COURSES
ANTH 7000-003: Collaborative and Public Anthropology
Are you interested in teaching a course like this? I highly encourage it! It is fun to teach, great practical experience for students, and productive for our field to ensure research is accessible and communicated broadly. I am happy to share my syllabus - feel free to email me and request it!
The American Anthropological Association defines “public scholarship” as “that which is in dialogue with non-academic as well as academic audiences, and that is informed by anthropological scholarship and knowledge” (AAA 2017). The organization acknowledges "the value of public forms of communicating, writing and publishing as scholarship. Some of this scholarship involves experimentation and risk-taking or requires rapid responsiveness. Some of this work is crucial in terms of community and public engagement, and in numerous instances it includes scholarship that blurs boundaries between research, teaching, and service" (AAA 2017). This graduate seminar will address "community engagement," introducing the values, history, and contemporary practice of collaborative anthropology as a form of knowledge production and ethnographic practice. And, it will address "public engagement," teaching students how to communicate their research to the communities with whom they work and the broader public, and engaging them in doing so through a series of media assignments in which students can experiment with different media and their affordances, including blogging, podcasting, video, and comic books. Each student completes a 5 minute TED-Style talk about their research, aimed for public sharing. A goal for the course is that students will learn collaborative research design and publish their work in a public venue during or after the course, with mentorship from the instructor.
Some examples of 5min talks from students in the Spring 2020 semester
We had a production studio reserved for the talks, but due to the pandemic the students had to give the talks via video conference. They did great job providing feedback to each other and adjusting to the virtual environment. These 5 minute talks are inspired by the TED format.
The American Anthropological Association defines “public scholarship” as “that which is in dialogue with non-academic as well as academic audiences, and that is informed by anthropological scholarship and knowledge” (AAA 2017). The organization acknowledges "the value of public forms of communicating, writing and publishing as scholarship. Some of this scholarship involves experimentation and risk-taking or requires rapid responsiveness. Some of this work is crucial in terms of community and public engagement, and in numerous instances it includes scholarship that blurs boundaries between research, teaching, and service" (AAA 2017). This graduate seminar will address "community engagement," introducing the values, history, and contemporary practice of collaborative anthropology as a form of knowledge production and ethnographic practice. And, it will address "public engagement," teaching students how to communicate their research to the communities with whom they work and the broader public, and engaging them in doing so through a series of media assignments in which students can experiment with different media and their affordances, including blogging, podcasting, video, and comic books. Each student completes a 5 minute TED-Style talk about their research, aimed for public sharing. A goal for the course is that students will learn collaborative research design and publish their work in a public venue during or after the course, with mentorship from the instructor.
Some examples of 5min talks from students in the Spring 2020 semester
We had a production studio reserved for the talks, but due to the pandemic the students had to give the talks via video conference. They did great job providing feedback to each other and adjusting to the virtual environment. These 5 minute talks are inspired by the TED format.
Carlton Shield Chief Gover, PhD student in Archaeology, talks about combining oral traditions with archaeology, and issues with carbon dating on the Plains. You can also see the Georgiasaurus, inspired by a student in class!
See Carlton Gover Troubling Times 5-4-2020 on Vimeo. Scarlett Engle, PhD student in Cultural Anthropology, created this video for a project website. She takes us to Mesa Verde National Park. We learn about a new collaboration going on to redesign an archaeological museum in the park that seeks to collaborate with the 26 tribes associated with Mesa Verde and honor their connections to this place.
See Scarlett Engle Towards a More Inclusive Mesa Verde National Park 5-5-20 from on Vimeo. |
Melanie Matteliano, MA student in cultural anthropology, explains why small scale farming is a labor of love - and what you can do to help local farmers make ends meet, including advocating for specific changes to the US farm bill, which will be updated in 2023.
See Melanie Matteliano The Good Life 5-5-20 on Vimeo. Paige Edmiston, PhD student in Cultural Anthropology, talks about people with diabetes hacking medical equipment to improve the quality of their lives, and how she came to this research topic.
See Paige Edmiston DIY Pancreas 4-30-20 on Vimeo. |
Some examples of comics from students in the Spring 2020 semester
Carlton Gover created a comic about what drove him to do research about the origins of the Pawnee (a talk with his dad) and how he is bringing archaeology and oral traditions together to answer the question and bring what he learns back to his own community, the Pawnee. Here is an excerpt:
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ANTH 4470/5470, MUSM 5912 Practicum: Collections Research in Cultural Anthropology
Designed as a practicum, this course will introduce students to research and practice in museum anthropology, utilizing our extensive anthropology collections in the CU Museum of Natural History. Students will conduct subject matter and collections research, engage in collaborative methods, and produce narrative stories for exhibit content development. Class time will be spent listening to mini-lectures about contemporary practice and techniques, working with collections items and associated records, providing project status reports, collaborating with team members, and troubleshooting. Students will also create a public display of the outcomes of their research.
Check out the Smithsonian repository for syllabi and lesson plans related to this course and others associated with the Smithsonian Institute in Museum Anthropology.
