Faculty Grants and Achievements
Congratulations to Lawrence S. Sugiyama, Michelle Scalise Sugiyama, María Belén Carpio, and Marcela Mendoza who were awarded a Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) Faculty Research Seed Grant to fund their research, "Documenting Traditional Ecological Knowledge among Indigenous Communities of Argentina" for $5000.
Academic Books
Becoming Heritage. Recognition, Exclusion, and the Politics of Black Cultural Heritage in Colombia
Maria Escallon, assistant professor of Anthropology, 2023
Since the late twentieth century, multicultural reforms to benefit minorities have swept through Latin America, however, in Colombia ethno-racial inequality remains rife. Becoming Heritage evaluates how heritage policies affected the Afro-Colombian community of San Basilio de Palenque after it was proclaimed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005. Although the designation partially delivered on its promise of multicultural inclusion, it also created ethno-racial exclusion and conflict among groups within the Palenquero community. The new forms of power, knowledge, skills and values created to safeguard heritage exacerbated political, social, symbolic and economic inequalities among Palenqueros, and did little to ameliorate the harsh realities of living and dying in Palenque. Bringing together broader discussions on race, nation and inclusion in Colombia, Becoming Heritage reveals that inequality in Palenque is not only a result of Black Colombians' uneven access to resources; it is enforced through heritage politics, expertise and governance.
2022
- Stephen Dueppen. Divine Consumption: Sacrifice, Alliance Building, and Making Ancestors in West Africa.
- Lamia Karim. Castoffs of Capital: Work and Love among Garment Workers in Bangladesh
- Johanna Richlin. In the Hands of God: How evangelical belonging transforms migrant experience in the US
- Lynn Stephen. Indigenous Women and Violence: Feminist Activist Research in Heightened States of Injustice and Stories That Make History: Mexico Through Elena Poniatowska’s Cronicas.
Recent Faculty Publications
The Evolution of Agro-Urbanism: A Case study from Angkor, Cambodia
Alison Carter, assistant professor of Anthropology
In this paper, we use a fine-grained diachronic analysis of Angkor’s landscape to identify both the state-level policies and infrastructure and bottom-up organization that spurred the growth of Angkor as the world’s most extensive pre-industrial settlement complex. This degree of diachronic detail is unique for the ancient world. We observe that Angkor’s low-density metropolitan area and higher-density civic-ceremonial center grew at different rates and independently of one another. While local historical factors contributed to these developments, we argue that future comparative studies might identify similar patterns.
Read the published research on Science Direct.
What ancient DNA reveals about the ubiquitous rockfish of the Pacific Coast of North America
Madonna Moss, professor of Anthropology
This study should prompt more examination of the ubiquity and use of sculpins, a group of fish that have been seriously neglected in studies of the fisheries of the northeast Pacific Ocean. The larger goal of this research is to understand the historical ecologies of rockfish species, with special attention to those long-lived species that are especially vulnerable to overfishing along the Pacific Coast.
Read the published work on Springer.
A Probable Case of Leprosy from Colonial Period St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Southeastern Caribbean
Scott Fitzpatrick, professor of Anthropology
The objective of this work was to document and differentially diagnose facial pathology found in an isolated skull from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, southeastern Caribbean. To directly date this individual using radiocarbon dating.
Read the published work in Science Direct.
Fleeing rural violence: Mam women seeking gendered justice in Guatemala and the U.S.
Lynn Stephen, professor of Anthropology
This article contributes to emerging literature on indigenous women’s access to justice in Latin America through adding a transnational lens to this discussion and suggesting why we cannot separate pubic from private violence and state from non-state actors.
Read the published work on Taylor and Francis Online.
Childhood Daily Energy Expenditure Does Not Decrease with Market Integration and Is Not Related to Adiposity in Amazonia
Lawrence Sugiyama, professor of Anthropology and Josh Snodgrass, professor of Anthropology
By comparing Shuar children from more remote communities with those living in a peri-urban environment, we show that changing diets, not physical activity, may better explain the child obesity epidemic. Professors Larry Sugiyama and Josh Snodgrass co-authored research titled “Childhood Daily Energy Expenditure Does Not Decrease with Market Integration and Is Not Related to Adiposity in Amazonia” with former UO graduate students Felicia Madimenos, Melissa Liebert, and others. This research has been highlighted in various media venues including the New York Times.
Read the published research on the Journal of Nutrition.
Talking Stories: Encyclopedia of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Michelle Scalise Sugiyama, Senior Instructor I in Anthropology
Talking Stories is an open educational resource (OER) dedicated to integrating Indigenous science, literature, and philosophy into the Western curriculum. It provides instructors, students, and researchers with an introduction to the knowledge systems and information technologies developed by oral, hunter-gatherer cultures. Additionally, it provides links to research and other materials for use in the development of syllabi, study units, lesson plans, and assignments. This versatile resource has applications in anthropology, literature, and linguistics, as well as environmental, ethnic, and food studies.
Access Talking Stories here.
Recent Student Publications
Let them Eat Cake: Narrative Around Food Amidst the Pandemic Among Backward Communities in India
Malvya Chintakindi, UO graduate student
This essay’s focus is on social and cultural dimensions of food, food systems and food security, discussing the transitioning role of food for different backward communities. It adopts a 360-degree approach in examining informed literature review, data synthesis, field work reflections and experiences from ongoing field work in parts of North and South of India. As development practitioners and scholars, we aim to position our research on food systems in all its complexity. We discuss the workings of existing institutional and societal structures surrounding food systems prior to the pandemic and as India battles the pandemic across the first, second and the impending third waves.
Read the published research on The Village Square Journal.
Memories of Chichén Itzá
Sofia Vincente-Vidal, UO graduate student
Residents hold their own experiences of growing up in Pisté and Chichén Itzá in tension with official narratives.
Read the published work on Anthropology News.