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Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

Entanglements of Teenage Food Security Within High School Pantries in Pinellas County, Florida , Karen T. Díaz Serrano

The Applicability of the Postmortem Submersion Interval Estimation Formula for Human Remains Found in Subtropical Aquatic Environments , Kara L. DiComo

Early Agricultural Lives: Bioarchaeological Inferences from Neolithic and Early Copper Age Tombs in the Central Po Valley, Italy , Christopher J. Eck Jr.

The Process of Government in Clearwater, Florida , Picot deBoisfeuillet Floyd

“I Was Doing the Best with What I Had”: Exploring Student Veterans’ Experiences with Community Reintegration, Food Insecurity, and Health Challenges , Jacquelyn N. Heuer

Transformative Psychedelic Experiences at Music Events: Using Subjective Experience to Explore Chemosocial Assemblages of Culture , Gabrielle R. Lehigh

“We Need to Have a Place to Vent and Get Our Frustrations Out”: Addressing the Needs of Mothering Students in Higher Education using a Positive Deviance Framework , Melissa León

“They’re Still Trying to Wrap Their Head Around Forever”: An Anatomy of Hope for Spinal Cord Injury Patients , William A. Lucas

Foodways of the Florida Frontier: Zooarchaeological Analysis of Gamble Plantation Historic State Park (8MA100) , Mary S. Maisel

The Impacts of Disability Policy and its Implementation on Deaf University Students: An Applied Anthropological Approach , Tailyn Marie Osorio

“I’m Still Suffering”: Mental Health Care Among Central African Refugee Populations in the Tampa Bay Area , C. Danee Ruszczyk

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Immigration-Related Stressors, Pregnancy, Birth, and Post-Partum Experiences of Women Living Along the US-Mexico Border , Isabela Solis

Clinically Applied Anthropology: A Syndemic Intervention. , Jason W. Wilson

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

An Assessment of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals Gender Affirming Health Care Practices in the Greater Tampa Bay , Sara J. Berumen

Mound-Summit Practices at Cockroach Key (8HI2) Through the Lens of Practice Theory , Chandler O. Burchfield

Crafting a Scene: The Nexus of Production and Consumption of Tampa Bay Craft Beer , Russell L. Edwards

Applied Anthropology of Addiction in Clinical Spaces: co-Developing and Assessing a Novel Opioid Treatment Pathway , Heather Diane Henderson

Japan’s COVID 19 Infection Rate: A Focus on Tokyo Neighborhoods , Lauren Koerner

Farmers’ Organizations and Development Actors in a Pandemic: Responses to Covid-19 and the Food-Energy-Water Nexus , Atte Penttilä

An Ideology of Racism: Community Representation, Segregation, and the Historical Cemeteries of Panama City, Florida , Ethan David Mauldin Putman

“Even If You Have Food in Your House, It Will Not Taste Sweet”: Central African Refugees’ Experiences of Cultural Food Insecurity and Other Overlapping Insecurities in Tampa, Florida , Shaye Soifoine

Afro-Latinx and Afro-Latin Americans in the United States: Examining Ethnic and Racial Experiences in Higher Education , Glenda Maria Vaillant Cruz

Black Cemeteries Matter: The Erasure of Historic Black Cemeteries in Polk County, Florida , Juliana C. Waters

An Anthropology with Human Waste Management: Non-Humans, The State, and Matters of Care on the Placencia Peninsula, Belize , William Alex Webb

An Edgefield Ceramic Assemblage from the Lost Town of St. Joseph, Northwest Florida , Crystal R. Wright

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Aspiring to “Make it Work”: Defining Resilience and Agency Amongst Hispanic Youth Living in Low-Income Neighborhoods , Sara Arias-Steele

“I Wish Somebody Called Me, Told Me Not to Worry”: Evaluating a Non-Profit’s Use of Social Support to Address Refugee Women’s Resettlement Challenges , Brandylyn L. Arredondo

Of Body and Mind: Bioarchaeological Analysis of Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Anatomization and Institutionalization in Siena, Italy , Jacqueline M. Berger

Cannabis Capitalism in Colorado: An Ethnography of Il/legal Production and Consumption , Lia Berman

Analyses Of Woodland Check-Stamped Ceramics In Northwest Florida , John D. Blackburn

“Here Come the Crackers!”: An Ethnohistorical Case Study of Local Heritage Discourses and Cultural Reproduction at a Florida Living History Museum , Blair Bordelon

Privies as Portals: A Ceramic and Glass Bottle Analysis of a Late 19th Century Household Privy in Ellenton, FL , Shana Boyer

Making Change in the Nickel City: Food Banking and Food Insecurity in Buffalo, NY During the COVID-19 Pandemic , Sarah E. Bradley

Ware and Tear in Ancient Tampa Bay: Ceramic Elemental Analyses from Pinellas County Sites , McKenna Loren Douglass

Rethinking Settlement Patterns at the Weeden Island Site (8PI1) on Florida’s Central Gulf Coast , Heather E. Draskovich

Listening to Women: Using a Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding Women’s Desires and Experience During Childbirth , Nicole Loraine Falk Smith

Archaeology and Seasonality of Stock Island (8Mo2), a Glades-Tradition Village on Key West , Ryan M. Harke

How Culture and Storytelling Can Influence Urban Development: An Ethnographic Look at the Community-Driven Revitalization of Newtown in Sarasota, Florida , Michala Head

Educational Experiences of Congolese Refugees in West-Central Florida High Schools , Michaela J. Inks

Constructing 'Child Safety': Policy, Practice, and Marginalized Families in Florida's Child Welfare System , Melissa Hope Johnson

"We're the Lucky Ones": A Social Network Analysis of Recovery After the Iowa Derecho , Kayla C. Jones

How Race is Made in Everyday Life: Food, Eating, and Dietary Acculturation among Black and White Migrants in Florida, U.S. , Laura Kihlstrom

Tourism, Education, and Identity Making: Agency and Representation of Indigenous Communities in Public Sites within Florida. , Timothy R. Lomberk II

Pregnancy and Fertility Amongst Women with the MTHFR C677T Polymorphism: An Anthropological Review , Caroline A. MacLean

A Biocultural Analysis of the Impacts of Interactions Between West Africans and Europeans During the Trans-Atlantic Trade at Elmina, Ghana , Heidi Ellen Miller

The Distribution in Native Populations from Mexico and Central America of the C677T Variant in the MTHFR Gene , Lucio A. Reyes

Politics vs. The Environment: The Spatial Distributions of Mississippian Mound Centers in Tampa Bay , Adam J. Sax

Seasonality, Labor Organization, and Monumental Constructions: An Otolith Study from Florida’s Crystal River Site (8CI1) and Roberts Island Shell Mound Complex (8CI40 and 41) , Elizabeth Anne Southard

Eating and Body Image Disorders in the Time of COVID19: An Anthropological Inquiry into the Pandemic’s Effects on the Bodies , Theresa A. Stoddard

The Early Medieval Transition: Diet Reconstruction, Mobility, and Culture Contact in the Ravenna Countryside, Northern Italy , Anastasia Temkina

The Science of Guessing: Critiquing Ancestral Estimation Through Computer Generated Statistical Analysis Within Forensic Anthropology in a Real-World Setting , Christopher J. Turner

Listening to Queens: Ghana's Women Traditional Leaders as a Model for Gender Parity , Kristen M. Vogel

Site Suitability Modeling in the Sand Pine Scrub of the Ocala National Forest , Jelane M. Wallace

Our Story, Our Homeland, Our Legacy: Settlement Patterns of The Geechee at Sapelo Island Georgia, From 1860 To 1950 , Colette D. Witcher

Identifying Skeletal Puberty Stages in a Modern Sample from the United States , Jordan T. Wright

Pollen-Vegetation Relationships in Upper Tampa Bay , Jaime E. Zolik

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Maternal Social Status, Offspring 2D:4D Ratio and Postnatal Growth, in Macaca mulatta (Rhesus Macaques) , Juan Pablo Arroyo

Social Exclusion of Older Mossi Women Accused of Witchcraft in Burkina Faso, West Africa , Clarisse Barbier

Fields Brook Superfund Site: Race, Class, and Environmental Justice in a Blasted Landscape , Richard C. Bargielski

The Effects of Feudalism on Medieval English Mobility: A Biological Distance Study Using Nonmetric Cranial Traits. , Jonathan H. Barkmeier

Before the Storm: Water and Energy Utilities, Human Vulnerability and Disaster Risk , Cori D. Bender

Recipes for the Living and the Dead: Technological Investigation of Ceramics from prehistoric Sicily. The case studies of Sant’Angelo Muxaro and Polizzello , Gianpiero Caso

Save Water Drink Wine: Challenges of Implementing the Ethnography of the Temecula Valley Wine Industry into Food-Energy-Water Nexus Decision-Making , Zaida E. Darley

İYo luché! : Uncovering and Interrupting Silencing in an Indigenous and Afro-descendant Community , Eileen Cecelia Deluca

Unwritten Records: Crime and Punishment in Early Virginia , Jessica L. Gantzert

‘It’s Been a Huge Stress’: An In-Depth, Exploratory Study of Vaccine Hesitant Parents in Southern California , Mika Kadono

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Elemental Analysis in Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology , Kelsi N. Kuehn

Middle Woodland Mounds of the Lower Chattahoochee, Lower Flint, and Apalachicola River Basin , Michael H. Lockman

Overturning the Turnbull Settlement: Artifact Analysis of the Old Stone Wharf in New Smyrna Beach, Florida , Tracy R. Lovingood

“They will think we are the Cancer Family”: Studying Patterns of Cancer Disclosure and Communication among Indian Immigrants in the United States , Kanan Mehta

Museum Kura Hulanda: Representations of Transatlantic Slavery and African and Dutch Heritage in Post-Colonial Curaçao , April Min

Nurses and Needlesticks: Perceptions of Stigma and HIV Risk , Bethany Sharon Moore

Circadian Rhythms and the Embodiment of Social Zeitgebers: Linking the Bio and Social , Tiffany R. Moore

Civic Engagement amid Civil Unrest: Haitian Social Scientists Working at Home , Nadège Nau

“Placing our breasts on a hot kerosene lantern”: A Critical Study of Microfinancialization in the Lives of Women Entrepreneurs in the Informal Economic Sector in Ibadan, Nigeria , Olubukola Olayiwola

Domestic Life during the Late Intermediate Period at El Campanario Site, Huarmey Valley, Peru , Jose Luis Peña

Archaeology and the Philosopher's Stance: An Advance in Ethics and Information Accessibility , Dina Rivera

A South Florida Ethnography of Mobile Home Park Residents Organizing Against Neoliberal Crony Capitalist Displacement , Juan Guillermo Ruiz

From Colonial Legacy to Difficult Heritage: Responding to and Remembering An Gorta Mór , Ireland’s Great Hunger , Katherine Elizabeth Shakour

The Role of Financial Insecurity and Expectations on Perspectives of Mental Health Services among Refugees , Jacqueline M. Siven

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Trauma Analysis in Cases of Child Fatality , Jaime D. Sykes

Governmentality, Biopower, and Sexual Citizenship: A Feminist Examination of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Experiences of 18-24 Year-Olds in the U.S. Southeast , Melina K. Taylor

Characterizing Childhood and Diet in Migration Period Hungary , Kirsten A. Verostick

An Ethnography of WaSH Infrastructures and Governance in Sulphur Springs, Florida , Mathews Jackon Wakhungu

A Plan for Progress, Preservation, and Presentation at the Safety Harbor Museum and Cultural Center , Amanda L. Ward

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Pathways to Parenthood: Attitudes and Preferences of Eight Self-Identified Queer Women Living in Tampa Bay, FL , Emily Noelle Baker

"It's Not Addiction Until You Graduate": Natural Recovery in the College Context , Breanne I. Casper

Tales of Trafficking: Performing Women's Narratives in a Sex Trafficking Rehabilitation Program in Florida , Jaine E. Danlag

Perceptions of Infrastructure, Flood Management, and Environmental Redevelopment in the University Area, Hillsborough County, Florida , Kris-An K. Hinds

Eating in America: Easing the Transition for Resettled Refugees through an Applied Anthropological Intervention , Emily A. Holbrook

Genetic Testing and the Power of the Provider: Women’s Experiences with Cancer Genetic Testing , Dana Erin Ketcher

An Archaeological Investigation of Enslavement at Gamble Plantation , S. Matthew Litteral

“Right in the Trenches with Them”: Caregiving, Advocacy, and the Political Economy of Community Health Workers , Ryan I. Logan

Exploring Variations in Diet and Migration from Late Antiquity to the Early Medieval Period in the Veneto, Italy: A Biochemical Analysis , Ashley B. Maxwell

Least of My Worries: Food Security, Diet Quality, and Antiretroviral Adherence among People Living with HIV , Charlotte Ann Noble

The Tampa Gym Study: An Ethnographic Exploration of Gyms, Female Gym-Goers and The Quest for Fitness in Tampa, FL , Danielle Reneé Rosen

Environmental Legacies of Pre-Contact and Historic Land Use in Antigua, West Indies , Anthony Richard Tricarico

“What I Hadn’t Realized is How Difficult it is, You Know?”: Examining the Protective Factors and Barriers to Breastfeeding in the UK , Cheyenne R. Wagi

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

“I Want Ketchup on my Rice”: The Role of Child Agency on Arab Migrant Families Food and Foodways , Faisal Kh. Alkhuzaim

Exploring Explicit Fanfiction as a Vehicle for Sex Education among Adolescents and Young Adults , Donna Jeanne Barth

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Anthropology concentrators pursue a diverse range of topics and places that covers every time period from the pre-historical to the present, and every major world area. Recent senior honors thesis have investigated:

• The relationship between the Boston Catholic Church and its Spanish-speaking members
• Islamic Finance in Malaysia
• A Cancer Ward in Kenya
• Stigma in the Lives of Unmarried Women in Contemporary China
• Challenges in Housing Rights Advocacy in Bolivia

The requirements for honors eligibility are distinguished by program. Certain honors recommendations are possible without a thesis. 

Students are encouraged to consult A Student's Guide to Reading and Writing in Social Anthropology and the AnthroWrites website.

• Archaeology Honors
• Social Anthropology Honors
• Combined Archaeology-Social Anthropology Honors

Thesis Track (12 courses)

• Including one Archaeology Graduate-Level Research Seminar (2000-level)
• ANTH 99: Thesis Tutorial in Anthropology, a full-year writing workshop, culminating in the submission of a senior thesis and an oral thesis examination.

Non-Thesis Track (10 courses)

All graduating seniors in Archaeology who are not thesis candidates and have taken a 2000-level course may be considered for a non-thesis honors recommendation of Honors (but not High or Highest Honors), provided that their concentration grade point averages calculated at the end of their next to last terms are among the highest twenty-five percent of non-thesis candidates in their graduating class in Archaeology. To be considered for a High or Highest Honors recommendation in Anthropology, a student must complete a thesis, in addition to the requirements specified above.

• Basic Concentration Requirements

All graduating seniors in Social Anthropology who are not thesis candidates may be considered for a non-thesis honors recommendation of Honors, provided that their concentration grade point averages calculated at the end of their next to last terms are among the highest twenty-five percent of non-thesis candidates in their graduating class in Social Anthropology. To be considered for a High or Highest Honors recommendation in Anthropology, a student must complete a thesis, in addition to the requirements specified above.

All graduating seniors in Combined Archaeology and Social Anthropology, who are not thesis candidates may be considered for a non-thesis honors recommendation of Honors (but not High or Highest Honors), provided that their concentration grade point averages calculated at the end of their next to last terms are among the highest twenty-five percent of non-thesis candidates in their graduating class in Combined Archaeology and Social Anthropology. To be considered for a High or Highest Honors recommendation in Anthropology, a student must complete a thesis, in addition to the requirements specified above.

• For Prospectives
• Concentration Requirements
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• Anthropology Undergraduate Advising Packet (2023-2024)

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Home > SBS > ANTHRO > Anthropology Department Dissertations Collection

Anthropology Department Dissertations Collection

Current students, please follow this link to submit your dissertation.

