Anthropology & Sociology
Department brings UW institutions together
The department organized a two day conference titled "Truly Collaborating: Working Together to Deliver a New, Truly Collaborative and Worthwhile UW Degree" at UW-Baraboo/Sauk County on April 26 & 27, 2012. The conference was attened by several anthropologists and sociologists from BAAS partner institutions including UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, UW-Parkside, and UW-La Crosse. The keynote address "Culture, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Teaching Awareness through Comparative Criminology" was given by Dr. Annette Kuhlmann. The Second day's proceedings were led by Dr. Kathleen Bubinas with her presentation "A New Paradigm in UW Undergraduate Education: Teaching Globally, Eating Locally, and Applying it Locally." This was followed by cross-disciplinary breakout sessions that focused on "Migration/transmigration," "Globalization and its local implications," "Comparative Criminology," and "Global/public health." These breakout sessions were designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas to help with new course development. The final session of the conference focused on the capstone course for the BAAS degree.
Dr. Ron Lippi receives another generous grant from the Butler Foundation of New Hampshire to continue the Palmitopamba Archeological Project in Ecuador
Dr. Ron Lippi, Professor of Anthropology at UW-Marathon County, is the Principal Investigator and Director of the long-term Palmitopamba Archeological Project in Ecuador. He directs archeologists and students from both Ecuador and the U.S. in this project. Besides excavations, his team is working closely with nearby villages to develop the site as an educational and tourism center and are also doing some oral history with local villagers and members of a native tribe that has a historic link to the prehispanic peoples the archeological team is studying.
Dr. Gralewicz receives OPID grant to organize a working conference to connect the department with six other UW institutions
Dr. Renee Gralewicz, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Sociology at UW-Fox Valley, has received a grant from OPID to organize a working conference that will provide an opportunity for the department’s faculty to coordinate course offering efforts with six other UW institutions and further the department’s contribution to the BAAS degree. This conference is to affirm UW System standards and course expectations across our campuses and will help establish which anthropology & sociology courses need to be developed or modified. Furthermore, this endeavor will assist in establishing collegiality across the institutions and departments. This conference is scheduled to coincide with the department’s spring 2012 meeting.
Department leads the way in interdisciplinary course offerings
The department's faculty members at the Washington County Campus, Dr. Sandi Brunette-Hill, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Dr. Chris Hays, Associate Professor of Anthropology, have developed interdisciplinary courses for their campus’s new honors program. Dr. Brunette-Hill’s course is titled “Deviant Minds” and is an interdisciplinary course with psychology. Dr. Hays’s course uses interdisciplinary methods from history and anthropology to examine flash points of major cultural encounters; the course is titled “When Cultures Collide.” More information can be found in the Nov. 29, 2011, edition of the West Bend Daily News.
Wisconsin Archeological Society honors department legend Late Professor John Forde
John Forde was a professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin’s Marathon County campus from 1967-1988. The Wisconsin Archeological Society has honored Professor John Forde (1925-2006) in the latest issue (volume 92, number 1) of The Wisconsin Archeologist. This issue is edited by Bob Birmingham, Lecturer in Anthropology at UW-Waukesha. Former and current department members who contributed include Ron Lippi, Mike Nofz, Michael Collins, Carol Mason and Rollie Rodell.
Archaeologist in a panel discussion on rock art
Archaeologist at UW-Baraboo/Sauk County, Robert "Ernie" Boszhardt, will be discussing rock art on a panel with Chloris Lowe Jr. (Ho-Chunk member) and Geri Schrab (rock art artist) at 6:30 PM on October 18, 2011 in the Schwalbach Fine Art Studio (B110) at the University of Wisconsin - Baraboo/Sauk County, 1006 Connie Road, Baraboo, WI 53913.
Professor Michael Nofz has announced his retirement after teaching Sociology for over three decades at the UW-Fond du Lac campus.
A Resolution upon the Retirement of
Professor Michael Nofz
Department of Anthropology and Sociology
UW Colleges
WHEREAS Professor Michael Nofz has been a mentor to many students and a major contributor to their career success, and
WHEREAS he has contributed substantially to research and scholarship in the UW Colleges, and
WHEREAS he has been an absolutely splendid colleague in the department for many, many years, and
WHEREAS he always went out of his way to be supportive and encouraging to department members and particularly the lost and bewildered newest members, and
WHEREAS he worked hard to apply sociology to the life of his community through his pioneering efforts in service learning, and
WHEREAS he unfailingly accepted the administrative burdens of being chair, vice chair, and numerous committee chairs without so much as a whimper or complaint, and
WHEREAS his engaged scholarship and his gentle, thoughtful, and humorous leadership has provided us with a fine example of how the sociological imagination can enrich our lives…
BE IT THEREFORE HIGHLY RESOLVED that, on the occasion of Professor Michael Nofz’s retirement, the Department of Anthropology and Sociology does hereby honor him with great praise and extend to him our best wishes for a long and joyful retirement (but please make sure that you can continue to teach some Sociology courses – we need you and students need you!).
