Anthropology Commons^™

Bringing Recess Music Indoors: How Attention To Musical Play In The Classroom Impacts A School Community, Angelina B. Scolari

Theses and Dissertations

Why should elementary music teachers learn about the games their students play at recess? This paper discusses the process of recovering children’s folklore at a Bronx elementary school, what findings can teach us about the children in our lives, and how music teachers can use “kid culture” in the classroom.

Picturing Consumer Culture, Cultural Hybridity, And Womanhood: Farah Al Qasimi’S Photographs From 2012 To 2020, Minji Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Farah Al Qasimi’s 2012-2020 color photographs, arguing that this work presents a distinctive and salient critique of domesticity, material culture, and womanhood in the UAE. Through her lens as a woman and a culturally hybrid subject, Al Qasimi explores the tensions of modernization, globalization, consumerism, and gender.

In The Doha International Airport, A Forest, Paulina Bianca Ocampo

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

In the Doha International Airport, a forest calls is a poem about a culture of deep ecology in a context of coloniality, brain drain, and my own part in it. Despite over 300 years of colonization in the Philippines and the colonization of our own education system, a certain deep ecology continues to thrive in the belief of spirits in nature. Among Filipinos, even in the thick of the Anthropocene, a sense of respect and fear for nature continues to exist. It is common, for example, for Filipinos to ask these spirits for permission to pass through forested areas. However, …

Towards A Sustainable Planet: Review Of ‘Global Environmental Politics’ By Kütting And Herman (2018), Mona Safizadeh

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Global Environmental Politics by Kütting and Herman (2018) explores our planet's complex challenges, urging collective action for sustainability. Across 13 chapters, the book explores sustainable consumption, the role of technology, and the impact of evolving economies on global politics. This comprehensive guide emphasizes the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic factors, offering insights for stakeholders to navigate toward a healthier future.

Beneath The Mask: The Performance Of Blackness And Economies Of Caricature In American Fiction, Terri Bowles

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

In American Fiction (2023), written for the screen and directed by Cord Jefferson, satire, drama and comedy frame a knife-sharp examination of America’s cultural reproductions of stereotype and caricature. The film, based on Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, explores the fraught professional position of Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a professor-author pressed to write a bestseller amid family upheaval and financial strain. Monk’s resulting novel, a gritty send-up of urban tropism drafted in a fit of fury and frustration, exploits America’s fixation on commodifying and flattening Blackness—and becomes an instant hit. This review explores the film’s interrogations of race, class and …

Can Marketing Transcend Entrenched Gender Biases?, Thinh Nguyen

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Through a feminist lens, Maclaran and Chatzidakis (2022) challenge conventional assumptions about gender, emphasizing its performative nature shaped by social practices rather than inherent traits. This commentary extends analyses of key themes such as gender performativity, the male gaze, and subject-object binaries within marketing. It critiques how marketing strategies reinforce existing power imbalances and systemic biases rooted in historical narratives. The writing also reflects on media interpretations of gender issues through films like 'Turning Red' and 'Barbie'. By contextualizing gendered marketing within broader societal frameworks, this writing contributes to ongoing dialogues in media studies, sociology, and gender studies, highlighting the …

Toils, Troubles, And Travesties Of Representation, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Rapid Increase Of Female But Not Male Obesity: Analysis Of The 2023 Vanuatu Health Transition Project Survey On Aneityum, Matthew Christian, Olivia Lasalle, Zhiqiao Huang, Hannah Chen, Ricky Chen, J. Koji Lum

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Globally, obesity rates are continuing to increase and countries in the midst of modernization are most vulnerable. Developing nations are undergoing a health transition alongside rapid economic modernization. The nation of Vanuatu, like other Pacific island countries, is experiencing such a transition marked by decreased cases of infectious disease and increased incidence of chronic and non-communicable diseases. Aneityum is a small and sparsely populated island in Vanuatu and is behind more developed islands in its transition. This present study is the latest in a multi-year project examining health in Vanuatu as it undergoes a health transition with an increased prevalence …

Evaluating The Integration Of Traditional And Western Medicine In Rural Ghana: The Role Of Healers And The Government, T. Nicole Lemon

Anthropology Undergraduate Senior Theses

A question of pressing importance for the healthcare system in Ghana is the integration between biomedical physicians, who are unreachable for many rural citizens, and traditional healers, who fill in the gaps in access for rural and non-rural citizens seeking care, and are oftentimes the preferred choice. The care offered by each system is derived from differing paradigms, with the biomedical related to Westernized practices and the healing related to holistic, traditional approaches. Integration of these systems would allow for more acknowledgment and communication between these two different kinds of providers, which in turn would improve the quality of care …