Dissertations from 2024 2024

Behavior and Ecology of the Kinda baboon , Anna H. Weyher, Anthropology

THE POSSIBILITIES OF PROTOCOLS: PATHWAYS TO RELATIONAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN A SETTLER COLONIAL CONTEXT , Julie Woods, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2023 2023

The Abolition of Care: An Engaged Ethnography of the Progressive Jail Assemblage , Justin Helepololei, Anthropology

PUBLIC HEALTH, INDUSTRIALIZATION AND TUBERCULOSIS OUTCOMES AMONGST WOMEN IN 19th-20th CENTURY CLEVELAND , Sarah Mathena, Anthropology

Sociocultural and familial factors associated with symptom experience at midlife among women in Nagaland, India , Peteneinuo Rulu, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2022 2022

Reclaiming the future through Small-Scale Agriculture: Autonomy and Sustainability in the Caribbean , Dana M. Conzo, Anthropology

Violence and Indigenous Women in Mexico: Towards an Unsettled Feminist Ethnography of (in)Security , Ana Del Conde, Anthropology

BALL OR DIE: UNDERSTANDING BLACK MALE STUDENT-ATHLETE COUNTERSTORIES AT AN HWCU , Derek J. Doughty, Anthropology

Beyond Revolutionaries, Victims, and Heroic Mothers. Reproductive Politics in War and Peace in Colombia , Vanesa Giraldo Gartner, Anthropology

Rules of Recognition: Indigenous Encounters with Society and the State , Erica Kowsz, Anthropology

“ETHNICITY IN THE CLOUDS:” HERITAGE GOVERNANCE IN POST-DISASTER QIANG COMMUNITIES IN SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA , Ying Li, Anthropology

Digital Indigeneity: Digital Media's Uses for Identity Formation, Education, and Activism by Indigenous People in the Northeastern United States , Virginia A. McLaurin, Anthropology

NAHUATL DISCOURSES AND POLITICAL SPEECHES AS WAYS TO NEGOTIATE THE RACIAL MONOLINGUAL IDEOLOGY OF THE MEXICAN STATE IN HIDALGO, MEXICO , Vanessa Miranda Juárez, Anthropology

Blood for Bread: Kurdish Kolbers, State Violence, and Another Call for Militant Anthropology. (A Dissertation Portfolio) , Ahmad Mohammadpour, Anthropology

The survivors of the train: disability, testimonio, and activism in migrants with disabilities , claudia j. morales, Anthropology

Making the Old City: Life Projects and State Heritage in Rhodes and Acre , Evan Taylor, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2021 2021

Diversity and Evolution of Human Eccrine Sweat Gland Density , Andrew W. Best, Anthropology

Liberation and Gravy: An Engaged Ethnography of Queer and Trans Power in Georgia , Elias Capello, Anthropology

THE PROMISE OF EMPOWERMENT: REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE, DECOLONIAL FEMINISMS, AND THE CASES OF FORCED STERILZIATION IN PERU , Julie Chaparro, Anthropology

A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE SYMPTOMS AND CAREGIVING IN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO , Eric Erastus Griffith, Anthropology

Above the Oxbow: The Construction of Place on Mount Holyoke , Danielle R. Raad, Anthropology

The Boundaries of Safety: The Sanctuary Movement in the Inland Empire , Cecilia I. Vasquez, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2020 2020

Monitored Reproduction: Surveillance, Labor, and Care in Pro-Natalist Turkey , Seda Saluk, Anthropology

PARALLEL POLITICS: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE 2013 MEXICAN EDUCATION REFORM , Ashley Sherry, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2019 2019

Production and Power at Idalion, Cyprus in the First Millennium BCE , Rebecca Bartusewich, Anthropology

Modeling the Local Political Economy of Adulis: 1000 BCE-700 ACE , Daniel Habtemichael, Anthropology

What Will You Do Here? Dignified Work and the Politics of Mobility in Serbia , Dana N. Johnson, Anthropology

RECOLLECTIONS: MEMORY, MATERIALITY, AND MERITOCRACY AT THE DR. JAMES STILL HISTORIC OFFICE AND HOMESTEAD , Marc Lorenc, Anthropology

The Political Work of Memory in Collaborative Caribbean Archaeology , Elena Sesma, Anthropology

The Politics of Return: Migration, Race, and Belonging in the Russian Far East , Lauren Woodard, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2018 2018

Embodied Heritage: Obesity, Cultural Identity, and Food Distribution Programs in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma , Kasey Aliene Jernigan, Anthropology

LABOR MIGRATION AND INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN POSTSOCIALIST RURAL ROMANIA , Alin Rus, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2017 2017

Can Long Bone Structural Variability Detect Among-Population Relationships? , Gina Agostini, Anthropology

On the Landscape for a Very, Very Long Time: African American Resistance and Resilience in 19th and Early 20th Century Massachusetts , Anthony Martin, Anthropology

Who Ate the Subfossil Lemurs? A Taphonomic and Community Study of Raptor, Crocodylian and Carnivoran Predation of the Extinct Quaternary Lemurs of Madagascar. , Lindsay Meador, Anthropology

POTTERS ON THE PENOBSCOT: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CASE STUDY EXPLORING HUMAN AGENCY, IDENTITY, AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICE , Bonnie D. Newsom, Anthropology

The effects of industrialization and urbanization on growth and development: A comparison of boys and girls from three Industrial European skeletal collections , Sarah Reedy, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2016 2016

A Conflict of Interest? Negotiating Agendas, Ethics, and Consequences Regarding the Heritage Value of Human Remains , Heidi J. Bauer-Clapp, Anthropology

Change of Sight, Sites of Creativity: The Visual Arts in Albania after Socialism , Sofia Kalo, Anthropology

Clay Pot Cookery: Dairy, Diet and Class during the South Levantine Iron Age II Period , Mary K. Larkum, Anthropology

Ideological Conflict Embedded in Anthropology and the Road to Restructuring the Discipline , Donna L. Moody, Anthropology

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: An Ethnographic Analysis of the Development, Implementation, and Sustainability of a Safe Infant Sleep Education Campaign in Springfield, MA , Julie Skogsbergh, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2015 2015

Uncovering and Recovering Cleared Galloway: The Lowland Clearances and Improvement in Scotland , Christine B. Anderson, Anthropology

Illegal Hunting on the Masoala Peninsula of Madagascar: Its Extent, Causes, and Impact on Lemurs and Humans , Cortni Borgerson, Anthropology

Ts'msyen Revolution: The Poetics and Politics of Reclaiming , Robin R. R. Gray, Anthropology

The Political Ecology of Early Childhood Lead Exposure at the New York African Burial Ground , Joseph Jones, Anthropology

An Ethnography of African Diasporic Affiliation and Disaffiliation in Carriacou: How Anglo-Caribbean Preadolescent Girls Express Attachments to Africa , Valerie Joseph, Anthropology

From Green Economies to Community Economies: Economic Possibility in Massachusetts , Boone W. Shear, Anthropology

On Belonging, Difference and Whiteness: Italy's Problem with Immigration , Flavia Stanley, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2014 2014

Palm Trees y Nopales: The Commodification and Hybridization of the South Texas Borderlands , Andriana M. Foiles Sifuentes, Anthropology

Searching for a Praxis of Possibility: Civic Engagement and the Corporatized University , Deborah Keisch, Anthropology

Curious Monuments of the Simplest Kind: Shell Midden Archaeology in Massachusetts , Katharine Vickers Kirakosian, Anthropology

CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF TWO CASE STUDIES HIGHLIGHTING COMMUNITY-RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS IN SPRINGFIELD, MA , Vanessa Martinez, Anthropology

Loss of Cell Surface aGal during Catarrhine Evolution: Possible Implications for the Evolution of Resistance to Viral Infections and for Oligocene Lineage Divergence , Idalia Aracely Rodriguez, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2013 2013

Framed: Native American Represtations in Contempoary Visual Mediums , Marta Carlson, Anthropology

Mind The Gap: Materiality of Gendered Landscapes in Deerfield, Massachusetts, ca. 1870 - ca. 1920 , Elizabeth Ann Harlow, Anthropology

Continuity in the Face of Change: Mashantucket Pequot Plant Use From 1675-1800 A.D. , Kimberly Carol Kasper, Anthropology

An Archaeology Of Improvement In Rural New England: Capitalism, Landscape Change, and Rural Life In The Early 19th Century , Quentin Lewis, Anthropology

Contested Subjects: Biopolitics & the Moral Stakes of Social Cohesion in Post-Welfare Italy , Milena Marchesi, Anthropology

Knuckle-Walking Signal in the Manual Phalanges and Metacarpals of the Great Apes (Pan and Gorilla) , Stacey Ann Matarazzo, Anthropology

Inhabiting Spaces, Making Places: Creating a Spatial and Material Biography of David Ruggles , Linda M Ziegenbein, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2012 2012

Biocultural Perspectives on Gender, Transitions, Stress, and Immune Function , Leo Zachary DuBois, Anthropology

Orientations of the heart: Exploring hope & diversity in undergraduate citizenship education , Mary Hannah Henderson

Virtual Black Spaces: An Anthropological Exploration of African American Online Communities' Racial and Political Agency Amidst Virtual Universalism , Kamela S Heyward, Anthropology

Remaking the Political in Fortress Europe: Political Practice and Cultural Citizenship in Italian Social Centers , Angelina Ione Zontine, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2011 2011

A Question of Comfort: Race, Whiteness, and the Creation of Diverse, Inclusive, and Engaged Learning Environments , H. Elizabeth Braun, Anthropology

Politics by Other Means: Rhizomes of Power in Argentina's Social Movements , Graciela G. Monteagudo, Anthropology

The Human Factor In Mouse Lemur (Microcebus Griseorufus) Conservation: Local Resource Utilization And Habitat Disturbance At Beza Mahafaly, SW Madagascar , Emilienne Rasoazanabary, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2010 2010

Reproductive Biology of Mouse and Dwarf Lemurs of Eastern Madagascar, With an Emphasis on Brown Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus rufus) at Ranomafana National Park, A Southeastern Rainforest , Marina Beatriz Blanco, Anthropology

Increasing the scale of inquiry: A GIS approach to archaeology, environment and landscape during the early Holocene in Central Massachusetts , Kathryn Curran

That Which Is Not What It Seems: Queer Youth, Rurality, Class and the Architecture of Assistance , Kaila Gabrielle Kuban, Anthropology

New England Terrestrial Settlement in a Submerged Context: Moving Pre-Contact Archaeology into the Twenty First Century , Kerry J. Lynch, Anthropology

Making Peace On The Island Of Love: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Peacebuilding In Cyprus. , Lisa Modenos, Anthropology

Breastfeeding and the Individual: The Impact of Everyday Stressful Experience and Hormonal Change on Breastfeeding Duration Among Women in São Paulo, Brazil , Alanna Emilia Frances Rudzik, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2009 2009

High Stakes: A Poly-Communal Archaeology Of The Pocumtuck Fort, Deerfield, Massachusetts , Siobhan M Hart, Anthropology

Cold Spring, Hot Foundry: An Archaeological Exploration of the West Point Foundry’s Paternal Influence Upon the Village of Cold Spring and its Residents , Elizabeth M. Norris, Anthropology

From “Spanish choices” to Latina /o voices: Interrogating technologies of language, race, and identity in a self -serving American moment , Ramon Solorzano

The Adoption of Shamanic Healing into the Biomedical Health Care System in the United States , Lori L. Thayer, Anthropology

“To Promote, Encourage Or Condone:” Science, Activism And The Political Role Of Moralism In The Formation Of Needle Exchange Policy In Springfield, Massachusetts, 1998–2005 , Jon E Zibbell, Anthropology

Dissertations from 2008 2008

Unwrapping the anatomical gift: Donors, cadavers, students , Carol N Coan

“Driven” women: Gendered moral economies of women's migrant labor in postsocialist Europe's peripheries , Leyla J Keough

From infancy to death? An examination of the African burial ground in relation to Christian eighteenth century beliefs , Ruth Annette Mathis

Dissertations from 2007 2007

Towards the within: Visual culture, performance, and aesthetics of acupuncture , Kevin Taylor Anderson

Historical erasure and cultural recovery: Indigenous people in the Connecticut River Valley , Margaret M Bruchac

Musculoskeletal attachment site markers and skeletal pathology of the forearm and carpal bones from Tell Abraq, United Arab Emirates, c. 2300 BC , Janet M Cope

Localization of central vasopressin V1A receptors in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) , Diane M Toloczko

The Croatian public sphere and the journalistic milieu , Richard Wallace

Dissertations from 2006 2006

Chronic pain and working women in Berkshire County: Towards a critical physical therapy , James R Brennan

An integrative analysis of how zinc in teeth reflects maternal environments and predicts infant function in a rural Mexican community , Alexis E Dolphin

Breastfeeding and bone density change , Karen L Pearce

The house of the jaguar: The engaged anthropology of Gertrude Duby Blom at Museo Na Bolom , Mary L Robison

Good Fridays, Celtic Tigers and the Drumcree Church Parade: Media, politics and the state in Northern Ireland , Thomas H Taaffe

Archaeology and normalcy: Disciplining a discipline , Joannah L Whitney

Dissertations from 2005 2005

Negotiating power: A new discourse of the maquiladora industry in Ciudad Juarez , James H Hamm

From scientific risk to paysan savoir -faire: Divergent rationalities of science and society in the French debate over GM crops , Chaia L Heller

The formulation of Turkish immigrant subjectivities in the German region of Swabia , Tilman Lanz

American Indian identity: The Menominee experience , Carol N Nepton

Dissertations from 2004 2004

Confronting the tribal zone: Toward a critical ethnohistory of colonial state formation in San Juan through the system of encomiendas, 1509–1520 , Gabriel De La Luz-Rodriguez

Of visions and sorrows: Manuel Quintín Lame's Indian thought and the violences of Colombia , Monica Espinosa Arango

Contested place, nature, and sustainability: A critical anthropo -geography of biodiversity conservation in the “Zona Maya” of Quintana Roo, Mexico , Jose Eduardo Martinez-Reyes

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Useful Sources on Formal Writing

If you would like feedback and support while writing, the Marks Family Resource Center, located at 3808 Walnut Street, is an excellent resource.  Consult their web page , where you will find links to guides on writing. They also meet with students to improve their writing one-on-one. Writing Center drop-in tutoring hours can be found here . 

You should use consistent style for your in-text citations, references cited, and writing in general.  All Undergraduate Theses submitted to the Department of Anthropology must use the formal “style guide.” We recommend the  American Anthropologist  for cultural anthropology and linguistics topics,  American Antiquity  and  Historical Archaeology  for archaeology topics, and  American Journal of Physical Anthropology  for physical anthropology and biological anthropology topics.  You must use the style guide consistently for the Abstract, Main Text, References Cited, Figures, and Tables.  All citations must have the complete reference in the section “References Cited.”  All figures must be numbered and must be referred to in the text at least once.  Online style guides are available for the following journals:

American Anthropologist :

http://www.aaanet.org/publications/guidelines.cfm

American Antiquity :

https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/style-guide/saa-style-guide_updated-july-2018c5062f7e55154959ab57564384bda7de.pdf?sfvrsn=8247640e_6

Historical Archaeology

http://www.sha.org/publications/for_authors.cfm

American Journal of Physical Anthropology :

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%291096-8644/homepage/ForAuthors.html

All pages in your thesis should be numbered at the bottom center using Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 . . .) (including Main Text, References Cited section, Figures section, and Tables section).  The Title page is not numbered.  Any preliminary pages (Abstract, Table of Contents, or lists of Figures) use small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii . . .).

Your title page is unnumbered. All text of the title page should be centered and have the same font as the main text  Your title page should have the following elements (note the use of upper and lower case):

[TITLE OF THE UNDERGRADUATE THESIS IN UPPER CASE]

[Author’s Name]

Anthropology

Submitted to the

Thesis Advisor:  [name of the Thesis Advisor]

The Undergraduate Thesis must include a formal abstract (summary) of 100-200 words at the beginning, immediately following your Title page. Your thesis abstract presents a concise summary of the thesis (research problem or issue, the methods or approach used, and results). Do not cite references in the abstract.

Anthropology generally uses in-text citations to refer to published work as you’ll see in the Style Guide above. It is better to over-cite your sources than to under-cite them!  Below are links to the Penn Library’s documentation guide and the University guide to academic integrity.  Please read these documents carefully:

http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/PORT/documentation/

http://www.upenn.edu/academicintegrity/index.html

We discourage the use of footnotes and endnotes for “additional information.”  If necessary, use endnotes rather than footnotes.  Endnotes appear in sequence at the end of the main text as a separate section titled “Endnotes” and are numbered in sequence in the text (using a superscript font). Endnotes are single-spaced with double spaces between them.  

Your Undergraduate Thesis should include a complete “References Cited” section (this is not a “Bibliography”). Refer to the appropriate style guide ( American Anthropologist ,  American Antiquity , Historical Archaeology,  or  American Journal of Physical Anthropology ) above for details on citations.  Your References Cited section must include all and only the references that you’ve formally cited in your main text, endnotes, figures, and tables. Work with your advisor to agree on appropriate citations for archival sources, interviews, museum records, and other research data.

