It's nice when you have trouble keeping track of which of your students to show off about because too many of them warrant showing off about. What follows is an incomplete list of student accomplishments:
Departmental Awards:
Edwin C. Buxbaum Award (an award to the senior anthropology major with the highest grade point average in anthropology): a split decision among Andrea L. Wolff, Anna L. White, Timothy W. Layton.
Julian Steward Award (an award to the junior anthropology major with the highest grade point average in anthropology): Colin A. Doolan.
Barbara Hughes Award (an award to the sophomore anthropology major with the highest grade point average in anthropology): Joseph W. Naccarato.
Fulbright Grant and Truman Fellowship: Anna White spent half of last year in Senegal, West Africa, working through the Minnesota Studies in International Development Program. This was the basis of her Honors Thesis (see below). She has now received both a Truman Fellowship and Fulbright grant to study the impact of cigarette advertising in Senegal. Based on her anthropological experience, she has also taken an active role in advocacy, not only writing a regular column in the student paper, The Review, but also recently publishing an op ed piece in the New York Times.
Geis Conference: Two of our students presented research papers at the University of Delaware Geis Student Research on Women Conference this May. This program provides recognition of student excellence in research. Lara Olchvary's paper was "Is Homosexuality Biologically Determined? An Overview of Scientific Studies Examining the Nature of Sexual Orientation," and Andrea Wolff's was "A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Gender."
Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowship: Peter DeScioli has received a University of Delaware Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowship to support his participation in a joint University of Delaware and Centro de Investigaciones IndRgenas de Puerto Rico archaeological project, "Documenting Rock Art in Cueva de Mora, Puerto Rico," directed by Dr. Roe. DeScioli's research will involve mapping inside Cueva de Mora, a huge set of caverns near Cidra, in the north-central highlands of Puerto Rico. This cavern has some of the largest and most impressive rock art in the Greater Antilles, dating back to late pre-TaRno times of approximately A.D. 1200-1350. DeScioli will be trained in topographic and planometric mapping of the cave floor using GPS, laser-level and electronic compass, as well as mapping of the cave ceiling profile using laser rangefinding equipment; he will also document the petroglyphic art with regular and infrared photography, rubbings and clear poly-tracings. DeScioli and Roe will report the results of this research, with Dr. Roe as junior author, at the International Congress of Caribbean Archaeology -- will meet in late July in Nassau, the Bahamas.
Undergraduate Research Symposium: This May, three of our students presented papers at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, held in connection with Honors Day for students writing theses for Honors Degrees and Degrees with Distinction. Keri Brondo presented her paper, "Speaking with a Purpose: Interpreting the Linguistic Choices of Self-Identified Feminists," written under the guidance of Dr. Budani. Tim Layton prepared a poster session, "'Such is Decidedly Bad Taste': William Couper's Parterre Garden," under Dr. De Cunzo. Anna White presented "Gender, Power, and Fertility Decisionmaking in N'Gorene, Senegal," under Dr. Weil.
Graduating Seniors:
| Elizabeth Altland
Melissa Atwood Jennifer Benezra Keri Brondo Deirdre Hoffer |
Jessica Kessler
Nicholas Newlin Timothy Layton Lara Olchvary Shawna Ruffin |
Christopher Sheperd
Stacy Thomas Kristen Walker Anna White Andrea Wolff |
||
A partial group shot (from left to right):
Bottom, Lara Olchvary, Andrea Wolff, Jennifer Benezra;
Top, Anna White, Tim Layton, Stacy Thomas,
Jessica Kessler, Kristen Walker, and half of Keri
Brondo.
The Gang of Four (Drs. Villamarin, Rosenberg, Weil
and Ackerman)
hold the captive audience one last time...
The University of Delaware Anthropology Club is now an official university organization. We had a successful beginning: in the fall we got to know the faculty and majors and learned about where and how to apply to graduate programs. This spring term we have held events that focus on archaeology, biological and socio-cultural anthropology.
Our trip to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology on April 12, was described by one member as a "great time". On April 25, we took a trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New Your City, spending the day in the "Big Apple". Vans were provided, enabling us to set the cost at $12.00, so everyone had a fun and exciting time in the city without worries of transportation or funds.
