Anthropology Commons^™

Articulating Sexuality: A Critical History Of Gay And Lesbian Anthropology, Carly Fox

Social Sciences

The purpose of this paper is to explore anthropological discourses regarding sexuality and relate them to the lived experiences of individuals. The paper is divided into two interrelated sections: historical and theoretical. Section one identifies a subfield within anthropology, gay and lesbian anthropology, most prominently represented by The Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (SOLGA), and traces its emergence within the wider discipline of anthropology. It highlights the foundational scholars and theoretical shifts that have been crucial in defining the subfield as it is today and looks at how early anthropologists approached sexuality in general, and same- sex sexuality in …

Eating Behaviors And Body Composition Among College Freshmen: The Effect Of Dietary And Commensal Culture On Biological Outcomes, Amelia E. Sancilio

Lawrence University Honors Projects

As new college students become autonomous eaters, they may independently develop behaviors related to food that fulfill both biological and cultural purposes. I report here on the results of a biocultural, mixed-methods study of 21 students’ first term of college residence. Interview data and anthropometric measurements permit exploration of the interaction between a shift in participants’ cultural surroundings, physical condition, and food-related thoughts and actions. Participants’ goals of fulfilling their student responsibilities and maintaining social relationships predominantly dictated when, where, and what they ate, while their level of satisfaction with these behaviors was associated with whether their actions were consistent …

Small Anatomical Variant Has Profound Implications For Evolution Of Human Birth And Brain Development, Robert G. Tague

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fatty Acid Composition In The Mature Milk Of Bolivian Forager-Horticulturalists: Controlled Comparisons With A Us Sample, Melanie A. Martin, William D. Lassek, Steven J. C. Gaulin, Rhobert W. Evans, Sheela S. Geraghty, Barbara S. Davidson, Ardythe L. Morrow, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Breast milk fatty acid (FA) composition varies greatly among individual women, including in percentages of the long-chain polyunsaturated FAs (LCPUFA) 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid, AA) and 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA), which are important for infant neurological development. It has been suggested that owing to wide variation in milk LCPUFA and low DHA in Western diets, standards of milk FA composition should be derived from populations consuming traditional diets. We collected breast milk samples from Tsimane women at varying lactational stages (6–82 weeks). The Tsimane are an indigenous, natural fertility, subsistence-level population living in Amazonia Bolivia. Tsimane samples were matched by lactational …

Culture Counts: Culture, Language & Mathematics In The U.S., Arielle L. Ramberg

Senior Theses

This study explores the interaction between culture, language, and mathematics through the experiences of multicultural individuals in the United States as they learn mathematics in English as a second language. Regarding mathematics as a fundamental a-cultural truth hides the role that cultures have played in its construction. This study critically examines this perspective through the contradicting experiences of multicultural individuals shared in qualitative interviews. I focus on the power relations implicit in not only the Standard English of the classroom, but also the standard forms of mathematics that students must learn to succeed, and the effects that this power has …

Northern Lights: Fourth World Nations And The Geopolitical Dance In The Arctic, Heidi G. Bruce

Capstone Collection

Over the past decade, the Arctic region has received increased attention from climate scientists, politicians, and transnational corporations. Human-induced climate change is causing glaciers to recede, resulting in new northern sea passages that are highly sought after by businesses and governments alike. Deeply affected by this increased northern exposure are Arctic Fourth World nations – politically and culturally distinct nations encapsulated by states – that have lived in the Arctic for millennia. This paper examines the impacts that expanded northern sea routes are having on Arctic Fourth World nations and the conflict mitigation approaches being used in the region. Research …

A Lone Nut In Compton:Lessons In Community Engagement With Treepeople In South Los Angeles, Jason Schlatter

Capstone Collection

The following study was conducted as an exploration of the community engagement practices of the Los Angeles based nonprofit organization, TreePeople. The intention of this study was to foster a deeper understanding about the theories and practice of the “outsider” TreePeople’s community engagement initiatives in the region of South Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the communities of Compton, Inglewood, and historic South Central. I attempted to synthesize a collective narrative about the way TreePeople interacts with its constituents and community partners by drawing upon the experiences and perceptions of TreePeople staff, community partners, and community members. The individual experiences …

Growing Support: Localism, Nonprofits, And Food Access In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Brent Tranchina

