Anthropology Commons^™

I Was Taught To Yell Fire, Marina Gutierrez

Honors Theses

From a very young age my mother always told me to yell, “Fire,” if I was ever in a situation where I needed help from a potential attacker, but I never understood why I couldn’t just yell, “Help.” Her reasoning was that many people will run towards a fire to help put it out or save potential victims, but when someone yells for help others will shy away because they don’t want to get involved. I would just nod and promise to yell fire not really understanding the underlying meaning she had just explained to me.

It wasn’t until I …

Biological Stress Indicators Among Historically Documented Populations (1913-1935): An Analysis Of Labor Through Entheses And Joint Disease, Anna Paraskevi Alioto

Masters Theses

Recent studies about the American past have aimed to examine multiple lines of evidence to reanalyze the American lived experience. Despite this, there has been limited research conducted using methods from biological anthropology. Skeletal analysis of a sample from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection, consisting of individuals (n=118) who lived in Cleveland, Ohio was utilized to understand how the American lived experience impacted the biological stresses of these individuals. The objective was to investigate entheseal changes and degenerative joint disease on the upper limb to reconstruct activity patterns and to test for possible disparities which may represent differing biological stress experiences. …

Identity Development In Korean-American Adoptees: A Content Analysis Of Personal Reflections, Charles Rachor

Honors Theses

This paper examines Korean-American Adoptees and their identity development through a content analysis of online comments concerning four major themes: Parents and Parenting, Siblings, Self-identity, and Current Events. Using two Facebook groups consisting exclusively of adoptees, examinations were made of positive, neutral, and negative replies to posts about the themes. The findings from this analysis lend credence to previous studies about self-identity, some of the influential factors, and the struggles faced in achieving levels of comfort expressing multiple racial and cultural identities.

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 …

Partnerships 2: An Archaeological Partnership With The Religious Of Niles, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project aims to build an active partnership with the religious community of Niles. Given the importance of Catholicism at Fort St. Joseph, the Project has reached out to one of these communities, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, to explore their potential interest in collaboration.

Partnerships 1: Community Partnerships In Niles, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Community partnerships inspired by the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project have the potential for mutual benefi­ts when community groups collaborate around shared interests.

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 …

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.

Guided By The Spirits: The Meanings Of Life, Death And Youth Suicide In An Ojibwa Community, Seth Allard

Masters Theses

Suicide is a leading cause of death amongst indigenous North American youth. The majority of studies on indigenous youth suicide focus on quantitative data collection and analysis. Qualitative and collaborative methods provide the cultural and historical contexts necessary for a critical understanding of youth suicide in indigenous communities. Through classic ethnographic methods (structured interviews, participant observation) and descriptive analysis, this work highlights the value of qualitative data. Medical anthropology informs an ethnomedical approach toward youth suicide, death, life, health and related concepts. Analyzing the semantics of prevention and intervention aids a critical-interpretive approach to current research and prevention-intervention frameworks and …

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 …

Partnerships 4: Anthropology And Education In The Niles Community, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Western Michigan University (WMU) anthropology students have begun working with the Niles school system to identify potential opportunities for collaboration with the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project.

Partnerships 3: Building Bridges Between The St.Joseph River And Local Archaeology, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project (hereafter "the Project") has an ally among naturalists (experts and/or students of natural history) and recreational users of the St. Joseph River (fishermen, kayakers, and canoers).

Partnerships 5: Living History Partnerships At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The living history community is a bridge between scholars and the public. Re-enactors and craftsmen bring history to life for the public through events sponsored by the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project , demonstrating 18th-century lifeways and animating archaeological discoveries.

Partnerships 6: Partnering With The Pokagan Band Of Potawatomi, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Western Michigan University anthropology students and citizens of the Pokagon Band have begun to identify areas of shared interest that can be pursued in building a relationship to create more inclusive histories in the St. Joseph River valley

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project 2016 Annual Report, Michael Nassaney

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

This year the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project continued to build upon its foundations and develop new research, teaching, and public outreach activities directed towards the study of the fur trade and colonialism in southwest Michigan. The Project is a collaboration between Western Michigan University (WMU) faculty and students, the City of Niles, the Fort St. Joseph Archaeology Advisory Commission (FSJAAC), interested stakeholders, supporters, members, and community volunteers in the greater Niles community.

