Anthropology Commons^™

Research On Communicative Practices In An Alternative Classroom, Maria Alice Bonilha

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies communications in an alternative classroom in the United States. Using an ethnographic approach and drawing from conversation analysis, the study describes the school’s model of education and analyzes students’ classroom initiations, particularly those in which students responded to the teacher’s question with a question.

The Roscoe Perry House Site: A Long-Term Prehistoric Occupation In The Hudson Valley, Dylan C. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

This report analyzes the stored collection of artifacts excavated from a historic house overlooking the Rondout Creek and the Hudson River. This is a multicomponent site. It contains fifteen archaeological phases ranging from the Early Archaic to the Contact Period.

Lawless, Vickie (Fa 1143), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1143. Student paper titled “Steamboat Tales” in which Vickie Lawless describes the importance of riverboat commerce and transportation in Russell County, Kentucky from the early 19^th century through the mid-20^th century Lawless also discusses the three most common steamboats during this period, the Albany, the Burnside, and the Rowena, and the folklore surrounding their pilots, crews, and landing sites. Lawless collected her information from former riverboat captains, engine room workers, family members, and residents of river communities

Gender And Religion In A Shifting Social Landscape: Anglo-Saxon Mortuary Practices, Ad 600-700, Caroline Palmer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

My thesis examines seventh-century East Anglian mortuary practices and cross-correlates grave goods and human remains to determine whether there was an expression of the sexual division of labor during this period of social and religious change. I argue that gender roles changed as a result of adopting kingdoms and Christianity. Prior to this time period, Anglo-Saxons were primarily pagan and were buried with extensive burial goods. In addition to changes in religious and burial practices, during the Final Phase (600-700 AD) there appears to have been a division of labor that was not as dichotomous in the Migration Phase (450-600 …

Differentiated Reactions To Payment For Ecosystem Service Programs In The Columbia River Basin: A Qualitative Study Exploring Irrigation District Characteristics As Local Common-Pool Resource Management Institutions In Oregon, Usa, Spencer Thomas Plumb, Travis Paveglio, Kelly West Jones, Brett Alan Miller, Dennis R. Becker

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs are increasingly employed to encourage individual actors to preserve and/or restore environmentally beneficial instream flows in freshwater ecosystems. However, the success of these PES programs has been mixed across geographic locations and the influence of local resource management institutions remains unclear. In the western U.S.A. little is known about the role of irrigation districts regarding these water transactions. This study addresses that deficit by using existing knowledge about common-pool resource management characteristics to explore the role of irrigation districts in PES programs that incentivize water transactions in the state of Oregon. We conducted 20 …

Walker, Jane (Fa 1139), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1139. Student paper titled “Ghostlore” in Jane Walker collected supernatural stories, most of which had some form of local variant. Walker gathered tales from family and friends in person, over the phone, through written letters and recorded stories.

Walton, Robert H. (Fa 1141), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1141. Student paper titled “Collection of Death Beliefs” in which Robert Walton details various superstitions, practices, and assumptions concerned with death and dying. Walton gathered together stories and sayings from students on WKU’s campus, family, friends, and Bowling Green locals.

Butler, Beverly (Fa 1142), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1142. Student paper titled “The Supernatural” in which Beverly Butler collects personal encounter narratives relating to “ghosts, spirits, or hanks.” Butler collected her stories from family members and friends.