The Undergraduate Thesis in Anthropology is a formal document, so your figures and tables should be sharp, clear, readable and directly relevant to the topic. Your figures should be clear and legible. Scan images from publications and reduce or enlarge these to best fit the margins of your page using Photoshop or Illustrator (available on computers in the Department and in Weigle Information Commons).

Figures includes diagrams, photographs, drawings, graphics, illustrations, and maps. They will be numbered in sequence “Figure X..”. Label all of your tables “Table Y..” in a separate numbered sequence. You should mention each figure and table at least once in your text [for example:  “As Table 5 demonstrates, the alcoholic content of maize beer is low.”]  Each figure or table must have an individual caption on the page where it appears. If information or images in your figures come from published or unpublished work of others, you must include formal citations in your captions and References Cited section (“Figure 3:  Location map showing the excavations completed during the 1994 field season (after Smith et al. 1995).”

Photographs are numbered in the figure sequence. Photographs should be sharp, fit within the required margins, and have direct relevance to your thesis. Like all figures, each photograph must have a caption, must be cited in the text, and must be listed in the table of figures if you include one. You must cite the sources of any published image you reproduce, and that citation must appear in your “References Cited.”

The text, tables and figures of your thesis should have a 1-inch margin on all sides. Your text should be double spaced except for the Title Page, Abstract, Table of Contents, long quoted passages (“block” quotes), References Cited, Endnotes and Captions. Format these sections according to the style guide for your thesis subject area.

Choose a clear standard typeface (Times New Roman, etc.) and format pages with 12-point font throughout your document.

Gibaldi, Joseph.  2009.  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  7th ed. New York:  Modern Language Association of America.  A comprehensive guide to writing research papers.

Strunk, W. and E.B. White.  2005.  The Elements of Style.  New York:  Penguin Press.  Appropriate for more humanities-oriented papers (and therefore possibly for cultural- and linguistic anthropology theses).  Focuses on rules of standard English and calls attention to common errors.

Turabian, Kate L.  2007.  A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.  7th ed.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press.  Updated in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style.

University of Chicago.  2010.  The Chicago Manual of Style.  16th edition.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press.  Another classic, comprehensive style guide; extensively revised for the 16th edition.

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DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY

• Undergraduate

Senior Theses and Honors

Conducting original research is central to the field of Anthropology. By undertaking original research in Anthropology students develop core skills in critical thinking, research, and written and oral communication. These skills, rooted in the holistic discipline of Anthropology, are widely applicable regardless of your career choice. Original research for the Senior Thesis may be based on library, laboratory, or field research on a topic that the student has chosen in consultation with their faculty adviser. The Senior Thesis is an opportunity for students to explore a topic of their interest in Anthropology.

Majors with an interest in pursuing original research in anthropology during their senior year identify a thesis topic and advisor during their junior year and submit an application to write a senior thesis to the Honors Coordinator by spring of junior year. The thesis requires:

• Completion of 399 in the Fall quarter of senior year
• Completion of 398 in Winter quarter of senior year

398 may be counted toward the 300-level requirements for the major. 399 is in addition to the 300-level requirements for the major

Honors in Anthropology

Students interested in pursuing honors in Anthropology are required to (1) prepare a 1-2 page project proposal and (2) secure a project advisor during their junior year. The proposal and an email from the advisor attesting to their work with the student should be sent to the Honors Coordinator, Prof. Erin Waxenbaum ( [email protected] ), by July 1 of the student’s junior year.

Students who write a thesis and whose theses and grades meet university criteria are recommended to the college for graduation with honors. Eligibility for honors includes:

• Writing an outstanding senior thesis
• 3.3 GPA overall
• 3.5 GPA in Anthropology 

Honors and awards

Students who prepare an outstanding honors thesis will be nominated for honors in anthropology to the Weinberg College Committee on Undergraduate Academic Excellence, which has the final authority to grant the honors degree. All students writing an honors thesis are also eligible for following departmental awards:

• Oswald Werner Prize for Distinguished Honors Thesis in Anthropology

This prize honors Professor Emeritus Oswald Werner’s research, teaching, fieldwork training and administrative contributions. He was a faculty member for 35 years, a department chair, founder, and director of the Northwestern University Ethnographic Field School, and an ardent supporter of undergraduate research.

• Friends of Anthropology Award for Distinguished Honors Thesis in Public Anthropology

This prize recognizes outstanding research that  matters to the communities in which the researcher works, addressing important  social issues and helping to foster change. The award was established in 2005 with funding from the "Friends of Anthropology at Northwestern" (FAN) Alumni Group.

• Elizabeth M. Brumfiel Award for Distinguished Honors Thesis in Archaeology

See a list of award-winners who have won scholarships and other prizes.

The Honors Coordinator for Anthropology is: Prof. Erin Waxenbaum 

Anthropology

What this handout is about.

This handout briefly situates anthropology as a discipline of study within the social sciences. It provides an introduction to the kinds of writing that you might encounter in your anthropology courses, describes some of the expectations that your instructors may have, and suggests some ways to approach your assignments. It also includes links to information on citation practices in anthropology and resources for writing anthropological research papers.

What is anthropology, and what do anthropologists study?

Anthropology is the study of human groups and cultures, both past and present. Anthropology shares this focus on the study of human groups with other social science disciplines like political science, sociology, and economics. What makes anthropology unique is its commitment to examining claims about human ‘nature’ using a four-field approach. The four major subfields within anthropology are linguistic anthropology, socio-cultural anthropology (sometimes called ethnology), archaeology, and physical anthropology. Each of these subfields takes a different approach to the study of humans; together, they provide a holistic view. So, for example, physical anthropologists are interested in humans as an evolving biological species. Linguistic anthropologists are concerned with the physical and historical development of human language, as well as contemporary issues related to culture and language. Archaeologists examine human cultures of the past through systematic examinations of artifactual evidence. And cultural anthropologists study contemporary human groups or cultures.

What kinds of writing assignments might I encounter in my anthropology courses?

The types of writing that you do in your anthropology course will depend on your instructor’s learning and writing goals for the class, as well as which subfield of anthropology you are studying. Each writing exercise is intended to help you to develop particular skills. Most introductory and intermediate level anthropology writing assignments ask for a critical assessment of a group of readings, course lectures, or concepts. Here are three common types of anthropology writing assignments:

Critical essays

This is the type of assignment most often given in anthropology courses (and many other college courses). Your anthropology courses will often require you to evaluate how successfully or persuasively a particular anthropological theory addresses, explains, or illuminates a particular ethnographic or archaeological example. When your instructor tells you to “argue,” “evaluate,” or “assess,” they are probably asking for some sort of critical essay. (For more help with deciphering your assignments, see our handout on understanding assignments .)

Writing a “critical” essay does not mean focusing only on the most negative aspects of a particular reading or theory. Instead, a critical essay should evaluate or assess both the weaknesses and the merits of a given set of readings, theories, methods, or arguments.

Sample assignment:

Assess the cultural evolutionary ideas of late 19th century anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan in terms of recent anthropological writings on globalization (select one recent author to compare with Morgan). What kinds of anthropological concerns or questions did Morgan have? What kinds of anthropological concerns underlie the current anthropological work on globalization that you have selected? And what assumptions, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies inform these questions or projects?

Ethnographic projects

Another common type of research and writing activity in anthropology is the ethnographic assignment. Your anthropology instructor might expect you to engage in a semester-long ethnographic project or something shorter and less involved (for example, a two-week mini-ethnography).

So what is an ethnography? “Ethnography” means, literally, a portrait (graph) of a group of people (ethnos). An ethnography is a social, political, and/or historical portrait of a particular group of people or a particular situation or practice, at a particular period in time, and within a particular context or space. Ethnographies have traditionally been based on an anthropologist’s long-term, firsthand research (called fieldwork) in the place and among the people or activities they are studying. If your instructor asks you to do an ethnographic project, that project will likely require some fieldwork.

Because they are so important to anthropological writing and because they may be an unfamiliar form for many writers, ethnographies will be described in more detail later in this handout.

Spend two hours riding the Chapel Hill Transit bus. Take detailed notes on your observations, documenting the setting of your fieldwork, the time of day or night during which you observed and anything that you feel will help paint a picture of your experience. For example, how many people were on the bus? Which route was it? What time? How did the bus smell? What kinds of things did you see while you were riding? What did people do while riding? Where were people going? Did people talk? What did they say? What were people doing? Did anything happen that seemed unusual, ordinary, or interesting to you? Why? Write down any thoughts, self-reflections, and reactions you have during your two hours of fieldwork. At the end of your observation period, type up your fieldnotes, including your personal thoughts (labeling them as such to separate them from your more descriptive notes). Then write a reflective response about your experience that answers this question: how is riding a bus about more than transportation?

Analyses using fossil and material evidence

In some assignments, you might be asked to evaluate the claims different researchers have made about the emergence and effects of particular human phenomena, such as the advantages of bipedalism, the origins of agriculture, or the appearance of human language. To complete these assignments, you must understand and evaluate the claims being made by the authors of the sources you are reading, as well as the fossil or material evidence used to support those claims. Fossil evidence might include things like carbon dated bone remains; material evidence might include things like stone tools or pottery shards. You will usually learn about these kinds of evidence by reviewing scholarly studies, course readings, and photographs, rather than by studying fossils and artifacts directly.

The emergence of bipedalism (the ability to walk on two feet) is considered one of the most important adaptive shifts in the evolution of the human species, but its origins in space and time are debated. Using course materials and outside readings, examine three authors’ hypotheses for the origins of bipedalism. Compare the supporting points (such as fossil evidence and experimental data) that each author uses to support their claims. Based on your examination of the claims and the supporting data being used, construct an argument for why you think bipedal locomotion emerged where and when it did.

How should I approach anthropology papers?

Writing an essay in anthropology is very similar to writing an argumentative essay in other disciplines. In most cases, the only difference is in the kind of evidence you use to support your argument. In an English essay, you might use textual evidence from novels or literary theory to support your claims; in an anthropology essay, you will most often be using textual evidence from ethnographies, artifactual evidence, or other support from anthropological theories to make your arguments.

Here are some tips for approaching your anthropology writing assignments:

• Make sure that you understand what the prompt or question is asking you to do. It is a good idea to consult with your instructor or teaching assistant if the prompt is unclear to you. See our handout on arguments and handout on college writing for help understanding what many college instructors look for in a typical paper.
• Review the materials that you will be writing with and about. One way to start is to set aside the readings or lecture notes that are not relevant to the argument you will make in your paper. This will help you focus on the most important arguments, issues, and behavioral and/or material data that you will be critically assessing. Once you have reviewed your evidence and course materials, you might decide to have a brainstorming session. Our handouts on reading in preparation for writing and brainstorming might be useful for you at this point.
• Develop a working thesis and begin to organize your evidence (class lectures, texts, research materials) to support it. Our handouts on constructing thesis statements and paragraph development will help you generate a thesis and develop your ideas and arguments into clearly defined paragraphs.

What is an ethnography? What is ethnographic evidence?

Many introductory anthropology courses involve reading and evaluating a particular kind of text called an ethnography. To understand and assess ethnographies, you will need to know what counts as ethnographic data or evidence.

You’ll recall from earlier in this handout that an ethnography is a portrait—a description of a particular human situation, practice, or group as it exists (or existed) in a particular time, at a particular place, etc. So what kinds of things might be used as evidence or data in an ethnography (or in your discussion of an ethnography someone else has written)? Here are a few of the most common:

• Things said by informants (people who are being studied or interviewed). When you are trying to illustrate someone’s point of view, it is very helpful to appeal to their own words. In addition to using verbatim excerpts taken from interviews, you can also paraphrase an informant’s response to a particular question.
• Observations and descriptions of events, human activities, behaviors, or situations.
• Relevant historical background information.
• Statistical data.

Remember that “evidence” is not something that exists on its own. A fact or observation becomes evidence when it is clearly connected to an argument in order to support that argument. It is your job to help your reader understand the connection you are making: you must clearly explain why statements x, y, and z are evidence for a particular claim and why they are important to your overall claim or position.

Citation practices in anthropology

In anthropology, as in other fields of study, it is very important that you cite the sources that you use to form and articulate your ideas. (Please refer to our handout on plagiarism for information on how to avoid plagiarizing). Anthropologists follow the Chicago Manual of Style when they document their sources. The basic rules for anthropological citation practices can be found in the AAA (American Anthropological Association) Style Guide. Note that anthropologists generally use in-text citations, rather than footnotes. This means that when you are using someone else’s ideas (whether it’s a word-for-word quote or something you have restated in your own words), you should include the author’s last name and the date the source text was published in parentheses at the end of the sentence, like this: (Author 1983).

If your anthropology or archaeology instructor asks you to follow the style requirements of a particular academic journal, the journal’s website should contain the information you will need to format your citations. Examples of such journals include The American Journal of Physical Anthropology and American Antiquity . If the style requirements for a particular journal are not explicitly stated, many instructors will be satisfied if you consistently use the citation style of your choice.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Scupin, Raymond, and Christopher DeCorse. 2016. Anthropology: A Global Perspective , 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Solis, Jacqueline. 2020. “A to Z Databases: Anthropology.” Subject Research Guides, University of North Carolina. Last updated November 2, 2020. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/az.php?s=1107 .

University of Chicago Press. 2017. The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Williams, James T.  (2014)  Staple Economies and Social Integration in Northeast China: Regional Organization in Zhangwu, Liaoning, China. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Sung, Shih-Hsiang   (2014)  The Flowing Materiality of Crystal: A Global Commodity Chain of Fengshui Objects From Brazil, China to Taiwan.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Romano, Francisco  (2014)  Changing Bases of Power: The Transition From Regional Classic to Recent in the Alto Magdalena (Colombia).   Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.             

Roman, Michael  (2014)  Migration, Transnationality, and Climate Change in the Republic of Kiribati.   Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.  

Pesantes Villa, Maria Amalia  (2014)  Out of sight out of mind: intercultural health technicians in the Peruvian Amazon.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Ornellas, Melody Li  (2014)  When a Wife is a Visitor: Mainland Chinese Marriage Migration, Citizenship, and Activism in Hong Kong.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Giraldo Tenorio, Hernando Javier  (2014)   Sources of Power and the Development of Sociopolitical Complexity in Malagana, Southwestern Colombia.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Berrey, Charles A.  (2014)  Organization and Growth among Early Complex Societies in Central Pacific Panama.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Ventresca Miller, Alicia (2013)  Social Organization And Interaction In Bronze Age Eurasia: A Bioarchaeological And Statistical Approach To The Study Of Communities.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Tulbure, Narcis (2013)  Chary Opportunists: Money, Values, And Change In Postsocialist Romania.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Sözer, Hande (2013)  Managing (In)Visibility By A Double Minority: Dissimulation And Identity Maintenance Among Alevi Bulgarian Turks.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Sol Castillo, Ricardo Felipe (2013)  Religious Organization And Political Structure In Prehispanic Southern Costa Rica. Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Roman-Lacayo, Manuel/A (2013)  Social And Environmental Risk And The Development Of Social Complexity In Precolumbian Masaya, Nicaragua.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Rak, Kimberly (2013)  Seeing Green: Gendered Relationship Expectations And Sexual Risk Among Economically Underserved Adolescents In Braddock, Pennsylvania.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Ming, Kevin (2013)  Slow Separations: Everyday Sex Work In Southern China.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

McCarthy, Rory G. (2013)  The Sikh Diaspora In Australia: Migration, Multiculturalism And The Imagining Of Home.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Lopez Bravo, Roberto (2013)  State Interventionism In The Late Classic Maya Palenque Polity: Household And Community Archaeology At El Lacandon.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Lee, Yi-Tze (2013)  Divided Dreams On Limited Land: Cultural Experiences Of Agricultural Bio-Energy Project And Organic Farming Transition In Taiwan.  Doctoral Dissertation, University Of Pittsburgh.

Hoggarth, Julie A.  (2013)  Social Reorganization and Household Adaptation in the Aftermath of Collapse at Baking Pot, Belize.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Guerra-Reyes, Lucia (2013)  Safe motherhood and maternal mortality reduction strategies: a cross cultural perspective.  Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.