This May we are held elections for next year=s Board of Executives. I highly recommend becoming an officer, the four of us have had a lot of fun and found it a rewarding experience to plan and organize our events. So far, we have elected:
President: Kelly McCoo
Vice President: Tim Russell
Secretary: Cheryl Smith
But, we still need a treasurer! The new board and I urge you to consider getting involved, and considering taking the position. Please contact Kelly McCoo if you are interested. I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly -- kmccoo@udel.edu.
Newsletter Seeking New Student Editor for next Year
Many thanks to Jennifer Benezra for her work in producing this and the previous newsletter. The department is now looking for a student interested in helping edit next year's newsletter; the job consists of soliciting articles, helping to organize the material for publication, and doing a bit of announcement writing. Please contact me (rocek@udel.edu) if you are interested.
Bringing You up to Date with the Faculty
Depending on whether you are a current student or a graduate of long ago, you may wonder who makes up the department these days. We have had a number of important changes in the last few years, so we thought we should bring you up to date (another approach is to visit our web page...see below). There are now 10 resident faculty members in the department, and one member in the University Parallel Program: Ken Ackerman, Donna Copolla-Budani, Jay Custer, Lu Ann DeCunzo, Thomas Rocek, Peter Roe, Karen Rosenberg, Michael Rosenberg (Parallel Program), Norman Schwartz, Juan Villamarin (chair), and Peter Weil. In the last 10 years, the following changes have occurred (listed roughly in chronological order, within each category):
Retirements:
Dr. Daniel Biebuyck retired in 1989, and is H. Rodney Sharp Professor Emeritus.
Dr. Svend Holsoe retired last year, and is Associate Professor Emeritus.
New hirings:
Dr. Karen Rosenberg, Physical Anthropologist, was hired as Assistant Professor.
Dr. Lu Ann DeCunzo, Archaeologist, was hired as Assistant Professor.
Dr. Thomas Rocek, Archaeologist, was hired as Assistant Professor.
Dr. Michael Rosenberg, Archaeologist, was hired as Assistant Professor in the Parallel Program.
Dr. Donna Budani, Cultural Anthropologist, was hired as Assistant Professor.
and promotions:
Dr. Jay Custer, Archaeologist, was promoted to Full Professor.
Dr. Karen Rosenberg, Physical Anthropologist, was promoted to Associate Professor.
Dr. Peter Roe, Archaeologist, was promoted to Full Professor.
Dr. Michael Rosenberg, Archaeologist, was promoted to Associate Professor.
Dr. Lu Ann DeCunzo, Archaeologist, was promoted to Associate Professor.
Dr. Thomas Rocek, Archaeologist, was promoted to Associate Professor.
The Anthropology Department on the Web
The departmental webpage continues to be updated frequently. Aside from adding this newsletter (at http://www.udel.edu/anthro/newslet/v1n2.htm, or as a link from the department's page), advisement information, a tentative list of courses to be offered for the Fall 1997-Spring 1999, final exam schedules, miscellaneous announcements (such as Anthro Club fieldtrips) continue to be posted on a frequent basis...if you need Anthropology Department information, it is a good place to look. The page is at http://www.udel.edu/anthro.
We are Moving to a New Building
The Anthropology department is moving. If construction continues according to schedule, by the start of the fall semester the department will have moved across the street and a quarter block west on Delaware Avenue. The university is renovating three old brick buildings and linking them with a new structure to the north (between Delaware Avenue and Main Street); the finished structure will be called the John Munroe building. Anthropology will be on the ground floor and in the basement; we will share the building with the History department. Come visit us in our new quarters!
The new John Munroe building under construction.
(Click Here for Location Map)
As mentioned in the last issue, the department is sponsoring two major excavation projects this summer, one exploring historic New Castle, Delaware (Unearthing New Castle's Past; A Program in Public Historical Archaeology, directed by Dr. De Cunzo), and one examining prehistoric Native American life in Lincoln, New Mexico (University of Delaware Pithouse Village Archeological Project), directed by Dr. Rocek. Several of our students are participating in each project; stay tuned for news about the summer in the fall issue. Other archaeological work is also underway; see the first article, "Bragging About our Graduates," for information about one of the students involved.
