Anthropological Methods Research Articles

Prevalence and distribution of ossification of the ligamenta flava in a 16th–18th century skeletal population sample from Poland

ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of the ossification of the ligamenta flava (OLF) among skeletal remains from Poland. Materials and methods124 skeletons aged 25 years and older were analyzed. The presence and size of OLF were observed macroscopically. OLF was recorded at the cranial and caudal attachment sites of each vertebra. The following factors were analyzed: age at death, sex, and presence of other spondyloarthropathies. ResultsThe crude prevalence of OLF in the analyzed series was 68.55 %. OLF was located most frequently in the lower thoracic spine. A statistically significant relationship was observed between the presence of OLF and age at death. OLF coincided with degenerative spondyloarthropathies of the thoracolumbar spine. ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that OLF was not a rare condition in past populations of European ancestry. Analysis of OLF prevalence in skeletal materials can contribute to reconstruction of the conditions and lifestyles of past people. SignificanceThis study shed new light on the prevalence of OLF and provides information on the variability of OLF in past European populations. The evaluation of the prevalence of OLF represents an important contribution to the field of paleopathology in understanding disease changes in prehistoric and historic human populations. LimitationsThe analyzed material came from unknown populations without demographic data. Sex and age at death were assessed using standard anthropological methods. Suggestions for further researchIt is important to understand the influence of sociocultural factors and physical activity patterns on the development of OLF.

How to read a case: Ethnographic lawyering, conspiracy, and the origins of Al Qaeda

AbstractThis article delineates a particular orientation to combining professional legal training and anthropological scholarship that I call ethnographic lawyering. Ethnographic lawyering takes legal form as an object of anthropological analysis, loosely inspired by the Marxist jurist Evgeny Pashukanis's theorization of law as a social relation. If ethnographic method in anthropology entails theorizing from the concepts and experiences of interlocutors, then ethnographic lawyering analytically centers the subjectivities, logics, and relationalities that legal form both presupposes and animates. Ethnographic lawyering brings to light the contingent lives of legal form. To demonstrate this method, the article uses the example of conspiracy in early US court cases involving Al Qaeda, informed by the author's experiences as an attorney and anthropologist in litigation arising from the war on terror. An ethnographic lawyering approach illuminates how conspiracy's distinct forms in criminal law, the law of evidence, and tort law each bring far‐flung subjects, events, and actions together into reified entities even as they atomize and recombine social relations. This dynamic tension resembles the vertiginous nature of conspiracy theorizing in general.

Inspirational Insights: ‘Ecosystems’ and ‘Mind Viruses’ in Folklore Research: Does Folkloristics Need Memetics?

Abstract The paper deals with applicability of the ‘memetic approach’ and ‘epidemiology of culture’ in present day folklore research. These theoretical models could be supplemented by certain ideas and hypotheses borrowed from actor-network theory and the cognitive science of religion. The development of contemporary folkloristic theorising could proceed from a new experimental ethnography that would combine memory and narrative studies, cognitive research and the theory of memes with more common or habitual methods of folklore research and cultural anthropology.

Application of Dental Age Estimation: A Review

Age estimation is a vital method in odontopediatrics, legitimate pharmaceutical, anthropology, pediatrics, orthodontics, and forensic sciences, and is conducted for vast variety of reasons. Its use is expanding in both civil and criminal things and is also to identify person in mass disasters and natural calamities. A number of anthropologists have examined the age frameworks, wherein age is frequently a major establishing guideline. Dental-age assessment is considered most a precise, solid, and quick strategy of age assurance, particularly in developing children and is considered exceptionally critical in numerous fields of study.

Антропологические материалы из погребальных комплексов сарматского времени (могильник Вонючка-1, Кавказские Минеральные Воды)