Laude, Jan (Fa 1140), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1140. Cassette recordings of the "Attunement for Healing" and "Exploring Your Dreams and ESP" conferences sponsored by the Edgar Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment held in Virginia Beach, Virginia from 12 July 1981 to 24 July 1981. The recordings, collected by WKU folk studies graduate student Jan Laude, were used as source material for Laude’s Master’s thesis titled “A Contemporary Female Psychic: A Folkloristic Study of a Traditional Occupation,” which was published in 1982. Because the Department does not have consent forms or own copyright to these tapes, they may be used …

Book Review Of, The Evolution Of Human Cooperation: Ritual And Social Complexity In Stateless Societies, Kenneth Ames

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviewed: The Evolution of Human Cooperation: Ritual and Social Complexity in Stateless Societies . CHARLES STANISH , 2017. Cambridge University Press , Cambridge . xiii + 336 pp. $110.00 (hardcover), ISBN 978-1-107-18055-0. In this significant book, Stanish builds a model of how complex stateless societies solve collective action problems to benefit their members in the absence of coercive leadership--not in the absence of leadership but in the absence of coercive leadership. The model is framed by game theory, which is recast as anthropological game theory, and collective action theory, making the claim that humans are conditional cooperators. Crucial to successful …

Structural And Compositional Investigation Of Pottery Samples From Guatemala, Pressley S. Nicholson

Undergraduate Research Conference

Purpose of investigation: The composition and characteristics of Mayan pottery samples from Guatemala was investigated.

A Blend Of Absurdism And Humanism: Defending Kurt Vonnegut’S Place In The Secondary Setting, Krisandra R. Johnson

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This essay argues that Kurt Vonnegut blends a unique humanist stance into his absurdist plots and characters, ultimately urging readers to confront the absurd with a kindness and human decency his protagonists often find rare. As a result of this absurd and humanist synthesis, I defend and promote Vonnegut’s place in the secondary English curriculum, despite his rank on many banned books lists, since his characters’ journeys correlate thematically with the growth and process of postmodern adolescents and encourage moral responsibility without sentimental manipulation.

Focusing on Cat’s Cradle, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and Slaughterhouse-Five as primary sources, specifically …

Allopathic Medicine’S Influence On Indigenous Peoples In The Kumaon Region Of India, Eliana M. Blum

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper focuses on the use of western medicine in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India. The goal of this research is to understand which healing practices are preferable in rural villages. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 53 participants, including two spiritual healers, two doctors, and one pharmacist. Results indicate that allopathic medicine, otherwise known as modern medicine or western medicine, has become the go-to remedy for even the most remote people in India. Nearly all participants use allopathic medicine, but less than half of the participants experiment with other forms of healing, such as Ayurveda, homeopathy, meditation, and yoga. …

Recovering Parasites From Mummies And Coprolites: An Epidemiological Approach, Morgana Camacho, Adauto Araújo, Johnica J. Morrow, Jane E. Buikstra, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

In the field of archaeological parasitology, researchers have long documented the distribution of parasites in archaeological time and space through the analysis of coprolites and human remains. This area of research defined the origin and migration of parasites through presence/absence studies. By the end of the 20th century, the field of pathoecology had emerged as researchers developed an interest in the ancient ecology of parasite transmission. Supporting studies were conducted to establish the relationships between parasites and humans, including cultural, subsistence, and ecological reconstructions. Parasite prevalence data were collected to infer the impact of parasitism on human health. In the …

Effects Of Sea Level Rise, Land Subsidence, Bathymetric Change And Typhoon Tracks On Storm Flooding In The Coastal Areas Of Shanghai, Jun Wang, Si Yi, Mengya Li, Lei Wang, Chengcheng Song

Faculty Publications

We compared the effects of three key environmental factors of coastal flooding: sea level rise (SLR), land subsidence (LS) and bathymetric change (BC) in the coastal areas of Shanghai. We use the hydrological simulation model MIKE 21 to simulate flood magnitudes under multiple scenarios created from combinations of the key environmental factors projected to year 2030 and 2050. Historical typhoons (TC9711, TC8114, TC0012, TC0205 and TC1109), which caused extremely high surges and considerable losses, were selected as reference tracks to generate potential typhoon events that would make landfalls in Shanghai (SHLD), in the north of Zhejiang (ZNLD) and moving northwards …