Dendrochronological Analysis Of The Duncan Tavern, Paris, Kentucky, Usa, Delaney Ballard, Maegen Rochner

Undergraduate Research Events

Duncan Tavern is a historical structure located at 323 High Street in Paris, Kentucky in Bourbon County. The structure currently serves as the headquarters for the Kentucky Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (KSDAR). KSDAR maintains that Duncan Tavern was originally built in the mid-1790s; the land was purchased in 1792 by Joseph Duncan, a civilian armorer in the Revolutionary War. Although Duncan Tavern has been listed on the National Register of Historical Places since 1973, a dendrochronological study of this structure was requested to quantitatively examine the legitimacy of archival and anecdotal claims about the construction history. …

"Speak Arabic!": Arabic Dialect Comparison Videos And The Reconfiguration Of The Maghreb-Mashreq Language Ideology, Jacquelyn Stewart-Kuhn

Honors Theses

There is a hidden power imbalance in the Arabic-speaking world. It is not related to warfare, politics, or oil, but language. For decades, Egyptian and Levantine (Mashreqi) dialects have been over-represented in Arabic language media, to the detriment of North African (Maghrebi) dialects. This imbalance has played a crucial role in reinforcing what Hachimi (2013) refers to as the “Maghreb-Mashreq language ideology,” i.e. the belief that Mashreqi dialects are superior to Maghrebi dialects. Yet in an era of social media, Mashreqi voices and dialects are becoming less dominant, and Arabic-speakers across the region are being increasingly exposed to Maghrebi voices …

An Analysis Of Differential Object Marking In Copala Triqui, Erin Mcgrath

ALL - Honors Theses

In this thesis, I review and investigate differential object marking in Copala Triqui, which uses the word man to overtly mark accusative case. Overt case marking is optional in some contexts and required in others. I describe the current literature on the topic and summarize the findings of other researchers on the optionality of man. Additionally, I examine another way to analyze differential object marking according to the qualities of the object only (“local”) or the relationship between the subject and object (“global”). The labels of local and global can be applied to existing analyses. The animacy, personhood, and pronominal …

Chromosome 7 Microdeletions: A Literature Review, Catherine Davi

ALL - Honors Theses

Microdeletions, deletions of part of a chromosome that are too small to be detected by light microscopy using conventional cytogenetic methods, have become a hot topic for geneticists over the past decade or so. Occurring in around one in every 4000 live births, some of these microdeletions do not allow for a viable offspring, while others have distinctive developmental consequences. Many of the genes on chromosome 7 play a large role in the early development of the head, face, and limbs and more generally on cell growth and division (Bethesda 2022). This research study reviews known microdeletions on the seventh …

Examining Diachronic Use Of Exotic Lithic Material From A Multicomponent Archaeological Site On Newfoundland, Canada, Addison Robbins

ALL - Honors Theses

Newfoundland has been home to several different cultural groups such as the Maritime Archaic, different Paleo-Eskimo groups, the Beothuk, and many others. These cultures are all unique in their own ways and the majority have been documented using the exotic material, Ramah chert. This material is typically found within seabed’s or within deep lakes because of the continuous sediment deposit. The excavation and lab analysis have emphasized the continuous use of this material over time. This can be attributed to several factors such as cultural significance or durability. This paper will mainly touch on the culturally significant aspects because of …

Bilateral Asymmetry In The First Metacarpal: The Influence Of Handedness In Humans And Non-Human Primates, Lucyna A. Bowland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Muscle attachment sites (entheses) are often used to infer soft tissue anatomy and reconstruct behaviors within skeletal populations, but there remains a significant debate about whether and to what degree muscle use is accurately reflected in bony morphology. One of the most difficult problems in establishing the relationship between variation in muscle use and entheseal development is the inability to exclude a variety of external factors thought to influence enthesis development, including age, sex, body mass, and activity patterns. One way around this is to take advantage of the fact that humans are handed (preferentially using one hand over another, …

Aerial, Surface, And Subsurface Multimodal Mapping In Coastal Peru: Insights From Cerro San Isidro, Moro Region, Nepeña Valley, Kayla Golay Lausanne, David Chicoine, Jeisen Navarro Vega, George F. Lau

Faculty Publications

This article describes a series of steps to integrate multiple modes of archaeological mapping in arid and agricultural settings. We use the coastal region of Peru as a case study and share our recent field experience at Cerro San Isidro, a multicomponent hill site located in the agriculture-intensive and mid-elevation (about 500 m asl) Moro region of the Nepeña Valley. In June and July 2022, we spent eight weeks deploying a combination of drone aerial imagery, pedestrian GPS reconnaissance, and GPR survey to map the surface and subsurface features at the site and in the adjacent agricultural fields. Our efforts …

