Anthropology Commons^™

Documenting The Undocumented: Experimenting Europe At The Biometric Migrant Archive, Romm Lewkowicz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dissertation is a critical ethnography of the biometric governance of asylum seekers and illegal migrants in the European Union, an integral apparatus for the policing of border-free Europe. Interrogating the paradox of how ‘undocumented migrants’ have been—and are—the most documented subjects in Europe today, the research explores how this documentation assumes the form of biometric technology and its relation to the postwar eradication of Europe’s internal frontiers. At the center of these processes and my research object is Eurodac: a pan-European apparatus for the biometric documentation and regulation of Europe’s paperless migrants and asylum seekers. By attending to both …

Bodies On The Line: The Politics Of Regulating Pornography In Los Angeles, Christopher J. Baum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the regulation of sexually explicit media in the United States – specifically in Los Angeles – and the site used to understand it is the modern pornography industry at its points of production. I argue that since the industry's formation in the early- 1970s, regulatory efforts have focused on controlling porn worker’s bodies as a way of enacting broader social transformations and reshaping the domains of erotic life. Drawing from eighteen months of ethnographic research, I explore several interlocking forms of regulation. I begin by examining the formation of pornographic production cultures during what I call the …

The Objective Function: Science And Society In The Age Of Machine Intelligence, Emanuel D. Moss

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Machine intelligence, or the use of complex computational and statistical practices to make predictions and classifications based on data representations of phenomena, has been applied to domains as disparate as criminal justice, commerce, medicine, media and the arts, mechanical engineering, among others. How has machine intelligence become able to glide so freely across, and to make such waves for, these domains? In this dissertation, I take up that question by ethnographically engaging with how the authority of machine learning has been constructed such that it can influence so many domains, and I investigate what the consequences are of it being …

Living In Permanent Transience: An Ethnography Of Contemporary Alexandria, Alexandra K. Schindler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a study of two distinct groups — Syrian refugees fleeing war and heading for Europe and young Egyptian artists and intellectuals living in post-revolution Alexandria, Egypt. Based on twenty months of ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews, this project shows how the experience of living in permanent transience is a condition of both groups struggling to make Alexandria feel like home. The recent influx of Syrian refugees into Alexandria has had a significant impact on this Mediterranean coastal city, as it has become both the scene of emergent social and economic relations, and a crucial …

Desde El Fuego Que En Mí Arde: Performance, Literatura Y Cine Afro-Latinoamericano Producidos Por Mujeres Afrodescendientes En Perú, Cuba Y Brasil (1960–2000), Elena Ekatherina Chavez Goycochea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines different films, literary, and performance art pieces created by contemporary afro-descendant women from Peru, Cuba, and Brazil after the sixties with emphasis on the most relevant works of Conceição Evaristo, Sara Gómez, Victoria Santa Cruz, and Lucía Charún-Illescas. I focus my research on the crucial role these artists played in the cultural identity formation of Latin America when inserting ‘race’ as a category of socio-political analysis and cultural production. How did their films, performances, and texts challenge national narratives and imaginaries after 1960? Although in the sixties, women improved their civil rights in different countries, the ‘mujer …

Avocado Mania: The Rise And Costs Of Our Obsession With Avocados, Rosa C. Lourentzatos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The past two decades have seen a surge in global demand for avocados, which have become popular among middle- and high-income fractions of society in developed regions of the world. Avocados are predominantly consumed far from their centers of origin and out of their traditional cultural context. The United States imports 87 percent of its avocados from a single region in Mexico, Michoacán. The systems of production and provision that have risen to meet the demand for this fashionable fruit have had devastating social and environmental effects, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, pollution, displacement of indigenous populations, food insecurity, …

A Technological Analysis Of Ancient Maya Shell Beads From Pacbitun, Belize, Kimberly A. Kiddoo

Symposium of Student Scholars

Ancient Maya had one of the most complex societies in the New World. Their society was driven by the production of goods, including items made from stone, bone and shell. to shell objects were made into various shapes including pendants, bracelets and beads, possibly used for jewelry or as currency. At Pacbitun, located in west central Belize, 1,000’s of shell items in the form of beads have been found in and around homes that date to the Middle Preclassic period. Beads as well as marine detritus and chert drills have been found together indicating they were produced on site. This …