Egyptian Mummy Ct Scan Analysis And A Comparison Of Midwest Museum Practices For The Grand Rapids Public Museum, M. Kate Peterson

Anthropology Master's Theses

To meet the partial requirements for a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from Western Michigan University, the following internship was completed between June 2015 and September 2016. A Computed Tomography (CT) scan analysis was conducted on the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s mummy, Nakhte-Bastet-Iru. This analysis was a collaborative effort by myself and medical and museum professionals. Insight into the mummy’s life and culture was uncovered through examination and analysis of paleoradiological views of her remains. Additional research into the practices of other Midwest museums provided valuable knowledge of current trends in the dissemination and exhibition of mummy CT scan …

Facing Our Demons: Psychiatric Perspectives On Exorcism Rituals, Joel R. Sanford

The Hilltop Review

Belief in possession by malevolent spirits exists in many cultures and religions throughout the world, and such beliefs often serve as explanations for a variety of psychological and emotional afflictions. Traditional remedies in these cases often involve exorcism rituals, which are believed to expel spirits from a person's mind and/or body. Some of the cases commonly attributed to involuntary spirit possession are diagnosed within the psychiatric community as schizophrenia or some sort of dissociative disorder and treated with psychotherapy and/or medicine. For some in the psychiatric community, exorcisms and their use by patients are viewed as problematic due to their …

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project: 2015 Field Season, John Cardinal, Erika Loveland

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Our current research design is oriented toward identifying evidence of eighteenth-century activities in the vicinity of Fort St. Joseph and collecting architectural data to understand the building styles and construction techniques at the site. Excavations have identified eighteenth-century artifacts throughout the Niles vicinity, although most of the archaeological materials contemporaneous with the fort have been found adjacent to a series of fireplaces uncovered since 2002.

Six 1 x 2 meter units were opened this field season in locations where we expected to intercept walls in order to ascertain the size, orientation, construction methods, and contents of the buildings associated with …

Fort St. Joseph Post - Spring 2016, Michael S. Nassaney

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

We hope you enjoy this issue of the Fort St. Joseph Post, filled with information about current activities that are being conducted under the auspices of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, a partnership between the City of Niles and Western Michigan University. As you can see, students, staff, faculty, and volunteers are busy investigating, interpreting, and promoting the archaeology of Fort St. Joseph, one of the most important French colonial sites in the western Great Lakes region. We are regularly present at professional conferences, community events, and other venues sharing information about the fort and inviting the public to …

Interaction Between Human Experience, Landscape , And Coffee Production In The Blue Mountain Region Of Jamaica, Shohei Yoshida

Masters Theses

In today's coffee industry, individual farmers’ identities are hardly visible from the products we buy. Each coffee farmer has different lifestyles and methods of coffee farming. Such information about farmers can make each cups of coffee potentially unique in consumers’ experience. However, there are barriers which make consumers blind from the identities of the farmers making their coffee. I will explain about the barriers, and introduce the way to make consumers associate individual farmers' identities with each cup of coffee they drink. This thesis mainly consists of two parts: a theoretical part and a poetry part. There is a small …

Shifting Gears Of Safety: Women Truck Drivers Experience Added Safety Concerns Over The Road, Stephanie A. Sicard

Masters Theses

Of the over 500,000 professional truck drivers within the United States, only six percent are women. Ten in-depth interviews focus on the safety issues that women truck drivers face over1 the road. Stereotypical masculine norms are encouraged in male dominated fields, and it is when stereotypical masculinity is endorsed that sexual harassment and assault is much higher. I argue that women truck drivers are forced into a double-bind situation in which they attempt to make themselves visible as equals, while simultaneously hiding themselves for safety. I aim to not only broaden the understanding of the issues faced by professional women …

Using Photography As An Anthropological Approach To Studying Culture At The Mount Pleasant Lndian Lndustrial Boarding School, 1893-1934, David Brown

Masters Theses

This project is designed to study the culture of Native American boarding schools through the visual domain of photography. I have chosen the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School, located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan as a case study. I specifically examine how photographs depict themes of Native American student assimilation, domestic care and order, living conditions, communication, ethnic composition, and resistance. There has been very little written on the history and culture of the boarding school in Mount Pleasant, much less any analysis that has been done with the photographs. I am combining the available written and visual materials of …

5: Project History, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Investigations at the long lost fort were begun in 1998 by WMU archaeologists.

2: Fort History, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The French established Fort St. Joseph in the 1691 in present day Niles.

7: Public Archaeology At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project practices community service learning.

8: Religious Life At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Written documents indicate that the Jesuit priests settled among neighboring Native American groups and were successful at creating some converts at the St. Joseph mission.

6: Military Presence At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

From 1691 the 1698 and from 1717 to 1761, French military personnel occupied Fort St. Joseph to defend the site's strategic position on a major trade route near the portage between the St. Joseph and Kankakee rivers, while maintaining alliances with friendly Native American groups to facilitate the trade in furs.

4: Commercial Activities At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph was an important link in the chain of frontier outposts that marked the far reaches of New France and facilitated the fur trade between the French and Native Americans in the Western Great Lakes region.

3: Change And Continuity At Fort St. Joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph was a multi-ethnic community.

1: What Is Archaeology?, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 1, Archaeology is the study of past peoples through the items that they have left behind.