Check out the Smithsonian repository for syllabi and lesson plans related to this course and others associated with the Smithsonian Institute in Museum Anthropology.
ANTH 7300 Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
This is a project-based, hands-on course. Students will experiment using different qualitative research methods in cultural anthropology such as participant observation, oral history, and interviewing. They will also practice writing fieldnotes, analysis and ethnography. Through practice and reflection on individual and group research projects, students will think critically about the relationship between theory and methods; they will learn how to craft good research questions; and, they will learn to choose appropriate sites, methods and tools to develop research design. Equipment such as digital voice recorders, video cameras, and transcription software will be available for students to check out and use through the graduate student computer lab. Students should purchase a small field notebook, and if they wish to use cameras they must provide their own.
MUSM 5011 Introduction to Museum Studies
This is a required seminar for incoming students in the Museum Studies graduate program. Students will investigate the museum as an institution in society; explore the history of museums and their changing roles and methods in society; study the administrative structure, the museum professions, and the methods of museum collecting, exhibiting, and education. The course includes exercises, projects, field trips, and discussions designed to provide opportunities for critical reflection on, and broad exposure to, different types of museums and their roles in society. We meet on Mondays to discuss readings and on Wednesdays we visit museums throughout the Front Range including the cities of Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, and Golden.
MUSM 6110 Technology and the Future of Museums
This is a one credit course that meets one hour per week, co-organized with Exhibit Developer Rebecca Coon and Paleo Curator Carl Simpson. The only requirements for this course are an open mind, creative thinking, engaging discussion, and attendance.
This workshop aims to inspire students through exposure to new innovations in technological advances in creative communication and interaction. Each week a different speaker presents the most exciting ideas in their field, and students will engage the speaker in imaging the implications for the future of museums. Speakers represent many disciplines from which we can draw inspiration: technology studies, education, computer science, communication, digital humanities, theater, etc. |
ANTH 4045/5045 MUSM 5045 Introduction to Museum Anthropology
This undergraduate/graduate course traces the development of anthropology in museums from the late 19th century to the present day. Museums are places where ideas, identities, theories and power relations are debated, created, and placed on display. They are places that reflect and sometimes challenge dominant ideologies about indigenous peoples to a wide audience. The objectives of this course include: introducing students to a range of topics in contemporary museum politics, theory and practice; presenting the legacy of collecting and challenges of representing others; and, illustrating the interplay of anthropology, material culture and colonialism in order to understand the complex history of contemporary anthropology museums and the move towards collaborative museum anthropology.
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The Objective, then, is not simply to criticize museums but also to attempt to locate them (and the critiques) within their social, political, and economic contexts. |
ANTH 1135 Exploration of a Non-Western Culture - Native North America
What and where and who is Native North America? To find out, this introductory undergraduate course examines representations of Native Americans in movies, in anthropology, and in their own words and films. To understand the great diversity of indigenous peoples in North America, we learn about different communities such as the Western Apache, Cherokee, and Seminole. To understand some shared experiences of indigenous peoples, we will discuss themes such as colonialism, identity, and sovereignty. We will cover topics ranging from making museum exhibits to making decisions about who to marry, and we will critique practices of representation and authority. Students will learn what it means to apply anthropological methods and perspectives to understanding human experience. This class will thus provide students an introduction to cultural anthropology and prepare them for future courses in this field
ANTH 7010 Anthropology of Media and Cultural Production
This graduate seminar provides an introduction to the Anthropology of Media, paying particular attention to contemporary anthropological approaches, ethnographic practices, and writing strategies. This course is intended to encourage students to theorize about their own experiences and to spark interest in the possibilities of the anthropological study of media. We consider the relationship between media technologies, social relations, and cultural practices and explore issues of representation, cultural production, and reception through full length ethnographies as well as newspaper articles, films, anthropological literature, and online resources. We cover a wide range of case studies from international journalists to indigenous peoples in the Amazon to television viewers in India to people who participate in online social networks in the United States. Students are encouraged to think critically about the contemporary moment and the role of media in America, as well as the ways in which they can apply the methods, critiques, and analytical concepts of the anthropology of media to other fields of interest.
ANTH 5840 Independent Reading Courses
One time course - MAYMESTER 2019
ANTH 4020/5020 The Meaning of Things: Native Americans, Museums, and the role of Cultural Heritage in the History and Future of Native Nations
Grads and Undergrads welcome! (M-F, 9am-12pm, May 13-31)
Co-Taught by Cécile Ganteaume, Associate Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. She is the author of Officially Indian: Symbols that Define the United States and co-curator of Americans. More information about Cécile here. |
STUDENT RESEARCH & MENTORING
Graduate Students2022 Update: I am not accepting new graduate students in the MA and PhD in Cultural Anthropology or in the MFS in Museum Studies at this time. For museum studies program inquiries, please contact Curator of Archaeology Dr. Will Taylor.
