ANTHROPOLOGY SENIOR PROJECTS
Research in Progress
Lisa Catto: "Rural Romans in Southern Italy: Excavating the Roman Imperial Site of Vagnari in Gravina in Puglia."
Joy Charron: "The Working Child: Industrialization and Child Labor at the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill"
Mat Davila: "Uncovering New Philadelphia: Communicating the Relevance of History through Archaeology."
Bradley Hull: "From Braceros to Small Business Owners: The Transformation of Rural Oregon by Mexican Immigrants."
2008 Graduates
Amy Franzen: "Colonias and Crayons: An Anthropological Study of Children’s Futures in Ladrillera, a colonia in a U.S.-Mexico Border Town." An anthropological study of families and their children in the colonia of Ladrillera, located in the U.S.-Mexico border town of Agua Prieta, Sonora, based on field research conducted during the summer of 2007 while taking part in WOU’s first ever U.S.-Mexico border field school. This paper utilizes the theories of underdevelopment and dependency to help us understand the experiences of children and families and examines the cultural, economic, and systemic causes of their current plight in the poorer and underdeveloped neighborhoods of the city.
Jesus Zarate: "Sitting with a SMILE."
2007 Graduates
Nicole Juergeson: "Making Homes Out
of RVs: Alternative Housing in Rural Southern Oregon." An exploratory ethnographic
project will identify why low-income families in Grants Pass use RVs as a form
of alternative housing and how they create a sense of home in those RVs.
Melissa Moch:
Danny Sprinkle: "Enough Sand to Go Around?:A Political
Ecology study Of the Imperial Sand Dunes." This project investigates cultures
of recreation in political ecology. It will explore the composition of Duners
(recreationalists) economic and social interactions in the Imperial Valley Sand
Dunes. It seeks to understand how the Duners use the land, how the government
affects the Duners and the land itself, and how the government uses different
tools to influence and control the Duners.These two groups have conceptualized
the land in dissimilar ways, which has caused tension as a result. The goal
of this project is to assess how this tension is caused and lay a possible framework
of reconciliation between these two groups.
Christy Golden: "Marketing Culture: The Effects of Tourist
Market Production on Nahua Identity." During study at the Universidad Latina
de America in Morelia, Mexico, Christy engaged in participant observation of
the artisan market community to learn about the relationship between traditional
and commodified material culture. Summer 2006.
Daniel Kuehnel: "Hometown
Pride: A Community's Cultural Identity Constructed through Publication."
My study examines how the community newspaper of Silverton, Oregon, helps to
construct the cultural identity of the town’s residents as being a part
of a small-town American community. The citizens of Silverton generally hold
the Silverton Appeal-Tribune in high esteem, despite complaints about lack of
coverage, improper grammar, and missed deliveries. Although the newspaper itself
(as a product) may construct the identity of the Silvertonian culture, those
who produce the newspaper are actors in the same community that is portrayed.
Therefore, it is the actors behind the Appeal-Tribune that construct not only
the cultural identity of other residents in the town, but also their own. Viewed
through the lens of practice theory, the Silverton Appeal-Tribune becomes a
channel of communication between the news reporters and the community. This
study takes an actor-based approach, examining not only those who consume the
product, but also those who construct it and perpetuate the town’s culture.
Hometown.
Laura Soules: "Rock Walls and Rusted Dreams: An Archaeological
Examination of Homesteading On the Crooked River National Grassland, Oregon."
An archaeological survey of homesteads on the Crooked River National Grassland
in Jefferson County, Ore., based on archival and field research conducted during
the summer of 2006. Combining anthropological, historical, and geographic perspectives,
this paper focuses on Central Oregon’s place in the process of westward
expansion in the United States. It examines the cultural, economic, and ecological
causes for collapse in the 1930s and the ways in which those events have contributed
to modern conditions on the Grassland. Also included is a discussion of cognized
environments and the ways in which they shape human understanding of the world
through culture and individual interaction with the landscape.
Beth A. Shute Fleisher: "Converting the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde: Exploring Factors Influencing Persistence of Tribal Religious
Lifeways." Survey and interview research among members of the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde investigated effects of coercive conversion strategies
employed by missionaries in the period before Termination. Summer 2005, 2006.