Guerra-Reyes, Lucia (2013)  Changing Birth in The Andes: Safe Motherhood, Culture and Policy in Peru.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Gamez Diaz, Laura (2013)  Cosmology And Society: Household Ritual Among The Terminal Classic Maya People Of Yaxha (Ca. A.D. 850-950), Guatemala.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Marcone, Giancarlo (2012)  Political Strategies And Domestic Economy Of The Lote B Rural Elite In The Prehispanic Lurín Valley, Peru.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Macia, Laura (2012)  Dealing With Grievances: The Latino Experience In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Hooe, Todd (2012)  “Little Kingdoms”: Adat And Inequality In The Kei Islands, Eastern Indonesia.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Hamm, Megan (2012)  Activism, Sex Work, And Womanhood In North India.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Frenopoulo, Christian (2012)  The Referential Functions Of Agency: Health Workers In Medical Missions To Madiha (Kulina) Indians In The Brazilian Amazon.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

DePaoli, Lisa Coffield (2012)  "No Podemos Comer Billetes": Climate Change And Development In Southern Ecuador.  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Campbell, Roberto  (2012)  Socioeconomic differentiation, leadership, and residential patterning at an Araucanian chiefly center (Isla Mocha, AD 1000-1700).  Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

Household Organization and Social Inequality at Bandurria, A Late Preceramic Village in Huaura, Peru.  Alejandro Jose Chu Barrera.  2011.

Kokeshi: Continued and Created Traditions/Motivations for a Japanese Folk Art Doll.  Jennifer E. McDowell.  2011.

Ideology and the Development of Social Hierarchy at the Site of Panquilma, Peruvian Central Coast.  Luis Enrique Lopez-Hurtado Orjeda.  2011.

Our Roots, Our Strength: The Jamu Industry, Women's Health and Islam in Contemporary Indonesia.  Sarah Elizabeth Krier.  2011.

An investigation of sex determination from the subadult pelvis: A morphometric analysis.  Kathleen Ann Satterlee Blake.  2011.

Carrying Out Modernity: Migration, Work, and Masculinity in China .  Xia Zhang.  2011.

Marriage Across the Taiwan Strait: Male Migrants, Marital Desire and Social Location.   Joseph Leo Cichosz.  2011.

Conditions of Social Change at El Dornajo, Southwestern Ecuador .   Sarah Ruth Taylor .  2011 .

Transfers and the Private Lives of Public Servants in Japan: Teachers in Nagasaki’s Outer Islands .   Blaine Phillip Connor .  2010 .

Oapan Nawa Folktales: Links to the Pre-Hispanic Past in a Contemporary Indian Community of Mexico .  Joanne Michel de Guerrero .  2010 .

Communal Tradition and the Nature of Social Inequality Among the Prehispanic Households of El Hatillo (HE-4), Panama .  William A. Locascio .  2010 .

Prehispanic Social Organization in the Jamastrán Valley, Southeastern Honduras .  Eva L. Martinez .  2010 .

Democracy “At Risk”? Governmental and Non-governmental Organizations, “At Risk” Youth, and Programming in Juiz de Fora, Brazil .   Penelope Kay Morrison .  2010 .

Emergent Complexity on the Mongolian Steppe: Mobility, Territoriality, and the Development of Early Nomadic Polities .  Jean-Luc Houle .  2010 .

Between the Kitchen and the State: Domestic Practice and Chimú Expansion in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru.   Robyn E. Cutright. 2009.

Craft Specialization and the Emergence of the Chiefly Central Place Community of HE-4 (El Hatillo), Central Panama .  Adam Clayton Joseph Menzies .  2009 .

The Interaction of Androgenic Hormone and Craniofacial Variation: Relationship Between Epigenetics and the Environment on the Genome with an Eye Toward Non-Syndromic Craniosynostosis .   James John Cray, Jr. .  2009 .

The Development of Complex Society in the Volcán Barú Region of Western Panama .  Scott Palumbo .  2009 .

Huaracane Social Organization: Change Over Time at the Prehispanic Community of Yahuay Alta, Perú .  Kirk E. Costion .  2009 .

The Social and Political Evolution of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico: An Analysis of Changing Strategies of Rulership in a Middle Formative Through Early Classic Mesoamerican Political Center .  Timothy D. Sullivan .  2009 .

Social Change in Pre-Columbian San Ramon de Alajuela, Costa Rica, and Its Relation with Adjacent Regions .  Mauricio Murillo Herrera .  2009 .

The Domestic Mode of Production and the Development of Sociopolitical Complexity: Evidence from the Spondylus Industry of Coastal Ecuador .   Alexander Javier Martin .  2009 .

Bread, Sweat, and Tears? The Ascendance of Capitalist Accumulation Strategies in the Russian Republic of Karelia, 2001-2002 .  Mark Wesley Abbott .  2008 .

The Organization of Agricultural Production on the Southwest Periphery of the Maya Lowlands: A Settlement Patterns Study in the Upper Grijalva Basin, Chiapas, Mexico .  Dean H. Wheeler .  2008 .

Donkey Friends: Travel, Voluntary Associations and the New Public Sphere in Contemporary Urban China .  Ning Zhang .  2008 .

Fashioning Change: The Cultural Economy of Clothing in Contemporary China .   Jianhua (Andrew) Zhao .  2008 .

Time and Process in an Early Village Settlement System on the Bolivian Southern Altiplano .  Jason (Jake) R. Fox .  2007 .

Social and Economic Development of a Specialized Community in Chengue, Parque Tairona, Colombia .  Alejandro Dever .  2007 .

Tracing the Red Thread: An Ethnography of Chinese-U.S. Transnational Adoption .  Frayda Cohen .  2007 .

Identity and Development in Rural Bolivia: Negotiating Gender, Ethnicity, and Class in Development Contexts .  Christine Hippert .  2007 .

Three-Dimensional Morphometric Analysis of the Craniofacial Complex in the Unaffected Relatives of Individuals with Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts .  Seth M. Weinberg .  2007 .

Cultural Politics and Health: The Development of Intercultural Health Policies in the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua .   Edgardo Ruiz .  2006 .

Ritual and Status: Mortuary Display at the Household Level at the Middle Horizon Wari Site of Conchopata, Peru .  Charlene D. Milliken .  2006 .

“Crafting” Hongshan Communities? Household Archeology In The Chiefing Region Of Eastern Inner Mongolia, PRC .   Christian Eric Peterson .  2006 .

Subsistence, Environment Fluctuation and Social Change: A Case Study in South Central Inner Mongolia .  Gregory G. Indrisano .  2006 .

Power and Competition in the Upper Egyptian Predynastic: A View from the Predynastic Settlement at el-Mahâsna, Egypt .  David Allen Anderson .  2006 .

Dusk Without Sunset: Actively Aging in Traditional Chinese Medicine .   Xiaohui Yang .  2006 .

The Organization of Agricultural Production in the Emergence of Chiefdoms in the Quijos Region, Eastern Andes of Ecuador.   Andrea Cuellar .  2006 .

The Utility of Cladistic Analysis of Nonmetric Skeletal Traits for Biodistance Analysis .  James Christopher Reed .  2006 .

Ethnography of Voting: Nostalgia, Subjectivity, and Popular Politics in Post-Socialist Lithuania .   Neringa Klumbyte .  2006 .

Risky Business: Cultural Conceptions of HIV/AIDS in Indonesia .   Piper Crisovan .  2006 .

The Mahaney Site (UB 666) -- Habitation or Special Purpose Site? .  Catherine M. Serventi .  2006 .

Food for the Dead, Cuisine of the Living: Mortuary Food Offerings from Pacatnamú and Farfán, Jequetepeque Valley, Perú .  Robyn E. Cutright .  2005 .

Czech Balneotherapy: From Public Health to Health Tourism.   Amy Speier.  2005.

Taxonomy of the Genus Perodicticus .  David Paul Stump .  2005 .

Rice Agricultural Intensification and Sociopolitical Development in the Bronze Age, central western Korean Peninsula.   Bumcheol Kim.  2005.

A Cold Of The Heart: Japan Strives To Normalize Depression .  George Kendall Vickery.  2005.

Cayuga Iroquois Households and Gender Relations During the Contact Period: An Investigation of the Rogers Farm Site, 1660s--1680s (New York) .  Kimberly Louise Williams-Shuker.  2005.

The Camutins Chiefdom: Rise and Development of Social Complexity on Marajo Island, Brazilian Amazon . Denise Pahl Schaan.  2004.

Cuban Color Classification and Identity Negotiation: Old terms in a New World. Shawn Alfonso Wells. 2004.

Natural Variation in Human Mating Strategy and the Evolutionary Significance of Mate Choice Criteria.  Helen Katherine Perilloux.  2004.

The Emergence and Development of Chiefly Societies in the Rio Parita Valley, Panama . Mikael Haller.  2004.

The Form, Function, and Organization of Anthropogenic Deposits at Dust Cave, Alabama. Lara Kristine Homsey. 2004.

Does Natal Territory Quality Predict Human Dispersal Choices? A Test of Emlen's Model of Family Formation . Elizabeth R. Blum. 2004.

Pragmatic Singles: Being an Unmarried Woman in Contemporary Japan. Tamiko Ortega Noll. 2004

Regional Settlement Patterns and Political Complexity in the Cinti Valley, Bolivia . Claudia Rivera Casanovas. 2004.

Turning Numbers Against Themselves: Religion, Statistics, and Political Distance in Romania . Mihnea Vasilescu. 2004.

(Re) Producing the Nation: The Politics of Reproduction in Serbia in Serbia in the 1980's and 1990's . Rada Drezgic. 2004.

Female Choice, Male Dominance, and the Evolution of Low Voice Pitch in Men . David Andrew Putz. 2004.

A Cultural History of the Micheal and Mary Jane Brubaker Family of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, with a Focus on Women's Marriage. John Michael Krajnak. 2004.

Cranial Content Changes in Craniosynostotic Rabbits . Wendy Kay Fellows-Mayle.  2004.

Created Unequal: Multiregionalism and the Origins of Anthropological Racism. Adam Wells Davis. 2004.

Gendered Visions of the Bosnian Future: Women’s Activism and Representation in Post-War Bosnia-Herzegovina . Elissa Lynelle Helms. 2003.

Spirtual Warfare and Social Transformation in Fiji: The Life History of Loto Fiafia of Kioa . Thomas James Mullane. 2003.

Samurai Beneath Blue Tarps: Doing Homelessness, Rejecting Marginality and Preserving Nation in Ueno Park (Japan) . Abby Rachael Margolis. 2003.

The Evolutionary Biology of the Apolipoprotein E Allele System with Special Reference to Alzheimer's Disease . Jessica Ann Garver. 2003

Setting Nets on Troubled Waters: Environment, Economics, and Autonomy Among Nori Cultivating Households in a Japanese Fishing Cooperative. Alyne Elizabeth Delaney. 2003.

Skeletal Maturation and Estimating Age-At-Death During the First Decade of Life . Frank D. Houghton Jr. 2003.

"Civil Society or a Nation-State?" Macedonian and Albanian Intellectuals Building the Macedonian State and Nation(s) . Nevena Dicheva Dimova. 2003.

Sex Determination of the Fragmented Pelvis Using Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis . Joan A. Bytheway. 2003.

Proximate Mechanisms of Kin Recogniton in Non-human Primates. Aislinn Kelly. 2003.

The Evolution of Hairlessness in Humans a a Means of Increased Vitamin D Biosynthesis . D. A. Putz. 2003.

The Evolution of the Bogota Chiefdom: A Household View . Michael H. Kruschek. 2003.

Multi-Scalar Analysis of Domestic Activities at Parker Farm: A Late Prehistoric Cayuga Iroquois Village . Tracy Sue Michaud Stutzman. 2002.

Late Intermediate Period Political Economy and Household Organization at Jachakala, Bolivia. Christine Beaule. 2002.

Indigenous Federations, NGOs, and the State: Development and the Politics of Culture in Ecuador's Amazon. Patrick C. Wilson. 2002

Wild Resources in the Andes: Algarrobo, Chanar and Palqui: Implications for Archaeology . Claudia Rivera-Casanovas. 2002.

Nonmetric Population Variation In The Skulls of Human Perinates . Seth M. Weinberg. 2002.

Intensive Agriculture and Political Economy of the Yaguachi Chiefdom of Guayas Basin, Coastal Ecuador . Florencio German Delgado-Espinoza. 2002.

Sedentism, Site Occupation and Settlement Organization at La Joya, A Formative Village in the Sierra De Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico . Valerie J. McCormack. 2002.

The Road to Health: The Experience of Tuberculosis in Southern Chile Joan Elizabeth Paluzzi. 2002.

Household and Community Organization of a Formative Period, Bolivian Settlement . Courtney Elizabeth Rose. 2001.

Emerging Cultural Markets and Private Enterprise in Urban China: Managing Change in Values, Families and Futures . David Hudgens. 2001.

Equal Education - Unequal Lives: Life Course Goals of Japanese Female Undergraduates . Judith Lynn Misko. 2001.

Women’s Economic Activities in an Industrializing Malay Village . Margaret Wolfberg Kedia. 2001.

Interisland Interaction and the Development of Chiefdoms in the Eastern Caribbean . John Gordon Crock. 2001.

Public and Private Space at Mohenjo-Daro: the Implications for Social Organization . Sara Clark. 2001.

Anasazi Settlement Patterns: the Importance of Seasonal Mobility . Charlene Milliken. 2001.

Post-Saladoid Age Pottery in the Northern Lesser Antilles: Lessons Learned from Thin Section Photography . Martin Todd Fuess. 2001.

Peasants and the State: The Political economy of a Village in Maoist and Post-Mao China .Young Kyun Yang. 2000.

The Chichén Itzá - Ek Balam Transect Project: An Intersite Perspective on the Political Organization of the Ancient Maya . James Gregory Smith. 2000.

Japanese Adult Learning: Karaoke Naraigoto . Hideo Watanabe. 2000.

Inventing Indigenous Knowledge: Archaeology, Rural Development, and the Raised Field Rehabilitation Project in Bolivia . Lynn Swartley. 2000.

Valuable Women: Gendered Strategies for Success in Korean College Culture . Elise Michelle Mellinger. 2000.

A Study of Late Classic Maya Population Growth at La Milpa, Belize. John Janson Rose. 2000.

Development of the Central Nervous System and the Evolution of the Neocortex . Elizabeth Louise Dick. 2000.

Dynamical Systems Modeling in Archaeology: A GIS Approach to Site Selection Processes in the Greater Yellowstone Region . Thomas G. Whitley. 2000.

Rural Agrarian Diversity in the Late Classic (600-950 A.D.) Naco Valley, Northwest Honduras . John Douglass. 1999.

The Functional Morphology of the Lower Cervical Spine in Non-Human Primates . Susan R. Mercer. 1999.

T he Organization of Agricultural Production at a Maya Center. Settlement Patterns in the Palenque Region, Chiapas, Mexico . Rodrigo Ruben Gregorio Liendo Stuardo. 1999.

The Political Ecology of Indigenous Self-Development in Bolivia’s Multiethnic Indigenous Territory . J. Montgomery Roper. 1999.

Origins Research in Archaeology at the Turn of the Millennium and Giambattista Vico’s New Science (1744) . Stephanie Koerner. 1999.

Social Differentiation at the Kerniskey Site?: A Contribution to the Study of Emerging Social Complexity . Elizabeth Ramos Roca. 1999.

Lithic Economy and Household Interdependence Among the Late Classic Maya of BelizeLithic Economy and Household Interdependence Among the Late Classic Maya of Belize . Jon VandenBosch. 1999.

The Late Formative to Classic Period Obsidian Economy at Palo Errado, Veracruz, Mexico . Charles Leonard Fredrick Knight. 1999.

Postclassic Craft Production in Morelos, Mexico: The Cotton Thread Industry in the Provinces . Ruth Fauman-Fichman. 1999.

The Organization of Staple Crop Production in Middle Formative, Late Formative, and Classic Period Farming Households at K'axob, Belize . Helen Hope Henderson. 1998.

The 'Becoming' Mother: Transitions to Motherhood in Urban China . Suzanne Kelley Gottschang. 1998

Prehispanic Intensive Agriculture, Settlement Pattern and Political Economy in the Western Venezuelan Llanos . Rafael Angel Gassón Pacheco. 1998.

Prehispanic Change in the Mesitas Community: Documenting the Development of a Chiefdom's Central Place in San Agustín, Colombia . Víctor González Fernández. 1998.

"We Just Live Here": Health Decision Making and the Myth of Community in El Alto, Bolivia . Jerome Winston Pettus Crowder. 1998

Bases of Social Hierarchy in a Muisca Central Village of the Northeastern Highland of Columbia . Ana Maria Boada Rivas. 1998.

The Effect of Time Manipulation on the Exchange of Information in the Patient-Provider Encounter. Van Yasek. 1998.

Social Support Networks of Impaired Older Adults . Marcie Caryn Nightingale. 1998.

