Greetings from Department Chair, Ruthbeth Finerman

Long ago, a fellow classmate in Anthropology had a bumper sticker on his car that read “progress sucks.” That pretty well summed up the modal anthropological mindset of the time. After all, our discipline has long idealized customs, tradition and heritage; we do not, as an academic subculture, embrace change. Many would readily point to John Bodley’s text, “Victims of Progress” or Brian Fagan’s “Clash of Cultures” as emblematic of our world view.

Nevertheless, change is inevitable. Indeed, our program in applied anthropology at The University of Memphis is founded on the principles of culturally appropriate and informed development. We actively strive to change the world by improving the quality of life for individuals and communities. Recently, we too have faced change in the name of progress.

The administration has decided to move the graduate program in public archaeology into the Department of Earth Sciences in order to bolster their new interdisciplinary program. Our faculty did not solicit this change, nor did we welcome it. But, like all successful entities, we are adapting. Archaeology will remain an essential component of our undergraduate curriculum, ensuring that majors continue to receive comprehensive instruction in all major subfields of anthropology. The graduate concentrations in medical and urban anthropology continue to flourish, and we are taking steps to ensure that these students continue to receive training in all of the fundamentals of our discipline.

We have strengthened linkages and secured new resources, ensuring continued growth and success. Our faculty maintains active research and teaching collaborations with many other departments and programs, and we remain key partners in a new Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies. We have been granted a new Instructor position to provide training in physical anthropology and prehistory, and we are splitting an additional instructor position with University College. We will also open a new ethnographic research and training laboratory in spring 2005. We plan to initiate new awards for outstanding undergraduate and graduate work in anthropology.

In addition, we have a host of plans to enhance outreach to our alumni. One goal is to create a mentorship program that would offer students broader opportunities to work with experienced applied anthropologists outside of an academic setting, and it would give participating mentors greater contact with a cadre of energetic and well-trained students. We are also gearing up for a development effort to attract matching funds for our Advances in Anthropology Fund, which supports a speakers series and other activities related to student, alumni and community development.

As anthropologists, we appreciate the principles of evolution. We recognize that all organisms must adapt to remain successful. Our faculty, staff and students have confronted recent changes with a remarkable level of unity, energy and optimism, and we welcome this as an opportunity for growth and reinvention. We invite you to contribute to this process. ^top

Bennett Wins Top Faculty Award by Julie Rogers

Dr. Linda Bennett received the University of Memphis 2003 Board of Visitors Eminent Faculty Award on Friday, March 28, 2003 for her professional work at the University of Memphis. Faculty, students, friends and family celebrated at the University’s annual Faculty Convocation. Bennett is the 11th winner of the award, which was established to recognize faculty members who bring distinction and honor to the university.

As an internationally recognized researcher, Bennett, who earned her master’s degree from Indiana University and her Ph.D. from American University, has brought distinction and honor to anthropology and the University of Memphis since joining the faculty in 1986. One year after her arrival, she became the anthropology graduate program coordinator, a position that she held for the next five years. Bennett then served as chair of the anthropology department from 1994 to 1998, when she became associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1999, Bennett won the College of Arts and Sciences Meritorious Faculty Award in recognition of exceptional faculty within the College.

Dr. Bennett after receiving her award
Photo courtesy of CAS

The majority of Bennett’s work concerns substance abuse, with much of her research attention on alcoholism in families. During 1992 to 1993, Bennett helped conduct a cross-cultural, nine-country study of the diagnosis and classification of alcohol and drug use and abuse for the World Health Organization. She continues to work on analyzing that data and publishing her findings.

Bennett has written more than sixty journal articles or book chapters and ten books. She has also co-authored numerous other volumes, including influential works such as The Alcoholic Family and The American Experience with Alcohol. In addition, she has published reviews of the books and films of her colleagues.

Bennett and Dr. Stanley Hyland have just completed “Introduction: Advancing A Conceptual Framework for Community Building” for the book Community Building in the 21st Century. Currently, she is coauthoring two publications with psychologist Dr. Laurel Kiser that deal with substance abuse in regards to family and neighborhood rituals and routines in Memphis. In June 2004, she co-directed a course in Croatia on anthropology and health care in that country.

Bennett also has combined her personal and professional lives to shed light on cross-cultural adoption. In 1994, Bennett adopted a Russian daughter, Natasha, who was five at the time. Neither spoke each other’s language fluently, so they used Croatian as their common language. Bennett never found a English/Russian language guide with family-friendly and child-relevant phrases for adopting families, so she collaborated with Williams International Adoptions, Inc. and produced one of the first-ever language guides for families adopting children from Russian-speaking parts of the world, especially children who were already talking. For six years, Bennett also served as chair of the board of directors of the Williams agency. And, as a current board member, she continues to demonstrate her commitment to collaboration, giving to the community.

Bennett’s service to applied anthropology has been as strong as her scholarship. She was president of the Society for Applied Anthropology from 1999-2001. And, in 2000, Bennett initiated the Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology Programs and is chair of its steering committee.

Bennett’s enthusiasm for her discipline is reflected also in her commitment to teaching. Many students have been influenced, guided, supervised and advised by Bennett. As Dr. Barbara Ellen Smith, Director of the Center for Research on Women, wrote in her nomination of Bennett, “While pursuing a highly productive international research agenda, Dr. Bennett also established herself as a valued teacher, adviser and mentor to the students in the University’s anthropology program. Rigorous in her expectations, Dr. Bennett also became known for her wide range of expertise, engaging teaching, and responsiveness to individual students’ questions and needs.”

Indeed, Bennett’s dedication and service to the community, university, the department and to anthropology has truly distinguished her as an eminent faculty member. ^top

Dr. Charles McNutt Wins CAS Outstanding Friend 2004 Award by Rebecca Puckett

Dr. Charles McNutt, Emeritus Professor in the Anthropology Department, was honored at the College of Arts and Sciences annual Outstanding Alumni Awards. He received the Outstanding Friend award for his achievements at The University of Memphis.

McNutt has been a member of the Anthropology Department since 1964. An expert in archaeology and ethnology, he is well known for his work on the prehistory of the central Mississippi Valley region. He is one of the founders, and the current president, of the Friends of Chucalissa. He also established a lecture series in anthropology that brings eminent scholars in the field of anthropology to the U of M campus each year. McNutt has a master’s degree from the University of New Mexico and a doctorate from the University of Michigan. At the University of Memphis, his honors include a Distinguished Teaching Award in 1998.

Melissa Buchner, Charles McNutt, and Hilda Williams at the Award Banquet.
Photo courtesy of CAS

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Anthropology Alum, Tim Bolding wins 2003 CAS Distinguished Alumni Award

(Excerpted From a Speech by Dr. Stan Hyland)

Tim’s work for the past 2 1/2 decades has directly confronted the issue of affordable housing through initiating creative approaches, developing partnerships and involving our students in this process through internships and collaborative projects. Tim was one of the first generation of graduate students in the new applied program in the 1970s. His internship with Shelby County Government’s Intergovernmental Coordination Office led to his becoming director of that department upon graduation. After more than 10 years with the County, Tim directed an innovative Multi-Bank Community Development Corporation that combined public, private and non profit sectors. From there, he launched United Housing, which has led to more financial resources, and affordable housing in Memphis, Shelby County and West Tennessee. We recognize Tim for making Memphis a better place for those who need help the most. ^top

Welcome Dr. Dan Swan by Julie Rogers

The Anthropology Department welcomes the new Chucalissa Museum Director, Dr. Daniel Swan, to our faculty. Swan brings 22 years of museum experience, as well as vision, courage and heart to Chucalissa. Trained as an action anthropologist at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, where he received his MA and PhD, Swan is driven by community agendas and has a history of involving the community. Swan’s extensive fieldwork in Oklahoma among the Osage and Southern Cheyenne Indians included a needs assessment and town hall meetings that revealed a strong community desire for a cultural resource center.

