Anthropology

Students may have noticed that Anthro 342 is not being offered in Fall 2008.  Well, there is good news and bad news.  The bad news is that Anthro 342 will not be offered anymore.  The good news is that now you can take Biol 309: Evolutionary Biology (it has the same prereq of Biol 203), and it will be offered every semester.  It will cover the same content, and Professor Meinhardt, who teaches both classes, works very hard to ensure that the needs of anthropology minors are met.  There will be many human examples, and you should never be asking yourself “why I am taking this, again?”. 

Furthermore, Professor Meinhardt is sensitive to the fears and anxieties that some students have about biology, and he is more than willing to help anthropology students set up study groups and even to meet with them.  We know that you will all find him very easy to work with, and we encourage you to meet with your advisors if you have any questions or concerns.�

Thursday, April 10^th 8 pm (performance at 9pm)

 PHX Club, University Union 

Bryan Thao Worra will read his poetry this week as part of the American Intercultural Center’s Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Festival Celebration.Thao Worra will conduct an hour-long poetry reading at 9 p.m. in the Phoenix Club of the University Union, 2420 Nicolet Drive. The event is free and open to the public.

His first full-length book of poetry, “On the Other Side of the Eye,” was released last year by Sam’s Dot Publishing.  The book covers topics from the ancient kingdom of Lane Xang, to the CIA’s secret wartime activities in Laos during the Vietnam War era, to the cosmos. “It’s like a swimming pool; you can go to the very deep end or have fun splashing around near the edges, with a little something for everyone,” Thao Worra said. Thao Worra’s other work has appeared in more than 70 journals, publications and exhibits. He is currently working on another poetry book and a collection of short, Southeast Asian-American horror stories.  

Thao Worra was born in Vientiane, Laos in January 1973. The adopted son of an American pilot working in Laos at the time, Thao Worra came to the United States months later as an infant.

Our Karen Dalke will be presenting her research at the International Society for AnthroZoology meetings in Toronto, Canada in August.  Give her your congratulations!  Here is the abstract of her poster:

Mustang: Images are Everything

What is a wild horse or mustang? Or, more importantly, what do we imagine it to be? When recounting the history of the wild horse or mustang, it is apparent that its status continues to waiver between a pest to be eradicated and a cultural symbol worthy of protection. How can one animal evoke such passionate and oppositional responses? The wild horse is the same species as its domestic counterpart. However, as a feral animal, it lives in a liminal state between domestic and wild. Vast amounts of data have been collected on the behavior of wild horses, their herd composition, and their impact on the environment. As an anthropologist, I am interested in how culture constructs the mustang and how different social constructions influence behaviors and beliefs about these animals.  The purpose of this ethnographic study was to establish a comprehensive understanding of the diversity of images that exist regarding wild horses and explain how these images are manipulated for specific purposes. The greatest concern when undertaking this ethnographic study was that the wild horse and its many images do not have a specific longitude or latitude. The study was not defined by geography, but by flows of people, goods and information.  The ongoing discussion of whether the mustang should be eradicated or promoted reveals the power of images. Attacking or trying to eliminate the mustang challenges history, the West and the value of freedom. Can one remember the West without a mustang? Do the mountains and desert seem as exotic without wild horses running upon them? Do are hearts race a little faster when we view a commercial in which a mustang snorts alongside the car of the same name?

            From time to time, the blog editors will be offering tips for preparing for grad school, tips for finding and getting into the appropriate program for you as an individual, and tips for succeeding in a graduate program.  For this post, we have elected to explore the topic of finding and getting into grad school.

            Let’s begin by assuming you have completed all of the program requirements for each of your school choices in a more than satisfactory manner.  Let’s also assume you have been following the tried and true advice of gaining experience working with people and showing yourself to be an outstanding member of your community.  Those things are standard for application to any graduate program in any discipline.  You will be competing with the best and brightest students from around the world for that coveted slot at your program of choice.  How will you make yourself standout?  To answer this, remember the focus of anthropology: people!