2006 Graduates
Megin Ellis: "Inclusion or Exclusion: A Museum’s
Search for Balance Between Social Classes." Megin's internship at the Jekyll
Island Museum provided an opportunity to explore the relationship between the
elite, exclusive club culture commemorated by the museum and the community that
visits the present day, publically-owned recreation area. Summer 2006.
Rachel Freel: "Ancient Pompeii: A City of Continuous Change.
" While working as an excavation team member with the University of Bradford's
Anglo-American Project in Pompeii, Rachel investigated how the city's economic
and social life changed over the centuries before its destruction. Summer 2006.
Nini Callan: "Mt. Angel Monastery and the Ecology of Migration."
Christopher S. Harker: "Battle Scars: Pain and Ritual
in Contemporary American Tattooing." Ethnographic research among tatoo
artists and wearers in Salem and Portland focuses on aspects of the tattooing
ritual that create a sense of community. Summer 2005.
Heather Maxwell: "Identity Creation in Skateboarders."
Ethnographic research among frequenters of the Newberg Skate Park explores the
creation of identity in members of the skater community with a focus on dimensions
of leisure time, space, gender, and consumption. Summer and fall 2005.
Erica Meyer: "Art Harvest and the Creation of Community."
Participant observation and interviews with artists during the Yamhill County
Art Harvest Studio Tour exploring the impact of the tour on the lives and reputations
of the artists and on the bonds among members of the community. Summer and fall
2005.
William Tornquist: "An Exploratory Study of Retirement:
A Transition into Retirement." Explores the ritual and process of moving
from work to retirement as a new social phenomenon. Why do people stop working
and how well do they adjust to this new phase of life? Based on six months of
participant observation on communities of retirees in three different states.
Spring and summer 2004.
2005 Graduates
Melissa Boettcher: "The Expansion of the genus Homo into
the Southern Iberian Peninsula during the Plio-Pleistocene: Interpretations
Supporting an Early European Occupation." Dr. Joseph Gibert Clols has been
excavating two areas in the southeast region of Spain since 1979 with his son
Dr. Luis Gibert Beotas. The first location is Orce where there are several sites
that the Gibert's have been excavating for signs of early human occupation.
They have found four human bone fragments, cut marks on fossils, and Oldowan
tool assemblages. The second site, Cueva Victoria, has been excavated since
1984. It has yielded a rich record of the fauna during the early Pleistocene
period 1.2 mya. The Gibert's are proposing an early expansion of the species
Homo occurred from Africa into the southeast region of Spain around 1.8- 1.2
mya.
Peter LaDuke: "Tools of the Bering Straight Region: Enhancing
the Value of a Museum Collection." I conducted this research to increase
my knowledge ofthe Bering Strait Region and to enhance the collection of tools
at the Jensen Arctic Museum. I studied a tool collection at the Jensen Arctic
Museum consisting of 243 tools: ulus, adzes, awls, and drills. I worked with
each
tool individually taking down object name, identification number, tool location,
material, condition, description, weight, measurements, sketch, and photograph.
I did hands on work at the museum to accomplish this task. I have done outside
research on the four types of tools that I have worked with consisting of Ulus,
Adzes, Awls, and Drills. In my paper I have analyzed each of the tools starting
with the ulu using the size of the object to show the use. I showed the difference
in the traditional adze to the adze after the introduction of metal. With the
awl I have showed the how the size correlates to the use. I showed the difference
in the material used in the fire starting drill compared to the drill used to
bore holes in material.
Julia Bell Parks: "Urban Symbolism: An underground community
visited." The underground hip hop community in Portland, Oregon uses symbols
everyday to resist the mainstream or commercial society. This study views them
by looking at the history of hip hop. Members of the underground hip hop community
are also viewed as they identify themselves as underground, through opposition
to commercialism, opposition to "selling out," social action as resistance
to the mainstream or commercial society, the idea of ritual as resistance, and
the issue of race. I have conducted fieldwork during the summer of 2004 in Portland,
Oregon in effort to answer the question of symbolic resistance in the underground
hip hop community.
2004 Graduates
Jamy Beecher: "What is the Role of the Interpreter? Exploring
how Interpreters Function in a Local Community." Explores the role of formal
academic training influences behaviors towards the Deaf community and how interpreters
balance personal and professional relationships with Deaf clients. Based on
3 months of fieldwork with members of the interpreting community at Western
Oregon University, winter 2004.