Immigration And Food Security: Assessing Levels Of Food Security Among Cabo Verdean Immigrant Households And Their Use Of Public Food Assistance Programs, Alexandria Seigler

Symposium of Student Scholars

On February 24, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security implemented the new public charge rule, which impacts new immigrants to the United States. An immigration officer must decide whether the person applying for a green card or visa will become a “public charge,” meaning that they will likely become dependent on government benefits. This project is part of a Diplomacy Lab team of KSU faculty and students sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. We are researching the experiences of new Cabo Verdean immigrants to the United States. My specific research focuses on food security and the use of public …

An Archival Study Of The Walnut Grove Plantation And The Young Family, Jennifer Billingsley

Symposium of Student Scholars

An Archival Study of the Walnut Grove Plantation and the Young Family

By Jennifer Billingsley

The Walnut Grove Plantation is situated near the confluence of the Etowah River and Pettit Creek in Cartersville, an area rich with history. The history of Walnut Grove is far-reaching into the past, beginning in the 1800s with the arrival of the family of Robert Maxwell Young from Spartanburg, South Carolina. As a location for the Kennesaw State University Archaeology Field School taught by Dr. Terry Powis, some basic knowledge about the property and family has previously been compiled with a focus on the Civil …

A Look Into The History Of Racial Diversity In The Congregation Of The Cathedral Of Christ The King, Devlin Mcelrone

Symposium of Student Scholars

This paper aims to assess the history of the Cathedral of Christ the King, a Catholic church in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, in terms of diversity. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the diversity of the church congregation in terms of race, while also focusing to a lesser extent on socioeconomic background and age. The area the church is in is primarily composed of upper-middle-class white families and it was through this observation that I came upon this topic. To investigate this issue, the first method used was spot sampling and constant monitoring of the congregation …

Haves Versus Have Nots: Analyzing Swift Creek Ceramic Distribution Within The Middle Woodland Etowah River Valley, Isabella Rosinko, Morgan Bendzinski

Symposium of Student Scholars

Swift Creek Culture refers to prehistoric Native American peoples of Florida and Georgia who produced a distinctive type of pottery, called Swift Creek Complicated Stamped, dating from 20 BC to AD 805. This Middle Woodland pottery type can be identified by curved geometric decorations stamped onto clay with a wooden paddle. Swift Creek Complicated Stamped pottery was widely traded across the Eastern Woodlands among high-status individuals and is therefore regarded as a prestige item. The preeminent Swift Creek site of the Etowah River Valley during the Middle Woodland is the Leake site. At the Leake site, there were three conical …

Kill Zones And Their Use During The American Civil War: An Archaeological Review Of The Battle Of Pickett’S Mill, Jeremy Wolfe

Symposium of Student Scholars

While not well known in the list of battles during the Atlanta Campaign late in the American Civil War, it is marked as an overwhelming Confederate victory in the face of looming defeat in the war itself. With the Union suffering nearly two thousand casualties, the tactics and strategies used by the Confederate army no doubt aided in their victory. During the battle, Union soldiers were drawn into a ravine where Confederate soldiers could easily fire down on them. The Union men followed the ravine up into a flat area where they were then fired on again with accurate rifle …

Student Loan Debt Impacts On Choosing A Field Of Study, Lance Mcgonigle

Symposium of Student Scholars

Student Loan Debt Impacts on Choosing a Field of Study

Abstract

Lance McGonigle – Email: [email protected]

Student loan debt has been steadily rising over the last handful of decades, and many students who take these loans have little to no knowledge about the financial challenges that these loans can bring. This research is aimed to understand how student loan debt impacts a students’ field of study choice during their time as a college student, or if this has any affect at all. In doing a qualitative, humanistic study; exploratory research was conducted using inductive reasoning along with the use of …

Laryngeal Vocals In Old World Locals: Air Sacs Usage In Bonobos, Chelsea Trenbeath

Symposium of Student Scholars

Except for humans, extant great apes have evolutionarily conserved lateral ventricular air sacs extending from laryngeal saccules. Humans are the only species of Hominidae that lack this anatomical feature attached to the primary vocal apparatus. As we are the only species that produces spoken language, this association has led to hypothesis that the loss of lateral ventricular air sacs was necessary for the evolution of spoken language. However, why these sacs are conserved in all other hominids remains unclear. Computer modeling has indicated that air sacs may increase resonance properties, but there are no data from great apes indicating which …