In future issues of this newsletter,
we will add a section on alumni news. Please send news of your current
career, family, or anything else you would like to share with your fellow
alumni (and current students) to me by e-mail (rocek@udel.edu) or regular
mail ("snailmail") at the department.
First of all, announcing a momentous development: I am now a regular e-mail user (ackerman@udel.edu), consulting it almost every day except on weekends. If questions are general I can usually answer them at home; if they are particular to the student's own academic record, I'll need to do it from my office. In either case, it should be an easy way to get relatively quick answers to advisement questions. Other information, in no particular order:
A point for students expecting to graduate at the end of Fall 1997; don't forget to come in for senior checkout if you didn't do it this spring. You should check out courses you plan to take in the fall against what needs to be taken to complete grad requirements. I usually do this anyway, but sometimes students don't come for advisement and are then surprised at fall senior checkout to discover that there is some course that should have been taken.
How to sign up for an independent study course. In order to take independent study, a student must secure the agreement of the faculty member with whom it is to be done and it should, of course, have some connection to the area of interest and/or expertise of that faculty member. There are four levels: 166, 266, 366, and 466. As a practical matter, I suspect -- since such courses are often follow-ups of something coming from a previous course -- it is usually better to do 366 or 466, since we require four courses at the 300 level or above (in addition to 486 and 48x) of all majors, and the 100's and 200's tend to be done earliest. In addition to permission of the faculty member, the student should also ask for the members number (each of us has a number in the 20's or 30's) which then becomes the section number for the course (e.g. ANTH 366 021). Independent study courses can be used to satisfy the distribution requirements of the department (4 socio-cultural, 2 biological, 2 archaeological), but that use requires notification by the chair to the college that the x66 course can be so used. The college has our list of which courses satisfy which of these areas, and the check-out advisors otherwise have no way of discovering that a course has been approved for a distribution requirement.
How to sign up for ANTH 475 (Teaching
of Anthropology). ANTH 475 allows selected students to get experience as
teaching assistants. Most faculty who teach 100 level (and some 200 level)
courses are willing to have, even happy to have, qualified students doing
475 in the context of those courses. For obvious reasons, the student should
already have taken the course for which she (or he) is doing 475. Qualified
means, among other things, having completed at least 24 of the 33 required
hours at an average level of B or higher and an index of 3.00 overall.
The student should be in one of their last three semesters at the university.
In special circumstances, any of the preceding can be waived, but they
have to be pretty special, and the waiving can only be at the discretion
of the individual faculty member. The following courses have accommodated
475 students in the past: 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 202 and 205. Admission
to 475 is at the discretion of the individual teacher, even for students
who satisfy all of the cited criteria. Forms for applying for 475 are available
in the department office. While duties vary, they can include the following:
attendance at all sessions of the class, scheduled meetings with the teacher,
preparation of exam questions, tutoring of individual students in need
of assistance, office hours, pre-exam review sessions, proctoring. If you
have any further questions, see me or e-mail me.
Possible internships are available for the late summer of 1997 or the first few months of fall semester, 1997. Professor Ackerman is in contact with the organizers of the fall 1997 Philadelphia labor academy teach-in, "Organizing to Reclaim the Future: Your Job and Your Community." The tasks involved in these internships are not yet clearly defined, but would probably entail establishing contacts with student groups on other local campuses. It is not yet clear whether the internships would be paid, though they probably would not be. It would be possible, however, to arrange for independent study credit.
Ideally anyone applying should have
some interest in organized labor. However, if you're not yet clear what
your interests are, don't be afraid to seek additional information. To
do so, contact me by Email (ackerman@udel.edu) or through the anthropology
office.
There comes a time in your long, arduous undergraduate career when you need to stop and seriously consider your future in anthropology. More to the point, you need to decide if you're going to embark on a long, arduous graduate career. Sometimes the prospect of additional years of school seems daunting, to say the least. So, it may appear easier to avoid thinking about it altogether. Please let me recommend otherwise. Having recently gone through the process of identifying, applying to and accepting a graduate school program, I have gained some valuable experience that I would like to pass on.