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Undergraduate StudentsI have mentored (and paid for!) undergraduates to participate in research projects through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. Students have worked with me on digitization of museum collections and photographs, exhibition content research, documentary film editing, and fieldwork.
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Student Projects in Museum and Field Studies
In our Museum and Field Studies program, students can opt to do a project or a thesis. MFS projects are intended for use by others in the museum field. If you would like access to these projects, please contact me and I can provide a copy and/or connect you to the author. Below are some examples of projects my advisees have produced.
2020 - Identifying Unassociated Funerary Objects in Museum Collections at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, Anthropology Section - Ashley Muggli (MFS)
In this project, Ashley focused on identifying, researching, and reporting on unassociated funerary objects within the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History archaeology collections. The project is broken up into three sections: the introductory project write-up which describes her process, the material created during the research and reporting process, and finally templates and pamphlets for other museum professionals hoping to conduct similar work in their museums. See Ashley's webpage for more information about her work.
2020 - Getting the Odd Beetle Out: An Integrated Pest Management Investigation of Odd Beetle (Thylodrias contractus) Activity at the CU Museum of Natural History- Alex Elliott (MFS)
Alex conducted an Integrated Pest Management (IPM)-focused study to compile institutional history related to the presence of Odd beetles found in collections spaces and provide biological information on the insect in question. She enacted building alterations to facilitate better control of affected storage environments, and extensively monitored these selected spaces to assess the state of the Odd beetle issue and to identify possible means of mitigation. Alex then developed a treatment plan that includes a combination of building and storage modifications, new cleaning strategies, and pesticidal treatment.
2020 - The Marr Collection and Related Archival Photographs: Report for the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute - Maddie King (BA Anthropology)
Continuing a class project into an independent study, Maddie researched a collection of twenty-nine ethnographic items from the arctic collections at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. The items were collected by John W. Marr or his wife, Johanna C.W.R. Marr; the majority were collected in 1948 from the vicinity of the Hudson's Bay Company Trading Post that was established on the Koksoak River, near Kuujjuaq in northern Quebec. A small number of the items were collected in 1939 from the Great Whale and Richmond Guld areas. Maddie also found a series of related photographs showing Inuit people and their villages taken by Marr during his visit to the area in 1939 in the university's Norlin Library archives. Maddie created a report that includes an introduction letter from her, information about the museum and the collectors, a description and photograph of each object, and a copy of each photograph from the archive. After sharing her report with a Smithsonian curator and an archivist from Nunavut, Maddie was able to identify the originating community and provide them with access to all of this information, digital files, and her associated research by submitting a report to the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, as per their request.
2019 - Developing Tribal Museum Collections Policies and Plans: Museum Toolkit and Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation Report - Jane Richardson (MFS)
Jane worked in collaboration with the director of the new Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation Interpretive Center (while under construction) and its steering committee to develop a series of collections (3D object and digital) plans and policies according the tribes' needs. Her project includes three parts: (1) a description of the iterative, collaborative process working with the cultural center's director and steering committee; (2) a formal report to the steering committee that has a collections development plan, collections management policy, a digital asset management plan and sample request for proposal, and additional resources that include sample loan agreements and other tribal museum policies; and, (3) a "toolkit" she created in the course of developing these resources to the specific needs of this community which include a series of surveys, templates, and tools to gather community feedback to shape the policies accordingly. This toolkit is designed for other museums to use in developing their own collecting plans and policies so they can be tailored to their own institution and cultural needs.
2018 - Collections Management and Originating Communities: Preparing Collection for Review - Emma Noffsinger (MFS)
Emma's created a set of guidelines for collections managers that is intended to supplement the SAR Museum+Community Guidelines, which are designed to prepare museums and communities for working together. Emma developed her guide through preparing for future collections reviews with Hopi and Zuni communities, focusing on Hopi tihu and Zuni kokko, in our museum. She writes that the SAR Guidelines are, by design, "meant to be short and approachable. As a result, the collections management preparation is limited to one step and does not provide detailed process for preparing object records for review and collaboration... Other collections management resources such as Museum Registration Methods 5th Edition and Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) describe expanded inventory and digitization methods and protocols but do not make connections to collaborative projects... I would argue that the role of collection manager starts before the originating communities are even contacted... by gaining intellectual and physical control of a collection, and by making collections accessible. With this access, curators can create summaries that can be used in initial contact with tribes and records can be shared once contact is made." See this article for a summary of Emma's project, and Emma's website for more information about her work.
2018 - Space Assessment for Museum Collections Planning - Andrea Blaser (MFS)
Andrea produced a space assessment guide with assessment tools (including downloadable interactive excel sheets with embedded formulas), based on her experience doing an assessment for our museum. She writes, "Space assessments are a vital tool for collections professionals. They are the process by which we determine the space and storage needs of items and collections, and how we can make plans to mitigate overcrowding or the inefficient use of space. With the data from a space assessment, we can have confidence that plans made for collections storage, be it new fixtures, new buildings, or a new use of existing space, will be accurate. When space, funds, and time are tight, the effort taken to do a space assessment is an investment in the lasting care of the collections." See Andrea's website for more information about her work.