Virtuous Discourse In The Specialty Coffee Sector: How Social Responsibility Practices Fragment Pursuits For A Supply Chain, Jane H. Motsinger

Geography ETDs

A diversity of public and private initiatives strive to address the human-environment challenges confronting the global coffee industry, including certifications like Fairtrade, direct trade sourcing models, and efforts led by NGOs. Research examines the outcomes of major certification programs and the private initiatives of corporations like Starbucks. Much less is known about the business practices of the small specialty coffee businesses that increasingly advertise sustainable business practices. Yet, their collective business practices likely influence the industry-wide efforts to achieve a sustainable supply chain. This research examines how small specialty coffee roasting and importing companies represent their socially responsible business practices …

Fresa Style In Mexico: Sociolinguistic Stereotypes And The Variability Of Social Meanings, Rebeca Martinez Gomez

Linguistics ETDs

This dissertation examines the flexibility in the social meanings of sociolinguistic stereotypes and how linguistic and non-linguistic information affect these meanings. The investigation consists of four empirical studies surrounding the case of fresas in Mexico –members of the upper class that are perceived as using a unique linguistic style.

Study 1 investigates the linguistic and non-linguistic characteristics associated with the fresa stereotype. Through a qualitative analysis of 64 webpages and 3 performances of the style, it is shown that fresasare perceived as the counterpart of another construct, nacos,and that their linguistic style is linked to English due to …

The Black Reltrad Method For Classifying Protestant Denominations, Jason Shelton

Sociology & Anthropology Datasets - Archive

The code for the Black Reltrad method of categorizing religious affiliations among African Americans.

The Black Church has remained an important topic of scholarly interest for more than a century, but less attention has been devoted to the consequences of contrasting denominational affiliations within the African-American Protestant religious tradition. We advance a new coding scheme that allows researchers to measure and test black affiliates across a range of denominations with roots inside and outside of the greater Black Church. Findings from the 1972 to 2014 General Social Surveys indicate that our “Black Reltrad” syntax more meticulously captures similarities and differences …

Examining Origins And Reasoning For Beliefs Surrounding Contraceptive Practices In College Women, Kathryn Keith

Honors College Theses

This research project studies how students’ perceptions, actions, and thoughts around contraceptive practices develop over time and through college. The literature addresses how the environment of college and American culture affects how women develop contraceptive practices that are convenient not only for their bodies but their schedules. Research focuses on how educational background, religion, culture, and relationships influence contraceptive choices among students, especially women. Social factors influencing availability of contraception and education about contraception potentially lead to confusion about the most effective ways to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy. I focused exclusively on the Georgia Southern University community, …

A Closer Look At Nabataean Burials, Anna Nielsen

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

The ancient city of Petra is famous for monumental rock-cut tombs. These structures contain two little-understood mortuary types: primary burial, in which corpses were interred without alteration, and secondary burial, in which corpses were exposed and defleshed. This research explores the circumstances under which Nabataeans received primary or secondary burial.

You Have Seventy-Two Hours: How The City Complaint System Enables Criminalization Of The Unsheltered Population, Lindsey Grace Earl

Theses and Dissertations

The unsheltered population has been denigrated since the formation of the United States. This is true in a city I call Marinville, Illinois where the privatization paradigm, social stratification, and anti-homeless ordinances have contributed to the shutdown of at least five homeless encampments. Multiple times per week, law enforcement officials interact with the chronically unsheltered population and incarcerate individuals for petty ordinance violations. In our current regulatory system, city officials, police officers, and homeless service organizations (HSOs) all influence the unsheltered population’s lives, including options for social and spatial mobility. This thesis is based on multi-method research from 2016-2017: engaging …

The Weight Room, Cameron Burnette, Whitney Hall

Furman University Student Films

The Weight Room is a short film that examines the culture of the Furman University weight room as seen through the eyes of the football team. It shows how the weight lifting program differs during the season versus the off-season. Our film integrates interviews with two weight lifting coaches along with two young players who have recently entered the weight program and were forced to learn and adapt to the culture very quickly. These interviews help the audience understand the culture through the eyes of the coaches who try to establish it, and the eyes of the players who are …

