natural hosts, dates, …