Early Village-Based Society and Long-Term Cultural Evolution in the South-Central Andean Altiplano. Timothy McAndrews. 1998.

Sacred Confluence: Worship, History and the Politics of Change in a Himalayan Village. Lipika Mazumdar. 1998

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Tips for Writing a Departmental Honors Thesis in Anthropology

Preparing to write a thesis, detailed thesis guidance and suggestions, tips for writing a thesis.

What habits and actions will enable success?

 An undergraduate thesis project requires discipline in planning and execution from start to finish. Some key considerations include the following.

Once you decide to complete a thesis project after preliminary discussion with your adviser, take some time to think about what you would like your finished project to look like. Read through several recently completed undergraduate thesis projects in the department, and form some general ideas about your topic, approach, and final product. Think about what might cause you to be delayed, or even unsuccessful, or how you will counter those possibilities.

Organization

Workplace, work space, calendar, materials, ideas, records, meetings, files – if you find that the level of organization in any these aspects is lacking, make the changes needed to enable your success. 

Develop a written timeline for completion. Your adviser can help you identify the key steps and milestones and the amount of time you should allocate for each. Then work backward from the thesis submission deadlines to develop your timeline.

Designing and completing the thesis project will be challenging in the midst of your other academic and student activities. However, if you don’t give the project the time and effort it requires, you will miss your deadlines and/or be disappointed in the quality of the end product. Your thesis is an extra project that will require extra time and effort to complete.

Barriers to Success

As you begin your thesis planning and throughout the project, honestly identify those factors that are preventing you from doing your best work and take the actions needed to reduce or eliminate each of those barriers.

Daily Focus and Energy

Momentum is a critical element of completing a high quality thesis project. If you do not make a daily investment, even if for only 30 minutes, to address the next actions in your thesis project, you run the risk of trying to recapture thoughts and conversations and missing key milestones along the way. Reading, thinking, discussing, planning, and writing should become routine actions for generating and maintaining momentum in your thesis project. If you find that days or even weeks have passed without much thought or action on your thesis project, identify what’s preventing you from giving your thesis the time and effort it needs and address accordingly.

Your completed thesis document should reflect your personal best in formal writing and analysis. This includes sentence composition, grammar, punctuation, style (your adviser may suggest a specific style manual), flow of ideas, accuracy, literature citations, level of thought and analysis, and overall organization. Develop an outline for each chapter in consultation with your adviser before writing the full text. Edit your work carefully after multiple readings, and ask another capable person to give you honest feedback on your draft before submitting it to your adviser.

What Is a Thesis?

A thesis is a manuscript that presents an argument or assertion and supports it through logical claims and factual evidence, or data. The thesis must be analytic rather than descriptive. While the focus of your thesis will be the discussion of some set of anthropological phenomena, it should not simply present information, however important and interesting that information may be. Rather, and in addition, the thesis should represent an analysis of the phenomena, a theoretical and interpretive understanding of them; in other words, it should have an “argument.” This may mean simply stating a good, strong causal thesis and collecting data and logical arguments to support it (remember to include significant contrary facts and theories). Avoid a paper that is only, or even mostly, descriptive. A rule of thumb is that roughly one-third of the paper should be analysis, and two-thirds should be description and presentation of evidence.

Theoretical Framework

Given these expectations, your thesis should have some theoretical component. Regardless of your topic or subfield, you are expected to develop a theoretical framework of some kind. There are several ways to do this. 

• You may wish to use theoretical propositions to frame the argument, to elaborate and sustain the analysis, and to "explain" the phenomena.
• You may wish to criticize existing theoretical propositions using your data and interpretations.
• You may wish to bring together various theories to formulate a more original model.

Your data constitutes the evidence that you will use to support your argument. The data you analyze may come from various sources. You may undertake your own research, perhaps through a stint in the field or the laboratory. Alternately, you may reanalyze data that have already been collected and published. In either case, you will probably want to supplement your data with background library and historical research. Regardless of the kind of work you do, your goal should be to provide the reader with an understanding of the problem and data. What makes your essay a thesis is that you go beyond narrative and description to include analysis and argument. What makes it anthropology is the centrality of problems and phenomena related to the concerns – archaeological, biological, or cultural – of our discipline.

The analytical nature of the senior thesis has several implications for its organization. First, of course, the whole thing has to have a point and there should be no doubt to the reader what that point is. Perhaps the best piece of advice here is to make explicit to the reader what is obvious and implicit to you, the writer, steeped as you are in your own material. This does not mean that your research must follow the “logico-deductive” pattern; in fact, anthropological research often does not present argumentation in any particular straightforward manner. However, when writing the thesis, you should try to arrange the material so that the reader will understand the direction of the whole. This requires some “big-picture” planning and organization.

Your thesis should have a beginning, a middle, and an end – in other words, an introduction, a "body," and a conclusion. The introduction should state the problem and the manner in which you are going to discuss and analyze it. The body of the thesis should present evidence in support of your argument in some explicit, logical order, so that the reader will understand the relevance or purpose of each section. Finally, the conclusion should summarize the points you have made, recapitulate the argument and its strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps address again the theoretical issues that were used in approaching and analyzing the problem; you should also explain how you have modified your view of these issues in the course of conducting the analysis.

Senior theses may range from 35 to 100 pages in length. Laboratory theses or those with heavily quantitative analyses may be 40 to 60 pages, while those with discursive arguments tend to be longer. Cultural Anthropology theses will ordinarily be between 60 to 80 pages. You should be wary of exceeding these limits in either direction. Long, verbose theses in particular are often poorly written, edited, and argued.

You should address yourself to a well-informed reader. Avoid repetition, unnecessary detail, and irrelevance in both data and analysis. Use your own style — and use this opportunity to develop your own authorial voice — but, in any case, write clearly. In the process of composing and preparing the manuscript, do not neglect the details of good expository writing. The pleasure and the understanding of the reader (and perhaps your grade) can be undercut by inattentiveness to style, form, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and citations.

Specific Points

All students completing a senior thesis should prepare a thesis proposal that addresses the following points: introduction/summary; background information; theoretical perspective and/or hypothesis to be tested; methods for collecting and analyzing data; and significance of project. This proposal should be completed prior to the beginning of the project — typically in the fall of the senior year. 

Credit Hours 

All senior thesis students must enroll in ANTH 495H for two of the three terms of their senior year. Students enrolled in this course will receive a grade of CR rather than a letter grade. These credits do not count toward the 55 hours required for the B.A. in anthropology.

IRB Approval

All projects require the approval of the Ohio University Institutional Review Board . Please plan to submit the required paperwork to the IRB two weeks prior to the commencement of data collection.

There are various sources of funding to support undergraduate research at Ohio University. These funds are often competitive. A strong thesis proposal can be transformed into a strong application for funds. These deadlines typically arise in the spring and fall quarters; be sure to maintain contact with your adviser about them.

Thesis committees involve a minimum of two and a maximum of three experts in the field. These committee members may be faculty members in anthropology or other related departments, practicing anthropologists, or other professional in related fields (for example, museum studies). At least one of the committee members (other than the adviser) must be a member of the anthropology program. Students typically approach potential committee members, after consulting with their advisers, in the fall semester .  It may be useful to provide a copy of the thesis proposal at this time in order to provide some background on the project at hand. In the spring semester, the student will schedule a full meeting of the committee to defend the conclusions of the thesis. The full thesis committee must reach a consensus on the successful defense of the thesis.

Note: The Anthropology program and the College of Arts & Sciences have specific guidelines for binding, formatting, title pages, references, notes, and tables. Please be sure to follow these guidelines closely.

Backup your computer files on a daily basis.

How should I work with my adviser in planning, conducting, and writing my thesis?  The thesis project is a joint effort between you and your adviser, but in reality, it is YOUR project. Take the initiative to schedule meetings, plan discussion topics and questions for the meetings, and make notes about what was decided at each meeting and your next actions. Schedule regular (weekly) meetings with your adviser as you plan, conduct, and write your thesis. Give your adviser ample time to read drafts of your work before you meet. Seek your adviser’s help in resolving any roadblocks along the way.

How do I obtain IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval?  Ohio University must ensure that research conducted under its jurisdiction does not present unreasonable risks to subjects or volunteers. Faculty, staff, and students conducting the research are primarily responsible for safeguarding the welfare of study participants. IRB approval of the proposed research procedures must be obtained before data collection begins. See Ohio University Research Compliance  for additional information and the IRB submission form .

What constitutes plagiarism?  A major ethical standard in research focuses on appropriately recognizing and crediting the work of others who have contributed to the body of knowledge in a given area. Plagiarism is simply using someone else’s ideas or wording without giving due credit. When you present an idea in your thesis project that originated from another source (written or spoken), even if you modified the wording or parts of the idea, credit to the original source should be given. The thesis is a scholarly work, and as such, extensive citation from the literature is expected. As you make notes from a source, indicate clearly whether your notes are a direct quote or a paraphrased interpretation. If direct quotes are used, the page number is required for a complete citation. Plagiarism software is widely available and routinely used by professors and journal editors.

What are the elements of my thesis research proposal and completed project? Undergraduate thesis projects mirror master’s thesis projects but the scope of the study and final product are usually scaled down considerably. The anthropology discipline typically uses a five-chapter approach for theses as shown on the following page. Check with your adviser for additional points. Typical page lengths (double spaced) are shown in parentheses.

• Table of Contents
• Purpose: “The purpose of this study…” (one sentence).
• Methods: Usually one to two sentences on how this study was conducted and who the sample or population was.
• Results: Usually two to three brief sentences on the major findings from the study.
• Conclusion: One to two sentences on the major implications or ramifications from the study.
• Provides the background and setting needed to put the problem in proper context and justifies the need for the study.
• Contains facts, trends, and points of view (opinions) as drawn from the professional literature in anthropology and any relevant areas. The presentation of these key points should flow from general trends and concerns to the specific problem/challenge that you will address in your thesis research.
• Provides a logical lead-in to a clear statement of the problem, which is followed by the purpose of the study and the research objectives that you will pursue.
• Chapter 1 also includes a list of any assumptions and limitations, as well as a section (Significance of the Study) that explains what groups could potentially benefit from the study and how/why.
• Presents the results of previous research related to your study topic, organized by the key variables in your study. A conceptual model showing the relationships among variables related to your research problem can also be included.
• For survey research or other quantitative study, Chapter 2 indicates the theory upon which the study is based. Qualitative studies usually build theory rather than apply or test theory. Thus, in these studies less attention is given to theory in Chapter 2. Provides the rationale for hypotheses (if stated).
• Describes in detail the step-by-step procedures used in collecting and analyzing data.
• Possible sections of Chapter 3 include research design, subject selection, instrumentation, data collection, data analysis, chapter summary and others. Talk with your adviser about adjustments in this chapter if you are undertaking a qualitative study.
• Reports all results obtained, including appropriate statistics and descriptions of data.
• Includes facts only – what was found with explanation, but not interpretation or conjecture by the researcher. Is organized and written around objectives of the study (research questions or hypotheses).
• Briefly summarizes intent, procedures, and findings of study.
• States conclusions based upon findings (first point in paper where the researcher is allowed to include his or her own interpretations).
• Describes how findings support or refute related studies (Implications for Current Knowledge).
• Describes implications of findings for those groups affected by the program/findings (Implications for Practice).
• Includes recommendations for practice based upon findings and conclusions, if applicable.
• Includes recommendations for further research.
• Includes copies of all correspondence, instrumentation, and other written communication used in carrying out the research.
• Includes special lists (i.e., expert panel members, etc.).
• Includes complete bibliographic information for all references cited in the text (use accepted style manual, such as APA, American Antiquity, or other professional guidelines decided with your adviser).

Note : Chapters 1-3 above constitute the thesis research proposal. In writing the proposal, verb tense is future tense (e.g., “will be”). Note that specific rules apply to verb tense. With few exceptions, past events and past research/writings should be described using past tense verbs. Past trends that still continue should be described using present perfect tense (e.g., has been). Present tense is used only to describe the contents of a table or other section in the thesis itself and when stating conclusions. The use of “it” and “there” to begin sentences should be avoided, unless “it” clearly refers to a preceding noun.

Other Considerations

Your thesis research should address a known, real problem in anthropology. Your project will be designed and conducted in an attempt to help resolve the identified problem. Thus, your research problem can be drawn from your personal experiences and observations, from others’ observations and opinions, or from previous research. The problem you choose to research should be related to a significant or major problem, as generally viewed by experts in the profession.  A key question to ask as you and your adviser discuss potential thesis projects is, “Who needs and could benefit from this research?” The second fundamental question to ask when identifying your research topic and interpreting the results is, “So what?” That is, of what value will/is the research, to whom, and why? Your study should attempt to inform or solve a problem in the field. Try to go beyond merely describing a situation or population and design your study so it has the potential to provide solutions.

Keeping these aspects in mind throughout your research and in developing your conclusion will make your thesis better.

Here are additional guidelines, similar to the above, but include more insight about certain parts of the thesis and common mistakes. 

• The introduction should establish a chain of reasoning/logic and smoothly flow from one key point to the next.
• Chapter 1 summarizes the “opinion literature” on your topic.
• Use the most recent references available, and use original sources unless they are out of print.
• Use past tense or present perfect tense in your writing. Only use future tense for the proposal to describe what you will do.
• Common grammatical errors include using “data” as a singular noun (should be “data are”) and beginning a sentence with “it” and “there.”
• Your list of definitions should include all terms not commonly understood. These words should be “operationally defined” for your study. For example, provide a definition and citation on motivation, followed by a statement that says, “In this study motivation was defined as the subject’s score on the Britton Motivation Questionnaire.”
• Build your reference list as you go. Cite sources using APA style, and check the elements of each citation to prevent a return trip to the library to get the missing elements.
• Limitations are any restrictions in the study – population, sample, time, geography, and so on.

A theory is a generalization or series of generalizations by which we attempt to explain some phenomenon in a systematic manner. Our field includes many theories about learning, leading, communicating. Theory is derived from research, observations, and logical analysis and is commonly presented in books and published research. Chapter 2 includes the underlying theory base for your study, research findings from past studies that are related to your topic, and a conceptual model in the form of a diagram or concept map that combines the theory and previous research (see the example on page 7), showing the relationship between variables that may influence the phenomenon you are studying. With few exceptions, previous research findings are reported in journals (e.g., Journal of Agricultural Education, Journal of Extension, Journal of Leadership Education, Journal of Applied Communications, etc.) and technical reports. Your outline for Chapter 2 should be derived from the major variables in your study. Focus on recently published research (last 10 years), while including any works that are considered classics in the field. When you find an article that seems related to your study, read the abstract to verify, then focus on the population studied, the results, and conclusions.

Chapter 3 is the research methods chapter and is based largely on the decisions you and your adviser make about how to conduct your study. Elements of Chapter 3 typically include one or more introductory paragraphs, research design (specify the design and explain its limitations), population and sample, instrumentation (the tools that you will use to collect data), data collection procedures, data analysis procedures, and a chapter summary. Talk to your adviser about modification of this outline if you are conducting a qualitative study.

Chapter 4 is where you present the findings of your research. These should be clear and carefully linked to the hypotheses that you proposed to address in your research. You should not try to link your findings to broader topics and issues in the field – this will come in Chapter 5.

Chapter 5 is the discussion and conclusion chapter. Here you should link your findings to broader topics in the field of anthropology. You should directly say how your results fill a certain research gap or address a problem in the field. Your conclusion should concisely summarize your work with a brief statement of its importance. You may provide suggestions for future directions in research, but this section should be brief (e.g., 2-3 sentences).

Final Thoughts

Completing a high quality undergraduate thesis project requires initiative, careful planning, frequent communication with your adviser, disciplined inquiry, and sound judgment and decision making. After you have completed your study, your adviser may encourage you to submit a proposal to present your research at a regional or national conference and/or to submit a manuscript to a journal for review and possible publication. Your adviser will also assist you in developing an executive summary of your research that can be shared with practitioners in the field. This is the best way to ensure that your thesis project has value by providing insight and potential solutions to a significant problem faced by one or more stakeholder groups.

