Anthropology Newsletter

Nine Union students, including four anthropology majors, will be journeying to Vietnam this Fall. Allison Freidheim, Meghann Glavin, Joe Kilcullen, Kaitlyn Richards, Josh Roth, Andrea Tehan, Lissa Thurston, Pat Mahoney, and Lauren Tuchman will be joined by four Hobart and William Smith students on Union's new term abroad, to Hanoi. It is part of Union's new collaboration with Hobart -- the Partnership for Global Education. To get ready, Union students have been taking a course on Vietnamese Society and History (EAS 30) via computer link in an electronic classroom in the Olin Building. It is being taught by Professor Jack Harris, a sociologist at Hobart and William Smith. The course is supported by an excellent Blackboard site with many links to resources on Vietnam. Recently, Hobart and Union students took a field trip together to New York City to meet with Deputy Minister Trung, Vietnam's representative to the UN. Afterwards they shared a Vietnamese meal. It was a long day, especially for the Hobart students who spent six more hours on the bus, but worth it.

This August, everyone will be taking three weeks of intensive language instruction at Union which may prove challenging. Vietnamese is a tonal language with six distinct tones compared to four in Chinese. In early September the group will leave for Hanoi. There they will continue studying the language and take three additional courses: one on Vietnamese culture, a local internship or independent study, and "Photographing Culture." The latter will be taught by Sharon Gmelch who will be the resident director. Anthropology majors will be able to do their thesis research in the "field" in Vietnam.

Students will be living in dorm rooms at the National University of Vietnam. There will be numerous field trips throughout the term to places of historical, cultural, and natural significance like Halong Bay and Hue (the ancient capital). There are also many things of interest to do in Hanoi, including visiting water puppet performances, Ho Chi

Minh's mausoleum, and the many interesting side streets and shops in the old city. In December, the group will travel south to the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly, Saigon) and end the term here. One of the students going on the Vietnam Term Abroad program, Andrea Tehan ‘03 talks about her excitement. "We are only the second group of Union students to travel to Vietnam with a program combined with Hobart and William Smith Colleges. As you can imagine, we all have a lot of questions, especially since the other students have not yet returned from their long journey half way around the world. The enthusiasm that Professors Ted Gilman, Sharon and George Gmelch from Union and Professor Jack Harris from HWS have all expressed about Vietnam has me very excited about the trip, I am counting down the days until my departure! Though the professors have told me amazing stories about their time there, I am still ready to expect the unexpected. This opportunity has already been a lot of fun. We have had an electronic class with HWS where we learned about Vietnamese history and culture. A short time ago we met with the HWS students and Professor Jack Harris and traveled to the U.N., as well as tasted Vietnamese cuisine at two different establishments in Albany and NYC. While on the trip, I plan to write my senior thesis, though my topic has not yet been decided, and I will be taking a lot of photographs for both my thesis and my own personal interest. Tam biet!"

SSFLAG Gallery Features Spring Baseball Memorabilia Exhibit

by Elizabeth Daigle

The Social Science Faculty Lounge Art Gallery, adjacent to the Anthropology Department, is hosting a baseball exhibit for all of Spring term. Contributors to the exhibit include Teresa Meade, Lisa Quirk, Doug Kline, Jon Sterngass, George Gmelch, and the Union College Athletic Department.

Professor Meade was kind enough to lend the use of Japanese baseball items such as numerous Japanese All-Star collectors cards and a baseball bat and cap. Lisa Quirk, of the Sociology Department, is a Yankees fanatic who contributed many exciting items to the exhibit. These items include signed baseballs and collectors cards, a Mets versus Yankees chess game, a Derek Jeter Frosted Flakes cereal box, a Mark McGuire Wheaties box and even a ticket stub from the 1998 World Series Game Two. There are also old Brooklyn Dodgers cards including a "Duke" Snyder, and a "Pee Wee" Reese.

The highlight of the exhibit is Union College Dutchmen memorabilia, which was lent by the Athletic Department. The collection includes Division Champions plaques from 1965 and 1986. There is also an old program from a Colgate versus Union game in 1912 where the admission was 50 cents and music was played by the college band.

