Program 2009

Click on the titles below to see the relevant abstract.

Thursday, April 30

SWAA Board Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Friday, May 1

Session 1 8:00 – 10:30 a.m.

The Institute of Public Anthropology: Practicing Relevant Methodologies for the San Joaquin Valley

Chairs: Kimberly Arnold and Henry Delcore (CSU, Fresno)

Ashlee Dotson (CSU, Fresno): Navigating through Ethnographic Methods
Alecia Barela (CSU, Fresno): Renovations: The Remodeling of a Library and Reshaping of Student Scholarship
Kimberly Arnold (CSU, Fresno): Snapshots of Student Life: Managed Auto-Ethnography
Dalitso Ruwe (CSU, Fresno): Reverence or Reference? Juxtaposing Semiotic Depictions of Academic Libraries
Felicia Salcido and Jaime San Andres (CSU, Fresno): Anthropology and Urban Development
Elfego Franco (CSU, Fresno): Ethnography in Business
David Moore (CSU, Fresno): Interdisciplinary Classes and Anthropology

Session 2 8:00 – 10:30 a.m.

Biological Relevancies

Chair: Debra Martin (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Kathryn Baustian (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Biological Backlash or Cultural Consequence? High Infant Mortality in Bronze Age Arabia
Misty Fields (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Biocultural Aspects of Poor Dental Health in Early Agricultural Groups: Farming, Fertility and Females
Sharon Young (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Human Placentophagia: Maladaptive or Misplaced Cultural Taboo?
Animikha Dutt (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Mortuary Rituals of the Zoroastrians of India
Lisa Rios (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Strong, Women, Tough Children and Hard Times: Sustainability on the Hopi Mesas
Debra Martin (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Ripped Flesh and Torn Souls
Jamie Vilos (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Body as Material Culture

Session 3 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Cultural Authenticity and Authority

Chair: Terri Castaneda (CSU, Sacramento)

Terri Castaneda (CSU, Sacramento): Claiming Cultural Authority, Asserting Mountain Maidu Identity: Marie Potts and the Mixed Legacy of the Indian Boarding School Experience
Helen Gerth (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Zoroastrianism: Virtual Diaspora and Transformations of Religious Identity
Maritza Maksimow (UC Santa Barbara): Desde la frontera: Oral History on the Borderlands
Eryn Snyder (Southwestern University): The ‘Real’ Bedik: Cultural Tourism and the Production and Marketing of ‘Authenticity’ in Senegal

Session 4 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Poster/Film Session

Vanessa Esquivido (CSU, Sacramento): Water Rights regarding the Klamath
Justin Lantz, Jennifer Thompson, and Debra Martin (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Tooth Crown Shape Variation in Homo erectus: A Test of Species Homogeneity Using Bootstrapping
Tessa Malinowski (CSU, Sacramento): Stereotypes and Agency in the Discourse of the Rwandan Genocide
Keri Canada (University of Nevada, Reno) and Julie David (California Baptist University): Impacts of Immigration and Labor Choice on Reproductive Decision-Making
Cody Ross (CSU, Fullerton): Land Use Management in Costa Rica: A Proposition for Change in the Pagos por Servicios Ambientales Program Structure
Emily Walker (Independent Researcher): F-Dock (film)
Lisa Gonzalez (CSU, Fullerton): The Influence of Sociocultural and Socioeconomic Factors on Academic Success of Community College Students

Session 5 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Identity Formation I: Multiple Belongings and Regulations

Chair: Jiemin Bao (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Christina Friday (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Contradicting Classification: Debating Definitions of American Buddhist Identities
Jiemin Bao (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Trans-local Circuits: Identity Formation among Thai American Youth
Heidi Swank (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): ‘Beyond Their Culture’: Language Choice and Hybrid Identity in the Miss Tibet Pageant
Danielle Axt (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Marketing White Ethnicity: An Anthropological Dialogue with an Ethnic Festival
Rayette Martin (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Bordered Identities: Class, Ethnicity and Trans-National Social Networks
Aaron Hockman (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): White Skin, Brown Blood: Living In-between