Using Visual Storytelling To Design Solutions-Based Approaches To Homelessness, Peggy Peattie

Dissertations

Despite millions of dollars spent over several decades on assistance programs, the nation’s homeless population has increased for the last four years in a row. The number of people reporting as homeless for the first time doubled in San Diego between June 2019 and June 2020. Trying to impose a one-size-fits-all model of care on a population comprised of unique individuals has resulted in many homeless opting for the street rather than subjugating themselves to rules they feel do not treat them with respect and dignity. Yet, the perspectives of homeless individuals are excluded from decision-making dialogue around policies and …

Penguatan Masyarakat Konsumen Abad Ke-21: Studi Kasus Konsumerisme Fast Fashion Di Inggris, Humaira Humaira, Evi Fitriani

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This article aims to understand the development of fashion consumerism in the United Kingdom (UK) with the focus: why fast fashion consumerism in the last two decades was very high? This study applied a post-structuralism paradigm, namely the Libidinal Economy concept from Jean-Francois Lyotard and a post-modernism paradigm on the Consumer Society from Jean Baudrillard. The method employed in the article is a case study in the UK in the last two decades. Data were collected from scientific writings, documents, news, and advertisements in media. The results show that fashion consumerism in the UK dated back to the 18th century; …

Konstruksi Identitas Nasionalisme Dalam Pikukuh Dan Buyut Masyarakat Adat Baduy, Armaidy Armawi, Desy Susilawati

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research is entitled “Construction of Nationalism Identity in Baduy Society Based on Pikukuh and Buyut.” This is a library research on the philosophical life of the Baduy, a traditional community in Indonesia. Analysis was conducted using interpretation, inductive and deductive, internal coherence, and holistica approaches. This research resulted is some conclusions. First, the Baduy community was found to uphold a form of ethno- nationalism which is based on Pikukuh and Buyut with a strong focus on the meaning of leadership, communal life, and observance of laws. However, this ethno-nationalism does not conflict with the state nationalism upheld by the …

Stereotipe Gender Dalam Serial Drama Daughter Of Lupin (2019), Nabila Vina Fairuzzahra

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Stereotypes shown by the media have influenced how society constructs their perspective on gender. Japanese television program that contained gender stereotypes is Daughter of Lupin (2019) drama series. This research aims to identify and explain gender stereotypes shown in Daughter of Lupin through the characterization of Mikumo Hana. This research is qualitative descriptive and it uses semiotic approach by Roland Barthes to analyze data. The result shows that Daughter of Lupin drama series has two types of gender stereotypes, which are traditional gender stereotypes and shifted gender stereotypes. It indicates that Daughter of Lupin is not fully breaking down the …

Pu Sapi Dan Lembu Agra: Kajian Antroponimi Berdasarkan Isi Prasasti Jawa Kuno (Abad Ke-9–16 M), Chacuk Tri Sasongko, Ninie Susanti

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Javanese literary works, especially the Panji tales, often feature human characters with animal names, such as Kuda Narawangsa, Kebo Kanigara, and Kidangwalangka. This naming phenomenon can also be found in old Javanese inscriptions. Recent studies generally concluded that such naming tradition occurred during the Kadiri-Majapahit era, and this was closely related to the banner of the army and the identity of makasirkasir. This study aims to reveal the motivation behind the naming tradition and the relationship between personal name, social status, and occupation of the person so named throughout the ancient Javanese era. This study uses Nyström’s onomastical approach, especially …

Ondel-Ondel: Looking For A Theoretical Explanation, Desti Yuwastina, Kyrychenko Volodymyr

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Ondel-ondel, initially believed to have fearsome characteristics and magical ability to ward evil spirits off, is still performed in various areas in Jakarta on particular occasions. Ondel- ondel was originally an ancient artwork named barongan. This research aims to seek a theoretical explanation of the ondel-ondel phenomenon by examining the relationship between the media and local culture. Several defining features of postmodernism are incorporated to reframe ondel-ondel as a form of entertainment, along with the interplay between the tradition and technology-assisted media. This paper seeks to reveal the actual meaning of ondel-ondel for locals and non-locals during their encounters with …