The Department of Anthropology & Sociology unanimously passed this resolution during its Spring 2011 meeting.
Summer Archaeology Field School in scenic Trempealeau, Wisconsin
Archaeology Field School (ANT 370) 6 credits, May 23-July 1, 2011
Application deadline: April 1, 2011
The University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County invites applicants to register for a six week/six credit archaeological field school in scenic Trempealeau, Wisconsin. Accepted students will participate in a National Science Foundation sponsored research project to investigate interactions between local Effigy Mound people and Middle Mississippians who ventured hundreds of miles up the Mississippi River nearly 1,000 years ago.
Students will: (1) learn techniques of archaeological survey, excavation, mapping, documentation, and field laboratory methods, (2) work independently and in supervised teams, (3) be assigned pertinent readings, engage in group discussions, and will take occasional field trips to regional archaeological sites such as Effigy Mounds National Monument. The work is physically demanding with hiking, shoveling, screening, and record-keeping in outdoor conditions that range from hot and humid to cool and dry, exposure to summertime bugs and plants (e.g., mosquitoes and poison ivy), and lots of dirt.
Trempealeau is an historic town located in the dramatic Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin. The town is situated along the Upper Mississippi River, 25 miles northwest of La Crosse. Prior archaeological research of the area has documented a rich archaeological record, including concentrated animal-shaped effigy mounds and a series of unique Middle Mississippian platform mounds. Local finds of imported pottery and flint stone suggest a colony of Mississippian migrants into an Effigy Mound territory around A.D. 1050. Within a century of Mississippian contact, the Effigy Mound culture disappeared.
The UW-BSC field school will be taught by Robert “Ernie” Boszhardt. This field school is offered in conjunction with the Mississippian Initiative, a three-year National Science Foundation research project co-directed by Timothy Pauketat (University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign) and Danielle Benden (University of Wisconsin-Madison).
Housing, Transportation, and Logistics
Transportation to and from Trempealeau is the responsibility of the student. Car pooling is encouraged. Crew lodging at Trempealeau will be arranged by the instructor within walking distance of the sites. A class fee of $200 is in addition to the course tuition, and will help cover costs associated with lodging and project supplies. Food costs and communal cooking/kitchen duties are the responsibility of the students. There is a nearby laundry mat and post office. Cell phone coverage in Trempealeau can be good, but you should check with your provider for coverage.
Accepted students should plan on bringing eating utensils, a cooking pot/skillet, and personal toiletries. A portable chair is also handy. For camping trips, you will need to bring a tent (or arrange to share one with a fellow student) and sleeping bag.
Costs: $1093.76 (6 credits) + $200 Special Course fee = $1293.76 (total) [plus food]
Registration for ANT 370 is through the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County Continuing Education Department.
Prospective students should contact:
Cindy McVenes
Director of Continuing Education
UW-Baraboo/Sauk County
call her at 608-355-5234 or email cindy.mcvenes@uwc.edu
Meet Dr. Caleb Bush: The newest faculty member of the department
Caleb Bush, Assistant Professor, Sociology, UW-Marshfield/Wood County
Dr. Bush comes to the UW Colleges and the Marshfield/Wood County campus after six years living and teaching in the Four Corners region of New Mexico. Bush was drawn to the Four Corners region through his research and, while in the Southwest, completed his Ph.D. in Sociology from the State University of New York-Binghamton in 2005. His research has focused on the expansion of historical capitalism across the Navajo Nation and the resulting social conflicts, with a particular interest in Navajo perceptions of land use and the persistence of non-capitalist conceptions of value. More broadly, his sociological interests are social movements, political economy, historical sociology, the environment, and theory. Dr. Bush, upon his relocation to Marshfield, said that he was "excited to continue this research focus, applying my ideas toward new people and places in the upper-Midwest."
Dr. Bush has published work introducing his theories on capitalism's historical expansion and how people actively shape this process as well as chapters examining the role of social movements in shaping the development of the world-economy. He maintains an active research agenda, presenting work regularly at academic conferences and developing new essays for publication. He is also an active member of the Committee on Teaching for the Pacific Sociological Association and hopes to continue such professional work at his new academic home.
Dr. Bush reports that, "perhaps even more than my research, I very much enjoy teaching and working with students to examine sociological understandings of the world." In his early career he has taught courses including Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Marriage and Family, and Environmental Sociology to students first at San Juan College in Farmington, NM, and for the past four years at the University of New Mexico-Gallup. He strives to have an open, approachable presence in the classroom while also challenging his students to reach their potential.
Beyond campus and the classroom, Dr. Bush and his wife have a son and a dog. He enjoys many outdoor pursuits like hiking, camping, backpacking, and is an avid cyclist (both mountain and road biking). He says he is, "excited to be back where there is so much water so my family and I can use our kayaks more regularly than we did in New Mexico!"
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