 (Adapted from Department. of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida)

Home > FACULTIES > Anthropology > ANTHRO-ETD

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

This collection contains theses and dissertations from the Department of Anthropology, collected from the Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Theses/Dissertations from 2024 2024

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of infant feeding practices and stress in 18th-19th century Pointe-aux-Trembles, Québec , Sydney Holland

In Society's Shadow: Identifying Structural Violence in MUNA, a Burial Community from Late Intermediate Period (1100 - 1470 CE) Pachacamac, Peru. , Ashley C. Ward

Hands-On History: Applying a Strong Like Two People Approach to Archaeology Education , Kaylee Woldum

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Teachers’ Work: Communicating on Difficult Knowledge in Ontario Schools , Zsofia Agoston Villalba

Variation in Habitual Activity and Body Composition: A Segmental Body Comparison of Runners and Swimmers , Madelyn Hertz

The Babe, the Virgin, and the Crone: Female Pubertal Development in Medieval and Post-Medieval Arnhem, The Netherlands , Victoria Lavallee

Head shapes and toothaches: A study of cranial modification and dental pathology at MUNA, a late pre-Hispanic cemetery from the Archaeological Sanctuary of Pachacamac (Lima, Perú). , T Naomi Nakahodo Moromizato

From Micro to Macro: Examining Potential Microbiome Mediated Influences on Human Growth and Health Outcomes Through Breastfeeding and Antibiotic Exposures , Nicole K. Phillips

Surveying the Industry: A Professional Profile of Cultural Resource Management in Canada , Sydney Rowinski

Investigating neutral and climate-linked morphological variation in human femora: A geometric morphometrics approach , Isabelle Rutherford

Stable Isotope Analysis of Breastfeeding and Weaning Practices in 19th Century Montreal , Jess Sadlowski

Exploring the Woodland Period Within the Lake Wawanosh Region Through Two Archaeological Sites: AgHn-12 and AgHn-14 , Matthew Severn

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

The impact of energetic trade-offs on the developmental trajectory and life history strategy of Homo sapiens: The modern human female phenotype , Laura Ann Hope Atkinson

Legs and Hills , Aidan Attema

Discourses of Tension in a Rainbow Nation: Transcultural Identity Formations among Hakka Mauritians , Federica Guccini

Autoethnography of a Pregnant Doula: An Anthropological Investigation of Birth Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario and Quebec , Fattimah A. Hamam

Inuvialuit Living Art: Co-Creating Local Community Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research , Jason YF Lau

Assumed identities and the construction of self among the West Indian diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) , Badarinarayan A. Maharaj

An Investigation into the Curation of Archaeological Collections in Cultural Resource Management in Ontario, Canada , Vienna Raven Mann

Localized Activism in the Bangladeshi Garments Industry: Mobilizing the Labour Movement from the Ground Up , Raisa Masud

Transforming the Dead: The Taphonomy and Ritual Economy of Funerary Bundles on the Pre-Hispanic Central Coast of Peru (1000-1532 CE) , Joanna Motley

3D Morphometric Analysis of Late Paleoindigenous Projectile Points from the Mackenzie I Site, Northwestern Ontario, and surrounding regions , Dave Norris

Colombian women’s experiences of the Canadian refugee and asylum adjudication process , Camila N. Parra Carrillo

Dental Health in the Aqllakuna from Farfán (Peru): A New Perspective on an Inca Female Institution (ca. 1470-1532 A.D.) Using Micro-CT and Histological Analysis , Émy Roberge

Of Mice and Mummies: Experimental Mummification and Radiological Examination of Neoplastic Disease and Cancer in Mummified Remains from Ancient Egypt and Peru , Jennifer L. Willoughby

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Social Stratification & Mummification in Ancient Egypt: The Inevitability of Variability in the Post-New Kingdom Mummification Program , Andrew Arsenault

Evaluating Cranial Nonmetric Traits in Mummies from Pachacamac, Peru: The Utility of Semi-Automated Image Segmentation in Paleoradiology , Cameron J. Beason

Indigenous Language Revitalization Efforts in Canada during COVID-19: Facilitating and Maintaining Connections using Digital Technologies , Laura Gallant

Ancient Egyptian Subadult Mummies: Unwrapping Childhood in the Ancient Past , Jillian A. Graves

Visualizing Anishinaabe Ceramics: A Collaborative Approach to Digital Archaeology , Hillary V. Kiazyk

Quebec’s Uninhabitable Community: Identity and Community among Anglo-Quebecer Out-Migrants , Evan A. Mardell

From Stateless People to Citizens: The Reformulation of Territory and Identity in India-Bangladesh Border Enclaves , Md Rashedul Alam

Ridge Pine 3: A Late Archaic site in the southern Lake Huron Basin , Jessica Russell

Life in Between: Prehispanic Settlement Patterns of the Carabamba Valley, Northern Peru , Amedeo Sghinolfi

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Cellar Dwellers: Historic Feature Sampling Strategies in Ontario Commercial Archaeology , Corbin Berger

Taking Ethics Seriously: Navigating the Ethics Approval Process at a Canadian University , Marie-Pier Cantin

Ethnoprimatology and Nature-Based Tourism: An Exploration of Macaque Ecology and Behaviour at the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Center in Sabah, Malaysia , Lauren J. Gilhooly

Seeing the Invisible: An Integrated Remote Sensing Approach to Mapping Buried Architecture at Las Colmenas, Virú Valley, Peru , Kayla C. Golay Lausanne

Do Actions Speak Louder than Words? Communicative Frequencies and Multimodality in Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) , Hilary Hager

Indigenous Coaches and the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships , Dallas Gerald Hauck

Blackness, Gender and the State: Afro Women's Organizations in Contemporary Ecuador , Beatriz A. Juarez-Rodriguez

Fanning the Flames of Disaster: The Role Colonialism Plays in the Impact of Wildfire on Indigenous People in Northern Alberta , Alana K. Kehoe

Growing Relations: An ethnographic study on rice, vanilla, and yams in Madagascar , Tyler MacIntosh

Epigenetics a Decolonizing Science , Wade Paul

Inside Perspectives on Ceramic Manufacturing: Visualizing Ancient Potting Practices through Micro-CT Scanning , Amy St. John

Newcomer Integration Programs and London, Ontario’s Diversity Agenda: Views from within and without , Jutta Zeller-Beier

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

'I Honoured Him Until the End': Storytelling of Indigenous Female Caregivers and Care Providers Focused on Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (ADOD) , Danielle E. Alcock

Life as "Half and Half": A Grandfather and Granddaughter's Sharing of Story , Kalley Armstrong

Exploring the occupational history of the Middle Ontario Iroquoian Dorchester Village site , Johnathan Freeman

Digital Technology and Communications in Today's Cuba , Diana Gavric

Digital Representation of Inuvialuit Traditional Knowledge: A case study in community engagement using Google Earth , Jeffrey Grieve

Getting Better All The Time: Re-evaluating Macroscopic Dental Age Estimation Standards In Egypt , Casey Kirkpatrick

Communities Based on “Sweaty Infestations of Joy”: A look at the Temporary Moral Communities Formed through International Volunteering Trips. , Sarah A. Knowles

South Bend and Ridge Pine 2: Fraternal Twins , Gabryell Kurtzrock Belyea

Childhood Stress at Rinconada Alta (AD 1470-1532): An Examination of Linear Hypoplastic Enamel Defects on the Central Coast of Peru , Jessica Lacerte

International Englishes, Dialects and Glocalized Englishes: Translanguaging in South Korea , Cameron Bruce Lawrence

Cultivating Knowledge: Agrarian Science and Ecological Engagements in Southern Ontario Agriculture , Kelly Linton

The Life Histories of Aztec Sacrifices: A Stable Isotope Study (C, N, and O) of Offerings from Tlatelolco and the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan , Diana K. Moreiras Reynaga

The Anishinaabeg of Chief's Point , Bimadoshka Pucan

Weathering Storms and Flooded Waters: Anthropological Perspectives of Policy and Risk in Toronto, Ontario , Jennifer Spinney

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Perceptions of Primates and Protected Areas: Ethnoprimatological Implications for Conservation in the Pacoche Refuge , Tamara L. Britton

Intelligible Variability: Narratives of Male Sex Work in London Ontario Canada , Nathan Dawthorne

Indigenous Political Organization in Huamachuco, Peru, in the Early Seventeenth Century. , Carolina Delgado Domínguez

Pushing the Limits: Testing, Magnetometry and Ontario Lithic Scatters , John E. Dunlop

Reconstructing The Social Landscape Of Cerro Arena, Peru , Felipe Gonzalez-Macqueen

Soccer, Space, and Community Integration: Being and Becoming Canadian in London, Ontario Through the World's Game , Marcelo Eduardo Herrera

'We are the Big Six:’ Maasai Perceptions and Organization of Cultural Tourism in Kenya , Kara D. Kelliher

Unsettling the Homeland: Fragments of Home and Homeland among Iraqi Exiles in Amman, Jordan , Abdulla Majeed

Guided by Smoke: A Comparative Analysis of Early Late Woodland Smoking Pipes from the Arkona Cluster , Shane McCartney

On Convivencia , Bridges and Boundaries: Belonging and exclusion in the narratives of Spain’s Arab-Islamic past , K. Elaine McIlwraith

Petrographic Analysis of Inuit Ceramics , John F. Moody

Storied Realities: A Case Study of Homelessness, Housing Policy, and Gender in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory , Alexandra E. Nelson

The Semi-Subterranean Sweat Lodges of the Redeemer Site , Amanda Parks

A House of Healing: The Importance of Friendship Centres to Urban Aboriginal Populations , Emily Pitts

"Too Hard to Pronounce"- Examining Immigration Ideologies in the Treatment of Newcomer Youths' Names , Nadja Schlote

Mothers Who Blog: An Exploration of Advice, Personal Stories and Motherhood Online , Rachael Simser

Social Identities in Chimu Times: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of Burials from Chayhuac Walled Complex in Chan Chan site, Peru , Katya Valladares

From Buried Treasure and Risky Adventure to Sobering Matters of Concern: the Ring of Fire Discourse in Ontario Mining Events , Brianne L. Vescio

"Being Chinese" in Madagascar , Mingyuan Zhang

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Tourism and state violence in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh , Hana S. Ahmed

Virtual Archaeology, Virtual Longhouses and "Envisioning the Unseen" Within the Archaeological Record , William M. Carter

Language as Function or Fashion? Multilingual Identity Formation Through Korean Language Learning , Hannah C. Cho

”Not Just Based On Land”: A Study On The Ethnic Tibetan Community in Toronto , Diyin Deng

Hunting for (dis)connections in Northern Ontario: "nature," wild meat, and community in Hearst , Daphné Gagnon

If Pits Could Talk: An Analysis of Features from the Figura Site (AgHk-52) , Kelly Gostick

The Richness of Food: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo, North Coast of Peru , Arwen M. Johns

E-kawôtiniket 1876: Reclaiming Nêhiyaw Governance in the Territory of Maskwacîs through Wâhkôtowin (Kinship) , Paulina R. Johnson

Shifting State Plans and the Politics of Street Food Vending in Cuba , Lina Johnston

Entangled Resurgence: Investigating 'Reconciliation' and the Politics of Language Revitalization in the Oneida Nation of the Thames , Hannah E. McGregor

Trees for the Primates: A Community-Based Assessment of Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus) Habitat Preferences and Conservation in Northern Madagascar , Fernando Mario Mercado Malabet

Rethinking Holocene Ecological Relationships Among Caribou, Muskoxen, and Human Hunters on Banks Island, NWT, Canada: A Stable Isotope Approach , Jordon S. Munizzi

Exploring Community Formation and Coalescence at the Late 14th-Early 15th Century Tillsonburg Village Site , Rebecca Parry

The Human First Metatarsal in Bioarchaeological Research: New Insights into Human Variation and Bone Health Research from Kellis 2, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt (50-450CE) , Mathew A. Teeter

Engaging Past and Future on a Community Supported Agriculture Farm , Catherine Villar

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Prohibited Practice: Drug Use, Harm Reduction and Benefit Enhancement in Toronto Rave Culture , Hilary Agro

Accounts of Engagement: Conditions and Capitals of Indigenous Participation in Canadian Commercial Archaeology , Joshua Dent

Buried Dreams: Refitting and Ritual at the Mount Albert Site, Southern Ontario , Kyle D. Forsythe

Paleoepidemiological Analysis of Trauma in a Roman Period Population from Kellis, Egypt, Circa 50-450 AD , Isabella A. Graham

The Roffelsen Site: A Late Woodland Place of Transition between Life and Death , Adria Grant

There Is More Than One Way to Do Something Right: Applying Community-Based Approaches to an Archaeology of Banks Island, NWT , Laura Elena Kelvin

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Explore our doctoral dissertations and master’s theses that span all of the subfields of anthropology, including sociocultural, archaeological, museum and visual, linguistic, medical, and biological.

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Department of Anthropology

Working independently.

A senior thesis is a remarkable opportunity to undertake a "capstone" project that culminates your work as an anthropology major. Please bear in mind, however, that a successful thesis requires a great deal of self-motivated work. You should expect to put into the year-long thesis writing project at least the level of work you would put into two upper-level academic courses.

Writing a senior thesis, you are expected to demonstrate a higher level of autonomy and initiative than in regular academic courses. The onus is on you to present your advisor, in a timely fashion, the various documents that will help them to help you. These might include annotated reading lists, summaries of field notes, outlines, draft chapters, and so forth. Please don't wait to be contacted by your advisor about meeting deadlines; you should be proactive and let your advisor know ahead of time if you are falling behind on your schedule.

Ask Meaningful Questions

The thesis should ask questions that are motivated; that feel like they need to be asked. Ideally, your introduction will set up your thesis statement (that is, your statement of your central argument) with context that shows how your thesis emerges from a tension, question, or puzzle in your field data or the anthropological literature or both. Rather than simply stating "I'm interested in X and Y," it is often helpful to formulate a "why" question that your thesis will attempt to answer, or at least illuminate. For example, "Why do thousands of people abandon their comfortable lives for a week every year to participate in the Burning Man Festival?", "Why, in the three different societies under consideration, are women much more likely than men to be accused of practicing witchcraft?", "Why did empire X collapse under this particular set of conditions, while empire Y, seemingly under the same conditions, flourished?" "How" questions can also be fruitful. For instance: "How do Hawaiians sustain the notion that certain culinary and ritual practices are 'traditional' even when they are actively engaged in the process of altering them?", or "How do the power dynamics between coaches and players manifest themselves even in seemingly casual and friendly conversations?" Having an interesting question or puzzle—a "motive"—built into your thesis helps you and your reader feel the urgency or importance of your argument.

Engaging with Anthropological Literature and Ideas

The thesis should engage in some meaningful way with the anthropological literature on the subject matter, and should show proficiency in that literature. Be careful, then, not to ground your thesis primarily in literature from other disciplines (e.g. sociology, psychology) and/or trade books (written for wide audiences, without a significant academic/theoretical slant). Drawing on the insights of other disciplines is fine, but the thesis must feel anthropological at its core.

Especially if your thesis is not based in fieldwork of some kind, it does need to clearly articulate with anthropological theory in order to succeed.

In consultation with faculty members and library staff, do your very best to review thoroughly the salient anthropological and scholarly literature on your topic. Be sure to search through the various databases, including JSTOR, Academic Search Premiere, Anthropological Abstracts, and so forth. It doesn't hurt to run relevant terms through Google Scholar.

The thesis should show signs that certain core lessons of anthropology have been internalized. A sociocultural anthropology thesis should, for instance, reflect your understanding that the normally taken-for-granted conceptual categories of modern western societies are themselves subject to critical examination, and that anthropologists tend to try to understand the internal logic of cultural practices. An archaeology thesis should also reflect such approaches, and should be about the people behind the potsherds, buildings, and other objects. It should question the how and why of patterns of material culture, striving to understand the cultural contexts and natural processes that produced the archaeological data.

Whether or not your thesis directly addresses a non-western case, it may be strengthened by the comparative, cross-cultural perspective associated with anthropology. For example, a thesis concerned with modern American conceptions of pets might benefit from thoughtful engagement with anthropological work on totemism and animal symbolism in a range of nonwestern societies. A thesis on archaic states might benefit from a comparative review of the role of kinship in segmentary and unitary forms of socio-political organization.

Writing about Methodology

A successful thesis should have a methodology section that not only explains the methods used, but also justifies them carefully. If, for example, your data comes from written surveys rather than ethnography, this choice requires some explanation. If your fieldwork was constrained by logistical or social considerations, these should be explained. If you chose to focus on a particular subgroup, this choice requires some background. You should also indicate your awareness of the potential pitfalls and limitations of your chosen methods. Your methodology section often appears in your introductory chapter, but in some instances, methodological issues may be addressed in an appendix. If you used surveys or an interview guide, for instance, those usually are placed in an appendix.

You may wish to include a reflexive section, clarifying your own relationship to the topic in question. Are you studying a tradition or community that you count yourself a part of? Did you begin this project with a strong draw towards, or anxiety about, the social group in question? Why?

