2021-2022 Senior Honors Theses
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/10473
This collection contains theses produced by Class of 2022 Honors students
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Browsing 2021-2022 Senior Honors Theses by Department "Comparative Cultural Studies, Department of"
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Item A Synergistic Forensic Approach to Population Affinity Estimation(2021-12-07) Buck, Reece A.Through analyzing the 20 skulls from the South Texas Applied Forensic Science center I aim to ascertain a better picture of the demography of our donors and what that means regarding the issue of ancestry estimation in Forensic Anthropology. I will also be analyzing genetic methods of ancestry estimation and how both forensic anthropology and forensic genetics can work synergistically to create new statistical software with greater accuracy. With our globalized society it is becoming more and more unlikely that we can fit ourselves neatly into the racial categories that the offices of jurisprudence would like us to fill, thus we should be tailoring our methods and practices to more reflect ourselves as biological populations of the species Homo sapiens rather than placing ourselves within antiquated racial typologies such as: Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic.Item Leprous Transsexuals: A Queer Midrashic Reading of Vayikra/Leviticus 13-14(2022-05-06) Hall, Audrey GaleThis thesis demonstrates how transgender experiences can illuminate the biblical metanarrative of the metsora (leper). The book of Vayikra (Leviticus) tells kohanim (priests) how to identify and deal with metsora’im (lepers), namely by removing them from the community. Similarly, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) tells American psychiatrists how to identify and deal with gender deviants. In both cases, professionals wield texts given the power to determine the lives of people whose bodily existence defies constructed norms of ability and wholeness, of sanctioned sexuality, and of social desirability. By reimagining metsora’im as survivors in exile, I push back against Vayikra 13 and 14, which define them primarily in terms of disorder. I want to hold up the metsora as a mirror for trans folks, a window through which we can see ourselves in the Torah.Item Maya identity through food ways in Mérida and surrounding regions in Mexico(2021-12-03) Pruden, Zoe G.The Yucatán state of México has had a rich history of indigenous peoples, colonialists, and global influence; this is especially visible through the food of the region. Mérida, in particular, has developed a society that romanticizes the region, yet leaves the Maya descendant population stranded. This paper aims to reveal the effects of food ways on Maya descendants in Mérida, México, in terms of social factors, including poverty, health, and obesity. Few studies have been conducted on identity through diet, although the diet is recognized as a large cultural aspect. Specifically, this paper will focus on the various classic Maya diets and how they interact with both locals and visitors in and around Mérida. Through analyzing elements including both modern and historical lifestyles, agricultural practices, and globalization, the effects of the globalization of food on Maya descendant lifestyles will be clear. With numerous factors contributing to the decline of local cultural practices within a more globalized society, the maintenance of Maya identities is reliant on food ways. Maintaining dietary practices results in a continuation of ethnic heritage, although it is often practiced in personal settings. On this basis, modern food ways in Mexico both aids and hinders Maya descendants, depending on the viewpoint.