Introduction. Most of the burial mounds of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region combine the burials of representatives of different archaeological cultures separated by thousands of years. Therefore, the rate of accumulation of monocultural synchronous materials in collections for some epochs is quite low, and slows down even more due to the unequal preservation of bone remains. The introduction of new information into scientific circulation based on the results of recent archaeological work will allow faster accumulation of materials and data exchange between researchers working on the same issue. The purpose of this work is to publish morphological features of the skeleton of individuals belonging to the Sarmatian culture of the Pre-Caucasus. Materials and methods. The skeletons of three individuals, from three burials of one mound, dating from the III-I centuries BC and belonging to the nomads of the early Sarmatian time were investigated. The study used both traditional methods of anthropology and bioarchaeological approaches. Sex and age studies were carried out on all preserved parts of the skeleton according to standard anthropological methods. A program for fixing markers of stress and pathological conditions was applied to all the studied individuals. Results. Skeletal remains of two young women and a mature man were studied. Both women had anomalies in the development of teeth: in one case – underdevelopment of enamel, in the other – partial congenital adentia. A set of specific features on the postcranial skeleton of a man allow us to characterize him as a rider, right-handed. Discussion. The results of the study supplement our knowledge about the variability of morphological features of the skeleton of representatives of the nomads of the early Sarmatian culture. Some of the detected signs have a pronounced genetic determination; however, the data obtained is insufficient to identify kinship ties, despite the fact that according to the interpretation of archaeologists, this group of burials is defined as a generic cemetery created during the lifetime of one generation. All the discovered features of the skeleton find analogies among the published materials of synchronous time. @ 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Memorial Landscape of the Ural Town in the Material of Folklore Archive (Kaslee, 1970‑1980)

The article considers the possibility and limits of reconstructing the memorial landscape of the Ural town-factory based on the materials of student folklore practical studies in the late Soviet era. The author reveals the stable motifs of the legends connected with the history of the founding of the industrial settlement of Kaslee, as well as with the specifics of the ethnic interaction between Russian settlers and the local population. The article also defines the “places of memory” in folklore materials. The study shows how the scientific and methodological attitudes of folklorists and the methods of interaction between collectors and informants are reflected in the collection of field archival materials from a particular area.
 The memorial landscape reconstructed according to folklore data tells both about the past of Kaslee and the present, as the perspective of such a description of the past is determined by the present. Archival folklore materials are an example of a combination of practices of communicative and cultural memories. In this aspect, the place of “songs about the city” is also determined in the article. The authors believe that “empty cells” – lacunae of archival memory, about which the informants did not tell and/or the collectors did not ask, are significant elements of this memorative landscape. The stories related to the accident at the Mayak chemical plant in 1957 and the environmental agenda in general become such subjects of silence.
 The article will be useful to folklorists and anyone interested in the problems of memory in folklore materials, as an attempt to apply the methods of folklore and anthropology to the practice of memory studies.

Towards the Challenges of Cross-Cultural Research: Experience on COVID-19 Project

Anthropologists and psychologists engaged in cross-cultural research face numerous methodological challenges. These studies aim to identify universal behavioral traits across all populations on Earth, as well as culturally specific features. This article attempts to describe and comprehend the main problems that researchers encounter while carrying out such projects, using specific examples from the author’s field practice. The primary example is data from a large-scale cross-cultural project that studied anxious, aggressive, and empathic behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in 23 countries worldwide. Existing experience in cross-cultural research demonstrates how various terms and concepts transform under the influence of globalization processes. On the one hand, cultural boundaries become less defined, while on the other hand, the desire for self-identity strengthens. Familiar biological and social constructs such as sex or marital status are modified and require new understanding and analysis. Thanks to the methods of social anthropology and the anthropological approach to humans as biosocial beings, the data obtained can be interpreted, taking into account the cultural specifics and behavioral norms of each society.

Strategies for Conserving Military Heritage for Tourism: The Case of Ghana Navy

This study explores the heritage of Ghana since its inception after the Second World War (WW II). It identifies and examines tangible and intangible assets that comprise this heritage in relation to various strategies adopted by Ghana Navy to protect and conserve these heritage assets for posterity. Research on military heritage in Ghana is very scanty due to the peculiar character, rules, regulations and professional activities of the Armed Forces particularly the Ghana navy. The restrictive nature of the naval installations coupled with inadequate technical knowhow in conservation practices prevents the Ghana from fully availing themselves to other sources and forms of conservation strategies and practices. Furthermore, there is a limit to the extent members of the public engage with them to learn about their heritage. Qualitative method was used to gather primary and secondary data. Using ethnographic and other anthropological research methods and techniques, primary data was gathered from active naval personnel and naval veterans while secondary information was obtained from archival, library and other literary sources. The study discovered that Ghana Navy has been built through many years of experience, customs and traditions of the state to achieve an objective of providing protection at the sea and inland water bodies. The Ghana navy’s heritage encompasses tangible attributes and intangible attributes which constitute the bedrock around which the institution revolves. This study contends that documenting naval heritage is one of the important strategies to promote heritage tourism in Ghana.