Microfaunal Remains From The Ryan-Harley Site, Savanna Caylor

Honors Theses

The Ryan Harley site is located in the Wacissa River basin in northern Florida. It is one of the few sites in the southeastern United States to contain a Suwannee point artifact. Several excavations in 2015 and 2017 showed extinct and extant faunal remains within and around the Suwannee component. The geoarchaeological data showed that whether these remains were in situ or not is inconclusive. This paper will focus on the microfloral and faunal remains to draw conclusions about the environment encountered during the Younger Dryas (12,900-11,700 cal B.P). The relationship between floral and faunal species present will help to …

Archaic Burials In The Necropolis Of Aigai And The Manufacturing Of Significance In Archaeology, Abigail Chapman

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The excavation of Ancient Aigai, modern Vergina in Greece, has unearthed a wealth of archaeological treasures, including Macedonian tombs attributed to Philip II and Alexander the Great. However, the manufactured significance imposed on these excavations has shaped the contemporary understanding of Archaic burial practices in Aigai. This paper aims to understand how the constructed narratives surrounding these excavations influence current ideas on burial customs in Aigai during the Archaic period. By analyzing the layout of the city and its necropolis, scholarship can gain valuable insights into the social structure of Archaic Macedonia. This can help to develop a more complete …

Lucy Through The Years -- Temporal Trends In The Australopithecus Dentition, Olivia Ervin

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Australopithecus afarensis, an extinct human ancestor (ca. 3.75 – 2.95 million years ago) first distinguished in 1978, has a dense fossil record. Until recently, A. afarensis fossils were primarily known from two locations, Laetoli, Tanzania, and Hadar, Ethiopia, that are approximately 1750 kilometers apart. Additionally, there is no temporal overlap between the sites; fossils from Laetoli are older than 3.5 Ma and those from Hadar stretch from 3.4 – 3.0 Ma. For some tooth positions, the Laetoli and Hadar fossils subtly differ in size and shape. Previous research indicated that some of these differences could be attributable to evolutionary change, …

Houses Built For Gods: Articulations Of Urban Hokora In Kyoto, Steele Engelmann

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Amidst the urban landscape of Kyoto, Japan, there are thousands of hokora, small neighborhood shrines. This study uses social theories of pilgrimage and space to examine the articulation of hokora, community, and personal desire. As sites of local pilgrimage, hokora form networks of communal, but also individual, aspirations across the urban spiritual landscape of the city. This thesis argues that communities are connected to the larger social structures of Kyoto through hokora. As such, neighborhoods are reproduced and displayed through their hokora’s entanglements with the urban, social, and religious landscapes of Kyoto. Therefore, this study deploys an ethnographic approach to …

A Three-Dimensional Analysis Of Parkin Phase Vessels, Ca. Ad 1450, Eastern Arkansas, Liley Bozard

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Ceramic assemblages from Mississippian mound centers in eastern Arkansas have been used to distinguished distinct communities in the Central Mississippi Alluvial Valley (CMV). While archeologists have considered how the relative frequency of fine ware to coarse ware may differentiate communities, they have rarely looked at whole vessels in the CMV to describe practices related to food consumption, preparation, or serving, nor have they considered if vessel forms or decorations can distinguish communities or phases. In this thesis, I analyzed 800 whole vessels from Parkin and Nodena phase sites (A.D. 1400-1550) and quantified differences according to variables such as paste recipe, …

What's In A Name? Plant Naming As Cultural Artifact And Story In The Midwestern United States, Sophie Wesseler

Undergraduate Theses

This project sought to collect and contextualize the historical and contemporary names given to plants by inhabitants of the Midwestern United States, understanding plant names as cultural artifacts that can offer insight into the communities in which they were created and evolved. Formatted as a series of entries, this collection gathered these names and contextualized them within other artifacts of cultural significance, such as art or poetry, and alongside historical research on their origins and cultural environments. Examining plant names through the fields of linguistics, semiology, anthropology, cultural studies, taxonomy, and ethnobotany, this work traces the names of various plants …

The Use Of Laja In Construction In Ancient Mesoamerica: A View From The Southern Gulf Lowlands Of Veracruz, Mexico, Lauren Smith

Honors College Theses

The archaeology of the southern Gulf lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico is notable for its research pertaining to the Olmec culture (Jaime-Riveron 2016; Loughlin 2012; Pool 2006). The region was home to the Colossal Olmec Heads: large, easily identifiable sculptures crafted from the volcanic rock of the Tuxtlas Volcanic Field. The use of volcanic resources in such grand presentations may instill a bias in the research of some archaeologists, but it is important to consider how these and other volcanic resources might have been used in everyday life (e.g., Jaime-Riveron 2016: 86). The consolidated volcanic ash in this region is referred …

The Anthropology Of Self: How Achieving Greater Self-Concept Clarity Impacts Individual Behavior, Relationships, And Cooperation, Thomas Anthony Voccola

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the Passion & Purpose™ experience as a model for enhancing self-concept clarity (SCC) and its influence on personal and professional life. Traditional theories suggest self-concept forms unpredictably, possibly leading to pathologies that undermine well-being and interpersonal connections. Contrary to this, the study argues that deliberate interventions like Passion & Purpose™ can significantly improve SCC, promoting better mental, emotional, and relational health.