Leslie Dooney: "Ghosts, Angry Gods, and the Scottish Play:
Ritual and Superstition in the Theatre." An examination of rituals and
superstitions in three college theatres in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Based
on participant-observation and interviews with both students and faculty members
during fall 2003.
Stacy Hopkins: "The lifestyles of the Christian college
student." An examination of a specific Christian faith held by college
students in Portland, Oregon. Based on participant-observation at meetings and
services with church members over the summer of 2003.
Michael Hicks: "Reconstructing the Self: A Look at Anonymity
and Identity in the Online Game of Counter-Strike." Virtual and face-to-face
interviews with participants in a squad-based shooter game to determine the
effects of new technology role-playing in the online community.
Rebecca Lee: "In the American Shadow: Expressions by the
French in Relation to the War in Iraq." An in depth look at underlying
feelings towards America and its actions during the recent conflict in Iraq.
Perspectives will be taken from interviews with people of different genders,
age groups, and social and ethnic backgrounds. Based on a semester study abroad
in Angers, France fall term 2003. Where is Rebecca now?
Jared D. Orosco: "Turkish University Students: Working
on Success." Interviewed Turkish students and others at the University
of Kassel, Germany, during study abroad spring-summer 2003, focusing on how
they are able to "beat the odds" and obtain access to higher education.
Meagan Palmateer: "The Dirt on Soils and Sediments: What
they Tell Us About Life in the Deserted Village, Achill Island." Participated
as a member of the National University of Ireland at Galway research team exploring
a pastoral village occupied during the medieval and post medieval time period
during July and August 2003. Project will focus on understanding the landscape
from an environmental archaeology perspective with particular attention to interpretation
of soils.
Charity Yonker: "Consumer Tactics: Local Participants'
Attitudes toward an International NGO in the Arusha Area." Participation
and interviews with local farmers in Tanzania designed to learn local peoples'
tactics in responding to Global Service Corps' Bio-Intensive Agriculture program.
Based on six weeks of ethnographic field work during winter 2004.
2003 Graduates
Ardyth DeBruyn: "Culture in a Structure of Transition
and Uncertainty: Liminality and Communitas among Modern Pilgrims on the Camino
de Santiago." The Camino de Santiago is a modern pilgrimage trail that
traverses the path medieval pilgrims followed to Santiago de Compostela. In
modern times pilgrims from many diverse countries come together on this trail,
traveling slowly by the traditional methods of hiking, horse riding, or biking
(the modern equivalent of the horse). This paper examines pilgrim culture along
the Camino using the idea of pilgrimage as a form of liminality as explained
in the theories of Victor Turner. Turner adapts tribal liminality in rites of
initiation to describe the experience of modern pilgrims in Western culture.
Thus, between pilgrims, a culture of liminality and communitas forms, in which
people of diverse backgrounds come together in rituals of shared faith and commonness
of belief. The Camino de Santiago is an unusual pilgrimage in that pilgrims
form a group of equals, facing the ordeals of travel together, separated from
society, similar to that of the pilgrims of the Middle Ages. Thus, the Camino
de Santiago pilgrimage follows a pattern of liminiality more similar to liminality
in tribal societies than the variations of liminiality described by Turner and
Turner in other modern pilgrimages. The Camino pilgrimage also differs from
Turner and Turner's model in that pilgrims shelve their religious and ideological
differences. This allows Christian pilgrims, New Age Pagan pilgrims, and pilgrims
of undefined religious beliefs to bond together in a communitas environment
rather than the communitas based on shared belief in Turner and Turner's work
on pilgrimage. It is the ideas of who a pilgrim should be and how a pilgrim
should behave that define pilgrims rather than shared religious belief or other
factors such as nationality or social standing.
Adrienne McKeehan: "The Changing Practice of Traditional
Thai Festivals: Songkran and Loy Krathong Today." Examines contemporary
Buddhism in Thailand and explains how two major traditional celebrations have
been adapted to fit modern needs. Based on a year abroad program.
Amanda Meuwsen: "Domestic Violence Webs and the Strands
of Society: Women Working to Build Self-Sufficiency." Research into the
motives and work of women who assist other women in escaping domestic violence.