Culture Of The Furman Dining Hall, Celia Castellano, Ben Hinson

Furman University Student Films

This film provides an in-depth exploration of the culture of the Daniel Dining Hall at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Through various interviews, both with students and staff, this film captures the day-to-day operations of the facility—exploring relationships between students and the workers who serve them. Students explain the connections they feel with various employees at the Dining Hall. Managers, floor staff, and kitchen staff speak about behind-the-scenes aspects of Furman University’s primary food-service provider. The film delivers an anthropological background of a campus landmark.

The Sisters At Williams Hardware, Olivia Corso, Hailey Pierce

Furman University Student Films

Nestled in the tiny town of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, the Cafe at Williams Hardware is a busy hive of activity. Boasting traditional Southern-style comfort food, a friendly waitstaff, and locally handcrafted merchandise – ranging from cookbooks, to bird soap dishes, to windchimes – Williams Hardware is more than just a cafe. This film follows two Furman University students as they explore this cornerstone of Travelers Rest which also stands as the oldest restaurant on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 10-mile bike trail which connects Greenville to TR. The iconic McCarrell sisters, Joyce and Nancy, have run the place with …

The Business Block, Hope Kelly, Sorrelle Dattel

Furman University Student Films

“The Business Block” is a short ethnographic film on the culture of Furman University’s unique undergraduate Business program. At Furman University, undergraduate business students complete a semester-long program called The Business Block. This program combines classes and lectures, professional development seminars, guest speakers, and a semester-long group project to create a unique and challenging experience for Business students. The film explores the Business Block and the unique culture created by this experience. It focuses on the benefits of this undergraduate program, the challenges students face, and the rich relationships among professors and students.

The Professors' Perspective, Nicole Flores, Noah Turnley

Furman University Student Films

The Professors’ Perspective is a student-made ethnographic film that aims to take a look into the lives of professors at Furman University. This film looks at two professors in the Health Science Department as they explain their likes and dislikes about being a professor, the most difficult part about being a professor, and the daily routines they may or may not have.

Behind The Mint Doors, Sarah Murdaugh, Grace Honohan

Furman University Student Films

“Behind the Mint Doors” is a short ethnographic film that focuses on the community of the Furman University Art Department and the building it inhabits. This student documentary features interviews from five different college seniors, some art majors and some not, and exposes what studying art entails in a hardworking but isolated environment. Disciplines shown include sculpture, printmaking, painting, graphic design, and ceramics.

Clarke, Kenneth Wendell, 1917-2012 (Mss 635), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 635. Manuscripts, notes, publisher’s correspondence, and photographs relating to the scholarly work of WKU English and folklore professor Kenneth W. Clarke, principally "Bud Long: The Birth of a Kentucky Folk Legend" and "The Harvest and the Reapers." Also includes reel-to-reel tape discussing home burial and casket - coffins, African American discussing race relations, singing in Barren County, Kentucky. See also digitized reel-to-reel tape T (T) -7-71-16 discussing cockfighting.

Serving A Segregated City: Primary Medical Care Access Disparities In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Michael Vingiello

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Clayton, Louis Craig (Fa 1138), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1138. Student paper titled “The Harpending House” in which Louis Craig Clayton details the history related to theconstruction of Asbury Harpending’s sprawling mansion built near Eddy Creek in Princeton, Kentucky in 1873. Harpending, known for his financial exploits along the western coast of the United States, spent more than $65,000 to build the estate which featured more than 20 rooms, a swimming pool, gas heating, and indoor plumbing. In his paper, Clayton speaks with Mrs. Eldred, a leading historian at Princeton and wife to John Eldred. Harpending’s great-nephew. Clayton also speaks with Ina …