As a result, the White Hair Memorial-Osage Cultural Resource Center in Ralston, Oklahoma was established and directed by Swan for six years. From there, Swan went on to become senior curator at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, he continued to refine his approach to creating community-minded and educational museums.

Applying that model of museum as-community-center to Chucalissa, Swan plans to make significant physical and programmatic changes including re-establishing the huts located on the site and updating the exhibits inside the C.H. Nash Museum. Swan is also working with Cubert Bell, a Native American and museum interpreter, to develop a docent program and to revive the guided tour program. He hopes to broaden the tie to the local indigenous community, including spending more time with the Choctaw in Henning.

Swan would particularly like to see a greatly improved visitor experience at Chucalissa, noting, “Museums provide natural venues and opportunities to express yourself freely.” A visit to Chucalissa is often a Memphis student’s first trip to a museum. Swan says most people remember their first museum experience the most. He can tell how memorable and important Chucalissa is to the many new Memphians that he meets everyday when they tell him their stories of fieldtrips there.

On another level, Swan has already begun educating University of Memphis students through his museum studies courses. This combination of a holistic, applied research agenda and extensive museum expertise bodes well for Chucalissa, for the Anthropology Department, and for the University of Memphis in general. ^top

Introducing Ross Sackett, Anthropology/Inter-Disciplinary Studies Instructor

I was born the son of a prehistoric archeologist, and initially had no intention of going into the family business. Through filial obligation I worked on my father’s digs in the Dordogne region of France during summers throughout high school, but had intended to major in astronomy when I entered UCLA in the fall of 1974.

However my aversion to astrophysics on the one hand, and a longstanding avocational interest in preindustrial technology on the other, conspired to push me into anthropology. The 1970s housing boom in California provided plenty of weekend opportunities for contract archeology, and I was able to pay my way through college without any other work or financial aid.

Because of the influence of my mentors Allen Johnson and Johannes Wilbert, early on at UCLA my interests shifted from prehistory to the cultural ecology of South American Indians. It was common at UCLA for students to take all three of their degrees in the same department, and I entered the graduate program in 1980.

During 1981-2 I did a comparative time allocation and energy expenditure study of the Yukpa Indians (Venezuela) and Saraguros (Ecuador) that formed the core of my master’s thesis. Through this research I developed an interest in biological anthropology, especially in the fields of human nutrition and behavioral adaptation (in addition to my continuing interests in prehistory and hominid evolution).

My eclectic research interests resulted in a dissertation committee that was a broad cross-section of our three-field anthropology department: a cultural ecologist, a comparative ethnologist, an archeologist, a primatologist, a physician-nutritionist, and a radical ecofeminist. Perhaps because no one subfield was dominant, my committee gave me great latitude in choosing my dissertation topic. I designed a 102 society cross-cultural survey of time use and energy studies (using both my own field research and published sources) to try to resolve some longstanding issues in the social evolution of work and leisure patterns, with implications for changes in nutrition and quality of life.

Marriage to the current departmental chairperson brought me to Memphis, which added years to my dissertation but provided me with an opportunity to teach. In 1987 then-chair Tom Collins asked me to update the introductory physical anthropology course (1100), and then allowed me to take on other courses as my time allowed.

Since then I’ve also taught human paleontology, human adaptations, human nutrition, culture/kin/family, ascent to civilization, and anthropological data analysis on a regular basis, as well special topics courses in economic, ecological, and medical anthropology, and anthropological research methods. ^top

Presenting Kaveh Safa, Anthropology/University College Instructor

I was born In Iran, and have lived in England, Canada, Argentina, and the U.S. I have studied at Syracuse University (B.A.), New School for Social Research (M.A.), University of Chicago (A.B.D.), mostly anthropology mixed with doses of Marxism, psychoanalysis, philosophy, semiotics, and comparative religion.

I have taught cultural, physical, urban anthropology, culture change, and anthropology of religion at various city colleges in New York and Los Angeles. For the last seven years I have been teaching various courses on a part time basis at the University of Memphis. For the Anthropology Department. I have taught courses on Cultural, Physical and Theoretical Anthropology, and Kinship. For the University College I have taught courses on Gender and Culture clash.

I have also taught courses on Persian language, literature, and drama at the Universities of Virginia (Charlottesville) and Chicago. My last publication is A Cup of Sin, a joint translation with F. Milani of the works of the eminent Iranian woman poet, Simin Behbahani, and an essay on her works and issues of literary and cultural translation.

My current research interests include processes of ethno-genesis involving Iranians in the U.S., and the political and cultural significance of recent Iranian films directed by women. My long term research interests have included traumas and restorations of masculinity in Iranian culture. ^top

Faculty News:

Linda Bennett, Professor & Associate Dean, College Of Arts and Sciences

Over the past year, I published a chapter “Moonshine: An Anthropological Perspective” in Moonshine Markets (2004, Brunner Routledge). At the 2003 American Anthropological Association meetings I presented a paper in a session on family and work entitled “Work versus Family in Academia.” For the 2004 Society for Applied Anthropology meetings, I presented a joint paper on “Addictions and Infections: Domains of Application”; organized a session on “Structural Trends in Anthropology Departments and Programs: Expansion and Contraction”; and was a discussant in a session on “Under the Influence: The Sobering Impact of Research on Practice.” In June 2004, I co-organized a course on “Anthropology and Health: Domains of Application in the 21st Century” for the InterUniversity Centre for Post Graduate Studies in Croatia. I continue to chair the Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology (COPAA) Programs, which held its fifth annual meeting in advance of the 2004 SfAA meetings in Dallas. Currently there are 22 member departments.  ^top

Melissa Checker, Assistant Professor

It’s hard to believe that I’ve completed two years at the U of M. My second year was certainly as enjoyable as my first – and as busy!

In the spring I was awarded a Faculty Research Grant to begin a participatory research project in the area around the Defense Depot in South Memphis. Working with a group of local activists, we are training (and providing stipends to) youth in the neighborhood to conduct a health survey. They will then analyze the data using SPSS and GIS mapping software, trying to correlate common health problems with various environmental factors in the area. We have also established a multigenerational neighborhood advisory board, which will oversee the research. In addition, I am thrilled that several colleagues from other departments will expand this project. Esra Ozdenerol from Earth Sciences will lend her expertise on GIS/health mapping, Cynthia Pelak from Sociology will do SPSS training, and Michael Schmidt and Lucas Charles from the FedEx Institute will teach the youth documentary film-making and website production. In addition, Dr. Bryan Williams from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Venita Williams from the Civil Rights Museum have agreed to assist with the survey.

As if beginning new fieldwork weren’t exciting enough, I have also been busy with publications. In March, Columbia University Press released my edited volume Local Actions. Burke’s Books in midtown Memphis kindly held a book signing for me in April. This fall, I completed my manuscript, Polluted Promises: Environmental Racism and the Struggle for Social Justice in a Southern Town, which will be published by NYU Press this August. Enabling me to put the finishing touches on the book, I gratefully received a Donovan Travel Award from CAS to return to my Augusta, Ga. field site.

Over the summer, I edited and wrote an article for a special issue of Urban Anthropology. That issue was recently accepted and will be published in the coming year. In addition, my article on the regional aspects of African American environmental justice organizing appeared in the spring 2004 issue of Identities.

Here on campus, in addition to American Communities, I taught two new seminars – Urban Anthropology of the Mid-South (which I team-taught with Stan Hyland) and Culture and Environment. As usual, the classes were inspired and stimulated by some outstanding students. Also on campus, I gave a short presentation for the faculty symposium, “New Directions in the Study of Race,” and began working on an effort to revitalize our environmental studies minor. Last fall I worked with Jane Henrici and M.A. candidate Julie Rogers to secure a public service award to support the TERN tour.