2016 - Preserving Ethnographic Basketry Collections - Jesse Dutton-Kenny (MFS)
Jesse created a manual and brochures for small museums or non-professionals looking for resources in how to care for, make mounts for, and exhibit basketry. She conceptualizes "preservation" in three ways: preservation of information (like in a database or catalogue), preservation of materials, and preservation of access (such as online, community visit, exhibitions and sharing research). This is an easy to read, accessible document that includes lots of pictures and even some you tube links that show Jesse explaining how to make mounts for different shaped baskets. You can find out more here at Jesse's website where she has great descriptions and images of the kinds of collections management techniques she learned in our museum studies program, an exhibit she curated, and her project. See Jesse's website for more information about her work.
2016 - Evaluating Microclimates within Fluctuating Environments in Museum Collections - Kerrie Iyoob (MFS)
In her project, Kerrie argued that standard temperature and humidity ranges that are suggested for museum collections should be tailored to specific museum conditions and regional environments. Working with data loggers from the Image Perminance Institute (IPI) which provides guidelines based largely on coastal regions, and using their baseline data as a starting point, she determined the best standards for our own museum which unlike the coasts is in a low humidity environment. She offers a model for the collection of data to tailor appropriate standards for your individual museum and shows the effectiveness of microclimates within larger rooms in the preservation of materials. Through her experimental comparison between different kinds of cabinets and different rooms in the building, she was able to provide a cost-benefit analysis for whether we should purchase new cabinets or focus on other microclimate solutions. In addition, Kerrie created a website about some "possibles bags" housed in our museum.
2015 - Preparing Private Collections for Museum Acquisition - Jacey Bonavia (MFS)
Jacey created a metadata spreadsheet for creating a digital archive of scanned photographs that is available now. She is currently working on a simplified model of metadata and collection documentation for private donors to assist in their transition of collections to museums. She writes, "people have been privately collecting antiquities for thousands of years, accumulating impressive collections of ancient art and artifacts. In the past couple hundred years, these collectors have often intended to ultimately donate their collections to museums. However, due to the limit in perceived value due to the frequent lack of known provenance and provenience information and due to the expense of preserving and curating objects in perpetuity, museums are often reluctant to accept these donations. The project will provide materials that museums can provide to private collectors with helpful tools to understand why museums are reluctant to accept their collections, and, if appropriate, to help them prepare their collections for easy, inexpensive museum acquisition."
2012 - NAGPRA Consultation Workshop - Claire Wilbert (MFS)
This project is intended to assist someone in teaching a workshop that prepares museum staff for NAGPRA consultation with tribes. Clair has prepared a two day workshop to prepare people to participate in a NAGPRA consultation. We may know the law, but what do we need to know to engage in a consultation in person? What are some issues and tensions that may come up? What are some ways to lay the foundation for a productive consultation? She has created a Facilitator's Manual that includes resource materials, powerpoint slides, a two day schedule, and exercises for workshop participants. She has also created a resource manual for participants in the workshop.
2020 - Identifying Unassociated Funerary Objects in Museum Collections at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, Anthropology Section - Ashley Muggli (MFS)
In this project, Ashley focused on identifying, researching, and reporting on unassociated funerary objects within the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History archaeology collections. The project is broken up into three sections: the introductory project write-up which describes her process, the material created during the research and reporting process, and finally templates and pamphlets for other museum professionals hoping to conduct similar work in their museums. See Ashley's webpage for more information about her work.
2020 - Getting the Odd Beetle Out: An Integrated Pest Management Investigation of Odd Beetle (Thylodrias contractus) Activity at the CU Museum of Natural History- Alex Elliott (MFS)
Alex conducted an Integrated Pest Management (IPM)-focused study to compile institutional history related to the presence of Odd beetles found in collections spaces and provide biological information on the insect in question. She enacted building alterations to facilitate better control of affected storage environments, and extensively monitored these selected spaces to assess the state of the Odd beetle issue and to identify possible means of mitigation. Alex then developed a treatment plan that includes a combination of building and storage modifications, new cleaning strategies, and pesticidal treatment.
2020 - The Marr Collection and Related Archival Photographs: Report for the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute - Maddie King (BA Anthropology)
Continuing a class project into an independent study, Maddie researched a collection of twenty-nine ethnographic items from the arctic collections at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. The items were collected by John W. Marr or his wife, Johanna C.W.R. Marr; the majority were collected in 1948 from the vicinity of the Hudson's Bay Company Trading Post that was established on the Koksoak River, near Kuujjuaq in northern Quebec. A small number of the items were collected in 1939 from the Great Whale and Richmond Guld areas. Maddie also found a series of related photographs showing Inuit people and their villages taken by Marr during his visit to the area in 1939 in the university's Norlin Library archives. Maddie created a report that includes an introduction letter from her, information about the museum and the collectors, a description and photograph of each object, and a copy of each photograph from the archive. After sharing her report with a Smithsonian curator and an archivist from Nunavut, Maddie was able to identify the originating community and provide them with access to all of this information, digital files, and her associated research by submitting a report to the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, as per their request.
