From the chair - eDisk - Franklin & Marshall College

FALL 2009Anthropologyat Franklin & Marshall CollegeFall 2009From the chairIt is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the second issue of the Anthropology AlumniNewsletter. Gerhart House is filled with news that I am eager to share with you.Department Expanding While rough economic times have forced somedepartments around the country to retrench, the Department of Anthropology at F&M is growing.We are delighted to announce that we are increasing our faculty from five to six positions. Ourstellar external review demonstrated that the department remains a much relied-upon cornerstoneof undergraduate liberal education at F&M. The review team pointed to our excellence in teachingand research as well as the popularity of our major, as reflected by increasing enrollment pressure.Our request for a new tenure-track line was successful, and we are currently in the processof hiring a second archaeologist for the Fall 2010 semester. To help broaden our curriculum andfurther internationalize the department, we anticipate hiring an archaeologist who works outsideof North America, with a specialty in complex societies. We look forward to introducing our newcolleague to you in the next issue.Travel Grant for Majors The Anthropology Department would verymuch like to develop a new travel grant to support our students interested in summer fieldworkopportunities. Despite our notable dedication to the study of global cultures, we do not currentlyhave a funded summer travel grant. For young scholars, summer travel is often a transformativeexperience and we hope you can help us make a real difference in the educational experience ofour majors by helping to fund this as yet unnamed grant. If we are successful in creating such atravel grant, the recipient would be celebrated at the annual academic awards ceremony each May.Should you be able to help by making a gift, please make checks payable to Franklin & MarshallCollege and mail to: Franklin & Marshall College Advancement, PO Box 3003, Lancaster, PA17604. You can also make a gift online at www.fandm.edu/giving. Be sure to note “AnthropologyTravel Award” in the subject line of your check or in the notes section of the online form.our newest alumniOur community of more than 550 alumni justgot larger with the addition of twenty newAnthropology alumni. Our senior celebrationthis year took place at Annie Bailey’s Irish Puband, given the size of our graduating class, wecommandeered numerous tables, includingthe one pictured below. Commencement wasa festive affair and many members of the classof 2009 are pictured here just moments afterbeing awarded their degree. While our newestalumni are pursuing a variety of post-graduatepathways, many are continuing their educationat fine institutions including the University ofPennsylvania, University of Chicago, Rutgers,Boston University, Saint Joseph’s University,Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and SavannahCollege of Art and Design.50th Anniversary The Department of Anthropology was established in 1963when it left Sociology to form an independent department. While our Golden Anniversary is stilla few years away, I call this important milestone to your attention in the hope that you can planahead and participate in our 50th anniversary celebrations. We hope that see as many of you aspossible back on our beautiful campus.Jim Taggart’s Retirement In 1971, Jim Taggart joined the Department ofAnthropology and has been a pivotal member of the Franklin and Marshall community ever since.For nearly four decades now, Jim has been a driving force behind the Anthropology program andwe have all benefited from his wisdom and insight. Although it is difficult to imagine the Departmentof Anthropology without Jim Taggart, Jim has announced his retirement. He is teachingfull-time this year but his phased retirement plan has him offering only three courses every fall forthe next three years. His last year on campus will be academic year 2012–2013. Please join me inthanking Jim for his dedication to the Department and College.With very best wishes from Gerhart House,Mary Ann LevineTop: One table at theSenior Dinner.Middle: New graduatesgather at the Anthro tentafter 2009 Commencement.BOTTOM: ChristinaSquillante and her festivelydecorated mortarboard

Anthropology at Franklin & Marshall Collegeof Anthropology at the University of Rochester and am busily workingto turn my dissertation into a book.Val Yeager, 1999 Throughout the last ten years, I haveexplored a number of ways of applying my anthropological education,the most notable of which was assisting physicians in a clinicin Gugulethu, South Africa, and documenting the challenges ofadministering antiretrovirals to HIV-positive people in that community.This led me to the field I am currently working in, public health.I recognized the benefit of adding quantitative research skills to myapplied work and am currently a researcher and health policy doctoralstudent at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Schoolof Public Health. I study access to healthcare among the uninsuredand undocumented residents in Alabama, health IT, public healthpreparedness, and other policy issues. I recently won a national essaycontest held by the Naval Postgraduate School and was invited toMonterey, California, to present my proposal of linking poison controland public health for improved disaster communication and response.I am so thankful for my experiences at F&M — clearly it started me ona journey of learning!Jason Shellenhamer, 2001 Since graduation Ihave worked as a professional archaeologist for various firms in Pennsylvania,Maryland, and Washington, D.C. In 2004, I earned my master’sin applied anthropology from the University of Maryland; and forthe last three years, I have been employed by Louis Berger Group inWashington, D.C. Many of my current contracts are with the NationalPark Service, where a major element of the projects include an interpretativeelement for broad audiences. I also currently hold a seat onthe Board of Directors for Archaeology in the Community, a nonprofitthat focuses on bringing archaeology into local communitiesand providing individuals the opportunity to learn about their owncommunity’s history. I live in Annapolis, Maryland with my fiancé,Lisa Kraus, who is an archaeologist with the Maryland State HighwaysAdministration.Brian Estes, 2004 After graduation I spent a year teachingEnglish in Harbin and Shanghai, China. I went on to earn mymasters in anthropology from George Mason University, where Istudied the impact of social media on the US military institution. I’mnow working as a public policy associate and new media guru for theAmerican Anthropological Association, but hope to return to graduateschool to pursue my interests in digital anthropology, informationstudies, and public health. I currently reside in Arlington, Virginia.Alumni Gift gracesgerhart HouseAn image of seven powerful Navajo Holy Persons now stands abovethe main doorway of Gerhart House. These supernatural beings arefound in the contemporary Navajo textile now hanging in the maincorridor, a weaving that was generously donated by Mark Rader ’63.These Holy People are the Yei Bicheii, often associated with wintercuring ceremonies. Holy People provide Navajo people the sustenance,guidance, and protection that is essential for life. Likewise, the art ofNavajo weaving provides weavers and their families material, social,and cosmological sustenance and protection.Many weavers draw inspiration from the cultural and natural environmentsin which they live, and often say that they “weave what theysee.” The rich browns, vibrant greens, and gentle mauves within thisparticular weaving reflect the shades of earth and sky that are oftena part of the Southwestern landscape and the weavers’ world. Navajoweaving continues to be an important source of income for many familiesand is a practice that fortifies kin ties and that weaves generationstogether.The weaver of this particular textile, Maggie Mannie, follows thelong-standing tradition of passing down weaving knowledge and skillsto maternal kin, as both her daughter and granddaughter now alsoweave. Interestingly, weaving has now become a key cultural symbol oflocal identity and plays a prominent role in the presentation of Navajoculture by weavers and community members.Thank you to Mark Rader for this magnificent textile!Jill Ahlberg Yohe earned her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexicofor her work on the social life of weaving in contemporary Navajo life andis currently a Visiting Scholar here in the Department of Anthropology atFranklin & Marshall.Kituhwan UpdateThe Kituhwan is an outlet for Franklin & Marshall’s anthropology students to display their research and criticalthought in pursuit of academic excellence. Recently, the journal became affiliated with the PhiladelphiaAlumni Writers House and joined the college’s other student publications in the Writers House community.The Kituhwan remains the only student run departmental journal on campus. The 2009–2010 issue of the Kituhwanis currently being created and is expected to be released in Spring of 2010.Submitted by Beth Bursick ’10