Editors’ note

American EthnologistEarly View EDITORIAL Editors’ note From war and its reverberations to questions of anthropological method Susanna Trnka, Corresponding Author Susanna Trnka [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-4779-8035 Correspondence Susanna Trnka Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorL. L. Wynn, L. L. Wynn [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0003-2466-8534 Search for more papers by this authorJesse Hession Grayman, Jesse Hession Grayman orcid.org/0000-0002-0359-5623 Search for more papers by this author Susanna Trnka, Corresponding Author Susanna Trnka [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-4779-8035 Correspondence Susanna Trnka Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorL. L. Wynn, L. L. Wynn [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0003-2466-8534 Search for more papers by this authorJesse Hession Grayman, Jesse Hession Grayman orcid.org/0000-0002-0359-5623 Search for more papers by this author First published: 20 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.13168Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation

Maria Czaplicka: Gender, Shamanism, Race [Maria Czaplicka: Płeć, szamanizm, rasa; Biografia antropologiczna

Maria Czaplicka: Gender, Shamanism, Race [Maria Czaplicka: Płeć, szamanizm, rasa; Biografia antropologiczna

Tо the problem of anthropological journalism

The article is about the using of cultural anthropology methods at journalism. The conventional scholarly understanding of the methods at cultural anthropology has remained largely unchanged since the days of Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski. They are the founders of cultural/social anthropology. The basis of the field method is observation and interviewing. The methods were improved. The introduction of audio and video recording in field research caused revolutionary changes in the application of the method. Both observations and interviews have many varieties, as those who are “in the field” know well. It would seem that the proximity of the approaches used by cultural (social) anthropology and journalism is obvious. However, this kind of formulation of the question is not widespread in the domestic scientific discourse, and, therefore, it is relevant. The article is about the latest research and publications related to the contribution of cultural anthropology to the field of media science and aims to posing a problem regarding the application of cultural anthropology methods in journalism. The article examines the approaches to this issue available in the scientific literature devoted to social communications. the article also examines individual examples of the use of anthropological methods in journalism. The latter provides an opportunity to prospectively analyze individual materials of the Ukrainian media space from the point of view of the application of anthropological methods. In particular, the article discusses the contributions of Elizabeth Bird, beginning with an exploration of anthropological methodology in journalism. In this early work, the author emphasizes that an anthropological perspective changes the relationship between the researcher and the studied and wonders how this might change journalism. If the first exploration is devoted to how the anthropological approach can help the journalist in his work, then the collection of essays edited by E. Bird “The anthropology of news & journalism: global perspectives” in 2010 mainly emphasizes the study of the media using the methods of cultural anthropology. Anne Kirstine Hermann raises the question of the importance of anthropological methods in journalism in connection with multiculturalism. The author claims that multiculturalism creates serious challenges for the press, and media development trends require greater knowledge of the context. this leads to the emergence of anthropological (ethnographic) journalism within the limits of American artistic journalism. Janet Cramer and Michael McDevitt write in detail about the variability of traditional journalism in connection with the involvement of anthropological methods. Finally, the article presents examples of how journalists used the methods of cultural anthropology. One of the examples is about the works of O. Yaremchuk: it is about a cycle of literary reports by Joseph Roth, a correspondent of the German newspaper “Frankfurter Zeitung” in 1925 “In Noon France”. A second example concerns the Sidewalk Standoff project conducted by students studying journalism at Stanford University.

Reconsidering the vignette as method

AbstractWhen ethnography is used in fields outside anthropology, vignettes often take a central role. Yet methodological discussions of the vignette are not as central to anthropology as their cross‐disciplinary use might warrant. By dwelling on, but perhaps less stringently guarding, disciplinary boundaries, anthropology can gain a clearer view of its own central tools—in this case, vignettes. Reconsidering these tools holds particular relevance for work on refugee studies, an inherently interdisciplinary field that anthropology has had a key role in shaping. Artistic works focused on refugees are considered here from a meta‐ethnographic perspective that pays attention to the processes through which a specific series of artworks were produced alongside their content. Central to this analysis is the role of the vignette in the artist's presentation of her work, which enables an inquiry into the double role of the vignette as both method and presentation in anthropology.

