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New Book by Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth Drexler: Infrastructures of Impunity: New Order Violence in Indonesia
Department of Anthropology Associate Professor Dr. Elizabeth Drexler announces the publication of her new book, Infrastructures of Impunity: New Order Violence in Indonesia, available now from Cornell University Press. From the publisher’s website: In Infrastructures of Impunity Elizabeth F. Drexler argues that the creation and persistence of impunity for the perpetrators of the Cold War Indonesian genocide (1965–66) is not only a legal status but also a cultural and social process. Impunity for the initial killings and for subsequent acts of political violence has many elements: bureaucratic, military, legal, political, educational, and affective. Although these elements do not always work…
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Department of Anthropology Ph.D Candidate Jeff Burnett Awarded Wenner-Gren
Department of Anthropology Ph.D candidate Jeff Burnett has been awarded the Wenner-Gren Enagaged Research Grant for his proposal titled “Oak Bluffs Historic Highlands Archaeology Project”. For this project Jeffrey will be conducting a landscape study that utilizes archaeological methods, archival data, and oral histories and stories to map the beginnings and growth of a Black vacationing community in the Highlands area of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. For more information on the Wenner-Gren Engaged Research Grant, please see the following description from their website: This program supports research partnerships that empower those who have historically been the subjects of anthropological research, rather…
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Department of Anthropology Ph.D. Candidate Emily Milton publishes in Bioarchaeology International
Department of Anthropology Ph.D. candidate Emily Milton, along with co-authors Dr. Jordi Rivera Prince of Brown University and Ph.D. candidate Melina Seabrook of Harvard University, have published an article in Bioarchaeology International. The article is titled “Reconciling Identity Narratives: Creating Collaborative Space with Isotopic Baselines.” The article provides a critical perspective on the use of isotopes for bioarchaeological identity studies. Abstract: Isotopic methods have provided breakthrough insights into bioarchaeological identity studies, yet merit more critical theoretical perspectives. Inspired by and in conversation with intersectional feminist, Indigenous, and environmental literatures, we interrogate with and for whom such research is conducted. Potential…
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Alum Assistant Professor Mari Isa (Texas Tech University), Professor and Chair Todd Fenton, and Ph.D. candidates Alex Goots and Elena Watson publish in Forensic Science International
Lead author and MSU alum Dr. Mari Isa of Texas Tech University, Department of Anthropology Professor and Chair Todd Fenton, current MSU Anthropology Ph.D. candidates Alex Goots and Elena Watson, and engineering colleagues Patrick Vaughan and Dr. Feng Wei, have published a collaborative article titled “Effects of input energy and impactor shape on cranial fracture patterns” in the November 2023 issue of Forensic Science International. Read the full article: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1hxKS1MCG0a57K Abstract: This study documents relationships between input energy, impactor shape, and the formation of fractures in human crania. Parietal impact experiments (n = 12) were performed at 67% higher input energy compared to…
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Department of Anthropology Ph.D. Candidate Rhian Dunn awarded 2023 Graduate Research Fellowship by the National Institute of Justice
The Department of Anthropology is pleased to announce that Ph. D. candidate Rhian Dunn is one of 24 doctoral students who have been awarded the 2023 Graduate Research Fellowship by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The NIJ is the research, development, and evaluation agency for the United States Department of Justice, which aims to promote research dedicated to improving “knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science” (nij.ojp.gov/about-nij). Specifically, the Graduate Research Fellowship program supports doctoral students engaging in research that advances the NIJ’s mission. Rhian will use the funds to cover expenses related to her dissertation…
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Dr. Larry Robbins coauthors chapter in new book, Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa
Dr. Larry Robbins, retired professor from the MSU Department of Anthropology, has coauthored a chapter in a new book titled “Handbook of Pleistocene Archaeology of Africa” alongside Dr. Michael Murphy from Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Dr. George Brook from the University of Georgia, and Dr. Linhai Yang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The chapter is on the Tsodilo Hills in Botswana and focuses on the Pleistocene archaeology of three sites in this area of the Kalahari Desert and how paleoenvironmental factors may have influenced their occupation over the last 100,000 years. Further information about the release can be found…
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Assistant Professor Dr. Kurt Rademaker publishes in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Department of Anthropology Professor Dr. Kurt Rademaker and Dr. Alexander Menaker of the University of Texas at Austin have published an article in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The article is titled “Obsidian in the Valley of Volcanoes, Peru.” This article explores the use of x-ray fluorescence analysis to determine the sources of obsidian artifacts recovered from archaeological sites in the Valley of Volcanoes, Peru. The results provide insight into local and long-distance social and economic connections in the prehistoric Andes. Read the full article at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X23003486 Abstract: The Andagua Valley in the Department of Arequipa of southern Peru has…
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Associate Professor Dr. Mara Leichtman publishes in Ethnography
Department of Anthropology Associate Professor Dr. Mara Leichtman published an article in Ethnography, in part of a special journal issue titled “Transnational Giving: Evolving Religious, Ethnic and Political Formations in the Global South.” The article title is “Humanitarian Sovereignty, Exceptional Muslims, and the Transnational Making of Kuwaiti Citizens.” This article explores the changing relationship between Kuwaiti Islamic humanitarian missions abroad and the Kuwaiti state. Read the full article at: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ETH/current Abstract: What is the role of transnational non-state philanthropic actors in the Kuwaiti humanitarian mission abroad? How does humanitarian aid reinforce and (re)conceptualize Kuwaiti notions of citizenship? A key provider…
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MSU Museum Welcomes Dr. Ethan Watrall as Curator of Archaeology
The Michigan State University (MSU) Museum is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Ethan Watrall as Curator of Archaeology, effective August 15, 2023. Dr. Watrall’s expertise as an anthropological archaeologist coupled with his scholarly focus on the use of digital methods and computational approaches in archaeology and heritage will significantly enhance the Museum’s strategic priorities. In his new role, Dr. Watrall will take the lead in developing, researching, interpreting, and stewarding the archaeological collections housed by the MSU Museum. With a deep passion for the power and purpose of museum collections, Dr. Watrall aims to ignite enthusiasm and engagement…
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Associate Professor of Anthropology Dr. Heather Howard co-publishes chapter in Michigan Salvage: Bonnie Jo Campbell and the American Midwest
Associate Professor of Anthropology Dr. Heather Howard co-published a chapter in Michigan Salvage: Bonnie Jo Campbell and the American Midwest. “Indigeneity in Once Upon a River” and accompanying teaching activity, “What’s your Indigenous narrative?” In this chapter, Howard-Bobiwash examines transformations in the tropes of indigeneity in Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River (2011), from novel to the feature film version of the book released in 2019. The role of fiction in the production of knowledge about Indigenous peoples is explored through questions of representational practice, and intersections of race, gender, identity, and landscape. The accompanying teaching activity prompts students…