Showing posts with label anthropology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anthropology. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Scholarship Recipient Conducts Summer Research in Mexico

Lydia Stebbins, double majoring in French and Anthropology with a double minor in Spanish and Latin American Studies, is the 2016 recipient of the Wymer and Warner Scholarship in Anthropology.  Lydia will apply the scholarship to her summer 2016 URSCA-supported ethnographic research in Xalapa, Mexico, where she will be studying Spanish and Mexican culture and history at the Universidad Veracruzana-Xalapa.  

Lydia's ethnographic research focuses on the impact of socioeconomic globalization on local markets in Mexico.  Lydia will investigate local perceptions of the effects of global supermarkets on traditional markets, the economy, health, and culture.  While in Mexico, Lydia will also tour archaeological ruins, participate in the Cultural Immersion Program, and take a course on traditional Mexican cooking.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Anthropology Students Present Research at National Conference

In anticipation of the PASSHE Undergraduate Research Conference that will be hosted by Bloomsburg University on April 25 and 26, check out what some BU Anthropology students have been doing.

Last December, BU Anthropology students presented original research at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meetings in Washington D.C. in the invited poster session “First Rites: Innovative Undergraduate Research in Anthropology” peer-reviewed by the Society for Visual Anthropology.

Students were mentored by Dr. Faith Warner in Methods in Cultural Anthropology and Applied Anthropology, and through an URSCA award in summer 2014. Their travel was supported by the College of Liberal Arts.
Back to the Stacks: New Methods and Questions in the Longitudinal Andruss Library Ethnography Project 
Cassandra McMillen and Ian Matthew Johnson  

Gay and Lesbian Rights in Africa: African Perspectives at U.S.
Bryan Andrew Molk

Total Freedom on the Dark Side of the Internet: A Cyberethnography of 4Chan
Benjamin Gilbert Tice (research conducted through an URSCA award, summer 2014)

Anthropologists and Missionaries: A Controversial Relationship
Meghan Elizabeth Boarts

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Anthropology and Psychology Students Present Research at Statewide STEM Conference

Three Bloomsburg University College of Liberal Arts students presented their 2014 Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (URSCA) -sponsored summer original research at the PASSHE Undergraduate Research Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Conference at Slippery Rock University, November 21-21, 2014.

Laurie Ganey, Psychology,  presented "Development and Assessment of a Neuroscience-inspired Psycho-educational Workbook".  Her faculty mentor is Dr. Mary Katherine Duncan.

Lacy Marbaker, Anthropology, mentored by Dr. Conrad Quintyn and Dr. Faith Warner, was awarded second place in the Undergraduate Research Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics competition for her poster, “The Effects of Susquehanna River Water Pollution on Decomposition of Sus scrofa domesticus: An Application of Forensic Anthropology”.

Jaimee Saemann, Anthropology, also mentored by Dr. Warner, presented “The Cochlear Implant: A Technological Miracle or Cultural Supressor?”

Congratulations to all involved!

Laurie Ganey
Lacy Marbaker (photo courtesy John Nass)
Jaimee Saemann (photo courtesy John Nass)



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Students Inducted into Anthropology Honor Society

On May 2, 2014 twenty-five Anthropology students were inducted into the Lambda Alpha National Collegiate Honor Society in Anthropology in the Schweiker room of Andruss Library.  Gabrielle Vielhauer was recognized as Outstanding Senior in Anthropology, Erika Maxson was awarded the Wymer and Warner Anthropology Scholarship, and graduating seniors, conference presenters, and student scholarship and grant recipients were recognized in the annual anthropology honors reception and induction ceremony. 

Below are some photos of the event. Congratulations to all!









Monday, October 21, 2013

Anthropology Students, Interns and Alumni brought Camp Aspen back for Summer 2013

Dr. Susan Dauria of the Anthropology department and Quest teamed up with the town of Bloomsburg again this past summer to offer an archaeology program known as Camp Aspen.