Veneds Tribes of the Late Zarubyntsi Culture of Upper Dnieper in the 2nd–5th Centuries CE

Nests of settlements were the basis of the research on family and tribal structure of the Slavs (Nevrs, Scythians-ploughmen, Scythians-farmers, and Veneds of the Zarubyntsi culture) of the 7th century BCE – 2nd century CE, which was published in the "Ukrainoznavstvo" journal (2022, №. 2–4). Mapping the nests of settlements on modern maps makes it possible to compare the changes in the location of the named Slavic tribes over time, which in fact offers a new method of sociocultural anthropology – the method of family-tribe geography of the Slavs–Ukrainians ethnogenesis. This method permits to detect the characteristic features of the social, cultural, and economic life of the clans and tribes of the Slavs in the chain of epochs with the help of various branches of science: archaeology, ethnography, linguistics, anthropology, as well as folklore, beliefs, law, crafts, and technologies. And the main thing is that this method allows you to move away from ethnically undefined "carriers of archaeological cultures", which are a relic of Soviet archaeology and do not allow studying the ancient history of families and peoples that inhabited the territory of Eastern Europe since the Palaeolithic. During the modern war, Ukrainians-farmers, for the Russians "Little Russians", are very energetically freeing themselves from the arms of nomads, herdsmen, "Great Russians". The artificially created unity of russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian has already faded into the past. At the same time, interest in the ancient history of the Ukrainian people, which is hidden in archaeological sites and their interpretations, is constantly growing in the world.Our attention is drawn to Jordan's message about the various ethnonyms of the Veneds (the name by which the early Slavs were called), according to which the Veneds are divided into separate tribes that have names according to their families or places of residence. This message is confirmed in this article.Based on the research of archaeologists (largely based on L. Pobol's collection of monuments, which includes 517 late Zarubyntsi settlements), we have localised 50 nests settlements of Slavs-Veneds of the 2nd–5th centuries CE on the map of Belarus. (Fig. 1). It has been established that the tribes of the historical Slavs-Veneds of the late stage of the Zarubyntsi culture occupied the same territory of the Upper Dnipro where 36 tribes of the Zarubyntsi culture of the early stage of the 3rd century BCE lived – the 2nd century CE ("Ukrainian Studies," 2022, № 4, Fig. 14). So, there are reasons to express the opinion that the north-western part of the Veneds of the late Zarubyntsi culture – the ancestors of the current Belarusians – lived with the ancestors of the Ukrainians on the same territory for thousands of years, that is, they have a common history. And the Pripyat River did not divide our nations but united them for many centuries.

Andrieva Niedras prozas varoņu reliģisko uzskatu pārmaiņas

At the turn of the 19th /20th century, in an era of transition (fin de siècle), both social and economic processes, as well as aspects of education and spiritual culture, change. At the turn of the 19th/20th century, several authors focused on the solution of religious issues, Jānis Poruks (1871–1924) wrote the essay “Nākotnes Reliģija” (Religion of Future) (1894), Andrievs Niedra (1871–1942) published a series of articles in the magazine “Austrums” (1905), religious issues have been addressed in several writers’ prose. Niedra believes that he has found the key to the religious problem of the transition era. Religious ideals are the signposts that mark the course of human development, and religion is the promulgator of people’s life assignments. Art, religion, and virtue are transformed similarly; this transformation is determined by the solitary or collective individual’s heredity and environment. The religious views of the characters of Niedra’s prose (the stories “The Feeble Soul” (Nespēcīgā Dvēsele), “The Fourth Fellow” (Ceturtais Biedrs), “Without One’s Past” (Bez paša pagātnes), the novel “In the Smokes of a Clearing” (Līduma dūmos), etc.) are based on personalism as a direction of philosophy in the second half of the 19th century, Gustav Teichmüller (1850–1937), Alexey Kozlov (1831–1901), Lev Lopatin (1855–1920), Jēkabs Osis (1860–1919), Haralds Biezais (1909–1995), Voldemārs Maldonis (1870–1941), Kārlis Kundziņš (1850–1937), Alberts Freijs (1903– 1968). The aim of the article is to reveal the religious views of the characters of Niedra’s prose and their change at the turn of the 19th/20th century. The descriptive, comparative, psychoanalytical, and anthropological methods are used.

