Anthropology Commons^™

Misidentified Bodies And Missing Data: Exploring Forensic Disempowerment And Skeletal Narratives Of Transgender And Gender-Diverse Individuals In The United States, Taylor M. Flaherty

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The bodies of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals represent a physical nexus of contempt and scrutiny. In the United States (U.S.), TGD people experience disproportionate levels of violence and premature death, contributing to a persistent epidemic of harm. Institutionalized anti-TGD biases have reinforced systemic neglect, leading to the routine exclusion of TGD individuals from research, data collection, and historical archives. The absence of state or federal initiatives to track mortality trends and risk factors among this population further exacerbates their systematic erasure. In particular, forensic scientists have traditionally relied on dichotomous indicators of sexual expression which may fail to account …

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Contextualizing Historical Bioarchaeological Accounts With Contemporary Social Issues, Katharine Chiyono Woollen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The very existence of women has been taken for granted throughout history. Their domestic roles are viewed as biologically fixed, resulting in a general lack of information recorded or researched relating to their lived experiences, life histories, and narratives. Instead, it is the history of white men that has been standardized as the norm, creating visible gaps in our understanding of women’s experiences. Additionally, the majority of existing literature centers on female reproduction, their roles as mothers, and violence enacted against women. While this information contributes towards a greater understanding of women’s experiences in bioarchaeological investigations, these data often lack …

Proceedings Of The 12th Research Symposium At Mammoth Cave National Park, Pat Kambesis Editor, Lee Anne Bledsoe Editor, Ana K. Celis Editor

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

Proceedings of the 12th Research Symposium at Mammoth Cave National Park: Celebrating 100 Years of Scientific Research & Resource Management in the Mammoh Cave Region.

Laying The Groundwork: Building Long-Term Community Partnerships Across A Shared Curriculum, Juliana Chow, Eric Robertson, Kate Magargal

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

Maintaining long-term community partnerships is a major challenge for community-engaged classrooms. This poster presents a community-engaged learning (CEL) program template for a project shared between multiple courses and instructors, demonstrating how shared resources, skill sets, relationships, and coordination could result in a long-term community partnership linked to multiple community networks. It shows how 3 courses at the Honors College of the University of Utah can weave together learning objectives and cooperative planning for a course module focused on the Native Plants Program, part of the U of U Climate Action Plan.

Les Blattes Orgueilleuses, Siham Amraoui

Journal of Amazigh Studies

N/A

Amazigh Lexical Substrate In Tunisian Derja: An Outcome Of Linguistic Contact On Youtube And Facebook, Soubeika Bahri

Journal of Amazigh Studies

Despite the extensive discussion of the structural and lexical impact of Tamazight on North African spoken varieties in Morocco, Algeria, and Libya (Berkai 4-14; Souag 2018, 192-200; Faizi 29-39; Bensoukas and Boudlal 179-21; Zellou 1-13), little is known about the linguistic contact outcome between the Tunisian spoken variety (henceforth, Ettounsi or Tunisian Derja) and Tamazight. In this article, we present and analyze Amazigh linguistic substrate examples in the lexicon of Ettounsi. Contact-induced change (Lafkioui 51-93; Thomason 339-46; Heine and Kuteva, 529-72) and language contact on YouTube (Garley, 77-106), along with the method of computer-mediated discourse (Androutsopoulos, 419-438), offer …

Enjeux De Contacts De Langues Et D’Oralitures Dans Les Noms D’Ogresse Dans La Kabylie Des Babors, Massinissa Garaoun

Journal of Amazigh Studies

La Kabylie des Babors est une région montagneuse littorale située au nord-est de l’Algérie. Trois langues amazighes y sont pratiquées : la tabǧawit (ou kabyle oriental), la taɛemmuct (ou chaoui des Amouchas) et la tasaḥlit. L’une des figures majeures du conte amazigh et nord-africain est l’ogresse (Farès). Celle-ci est décrite comme une créature féminine, vivant seule ou en famille, isolée des Hommes et pouvant se nourrir de ces derniers. À partir d’un corpus de contes recueillis auprès de femmes originaires de différentes confédérations des Babors depuis 2017, j’ai rassemblé les dénominations ainsi que les principales caractéristiques attribuées aux ogres …