When I began considering a graduate program in anthropology, I honestly did not know where to start. I did not know how to choose a school, nor did I know what resources were available to me that would help me in my decision making process. I began to ask around, accosting anyone who would listen for half a second, hoping each bit of advice would help me to narrow my focus, or at least send me in the right direction. Having muddled my way through the process, I can now look back in retrospect and create a more systematic and practical set of guidelines for others who are about to do the same. This is by no means a recipe for success, it is merely some organized advice for other clueless undergrads like myself.
Most important in your search for a graduate school program is to start early; sometime during your junior year would be ideal. Moreover, you should try to schedule all your associated paperwork for the summer months, when you don't have other classwork on your mind. I found that applying to graduate school was harder than many of my classes, especially because it is so personal and important in one's life. Since nearly all schools require application submissions by early January for admission that fall, so starting the process in the fall semester of your senior year is late enough to make everything hurried, hectic and uncomfortable.
So now you're a junior and you're considering pursuing a master's degree or Ph.D in anthropology. What's your first move? You need to decide exactly what you would like to study. This is no easy task for the majority of us, but there are ways to gain some insight. One of the major requirements for your application packet is a cover letter, a letter of intent, a personal statement of purpose. Composing this letter is difficult, but the process seems to be equally or even more important than the finished product (not that you want the finished product to be shabby). So, sit down in a quiet spot and brainstorm: What do I like to do? What do I love to do? What would I be doing if I won the lottery and never had to "work" for a living? The answers may be hovering around some real career options. Be creative; try to imagine a job that entails doing what you enjoy. After you've gotten some workable ideas, show your letter to friends and family, asking for feedback: Does this sound like me? Is this an accurate picture of myself? Be sure to include your accomplishments, awards, research projects, etc. Then, after some polishing, take your letter to a trusted faculty member for evaluation. This is no time to be thin skinned; you may go through half a dozen drafts before it is just right. But, rest assured, this process is infinitely invaluable. On a logistics note, make sure to be as specific as possible in your letter: what you want to study, where you want to study, and why. As an example of why this is important: one university to which I applied didn't accept me immediately because I had not specified what area of the United States I was interested in doing archaeology in. They put applications on the desks of their faculty according to area of the country, so my application was never put on anyone's desk; and I got overlooked.
Now you've got your cover letter and a better idea of what you want to be studying. What next? You've got to decide where to apply. You have a number of resources available to you for this step. First and foremost, if you know, or know of, somebody who is doing just what you want to be doing, apply to that school for sure. Another source of insight is the books and articles you have read in or out of class. Did any of them strike you as particularly interesting, as something you have always been interested in? If so, find out who the author is and where they are teaching, and apply there. If neither of these things factor into your situation, then there is another, less glamorous option: The AAA guide, published by the American Anthropological Association. This anthropological who's who will tell you exactly what every faculty member at every school that offers degrees in anthropology is working on. This method requires more leg work, but can provide some great information. The anthropology office keeps a current issue of this book on the shelves for any interested student to use. Borrow it, look for people who are doing what you want to be doing and call or send for an application. This is also a good place to get addresses and phone numbers of colleges you are interested in. At this stage, the most important thing is to find someone doing the kind of work and research that you want to be doing. If you are interested in what they're doing, chances are they'll be interested in you.
What is the next step after having ten or twelve applications in hand? You must narrow your choices to the six or so best schools, based on location, cost, probability of acceptance, etc. You will now begin the most fun part of the process (ha! ha!). Each application must be filled out according to the directions and each requires additional documents. GRE's are a must, every school requires the reporting of these scores. Also, you will need to send one or two copies of the transcripts of each school you've attended. This costs extra money, above and beyond the $35 to $85 fee for applying to each institution. In addition, you will need to get three or four letters of recommendation from trusted faculty who are familiar with your work (and, of course, who you are fairly confident will speak well of you). If you want to, you can include a curriculum vitae if you have done or accomplished things above and beyond the average requirements, but this is certainly not required (but it can't hurt either). Some schools ask that you assemble all these materials and send them back in one envelope, so be sure to allow yourself plenty of time for the receipt of transcripts and recommendation letters. The sheer volume of paperwork and the amount of time and attention that it requires is why I recommended earlier that you do this part during the summer, when your loyalties are not divided between paperwork and schoolwork.