2019 - Developing Tribal Museum Collections Policies and Plans: Museum Toolkit and Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation Report - Jane Richardson (MFS)
Jane worked in collaboration with the director of the new Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation Interpretive Center (while under construction) and its steering committee to develop a series of collections (3D object and digital) plans and policies according the tribes' needs. Her project includes three parts: (1) a description of the iterative, collaborative process working with the cultural center's director and steering committee; (2) a formal report to the steering committee that has a collections development plan, collections management policy, a digital asset management plan and sample request for proposal, and additional resources that include sample loan agreements and other tribal museum policies; and, (3) a "toolkit" she created in the course of developing these resources to the specific needs of this community which include a series of surveys, templates, and tools to gather community feedback to shape the policies accordingly. This toolkit is designed for other museums to use in developing their own collecting plans and policies so they can be tailored to their own institution and cultural needs.
2018 - Collections Management and Originating Communities: Preparing Collection for Review - Emma Noffsinger (MFS)
Emma's created a set of guidelines for collections managers that is intended to supplement the SAR Museum+Community Guidelines, which are designed to prepare museums and communities for working together. Emma developed her guide through preparing for future collections reviews with Hopi and Zuni communities, focusing on Hopi tihu and Zuni kokko, in our museum. She writes that the SAR Guidelines are, by design, "meant to be short and approachable. As a result, the collections management preparation is limited to one step and does not provide detailed process for preparing object records for review and collaboration... Other collections management resources such as Museum Registration Methods 5th Edition and Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) describe expanded inventory and digitization methods and protocols but do not make connections to collaborative projects... I would argue that the role of collection manager starts before the originating communities are even contacted... by gaining intellectual and physical control of a collection, and by making collections accessible. With this access, curators can create summaries that can be used in initial contact with tribes and records can be shared once contact is made." See this article for a summary of Emma's project, and Emma's website for more information about her work.
2018 - Space Assessment for Museum Collections Planning - Andrea Blaser (MFS)
Andrea produced a space assessment guide with assessment tools (including downloadable interactive excel sheets with embedded formulas), based on her experience doing an assessment for our museum. She writes, "Space assessments are a vital tool for collections professionals. They are the process by which we determine the space and storage needs of items and collections, and how we can make plans to mitigate overcrowding or the inefficient use of space. With the data from a space assessment, we can have confidence that plans made for collections storage, be it new fixtures, new buildings, or a new use of existing space, will be accurate. When space, funds, and time are tight, the effort taken to do a space assessment is an investment in the lasting care of the collections." See Andrea's website for more information about her work.
2016 - Preserving Ethnographic Basketry Collections - Jesse Dutton-Kenny (MFS)
Jesse created a manual and brochures for small museums or non-professionals looking for resources in how to care for, make mounts for, and exhibit basketry. She conceptualizes "preservation" in three ways: preservation of information (like in a database or catalogue), preservation of materials, and preservation of access (such as online, community visit, exhibitions and sharing research). This is an easy to read, accessible document that includes lots of pictures and even some you tube links that show Jesse explaining how to make mounts for different shaped baskets. You can find out more here at Jesse's website where she has great descriptions and images of the kinds of collections management techniques she learned in our museum studies program, an exhibit she curated, and her project. See Jesse's website for more information about her work.
2016 - Evaluating Microclimates within Fluctuating Environments in Museum Collections - Kerrie Iyoob (MFS)
In her project, Kerrie argued that standard temperature and humidity ranges that are suggested for museum collections should be tailored to specific museum conditions and regional environments. Working with data loggers from the Image Perminance Institute (IPI) which provides guidelines based largely on coastal regions, and using their baseline data as a starting point, she determined the best standards for our own museum which unlike the coasts is in a low humidity environment. She offers a model for the collection of data to tailor appropriate standards for your individual museum and shows the effectiveness of microclimates within larger rooms in the preservation of materials. Through her experimental comparison between different kinds of cabinets and different rooms in the building, she was able to provide a cost-benefit analysis for whether we should purchase new cabinets or focus on other microclimate solutions. In addition, Kerrie created a website about some "possibles bags" housed in our museum.
2015 - Preparing Private Collections for Museum Acquisition - Jacey Bonavia (MFS)
Jacey created a metadata spreadsheet for creating a digital archive of scanned photographs that is available now. She is currently working on a simplified model of metadata and collection documentation for private donors to assist in their transition of collections to museums. She writes, "people have been privately collecting antiquities for thousands of years, accumulating impressive collections of ancient art and artifacts. In the past couple hundred years, these collectors have often intended to ultimately donate their collections to museums. However, due to the limit in perceived value due to the frequent lack of known provenance and provenience information and due to the expense of preserving and curating objects in perpetuity, museums are often reluctant to accept these donations. The project will provide materials that museums can provide to private collectors with helpful tools to understand why museums are reluctant to accept their collections, and, if appropriate, to help them prepare their collections for easy, inexpensive museum acquisition."