So come check out the numerous American baseball cards, posters and pennants before Spring term is over and this one of a kind exhibit is gone. Gallery hours are 9-4 Monday through Friday.

We Welcome Professor Stephen Jones

by Elizabeth Daigle

This Spring term and throughout all of the following school year Union College is fortunate to have visiting Professor Stephen Jones join the Anthropology Department. Professor Jones received his Masters in Anthropology from Hunter College in New York City in 1992 with the thesis, On Raising Pigs and Armies: The Ecology of the Auvergnian Iron Age. He then went on to receive his Ph.D. in Anthropology at SUNY Albany with his dissertation, Deconstructing the Celts: A Skeptic’s Guide to the Archaeology of the Auvergne. This term he has taught his first anthropology course at Union College, Monkeys, Kids, and Wisdom, which deals with using information exchange as a medium for explaining mammals, primates, and humans. Next year he is excited about staying on as a visiting professor and is looking forward to teaching such courses as the Rise of Civilizations, European Prehistory, Introduction to Archaeology, and Introduction to Biological Anthropology. He will be teaching the last two courses in the fall. He is particularly interested in Introduction to Archaeology and would like to not only involve Union students in European archaeology but in Schenectady archaeology as well, but it is unclear if this is a viable option at the moment.

Historic Archeology: Erie Canal Field Program and other Research Faculty Activities

This Fall, research professor Denis Foley will conduct Union's first field school in historic archaeology relating to the Eastern Terminus of the Erie Canal. Students gain actual archaeological field experience, participating in all aspects of field and lab work--surveying, laying out units, excavating by trowel and shovel, mapping, drawing, photography, along with cleaning, identifying, and analyzing artifacts. The fieldwork will be conducted near Lock One in the City of Albany or at the Cohoes Locks. Students thus participate in the preservation of the Cohoes Canal locks of the Enlarged Canal of 1843. Historic archaeology increases our understanding of the material culture that helps shape contemporary life.

The course will be taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:15 - 11:05 a.m.

Also: Our congratulations to research professor, Charles Bishop whose publication titled Northern Ojibwa Emergence: The Migration has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the Algonquin Conference.

And: Research professor M. Estellie Smith recently brought us up-to-date on her activities of late. She continues to serve as field advisor and outside reader for University of Massachusetts at Amherst doctoral candidate Ken Jacobson who is studying ADHD and "Biological Reality in Cultural Myth". She presented paper at the ASA Annual meeting in Denver on Cynthia Irwin-Williams, a pioneering anthropological archaeologist. She also prepared a report for the New England Fisheries Council on the future of New England groundfish management and its impact on small scale fishing and she is continuing research on the role of the entrepreneur as an agent of innovation and cultural change.

Emily Newman '03 Talks About Summer Trip to Mexico

This summer, through Arizona State University, I will be participating in an ethnographic field study program in Ensenada, Mexico. Ensenada is a major port city situated along the coast of Baja California. For eight weeks I'll live with a Spanish-speaking host family in Valle Verde and take classes in anthropology and Spanish at the nearby local college, La Escuela Normal Estatal. As part of the anthropology courses, I will do my own fieldwork and research project (either on local crafts or traditional healing practices), study the colonization process of Ensenada, examine border disputes between the United States and Mexico, and travel into southern Baja to interview members of the Yuman indigenous culture who live on the reservations. As part of the immersion process, everything is conducted in Spanish. Although that makes me a bit hesitant (since my Spanish skills could use some improvement), I am really excited and can't wait for the program to begin!

Melanie Thornton '02 Photo Exhibit

Our congratulations to Melanie Thornton whose photographic collection titled "Veiled Prosperity" will be on exhibit in the Union College Arts Atrium Gallery from May 13 through May 18. Gallery hours are 9-5 daily. An opening reception with the artist will be Thursday, May 16 from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Alumni News

Sara Ahart ’99 writes: "I am living in Phillipsburg, N.J., and have been working for the ARC of Warren County (the Association for Retarded Citizens) since completing my Master's Degree in Anthropology last May. Managing a group home of 4 adult women has provided me with new experiences every day. It has given me a chance to experience another way of life and understand worldviews completely different from what I have known. I have also learned a lot about humility, but have great fun at events like the Special Olympics. On a more fun note, visiting with my sister in Italy on her study abroad program and spending time at Union for a study abroad weekend has given me a chance relive my anthropology days in Fiji!!"

