Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Book Review Of, Geraldine Pratt. Families Apart: Migrant Mothers And The Conflicts Of Labor And Love, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Families Apart: Migrant Mothers and the Conflicts of Labor and Love," by Geraldine Pratt

A Study Of Traditional Activities In The Exit Glacier Area Of Kenai Fjords National Park, Douglas Deur, Karen Brewster, Rachel Mason

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ) occupies roughly 1,760 square miles on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska. Sitting adjacent to the community of Seward, the park was established in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA). The central portion of the park contains the Harding Icefield, from which no fewer than 38 active glaciers exit into valleys and tidewater locations surrounding the park. Of these glaciers, Exit Glacier is the most publicly accessible, and the only park glacier with road access from the town of Seward. A number of individuals and families from the Seward …

Book Review Of, Patrick Daly, R. Michael Feener, And Anthony Reid, Editors. From The Ground Up: Perspectives On Post-Tsunami And Post-Conflict Aceh, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book, "From the Ground Up: Perspectives on Post-Tsunami and Post-Conflict Aceh," by Patrick Daly, R. Michael Feener, and Anthony S. J. Reid.

Collaborative Research To Assess Visitor Impacts On Alaska Native Practices Along Alagnak Wild River, Douglas Deur, Karen Evanoff, Adelheid Hermann, Alexanna Salmon

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

As one of the region’s famously productive salmon rivers, the Alagnak’s banks historically were lined with villages of both Yup’ik and Alutiiq residents, and archaeological data document millennia of human occupation.

Transgressing Sexuality: An Interdisciplinary Study Of Economic History, Anthropology, And Queer Theory, Jason Gary Damron

Dissertations and Theses

This interdisciplinary thesis examines the concept of sexuality through lenses provided by economic history, anthropology, and queer theory. A close reading reveals historical parallels from the late 1800s between concepts of a desiring, utility-maximizing economic subject on the one hand, and a desiring, carnally decisive sexological subject on the other. Social constructionists have persuasively argued that social and economic elites deploy the discourse of sexuality as a technique of discipline and social control in class- and gender-based struggles. Although prior scholarship discusses how contemporary ideas of sexuality reflect this origin, many anthropologists and queer theorists continue to use "sexuality" uncritically …

People Of Snowy Mountain, People Of The River: A Multi-Agency Ethnographic Overview And Compendium Relating To Tribes Associated With Clark County, Nevada, Douglas Deur, Deborah Confer

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The current document has been undertaken to assist agencies in meeting their obligations for federally mandated compliance and consultation with Indian tribes that have historical associations with Clark County. The document has been designed in part to provide an overview of the territorial associations of various tribes with ties to this area. This is accomplished using ethnohistorical documentation as well key legal documents, such as treaty language and Indian Claims Commission findings, that establish parameters for agency consultation responsibilities. Managers of Clark County’s federal lands have been eager to identify those tribes that are tied to the area in various …

A Historical And Archaeological Study Of The Nineteenth Century Hudson's Bay Company Garden At Fort Vancouver: Focusing On Archaeological Field Methods And Microbotanical Analysis, Elaine C. Dorset

Dissertations and Theses

The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), a British fur-trading enterprise, created a large garden at Fort Vancouver, now in southwest Washington, in the early- to mid-19th century. This fort was the administrative headquarters for the HBC's activities in western North America. Archaeological investigations were conducted at this site in 2005 and 2006 in order to better understand the role of this large space, which seems incongruous in terms of resources required, to the profit motive of the HBC. Questions about the landscape characteristics, and comments by 19th century visitors to the site provided the impetus for theoretical research of gardens as …

Book Review Of, Pushing For Midwives: Homebirth Mothers And The Reproductive Rights Movement, Jennifer Aengst

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Pushing for Midwives: Homebirth Mothers and the Reproductive Rights Movement" by Christa Craven

Book Review Of, Paul Shankman. The Trashing Of Margaret Mead: Anatomy Of An Anthropological Controversy, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "The Trashing of Margaret Mead: Anatomy of an Anthropological Controversy," by Paul Shankman.

Tourism, Persistence, And Change: Sherpa Spirituality And Place In Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park And Buffer Zone, Nepal, Jeremy Spoon

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ecotourism and cultural tourism are emerging as vehicles for many of the world’s indigenous peoples to integrate into the global market economy. The ecological knowledge and understanding of these societies may in turn be affected by these nascent industries. As part of shifting human-environment relationships, tourism can influence place-based spirituality. In this manuscript, I describe research on how tourism affected Khumbu Sherpa place-based spiritual values in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. As Tibetan Buddhists, the Sherpa embodied dual overlapping conceptions of sacred landscape that connected people to place in some environmentally sustainable ways. Since the 1960s, …

A New Perspective On Late Holocene Social Interaction In Northwest Alaska: Results Of A Preliminary Ceramic Sourcing Study, Shelby L. Anderson, Matthew T. Boulanger, Michael D. Glascock