On a more discipline-wide level, this winter I began my term serving on the American Anthropological Association’s Committee on Public Policy. Somehow, I was also corralled into editing the policy column for Anthropology News. For the 2003 AAA Meetings in Chicago, I organized a workshop on anthropologists’ roles in environmental justice struggles. At the 2003 Society for Applied Anthropology meetings, I co-organized a panel with Jane Henrici for which I co-wrote a paper with M.A. candidate Jon Burchfield. I also presented a paper for an invited session and served as a discussant at a third session.

This fall, I have been invited to present a lecture at Haverford College and have organized a public policy forum for the 2004 AAA meetings. I am also continuing to teach American Communities, and Culture and Environment, and will teach Urban Anthropology of the Mid-South in the spring. And, of course, I am still enjoying learning about Memphis and Memphians. ^top

Ruthbeth Finerman, Professor

I was recently promoted to Full Professor. I maintain several international and local research programs. My longitudinal study of health care change in Saraguro, Ecuador has broadened to incorporate new investigations into medicinal plant gardens and women’s plant exchange networks.

Rather than focus on conventional ethnobotanic classification, I initiated a new analysis of how home gardens and their contents can be “deciphered” for information on their owners. I discovered that women here invest enormous energies and resources to create home gardens, which serve as virtual medicine cabinets for use in curing kin. Women are also familiar with the contents of their neighbors’ gardens – even those miles away. They study gardens not merely to exchange ingredients for herbal remedies but also to divine characteristics of their owners. In effect, these gardens mirror family lifecycle and health status. Part of my work was funded by a Fulbright Award, which also allowed me to collaborate with the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Loja School of Medicine on plans for medicinal plant studies in the southern highlands. I also provided training workshops on qualitative research methods and culturally sensitive caregiving for the medical faculty and students. In summer 2004 I updated data sets for a planned book on Saraguro ethnomedicine. In addition to my work in Ecuador, I am renewing collaborations with current and former WHO researchers on a publication that reflects on changes in cross-cultural mental health knowledge, in anticipation of revisions to the next International Classification of Diseases.

To complement my international research, I have undertaken local investigations into Latino immigrant health and access to care in partnership with area grassroots organizations and health agencies. I ran surveys in the Latino community and, among other findings, learned that most Latino patients require assistance from a medical translator, yet only a fraction receives such services. I also determined that many Latinos feel mistreated by lower-level health workers. I was most recently contracted to investigate culturally sensitive strategies to address Latino health needs.

For this new effort I teamed with The University of Memphis’ Luchy Burrell and Steve Redding of the Regional Economic Development Center and Marcela Mendoza of the Anthropology Department and the Center for Research on Women. The project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was administered by The Med in partnership with the local health department and other agencies.

The REDC team compiled statistics on patient load while the CROW team reviewed census data, assessed translated materials and drafted much of the joint report. I collected new data on interpreter recruitment, training and retention and issues of culturally appropriate care in focus groups with local medical interpreters and health providers. I identified a desperate need for interpreters, but also a lack of understanding among providers as to how best to use interpreters.

Finally, I remain active in national and international organizations. I am an Editorial Board Member of the Society for Medical Anthropology’s journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly and serve on the Society for Applied Anthropology Board of Directors, where I am Co-Chair of the Membership Committee, Editorial Board Member for their journal Human Organization and serve on the 2005 SfAA Program Committee. Recently, I participated in the Oxford University Round Table and was an invited speaker at Ball State University. ^top

Jane Henrici, Assistant Professor

This past year, I authored several book sections and chapters analyzing data from our project, Welfare, Children and Families: A Three City Study (www.jhu.edu/~welfare). First, I edited the book Women, Working and Welfare in San Antonio (tentative title). I also wrote one of its 10 chapters and co-authored two others. I submitted the complete manuscript in February 2004 and received positive reviews for it in July. Currently, a contract is pending with University of Arizona Press. Second, in August Drs. Ronald Angel and Laura Lein of the University of Texas at Austin and I completed the manuscript of our book Health Care for the Poor (tentative title) which is contracted to be published by Cambridge University Press in spring 2005.

Third, as an Affiliate of the Center for Research on Women I wrote a literature review on one of my particular interests, “Training Them to Take It: Research on Job Training for Low-Income Women in the U.S.” for the CROW Newsletter, Standpoint (http://cas.memphis.edu/isc/crow/publications.html).

In April, I co-organized with Dr. Melissa Checker “Creating Connections: Learning Advocacy in Low-Income Communities” at the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) Annual Meeting, in Dallas. Two of our now Master’s alum, Jon Burchfield and Julie Travis Rogers, also presented talks as part of that session.

Fourth, I continue to develop a local study of issues facing low-income women. I have interviewed job training providers; directed Julie Travis Rogers’ 2003-2004 practicum assessing a local nonprofit providing English-as-a-Second-Language classes to low-income men and women monolingual Spanish speakers (I also serve on the Advisory Committee for that organization); and supervised or advised various student projects on local urban programs and development.

In addition, and to support students also interested in this topic, I will offer my course in spring 2005 for credit in Anthropology and Women’s Studies, “Women, Work, and Welfare.” Related to this topic, I am organizing a session and talk for submission for next April’s SfAA Annual Meeting. The session, “Tourism and Memphis Communities,” also will include as a presenter Dr. Dan Swan, Director of Chucalissa.

In January 2004, I submitted my article “Exchanges South and North: Collaboration and Communication and the Nonprofit Sector,” to be part of a special volume of Critique of Anthropology concerning ethical and methodological issues concerning applied anthropological research and collaboration with NGOs. That article is currently under review.

I gave two talks on international trade and gender in spring 2004. I am working also to bring other speakers to campus to talk on these issues. Last year, in collaboration with the Tennessee Economic Renewal Network (TERN) I helped organize a public presentation by visiting Mexican activists in November on the topic of labor and environmental standards and trade in northwestern Mexico. This year, in collaboration with the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center and as a CROW Affiliate, I am organizing a presentation about the problem of large-scale violence toward women factory workers along the U.S. Mexico border.

Next year, in March 26-28th 2005, several colleagues and I will present an international symposium titled “Trading Justice: NAFTA’s New Links and Conflicts,” funded primarily by the Center for Research on Women and the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis. Those of us organizing this event are developing research in collaboration with other universities to study the effects of the forthcoming NAFTA corridor that will have Memphis as its geographic center point.

In addition to this local project, I have submitted proposals for related research in South America. One study would be a collaborative effort with a large-scale project already in place, and similar to my work as a research scientist studying the effects of welfare reform on poorer families, for which I would look at Peruvian NGOs providing health care to low-income women and children within the increasingly privatized system there. Another proposed project would be a continuation of my doctoral and post-doctoral research on the effects of free trade agreements on local women producers and merchants, which would involve work with NGOs as well.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the grant proposal process, this December will be my third time serving as proposal reviewer for the International Dissertation Field Research Fellowship Program (IDRF) for the Social Science Research Council and the American Council of Learned Societies, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

To connect these research and writing areas of interest to teaching, I have undertaken many new course developments. Possibly the most radically different for me is that which I am team-teaching in 2004-2005 with other university faculty for the Honors Program on Global Issues in the Social Sciences. Dr. Marcela Mendoza, another anthropology faculty member, is part of the teaching team and several anthropology majors are taking the class: together, we help assure that the other participants in the course look at local-level problems and opportunities around the world rather than just at the abstract or national levels.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that I will be listed in the 2004 edition of Who’s Who among American Teachers. One of our Anthropology undergraduates nominated me for “Peoples and Cultures of the World,” and I was honored to accept. ^top

Stan Hyland, Associate Professor & Head, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy

I am now in my fifth year as Head of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy. The SUAPP faculty and students are involved in five major community initiatives throughout Shelby County. These initiatives include UPTOWN, the University District, Southeast Memphis (Hickory Hills), Shelby Farms and Collierville. As part of these initiatives the applied anthropology class is working to develop a user-friendly, neighborhood relevant, web- based kiosk in the UPTOWN Neighborhood Resource Center. Hopefully this effort will yield a model that can be used in other resource centers throughout the city.