Adopting an anthropological perspective, which is rare in SCC research, this study uses ethnographic methods to delve deeper into self-knowledge. Passion & Purpose™, already implemented in various U.S. organizations, presents an innovative method for developing SCC. …

Celtic Cultural Identity In The Late Iron Age: Regional Comparisons Of Pit Burials, Samantha Lynn Beier

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Celtic-speaking peoples were once distributed across a vast territory from Europe to southwest Asia in the Middle and Late Iron Age. For example, the movement of some of these Celtic peoples, the Galatians, from Europe to Anatolia may be responsible for the appearance of new cultural practices that have been observed at two communities in the region during the Hellenistic period/Late Iron Age (ca. 300-100 BCE). Burial practices are one cultural practice that can be observed archaeologically in order to further investigate the migration of the Galatians and other Celtic tribes. Human interments in pits are found across Europe and …

Patterns Of Non-Consumptive Public Land Users: How Do Birders Value Species And Make Foraging Decisions, Rebecca (Bekki) Ann Waskovich

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Non-consumptive wildlife-associated recreation has grown by over 1000% since 1970. While the number of consumptive users has remained largely unchanged. Behavioral ecology and foraging theory can help to explain birder behavior to ascertain recreationists’ values and motives while on the landscape. During the Christmas Bird Counts of December 2022, 68 participants from Boise, Bruneau, and Nampa, Idaho counts were surveyed. A subset of those participants (29) volunteered to be interviewed further. Rarity and native species were found to be a top value for birders with 127 unique species with low encounter rates across all sites appeared in the top ranked …

Sensitive Developmental Windows In Craniofacial And Dental Fluctuating Asymmetry, Emily Moes

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation examines early life environments and changes in skeletal and dental tissues by focusing on plasticity reflected in fluctuating asymmetry (FA). Chapter 2 shows that microscopic enamel defects on canines are associated with craniofacial FA in two colonial Mexican cemeteries. Chapters 3 and 4 use data from dental casts and associated health records from a 20th century longitudinal growth study. I compare dental FA in the deciduous (chapter 3) and permanent (chapter 4) dentition to sociocultural and environmental stressors. In their prenatal and childhood environments, females’ dental plasticity may be more responsive to frailty or chronic stresses while males …

Evaluating The Integration Of Traditional And Western Medicine In Rural Ghana: The Role Of Healers And The Government, Teresa Nicole Lemon

Poster Presentations

A question of pressing importance for the healthcare system in Ghana is the integration between biomedicine, which is unreachable for many rural citizens, and traditional medicine, which fills in the gaps in access for rural and non-rural citizens seeking care and is utilized by 70% of the population. The WHO promotes integrated health systems and created strategies to assist governments in their efforts.

The Ghanaian government did create policies to aid in integration, but their attempt to integrate was unsuccessful. This, along with other factors, has led some scholars to consider the government’s efforts as “tokenistic”; however, they do not …

Repatriation In The Modern Museum World: Practical Problems Surrounding Decolonization Of Collections, Rachel M. Sudbeck

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Museums are home to many artifacts that allow us to learn about and understand people from around the world. However, many artifacts kept in Western (primarily North American and European) museums have origins steeped in colonial ideas of cultural superiority and collections acquired through ethically questionable means. Many institutions have been working to decolonize their collections by evaluating their objects' cultural origins and repatriating some pieces when possible. By repatriating (returning) objects of cultural patrimony as specified by laws such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), museums uphold their ethical duties and improve the quality of …

Lived Experiences, Migration Journey, Religiosity, And Spirituality Depicted In Drawings By Latino Children And Youth Crossing The U.S. Mexican Border: A Qualitative Study., Doroty Magalhaes Sato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Widespread violence forces thousands of Central American children to endure a hazardous journey toward the U.S. Border seeking refuge. In the Latino community, faith serves as a social movement of resistance against oppression, playing a vital role in migration. There is a paucity of research documenting this experience and children's overall journey. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the lived experience of crossing international borders, religiosity, and spirituality depicted in Latino children's drawings used as coping methods to endure the journey toward the U.S. southern border. This investigation employed Art-based approaches to give voices to children's experiences by analyzing 63 …