Carlee Reed and Dr. Paul Stavast, Anthropology Main Text As of 2009, the Museum of Peoples and Cultures (MPC) has been an active institution of BYU campus for over fifty years. Throughout that time it has developed educational programs, volunteer opportunities, and given a unique experience to students in and out of the Anthropology program. […]
We are Widows, We are Women: On the Oral Histories of Low-caste Indian Widows and How They Maintain a Sense of Self in the Face of Social Role Change
Suzanne Powell and Dr. Charles W. Nuckolls, Anthropology Department Main Text As a student of anthropology, my ORCA grant enabled me to work on analyzing and writing up my results from a field study trip I took during the Fall 2009 semester to Visakhapatnam, India. My study focused on collecting oral histories of Hindu windows […]
Modern-day Conceptions of Marriage in Visakhapatnam, India: “Bridging the Gap” Between Globalized Young Women and Their Parents
Courtney Petersen and Dr. Charles W. Nuckolls Main Text The city of Visakhapatnam hugs the shoreline of the Bay of Bengal on the East coast of Andhra Pradesh, India. Once a small collection of fishing villages, this city is now a bustling metropolis housing businesses, universities, travelers, students, and families from both metropolitan and rural […]
Medical Pluralism and Women’s Health: Ayurveda and Allopathy in a Changing Andhra Pradesh
Rachel Owen and Dr. John Hawkins, Anthropology Department My research took place in Andhra Pradesh, South India, in Vishakhapatnam, or Visag, for short. I studied the interaction between Allopathy (Allopathy is one of the terms used to describe western medicine, or biomedicine) and Ayurveda(Ayurveda is the traditional Hindu medicine system used in India for over […]
An Observation of Public Behavior among Ecuadorian Orphans
Emily Miller and Dr. Charles Nuckolls, Anthropology Identity within a social structure is easily analyzed when found in a culturally traditional setting. However, when physical and mental handicaps, parental figure transience, and varying levels of familial contact become factors the social structure and the roles within that structure are not as easily defined. Research for […]
Saving the Maya Civilization – Ancient and Living
Landon John Hansen and Dr. Donald Forsyth, Archaeology One of the most significant finds of Mayan archaeology in recent years has been the elaborate stucco frieze discovered in the Central Acropolis of the ancient Mayan city, El Mirador. The frieze is significant not only because of its remarkable preservation and beautiful artistic representations, but also […]
The Gunpowder Behind Ghana’s Cocoa Boom: Examining How International Market Pressure and British Colonial Policies Created Ghana’s Cocoa Market
Chase Arnold and Professor Sheila Bibb, Anthropology At the turn of the 20th century, British imperialism renewed with remarkable vigor. The British Empire was expanded, its borders defined, and greater effort was invested into making each of its distant lands more profitable for Crown and country. A remarkable, yet often overlooked, portion of this colonial narrative […]
Families Growing Smaller: A Paradox Generated by Stigma in North India
Hailey King and Dr. Charles Nuckolls, Department of Anthropology As is the case with most research projects, I also had to make alterations to my project. Originally I was going to be researching with some contacts in New Zealand. Unfortunately, my contacts there had to postpone this project. I therefore, had to change my location […]
The Portrayal of Museums in Family Films
Alexa Hysi and Dr. Paul Stavast, Department of Anthropology In the last decade the number of new museums and museum visitors has increased worldwide (Frey and Meier 2008, 410). Likewise, the instances of museums in family films have also increased. The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) lists 260 films since 1914 that use museums in some […]
Inter-Caste Adoption in India: Effects on Kinship and Caste as Understood by the Adoptive Family
Kelly Hacker and Dr. Charles Nuckolls, Department of Anthropology In his studies of kinship (1984), David Schneider put forth the theory that kinship is not inherently biologically-based, but is rather a symbolic and flexible understanding of the relationship between individuals. Inter-caste adoption in India, where a husband and wife adopt an unrelated child born to […]