After you've sent out your applications
you get to play the waiting game. Don't be surprised if schools don't let
you know till the last minute if you have been accepted, but on the other
hand want you to let them know immediately if you will accept. Although
it is a very big decision, especially if you are committing five or more
years to a Ph.D. program, it is still your decision and your
life. Remember this above all. If a program doesn't feel comfortable
to you, for whatever reason, you do not have to accept.
[Editor's note: students, and their parents, often worry and wonder what life is like after graduation with a degree in anthropology. There is, of course, no single answer; perhaps the most striking aspect of anthropology is its diversity, and hence the broad liberal arts preparation that an undergraduate anthropology degree offers. Our graduates go on to work in a wide range of fields, ranging from careers in anthropology itself, to work in foreign service, physical therapy or, as in the case of Monica Fortner, computer science. We are delighted to print Monica's account of one example of "what you can do with a degree in anthropology".]
Twenty years after studying anthropology at the University of Delaware, I was thrilled to receive a U. of D. Anthropology Club newsletter! I'd like to thank the Anthropology Club and the Anthropology faculty for staying in touch with alumni.
When I was preparing to graduate twenty years ago, I thought I'd continue my anthropology studies in graduate school. I never would have guessed that taking a part time job would have changed those plans. I needed a workstudy job to help support myself during my last undergraduate semester and I was assigned a job with a computer project on campus. The computer was called PLATO and it was used to deliver instruction. My main responsibility was to help students sign on to the system. The project taught me how to program while I was monitoring the computer classroom. I felt like I needed some "real" educational material to program, so I approached Dr. Villamarin about programming some anthropology material. He suggested that I write a memo to the faculty explaining the computer system and asking if any faculty members had ideas for instructional programs. Dr. Margaret Hamilton and Dr. Peter Roe both had ideas, and we worked together to implement a few programs.
I pursued this programming initiative just to keep myself from being bored while I was monitoring the computer classroom. I was certainly surprised when the computer center offered me a fulltime job after graduation. My first reply was, "I can't work for you because I'm going to graduate school in anthropology". My second surprise came when I mentioned the job offer to my anthropology professors. I expected them to continue to encourage me to go to graduate school. Instead, they suggested that I consider the job offer.
I decided to accept the job and work for a year or two before going to graduate school in anthropology. I ended up never going to graduate school in anthropology, although I did go to graduate school parttime a few years later to earn a Masters in Computer Science.
I have never regretted my undergraduate years studying anthropology. In fact, I think that background gave me a unique perspective in the computer industry. Twenty years ago, software developers were not concerned about "userfriendly" systems. Those of us from humanities backgrounds, worked hard to convince other developers that the computer applications needed to be intuitive. People with backgrounds in the humanities did a much better job of writing computer manuals. We knew how to explain the intricacies of the software to those with less sophisticated computer experience. In a sense, everyone who uses computers comes from a different "culture". I think those of us who are trained to be more sensitive to different cultures, are in a good position to make software and computer manuals more understandable to users from a variety of backgrounds.
If someone had told me when I was an undergraduate that I would spend 20 years working in a computer field, I would have been horrified. I probably would have envisioned programming cash registers. Instead, I worked for two Universities and a private company developing an educational system that is used by atrisk high school students around the country. The computer system that I worked on is often used as a last attempt to educate students who have been expelled or dropped out of traditional school settings. I was continually rewarded when I would meet some of these students and hear how a system that I helped develop was able to turn around their lives.
My anthropology background has also helped me in my personal life. My interest in other cultures, is one of the reasons why my husband, three children, and I have hosted four foreign exchange students. We love welcoming these students into our lives and sharing our American culture with them. We also learn a lot about the cultures, traditions, and countries of our exchange students. Last summer we visited Spain and stayed with one of our exchange students. We felt so lucky to receive personal tours of the country from a native family. Now we're planning a trip to Guadeloupe so that we can visit another former exchange student.
