Updated 12/06/06
All four current news items from The BU Today Page.
Anthropology students win honors
in international writing competition
Two BU students taking the lecture course "Principles of Cultural
Anthropology" taught by Faith Warner were winners in an international
competition sponsored by the Center for a Public Anthropology's Yanomami
Community Action Website Project. Maria Johns (right) won the
international competition by majority vote of the student participants,
ranking first out of 1727 students from ten universities in the U.S. and
Canada. Georgia Palmeter won the third place position based on the final
vote. Johns is a biology major from Mechanicsburg and Palmeter is a
Medical Imaging student from Williamsport. The competition involved
students writing a letter to the director of a major research funding
agency on anthropological ethics and fieldwork responsibility. The
essays were competitively selected through a peer-reviewed process. |
Conrad Quintyn, assistant professor of anthropology
wrote an article titled: Forensic Anthropology. Dr. Quintyn was invited by the
editor of the Pennsylvania Homicide Investigators Association Newsletter (PHIA)
to write this article. This article can be found in 2006 PHIA Newsletter. Pp.
6-7 (December).
David Minderhout, professor of anthropology, and
former BU student, Andrea T. Frantz, presented a paper at the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association on November 15, in
San Jose, Calif. The paper was titled “Invisible Indians: Native Americans in
Pennsylvania” and was based on two years of research among Native Americans in
the state. Frantz is currently in the Ph.D. program in anthropology at Arizona
State University.
Conrad Quintyn, assistant professor of anthropology,
presented a paper titled “One Step Away from Angels: The Uphill Battle in
Reversing Twenty Generations of American Creationist Thinking” at the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association on Nov. 18. In the
paper, he discusses the fact that humans enjoy their position closer to angels
in Aristotle’s scalae naturae or “Great Chain of Being” implying that
humans are very distant from the animal world. Consequently, suggestions that
humans have prehistoric ancestors are strongly rejected. The abstract can be
found in the American Anthropological Association 105th Annual Meeting, San
Jose, California, November 15 to November 19, p. 430 (Abstract).
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old news of 11/6/06
from the Fall 2006 Bloomsburg: the University
Magazine:
fa
irest Of Them all
S T O R
Y B Y D E I R D R E G A L V I N
What keeps ’em coming back to the
Bloomsburg Fair year in and year out? BU anthropology students find out through
class project.
B L O O M S B U R G T H E U N I V E R S I T Y M A G
A Z I N E
Sue Dauria, chair of BU’s
anthropology department, teaches students about data collection with an
assignment at the Bloomsburg Fair.
When most people think about the Bloomsburg Fair, they envision
funnel cakes, games, rides and agricultural displays. But for anthropology
faculty member Sue Dauria, the annual event is a perfect place for data
collection and studies in cultural anthropology. “The fair is such a cultural
experience,” says Dauria, 43, chair of the anthropology department. “It’s
like an exotic culture comes to Bloomsburg every year. Our students can learn
about a different culture right here – without having to fl y to Thailand.”
The project was introduced in 1999 by Jerry Mitchell, a member of the geography
faculty. When he left BU in 2003, Dauria took over, continuing a collaboration
with John Hintz, assistant professor of geography and geosciences, who maps fair
demographics using a GIS (Geological Information System) program.
Dauria gears the assignment to students in her introductory
anthropology course and sees the project as a good way to introduce the
challenges and rewards of data collection. Each student brings 20 surveys to the
fair; historically, they have found most fair-goers willing to participate.
The surveys have revealed some surprising results, Dauria says.
One of the most interesting, for example, came from the 1,400 surveys
distributed in 2005 and showed that visitors are drawn to the fair not by
advertising or marketing as expected but by previous experiences and tradition.
The value of advertising and the fair’s Web site can be measured, however, in
attendance at Grandstand events, she adds.
Another “surprising” result requires a discerning eye, Dauria
says. Findings from the 800 surveys completed in 2004 concluded flooding from
Hurricane Ivan was not a major deterrence to attendance. Interesting, yet not
completely accurate, she notes, since the people who were interviewed were
already attending the fair. Dauria added new questions last year, including an
open-ended query targeted to BU students who are attending the fair. Results
showed African American students and those who hail from cities varied in their
comfort levels, sometimes feeling self-conscious amid the crowds.