A team of faculty and students including Cynthia Sadler and I have finished a comprehensive evaluation of the College Park HOPE VI initiative. This same team is now involved in a similar evaluation of the UPTOWN HOPE VI initiative. In addition to the computer lab at the UPTOWN Neighborhood Resource Center, we have opened a computer lab at the UPTOWN Square Community Center and have similar plans for the Dixie Homes Public Housing Development on Poplar. As part of our continuing outreach effort in the area we recently published a resource directory of nonprofits, faith-based organizations, businesses and government agencies which uses GIS mapping. New graduate student Amy Williams was instrumental in this effort. Based on this directory Cynthia Sadler and I in collaboration with BRIDGES, Girls Inc., and the Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development are hosting an UPTOWN nonprofit summit in October to discuss ways to enhance civic engagement. A similar effort is starting in Collierville with the support of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, the Division of Public and Nonprofit Administration and the Collierville Community Foundation.

In collaboration with United Housing, Inc. (alums Tim Bolding, Executive Director and Paige Beverly, Director of Development) I attended a workshop on participatory evaluation hosted by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation in Washington D.C. I had recently finished a article with Robert Brimhall on Evaluation Anthropology in Community Development/Community Building for an upcoming NAPA Bulletin on Evaluation Anthropology. The workshop highlighted a 3-year, national effort led by community development corporations and the McAuley Institute to pioneer an innovative community-oriented approach to evaluation which we hope to bring to Memphis.

Margaret Craddock, executive director of Metropolitan InterFaith Association and I were appointed by University of Memphis President, Shirley Raines to represent the University on the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Visioning and Strategic Planning on Public Service Committee. Across the country universities are increasingly innovating programs in service learning, community-based research, and engaged internships/practicum at both the graduate and undergraduate level. In many ways our Anthropology Department has been on the cutting edge of this trend. I will present a paper at the AAA meetings in San Francisco entitled “Integrating Service Learning into the Research and Community Agenda” with graduate student Amy Williams. I am also coauthoring a paper with Dr. Dorothy Norris-Tirrell on at the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration in October of this year.

On a closing note I am finishing editing the book Community Building for the 21st Century to be published by the School of American Research next summer. ^top

Satish Kedia, Associate Professor & Director,
Institute for Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluation, I-SATE

It has been a busy but rewarding year. In fall 2003, I was recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences with the Early Career Research Award and in summer 2004 was promoted to Associate Professor in the department. As director of the newly formed Institute for Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluation (I-SATE) on campus, a significant portion of my research time is devoted to alcohol and drug abuse treatment-related projects. The program continues to expand to include a number of new initiatives: co-occurring clients, substance-abusing pregnant women, substance abuse problems in Appalachia, the methamphetamine epidemic, and substance abuse surveillance.

Along with the alcohol and drug treatment research, I continue to pursue other research interests. I have begun data analysis on a collaborative project on the health impacts of pesticide use and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the Luzon region of the Philippines. I visited the Philippines this past summer to collect additional qualitative data with the help of a Faculty Research Grant from The University of Memphis.

The project on caregiving and compliance issues associated with gastrostomy feeding tubes in children with cerebral palsy, in collaboration with Dr. Mario Petersen (Boling Center of Developmental Disabilities, Health Science Center, University of Tennessee) and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, had its first abstract accepted at the Annual Meetings of Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. We plan to begin writing on this project soon. I have resumed writing from my project on health impacts of forced relocation and revisited my field site in India last summer to witness the drowning of the historic Tehri town due to completion of the Tehri Dam.

This past year, I-SATE published several statewide outcome evaluation reports and distributed more than 4,000 copies to the policymakers and substance abuse professionals in the state, across the nation, and abroad. We also published two new Substance Abuse in Tennessee (SAT) reports on five years trend in substance abuse in Tennessee in general and on the Appalachian region in particular. In addition, I published four journal articles and book chapters, and John van Willigen and I anticipate submitting the entire manuscript for our edited volume Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application to Greenwood Publishers this fall.

During the 2004 Annual Meetings of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Dallas, Texas, John van Willigen and I co-organized a plenary session. Also, I participated in an invited session on Complex Research Designs in Medical Anthropology (organized by William W. Dressler). At this same meeting, three of our graduate students (Jamilla Batts, Sarah Frith, and Melina Magsumbol) presented co-authored work based on my research projects. One of the International Rice Research Institute projects co-authored by Melina Magsumbol, Satish Kedia, and Florencia Palis won two first prizes: one from the Society for Medical Anthropology and the other from the Society for Applied Anthropology. Kudos to Melina for putting the poster together. We are very proud of her.

In summer 2003, I gave two invited lectures, one on the health impacts of involuntary resettlement and one on the health impacts of pesticide use, at the Centre for Rural Studies, El Colegio de Michoacan, Mexico. In fall 2003, along with Dr. Stephanie Perry, I delivered a presentation on performance-based evaluation of alcohol and drug abuse treatment effectiveness to administrators from 18 states at the Eastern Regional Workshop Performance Management, organized by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in collaboration with Treatment Improvement Exchange (TIE) in Nashville. I also was invited to participate on a panel sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on substance abuse patterns and treatment in the Appalachian region of Tennessee and discuss future directions for research on this topic. Most recently, I made an invited presentation at the Addiction Grand Rounds of The Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville. ^top

Daniel Swan, Associate Professor & Director Chucalissa Museum

I joined the staff at the University of Memphis in October 2003, as Director of Chucalissa and Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department. My first year in these capacities has been very exciting and rewarding. The majority of my time is currently focused on Chucalissa where I have been working with the museum staff and other officials from the University of Memphis to effect redevelopment of this site and museum. Our immediate goals include improvements in the “visitor experience” at Chucalissa and enhanced educational programming for the general public. Over the coming months I will be working with representatives from our core constituencies and governing authority to create a master plan for long term site development and strategies to develop a stable operations budget and programmatic infrastructure for Chucalissa. My teaching and service activities at the University have been focused on support for the interdisciplinary Museum Studies and colleges at the University of Memphis.

It is my hope that Chucalissa and the C.H. Nash Museum will provide a platform for expanded teaching and research opportunities for students and faculty from a wide range of academic departments, centers, and disciplines.

I spent much of 2003 working with Garrick Bailey (University of Tulsa) to co-author the book, Osage Art, which was released by the University of Washington Press in March 2004. The publication accompanied a major exhibition of traditional Osage art at the St. Louis Art Museum, that opened March 11, 2004, as a component in the observance of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial. My contributions to this effort benefited from 20 years of personal and professional association with the Osage community. The majority of this work consisted of collaborative projects designed to address the community’s agenda to document and perpetuate selected aspects of their history, traditional culture and language.

My research activity over the past year has continued to examine the expressive culture of the Peyote Religion and its associated Native American Church. In 1999, I curated the exhibition “Symbols of Faith and Belief” that recently completed a national tour with a venue at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. The Navajo Nation represents the largest community of Peyotists in the United States with an estimated membership of 130,000. The quantity and quality of contemporary visual and musical works that are emerging from Navajo communities represent one of the greatest aesthetic movements among Native Americans in the past century.