Hybridity In Amazigh Language, Culture, And Literature, Jas Editorial Staff

Journal of Amazigh Studies

N/A

A Raced Theology Of The Human Person: An Expanded Theological Anthropology, Cary W. Dabney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on race as a critical, yet largely unaddressed, topic in Catholic theological anthropology. In Catholic colleges and universities that are recognized as members of the Cardinal Newman Society, theological concerns about race are deemed irrelevant for theological education in the faith and are altogether absent from the theology of the human person. As a result, this collection of institutions treats race as a specialty within pastoral theology, one that is significant to groups, but not a part of the fundamental theology of the human person. This ‘un-raced’ theological anthropology results in the institution’s inability to respond effectively …

“The Best Storyteller In The World:” Gwydion, Court Poetry, And Statecraft In The Fourth Branch Of The Mabinogi, Abigail Fathauer '25

Senior Scholarly and Creative Symposium

Gwydion, the trickster protagonist of The Mabinogi, orchestrates the plot and manipulates those around him. His trickery ultimately results in political shifts, changes, and even wars, reflecting his role as a powerful player in the text. Moreover, Gwydion's use of poetry, knowledge, and words to enact his schemes and manipulations reflects the power of poets in medieval Welsh courts. My thesis argues that Gwydion's use of poetry to manipulate the politics around him reflects the power of poetry to craft nation states, as medieval Welsh poets did.

The Kinship Of Creatives, Saba Saif Ur Rehman

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This research essay contends that artists and creative individuals must recognize their agency in shaping societal narratives, particularly during times of technological and political upheaval. The essay draws on the insights and contributions of visionaries like Walter Benjamin, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Tomm Moore to emphasize the power of imagination and creativity in addressing real-world issues. It argues that previous technological advances have often reinforced hierarchical and oppressive systems, benefitting a select few while neglecting the masses. As we enter the fourth Industrial Revolution, this essay calls the artists to reclaim their tools from being co-opted for exclusionary and …

Shepherds Of Loss: Religion And Grief In The Shenandoah Valley, Ewan Benjamin

Honors Projects

This study explores the relationship between faith leaders and religious communities with the human experience of grief, death, and loss. Inspired by the researcher's own experience, this paper argues that the United States has a generally uncomfortable relationship with death and hypothesizes that religious traditions can serve to assist with grief in a positive way. After interviewing six religious leaders in the Shenandoah Valley, two themes arose: the mystery of death and the concept of "making space" for the grieving, dying, and dead. In the paper's conclusion, the faith leaders make known their own concerns with death in the United …

Intersections: Gastro-Politics Aesthetic And Contemporary Chinese Art, Fan Du

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how contemporary Chinese artists use food as a medium to explore ritual, trade, politics, and cultural identity. Centering on The Note of Food, an exhibition I curated, it draws on Arjun Appadurai’s concept of gastro-politics and Lu Xun’s nalaizhuyi (“grabbing doctrine”) to analyze how artists strategically appropriate cultural resources amid tensions between East and West, and tradition and modernity. Merging curatorial practice with food and visual anthropology, the project uses exhibition-making as both method and object of inquiry. As a native anthropologist working as both curator and researcher, I propose a model of curatorial anthropology that …

Women’S Mud Cloth Skirt (Bogolanfini), Abigail Jane Westhead

Department of Anthropology

The Bogolafini mud cloth is made by and for the Bamana people. This mud cloth is made to be a woman's skirt. It shows through art of the many patterns, the Bamana culture, history, folklore, values, and everyday life of the Bamana People

The Coso Paradox: An Additional Perspective Of Indigenous Identity, Leeanna Sueno

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The Coso Mountain Range in Inyo County, California is an archaeological site rich with evidence of human interactions throughout prehistory. One of the most striking features is Coso’s abundance of rock art, estimated at over 100,000 etchings, with over half depicting Ovis canadensis (Bighorn Sheep). Coso’s rock art has been long-debated as a site of “shamanistic” prevalence, including vision quests, rain god worship , and interpretations of fertility. While spirituality is an integral part of many Indigenous cultures, it is highly unlikely that such a mass creation spanning hundreds of years and multiple cultural groups would be solely spiritual.

Editor’S Introduction, Michael D. Pante

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Fugitive Colors, Natalie Rose Eddings

Theses and Dissertations

My objects are meditations on intertwining themes of labor, rest, and interiority and their shadow sides—power, subjugation and the gaze. I couple materials that have millenia-long histories such as metals, glass, paper and clay with found objects and plat materials to illustrate narratives and exhume memories. Drawn from nature and technologies of land, plant stewardship and the domestic realm, I imagine my sculptures as life supporting vessels or magical enclosures.