Based on volunteer service and ethnographic research at a shelter in a small
Oregon town.
Elizabeth Lutgens: "Terrorism Decades Before 9/11: A case
study of the Rajneesh attack in Wasco County, Oregon." Ethnohistorical
and ethnographic investigation of the Rajneesh salmonella contamination of restaurants
in the Dalles in 1984 and how it has affected individuals and the community.
2002 Graduates
Thomas W. Bahde: " 'Everyone is German': Revitalizing
Ethnicity in Mount Angel, Oregon, 1966-2001." The resurgence of ethnic
expression in the form of heritage and folk-culture celebrations among descendents
of European immigrants has been interpreted by social scientists in two primary
ways: either as white resistance to African-American, Latin@, and Native American
ethnic movements or as a cultural fantasy enacted by people desperate for a
unique sense of identity. I argue for a new interpretation by examining the
rural community of Mount Angel, Oregon and conclude that expressing German ethnicity
reinforces long standing community norms of solidarity and mutual support, which
are also expressed through the agrarian and Catholic identities of the community.
This tripartite agrarian-German-Catholic identity is flexible enough to incorporate
the sizeable Hispanic and Russian ethnic populations into the community. A new
interpretation of the white ethnic revival must be adopted which takes into
account historical, economic, demographic, and religious factors in communities
that have undergone such ethnic revivals. The form and function of the so-called
white ethnic revival movement can only be understood through ethnographic fieldwork
in specific communities.
John Harr: "I Once Was Lost but Now I Am Found."
Examines how Lakota history has been excluded from the textbooks used in a Montana
high school. Will then examine local white misperceptions of Lakota history
and their views of the Lakota people.
Tom Henderson: "Every End Marks a New Beginning: A study of the
coping methods of hospice caregivers." Examines hospice workers, conceived
as a "community of healers," who work in a local Oregon hospice and
offer alternative care to dying people. Attempts to identity and explain the
stresses of caring for the terminally ill on a continual basis and the role
(if any) of ritual in assisting caregivers in coping with such stress.
Jessica Jarrett: "O'bon: Collectivist Culture, Personal
Agency and Historical Oppression within a Japanese Tradition." Every year
in Japan the ancestors are invited home for the four days of O 'ban— the
Buddhist festival of the dead. In Kyoto, Japan during the first half of August
many rituals and festivities take place, including the invitation dance (Bon
Odori) grave cleaning, altar maintenance and the final Daimonji fires. Individuals
and businesses both participate in this tradition which is of great collective
importance. The endurance and augmentation ofO'bon, and has been influenced
by the historical course of religion, primarily Buddhism and Shinto in Japan.
While in Japan from July 24th to the 28th of August I observed, participated
in and interviewed people on the topic ofO'bon. On my return home I conducted
a survey of Japanese students going to school at Western Oregon University.
As a result of this fieldwork and research it can be said that the collective
culture of Japan, the personal agency of the Japanese people and the historical
oppression of Japan's religions has created, and today perpetuates the practice
of O 'bon. Where is Jessica now?
Adrian C. Johanson: "Excavations at Tell Qarqur: Exploring
the Meanings of Context in Archaeology." This paper explores context and
its meanings in archaeology. Three different levels are discussed. First I will
examine context within a site, using Tell Qarqur as the model. The second level
is context at a more regional level, or context between sites. The examples
here are Ugarit, Ebla, and Qarqur. The third and final level of context I explore
in this paper is the context of learning about archaeology by working in the
field, specifically examining my experiences in Syria during the 2001 season.
Liz Kalhar: " Personal Space: The Interaction of Cultural
Expectation and Reality on the MAX Light-rail in Portland, Oregon." Examines
social interactions on public transportation in Portland, Oregon. What kinds
of people tend to rely on public transportation? Do these individuals form relationships
with one another or do their interactions fit with the standard prototype for
urban interactions: impersonal, superficial, and self interested? Are there
differences in how men and women interact on public transportation? Involves
participant observation, survey, and interviews.
Cheyenne Byers Lemmon: "Gender Dynamics in an Institutional
Setting: How Different Worlds Lead to Different Interpretations and Misunderstandings."