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research examines the evidence for prehistoric ceramic exchange networks over the last 2000 years in northwest Alaska through the use of neutron activation analysis of ceramic artifacts. Results from ceramic analysis on eight coastal and inland archaeological sites identified three source macrogroups and three associated subgroups. Clay source diversity and shared source macrogroups between geographically distant sites suggest the use of multiple sources and/or the movement of pots between production locales, mirroring related patterns in pottery stylistic data. Although additional analytical work is needed to fully understand the changing character of clay procurement and ceramic distribution across this time …

Bioarchaeological Analysis Of Historic Kormantse, Ghana, William C. Schaffer, E. Kofi Agorsah

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human skeletal remains associated with 17th century artifacts were recovered during the latest excavations at Kormantse, Central Region, Ghana. The following is a preliminary bioarchaeological analysis, and in particular, it concerns data pertinent to demographics, dental and skeletal health, and human behavior extracted from the population sample. All three study areas of the site contain evidence of at least seven individuals and as many as nine. In Study Area 1 at least two adult individuals are represented from leg bones within this feature or area. One may have been a female with a body mass of 59.0 kg. Two teeth …

Sri Lankan Migration To The Gulf: Female Breadwinners - Domestic Workers, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Several waves of Sri Lankan migration have taken place since the country gained independence in 1948. Beginning in the mid-1950s, wealthy, educated, English-speaking elites have migrated to Commonwealth countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom. In addition, since the upsurge in ethnic hostilities in the early 1980s, Tamil-speaking Hindu migrants have left the country, with many settling in Canada. In contrast with these permanent migrants, since 1976 a growing number of Sri Lankans have become migrant workers. The leading destination for this migrant labor force — the majority of whom are women — has been the Gulf.

Comments On The Emergence And Persistence Of Inequality In Premodern Societies, Kenneth M. Ames

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The author discusses the development and persistence of permanent inequality in human societies. He comments on an article which undertakes inequality in premodern societies and proposed that intergenerational wealth transmission is the reason for the evolution and persistence of inequality, mentioning the three categories of wealth including material, relational, and embodied.

Local And Traditional Knowledge And The Historical Ecology Of Pacific Herring In Alaska, Thomas F. Thornton, Madonna L. Moss, Virginia L. Butler, Jamie Hebert, Fritz Funk

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article focuses on the historical ecology of the Pacific herring, a marine food web resource, in the Gulf of Alaska. It states the hearing conducted by the Alaska Legislature's House special committee on fisheries on the status and management of herring in Southeast Alaska during which Tlingit fisherman Clarence Jackson of Kake notes the disappearance of herring in his lifetime. Information on herring ecology based from Native and non-Native individuals from Southeast communities and archaeological site reports reveal that non-Natives in Southeast Alaska have exploited herring with the development of a herring reduction plant. It underscores the need for …

Sri Lanka’S Post-Tsunami Recovery: Cultural Traditions, Social Structures And Power Struggles, Michele Ruth Gamburd, Dennis B. Mcgilvray

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004 killed over 220,000 people and affected two million more in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other Indian Ocean nations. As the world reels under the impact of more recent disasters in Haiti, Peru and Pakistan, we consider lessons learned about postdisaster relief and recovery from the aftermath of the tsunami in Sri Lanka.

The tsunami waves caused by an undersea subduction earthquake off the coast of Sumatra devastated 70% of Sri Lanka’s coastline and killed 35,000 people. Days after the disaster, Dennis McGilvray joined forces with Michele Gamburd to organize an …

A Beer Party And Watermelon: The Archaeology Of Community And Resistance At Ccc Camp Zigzag, Company 928, Zigzag, Oregon, 1933-1942, Janna Beth Tuck

Dissertations and Theses

In March 1933, the administration of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a national relief program aimed at alleviating the disastrous effects ofthe Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) began as one of these programs designed to employ young men from all over the country and put them "back to work". The CCC provided these young men with training, a monthly stipend, and basic supplies such as food, clothing, and accommodations. After 1942, CCC camps were closed and many of these sites were abandoned or destroyed, leaving little historical documentation as to the experiences ofthe people involved. This …

Book Review Of, Pei-Chia Lan. Global Cinderellas: Migrant Domestics And Newly Rich Employers In Taiwan, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Global Cinderellas: Migrant Domestics and Newly Rich Employers in Taiwan," by Pei-Chia Lan.

Advocating For Sri Lankan Migrant Workers: Obstacles And Challenges, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nearly a million Sri Lankan women labor as migrant workers, the vast majority in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in West Asia. They are poorly paid and vulnerable to a wide variety of exploitative labor practices at home and abroad. Despite the importance of worker remittances to the national economy, and in spite of Sri Lanka’s history of organized labor and active political participation, migrants have received only anemic support from the state, labor unions, feminist organizations, and migrant-oriented nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The article contextualizes Sri Lankan migration within larger-scale economic dynamics (such as global capitalist policies and processes) …

Book Review Of, Diane P. Mines. Fierce Gods: Inequality, Ritual, And The Politics Of Dignity In A South Indian Village, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Fierce Gods: Inequality, Ritual, and the Politics of Dignity in a South Indian Village," by Diane P. Mines.