2012 - NAGPRA Consultation Workshop - Claire Wilbert (MFS)
This project is intended to assist someone in teaching a workshop that prepares museum staff for NAGPRA consultation with tribes. Clair has prepared a two day workshop to prepare people to participate in a NAGPRA consultation. We may know the law, but what do we need to know to engage in a consultation in person? What are some issues and tensions that may come up? What are some ways to lay the foundation for a productive consultation? She has created a Facilitator's Manual that includes resource materials, powerpoint slides, a two day schedule, and exercises for workshop participants. She has also created a resource manual for participants in the workshop.
Student Theses in Anthropology & in Museum and Field Studies
Below are some examples of theses my advisees have written.
2021 - Anticipating the STOP Act: Perspectives on the Voluntary Repatriation of Native American Ancestors and Cultural Objects - Emily Tarantini (MFS)
Emily’s masters thesis investigated the feasibility and potential benefits or challenges of establishing a repatriation process between private individuals and Native American descendant communities for Native ancestors and cultural objects—in other words, repatriation for situations not covered under NAGPRA (1990), which only applies to federally funded institutions and does not include private individuals. Her research also contributes to discussion about “voluntary return” in the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act, recently passed by the United States Senate in December 2020, which seeks to establish a formal process for the repatriation of privately owned collections. Based on confidential surveys and interviews with tribal officials, museum professionals, and private individuals (collectors and avocational archaeologists), Emily presents their perspectives on voluntary repatriation and provides insight from her research to specific provisions of the STOP Act in her conclusion.
2020 - “I Understand My Place Here”: Relationships of Care and Experiences of Connection within an Agricultural Community - Melanie Matteliano (MA Anthropology)
Melanie’s masters paper explored some elements of a paradigm shift that is radically reshaping how we think about food systems, including how we produce and consume food. She shows how anthropology offers us a unique approach to understanding how people are experiencing, responding to, and creating shifting food practices on the ground. She conducted ethnographic field work with small scale alternative agriculturalists in a community on Colorado’s western slope called the North Fork Valley to illuminate the relationships between people, plants, animals, land, and other people within the context of this local food system. Through narrative description of farming (and eating!), and theorizing relationships of care, Melanie helps us to better understand the relationships that agriculturalists engage in on a daily basis and how those relationships shape how farmers, ranchers, gardeners, and homesteaders understand their purpose in life through their recognition of their ability to make an impact in their community or in the world.
2020 - The Power of Placemaking at Mesa Verde National Park - Scarlett Engle (MA Anthropology)
Scarlett's masters paper was about placemaking at Mesa Verde National Park. Scarlett is documenting a collaboration between the CU Museum of Natural History museum studies program, Mesa Verde National Park, and 26 tribes associated with the park to redesign the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum. In this paper she identifies different forms of connection and placemaking by park staff and Native community members, drawing from landscape archaeology, cultural anthropology, museum anthropology, and Indigenous studies – with an aim towards increasing understanding between different groups connected to Mesa Verde who will be working together on exhibit development. Scarlett is continuing on in the PhD program.
2020 - Trapdoors and Emergency Exits: Collaboration and Accessibility in the “Here, Now, and Always” Exhibit at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture - Aaron LaMaskin (BA Anthropology)
Aaron's honors thesis analyzes one of the earliest exhibits that was co-curated by Native community members -- and how the museum and Native community partners are working together today to update the exhibit. Through his research and working with the visitors, staff, and collaborators for the exhibit, Aaron was able to "reach a new level of understanding about how people work together, how they tell stories about themselves, and how they understand - and celebrate - differences in the ways that they think about the world." Aaron utilized the notion of “trapdoors,” based on an interview with a Native interlocutor, to spark his idea of “ideological accessibility” -- something to consider alongside physical accessibility in exhibits. He shows how the Here Now Always is intended to be understood differently by people with different world views, and that this is essential to acknowledging and sharing authority with Native communities.
2018 - Palya Futures: The Social Life of Kimberly Aboriginal Media - Willi Lempert (PhD Anthropology)
Willi's dissertation examines the "process of producing Indigenous self-representation and futures through an ethnographic analysis of the biographical social lives of Aboriginal film projects." During 28 months of fieldwork (2006-18) in the Kimberley region of Northwestern Australia, he collaborated on dozens of films within the production teams of two major Indigenous media organizations based in the coastal town of Broome. Through examining the lifecycle of Tjawa Tjawa and a series of closely related films based in the desert Aboriginal community of Balgo, Willi shows how "culture largely comes into being through doing and demonstrates how collaborative research practice can foster ethnographic insight into the social textures of everyday Aboriginal life, larger political assertions of sovereignty, and anthropological approaches to understanding indigeneity."
