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Dr. Ying-Jen Lin, Sociocultural Anthropology
Dr. Ying-Jen Lin came to MSU from Taiwan with a B.S. degree in Life Sciences and an M.A. in Museum Studies. During her time as a graduate student in the Department, she developed and pursued interests in working with Indigenous groups in Taiwan on issues of Traditional Knowledge (Intangible Cultural Heritage) and Economic Development through collaborative community forestry management and ecotourism. She regularly returned to Taiwan to work with Taiwanese Indigenous communities, including the Tao of Orchid Island and the Adiri and Labuwan of southwest Taiwan. Dr. Lin’s dissertation, “Asserting Sovereignty Through Strategic Accommodation: The Rukai People and Collaborative Conservation in…
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Dr. Mari Isa, Biological Anthropology
Dr. Mari Isa’s extensive skeletal trauma research is described by her mentor, Dr. Todd Fenton, as advancing the frontiers of science in forensic anthropology. In Dr. Isa’s dissertation, “Experimental Investigations of Blunt Force Trauma in the Human Skeleton,” she used controlled biomechanical experiments on human bones to explore how fractures form in response to specific sets of applied loading variables. Her work is unique in that it uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the complex phenomenon of bone fracture. This approach contrasts with traditional trauma studies, which have relied on samples of fractures with unknown or unobserved origins. Dr. Isa’s…
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Dr. Eddie Glayzer, Sociocultural Anthropology
Dr. Eddie Glayzer’s former advisor, Dr. Andrea Louie, recalls how he entered the program with a developed focus—he wanted to study contemporary South Korean society, focusing specifically on gender and consumption issues. He demonstrated a knack for drawing from his real-life experiences in South Korea, first as an English teacher and later as a researcher, as a basis from which to engage with anthropological questions. His own experience of falling short in the celebration of Pepero day by buying his then-girlfriend an embarrassingly small box of the South Korean confection led him to study the relationship between consumption and intimacy…
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Dr. Rachel Elbin, Sociocultural Anthropology
Dr. Rachel Elbin’s dissertation, “Tumesahaulika (We’ve Been Forgotten): Performing Development in Post-Conflict Mtwara”, explores how Tanzanian political leaders and residents of the southern region of Mtwara have defined and contested “development,” “the state,” and “citizenship” and the relationships among them across time. As Tanzania achieved independence, its first president promoted a socialist development state that would provide development to citizens who supported African socialism and pan-African solidarity. Citizens of Mtwara sacrificed in support of both visions but were disappointed when development resources did not flow to their region. Subsequent administrations adopted neoliberal reforms, refocusing the state on establishing regulatory frameworks…
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Dr. Alexandra Conell, Archaeology
Dr. Alexandra Conell’s dissertation, titled “Domestic Corporate Groups: An Ethnographic and Archaeological Examination of Households, Neighborhoods and Communities”, is an in-depth examination of ethnographic material on corporate group behavior analyzed with the goal of identifying variability in these groups—variability that archaeological interpretations may be missing. Dr. Conell’s research began with a world-wide survey to identify the nature of variability and the key factors to examine further. She then analyzed ethnographic data on five cultural areas in North America, looking for cross-cultural differences and how the domestic corporate group may have changed over time in each area. She created a descriptive…
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Dr. Lissie Arndt, Medical Anthropology
Dr. Lissie Arndt is a dual degree DO and PhD student, having completed her PhD in 2020 under the mentorship of Dr. Linda Hunt (right). Dr. Arndt’s dissertation, titled “The Ambiguity of HIV Risk in Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Administration in New York”, combines her anthropological and medical training as she examines of the concept of “risk” in the emerging market of pharmaceutical prevention of HIV. Based on close ethnographic examination of the contrasting perspectives of patients, caregivers, public health officials, and pharmaceutical industry representatives, Dr. Arndt reveals a complex picture of “risk” management as the pharmaceuticalization of self and society.…
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MSU Forensic Anthropology Lab participates in Operation UNITED
This September, the MSU Forensic Anthropology Laboratory (MSUFAL) participated in Operation UNITED in collaboration with the FBI’s Evidence Response Team, the Detroit Police Department (DPD), and several other local universities and law enforcement agencies. Operation UNITED is an acronym which stands for “Unknown Names Identified Through Exhumation and DNA.” Operation UNITED began as a grassroots effort between DPD Sgt. Shannon Jones and FBI Special Agent Leslie Larsen to solve as many cold case homicides in Detroit as possible. By exhuming the remains of unidentified homicide victims and comparing their DNA with family reference samples, Operation UNITED seeks to make identifications…
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Message from the Chair: Dr. Todd Fenton
This edition of the Department of Anthropology newsletter recognizes and celebrates our recent graduates who have persevered and achieved their educational goals through a time of extraordinary adversity. As Chair of the Department and on behalf of the Anthropology faculty and staff, we give our sincerest congratulations to the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021. We are so proud of them and impressed by them. The ongoing global pandemic has wrought indescribable loss, grief, and uncertainty in so many aspects of our lives. In the face of such pervasive hardship, our graduates persisted through challenges and overcame obstacles…
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Special Interest Group co-chaired by Dr. Deon Claiborne receives AAA Presidents’ Award
The Anthropological Responses to Health Emergencies (ARHE) Special Interest Group was one of this year’s recipients of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Presidents’ Award for the group’s extraordinary service. Dr. Deon Claiborne, Undergraduate Advisor for the MSU Department of Anthropology, is the Co-Chair of this group with Dr. Kristin Hedges of Grand Valley State University. The ARHE is a Special Interest Group of the Society for Medical Anthropology. The group’s overall mission is to engage and collaborate with colleagues working in the field of public health and infectious disease in emergency and humanitarian contexts. With this honor, the ARHE group…
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Introducing Jocelyn Janicek, Business Manager
The Department of Anthropology is very pleased to introduce our new Business Manager, Jocelyn Janicek, who joined the department in February 2020. As Business Manager, Jocelyn carries out numerous responsibilities to ensure the department’s success. These roles include providing support to the Department Chair, overseeing fiscal responsibilities for the department as fiscal officer, providing budget oversight and administrative support for grant administration (both pre-award and post-award), managing maintenance and renovation of Anthropology’s spaces, supervising issuance of technology and essential work-related equipment, and managing administrative personnel while also overseeing the human resource aspect of the department. Jocelyn is certainly instrumental in…