Titling the Thesis

Your title should be precise; rather than merely gesturing at a topic ("Gender among Boston Construction Workers") it should give the reader a more precise hint of your argument or your theoretical focus (e.g. "Rebuilding Gender: Practices of Self-Fashioning among Boston Construction Workers"). In the case of sociocultural theses, it is at times helpful for the first part of the title to incorporate an especially evocative quote by one of your informants—a quote that foreshadows the central concerns of the thesis.

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• Thesis Option

The thesis is a major requirement for those in the MA in anthropology thesis track.  The thesis should demonstrate the student's ability to apply knowledge and skills gained from the anthropology department's curriculum.  A desirable goal for an excellent thesis would be a work of sufficient rigor and quality that it could be considered for publication. Original data collection ("fieldwork") is recommended but not required for the thesis.  Analysis of secondary data-whether quantitative, qualitative, visual or other formats--is perfectly acceptable as long as the research is informed by a clearly articulated research question and under-girded by a research proposal.

The traditional thesis is a single document that often incorporates a literature review, definition of a problem, discussion of methods to address the problem, the subsequent research activity and results.  However, the student may design a thesis with different emphases, in consultation with their advisor.  For example the goal may instead be a more compact paper submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.  Other thesis plans may combine some research activity such as a video production, museum exhibit or an internship, with an accompanying paper.  Students pursuing the thesis option must develop a topic and research proposal that specifies their plans in the semester after their completion of 18 credit hours.

The thesis must be defended before a committee of three faculty, at least two of whom need to be on the Department of Anthropology faculty (which includes senior instructors and research faculty).  The structure of the thesis is largely determined by the  University of Colorado Denver Graduate School Rules ; i.e., a thesis must conform to the rules.

• For the thesis, students must prepare a full research proposal which must be approved by their thesis chair before beginning their research. This proposal must be completed by the semester after the student has completed 18 credit hours. Sections of the proposal should include, at a minimum:
• Introduction and statement of the problem: Should include a one sentence statement of the problem on the first page, and a discussion of its significance (i.e., why is it important that this topic be researched).
• Literature review covering theoretical and topical material.
• Research design and methods including a data analysis plan.

Note:   Wenner-Gren and National Science Foundation both provide good models and templates for the research proposal. Those in the medical anthropology track might want to consider following the NIH model, depending the nature of their research questions and career goals.

• All students proposing to work with humans or data on modern humans must apply for and receive approval from the  Human Subjects Research Committee  before they begin their research. Note: most of the material for the application will be drawn from the research proposal.
• The draft thesis must be reviewed and approved as "defensible" by the student’s thesis committee faculty chair before a thesis defense date can be set. Defensible means the chair has reviewed the draft and suggested changes have been made.
• The draft sent to the student’s committee must be substantively complete: All references must be in the text and properly formatted in a references cited section; there should be no "track changes" comments in the text; the text should be formatted according to Graduate School requirements.
• Given the complexity of faculty and student schedules, consultation on a defense date should be done as far in advance as possible.
• There must be a minimum of three weeks between the agreed-upon date for the defense and distribution of the draft thesis defined as defensible by the student’s chair. If you would like feedback from your committee members before the defense, you should plan to distribute the thesis at least 4 weeks before the defense date.

Note:  If you intend to graduate the same semester you defend your thesis, you must schedule, successfully defend, and complete all recommended changes in accordance with UC Denver Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines  . This effectively translates to having the thesis completed and “defensible” before the middle of the semester.

Your Thesis Committee

The committee generally consists of your major advisor and two other faculty members with whom you have worked during the course of your program. You may choose committee members from outside the department, particularly if they are experts in an area that you explore in the thesis. However, at least two of your committee members must be from the anthropology department. And, all committee members must belong to the Graduate Faculty.  See the rules of the Graduate School .

Thesis Preparation

Click here to obtain a copy of Directions for Preparing Masters and Doctoral Theses .

The Process of Submitting a Thesis

In the semester in which a student intends to submit the thesis for examination, he/she must first submit an  Application for Admission to Candidacy . This initiates a process of determining if the student has met all of the other requirements for the degree, and is eligible to submit a thesis. The application for candidacy form should be completed in consultation with your major advisor, and the graduate director. A  Diploma Card  is submitted at the same time, to initiate the process of preparing final records for graduation.

The completed thesis itself is then submitted for a format review. This review ensures that the material is presented in a readable format that is consistent with the standards of the university. The student then submits a  Request for Examination,  which publicly announces the exam or defense for all interested parties.

At the exam or defense, the student may be asked to revise or add to the thesis before it is approved. The revised thesis is then submitted to the examination committee for final approval, and then copies are handed in to the Graduate School. These copies are permanently kept in the library as a resource for other scholars in the field.

Thesis Submission

Questions concerning matters not discussed in this document must be directed to the thesis committee chairperson. Theses must be reviewed by the Graduate School for format review before the final examination or defense. Once the thesis is signed by the appropriate faculty committee, submit three reproduced or original copies of the thesis, two on CU bond and one on regular paper. The University keeps all three of these copies. You may also order additional copies at this time. The binding fee is due and payable when the thesis is submitted to the Graduate School. Since fees are subject to change, contact the Graduate School for current fees.

The Thesis Examination

The exam consists of a public presentation and defense of the work. The tradition calls for the following steps to be completed:

• Your thesis committee greets you, and then sends you out of the room while the chair of your committee discusses the thesis, asks if there are any particular concerns, and establishes the particular procedure for the conduct of the examination.
• After you are invited to reenter the examination room, the chair will invite you to provide a formal presentation of your research, which should generally not exceed 30 minutes in length.
• After your presentation, the committee will ask you questions about the thesis, work related to it, and perhaps general questions about theory, method, and practical implications of the research.
• When questioning is completed, you will be asked to leave the room again so that your committee may discuss the defense, and decide on whether to give you a pass or fail.
• A "pass" may take many forms, including a request for revision that must be approved by the full committee, or simply a request that revisions be reviewed by the chair.

Registration Issues

Students must be registered during the semester of their final examination/ defense. Students who choose to perform these examinations or defend their thesis on a date that falls between semesters (between Fall and Spring; Spring and Summer, or between Summer and Fall), must register for the semester immediately after their exam/defense.

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Anthropology Senior Theses

The Department of Anthropology provides motivated undergraduate majors with an opportunity to conduct research and/or independent study on a topic of their choice and to write an Undergraduate Thesis formally presenting the results. The option of writing an Undergraduate Thesis is available to any undergraduate Anthropology major. The Department of Anthropology encourages students to do original research for the Undergraduate Thesis, but a substantial library-based synthesis of an important theme in Anthropology is sufficient. Undergraduates have many opportunities to get hands-on experience in Anthropology courses, especially laboratory, field, computer, and Academically Based Community Service courses offered by the Department. Students also have opportunities to work on research projects directed by Anthropology faculty, curators at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum), researchers and staff, or advanced graduate students.

Publication Type

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• Publication Towards World Citizenship: Ethnography of the World Culture Initiative and Multicultural Curricula ( 2007-04-01 ) Leonard, Elizabeth Show more
• Publication "Pro-Poor" Tourism in Nicaragua: A Case Study of the Telica Rota Natural Reserve ( 2016-12-12 ) Bridges, Megan M Show more The following paper is an ethnographic study that was conducted over the course of eleven months while working in León, Nicaragua, for an international NGO. It adds to existing literature that illustrate the shortfalls of community-based tourism projects, particularly when multiple stakeholders are involved. It focuses its attention on the cultural misunderstandings between the NGO, municipal government, and a rural tourism cooperative regarding tourism development and land management. Furthermore, it highlights the cooperative’s efforts in maintaining its agency when it felt as though its interests were being ignored by organizations with greater social, political, and economic capital than they had. Show more
• Publication Choice, Control and Childbirth: Cesarean Deliveries on Maternal Request in Shanghai, China ( 2016-04-01 ) Wang, Eileen Show more Cesarean deliveries on maternal request (CDMR) have become increasingly common in China within the past 20 years, coinciding with the dramatic rise in cesarean section rates. In recent years, the state has tried to control the escalation of cesarean section rates by restricting those that are considered medically “unnecessary” and particularly those requested by mothers. Drawing upon eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork and 34 interviews with women, providers and family members at a district hospital in Shanghai, this thesis looks at the sociocultural context that influences mothers in China to request cesarean deliveries, as well as the ongoing negotiations among the state, doctor and woman over control of the childbirth process. Examining the politics of delivery decision-making, in turn, provides a platform for understanding reproductive governance, childbirth and the underlying system of health care in China. Show more
• Publication The Bioarchaeology of War ( 2012-04-01 ) Rubin, Katie Show more The following is a report on the perimortem cranial traumas observed at the Hasanlu archaeological site with the sole purpose of relating these traumas to their causative implements. Nineteen of 187 skulls from Hasanlu were selected for extended analysis based on the clarity of their perimortem wounds; a sample of all weapon types recovered from the site was also analyzed. Sixty-three definite or very likely perimortem primary points of impact were identifiable on the 19 skulls, corresponding to both blunt and sharp force trauma. Evidence was found for cranial trauma induced by falls, maceheads, swords, daggers, and possibly spears. As a whole, the association of the cranial traumas with causative weapons suggests something previously unknown about the battle at Hasanlu: that combat took place at very close range. Thus, this novel association of trauma with weapons may enhance our understanding of a single devastating day 2200 years ago, ancient Near Eastern warfare as a whole, and ultimately, the history of human violence. Show more
• Publication Diabetes in the U.S. Asian-Indian Population: Finding Answers in Diet and Lifestyle ( 2006-04-01 ) Cherian, Teenu Show more
• Publication The Genetic History Of The Otomi In The Central Mexican Valley ( 2013-04-01 ) Zillges, Haleigh Show more The Otomí, or Hñäñhü, is an indigenous ethnic group in the Central Mexican Valley that has been historically marginalized since before Spanish colonization. To investigate the extent by which historical, geographic, linguistic, and cultural influences shaped biological ancestry, I analyzed the genetic variation of 224 Otomí individuals residing in thirteen Otomí villages. Results indicate that the majority of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes belong to the four major founding lineages, A2, B2, C1, and D1, reflecting an overwhelming lack of maternal admixture with Spanish colonizers. Results also indicate that at an intra-population level, neither geography nor linguistics played a prominent role in shaping maternal biological ancestry. However, at an inter-population level, geography was found to be a more influential determinant. Comparisons of Otomí genetic variation allow us to reconstruct the ethnic history of this group, and to place it within a broader-based Mesoamerican history. Show more
• Publication Thematic Analysis of the Culture of UNICEF in Response to Polio Eradication Efforts ( 2015-01-01 ) Albala, Sarah Show more UNICEF is the largest contributor of vaccines to the developing world. Under the framework of Global Polio Eradication Initiative, UNICEF has deployed a strategic approach called the Communication for Development (C4D) approach that utilizes community engagement to effectively disseminate the oral polio vaccine (OPV). UNICEF stresses how the C4D approach results in the structuring and implementation of programs that reflect the community's thoughts and actions. Documents focused on the existing C4D approach in Pakistan were analyzed to see how themes of community knowledge are relayed according to document type and level. Based on the various levels of documentation (ranging from a qualitative study of community thoughts to briefs presented to UNICEF experts), it appears that while community ideas surrounding OPV and Polio are at first recorded in their full nuance, this complex information is lost at the highest level of documentation. This points to a cultural of optimism that may be obstructive to critical and strategic thinking. Show more
• Publication The Comadrona: A Dying Profession or Secret Society? The Effects of Modern Medicine on Traditional Practice ( 2012-04-01 ) Romero, Vanessa Show more
• Publication An Anthropological Perspective on the Conflation of Health and Justice: the Case of Obstetric Fistula in Sub-Saharan Africa ( 2012-04-01 ) Wasik, Monika Show more In a globalized world of seven billion people, the persistence of disparities in accessibility to maternal health services between developed and developing nations is astonishing. Poor health often places women in socially marginalized positions. Recognizing this compels us to emphasize the importance of examining the relationship between women’s rights and women’s health. Contextualizing the case of obstetric fistula in sub-Saharan Africa within the fields of global health and medical anthropology, this paper demonstrates that health is a woman’s right, and that the human rights approach can be used as the primary tool for female empowerment. To address maternal health issues, I suggest a middle path between top down and grassroots approaches. In the final section, I will share some reflections on the background research I conducted in Ethiopia during the summer of 2011. Show more
• Publication More Than Just A Diet: An Inquiry Into Veganism ( 2014-04-01 ) Mann, Sarah E Show more BACKGROUND: The vegan diet has gained momentum in recent years, with more people transitioning to the diet, whether for health or more ethically based reasons. The vegan diet, often characterized as very restrictive, is associated with health benefits but raises concerns. Controversy regarding the diet exists within the public sphere, with those actively supporting and advocating for it, and others questioning its purpose and proposed benefits, even disparaging its existence, perhaps because of a lack of knowledge about the diet. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide a fuller picture of the vegan diet, encompassing both the nutrition and health of the vegan diet as well as related ethical beliefs by studying scientific and popular literature in tandem. Furthermore, the study aimed to provide an insider’s perspective of the vegan diet as a means of combating stereotypes and making the diet more relatable/understandable to those who are not vegan. By combining all three sources, the project aims to educate the public regarding a diet and lifestyle that is often perceived, at least partially, in a negative manner. METHODS: The research was conducted in two parts – literature review and interview study. A literature review of both the scientific and the popular literature was conducted and reviewed from August to November. Pubmed database was used to research the scientific findings while food blogs, vegan websites, and newspaper articles comprised the popular literature. The interview study involved semi-structured, one-time, in-person private interviews conducted during February and March. Twenty vegans (10 students from the University of Pennsylvania and 10 Philadelphia residents) were interviewed and questions targeted personal history of veganism, related health beliefs, factors influencing the decision to become vegan, and diet composition. Once all data was obtained, it was analyzed in tandem. RESULTS: Findings suggest that a well-rounded vegan diet is healthy and such is evidenced by the variety of whole foods and increased vegetable and fruit intake. Health benefits include a decrease in cholesterol, lipid levels, blood pressure, weight, and a reduced risk for a variety of diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Despite the benefits, health concerns do exist, especially in regard nutrient deficiencies, without a well-planned and varied diet. Nutrient concerns include calcium, vitamin D, iron, and particularly vitamin B-12 for which supplements should be taken. The nature of the interviews conducted for this paper was such that a comprehensive but diverse collection of information was obtained, precisely because the interviewees have chosen the vegan diet for a multitude of reasons, and approach their diet and lifestyle in varied ways. However, there are some commonalities that were revealed. Results of the interview studies demonstrate that about half of the vegans are potentially at risk for vitamin D deficiency because most are taking neither vitamin D supplements nor a multivitamin. Comparing the scientific literature with the interview results reveal that most of the vegans include working out within their daily routines, such that they place emphasis upon physical fitness, suggesting that the vegan lifestyle has benefits beyond merely nutritional. Finally, comparing popular literature to the information gleaned through the interviews conducted establishes that many of the stereotypes regarding the vegan diet are unfounded. CONCLUSIONS: The vegan diet is one that is chosen by individuals for various reasons, including health and/or ethical reasons. While many health benefits exist, it is essential for those who are vegan or are planning to become vegan to be educated about potential nutrient deficiencies to prevent adverse outcomes. In addition, it is evident that the vegan diet is much more than a diet itself, but has developed into a lifestyle, often associated with animal rights and environmental advocacy as well as a greater concern for physical activity and mindfulness. Further research begs the question of whether the health benefits associated with the diet are solely attributable to the diet or in conjunction with a greater physical activity level and mindful living. With regard to providing an accurate picture of veganism in the popular literature, it is essential to combat negative unsubstantiated stereotypes and myths by providing vegans with unbiased voice with which to share their own stories and beliefs. Lastly, the popularity of the vegan diet and the question of whether it is nutritionally sound, raise issues of anthropologic significance. Specifically, it prompts consideration of whether our ancestral diet was vegetarian in nature, or depended upon meat for evolutionary progress. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the human diet has changed over time, such that our dietary needs, choices and preferences are inherently reflective of cultural and nutritional anthropology. Show more
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Department of Anthropology

Applied Thesis

The applied thesis is the major independent project that students undertake in order to complete the master's in applied anthropology. It involves completing a significant research project that will be of practical benefit to some organization or agency. Students must design and carry out a project that utilizes the skills in applied anthropology that they gained through their master's program coursework. The project has two kinds of outcomes:

• A practical application that benefits the organization or agency that is their client
• A report to the department of anthropology, submitted both as a written document (suggested length is 65-90 pages) and a verbal presentation

The applied thesis is similar to a traditional master's thesis in that it represents a substantial effort on the student's part. It is different in that the student's project will always be directed toward the needs of a client.