2014 - Object Biographies: A Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation Man’s Buckskin and Quillwork Outfit, a Nez Perce Woman’s Buckskin Dress, a Ramos Polychrome Jar, and a Navajo Man’s Military Style-Jacket - Kayla Kramer (MFS)
Kayla in her thesis explains the process of recovering the history of objects in our museum collections with little or no provenance. She writes, "as a type of restorative justice, the life history approach illustrates an example of decolonizing museum practice and the changing responsibilities of best practice standards. Creating a full life history for museum artifacts is much more than recuperating facts and events or filling archives with object documentation. Creating an object biography is about responsible stewardship and curation, engaging communities and creating new contacts, and ultimately connecting objects, stories, and people. The following biographies of four ethnographic objects in Anthropology Section of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History illustrate changing practices of museum collections acquisition and care and emphasize the utility of the life history approach in contributing to current best practices of museum stewardship."
2013 - Tourism, Place and Identity: Economic History and Political Sovereignty in the Ho-Chunk Nation - Kendall Tallmadge (MA Anthropology)
Kendall, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, developed this thesis both for the department of anthropology and for her home community. Her work was approved by the Ho-Chunk Ho-Chunk Nation Institutional Review Board and Traditional Court. She writes, "For over 150 years, the city of Wisconsin Dells played host to tourists from all over the American Midwest. In the late 1990s and early 2000s it officially became rebranded as the “Waterpark Capital of the World.” Before the indoor waterparks the tourism scene rested on the natural landscape, and with it, the Native American Ho-Chunk population and their displays of cultural performance. How has this influenced the Ho-Chunk Nation and Wisconsin Dells communities as they exist today? I argue that tourist spaces served as contact zones and Native gathering places that paved the way for future Ho-Chunk economic development and allowed for a shared history of interaction with non-Native locals. This had significant impacts on Ho-Chunk political sovereignty and the identity construction of non-Native local residents. This history is essential for understanding the current viewpoints of community members and the desire to bring back the Stand Rock Indian Ceremonial." See this website to learn more about Kendall's current work.
2021 - Anticipating the STOP Act: Perspectives on the Voluntary Repatriation of Native American Ancestors and Cultural Objects - Emily Tarantini (MFS)
Emily’s masters thesis investigated the feasibility and potential benefits or challenges of establishing a repatriation process between private individuals and Native American descendant communities for Native ancestors and cultural objects—in other words, repatriation for situations not covered under NAGPRA (1990), which only applies to federally funded institutions and does not include private individuals. Her research also contributes to discussion about “voluntary return” in the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act, recently passed by the United States Senate in December 2020, which seeks to establish a formal process for the repatriation of privately owned collections. Based on confidential surveys and interviews with tribal officials, museum professionals, and private individuals (collectors and avocational archaeologists), Emily presents their perspectives on voluntary repatriation and provides insight from her research to specific provisions of the STOP Act in her conclusion.
2020 - “I Understand My Place Here”: Relationships of Care and Experiences of Connection within an Agricultural Community - Melanie Matteliano (MA Anthropology)
Melanie’s masters paper explored some elements of a paradigm shift that is radically reshaping how we think about food systems, including how we produce and consume food. She shows how anthropology offers us a unique approach to understanding how people are experiencing, responding to, and creating shifting food practices on the ground. She conducted ethnographic field work with small scale alternative agriculturalists in a community on Colorado’s western slope called the North Fork Valley to illuminate the relationships between people, plants, animals, land, and other people within the context of this local food system. Through narrative description of farming (and eating!), and theorizing relationships of care, Melanie helps us to better understand the relationships that agriculturalists engage in on a daily basis and how those relationships shape how farmers, ranchers, gardeners, and homesteaders understand their purpose in life through their recognition of their ability to make an impact in their community or in the world.
2020 - The Power of Placemaking at Mesa Verde National Park - Scarlett Engle (MA Anthropology)
Scarlett's masters paper was about placemaking at Mesa Verde National Park. Scarlett is documenting a collaboration between the CU Museum of Natural History museum studies program, Mesa Verde National Park, and 26 tribes associated with the park to redesign the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum. In this paper she identifies different forms of connection and placemaking by park staff and Native community members, drawing from landscape archaeology, cultural anthropology, museum anthropology, and Indigenous studies – with an aim towards increasing understanding between different groups connected to Mesa Verde who will be working together on exhibit development. Scarlett is continuing on in the PhD program.
2020 - Trapdoors and Emergency Exits: Collaboration and Accessibility in the “Here, Now, and Always” Exhibit at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture - Aaron LaMaskin (BA Anthropology)
Aaron's honors thesis analyzes one of the earliest exhibits that was co-curated by Native community members -- and how the museum and Native community partners are working together today to update the exhibit. Through his research and working with the visitors, staff, and collaborators for the exhibit, Aaron was able to "reach a new level of understanding about how people work together, how they tell stories about themselves, and how they understand - and celebrate - differences in the ways that they think about the world." Aaron utilized the notion of “trapdoors,” based on an interview with a Native interlocutor, to spark his idea of “ideological accessibility” -- something to consider alongside physical accessibility in exhibits. He shows how the Here Now Always is intended to be understood differently by people with different world views, and that this is essential to acknowledging and sharing authority with Native communities.