I am currently working on a long term project with artists from Navajo communities in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah to examine the relationship between sacred and secular arts as they relate to Navajo Peyotism. A fieldwork session this past summer provided me the opportunity to conduct a series of interviews with artists working in traditional media to produce the ritual instruments used in religious ceremonies. Selected aspects of this research will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory in Chicago this October.

2004 Native American Pow Wow at Chucalissa
Photo by Dan Swan

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Charles Williams, Associate Professor & Director,
Tennessee Alcohol and Drug Prevention Outcome Longitudinal Evaluation (TADPOLE)

I continue to have an active teaching, research related, and community services schedule. During the summer of 2004, I taught a course in the Making Advance Plans for School (MAPS) Program sponsored by the University’s Department of Physics. Designed for high school students, the course was entitled, “Anthropology of Hip-Hop Culture.” In addition, during the summer months, I directed University students Kristen Abart and Tonja Lewis in independent study courses. Also, along with Dr. Mohamed Kanu, I served as a faculty advisor for Chanika Mitchell of James Madison University. She was participating in University of Tennessee at Memphis McNair Program.

Currently, for the fall 2004, I am teaching one of the Anthropology Department’s diaspora courses entitled: “Africa’s New World Communities.” In the spring of 2005, I plan to teach a course for the University College’s Master’s of Liberal Studies entitled: “Diaspora, Displacement and Culture: Understanding Contemporary Patterns in Human Mobility and Transnational Processes in the Post-Modern World.”

I continue my grants-funded research activities with the Tennessee Department of Health, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, the Office of Minority Health, and the Division of HIV and STDs. Given my research on substance abuse in Tennessee, I have been invited to become a research associate of the University of Memphis’ Tennessee Center for Addiction Research (TCAR). TCAR is an alliance of researchers who share an interest in a broad array of physiological and behavior addictions. Its members represent a range of scholarly disciplines, research methods and addiction questions.

Other research-related and community services activities in which I have been involved in recent months are as follows: Along with Mr. Lawrence Mellion, Director of the Office of Prevention Services, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, I represented the Department of Health in the State of Tennessee’s application for SAMHSA/CSAP’s State Strategic Prevention Framework/State Incentive Grant in Chicago, Illinois. I attended the National Minority Health Leadership Meeting in Washington, D.C., July 18-21, 2004. My colleagues, Drs. Jebose Okwumabua, Seok Wong, and Mohamed Kanu of the University of Memphis Alcohol and Drug Prevention Research Center (ADPRC) and I conducted the annual Research and Evaluation Forum at the 9th Annual Health Summit of Minority Communities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, August 25-27, 2004.

 I also appeared on Nashville’s Channel 5 News station’s Community Service Program and WQQK-92Q’s “What’s Up With the 411” discussing the new Stroke Prevention Initiative sponsored by Tennessee’s Office of Health Disparity Elimination, on September 11 and 12, 2004. Finally, I presented a poster session entitled: “Tennessee’s Asset Building: The Annual Health Summit, Research and Evaluation Forum,” and the “Your Health Is In Your Hands Initiative” at the Faces of a Healthy Future – National Conference to End Health Disparities—Winston-Salem, North Carolina, September 27-29, 2004.

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Thomas Collins, Professor Emeritus

I continue to enjoy my retirement status filling my time with reading, travel, T’ai Chi, walks at Shelby Farms, and spending time with friends. Each weekday morning I spend in my studio sketching or working with oil paint. It is said that one has to put at least a 100 miles of canvas behind you to become an effective artist. I still have another 90 miles to go. I specialize in landscapes. Since leaving the department, Marcia and I have traveled extensively in Italy and frequently visit New York City. ^top

A Big Thank You to Evell Ballard, Our Secretary and a Warm Welcome to Paulette Wilkerson our New Assistant to the Chair

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News from Some of Our Graduate Students

Beth Deblanc. I am from Lafayette, Louisiana. I graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in May. My interests include health, nutrition, and women's studies.

James Ewing. I’m a first year graduate in the Medical Anthropology track. I graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in August of 2003 with a B.A. in Anthropology. In 2000 I was a field technician at an excavation in Arrow Rock, MO, a post-Civil War township founded by African Americans. In 2002 I was a lab technician on an excavation in Old North St. Louis, which traced the economic and social interactions of African-Americans and Germans in this community.

Sarah Frith. I am a 2nd year Medical Anthropology student. My interests include international health policy, issues of access for Hispanic immigrants in the United States, and access to various cancer screening programs. I spent the summer in Uganda working on issues of perceptions of insurance through the MIRT program (funded through National Institutes of Health). I’m HOPEFULLY going on for a Ph.D. in Health Policy.

Sarah Frith and Melina Magsumbol at MSAPA’s Applied Medical Anthropology Conference, 2004
Photo by Lindsay Wetmore

Stephanie Gann. I graduated in May 2004 from Mississippi State University with a B.A. in Sociology and a certificate in Criminal Justice and Corrections. I am currently studying Medical and Urban Anthropology at the University of Memphis. As an undergraduate, I did research on voluntary associations. I am currently interested in perceptions of crime, effects of crime, and the effects of fine arts in the urban community.

Elizabeth Jacob. I am getting my Master’s in Urban Anthropology (possibly medical too) with a focus on nonprofit management. I attended the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and spent summers working on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana. I have interned with "Cultural Survival" in Cambridge, Mass, and with "Handmade in America" in NC. I spent most of last year traveling in central America and working as a language school director in a Mayan village. In the future, I aim to evaluate nonprofits’ programs. My research interests include immigrant community empowerment and fertility control.

Kyle Olin. I’m a first-year graduate student in the Medical Anthropology program at The University of Memphis. I graduated from Ball State University in May with a B.A. in Anthropology. My primary areas of interest are public health and substance abuse -- which I am exploring as a G.A. for Dr. Williams in the TADPOLE program. I was very active in the anthropology club at Ball State and am anxious to participate here. Over the course of this semester I hope to develop a practicum, but for now, I’m still working on narrowing down my interests.

Rebecca Puckett. I’m a first-year graduate student here in the Urban Anthropology program. After a brief stint at Bowling Green State University in Ohio where I studied Paleobiology, I graduated from Northern Illinois University this past May with a B.A. in Anthropology and a minor in French. My interests are in folklore, the environment, conservation, and immigrant populations, all of which I hope to craft into a practicum to complete this summer. Once I earn my M.A. I hope to return to the Chicago area where I can apply my newfound knowledge and experience to problems close to home.

Lindsay Wetmore. I graduated from Appalachian State University in 1999 and began working for Planned Parenthood of Greater N.C. After a few years in non-profit, I took a public health research position at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The best career move I have made so far was coming to UM in 2003. Since I have been in the Medical Anthropology track, I have had a number of great opportunities to work in the greater Memphis community. I spent the summer working for UT Health Sciences Center in Preventive Medicine and the Center on Health Disparities. I was able to work as a Senior Research Assistant on a number of grants over a five-month period. I have also recently taken a consultant position with the Matre Group, a local firm working on health disparities both nationally and internationally. I look forward now to passing comps, graduating and taking on the next big thing.

Amy Williams. I am currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Urban Anthropology at the University of Memphis. I received my B.A. in Business Administration from Rhodes College in 2003. I am currently working with the Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action under the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy. I am involved in Problem Properties Audits for HCD Level 1 Neighborhoods, and am working on a pilot project in Orange Mound. ^top

Dr. Linda Bennett presented the Summer 2003 Commencement Address. The following is a shortened version of her thoughtful and moving speech. For a full version, please contact Dr. Bennett at lbennett@memphis.edu

Summer Commencement Address University of Memphis, August 17, 2003
by Linda A. Bennett

Good afternoon. It is an extraordinary honor to have the opportunity to speak to you graduating students, your family members and friends, and my colleagues at the University of Memphis.