Some students may conduct their projects for established practicing anthropologists in their field of interest. In other cases, clients will come from another background, but they will recognize the value that the perspective of applied anthropology can bring to their organization. Clients will generally hold fairly senior positions in their organization.

In many cases, students may choose to find an organization in the community they live in. Some students who work full-time may choose to conduct their applied thesis for the organization that already employs them.

The key to a successful applied thesis experience is excellent three-way communication between the student, their faculty advisor, and their client. The department has a set of guidelines to assist everyone in building this triangular relationship. Students prepare for the applied thesis by taking ANTH 5050 Preparation for Practice and the Applied Thesis.

The Dissertation and Thesis Manual provides definitive information on preparing your dissertation or thesis: https://tsgs.unt.edu/thesis-manual

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Anthropology

Honors in anthropology.

• Undergraduate Studies

Anthropology Concentration Handbook

An honors thesis is required to graduate with honors in anthropology.

The opportunity to pursue honors in anthropology is a privilege. Students are selected to become honors candidates based on a number of criteria, including standing and grades in the concentration, a viable research project, the support of a faculty advisor, and submission and approval of the proposed project. An honors thesis is required for graduating with honors in anthropology. Writing an honors thesis, however, does not guarantee graduation with honors. If a student pursues an honors thesis that is not conferred honors status, the student's record will show that s/he successfully completed a Senior Thesis (described below).

Students must apply to become an honors candidate by the end of the semester before they begin their thesis work, ordinarily at the end of the sixth semester.

To be eligible to apply for honors, students must:

• Be in good standing
• Have completed at least two thirds of the concentration requirements by the end of the sixth semester.
• Have earned a majority of "A" grades in the concentration. Classes taken S/NC will count as qualifying towards that majority if they are marked “S* with distinction” indicating that had the student taken the course for a grade, the grade would have been an "A."

Both your primary thesis advisor and secondary reader for your honors thesis in Anthropology must be anthropologists. Additional readers from outside of anthropology are welcome to participate.

Your primary thesis advisor must be a core (permanent) faculty member in the department. It is a good idea to have taken a class with the proposed thesis advisor, so that s/he has an idea of the student's interests and abilities and so that the student has a good idea of the faculty advisor’s approach to research. Adjunct and visiting faculty in the department may also serve as the primary thesis advisor, in special circumstances and with approval of the DUS, but typically serve as secondary readers.

Students interested in pursuing honors should have an idea for a thesis project by the spring semester of the junior year. Many faculty advisors limit the number of theses they advise per year, so it is good to approach a faculty member early. The Director of Undergraduate Research (DUR) is available to assist prospective thesis writers as they develop their projects.

Prepare a thesis proposal of 2-3 pages, describing the major research questions and methods to be used. The proposal should have a primary research question and will define what you are doing for your research (and why). The proposal must have a working bibliography attached. Candidates will prepare their proposals in close consultation with their primary advisor. Submit the thesis proposal, with the proposed faculty member’s approval, to the Director of Undergraduate Research in anthropology by the end of the spring semester of your junior year (specific dates are specified each year).

Some of the issues to be addressed in the proposal are:

• What is the primary research question?
• How does the proposed study articulate with prior anthropological research?
• What is novel/new/different about the proposed research?
• What is the theoretical grounding of the research?
• What methods/samples/study area will be used in the research?

As students proceed with the honors project, the direction taken may differ than that originally outlined in the proposal. In consultation with the primary faculty advisor, the student will identify a second reader, who will sign on to the project by the second week of the student's senior year (or seventh semester).

Once accepted as honors candidates, students will pursue a course of study that goes beyond what is expected of a regular concentrator. This includes:

• Enrolling in two ANTH 1930, Anthropology Thesis Workshops (half-credit courses that meet in the fall and spring semesters)
• Enrolling in 1 independent study course with your thesis advisor: ANTH 1970. This course is normally taken in the student’s final semester and supervised by the student’s thesis advisor. Students may opt to take two semesters of ANTH 1970 (fall and spring) alongside ANTH 1930, especially if recommended by their advisor. These courses may be taken for a grade or S/NC. In cases in which the student has begun early research, there is the option of taking ANTH 1970 in the spring of the junior year. These courses are in addition to the nine courses in ANTH required for the concentration.
• Regular meetings with the faculty advisor & drafts turned in at established intervals during the year.
• If your research involves ethnographic fieldwork, determine whether your project needs IRB approval. For more information, see Undergraduate Work Involving Human Subjects Research .
• Consulting with the primary thesis advisor to identify a second reader. The second reader should complement the advisor in some way. For example, if the advisor’s specialty covers the subfield (medical anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, political anthropology, feminist anthropology), the second reader’s specialty may cover the geographical region of your interest, or vice versa. The second reader should be selected at the start of the seventh semester.
• Submission of final thesis to the thesis advisor, second reader, and Director of Undergraduate Studies no later than April 15 for May graduates and November 15 for December graduates.
• Presentation of the thesis in the Honors Theses Symposium in the Anthropology department. Generally, the student prepares a fifteen-minute presentation that summarizes the topic, sources, methods, and conclusions of the thesis. After the presentation there is time for questions and comments from the audience.

All honors theses must be based on original research and advance an argument. The thesis must be more than a report on existing scholarship. It must advance an original argument or analysis, either by presenting new sources or data or by bringing a new interpretation to bear on known sources.

That research might involve:

• Ethnographic fieldwork.
• Archaeological or biological anthropological laboratory work.
• Critical analysis of data and arguments presented in published sources.

The thesis may take a variety of forms. The candidate and primary advisor should decide on the format at least two semesters in advance of the thesis completion (typically September of the candidate’s graduating year). Once the candidate and primary advisor settle on a format, the Director of Undergraduate Research should be contacted for final approval.

Possible thesis formats include:

• A traditional thesis format, approximately 12,000 – 17,000 words (50-70 pages) in length.
• A paper prepared in the format of a journal article, approximately 40 pages in length.
• A policy report (aimed at a particular organization) based on original research (e.g. a report for a university committee addressing sexual assault on campuses after substantial research devoted to understanding and analyzing the phenomenon).
• A public facing exhibition based on original research (to be evaluated based on content and curation).
• A website based on original research that seeks to make such research publicly available (to be evaluated based on content and success of design).
• Audio-visual material or film (best for those with prior film experience, to be evaluated based on content, analysis, and success of film execution).

All written material should adhere to the following format and citation requirements, unless an article is being prepared for submission to a journal, in which case that journal’s format may be used:

• Times New Roman (or a close equivalent), 12-point font
• One-inch margins
• Double spaced text
• American Anthropological Association (AAA) citation style ( Chicago Manual of Style , 17th edition )
• Anthropological archaeologists may substitute the American Antiquity style
• Deliver a complete draft of the thesis to the primary advisor and secondary reader at least one month in advance of the deadline (generally, immediately before or after spring break).
• Deliver a final draft of the thesis to the primary advisor, secondary reader, and DUR by the appointed deadline.
• The primary advisor will determine the grades for ANTH 1970. The final determination of Honors will be made by the faculty committee in consultation with the DUR.

All students who satisfactorily complete ANTH 1970 will receive course credit for their thesis work. In order to receive Honors in anthropology, however, several additional criteria must be met. Upon submission of the thesis, the student must:

• Have remained in good academic standing throughout the academic year.
• Have had no violations of the academic code of conduct during honors candidacy.
• Have completed all requirements for the concentration.
• Have produced a thesis that meets the expectations for honors work established by the anthropology department.

Two honors students from the Class of 2021 share some advice on thesis writing here  

If a student has a viable research project and the support of a faculty member, but does not meet the eligibility for pursuing honors, the student may write a senior thesis in anthropology, with the approval of two faculty members. A senior thesis writer will also be expected to take the thesis workshop and independent study and has the option to present his or her work at the end of year symposium. Senior Theses generally follow all of the requirements and guidelines of the Honors Thesis, although with a later deadline for the thesis proposal (start of the seventh semester).

As with an Honors Thesis, the Senior Thesis must be more than a synthesis of or report on existing scholarship. It must advance an original argument or analysis, either by presenting new sources or data or by bringing a new interpretation to bear on known sources.

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Finn Lerner Poster and Thesis

Congratulations to Finn Lerner, an Anthropological Sciences major, presented her senior thesis project at both the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and the Spring Undergraduate Research Festival!! Her project focused on the activity budgets of spider monkeys with different energetic needs, using data she collected during a field school last summer of 2023 in Costa Rica.

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Hale Herald - Spring 2024

Chair's Letter

Warmth has finally arrived in Boulder, just after a foot of snow canceled classes. We remain undefeated by the weather and in good spirits. As I write, we are currently hosting Distinguished Cultural Anthropologist Julie Chu, professor at the University of Chicago. It has been a busy semester of talks, workshops, and visitors including Venezuelan Fulbright Scholar Dr. Hortensia Caballero. Thank you all for bringing such energy and brilliance to these important events.

In February, we had another fun and inspiring accepted student weekend. Thanks to the graduate committee and our graduate students for their thoughtful work to warmly welcome these future grad students. Cultural anthropology professor Alison Cool gave a keynote lecture as did University of Pittsburgh archaeology professor Dela Kuma. We are excited for the new students who will join us in August!

Finally, the Department of Anthropology graduation will be Thursday, May 9 at 4:30 pm outside Hale on the lawn. Once again, professor Alison Cool will delight us with her insights as speaker. Congratulations in advance to all our graduates!

Please read on to learn about the innovative work CU anthropologists are doing on campus and around the world.

All the best from Hale,

Carole McGranahan, Chair

Graduate Student News

Georgia Butcher in the 3MT Finals

Nicholas Puente Receives CARTTS Award

Jack Dalton Featured on German Children's Show: Anna Und Die Wilden Tiere

Paige Edmiston Receives Carol B. Lynch Memorial Fellowship & Publishes Article in Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics

Kelsey Hoppes Awarded Donna C. Roper Research Fund

Graduate Students Yuti Gao, Kelsey Hoppes, Patrick McKenzie, and Nicholas Puente Receive Beverly Sears Awards

Clara Hwayeon Lee Receives the Center for Humanities & the Arts JEDI Completion Fellowship

Sarah Simeonoff Successfully Defends Her PhD Qualifying Exam

Anthropology Department Pre-Dissertation Awards

Anthropology spotlights.

Faculty Spotlight Spring 2024

Lauren hosek (biological anthropolgy, professor).

Professor Lauren Hosoek is a historical bioarchaeologist and her research integrates osteological data from human skeletal remains with archaeological and historical evidence.  She utilizes these intersecting sources to examine how large-scale social phenomena such as religious ideology and institutional practices become embodied through ritual and activity across the life course. Her research projects span from early medieval Central Europe to the 19 th -century American West. Most recently, She has been working on a community-based project in the Denver area exploring the health and ritual practice of the 19 th -century Catholic Sisters of Loretto in collaboration with the living Loretto Community.

Graduate Student Spotlight Spring 2024

Chu may paing (cultural anthropology, phd candidate).

Chu's dissertation titled "Intense Engagements: Social Media Activism in the Aftermath of the 2021 Military Coup in Myanmar" looks at how ordinary Myanmar people's political engagement is fueled by circulation of certain public feelings on social media spaces in the aftermath of the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. Her dissertation explores how the intense circulation of images and speech online creates an atmosphere in which social and political ideals for a new Myanmar are constantly written and rewritten.

Undergraduate Spotlight Spring 2024

Skylar davidson (minor in anthropology in progress).

Skylar is a 4th-year student at CU Boulder, pursuing an Anthropology minor. After taking Primate Life History with Dr. Michelle Sauther, she developed a passion for Primatology and excitedly added an ANTH minor. In the summer of 2023, Skylar traveled abroad to Vietnam with Dr. Covert and Dr. O’Brien to study its diverse ecosystem and native primates. Being in Vietnam developed Skylar’s deep love for the endangered Pygmy Loris and she plans to pursue a Master’s and PhD in Biological Anthropology. She intends to lead conservation research for this species and find her way back to Vietnam.

Alumni Spotlight Spring 2024

Jamie forde (phd anthropology 2015 ).

Dr. Forde is a Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Trained as an anthropological archaeologist at CU, he employs both art historical and archaeological methods in studying Indigenous Mesoamerican material and visual culture during the periods surrounding colonial encounter with Europeans. His work has been focused in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, particularly the site of Achiutla, where he has directed an interdisciplinary field project. His research has been published in journals including  Ancient Mesoamerica, Colonial Latin American Review,  and  Ethnohistory .

Faculty News

Steve Leigh Awarded the Gabriel W. Lasker Service Award

Jerry Jacka Publishes Chapter in Anthropology and Climate Change

Fernando Villanea Gave an Online HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Warren Thompson Publishes Article in the Journal of Anthropological Research

Will Taylor and Lakota Elders Receive AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize

Sharon DeWitte's Bioarchaeological Work Featured in the Coloradan Alumni Magazine

Chris Hammons Receives a Kayden Research Award & a Center for Humanities & the Arts Small Grant

Graduate student symposium 2024.

Graduate Student Symposium a Huge Success!

Undergraduate news.

Sophia Busse Receives Graduate Student Symposium Best Poster Award

Undergraduate Students Represent at the AABA Conference

Upcoming events.

Upstream, Downstream, Offshore: Constancy Amidst the Flux of Supply Chains

Upstream, Downstream, Offshore: Constancy Amidst the Flux of Supply Chains 4pm, April 12, British Studies Room

Dr. Julie Chu Associate Professor -Department of Anthropology University of Chicago

Fluvial landscapes have long undergirded logistical projects for building out and maintaining the infrastructural channels of commerce and travel. Drawing on two decades of ethnographic engagements with original “development deltas” of Post-Mao China linking coastal Special Economic Zones to global exchange, this talk offers an estuarial take on what scholars of modernity and supply chain capitalism have described as a “liquid” world full of uncertainty and volatility. This talk focuses on the temporal politics of constancy that make fluvial landscapes thinkable in terms of supply chains and in turn, actionable as valued lifeways.

Co-sponsored by the University of Colorado Boulder Department of Anthropology and the Center for Asian Studies. Free and open to the public.

Digital Aestheticization of the Environment

Digital Aestheticization of the Environment 4PM, April 19, Hale Science RM 230

Veronika Zavratnik Postdoctoral Researcher University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

By becoming increasingly digitalized, the aestheticization of the environment permeates our daily lives. Simply by looking around or listening attentively in any naturalsetting, it can easily be observed that people's engagements with their surroundings are different from a decade ago. Today, ti is hard to find someone in the mountains, by the sea or in the forest who is not tapping on their smartphone, flying drones, using wearable cameras or other devices to digitally 'capture' and augment their experience of the environment. Images, blogs, vlogs and newly added (tourist/walking) maps are then circulated through digital technologies and media, uprooting and disseminating places and environments through time and space.

This talk draws on the ongoing collaborative research project (2022-2025) that aims to study the transformative moment of environmental perceptions by focusing on digital aestheticization as it unfolds in everyday contexts of outdoor leisure in selected European countries - Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Sweden and Finland. The emphasis will be put on how, through digital aestheticization, sustainability and environmental change become perceptible and meaningful in the local and/or regional context.

Ericson takes Grand Prize at 13th Three-Minute Thesis competition

Hannah Ericson, a doctoral candidate in Genetics, is the Grand Prize Winner at this year’s University of Georgia Three Minute Thesis (3MT ® ) Competition for her presentation titled “Catalyzing Change: What Helps Department Heads Be Successful?”

A Ph.D. candidate studying biology education in the Genetics department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Hannah works with Dr. Tessa Andrews studying teaching evaluations at UGA :

To promote the use of evidence-based teaching practices, teaching evaluation needs to support, recognize, and incentivize their use. Teaching evaluation is inadequate in this regard at many institutions, relying solely on student surveys instead of multiple sources of evidence. Hannah’s research focuses on the changes to teaching evaluation that are occurring at UGA, as well as factors influencing these shifts in different STEM departments. Hannah is passionate about the use of evidence-based teaching practices, to provide the best possible experience for STEM students.  Originally from Illinois, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Iowa. While there, her research centered around using fruit flies as a model to study epilepsy. She also helped in the description of a new species of parasitic wasp.

Congratulations to Ericson and all the participants for their successful [and succinct!] presentations! Very well done these outstanding graduate students.

Image: (l to r) Viviana Bravo, People’s Choice Winner; Jordan Parker, Runner-Up Winner;  Hannah Ericson, Grand Prize Winner

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