2018 - Palya Futures: The Social Life of Kimberly Aboriginal Media - Willi Lempert (PhD Anthropology)
Willi's dissertation examines the "process of producing Indigenous self-representation and futures through an ethnographic analysis of the biographical social lives of Aboriginal film projects." During 28 months of fieldwork (2006-18) in the Kimberley region of Northwestern Australia, he collaborated on dozens of films within the production teams of two major Indigenous media organizations based in the coastal town of Broome. Through examining the lifecycle of Tjawa Tjawa and a series of closely related films based in the desert Aboriginal community of Balgo, Willi shows how "culture largely comes into being through doing and demonstrates how collaborative research practice can foster ethnographic insight into the social textures of everyday Aboriginal life, larger political assertions of sovereignty, and anthropological approaches to understanding indigeneity."
2014 - Object Biographies: A Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Nation Man’s Buckskin and Quillwork Outfit, a Nez Perce Woman’s Buckskin Dress, a Ramos Polychrome Jar, and a Navajo Man’s Military Style-Jacket - Kayla Kramer (MFS)
Kayla in her thesis explains the process of recovering the history of objects in our museum collections with little or no provenance. She writes, "as a type of restorative justice, the life history approach illustrates an example of decolonizing museum practice and the changing responsibilities of best practice standards. Creating a full life history for museum artifacts is much more than recuperating facts and events or filling archives with object documentation. Creating an object biography is about responsible stewardship and curation, engaging communities and creating new contacts, and ultimately connecting objects, stories, and people. The following biographies of four ethnographic objects in Anthropology Section of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History illustrate changing practices of museum collections acquisition and care and emphasize the utility of the life history approach in contributing to current best practices of museum stewardship."
2013 - Tourism, Place and Identity: Economic History and Political Sovereignty in the Ho-Chunk Nation - Kendall Tallmadge (MA Anthropology)
Kendall, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, developed this thesis both for the department of anthropology and for her home community. Her work was approved by the Ho-Chunk Ho-Chunk Nation Institutional Review Board and Traditional Court. She writes, "For over 150 years, the city of Wisconsin Dells played host to tourists from all over the American Midwest. In the late 1990s and early 2000s it officially became rebranded as the “Waterpark Capital of the World.” Before the indoor waterparks the tourism scene rested on the natural landscape, and with it, the Native American Ho-Chunk population and their displays of cultural performance. How has this influenced the Ho-Chunk Nation and Wisconsin Dells communities as they exist today? I argue that tourist spaces served as contact zones and Native gathering places that paved the way for future Ho-Chunk economic development and allowed for a shared history of interaction with non-Native locals. This had significant impacts on Ho-Chunk political sovereignty and the identity construction of non-Native local residents. This history is essential for understanding the current viewpoints of community members and the desire to bring back the Stand Rock Indian Ceremonial." See this website to learn more about Kendall's current work.
Advisee Job Placements
PhD Anthropology
Assistant Professor, Bowdoin College, ME
MA Anthropology
First Peoples Worldwide Sustainable Development Fellowship, CO
Lead Grants Officer, First Nations Development Institute, CO
Curatorial Assistant, Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, WY
MFS Museum Studies
Archive Manager, Wishtoyo Foundation, CA
Assistant Collections Manager, University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, CO
Archives Researcher, Holocaust Museum LA, CA
Jan Bernstein and Associates, repatriation consultants, CO
Museum Collections Manager at University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, MI
Collections Assistant, National Museum of the American Indian, DC
Preparator, San Francisco Airport Museum, CA
Collections Manager, Houston Museum of Decorative Arts, TN
Museum Technician, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, DC
Collections Assistant, Lakewood Heritage Center, CO
Curator of Interpretation, Wyoming State Museum, WY
BA Anthropology
AmeriCorps Tutor/Mentor working with Native students for the Port Angeles School District, WA
Four Corners Collection and NAGPRA Museum Intern, National Park Service , UT
Assistant Professor, Bowdoin College, ME
MA Anthropology
First Peoples Worldwide Sustainable Development Fellowship, CO
Lead Grants Officer, First Nations Development Institute, CO
Curatorial Assistant, Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, WY
MFS Museum Studies
Archive Manager, Wishtoyo Foundation, CA
Assistant Collections Manager, University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, CO
Archives Researcher, Holocaust Museum LA, CA
Jan Bernstein and Associates, repatriation consultants, CO
Museum Collections Manager at University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, MI
Collections Assistant, National Museum of the American Indian, DC
Preparator, San Francisco Airport Museum, CA
Collections Manager, Houston Museum of Decorative Arts, TN
Museum Technician, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, DC
Collections Assistant, Lakewood Heritage Center, CO
Curator of Interpretation, Wyoming State Museum, WY
BA Anthropology
AmeriCorps Tutor/Mentor working with Native students for the Port Angeles School District, WA
Four Corners Collection and NAGPRA Museum Intern, National Park Service , UT