            To really stand out it is always good to make yourself a real person.  You do not want to compete as an abstract concept described on paper.  You want the faculty at your chosen program to get to know you and what you will offer the program, both as a student and, later, as a working professional alumnus.  The short answer for solving this dilemma of making yourself “real” is personal contact.  It really can be that simple!

            After you have chosen a program, regardless of your personal reasons, you need to spend some time getting to know the faculty of the program.  This is easily accomplished by spending time reading the program web page.  Somewhere on those pages you will generally find contact information for every faculty member and, in many cases, you will find a short biographic description of each of them.  Find out who is doing research in the area you would like to study.  Find out who is the person you would most like to meet.  Checking out the faculty is an important part of finding the best program for you so you should have already finished much of this preliminary work.  It is the people who make a program and, ultimately, it is the people who will shape your feelings about your graduate school experience.  Get to know them as much as you can when you are making your initial decisions.

            Once you have selected the person whom you would most like to be your mentor, start reading their professional publications.  Not only will this help you get excited about the potential of working with them, but it will also help you determine if they really do seem like the person you want as a mentor.  Once you have completed this background research, you are ready to initiate contact.

            Email is a great way to begin.  Send personal notes to each of your selected faculty members explaining your interest in the program in general and your interest in them being your mentor, in specific.  Include some biographical information about yourself as a way of generating their interest in the opportunity to meet you.  There is an important caveat for this introduction email.  Use proper grammar!  Format and write this email as if it is a letter.  Do not use abbreviations or internet code and above all, be respectful.  Begin your email with “Dear Dr. Smith” not “Hey” or “Howdy, John.”  Remember, you are trying to create a favorable impression, not just an impression.

            When you receive a positive response, if it is at all possible, you should arrange a personal visit to the campus.  Ideally, you would like the visit to be on a day and time when your chosen mentor will be available to meet with you.  Be mindful of their schedule.  But, during your visit you also want to meet as many other faculty and staff as you can.  You also want to talk to current students.  They will be able to give you inside information about people and the program that you might not learn otherwise.  If you can’t arrange to physically go to the campus, do not neglect the email and possibly a telephone contact.  Your goal in all of this personal contact is to create an ally for yourself on the admissions committee.  You want someone at the school to be willing to fight for your inclusion into the next incoming class.  If you have made the appropriate impression you will have the ally that you need.  This could even spill over into the area of funding.

            Does all of this really work?  Absolutely!  When applying to graduate programs, the author of this column sent four applications and visited three campuses.  I was accepted into three programs.  At that point, my main concern became funding.  I called my potential mentors at each school and explained my dilemma.  One immediately made an offer of funding and one made a promise of funding but needed to get back to me about the level.  The third politely explained that no incoming graduate students got funding at their program.  So, my choice was narrowed for me.  Of the two making offers, both actually worked to recruit me instead of me feeling that I was begging to get into their program!  Granted, I had other factors working in my favor in the applications but we should not undervalue the personal contact’s role in my application success.  Be someone whom others want to be around and take the opportunity to demonstrate your interest in being mentored by the right person.  These, after all, are the skills of an anthropologist.  Good luck!

Mr. Richie Pless, Menominee & Stockbridge tribe, will be on campus Thursday, April 10 to explain the Traditions of the Pow Wow. He will be at the American Intercultural Center(CL 207) at noon. He will be in the Christie Theatre from 1:00-3:00 pm as well so you have two opportunities to find out what the Pow Wow is all about!! This is the time to ask questions and really understand the how and why of a Pow Wow.

The Fall Schedule of Classes is now visible on the UWGB web page, but there have been some errors with it.  This is what the fall schedule will be: 

Anthro   100-001 Varieties of World Culture         MWF    11:40-12:35      MAC 208        Karen Dalke

Anthro   100-183 Varieties of World Culture         Internet                                 Karen Dalke

Anthro  215-001 Intro to Prehistoric Archaeology    MW     8-9:20 AM       MAC 217        Speth, Janet

Anthro   298    Independent Study               

Anthro   304    Family, Kin and Community       MWF    9:30-10:35 AM    WH 221         Dalke, Karen

Anthro   320    Myth, Ritual, Symbol and Religion MWF    10:35-11:30      MAC 225         White, Jill

Anthro  340     Medical Anthropology            MWF    12:45-1:40 PM    MAC 210        Dalke, Karen

Anthro  497     Internship

Anthro  498     Independent Study

We missed participating, but you can read about the recent rallies in Madison and St. Paul here.  Hmong came together Thursday to call attention to the continuing persecution of those who remained behind in Laos after the U.S. pull-out in 1975.

