Lambda Alpha Journal, v.41, 2011

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10057/5646

About the Lambda Alpha Journal

The Lambda Alpha Journal is a publication of student papers by members of the Lambda Alpha National Honors Society for Anthropology and is published regularly at the Wichita State University Department of Anthropology. Professional, avocational, student manuscripts, and book reviews of recent publications are welcome. The journal is made possible through the efforts of the Journal editorial staff residing at the founding chapter, Alpha of Kansas . Funding for the Journal is obtained through subscriptions and continuing sponsorship by the Student Government Association of Wichita State University.

Editor in Chief : Dr. Peer H. Moore-Jansen

Founded by Dr. Lowell D. Holmes

Student-editor: James J. Simmerman

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 9

13th Annual Lambda Alpha Symposium, Wichita State University, April 9, 2011
(Wichita State University. Department of Anthropology, 2011) Lambda Alpha National Collegiate Honors Society for Anthropology
Abstracts of student papers delivered at the 13th Annual Lambda Alpha Symposium held on April 9, 2011, Devlin Hall, Wichita State University.
”AIDS is in my blood”: An analysis of community activism, social change, and the AIDS crisis in South Africa
(Wichita State University. Department of Anthropology, 2011) Keaveney, Megan
With the highest rate of HIVIAIDS in the world (1 in 5 are HIV positive), the AIDS crisis permeates every realm of South African society (Coovadia 2009:818). The political, economic, and social burdens on families heightened by this epidemic demands serious reconsideration of governmental policy and recommendations into alleviating the detrimental effects of this pandemic. The current HIVIAIDS epidemic presents social and political crises for South African society. HIV/AIDS affects the longevity of families (with a majority of cases between heterosexual couples) and creates a detrimental void in the current South African labor market by affecting the most productive sector of the labor force, individuals ages 20-49. My research explores how apartheid and post-apartheid policies contribute to the spread of HIV in South Africa, key theorists who critique the epidemic, different non-governmental organizations working towards continued access to ARV treatment and community empowerment as well as recommendations for the future.
Words, woofs, and whinnies: A study of human-animal language
(Wichita State University. Department of Anthropology, 2011) Brown, Claire
Human-animal communication occurs in both verbal and nonverbal contexts to varying degrees, depending upon the breed of animal and the strength of the relationship between human and animal. This essay studies the way in which humans verbally communicate with animals in the United States, specifically examining the function that language serves in these various communicative contexts. Observational data detailing language use with horses and small domestic pets has been gathered from Red Oak Riding Center in Elkhart, Indiana, and interactions within the household, respectively. Three forms of language used to address or discuss animals in these contexts are interpreted: i) specialized animal language, ii) standard language, and iii) animal gossip. The use of these language forms is indicative of the type and strength of the relationship that is shared between human and animal. Language in a working capacity utilizes commands or sounds that do not carry a meaning in non-animal contexts, while domestic pet language ranges from 'baby talk' to full conversational frameworks. An analysis of language use is essential for understanding human-animal relationships, as language illustrates the human perception of animal identity. Verbally addressing an animal imbues it with apparent communicative abilities, illustrating the idea of 'language as action' as promoted by J. L. Austin and J. R. Seale.
Conceptions of homeland and the question of return: A study among Munchen residents with Turkish background
(Wichita State University. Department of Anthropology, 2011) Sleesman, Eileen R.
The beautiful city of München (Munich) located on the Isar River and within view of the Alps is the capital of the prominent southeastern German state of Bayern (Bavaria). München’s culture, however, is understood differently by those who visit and among those who reside and attempt to find their place and home within it. To some, München is known as the most northern city of Italy because of its leisurely pace and warm, hearty reputation, but to others it is a city of stereotypical “Germanness” due to its significance in history and the arts and because of its emphasized cultural symbols. Coloring impressions of München, especially those of foreigners and outsiders, certainly is its renowned two hundred year tradition of Oktoberfest and the six major and ancient breweries calling it home. München identity is propagated by images of the brick, onion domed Frauenkirche, the gothic Rathaus, and afternoons spent in secluded, restful Biergartens complete with pretzels, weißwurst, men in lederhosen, and women in dirndls. There is, however, another side of München which is less commonly known to visitors and vacationers but forms the context of many residents daily experience and reality. München is Germany’s third largest city of 1.37 million within the city limits and 5.48 million in the metropolitan area (Munich 2010:1), and among its inner city residents, 24 percent are non-German nationals and around 300,000 foreigners reside in this diverse city (2010:4),7 many of these are Turkish. Turks are the largest non-German ethnic population in all of Germany (Levinson 1998:37) and are at the center of many discussions regarding immigration, migration,and integration as well as questions of cultural definitions and implications for both personal and national identity. After doing some preliminary research and interviews with University students, a travel agency, and some shop owners, what became most interesting, and easily investigated in areas I already frequented in München, was determining the significance and meanings associated with Turkey for German residents with Turkish family background. In order to make this argument, I begin with an overview of Turkish Migration to Germany and a summary of relevant literature and present discussions focusing on an anthropological study among returnees to Turkey which served as a theoretical point of comparison throughout my work. I describe my positionality and the context and process of this study, and follow this with a discussion of the ideas informants formed of Turkey and contrast them with conceptions of Germany. To discover this information I posed open-ended questions, asking them to describe Istanbul and what they thought about it and then to do the same for München. I considered the words they used and the comparisons they made to decipher their understanding of the two places and discern the extent to which they revealed an affinity and connection to one and not the other. Next, I explore questions of belonging and what it means to be home, turning to the push and pull factors that guide settlement decisions. Finally, I suggest options for further investigation into ethnic and social backgrounds and their potency in forming societal affiliation and national identification.
Hunter-gatherer site function in the Blue Ridge mountains: An analysis of artifacts from the Pryors Camp site (44NE153)
(Wichita State University. Department of Anthropology, 2011) Cross, Kathryn A.
Archaeological evidence of Middle Archaic through Early Woodland hunter-gatherer occupation in the Central Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia breaks traditional settlement models which characterize upland settlements as small and short-term (Nash 2005; Nash 2009). In fact, not only were hunter-gatherer groups occupying mountain gaps for extended periods of time, they were establishing intensively-used base camps and possibly converging with other cultural groups at this significant topographic location. The research discussed here focuses on the Pryors Camp Site (44NE153), located in the Wintergreen Resort community, Nelson County, Virginia (Figure 1). Its focus is to answer questions about the length of occupation of mountain gap sites, cultural periods of occupation, and the pivotal role of mountain sites in hunter-gatherer mobility and social patterns.

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