Examines gender, communication, and power in the institutional setting of the
university. Observations took place in WOU classrooms. Observation was complemented
by open-ended interviews with male and female undergraduates on their perceptions
of gender difference and communication. Where is Cheyenne now?
Patricia L. Schmauder: "One Quest to Develop Tribal Sovereignty:
The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon." Examines the efforts
of the Siletz Confederated Tribes to reestablish their identity as a cohesive
group through a variety of programs that control resources and offer services.
Based on library, Internet, and newspaper research.
Sean Vigil: "Curandero Consultation by Mexican-Americans
within the Oregon Willamette Valley." Examines the ways in which Mexican-Americans
value and utilize traditional healing methods in addition to or as a replacement
for standard medical treatment.
2001 Graduates
Annmarie Hein: "An Analysis of Flaked Stone Tools and
Debitage from Siuslaw Dune 35LA25: A Prehistoric Site on the Central Oregon
Coast." The Siuslaw Dune site 35LA25 is located on the central Oregon coast
near the city of Florence. Excavations were conducted at the site in 1999 and
2000 by Western Oregon University in partnership with the Siuslaw National Forest.
Robin Smith, Department of Anthropology and Phyllis Steeves, forest archaeologist
served as coprincipal investigators. When analyzing the flaked lithic assemblage
at Siuslaw Dune I conclude that this site was used for lithic reduction into
finished tools, with the raw material gathered elsewhere. Also, that the most
frequently used material was chalcedony or cryptocrystalline silicate and in
the 2000 expedition a chipping activity area, or lithic scatter, was excavated.
Kyle A. Locke: "Beyond Putnam: Golf as a Medium to the
New American Community." Examines work and leisure in middle-class America
and the way that golf has emerged a critical new associational activity among
middle-class Oregonians. Involved ethnographic research at a local golf course,
including interviews with owners, workers, and members. Also included archival
research.
Kari Spencer: "Teenage Mothers: Breaking Through the Stereotypes."
Examines American stereotypes of unwed mothers and the sociological interpretation
that teens have babies to achieve "intergenerational closure." Research
involved interviews with unwed mothers.
Roger Sundberg: "The Effects of the Law on Communities
of Drinkers." Examines Oregonians' attitudes about new alcohol laws; research
involved interviews with local bar owners and servers as well as bar customers.
Allison Wilson: "Looking for Water and Finding a Wife:
Marriage Among the Tonga." The focus of this paper is to look at traditional
marriage in the Tonga society of Siachilaba. This does not represent the entire
Tonga population's beliefs as the information is taken only from one village.
As well as looking at traditional marriage, this paper will also examine the
gender roles in Tonga society, and the ways that outside influences have begun
to effect the younger generations ideas of marriage, sex roles, and family responsibility.
Where is Ally now?
2000 Graduates
Tori Fornaciari: "La Jara de Oro: A Study of Upper/Middle
Women in Mexico City." La Jar a de Oro is a perspective of contemporary
gender dynamics among a minute population of Mexico City. Mexicans from tropical,
desert, rural, and urban regions migrate steadily into a city that is saturated
with cultural diversity. In a metropolitan locality the contrast of economic
and social position becomes painfully apparent: The upper/ middle class comprise
a small sector of the twenty-five million people living in Mexico City, but
they have an extraordinary amount of power. Opportunities rare to the majority
of Mexico's men and women are available to Mexicans of a higher social and economic
standing. Cultural ideals are also variable among the different social strata
and are closely linked to available opportunities. Living with a financially
privileged family I became familiar with the ideal and the real expressions
of gender dynamics among the young adult generation. Traditional values have
been appropriated into the contemporary values of modern Mexican culture.
Krista Gullickson: "Researching Arctic Belief Systems
and Reinstalling the Spirit World Case at the Paul Jensen Arctic Museum."
During the summer of 19991 served as an intern at the Paul Jensen Arctic Museum.
My goals were to research Arctic cultures and rework the Spirit World display
case. This study provides background on the Paul Jensen Arctic Museum and the
Eskimos, primarily the Inuit. This was used to design and install a new exhibit
that represents what shamanism is and how it uses dancing and masks. A finished
display case is described and recommendations for future work are made.
Anthropology students are free to consult these theses. Please ask an anthropology
faculty member if you wish to borrow a copy of any of the works listed above.