March 17

Shawano Food and Culture Fest

Time: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Location: Shawano Community Center

One of our own professors is leading a workshop on campus in two weeks on the topic of ethnic conflict.

Thursday, March 27 – 2-3:30 Christie Theatre “Derogatory Terms: Past, Present, and Future”(Speaker: Dr. Jill White and Panel Discussion, Facilitated By Buffy Ruffin)

What makes an outstanding graduate program?  Where should you go to work for an advanced degree?  These are basic questions that can ultimately only be answered by the individual.  For some, research and funding opportunities will be of paramount importance.  Others will be looking to mentor under a particular researcher because of a special interest of theirs.  Other students might be looking for areas of general specialty among the faculty of a program.  Students might even consider it very important to consider location for climate and proximity to other amenities, such as family.  To help our students sort the myriad of opportunities that exist in Anthropology graduate programs, we will occasionally provide profiles of a program.  For the inaugural blog, we thought it would be best to begin with a bonus and profile the two largest programs in the University of Wisconsin system: Madison and Milwaukee.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

            Covering three of the four major subfields of Anthropology, the program at Madison offers research areas in archaeological, biological, and cultural anthropology.  With 22 faculty members in the program and another 9 anthropologists in other programs, a student will likely find a mentor who suits their particular interests. Admission to the program is with the expectation that a student is pursuing a doctorate as students are not admitted for a planned terminal master’s degree.  Students in any of the three subfields will also obtain training in additional degree areas that provide appropriate skill sets for the chosen subfield.  This will help the student to become a better rounded researcher in their discipline.  Coursework culminates with an oral exam administered by a committee of five faculty members, one of whom must be from outside of Anthropology.

            Among the prominent features of the program at Madison is a world-class faculty, easy access to the Wisconsin state archaeology geographic information system, a working relationship with the Center for Climatic Research, well-equipped laboratories in several specialties, and biological and archaeological comparative collections.  In short, facilities at Madison offer all of the necessities for a modern research anthropologist. 

As with any graduate program, funding for students is highly competitive but opportunities for scholarships and other funding beyond federal student aid programs do exist.  Students are encouraged to consult with department personnel for funding guidance.  The deadline for application to the graduate program is Dec. 1^st.  For additional information, you can follow the appropriate links at: http://www.anthropology.wisc.edu/studying.html. 

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

            With 20 graduate studies faculty members, the program at Milwaukee offers graduate areas of concentration in all four of the major subfields of Anthropology.  In addition to a master’s and doctoral degree, Milwaukee Anthropology also has a Certificate in Museum Studies that can be completed in conjugation with the M.S. degree in Anthropology.

            The master’s program is designed to allow students who do not have an undergraduate major in Anthropology to catch up required background courses before completing the degree.  It is also designed around a four-field concept with some area specialization.  This could be a great start for advanced training in Anthropology for the UWGB student in that students will be studying the areas not covered by a minor from our program.  Likewise, the doctoral program at Milwaukee will admit students who have a master’s degree in a discipline other than Anthropology.

            UW-Milwaukee offers field schools in both archaeology and ethnographic research and has laboratory facilities in all major areas of anthropology.  In addition, the Program in Midwestern Archaeology (PIMA) offers ample opportunity for student archaeologists to gain practical experience in cultural resource management (CRM) and public archaeology.  The anthropology program also hosts a regular series of public lectures on anthropological topics.

            For specific funding opportunities and any additional information about a graduate program at UW-Milwaukee, feel free to contact the faculty member in your area of interest.  You can learn more at http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Anthropology/.