Through sculpture, photography and printmaking, I build structures that are space of quiet to be filled with thought, healing and development. Like incubators and seed pods, my work is protective …

"Beyond The Display:" How Exhibits In Museums Can Be Used To Educate Public Visitors, Ryder Wynn

Honors Theses

Museums are institutions that can be found outside of a classroom setting, where visitors can educate themselves about a certain topic presented in the exhibits that the museums display. They can do this by creating engaging environments where visitors can become invested into the story and information of the exhibits, making them want to learn more about the information provided. A good exhibit can do this in at least one of three ways: developing critical thinking skills, which can involve visual models or "learning through play," creating memorable experiences or using collective memory to teach about historical events or using …

The Mighty C: A Fractal Model For Modern Creativity, Joe Todaro

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The persistent ambiguity surrounding the definition of creativity has hindered its advancement across academic, educational, and professional settings. In response, this paper proposes an updated framework—The Mighty C—which defines creativity as the intrinsic human activity of generating meaningful, novel, and useful outcomes through deliberate process. This model addresses critical gaps in conventional definitions, particularly the frequent omission of meaningfulness, intentionality, and the uniquely human nature of creativity. It further emphasizes the recursive nature of these aspects across different levels of creative activity, represented through the structure of fractals. Drawing from scholarly models such as Rhodes’ 4Ps and Kaufman and Beghetto’s …

Tuning Out The Dark: Music As A Defense And Folk Solution, Melanie Kimball

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Music across cultures and throughout history is a tool for engaging with the supernatural. It shares similarities with apotropaic magic. Through research and ethnographic fieldwork, I argued that even in modern times, individuals use music as an apotropaic remedy for fear and negative emotions. These remedies reflect strategies identified by Jeannie Thomas, including companionship, magical substance, neutralization, and displacement. Modern apotropaic music regulates emotions, re-establishes personal relationships, creates safe environments, and provides a means of control.

Contributors used music to combat various negative feelings, selecting genres that matched their emotional needs. In the absence of family and friends, music reaffirmed …

Foodways As Agentive Response To Disaster In Colonial New Orleans: The French Quarter Fires Of 1788 And 1794, Helen V. Bouzon

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Disasters have plagued the City of New Orleans since its foundation in 1718. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Most locals have personal memories of Hurricane Katrina or have friends and family who experienced the storm. The effects of Hurricane Katrina were far-reaching and often life-changing. However, Hurricane Katrina is not the only major disaster to have left an indelible mark on the landscape and culture of New Orleans. Two fires in the eighteenth century destroyed significant portions of the colony and left approximately seventy percent of the population homeless. And yet, we know very little about …

Earth As Archive: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Possibility And Understanding, Alissa Petrizzo

Honors College Theses

This thesis takes the reader on a journey through the process of literary analysis to uncover new considerations of our past, present, and future. Living in the climate crisis, we are in dire need of the humanistic presence within solution-making conversations. I introduce scholarly voices from anthropologists, environmental scientists, and novelists before diving into Pitchaya Sudbanthad's novel Bangkok Wakes to Rain. While you hear my voice throughout the journey, I exist more so as a tour guide, helping you along the way to new possibilities of understanding. We dig up and analyze evidence of the Earth as an archive …

Medusa: The Monster, Myth, And Feminist Icon, Olivia Joanne Sarjent

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The myth of Medusa is one that has been around since 7c BCE through the writings of authors such as Hesiod and Ovid. While originally a monstrous villain of antiquity in the 21st century Medusa has become an icon of feminism, very different to how she was once portrayed. Through classic art to film and TV, Medusa has integrated herself into the modern pop culture spotlight. Medusa started out in myth as a creature of horror that would bring the demise of men and this theme was carried out in medieval art with pieces like Medusa by Caravaggio, Perseus with …

‘Dark Grandmothers,’ The Art Of The Individual Over The Craft Of The Collectives: A Case Study Of Klaas Rommelaere And His Madams, Rachel L. Burner