Analysis on the “The Origin of Family Private Property and the State”

The Origin of Family Private Property and the State” is an important work written by Engels in his later years on the basis of historical materialism. It is a model of the application of Marxist historical materialism and a classic of the ideological treasure house of scientific socialist theoretical system. Using the research methods of anthropology and history and based on the theory of Marxist historical materialism, Engels clarified the social structure and development course of primitive society, and revealed the nature of private ownership, class and state as well as the historical law of development. Reviewing this classic is of great significance for us to have a thorough understanding of the general situation of primitive society, deepen our understanding of private ownership, class and the state, master the methods of historical materialism, grasp the essential defects of capitalist countries and grasp the superiority of people's democracy in the whole process of socialism.

Island of Migrants

Christmas Island is a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, a few hundred miles off the coast of Java. The island is small, with a population of less than 2000. Yet in spite of, or maybe because of, its isolation, the island is a site of incredible movement. Every wet season, millions of endemic red crabs descend from the jungles in what is one of the most spectacular animal migrations in the world. In October or November, the crabs begin a long journey from the jungles down to the coast to breed, continuing an annual life cycle. The crab migration intersects the island’s main roads and has resulted in a series of inventive tunnels, bridges, and fences which both protect the crabs from traffic and draw tourists from around the world.[1]
 Another important population crosses Christmas Island on its migration journey, with considerably less luck. In 2007, construction was completed on an Immigration Reception and Processing Centre to temporarily detain asylum seekers from neighboring islands. In response to the 2001 Pacific Solution in which “4000 islands were excised from Australia’s migration zone,” Christmas Island became a temporary holding center for boat-bound asylum seekers from Indonesia, eventually transitioning to becoming an isolated site for long-term detention.[2] The center on Christmas Island is one of the largest in Australia’s onshore detention center network, which continues to operate today.
 For both animal and human populations, Christmas Island is the site of incredible movement. However, these two migrating populations are governed in very different ways. “Island of Migrants”[3] is a 19-minute podcast episode that examines the ways in which red crab migration and asylum seeker migration are treated differently despite their close physical proximity on the island, and what this difference in their treatment reflects about who is considered worthy of protection. The podcast is a result of both anthropological and journalistic methods as well as a 2-month period of living on Christmas Island. Through firsthand accounts from islander residents, asylum seekers, and activists, “Island of Migrants” seeks to demonstrate the stakes of valuing one migration over another.
 
 [1] “Red Crab Migration.” Australian Government. Parks Australia. Accessed December 16, 2019. https://parksaustralia.gov.au/christmas/discover/highlights/red-crab-migration/.
 [2] Hearman, Vannessa. “Troubled Transit: Asylum Seekers Stuck in Indonesia. By Antje Missbach.” Journal of Refugee Studies 30, no. 4 (January 2017): 628–30. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fex031.
 [3] Niu, Stephanie. “Following the Water.” Following the Water (blog). Anchor, December 13, 2019. https://anchor.fm/followingthewater/episodes/Island-of-Migrants-e9gsaq/a-a15vv0b.

WHO ARE THE BREADWINNERS?

Polygamy is a highly controversial topic and the object of serious political contestation in Indonesia. Although all major Muslim organizations consider polygamy is allowed under Islamic Law, the practice is not without stigma. In 1974 when Indonesia adopted its current Marriage Law, the Indonesian parliament decided to tie polygamy to strict conditions. This law however failed to prevent the practice of unregistered polygamous marriages. Women in unregistered polygamous marriages formally hold no rights as lawful wife in case of a divorce or death of the husband. The question is what arrangements the second, third or fourth wife in unregistered polygamous marriages have made with their husband in view of the lack of legal recognition of their rights as wife. What are the consequences of non-recognition of their marriage for these women? Does legal insecurity in practice also mean economic and social insecurity? Does the husband fulfill his obligations and responsibilities towards his wives and their families? This article aims at answering those questions by looking in-depth at a selection of three case studies, which were collected during a total of nine months of research in Jakarta in 2015 and 2016. This article is part of the socio-legal domain, combining legal analysis with anthropological approaches. The starting point of the research is a legal one: the disadvantaged legal position of women whose polygamous marriage has not been registered, but a large part of the research is based on anthropological methods. Through the experiences of these women, the paper reveals a range of personal reasons and underlying causes for unregistered Islamic polygamous marriages as well as their consequences–including legal ones. The paper depicts a great diversity in the ways husbands and wives view and organize their responsibilities within their polygamous households.