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Problems with food insecurity, such as a lack of access to healthy and affordable food in low-income neighborhoods, has been an ongoing challenge in New Orleans. The damages inflicted by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent citywide flooding on the local food system reduced the numerical count of operational full-service supermarkets and grocery stores throughout the city. The result has been a widespread presence of food deserts and grocery gaps, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. This thesis explores the emergence of food localism practices by food advocacy professionals as a capacity-building tool for New Orleans residents to increase community food security and develop …

From Pupusas To Chimichangas: Exploring The Ways In Which Food Contributes To The Creation Of A Pan-Latino Identity, Sarah B. Fouts

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Framed through the standardizations of food and generalizations of people, this research explores the shifting ingredients of migrant identities and the ethnic foodways carried with them as they cross the border into the United States. Using ethnographic observational fieldwork, content analysis of menus, and semi-structured interviews with restaurant staff and migrant workers, this study examines the transnational narratives of the day laborer population and their deterritorialized food culture in post-Katrina New Orleans. Further, this research explores this flow of people and culture through a globalization lens in order to achieve a more holistic understanding of the “migrant experience” and how …

Casa Samba: Identity, Authenticity, And Tourism In New Orleans, Lauren Lastrapes

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Casa Samba is a cultural organization and samba school that has been operating in New Orleans’ performance scene since 1986. The group has been run by an American couple, Curtis and Carol Pierre, since its inception. Their son, Bomani Pierre, has been raised in the Afro-Brazilian drumming and dance practices that Casa Samba teaches and performs. Life histories of the group’s founding family are the basis of this qualitative case study. Using the details of individual lives and the context that these details provide, this dissertation seeks answers to two key questions: How and why does an American couple …

Deep Play, Urban Space, Adolescent Place: A Multi-Sited Study Of The Effects Of Settings On Adolescent Risk/Reward Behavior, Benjamin A. Shirtcliff

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The extant literature on the play behavior of youth normalizes adolescent behavior in public space as transgressional, resistant, and in need of social control. The dissertation counters this trend by looking to see if physical qualities, peer effects, and neighborhood context of settings play a deeper role in youth behavior. The study documented urban context, peer effects, physical features, and play behavior across 21 urban settings in New Orleans. Unobtrusive observations employed a highly innovative technique based on YouTube videos and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Coded observations of risk-taking and prosocial behavior demonstrated some stability in behavior amongst adolescents—“youth” …

The Materiality Of Mobile Pastoralism: Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives From Samburu, Kenya, Katherine Mary Grillo

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This thesis represents the first comprehensive ethnoarchaeological study to date on the material culture of African mobile pastoralism, a way of life economically, culturally, and ideologically centered on the herding of livestock. In Africa, tens of millions of people today still rely on cattle-based pastoralism for survival in arid lands that are unsuitable for agricultural production. Our understanding of ancient pastoralism is still hampered, however, by a belief held by many that nomadic populations such as pastoralists are difficult to trace in the archaeological record. Results from ethnographic research among modern Samburu cattle pastoralists in Kenya in fact challenge common …

From The Womb To The Tomb: The Role Of Transfers In Shaping The Evolved Human Life History, Michael Gurven, Jonathan Stieglitz, Paul L. Hooper, Cristina Gomes, Hillard Kaplan

ESI Publications

Humans are the longest living and slowest growing of all primates. Although most primates are social, humans are highly cooperative and social in ways that likely co-evolved with the slow human life history. In this paper we highlight the role of resource transfers and non-material assistance within and across generations in shaping low human mortality rates. The use of complex cooperative strategies to minimize risk is a necessary precursor for selecting further reductions in mortality rate in late adulthood. In conjunction with changes in the age-profile of production, the impacts of resource transfers and other forms of cooperation on reducing …

Conversion Theory Through The Cognitive Science Of Religion Lense In A Christian-Muslim Context, Jennifer A. Garcia

Scripps Senior Theses

The Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) in recent years is beginning to become more popular. This project evolves around the development of the field as well as critiques of the field. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of CSR, it lends an interesting way to understand religion as well as religious experiences. One of those religious experiences, conversion, is examined and explored through the use of conversion narratives from western women who were formally Christian but converted to Islam. Many themes arise out of this research that paves the way for trying to understand religious experiences. Overall, the project focuses on …

Coffee And Dates: Perceptions Of Life In The Modern Middle East, Patrick Edward Thevenow