Anthropology interns Laurel Downs, Michael Grevera, and Natalie Wagner
created and developed curriculum and programming for the archaeology camp in 2012
This innovative program is an educational anthropological and archaeological experience developed using land owned by the town of Bloomsburg and equipment and facilities provided by Bloomsburg University. The purpose of the program has been to involve college students in the preparation, planning and execution of an archaeological and anthropological learning program for children by showing area youth how to do archaeological fieldwork, cultural resource management and anthropological analysis.

The locations for the camp included several archaeological sites along Fishing Creek in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

The children enjoy combining outdoor adventure with archaeology through the annual Camp Aspen, making each child feel like a real life "Indiana Jones." Over the years the artifacts found have included several lithic cores, arrowheads (lithic biface tools), sinkers, grinding tools, historic and prehistoric features, colonial pottery, metal tools and many flakes left from someone making stone tools thousands of years ago.

Support for this program has come from multiple offices including the College of Liberal Arts, the Anthropology department, the Quest office, URSCA grant funding and a grant from the Presidential Strategic Planning  intended to support key initiatives in the Bloomsburg University Strategic Plan, Impact 2015.

For more photos of the camp's activities, visit Bloomsburg's Facebook page.
For more information about Quest, visit their website.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Anthropology Students Present Research at Women's Consortium Conference

Anthropology students in Dr. Faith Warner’s Methods in Cultural Anthropology course presented original ethnographic research at the 2013 PASSHE Women's Consortium Conference at Mansfield University on September 21. The theme of this year’s conference was “Women as Heroes."

Katelyn Shoemaker presented the poster "Women and Politics in the United States" based on research addressing American college student attitudes towards women political leaders, and in particular, the possibility of woman president of the United States.

from left to right: Mattar, Warner, Shoemaker, and Downs
courtesy of Dr. Faith Warner
Laurel Downs presented "Women and Fracking in Pennsylvania: Risks, Perception, and Power," revealing data that demonstrates how women and men differ in their attitudes relating to energy use and the environment in terms of risk, perception and power, with an emphasis on differences of opinion on fracking, climate change, and conservation.

Michelle Mattar presented "The Future of Women Who Define Our Past" based on an investigation of the gender distribution among today’s archaeologists and an exploration of the reasons for the gender gap in this subfield of anthropology.

Congratulations to all who participated!


Wednesday, April 3, 2013

BU Anthropology Students Present at National Conference

Bloomsburg University Anthropology students participated at the 73rd Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meetings in Denver, Colorado March 19-25, 2013 under the theme-Natural Resource Distribution and Development in the 21st Century.  Students presented posters on research, internship, and applied projects.

They also attended a roundtable organized by Faith Warner and with DeeAnne Wymer and Gabrielle Vielhauer as discussants where they learned more about preparing for graduate school from representatives of the leading graduate programs in applied anthropology in the U.S.


Posters



STEFFEN II, Julie A. and WARNER, Faith (Bloomsburg U) The Perceived Costs and Benefits of Fracking in Central Pennsylvania
BARRILE, Gabriel and LEACH, Amanda (Bloomsburg U) Comparison of Time Budgeting between Free-Ranging and Captive Ateles Geoffroyi

BILDER, Shannon and DAURIA, Susan (Bloomsburg U) The Creation of a Multi-disciplinary Applied Research Program for Undergraduates within a Liberal Arts College, Using the Concept-model of an Anthropological Field-school
DOWNS, Laurel, GREVERA, Mike, WAGNER, Natalie, and DAURIA, Susan (Bloomsburg U) Bloomsburg University Students Create an Educational Anthropology/Archaeology Summer Camp Program for Community Children
SHAFFER, Krysta (Bloomsburg U) The Impact of Fracking on Rural Communities in Central Pennsylvania (travel supported by the College of Liberal Arts)
VIELHAUER, Gabrielle (Bloomsburg U) Industrial Archaeology within the Forest
(travel supported by the College of Liberal Arts)
  
Paper Presentation
MUWOMBI, Jimmy (Bloomsburg U) Disaster Anthropology, Assessment, and Support in a Flood-Prone Community of Central Pennsylvania (on a session entitled Disaster Perception and Preparedness)










Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Achievements

Mass Communications major Natalie Wagner is one of four students across the PA State System of Higher Education to receive one of the first William D. Greenlee Scholarships. Ms. Wagner, of Milton, is dual majoring in anthropology. Congratulations!