Having participated in many commencements, some when I was graduating myself, and many as a faculty member, I know what is no doubt on your mind. You are really hoping I don’t talk too long. Prior commencement speakers have told me that probably the number one key to success in giving a graduation talk is to keep it short, preferably within 10 minutes. Well, let’s see how I do today.

Anthropologists are acutely aware of the significance of ritual in all cultures. Rituals are essential for meaningful transitions in life. You may not realize it yet, but one of the most important rites of passage in your lifetime is today’s commencement. Why do human beings gravitate toward and embrace rituals? For one thing, rituals illuminate the value we place on repeatedly carrying out particular activities. For example, consider the hundreds of study sessions and assignments you have completed over years at the University, always keeping in mind your long-term goal: graduation.

Furthermore, consider the symbols of rituals—such as the impressive academic garb we wear today, our processing in to stately music, your walking across the stage to receive your diploma, even all the speeches, the beautiful banners that fly before you that signify the unique qualities of each college, and most importantly, the presence of your family members and friends. Such symbols ensure your recollection well into the future of the tremendous significance of today’s celebration in your honor. I still recall my Ph.D. graduation from American University close to 30 years ago with highly specific images and strong positive emotional feelings.

Yes, a university education is first and foremost an intellectual challenge, an academic experience, and a scholarly accomplishment. But it is much more than that. It is also an emotional venture. You develop and fine-tune new values and novel understandings of the world around you. This occurs through your interaction in the university culture, and members of the wider community. The ritual of graduation gives authority and depth to the emotional meaning of You might rightfully ask --as I have asked myself in developing this talk -- what gives me the privilege to speak with you today and what might I say that could have meaning for you at this critical juncture in your lives? What knowledge and understanding can I draw upon that might provide some inspiration as you embark on your futures?

As an applied anthropologist who has been privileged to carry out research projects in both the United Sates and abroad, especially in former Yugoslavia, I can strongly underscore the main message your family and friends have conveyed to you while you have studied at the University of Memphis. Being educated does matter.

One of the miracles of education is the opportunity it provides to discover our current and potential places in the world and our aspirations for carving out our own special niche. This begins, of course, in elementary school, even earlier. As educators, we aim to build upon, not stymie, the natural curiosity and optimism of young children as they look into their future and try to understand who they are.

Over the past three decades, one of the important lessons I have learned from fieldwork in former Yugoslavia is that no matter what class background of a family, their children are expected and are strongly urged to become educated as much as possible. Their “job” is really to go to school and to prepare for a place in adult society. Does this sound familiar?

I submit that our global society evidences this commonality: education is the primary avenue for advancement socially and economically for each generation. While being educated is critical for survival and advancement, it is not enough. And that fact may pose the biggest challenge for you today as you are graduated. No longer can university graduates be assured that a specific occupational place will be available for them based upon their academic credentials and job experience. It is essential for graduates to also demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit and a highly flexible attitude as you face continuing uncertainties and hard decisions. We have all heard that graduates today will probably make innumerable occupational changes over their careers, sometimes amid very different work arenas.

As you graduate today, you realize that you will be facing many difficult choices as you decide upon your futures. In times of uncertainty we have a tendency to look for the more secure, the more familiar direction. Let me urge you to at least consider more adventuresome, possibly less secure, worthwhile prospects.

Drawing from the wisdom of Robert Frost, please seriously consider taking the “less traveled roads” as you make hard decisions about your futures. ^top

Public Lecture on U.S. And Mexico Issues of Globalization by Jane Henrici

Jane Henrici and Melissa Checker, assistant professors in the Department of Anthropology, together won University of Memphis Public Service Funding in fall 2003. The award helped to support a public lecture at the University Center entitled “New Perspectives from Mexico in the Debate on Labor and Environmental Standards and Trade.” Huberto Juárez Nuñez, Ph.D., Professor of Economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Puebla and Josefina Hernandez Ponce, a leader in the Independent Union of MexMode Company Workers in Puebla, Mexico were the featured speakers. The lecture was part of a series of local, statewide and national events organized by the Tennessee Economic Renewal Network (formerly known as the Tennessee Industrial Renewal Network). While in Memphis, Juárez and Hernandez Ponce also spoke at LeMoyne-Owen College and Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Orange Mound, taped a Public Access Channel television show for the Sierra Club, and held a press conference at Auction Square downtown. Anthropology graduate student Julie Travis Rogers helped to organize the lecture tour as one of the Board of Directors of TERN; she also assisted Drs. Henrici and Checker in arranging the public lecture on the University of Memphis campus.

Josefina Hernandez Ponce
Photo by Melissa Checker

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Collaborative Efforts by Jane Henrici

In an ongoing effort to develop graduate student skills and education on issues of globalization and transnational processes, several initiatives are taking place between the Department of Anthropology and the International Masters of Business Administration Program. I am on the Advisory Board for the program, and the IMBA program, under the leadership of Wang Professor and Director Ben L. Kedia, has assigned Brigitte Guimond to assist me with course development of ANTH 4414-6414 “Anthropology and Transnational Processes.” ^top

The 2004 Annual Charles H. McNutt Lecture Series in Anthropology was pleased to present Drs. Louis Binford and Kenneth Sassman on April 19 & 2, 2004

Dr. Louis Binford (Photo courtesy of Dr. Binford)
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COPAA News by Linda Bennett

The Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology (COPAA) Programs held its fifth annual meeting at the 2004 SfAA meetings in Dallas. Initially founded at a meeting in Memphis in 2000, the COPAA’s mission is to collectively advance the education and training of students, faculty, and practitioners in applied anthropology. The Department of Anthropology at the University of Memphis is one of twenty-two departmental members of the organization. Departments with doctoral, master’s, or undergraduate programs having a firm commitment to educating students in applied anthropology are considered for membership. The website for the Consortium (www.copaa.info) is now located at the University of North Texas. For more information, please contact Linda Bennett, COPAA chair, at lbennett@memphis.edu.

Participants at the 2003 MSAPA Medical Conference
Photo by Lindsay Wetmore

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University Of Memphis at the 2003 SfAAs

Linda Bennett chaired and participated in “Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application and Advocacy.”  Satish Kedia also participated on this panel. She also chaired “Structural Trends in Anthropology Departments and Programs: Expansion and Contraction.” She was a discussant at “Under the Influence: The Sobering Impact of Research on Practice.”

Mary Campbell presented a poster with Emily Emigh entitled “Cultural Competency in Healthcare: Bilingual Signage and Written Materials.”

Melissa Checker presented “Libel, Lawsuits and Liability: The Legal Limits of Advocacy.” She also presented, “Pitfalls on the Way to Bridging the Digital Divide: Lessons from the South” with Jon Burchfield and was a discussant for “Intersections of Risk and Culture in Health and Environment.”

Ruthbeth Finerman chaired “Strangers in a Strange Land: Health-Related Challenges of Recent Latino Immigrants.” She was also a discussant in “Addressing Disparities in Healthcare: A Discourse on Policy Plans and Findings Regarding Advocacy and Applications at the State and National Levels.”

Jane Henrici chaired and participated in “Creating Connections: Learning Advocacy in Low-Income Communities” with Melissa Checker.

Satish Kedia chaired “Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application and Advocacy Part I and Part II.” He participated in “Anthropology and Reproductive Health” with Jamilla Batts. He also participated in “Complex Research Designs in Medical Anthropology.” He presented a poster “Pesticide Use and Harm Reduction: Health Beliefs among Filipino Rice Farmers” with Melina Magsumbol. He also participated in “Drug and Alcohol Use and Abuse in the U.S.” with Sarah Frith.