Session 6 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Anthropology and the Military Industrial Complex

Chair: Roberto Gonzalez (San José State University)

Ronald Loewe (CSU, Long Beach): Anthropology, Ethics, and the War against the Poor in Latin America
Hilarie Kelly (CSU, Long Beach): Anthropologists, the State and Global Militarism in Relation to Africa
Roberto Gonzalez (San José State University): Going ‘Tribal’: Notes on Social Scientists’ Involvement in Twenty-First Century Pacification Efforts
Karen Holmes (CSU, Long Beach): The Use of Torture: Ethics, the Military and the Use of Anthropology
Jeffrey A. Sluka (Massey University, New Zealand): Curiouser and Curiouser: Montgomery McFate’s Strange Interpretation of the Relationship between Anthropology and Counterinsurgency

Session 7 3:45 – 5:45 p.m.

Diverse Topics in Public Anthropology Today

Chair: Scott Antes (Northern Arizona University)

Scott Antes (Northern Arizona University): Our Past for Public Auction
Cristina Watson (Northern Arizona University): Martial Arts in the Public Arena
Autumn Webster (Northern Arizona University): Functions of the Caste System in Contemporary India
Molly McDowell (Northern Arizona University): The Necessity for Corporate Social Responsibility
Christopher Lausten (Northern Arizona University): Globalization and World Government

Session 8 3:45 – 5:45 p.m.

Human Lifeways: Life History, Evolution and Social Decisions

Chair: Kimberly Porter Martin (University of La Verne)

Alexis Parkhurst (CSU, Sacramento): The Grandmother Hypothesis and the Cognitive Reserve Hypothesis: An Argument for Co-Evolution
Jennifer Thompson (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): The Evolution of Childhood and Adolescence: Implications for Modern Human Origins
Pierre Lienard (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Future Discounting and Coalition in an Unstable Environment among the Turkana of East Africa
Kimberly Porter Martin (University of La Verne): Anatomy of a Thought: Neurons, Networks and the Construction of Meaning
Angela Peterson, Eric Steiner, Kevin Wright, Cara Connolly, Fred Hadi, and Peter Gray (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): The Acutely and Socially Sensitive Testis: New Human Data and an Evolutionary Perspective

SWAA Reception 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 2

Session 9 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Identity Formation II: Representation and Transformation

Chair: Kathie Zaretsky (San José State University)

Andre Yefremian (CSU, Fullerton): The Myth of a Supranational European Identity
Maria Teresa Fiumerodo (Ventura College): Made in Italy: Representing Italian Identity in the Commercialization of Foodways
Noah Bickford (Southwestern University): ‘Acting Gay’: Embodiments of Gay Male Identity
Tanlyn Roelofs (Southwestern University): To Belong or Not to Belong: Identity among Muslim Diasporas in the Netherlands
Marco Meniketti (San José State University): ‘They Were Once So Innocent’: Post-Colonial Nationalism, Identity Transformation and Tradition in a Caribbean Context
Kevin DeMera (CSU, Fullerton): Postcolonial Nationalism: The Campaign for Autonomy and the Formation of New Identities in the Postcolonial Era

Session 10 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Anthropology and the Public: Ethics, Methods, and Outreach

Chair: Jonathan Karpf (San José State University)

Cortney Freeman (CSU, Fullerton): The Necessity of Action, the Potential of Harm
Peter Kassebaum (College of Marin): Participant Observation/Tales from the Field
Carolyn Acker (Southwestern University): Friendship in the Field
Tung-I Lin and Anand Nachtajler (CSU, Sacramento): Where are the Others?
Karen Harry (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): James Scrugham, M.R. Harrington and the ‘Lost City’ Project of Southern Nevada: Public Archaeology before and during the Great Depression

Session 11 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Love, Beauty, Poison: Navigating Norms, Aesthetics, and Morals in Different Cultural Contexts

Chair: Erin Stiles (University of Nevada, Reno)

