Tag: Diane Baxter

Archaeology from Behind the Curtain: The Discovery, Research, and Conservation of Human Remains in Gozo, Malta

Presenter: Kirsten Lopez

Mentor: Diane Baxter

PM Poster Presentation

Poster 26

“Box 1” and “Box 2”–that was it. That is all that was written on the outside of the boxes that ultimately contained the contents of my research project. In the fall of 2011 I undertook an opportunity to experience museum collections and curation in Gozo, Malta, during an internship offered by IE3 through the University of Oregon. While I had experience working with collections here on campus, the ability to learn cross-cultural differences in storage, display, and perceptions of the past could not be passed up. As I went through my internship assisting with cataloguing of the contents of a storage facility, I stumbled upon these two boxes. With the encouragement of Heritage Malta and the Museum of Archaeology, Gozo, I developed a small project that addressed three questions: where did the re- mains come from, who were they, and how can we best preserve them for future research? Through an interview with a prior museum administrator, sorting, documenting, and obtaining professional verification on the dating of a diagnostic pot, I was able to discertain the location of recovery during 1980/1986, the remains as Tarxien Temple Period (3000 – 2500 BC), the minimum number of individuals (MNI), notable signs of pathology, and a complete rehousing and storage culminating in a written preliminary report. After considering nearby sites and the landscape involved, these remains may also prove to be key in a turning point for prehistoric Maltese archaeology as one of two skeletal collections of the Temple Period.

Education and Discrimination in Armed Conflict: Equitable Access and Educational Barriers for Syrian Refugee Children

Presenter: Namratha Somayajula

Mentor: Professor Diane Baxter, Anthropology

Oral Presentation

Major: International Studies

The birth of a new Lost Generation–As it enters its fifth year, the civil war in Syria has caused unimaginable destruction across a dynamic and colorful society, and has reduced it to a landscape of violence and fear. Through
a review of existing literature, a study of relevant provisions of international law, and interviews with experienced individuals in the field, this paper will focus on the educational barriers that refugee children of the Syrian civil war face. The conflict in Syria has resulted in the loss of well over 215,000 lives, an exodus of thousands of refugees every day, the rapid proliferation of viruses and disease, and the shattering of vital infrastructure. An overwhelming number of schools in the country are now either destroyed, or used as shelters for displaced Syrians. In the midst
of the crisis, international funds have flowed into the region to provide for food, shelter, and other basic necessities. However, various barriers have restricted the effective funneling of these funds, and have also not allowed funds to be properly allocated towards educational infrastructure in host communities, a lack of which will severely hinder
the re-empowerment of refugee communities in the future. In further analyzing the conflict and resulting educational circumstances, I will emphasize, in my paper, the need to re-distribute international efforts, and implement systems of accountability, in similar circumstances of armed conflict to prevent the re-birth of yet another Lost Generation.

Finding Home in Human Rights: A Correlation between Conflicting Identities of “Home” in the Palestinian-American Immigration Experience and the Global Citizenship Identity

Presenter: Dan Le

Mentors: Diane Baxter, Anthropology; David Frank, Honors College

Poster: 41

Major: Anthropology

For immigrants and refugees, the concept of “home” is seldom a concrete definition, as the question of where “home” is – either in the country of origin or the new country, activates a tension in self-identity. For the Palestinian immigration and refugee experience, the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian Conflict produces an even more complex tension. The purpose of this study is to explore this tension in a Palestinian-American context. To do so, the research project focuses on an oral history project about Ibrahim Hamide, a restaurateur and human rights activist in Eugene for the past 30 years. The project involved taking participant observation notes prior to the series of interviews, conducting the interviews themselves, coding the interviews for common themes, and then analyzing the information with other works about the Palestinian/Arab American experience. The primary findings of this study indicate that Orientalism, a term by Edward Said that means the representation of the Middle East in a stereotyped and colonialist manner, has a major influence on the tension of self-identity. For Hamide, this tension leads him to find solace in human rights activism and embrace a more globalized sense of identity, rather than choosing between his two “homes.” The significances of this research are that it serves as documented piece of history for the Eugene community and contributes to the importance of the human rights philosophy.