 Melina Magsumbol’s Award Winning Poster -- Congratulations 

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SfAA News by Linda Bennett

Faculty and students in the Department of Anthropology had a very visible presence at the annual meetings of the Society for Applied Anthropology. The SfAA meetings continue to be an excellent venue for departmental members to interact with colleagues and other students from applied programs throughout the country and internationally. The Dallas meetings were lively and enjoyable. The 2005 meetings will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 5-10. ^top

SfAA Student Committee Report by Melina Magsumbol

The SfAA Student Committee (SfAA SC) strives towards stronger student representation and visibility within the Society. For the past few months, we have been preparing for the 2005 SfAA Annual Meetings that will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 5-10, 2005. We organize sessions and activities during the annual meetings as a service to student members as well as recognition of their presence and contributions to the Society as a whole. In addition to this, we also fulfill specific annual goals.

For 2004-2005, the SfAA SC has agreed on the following: 1) retain student memberships; 2) promote and assist with SfAA student awards; 3) outreach to new schools and students; 4) use our new web presence to serve early and advanced students; and 5) establish continuity in the student committee. We are encouraging all students to visit our webpage at www.sfaa.net/committees/students.html and to take part in active discussions through the student forum page at www.sfaa.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi.    

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Chucalissa News by Dan Swan

The process to redevelop the Chucalissa Archaeological site and the C.H. Nash Museum site will begin this spring with the removal of some of the reconstructed houses that are beyond repair and renovation. We will also install a series of interpretive panels in the mound group area to provide visitors with information on Mississippian culture, the history of the site and its scientific investigation. Funding from the City of Memphis will support the installation of a data projection system in the auditorium that will provide a new audio-video presentation for visitors and facilitate expanded use of the auditorium for meetings, seminars and classes.

Over the next year we will undertake a number of projects to improve and expand the educational program of the museum. Chucalissa will offer a summer program for elementary school students that will incorporate hands-on activities and a special tour experience. We are also working to explore new partnerships with a diverse set of academic departments, centers and colleges at the University of Memphis as a foundation for the development of new and exciting opportunities for faculty and student research at Chucalissa. Other important activities in the coming months will include planning for the complete reinstallation of the exhibitions in the C.H. Nash Museum, development of a docent program for school tours, and evaluation of our community outreach initiatives. An important aspect of our work this year will be the development of a master plan for future enhancement of the site and its associated programs.

Finally, we would like to remind faculty, students and staff that they receive free admission to the museum as a benefit of their employment or student registration with the University of Memphis. Your University identification card is your ticket for admission!

Demolition of the Chief’s house, 2004
Photo by Dan Swan

Check out the Chucalissa website: www.chucalissa.org. ^top

Anthropology Club News by Crystal Ton and Melissa Checker

The Anthropology Club had a busy year. We registered as an official campus club and then dove into the year with community service and social events. In the fall, we sponsored a trip to see “Wild Apes,” a film about Jane Goodall at the Pink Palace. In the spring, we hosted a graduate school/ careers fair. Current graduate students informed undergraduates about the applied anthropology M.A. program and offered relevant advice about their experiences in school. In the careers section, a number of alumni (including Nancy Liebbe, Kim Rogers, Andrew Buchner, Charlotte Malone, Ron Brister, Bridget Ciaramitaro, Linda Nichols, and Mairi Albertson) spoke about how a graduate degree in Applied Anthropology helped them achieve their professional goals. The Club also sponsored a brown bag luncheon with Dr. Lewis Binford and a neighborhood clean up in the area of Cleveland and Jefferson. When the Guerrilla Girls came to the U of M campus to perform, we provided voter registration cards to anyone interested. Finally, at the end of the year, we held a party at Gills to celebrate and relieve some stress!

Voter Registration at the Guerrilla Girls Performance
Photo by Spencer Chrifield

This coming year, we will host regular faculty colloquia, a t-shirt contest and other social and community service events. Please join us!

2003 Officers

Crystal Ton, President; Samantha Gibbs, Vice President; Lindsay Wetmore, Secretary; Sarah Frith, Treasurer; Jon Burchfield, Service Coordinator; Todd McCurdy/ Robbie Trumpis, Social Events Coordinator.

2004 Officers

Crystal Ton, President; Bridgette Collier, Secretary; Sarah Frith, Treasurer; Marla Robertson, Service Coordinator; William Hanley, Social Events Coordinator. ^top

Faculty Publications (In Press & Published)

Checker, Melissa.

In Press. Polluted Promises: Environmental Racism, and the Struggle for Social Justice in a Southern Town. New York: New York University Press.

2004. ‘We All Have Identity at the Table’: Negotiating Difference in a Southern African American Environmental Justice Network. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 11(2).

Finerman, Ruthbeth

2004. Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology (Advisory Board and Contributor; M. and C. Ember, Editors). New Haven: Yale University Press.

2004. “Feature Article: Saraguro Health.” In Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology. M. & C. Ember, eds. Volume 2, pp. 937-947. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Henrici, Jane

In Press. Health Care for the Poor with Ronald Angel and Laura Lein, Cambridge University Press.

Hyland, Stanley

2004. “Evaluation Anthropology in Community Development/Building.” In Evaluation Anthropology. Mary Battle, ed. National Association of Practicing Anthropologists Bulletin Number 24. Pages 19 (with Robert Brimhall).

2004. Outcomes, Community Capacity Building and Partnership Growth: The Etiology of a Successful COPC. Final report. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (with David Cox).

2004. HOPE VI College Park Final Report. Memphis Housing Authority (with Phyliss Betts, T. Buchanan, Robert Brimhall, Vanessa Spearman, and Cynthia Sadler).

2004. UPTOWN Neighborhood Resource Directory. Memphis Housing Authority (with Cyntihia Sadler and Amy Williams).

Kedia, Satish

2004. “Gahrwali (Ethnomedical Systems),” In Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology: Health and Illness in the World’s Cultures., HRAF. Yale University: Kluwer/Plenum Publisher. Volume 2, pp. 664-672.

2004. “Substance Abuse Treatment Effectiveness in Tennessee: 2002-2003 Statewide Treatment Outcome Evaluation,” Tennessee Outcomes for Alcohol and Drug Services, The University of Memphis.

2004. “Theoretical Trends in Post-Independence Ethnographies of India.” In Emerging Social Science Concerns. Surendra Gupta, ed. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company (with Giri Raj Gupta).

2004. “Changing Food Production Strategies among Garhwali Resettlers in the Himalayas.” Ecology of Food and Nutrition: An International Journal, vol 43 (3).

2004. “Tennessee ADAT-DUI Outcome Evaluation 2002-2003,” Tennessee Outcomes for Alcohol and Drug Services, The University of Memphis.

2004. “Substance Abuse Patterns in Tennessee from 1998 to 2002.” SAT Report, Vol. 1, no. 1, The University of Memphis.

Swan, Daniel

2003. “Beading Lakota Style.” Gilcrease Journal 11 (2): 32-46.

2004. Treasures of Gilcrease, revised and expanded edition. Tulsa: Thomas Gilcrease Museum Association (with Anne Morand, Sarah Erwin and Kevin Smith).

2003. Osage Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press (with Garrick Bailey).

Williams, Charles

2004. “Alcohol and Drug Prevention Research Center-Tennessee Alcohol and Drug Prevention Outcome Longitudinal Evaluation Annual Report of Outcomes, Fiscal 2003/04” (with J. Okwumabua, S. P. Wong, and D. Fu).

2004. “ Alcohol and Drug Prevention Research Center-Tennessee Alcohol and Drug Prevention Outcome Longitudinal Evaluation Annual Reports to Agencies, Fiscal 2003/04” (with J. Okwumabua, S. P. Wong, and D. Fu).