William Jankowiak and Laura Mixson (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Sex, Love, Companionship and the American Swingers: A Critique of the Modernization Thesis
Katherine Glanz (Southwestern University): Beauty Salons and Women’s Agency in Hyderabad, India
Erin Stiles (University of Nevada, Reno): To Comply or Defy: Women, Elders, and Marriage in Zanzibar
Brian Brazeal (CSU, Chico): Money and the Morality of Poisoning

Session 12 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

From the Ground up: Approaches to Understanding Mesoamerican Cosmology

Chair: Richard Alvarado (UC Riverside)

Richard Alvarado (UC Riverside): Bird’s Eye View: Cultural Analysis of the Voladores Ritual
Eric Heller and Andrew Turner (UC Riverside): When It Breathes, It Pours: Empirical Foundations for the Ancient Mesoamerican Reptilian Earth
Andrew Turner (UC Riverside): Crocodiles, Contortionists and Canoes: World Tree Symbolism in Mesoamerica

SWAA Business Meeting 12:15 – 1:30 p.m.

Session 13 1:30 – 3:15 p.m.

Anthropological Perspectives on Medicine and Health

Chair: Barbra Erickson (CSU, Fullerton)

Michael Guzzi (CSU, Fullerton): Epidemic: The Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis
Peter Gray (University of Nevada, Las Vegas): Health and the Human Dad
Melodi McAdams (CSU, Sacramento): Revitalization through Sickness—Complementary and Competitive Narratives: Positioning Diet and Diabetes within Native American Communities
Catherine Hodge McCoid (University of Central Missouri): Of Elephants, Albatrosses, and Gorillas: Reducing Breast Cancer in the U.S.
Julie Cannistraci-Vazquez (CSU, Fullerton): Suicide in the Land of Milk and Chocolate: The Legalization of Assisted Suicide and Death Tourism in Switzerland

Session 14 1:30 – 3:15 p.m.

Violence and Political Discourse

Chair: Eric Paison (Long Beach City College and CSU, Fullerton)

Adam Pearcy (CSU, Sacramento): Political Discourse Tactics: Ideographs and Euphemisms of President George W. Bush
Patricia MacEwen (CSU, Sacramento): How to Facilitate Genocide: A Practical Guide for the Modern Age
AnnMarie Beasley (CSU, Sacramento): Acts of Violence: Neoliberalism, Culturally Constructed Fear, and Mexican Immigration to the U.S.
Aurora Harrison (CSU, Sacramento): Peace Freak: A Student Exploration into the Dissolution of Violent Conflict through Applied Anthropology
Giovanni Magginetti (CSU, Fullerton): Neoliberal Globalization and the Need for Cultural Relativism

Session 15 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Cultures of State: Critique, Collaboration and Engagement

Chair: Liam Murphy (CSU, Sacramento)

Louis Forline (University of Nevada, Reno): The Guajá and State Players in the Amazon: Implications of Contact and Settlement among Brazil’s ‘Isolated’ Indigenous Groups
Liam Murphy (CSU, Sacramento): Culture in the Crosshairs: Negotiating in the U.S. Army
Eric Canin (CSU, Fullerton): Yankee Go Home: Ethical Dilemmas of Doing Anthropology during the Nicaraguan Contra War
Eric Paison (Long Beach City College and CSU, Fullerton): Raping of the Land: Deforestation as a Form of Structural Violence in Twentieth Century Southeast Asia
Rosellen Roche (Queen’s University, Belfast): Definition through Reality: Examining Sectarianism in Northern Ireland

Session 16 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Working, the Workplace, and Education

Chair: Bill Fairbanks (Cuesta College)

Jesse Dizard (CSU, Chico): Scrapping for a Living
Jennifer Anderson (San José State University) and Michael T. Wescoat (Independent Researcher): The Culture of Disability at California State University
Cheryl Hansen (CSU, Fullerton): My Space or Yours: How Employees Establish Personal and Workplace Boundaries in an Office Environment
Teresa Terry (CSU, Fullerton): Cooking Pots: From Ground Stone Bowls to Ceramics: A Model for Technological Adoption in Pre-Contact Southern California
Jaclyn Ross (CSU, Fullerton): Teaching Peace