Other findings from surveys completed last year at the 151st
Bloomsburg Fair included:
• Attendance was down overall (441,077 in 2005 compared with
509,380 in 2004), a fact that fair president Fred Trump attributes to the fair’s
crackdown on free admission.
• Fair attendees were 51 percent female and 49 percent male.
• The average person spent $77 at the fair, with women spending
a little more ($82) and men spending slightly less ($72).
• And, the biggest spender was a woman who parted with a total
of $1,200, which was $200 more than her male counterpart.
B
Deirdre Galvin is a freelance writer from Bloomsburg.
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Two Anthropology Faculty Members
among those recognized with Dean's Excellence Award
Photo and data
from the Oct. 18, 2006, Today Plus page of the Bloomsburg University website
Liberal Arts
Dean's Salute to Excellence
George Agbango, interim dean of
the College of Liberal Arts, presented the college's annual Salute to
Excellence Awards. Faculty were selected for the awards based on their
scholarship, teaching evaluations and service to the university. Pictured
above are, from left: president Jessica Kozloff; provost James Mackin;
recipient Lisa Stallbaumer-Beishline, history; James Brown, assistant dean
of Liberal Arts; Julie Kontos, psychology; Agbango; recipient Christine
Sperling, art and art history; recipient Thomas Aleto, anthropology;
recipient Saleem Khan, economics; recipient Gary Clark, art and art history;
recipient Conrad Quintyn, anthropology; and recipient Neil Strine, political
science.
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From the Sept. 26, 2006, Today page of the Bloomsburg
University website:
Dr. David Minderhout, professor on anthropology, has
published and article, "Serious Play: Word Play in Performance," in Reviews
in Anthropology, Vol. 35 (3):253-266, September 2006. Publication in
Reviews in Anthropology is by the invitation of the editorial board only.
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More news about Dr. David Minderhout's research:
Dr. Minderhout and
Spring 2006 BU Anthropology Graduate Andrea
Frantz will be giving a presentation at the American Anthropological
Association in San Jose on Nov. 15. The paper is entitled "Invisible
Indians: Native Americans in Pennsylvania Today."
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From the June 16, 2006 Today page of the Bloomsburg University website:
Anthropology students take part in Ohio excavations
Two BU anthropology majors, senior Kitawna Hoover of Middleburg and
sophomore Judith Steinhilper of Bloomsburg, spent three and a half weeks
participating in excavations at a Hopewell moundbuilder settlement site in
southern Ohio. The Brown's Bottom 1 site excavations were co-directed by BU
anthropology professor DeeAnne Wymer and Paul Pacheco of SUNY - Geneseo.
Kitawana Hoover excavating at Brown's Bottom 1.
Judy Steinhilper keeps detailed notes on her earthoven excavation.
Very large earthoven with intact logs still present at bottom of pit.
Some of the logs are white oak.
Hopewell spearpoint.
The excavation site in midday.
Artifacts have been recovered with radiocarbon dates between A.D. 260 and
A.D. 430. For a second year the Bloom students have partnered with SUNY
Geneseo and this year the excavation uncovered earthovens, pottery, animal
bones, mica, a copper awl, and numerous stone tools. The site will be
featured in the Archaeological Conservancy's flagship magazine "American
Archaeologist" in the fall.
Hoover has also recently been awarded a scholarship from the Center for
American Archeology to attend a three week Adult Field School Program.
Located in Kampsville, Ill., the field school will focus on the continued
excavation of The Buried Gardens of Kampsville archaeological site. The site
is a Middle Woodland Hopewell moundbuilder habitation village. Kitawna has
already completed two summer field schools at a second Hopewell
archaeological site in Ohio under the direction of Wymer. Opportunities and
scholarships through the Center for American Archaeology are made possible
by the Monticello College Foundation. The Kampsville field school will be
held from July 24 to August 11.