2004. “Alcohol and Drug Prevention Research Center- Office of Minority Health Annual Report of Outcomes: Fiscal 2003/04” (with J. Okwumabua, S. P. Wong, and D. Fu). Office of Minority Health, Tennessee Department of Health.

2004. “Alcohol and Drug Prevention Research Center- Office of Minority Health Annual Reports to Agencies, Fiscal 2003/04” (with J. Okwumabua, S. P. Wong, and D. Fu). Office of Minority Health, Tennessee Department of Health.

2004. Alcohol and Drug Prevention Research Center-Tennessee HIV/STD Prevention Evaluation Study 2003. (with M. Kanu, and D. Fu). Division of HIV/AIDS and STDs, Tennessee Department of Health. ^top

2003-2004 Faculty Presentations

Checker, Melissa.

2004. “Environmental Racism and Social Justice in a Southern Town.” Haverford College Invited Lecture.

2004. “Environmental Justice and Participatory Research.” Integrating Ethics into Environmental Education Faculty Development Workshop, Carnegie Council.

2003. “`But I Know It’s True’: Bridging Gaps Between Policy, Practice and Perception.” XV International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.

Finerman, Ruthbeth.

2003. “Curers, Mothers and edicine: A Journey in Applied Medical Anthropology.” Ball State University Anthropology Invited Speakers Series.

2003. “Gender Discrimination and Racial Politics in Cross-Culturally Comparative Perspective.” Oxford University Round Table.

2003. “Human Rights and Environmental Health.” Oxford University Round Table.

Henrici, Jane

2004. “Gender and Trade.” Governor’s School of Tennessee International Studies Plenary Session, University of Memphis.

2004. “NAFTA and Women.” Mid-South Peace and Justice Center Public Lecture, University of Memphis.

Hyland, Stanley

2004. “Evaluating Partnerships: The Importance of Strategic Evaluation.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development University Partnerships 10th Anniversary Conference invited presentation (with David Cox).

2004. “Transforming the University through Community Partnerships or the Engaged University: Passing Trend of Paradigm Shift.” National Association of School of Public Affairs and Administration. Conference. (with Dorothy Norris -Tirrel).

2004. “Integrating Service Learning into the Research and Community Agenda.” American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting (with Amy Williams).

Kedia, Satish.

2004. “Performance-Based Evaluation of Substance Abuse Treatment Effectiveness in Tennessee.” Addiction Medicine Grand Rounds, The Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

2003. “Health, Nutrition, and Well-being: Resettlement Experiences and Policy Implications.” Symposium on Involuntary Displacement and Sustainable Livelihood Restoration: Good Practices & Learning from Mistakes, at the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.

Williams, Charles.

2004. “Tennessee Asset Building: The Annual Health Summit, Research and Evaluation Forum, and the Your Health Is In Your Hands (YHIYH) Initiative,” Faces of a Healthy Future: National Conference to End Health Disparities, (with S. Williams, E. Williams, R. Jackman, and D. Allen). ^top

Congratulations to Dr. Satish Kedia, who won the 2003 University of Memphis College of Arts and Sciences Early Research Career Award for demonstrating outstanding potential and having made substantial research contributions at this stage in his career.

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Margaret Craddock Wins CAS Distinguished Alumni Award by Rebecca Puckett

The Department of Anthropology would like to congratulate alumna Margaret Craddock on earning the Distinguished Alumni Award. Craddock was honored at a gala on June 12, 2004 honoring five individuals for their outstanding service to the University and the community. Craddock received her M.A. in Urban Anthropology from this department in 1983, going on to earn a law degree from The University of Memphis in 1988. Since 1997 she has been executive director of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association, a service organization providing food for the hungry, offering emergency assistance with utility bills, helping needy teens find jobs, and acting as a staunch advocate for the elderly. Also on her impressive list of achievements is the establishment of Festival Place, an organization which helps homeless families achieve independence through life skills and job training, as well as transitional housing. In addition to this award Craddock earned the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumna Award in 2001 ^top

Melanie Jackson Honored At CAS Alumni Event by Rebecca Puckett

Melanie Jackson graduated from The University of Memphis on May 1, overcoming enormous odds. At the age of two she entered state custody, in a foster care home. As she grew up Melanie constantly heard that foster children could not succeed; but, she wanted to prove them wrong.

At the University of Memphis she studied anthropology, graduating from the program with a B.A. Melanie’s childhood may have presented barriers to her success but she has taken them in stride, achieving her goals while still striving towards the future. This fall she entered graduate school at DePaul University where she will earn a master’s degree in social work. She was honored at the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Event on September 23, 2004 at The Racquet Club. CEO of Youth Villages, Patrick Lawler, who introduced Melanie as a model of Youth Villages work and a model Alumnus of the University of Memphis, was also recognized for his outstanding achievements. ^top

The Anthropology Department Extends A Big Thank You To Our Student Workers! ^top

Where Are They Now?

Here’s what some of our recent graduates are up to these days...

Jamilla Batts is enrolled in Emory University’s nursing program.

Robert Brimhall is a Planning Analyst for the Division of Housing and Community Development. He is also the proud father of Colin Elgin Colter-Brimhall.

Jon Burchfield is a Program Assistant at New Leaders for New Schools Memphis.

Mary Campbell is working on her Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Alabama, with Bill Dressler.

Emily Emigh is working with Wright Medical Technology as a clinical researcher.

Kristin Fox works with Sacred Heart Church doing outreach for the Hispanic Community here in Memphis.

Joseph B. M. Kamara is working on his M.A. in the political science department here at the University of Memphis.

Melina S. Magsumbol is a senior research assistant at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Department of Preventative Medicine.

Kim Rivers is working with Nancy Liebbe as a research officer at the Med.

Cynthia Sadler is working as an independent consultant in the Uptown Resource Center.

Tanchia Terry is enrolled in a Master’s of Public Health program at the University of St. Louis.

KUDOS TO OUR ANTHROPOLOGY GRADUATES!

Master’s Degree Graduates

Eva Arbones, Jamilla Batts, Robert Brimhall, Jon Burchfield, Mary Campbell, Emily Emigh, Kristen Fox, Joseph Kamara, Melina Magsumbol, Todd McCurdy, Kimberly Rivers, Julie Rogers, Cynthia Sadler, Tanchica Terry

Bachelor’s Degree Graduates

December ‘03

Aaron Elizabeth Daniel,William Edwin DeVore, Jefferson Howell Foreman, Lauren Ann Hesse, Adam S. Malkin, Eric D. Robertson, Lisa Anne Sentiff, Asiyah Sundiata

Spring ‘04

Elizabeth Catherine Hammons, Melanie L. Jackson, Alison Diana Jones, Jessica E. Kloville, C. Nawara, Stasa Plecas, Stephanie Michelle Strickland, Amber Marie Thomas, Rachel Leah Woodruff ^top

The Anthropology Department fondly remembers Zachary J. Faye (1979 - 2004)

A bold and beloved student, father, and friend.

"The emphasis on natural selection is a function of the drive to find a comforting explanation for reality that eliminates plurality...an avoidance of our inherent fear of randomness" -- Zachary J. Faye, 2003 ^top

Department of Anthropology Gift Fund
The University of Memphis

Dear Alumni and Friends of the Department,

The Department of Anthropology Gift Fund is depleting fast. Please make a charitable tax-free contribution to this account. The check should be made payable to Department of Anthropology Gift Fund and mailed to the Department address c/o Ms. Paulette Wilkerson. Your support and generosity is much appreciated. Thank you.

—Faculty, Staff, and Students of the Department

The University of Memphis

316 Manning Hall

Memphis, TN 38152

901-678-2080 / 901-678-2069 (fax)

http://anthropology.memphis.edu ^top

Special thanks to Julie Rogers for helping to create this newsletter  ^top