Month: April 2018

ANT 385: Anthropology & Performance culminates in Ethnographic Theater Showcase

ANT 385: Anthropology & Performance culminates in Ethnographic Theater Showcase

What does the research-to-stage process look like?  And why does it matter?  Last week the students in Prof. Debra Vidali’s “Anthropology & Performance” class presented a dynamic showcase of ethnographic theater projects, based on original research.   Students transformed over 100 hours of research interviews and extensive participant-observation research into verbatim documentary theater performances that examined issues of well-being, diversity, belonging, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and birth control.  The vivid portrayals brought to light issues and voices that are less well understood and represented, and sparked a lively audience discussion about future applications and interventions.

ShowcaseCollage

Klamath Henry (19C) Produces Website On The Resiliency of the Three Sisters Crop

Klamath Henry (19C) Produces Website On The Resiliency of the Three Sisters Crop

Klamath Henry, a junior anthropology major (B.A.), published a website in the fall of 2017 on her ANT497R research, advised by Dr. Debra Vidali. This research looks at the resiliency of the Iroquois Three Sisters food system and its impact on the Tuscarora Indian community. The website showcased findings in her research, and includes self produced poetry, photography, resources, quotations and a short video.

“The resiliency of North American Indigenous food groups through forced assimilation and colonization is incredible. I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to take research credit to investigate my tribe’s traditional ways of producing food, and produce a website to showcase my findings for both my tribal community and the greater public. It is important that universities take the time to decolonize their ways of thinking about research, because in doing so, they allow for the erased voices of Indigenous peoples to be heard,” says Henry.