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MORE INFO. about the 2006 OHIO EXCAVATIONS:
Thanks to Dr. Wymer for the following news. You
will also find it in the most recent Liberal Arts News from Bloomsburg
University's College of Liberal Arts (Fall 2006 No.6)
Dr. DeeAnne Wymer, Department of
Anthropology, has returned from co-directing fieldwork earlier this summer at
the Brown’s Bottom 1 site, Ross County, Ohio. Excavations continued from
the previous summer and included 30 students from SUNY- Geneseo and Bloomsburg
University. This site is the first completely documented Hopewell
Moundbuilder habitation site for the region and this summer’s discoveries
included more ritual mica artifacts as well as a copper tool and numerous
ceramics, animal bones, plant material, and other items. The 2006
excavations are being featured in the Fall 2006 issue of American Archaeology
magazine and several Bloomsburg University students are now working on various
projects with the site’s materials. In addition, the paper
“Investigating Ohio Hopewell Settlement Patterns in Central Ohio: Archaeology at
Brown's Bottom #1 (33Ro21)”, by Paul Pacheco, Jarrod Burks, and DeeAnne Wymer,
at the Midwestern Archaeological Conference, October 20-22, 2005, Dayton, Ohio.
Dr. Wymer presented the paper “Is the Household Concept a Useful Analytical Tool
in Hopewell Studies?” at the Society for American Archaeology conference, San
Juan, this past April 28. Dr. Wymer also gave an invited
presentation at the Pennsylvania State University Department of Middle Eastern
and Classical Studies for the International Mendes Research Project symposium “Human
– Plant Interaction at Mendes: At the Crossroads of the Sacred and the Secular” which summarized the results of the analysis of plant remains from the
Akhenaton Temple Project – Mendes Site, Egypt Field Seasons 2004 and 2005.
She completed a report for the National Park Service, Midwestern
Archaeological Center, on the analysis and assessment of plant materials
recovered from excavations conducted at the Hopewell Culture National Park in
Chillicothe, Ohio (Hopeton Site) by the Park Service. Dr. Wymer’s spent
March 2006 at the Field Museum of Chicago as a Visiting Researcher for her
spring sabbatical. She analyzed their Hopewell copper collection for
traces of organic material on the artifacts’ surfaces and identified fur and
plant textiles, feathers, leather, and other interesting materials. This
research was funded by the Bloomsburg University Grants for Research and
Disciplinary Projects. She also wrote several book reviews
(pre-publication as well as journal reviews) and served as a National Science
Foundation grant reviewer as well. Finally, Dr. Wymer just completed a
co-edited (with Martin Byers) theoretical book draft “Hopewell Settlement
Patterns and Symbolic Landscapes: Cosmology, Subsistence, and Social Systems”
that will be reviewed by the University of Florida Press.
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Old News of 8/23/06
Thank you to Dr. Minderhout for the following news item:
"Dr. Minderhout and former anthropology student, Andrea Frantz, have spent
the last two years working with Native Americans in Pennsylvania on issues such
as improvements in the K-12 curriculum, recruitment of Native Americans into
SSHE universities, and gaining state recognition for Native Americans. According
to the U.S. Census, over 12,000 Native Americans live in PA, but the state
refuses to recognize their existence. Pennsylvania is one of only five states
that does not offer any recognition to Native Americans living in it; it is also
one of only a handful of states that does not contain a reservation. Minderhout
and Frantz have been attending powwows and tribal council meetings across the
state to learn more about the Native Americans resident here and their needs and
concerns. Last April, they co-hosted a luncheon on the BU campus which brought
Native American leaders and interested SSHE faculty together for the first time;
they are hoping this will become an annual event. They presented a joint paper
on their research at the Society for Applied Anthropology meetings in Vancouver,
British Columbia, last April, and they have been recently notified that another
paper has been accepted for the American Anthropological Association's annual
meetings, held this year in November in San Jose, California. They are also
co-authors of a grant with faculty from other SSHE universities to provide more
and better information about Native Americans in the PA K-12 curriculum.
In the initial phase of their research, Minderhout and Frantz circulated
surveys in the Native American community; to date, they have received around 300
surveys in return. They have spent the summer conducting extended ethnographic
interviews with a select group of Native American informants. At the same time,
they have continued attending tribal events. They plan to combine the surveys,
the interviews, their ethnohistorical research, and their participant
observation experiences into a book about Native Americans in Pennsylvania
today. Ms. Frantz is currently a graduate student in anthropology at Arizona
State University."
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