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

An examination of Belgian artist Klaas Rommelaere with a focus on his internationally renowned embroidered sculpture series, Dark Uncles (2020). Despite his role as the artist and the public face of the craft-based collaborative project, Rommelaere’s physical involvement is minimal when compared to “the madams,” the true executors of Rommelaere’s labor-intensive craftwork. This raises critical questions about authorship and reception in contemporary art, particularly the institutional reliance on the individual artist as a figurehead to promote collective craftsmanship. By analyzing Dark Uncles through a post-structural feminist lens and considering the liminality of craft production under capitalism, the paper highlights the …

The “Deviant” Dead: (De)Constructing Personhood In Mycenaean Mortuary Landscapes, Aidan J. Gregg

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Despite increasing standardization in mortuary practice during the Mycenaean palatial period, there remains a significant degree of variation in burials. This project seeks to elucidate the reasons for the wide variability in the Mycenaean mortuary program with theories of anthropological personhood as a guiding framework. I focus on the palatial period, from LHIII A2 - LHIIIB2 (1410-1190) because of the pervasiveness of Mycenaean culture throughout the Aegean, but especially in Greece’s northeastern Peloponnese, during that time. I use mortuary data from 12 cemeteries in the Argolid and Korinthia to trace trends in burial practice, in the hope of establishing a …

A Bishnoi Woman’S Odhani: Gendered Labor, Environmental Ethics, And Textile Traditions In Rajasthan, Nidhi Patel

Department of Anthropology

This report examines an embroidered odhani (woman’s shawl) attributed to a Bishnoi artisan from Rajasthan, India. The odhani is housed in the May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection at Loyola University Chicago. Close analysis of technique and contextual evidence is used to reattribute the textile, which was originally mislabeled and situates it within the contexts of gendered labor and environmental ethics within the Bishnoi community. Utilizing the frameworks of materialist and eco-spiritual feminism, the report argues that the odhani functions as a site of ecological resistance, cultural transmission, and women’s embodied knowledge, as well as a garment.

The Commodification Of Native American Remains: The Use Of Native American Remains Within Educational Institutions And The Implementation Of Nagpra, Molly Nowak

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Indigenous communities have been commodified within educational institutions such as museums, universities, and governmental agencies throughout American history. Unethical collection practices have allowed for a disproportionate representation of Indigenous remains and materials within educational institutions. Indigenous bodies, funerary objects, religious materials, and other important cultural materials have been stolen from their communities and used for scientific discovery and education. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), passed in 1990, created legal protections for Indigenous graves and remains and instigates the return of the stolen materials. This project reviews the historical contexts behind the collection of Indigenous remains, the …

Kentucky History Is Native History: Decolonizing Native Portrayals In Kentucky Museums., Mandala Gupta Verwiebe

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Utilizing prominent decolonial museums scholarship, interviews conducted with anthropology and museum professionals, and Kentucky museum exhibitions, this research explores the history of Kentucky’s public institutions’ Indigenous representation and recommends guidelines to improve their portrayal of Native people. Through a historical analysis, this research finds factors that influence Kentucky institutions’ portrayals of Native history, such as early harmful grave looting of Indigenous ancestral remains, the prominence of the Myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground, and a weakened state governmental Native American Heritage Commission. After considering both decolonial theory and the experiences of Kentucky heritage professionals, this research recommends three methods …

Human Evolution: A Musical Portrait, Chloe S. Roper

Senior Honors Projects

The story of human evolution has been an elaborate progression entrenched in metamorphic processes and associated trial and error to create the species we are today. While these milestones are primarily explored through an academic lens, intellectual ideas are less often conveyed through a creative or abstract approach, such as through music or other art forms. Similarly, while music is often employed to evoke emotion, inspire reflection, or symbolize experiences, it is underutilized in conveying intellectual ideas. This project explores the juxtaposition of benchmark concepts of what makes our species distinctly human with instrumental musical expression in order to design …

The Politics Of The Black Womb: How Education And Power Reinforce The U.S. Black Maternal Health Crisis, Foluke Akinkunmi

Honors Scholar Theses

This study investigates the alarming maternal mortality rates among Black women in the U.S. today first by exploring the historical exploitation of Black maternal bodies during enslavement and with the rise of professionalized gynecology. It challenges the narrative that attributes these outcomes to individual choices or supposedly inherent biological factors, arguing instead that the devaluing of Black women’s well-being and authoritative knowledge have been constructed along with the United States itself. To advance a constructive response, the paper analyzes curriculum competencies for obstetric and midwifery healthcare providers, surveys of Black women's birthing experiences in the previous 20 years, and interviews …