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Old men were everywhere. The Nizwa Souq was crawling with them as they wandered through the labyrinth of shops to converse, eat dates, and drink coffee. Instantly, scenes from Wilfred Thesiger's "Arabian Sands" came to mind as the old men of the souq went about their daily business. This was the first time I had truly been on my own in Oman-away from my school and the Americans there, away from the modern conveniences of Muscat-yet as my initial sense of bewilderment subsided, I began to realize this research was going to change the course of my life. The men …

Delivering Quality Care: The Roles And Future Of Midwives In Southern California, Abigail Jones

Scripps Senior Theses

The United States is ranked 27^th in the world for maternal mortality, yet spends twice as much on maternity care services as countries with better maternal health indicators. Stuck in a technocratic and physician-dominated maternity care system, the U.S. depends on expensive technologies to control birth out of fear of pain and litigation, costing Americans billions of dollars and depriving women of the opportunity to have a transformative birth experience. Through an analysis of the medicalization of birth and the current biomedical model in birth, in conjunction with open-ended interviews with 5 hospital midwives and 3 homebirth midwives, the …

Implications Of Land Development On Nomadic Pastoralism: Ecological Relaxation And Biosocial Diversity In Human Populations, Hannah R. Bradley

Scripps Senior Theses

Nomadic pastoralism is an ancient subsistence strategy, historically balanced and in continuity with sedentary societies. Sedentarization of nomads occurs normally because of ecological disasters, economic opportunities, urbanization, and government policy. In this paper, I examine the effect of changing land use patterns on nomadic pastoral populations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, using biogeographic methodology to further explore the contemporary relationship between humans and their environments. Nomadic population information gleaned from diverse ethnographic studies, and GIS data on anthropogenic biome distributions, were used to calculate changes in nomadic population, area of developed land, and nomadic/sedentary population density over the …

Grey Matter: Investigating The Gendered Fan Consumption Of Grey’S Anatomy, John Barr

Honors Theses

This study investigates the fan consumption of the television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, which is commonly associated with a predominately female fanbase. Utilizing both a male and female focus group with fans of the show, participants took a survey (gathering demographics and their Bem Sex-Role Inventory score) and viewed two episodes of the show, both followed by a discussion of the episode and the show in general. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed in full for analysis, along with the survey data and observational notes taken during the viewing. Coding of the data revealed that males and females held …

An Analysis Of Lithic Debitage From Mound C At The Winterville Mounds Archaeological Site (22ws500), Barbara Mcclendon

Honors Theses

The Winterville Mounds, located in Northwest Mississippi, was once home to one of the largest chiefdoms in the Southeast. It served as a both a religious and political center and housed the ruling class atop its twenty-three manmade mounds. Recent excavation on Mound C at Winterville has uncovered an unusually large quantity of lithic artifacts. In an effort to shed light on the presence of such utilitarian tools where elites resided, this study utilized individual flake analysis on 830 pieces of lithic debitage, including cores, flakes, shatter, and tools. After documenting significant evidence of early through late stage lithic reduction …

Human-Animal Relationships In Traditional Healing Methods: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, Ashley Long

Honors Theses

Limpiezas are a form of ritual used around the world for healing and diagnosis illness. In a lot of cases, rituals such as these are used with other objects such as bones, flowers, eggs, or animals. Within the Santeria and Andean cultures, limpiezas are performed using animals; it is the goal of this research paper to determine why certain animals are used and how they complement the healing process. Research included an exploration of contextual data and cross-cultural analysis of the different populations. It was found that the differences found in the cosmologies of the separate cultures can be referred …

Pilgrimage To The Birthplace Of Elvis Presley, Joseph Samuel Miller

Honors Theses

At the Elvis Presley birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi, a sacred, secular pilgrimage is taking place. This study used the categories of myths, symbols, and experiences to understand the perceptions of the pilgrims at the birthplace. Using a combination of interviews and mapping, the themes and data presented show that the area has a clear distinction of sacred space, which was defined by the relics in the spaces that Elvis physically interacted with. The pilgrim related to these symbols through strong, varied mythological content. A mapping component illustrated the international spatial distribution of pilgrims to the birthplace and confirms that it …

Filipino-Japanese Marriages, Leslie E. Bauzon

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction, Jr. Aguilar

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction, Jr. Aguilar

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

No abstract provided.