The concept of «legal understanding» in the arsenal of scientific categories of general theory and philosophy of law

Purpose. To analyze the peculiarities of approaches to legal understanding through the prism of various criteria, which will make it possible to determine its essence and significance. Legal understanding is a meaningful system, since the answer to the question about the essence of law is also the answer to the question about the content (purpose) of law. Methodology. In this sense, quite reasonable questions arise: how can one create law on the basis of comprehending a huge set of social phenomena without imagining at least the signs of this law, without even basic knowledge about it (here, by the way, one's own life experience should be eliminated as an obstacle to objectivity), how can one find the optimal method by which one can at least come close to understanding the essence of law that one is looking for? Let's assume that before cognizing the subject matter, i.e., law, we managed to identify the means of cognition in the form of scientific methods. Again, the question arises: how are these methods discovered? After all, in order to find them, one needs some other method, and to find the latter, one needs the next, and so on ad infinitum. The only way out of this circle is to identify some "obvious" properties of the subject. The methodological basis of the study is a system of conceptual approaches, general scientific and special legal methods, as well as methods of scientific knowledge: anthropological, idealistic, need-based research, systemic, communicative approaches, and such methods as historical and legal, comparative legal, etc. Results. In the course of the study, the author proves that three things are necessary for the study of the concept of legal understanding: knowledge of law (intellectual element), activity (volitional element), and - undoubtedly - consciousness (spiritual element). After all, only the spiritual identifies the first two. Only the spiritual component fills the "legal light", content, purpose, spirit of the law, legal connection, and guarantees them from turning into a formal scheme at best, and criminal law chaos at worst, and law itself is not law. Practical significance. Without exaggeration, the problem of understanding law can be classified as "eternal". Since the emergence of professional legal activity and up to now, there has not been and probably is not a single lawyer who would not think about the question of what law is and would not try to answer it.

Reimagining conservation practice: Indigenous self-determination and collaboration in Papua New Guinea

AbstractHere we describe a 14-year collaboration in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, between an Indigenous NGO, Indigenous scientists and international researchers. New Ireland is a marine province in the Western Pacific region where most residents depend on fishing, marine gleaning and small-scale gardening for their livelihoods. Ailan Awareness is a locally founded and managed NGO that focuses on the strengthening of Indigenous sovereignty regarding biological, cultural and spiritual diversity as well as fostering Indigenous epistemology practices and strengthening biocultural diversity. In partnership with anthropological researchers, Ailan Awareness has designed an approach to marine conservation informed by the growing field of decolonial research practices. By working to empower coastal communities to make decisions about their marine and cultural resources using a mix of Indigenous, anthropological and scientific methods and giving primacy to strengthening Indigenous modes of knowledge production and the role of community Elders, Ailan Awareness addresses a major gap in the efforts of the national government and international NGOs: giving the people most directly affected by declining biodiversity and loss of tradition the support and tools required to design and carry out the strengthening of both biological diversity and traditional social practices. In this paper we describe the methodology used by Ailan Awareness and the history of collaboration that resulted in these methods.

Understanding STEM from Students’ Perspectives: Exploring Students’ Lived Communities and the Learning Communities They Wish to Create

Community engagement in STEM learning and teaching largely focuses on citizen science projects, serving the needs and goals of the largely white and male dominated STEM fields with only cursory attention to the lived experiences and narratives of the learners who engage in these experiences (Mahmoudi et al., 2022; Rautio et al., 2022). This article explores the ways in which researchers can work with students to uncover the ways in which they experience learning environments, and pathways for change according to their community memberships, aspirations, and goals. Participants in this research are high school biology students in a diverse mid-suburban city. To understand their perspectives, students participated in activity structures grounded in anthropological methods including ethnographic interviews (Emerson et al., 1995; Spradley, 1979), illustrations (Haney et al., 2004), pile sorts (Boster, 1994; Ryan & Bernard, 2003), and ranking (Smith & Borgatti, 1997; Thompson & Juan, 2006). Moving between consensus and individuals, this research demonstrates the ways in which students’ critical and meaningful experiences and aspirations can be understood and heard.