Sex Work And Moral Conflict: Enhancing The Quality Of Public Discourse Using Photovoice Method, Crystal Renee Tenty

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis uses an advocacy/participatory framework and moral conflict theory to examine the opposing ideas: and interests of parties involved in the issue of prostitution on 82^nd Avenue in Portland, Oregon. It locates areas of contention within the larger dominant feminist discourse, which views sex work as either a form of violence and exploitation or as a form of legitimate free-contract labor. The thesis shows how the intractable moral conflict between these differing feminist theories and values can be mediated using participatory data collection techniques.

Ethnographic data was collected and analyzed from 11 women working in the sex industry …

Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project: Alagnak Wild River Resident User Study, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report represents a thematic summary of findings from the Alagnak Wild River Resident Users Study, the final project in a larger series of studies conducted for the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the Alagnak Wild River Visitor Use Project. The National Park service administers the 56 miles of designated Wild River along the Alagnak in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages fish and wildlife populations along the river. The NPS is charged with managing the river’s natural and cultural resources, as well as preserving the river’s lands and resources for current and …

Archaeological Investigation Of Historic Kormantse, Ghana: Cultural Identities, E. Kofi Agorsah, Thomas Butler

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

An archaeological project launched as part of Kofi Agorsah’s Fulbright Scholar program at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana in 2007, aimed at investigating the cultural formation and transformation of the historic Kormantse settlement on the Gold Coast, in response to changes occurring through colonial times. It sought to explain, by use of ethnographic and archaeological material, the processes and cultural manifestations by which the settlement’s population, including those who passed through Kormantse during the trans-Atlantic slave trade between the 16th and 20th centuries, negotiated their survival and identities. Preliminary studies in 1999 and 2007 indicate that Kormantse embraced the …

An Anthropological Examination Of Mandated Ultrasounds As An Element Of State Policy On Abortion, Anne Morrill

Anthropology Theses

Prenatal ultrasounds have become commonplace and widespread throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Ethnographic studies have illustrated that ultrasounds can have a positive impact on a woman’s pregnancy, one that establishes a relationship between the mother and the unborn fetus as a person. This relationship comes into question when examining the state’s regulation of abortion. Several states, including Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, South Dakota, South Carolina and Ohio have considered legislation that would mandate the use of ultrasounds prior to terminating a pregnancy. The specifics of these policies vary from mandating ultrasounds as simply an option for pregnant women …

Milk Teeth And Jet Planes: Kin Relations In Families Of Sri Lanka’S Transnational Domestic Servants, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay examines the confluence of local and global dynamics, exploring how transnational migration affects and is affected by gender roles, kinship relations, intergenerational obligations, and ideologies of parenthood. Journeying to the Middle East repeated on two-year labor contracts, many of Sri Lanka’s migrant housemaids leave behind their husbands and children. Women’s long-term absences reorganize and disrupt widely accepted gendered attributions of parenting roles, with fathers and female relatives taking over household tasks. Migrants say that economic difficulties prompt migration, and assess commitment to kin in financial terms. The government also benefits from remittances. Nevertheless, stakeholders (villagers, politicians, and the …

Book Review Of, Caitrin Lynch. Juki Girls, Good Girls: Gender And Cultural Politics In Sri Lanka’S Global Garment Industry, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Juki Girls, Good Girls: Gender and Cultural Politics in Sri Lanka’s Global Garment Industry," by Caitrin Lynch

Book Review Of, Mark Whitaker. Learning Politics From Sivaram: The Life And Death Of A Revolutionary Tamil Journalist In Sri Lanka, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Learning Politics from Sivaram: The Life and Death of a Revolutionary Tamil Journalist in Sri Lanka," by Mark Whitaker.

The "Visions Of Pele" Competition And Exhibit At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Jeremy Spoon

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article provides an overview of the "Visions of Pele" competition and exhibit at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Money That Burns Like Oil: A Sri Lankan Cultural Logic Of Morality And Agency, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

New labor opportunities have drawn Sri Lankan women to work as domestic servants in the Middle East. Many migrants complain that their remittances "burn like oil," disappearing without a trace. The gendered discourse on burning remittances both draws on and contradicts an older cultural system that fetishizes money. The emerging logic provides symbolic resources for women to spend their remittances on advancements for the nuclear family, distancing themselves from other kin. (Migration, remittances, fetishism, Sri Lanka, Middle East)

Book Review Of, Plants Of Haida Gwaii, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Plants of Haida Gwaii" by Nancy J. Turner.