Anne Dyer Stuart, English Department, won the 2012 New South Prize Prize for her essay "Idiopathic." She received a $1000 award, and her essay will be published in the Fall 2012 issue of New South. She recently read from her novel at the KGB Bar in New York City as part of Columbia Faculty Selects. She also has poems forthcoming in Third Coast, Midway Journal, and Earth's Daughters. 

The BroadwayWorld Student Center recently featured the students and faculty of BU's Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance on its website, providing valuable national exposure. 

In April, Stephen Whitworth, department of English, delivered a paper on "Psychoanalysis and Teaching" at the Transitions and Transactions Conference at CUNY; he delivered another paper at Fordham in New York in April on Baroque poetry and psychosis at the annual conference of the Affiliated Psychoanalytic Workshops. Two of his articles on psychoanalysis are now featured at on the online journal of the Washington D.C. Lacanian Forum.  

Thursday, September 20, 2012

2012 Dean's Salute To Excellence Awards

Dr. Janet Bodenman, Communication Studies; Dr. Luke Springman, Languages and Cultures; Dr. Jim Brown, Dean, College of Liberal Arts; Dr. Ted Roggenbuck, English. Not pictured: Dr. Faith Warner, Anthropology. Photo by Eric Foster.


Many faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts are excellent teacher-scholars who contribute greatly to the well-being of our students and the university community. By virtue of their teaching, scholarly/creative work, and service, campus culture is improved and the visibility and reputation of the university is enhanced nationally and internationally.

In 1998 Dean Hsien-Tung Liu established the Dean’s Salute to Excellence award to recognize distinction in the areas of teaching and professional responsibilities, scholarship, and service. Since then, the college has recognized a few select faculty members each year for their achievements, with selection based on performance reviews.

Dr. Janet Bodenman, Department of Communication Studies

Dr. Bodenman recently completed her fifteenth post-tenure year at Bloomsburg University. She is well known as an enthusiastic, rigorous, conscientious and creative instructor and—quoting her department chairperson here—“outstanding faculty mentor inside and outside the classroom.” Her peer observers made particular note of “her ability to create a supportive learning environment, and her confidence and enthusiasm which invite students to participate as active learners.”

In her most recent evaluation period she published one article and presented twelve competitively selected papers at regional and national conventions. Her scholarship is closely integrated with her teaching, mentoring, and community engagement. Within her department she has served on no fewer than eight committees during the evaluation period and has served on fifteen university-wide committees; additionally she has guest-lectured or provided workshops to student groups on nineteen occasions. And she is furthermore very active in the community. The quantity of these activities is matched by the quality and diligence she brings to every endeavor.

Dr. Ted Roggenbuck, Department of English

Dr. Roggenbuck is in his fourth year at Bloomsburg University, and his duties are divided between teaching in the English department and directing the university’s writing center. His student evaluations for last year were stellar. His peer observations were similarly full of superlatives. One observer described the class presentation as “one of the most interesting and thought provoking I have seen at Bloomsburg University.” Another described Dr. Roggenbuck as “an exceptional professor” who “teaches extremely important content while modeling how to listen carefully, communicate clearly and logically, and tutor with compassion and humor.”
As a scholar, Dr. Roggenbuck has been extremely active in a diverse array of projects. He has studied and presented on the topic of student writing with sources and collaborated with Dr. Amy Covill in Psychology in her work on peer review. He also works with undergraduate writing consultants and a teacher at Berwick Area High School on an ongoing project. In his spare time, he serves on the Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee and has presented a redesign of the first-year writing curriculum that will have a lasting impact on the whole university.