I have very fond memories of my days
in the Anthropology Department at the University of Delaware. Even though
I never ended up working directly in the field of anthropology, I feel
that my education was invaluable in preparing me to live in an ever shrinking
world.
[Editor's Note: Mary Doria Russell has graciously provided another example of a life-course with Anthropology, which we thought would be of interest to our readers. Dr. Russell holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Michigan. Her research focussed on Craniofacial biomechanics and on distinguishing archaeological evidence of cannibalism from that of secondary burial. She did fieldwork in Australia and Croatia, and has also lived in Mexico. She left Academe in 1986 and has been a working writer ever since. Her first novel, The Sparrow, was published in 1996, and her second, Children of God, will be published in 1998 under the Villard imprint of Random House. The Sparrow is currently being produced as a motion picture by Universal Studios.]
As a novelist, I drew extensively on my experiences and training in all four fields of anthropology, although the books are not about anthropology per se, nor are they autobiographical in any direct sense.
Majoring in anthropology is in many ways an ideal liberal education. You are exposed to a huge range of sciences: sociology, psychology, political economics, comparative religion, population genetics, growth and development, anatomy, linguistics, geology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, statistics on and on. You have to learn to draw accurately and to make your own photos and graphs and slides, and how to read and create maps. Often you must become competent in a number of foreign languages in order to do your field work. You need to learn your way around computers and how to write clearly and accurately, and you get used to being jumped on and pummelled every time you have an original idea! It's good training for life in general and can lead to any number of jobs outside the field.
I never wanted To Be a Writer, the way some people decide when they're very young that's what they want to be. I decided I wanted to be an anthropologist when I was 15 and pretty much plowed straight through the only real change in ambitions came between my Master's and Ph.D., when I switched from social anthropology to biological anthropology. So no one is more surprised than I about these novels. I loved both the teaching and research aspects of being an anthropologist but I got fed up with academic politics. At 36, I began to work as a freelance technical writer, doing operator's manuals for medical imaging equipment, which drew on my knowledge of both clinical anatomy and computer technology. I always swore I'd never write fiction (unless you count some of my grant proposals...).
The Sparrow was just a goof at first. My stepmother was nagging me to try fiction and I thought, "well, I might have a short story in me." Here's another advantage of anthropology. When you're an anthropology major, you get used to the idea that you may never get a job in your field and even if you do, the pay will be lousy. So, as my first novel began to develop from the short story, I was able to cope with the odds against getting the book published. I could always console myself about the amount of time and effort I was pouring into a project that might never go far by thinking, "Only about 11 people ever read or cared about my scientific papers and NOBODY reads computer manuals. So even if I just give the manuscript to my friends, I'll be way ahead in terms of readership!"
Two years later, I had a contract with
Random House for the original book plus a sequel, with an option for the
third novel. And Universal Studies will be making a film of The Sparrow,
starring Antonio Banderas. Majoring in anthropology isn't likely to take
many people down this same twisted path, but I promise you -- there is
no more interesting course of study than anthropology, and none more likely
to be a basis of an interesting career.
Kenneth Ackerman is an associate professor and is the departmental undergraduate advisor.
Jennifer Benezra is a graduating senior with a joint major in Anthropology and Criminal Justice; she is completing her term as the president of the Anthropology Club.
Monica Fortner was a very successful student in the Anthropology department, who has gone on to a very successful career in the computer science industry and beyond. The department was very pleased to have her and her husband Brand visit during the departmental lunch this May.
Tom Rocek is an associate professor, Southwestern archaeologist and departmental computer nerd.
Mary Russell is a talented author, colleague and friend of several members of the faculty; her article was made available through Dr. Karen Rosenberg.
Andrea Wolff is a graduating
senior with a joint major in Anthropology and International Relations;
see the first article, "Bragging About our Graduates,"
for more information about her.
Go to Anthropology Department Home Page
Go
to University of Delaware Home Page
Send comments to rocek@udel.edu
Last updated: 10/11/97
The URL of this document is: http://www.udel.edu/anthro/newslet/newslet1/v1n2.htm