Deb Cederbaum ’99 writes: "I work for Morry's Camp. Morry's Camp is a nonprofit, year-round children's youth development organization that provides inner-city youngsters with summertime camping experiences and continued support and programming throughout the year. By participating in outstanding, educationally-based programming in a tranquil setting Morry's Campers are encouraged to learn, grow and thrive. Campers are selected because they want try even though the odds may not always be in their favor. They come from urban neighborhoods in New York and Connecticut. The camp is located in Glen Spey NY, just beyond Port Jervis.

I am the Program Director and design and execute the year-round programming for the 250 kids we work with. In general the focus of our meetings are defining, setting and learning how to follow through on GOALS. Of course this is accomplished through fun experiential activities that usually involve relays, food, music and more.

The programming is not just for young kids 9-12, but Morry's Camp has committed to these kids for 5 more years taking them through there high school graduation. So, doing life skill workshops for the high school age kids is also a big part of my job during the non-summer months.

But the summer is my favorite, even though the year-round meetings are vital. The summer is CAMP. The kids come to camp for 4 weeks. They play, breathe fresh air, learn how to be a positive and respectful part of a team and much more. These kids, many of whom have experienced things I have never seen, have one job, to be a KID.

I love what I do, the kids make me know every day that what we do in our lives DOES matter. I don't feel sorry for our kids, just PROUD."

Sarah Olsen ’96 says, " I am a graduate student at The Visionaries Institute of Suffolk University in Sheffield, Mass. The program offers a unique, experiential Masters degree in non profit management and media. The Institute is a partnership between Suffolk University and Visionaries, Inc. which is a nonprofit television production company. The Visionaries produces a series for public television that highlights nonprofit organizations and the good works they are doing all over the world. I've had many unique experiences, including having the opportunity to work on a documentary film shoot in Nepal. Other students have gone on shoots in Jordan, Azerbaijan, Dominican Republic, South Africa and Ghana, to name a few. The documentaries will air on public television channels (PBS) across the country in the fall. While having the firsthand experience of working on documentary shoots, students also work for various nonprofits in all capacities--from strategic planning to marketing to operations and financial analysis.

The students in the program have come from all walks of life--Hollywood filmmakers to nonprofit and government executives to recent college grads.

Not so surprisingly, many of the students were Anthropology or Sociology majors in college. It's an interesting way to observe and learn about other cultures while also giving back to the nonprofit sector. If anyone is interested in learning more, please email me at sarah@visionaries.org"

From Emily Sparks ’99: "I just got back from Mexico and Cuba where I spent the last four months. In Mexico I was learning Spanish and teaching English, and in Cuba I took an Afro-Cuban dance course. I'm back in the Boston area working with at-risk kids in an expressive therapy program, where I get to use my Spanish."

Fall 2002 Course Schedule

ANT 010 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology - Prof. L. Cool TTh 9:15-11:05

ANT 015 Introduction to Archaeology - Prof. S. Jones TTh 1:35-3:25

ANT 013 Biological Anthropology - Prof. S. Jones TTh 9:15-11:05

ANT 030 Medical Anthropology - Prof. K. Brison MWF 8:20-9:25

ANT 043 Anthropology of Religion - Prof. S. Leavitt MWF 1:35-2:40

ANT 070 Photographing Culture - Prof. S. Gmelch (in Vietnam)

Historic Archaeology: Erie Canal Field School (enrollment limited to 15) - Prof. Denis Foley T,Th 9:15-11:05

From the Chair

By Prof. Stephen Leavitt

This spring we say farewell--for the time being--to our nine seniors in anthropology. We hope that they'll come back to visit soon and often.

This term we also welcome two new faculty for next year. Steve Jones has accepted a one-year visiting position in the department. He will be teaching archeology, biological anthropology and prehistory, among others. These are courses we don't often offer.

We also welcome Denis Foley, who will be teaching one course in the fall an archeology methods class featuring the Erie Canal.

Finally, we say farewell to Ian Condry, who will be leaving Union for a tenure-track job at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.