Dr. Luke Springman, Department of Languages and Cultures

Dr. Springman recently completed his fifteenth post-tenure year at Bloomsburg University. Dr. Springman is known as a conscientious and reflective instructor who is known for his willingness to explore technology and other innovative teaching strategies. His chairperson and peer observers made special mention of his “integration of culture and language, emphasis on communicative ability, and well-structured lectures.” His evaluation committee describes him as “the pillar of the Bloomsburg University German program,” and he is well known beyond the boundaries of Bloomsburg University as a strong advocate for language study in general and the study of German in particular.

Dr. Springman’s is a successful and prolific scholar. His book on youth culture in the Weimar Republic was published in 2007, and he has continued to write on that and related topics. He has achieved international recognition as an authority on this topic, as evidenced by the number of invitations and requests he has received to reprint and expand upon these topics. Dr. Springman served for many years in the capacity of department chairperson, and he has been active in developing a system-wide consortium to sustain and enhance the study of German. He has served on a wide variety of university and college communities and has been an active participant in APSCUF.

Dr. Faith Warner, Department of Anthropology

Dr. Warner recently completed her tenth post-tenure year. Her passion for teaching is effectively reflected in her student evaluations, which are exemplary, as well as in the observations of her chairperson and peers, who write that her “success is evident whether she is in front of over 200 students in a mass lecture introductory course, guiding anthropology majors through graduate and career preparatory upper level courses, or individually crafting research projects one-on-one with a single student.” Her commitment to mentoring and student success is evident throughout everything she does.

During the evaluation period she offered eight scholarly presentations and two additional posters in collaboration with students. Additionally she published three articles as well as a film on the discipline of anthropology. She is very active in service to her department and has served as interim director of the Frederick Douglass Initiative, as well as working with that organization in a variety of capacities. She has also been a productive member of the college’s Assessment Committee, and she has been asked to serve as chair of that group as well.

It is my great pleasure to recognize these four outstanding Liberal Arts faculty members with the Dean's Salute to Excellence. In a future post, I'll tell you about the very special origins of the glass apples awards each received. 

Friday, December 9, 2011

Anthro students get their hands dirty at Hopewell site

Students from Bloomsburg University’s anthropology department, led by professor DeeAnne Wymer, participated in a four-week field school this summer in Chillicothe, Ohio, where they conducted an archaeological excavation at the Lady’s Run Site, a Hopewell habitation site. Also known as the Mound Builders, the Hopewell culture lived between 100 B.C. and A.D. 400 in the northeastern and midwestern United States, constructed massive ceremonial earthworks and produced some of the finest craftwork in the prehistoric Americas.

Wymer’s field school is a combined project with professor Paul Pacheco’s archaeology students at the State University of New York at Geneseo. Now in its seventh year, the effort has uncovered evidence that the Hopewell had a much more sedentary lifestyle than was once assumed, meaning they must also have practiced more advanced forms of agriculture, a common indicator archaeologists use to identify more sophisticated cultures. As Wymer says, these findings have “literally rewritten the history books on the Hopewell.”

“Our research is generating incredible excitement,” she says. “We’re shaking up the world of archaeology—this is the first well-documented Hopewell habitation site, and it’s using groundbreaking technology while still using good old-fashioned digging.”

During the field school, students attended presentations at Chillicothe’s Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, visited famous earthwork sites and learned archaeological skills in lessons and in the field. By the end of the six-credit practicum, students’ skills in planning, mapping and excavating qualified them to work in cultural resource management doing contracted archaeological work.

Next year, Wymer and Pacheco will take the field school to excavate a possible hamlet at the Hopewell Mound Group, the largest known earthwork the Hopewell constructed and the first official mound excavation site. The Peabody Museum exhibited artifacts found at the site at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair to highlight the new field of American archaeology.

Wymer’s modern excavations of habitation sites are just as revolutionary today. “This is a big time to go in — I’m excited about this,” she says. “This is the site that gave the culture its name, and we’re hoping to discover some really interesting findings.”
— Jenn D’Amico, '2012
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