Corr, Rachel

As a tangible linkage to the past, archaeological material culture plays a vital role in
constructing contemporary identities. In Ecuador, archaeology focused on the state societies of
the Andean highlands has long informed a hill-centric national narrative about the indigenous
past, leaving coastal peoples on the margins. Conversely, more recent efforts at investigating
overlooked coastal sites have paralleled the process of coastal communities publically reclaiming
their indigenous status. This thesis investigates the historical trends in the field of Andean
archaeology which have contributed to a popular conception of highland indigeneity in Ecuador
that excludes coastal peoples. However, coastal peoples’ recent expressions of indigeneity have
reciprocally drawn from and shaped the work of contemporary archaeologists working in coastal
sites, articulating a vision of indigenous ethnicity rooted in a living relationship to the
archaeological record which subverts predominant highland centric narratives.

This thesis assesses the benefits of disclosing the availability of complementary and alternative treatments in clinical practice. The history, current trends, and an overview of the current research on complementary and alternative medicine is outlined to delineate types of treatments that should be disclosed as alternative therapies. The discussion also incorporates an overview of medical paternalism to explain how the doctrines of patient autonomy and informed consent relate to the discussion. Disclosure of complementary and alternative treatments (CAM) promotes patient autonomy, more open communication regarding the use of CAM, can have preventative, palliative, or curative effects, and results in a more trusting patient-physician relationship. This thesis suggests that any complementary and alternative treatment with at least some scientific backing that does not pose any serious health or safety risks should be disclosed to the patient as an alternative or additional treatment option.

Female sterilization is a medical procedure used to prevent pregnancy. Historically, women from disadvantaged socio-ethnic backgrounds in the United States have been sterilized at rates disproportionate to their numbers. For instance, a recent resurgence of forced sterilizations of migrant women has come to light. I will discuss how the concepts of fit vs. unfit that informed early anthropological theories and scientific racism describe why women in particular are targeted for reproductive control. Though these theories are now thoroughly discredited in anthropology, their lasting impacts still carry weight in modern-day policymaking. Current migrant laws and reproductive control of women, continue to allow these incidents to occur in the present day.

The history of anthropology cannot be separated from the museum. In the early days of anthropology as a developing discipline, scholars were educated and conducted research within anthropological museums. However, as new theories replaced old ones, anthropologists began to move away from teaching in the museum to teaching in the university. To better understand the relationship between museums and anthropology, I begin with a historical overview of the connections linking the museum and anthropology. I then turn to the present day, where I analyze the websites of three anthropological museums to show that although museums no longer are the primary spaces to educate anthropologists, they serve an important role in educating the public. I conclude with suggestions for anthropological museums in moving forward with public education.

Incest is known in Anthropology as a social construct that is defined as the prohibition of sex or marriage between certain genetic or affinal relatives. It was once believed that incest was an instinctually avoided behavior in humans, but that hypothesis is no longer supported. Because incest is a culturally constructed idea, the specific nature of its defining boundaries changes across cultures. To build upon the idea that incest is a cultural construction, I investigated the notion that not only do laws defining incest vary between cultures, but they also show variance within the same society. I showed this by tracing the origins of Anglo-American incest laws from the colonial period to the present, as well as the differences between US state incest laws and how they changed over time.

American mortuary ritual, including either embalming and burial or cremation, has largely gone unchanged since the Civil War. The growing movement of “death positivity” started by mortician Caitlin Doughty has been educating the American public about funeral alternatives that advocates believe are better for survivors of the deceased as well as the environment. I analyze past criticisms that have influenced Doughty to craft the death positive movement’s ideals and discuss these in terms of capitalistic greed as well as death denial culture. I describe the downfalls of the current embalming and cremation practices that the death positive movement opposes. Furthermore, I highlight the eco-friendly and family involvement-based funeral rituals that the death positive community promotes and how these are changing the homogeneity of American funeral rituals. I will demonstrate how the death positive movement is providing ritual change to U.S. funeral rituals, moving past uniformity.

With this thesis, I discuss the idea of domesticity and domestic space as both a goal and a marketable product. I do so by structuring my thesis in two parts. The first part is a literature review in which I critically discuss relevant sources concerning space and place in order to support my discussion of model homes as a marketing tool shaped by ideals of gender, family, and private space. The second part is an ethnographic photo essay and collection of flash ethnographic fiction pieces in which I present visual data collected onsite at Westlake, a new city of south Florida in which a website, sales center, and set of six model homes are the main sources of advertising for the company selling the homes. I also include six pieces of original ethnographic fiction to accompany the visuals of the six houses. I have chosen to do so in order to add a layer of understanding of the houses that is both critical of the materials produced by the company and supplemental to the lack of active material culture within the houses, as they are uninhabited.

The practice of trainhopping has historical roots in the post-Civil War period and during the Great Depression, when large migrations of penniless individuals caught rides on freight cars to find employment or adventure. Trainhopping is still widely practiced, however modern day trainhopping culture has not received appropriate scholarly attention as a specific subculture. To understand the choices and motivations of members of this subculture, I undertook an ethnographic project wherein I interviewed trainhoppers, in addition to analyzing the historical precedent set for contemporary trainhopping practice. Through my research I analyze the drive to live within a state of liminality in relation to society, where an individual is situated between the poles of interaction with predominant society and marginal society. This research will advance our understanding of self-identification with a liminal group within the context of a contemporary subculture.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks all tissues in the body, including internal organs and skin. In my thesis, I examine the health narratives of people living with SLE. Health narratives are introspective autobiographical accounts of illness. I selected internet blogs by three women living with SLE in order to understand how the internet facilitates the synthesis and sharing of these health narratives. Blogs have been utilized by many with chronic illness as a pathway to public forum for both communal celebration of health milestones, as well as commiseration and empathy-seeking. Through the analysis of three blogs by women with SLE, I argue against the previous notion that the formation of health narratives are a promotion of “success stories,” and support the original concept of health narratives as continual “progress stories.”

The neuroscience of addiction primarily focuses on identifying the biochemical factors and neurocircuitry, while anthropology examines the sociocultural components. This thesis will explore the development of the field of neuroanthropology, followed by a discussion of the neurobiology of addiction and cultural models for treatment. I examine the discourse among drug users and recovered addicts as expressed through an online public forum, Quora. I will focus on the ways in which users turn to this social platform for advice on taking drugs, thereby enforcing the habit, but also for accessing recovery narratives as inspiration to quit, instead of turning to medical providers. My analysis of the online discussions will provide a better understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of approaches to addiction. An interdisciplinary, holistic approach to addiction yields more sustainable options for users that they are better able to integrate and adopt as their own.