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Geetanjali Balkissoon
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Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Badone Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology My MA research is based on the modern experience of cancer, and barriers to cancer care in the Greater Toronto Area. I will work within the context of a volunteer organization to learn how volunteers bridge gaps and aid in knowledge translation among patients/families and their doctors. It is my aim that this research will help to extend the discourse on patient needs and expectations, and the unique role of volunteers. This research ties in several of my broader interests in anthropology including death and dying, health, and medical anthropology. |
| Martina Boychuck |
Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Badone Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology |
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Lori D'Ortenzio  |
Supervisor: Dr. Tracy Prowse Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology My master’s research will use stable isotope analysis of human hair to explore dietary preferences to facilitate a greater understanding of individual life histories of early Ontario settlers. Hair growth is faster than the rate of bone turnover, so the analysis of hair provides an opportunity to explore dietary patterns closer to the time of death. I hope to demonstrate that human hair represents an ideal material to be used in the understanding of dietary patterns and health status in a historic population from 19th century Ontario by investigating the short-term diet of individuals before death. |
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Stephanie DaSilva  |
Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Badone Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology My MA research interests are focused on death and dying. My research will address ways in which the first waves of Portuguese immigrants to Canada regarded death and mortuary rituals and interpret transformations in rituals surrounding death among the Portuguese immigrant population in contemporary Canada. I will also attempt to understand how conceptions of Catholicism have changed among Portuguese immigrants. |
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Matthew Emery |
Supervisor: Dr. Tracy Prowse Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology My MA research uses stable isotopes to investigate diet and geographic origins in a small skeletal sample of soldiers who died during the Battle of Stoney Creek, 1813. Since the national identities and origins of these soldiers are unclear, my study will provide general insight into the diet and regional origins of the Smith’s Knoll remains by analyzing carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium stable isotopes in human bone. In essence, this bioarchaeological study seeks to understand the behaviour of these 1812 soldiers within their historical context using chemical techniques. |
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Meghna George |
Supervisor: Dr. Kee Yong Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology |
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Andrea Goertzen  |
Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Badone Sub-discpline: The Anthropology of Health My proposed research would examine Canadian's perceptions of alternative, or naturopathic cancer treatment compared to traditional courses of biomedical therapy. My major research paper will address attitudes towards alternative treatment in the wake of a cancer diagnosis, and what factors (social, physical, personal) influence their decision to pursue said treatments, or to follow the traditional courses of action, recommended by oncologists. |
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Laura Lockau lockaulm@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Megan Brickley Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology
My Master’s research examines traumatic skeletal lesions in material from the Smith’s Knoll site in Stoney Creek; this sample consists of the fragmented and commingled remains of soldiers killed during the War of 1812. I will identify the presence and prevalence of perimortem fractures, sharp force trauma, and musket injuries in this sample. My research will also correlate the types of weapons and ammunition that may have been used with the injuries present in the skeletal material, based on comparison with experimental data. The analysis of traumatic skeletal injuries in this sample has important implications for the interpretation of violence-related injuries in other archaeological samples. |
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Ashley Nagel  |
Supervisor: Dr. Tina Moffat Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health My proposed research involves using biocultural synthesis to better understand growth and development of children in societies transitioning from one subsistence strategy to another. My major research paper will look at the differences in children's growth and development from factors such as; changes in diet and diseases affected by environmental and subsistence factors. This paper aims to provide insight on how socio-political factors involved in resettlement programs are affecting children's health outcomes, which will be used as an indicator of the success or failure of these changes. |
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Jennifer Schumacher  |
Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Roddick Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research interests lay in ceramics and the stories they can tell. My current research focuses on variability of the technological sequence of pottery to identify the relationship between techniques and society in an Early Ontario Iroquoian village. I follow the steps of ceramic production acknowledging that every choice is a decision to uphold a current social tradition or to change it. My hope is to shed light on inter-site and inter-regional relationships by understanding intra-site relationships and in turn give insight into uses of identity, learning, and relations of interaction in Southern Ontario. |
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Lauren Wallace
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Supervisor: Dr. Wayne Warry Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health My Master's research examines the utility and rationality of collaboration between traditional healers and biomedical practitioners for the improvement of primary health care in the Upper East Region of Ghana. In collaboration with the Navrongo Health Research Centre, I will investigate the community's opinion concerning the possible role of traditional medicine in basic health care. Ultimately, this research will provide insight into the ways that collaboration with healers might improve or hinder primary healthcare initiatives. This topic developed from my larger interest in the intersections between medical anthropology and global health, as well as previous research in Ghana. |
| Lena Zepf zepfl@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Tristan Carter Sub-discipline: Archaeology |
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Heather Battles
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Thesis - Examining Mortality Patterns in the Epidemic Emergence of Poliomyelitis in Southern Ontario, Canada (1900-1937) using GIS
Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health My doctoral research combines archival data with GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology to examine patterns of polio mortality in Wentworth and York counties during the epidemic emergence of that disease in the early 20th century. I will explore the interacting socio-economic, cultural, geographic, and demographic factors which contributed to the epidemic emergence of polio in southern Ontario and to the particular pattern of its impact in this time and place in terms of mortality. |
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Kandace Bogaert
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Supervisor: Dr. Ann Herring Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health |
Kirsti Bos |
Supervisor: Dr. Hendrik Poinar Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology As a member of the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, I use molecular techniques to isolate and characterise pathogens from past human populations. Most recently I've worked with skeletal and dental material from victims of the Black Death (1347-1351) to investigate the aetiologic agent of the medieval pandemic. Recent molecular investigations have demonstrated the presence of the bacterium Yersinia pestis DNA in victims of the Black Death, but some questions remain oustanding regarding discrepancies in epidemiological trends between the ancient and modern forms of the disease. Using state of the art techniques in molecular capture, my research seeks to characterise long genetic segments of the ancient pathogen to determine if changes in the bacterium's genome might be partially responsible for the intensity of the disease in the 14th century. |
| Natalie Brewster brewstnd@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Here for a Reason: An Archaeological History of Local and Regional Fish Resource use on the Northern Coast of British Columbia Supervisor: Dr. Aubrey Cannon Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research interests include coastal hunter-gatherers, zooarchaeology, subsistence and settlement studies, culture contact and interaction. My current research focuses on subsistence and interaction among prehistoric hunter-gatherers in and among the Dundas Island chain on the north coast of British Columbia. |
| Linda Brooymans brooyml@mcmaster.ca |
Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Badone Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology |
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Alexandra Brown  |
Thesis - Visual Resistances: Liberal Democracies Imag(in)e Islam in the West
Supervisor: Dr. Petra Rethmann Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology I study the material products (government reports, propaganda films, museum exhibits) of recent debates over "Islam in the West" across Europe and North America. My dissertation explores the work of form and style in artistic and population representations of political issues, and the way these representations work on the public. My fieldwork integrates a number of case studies, including my recent work in the Netherlands (on the controversial internet film Fitna), Switzerland (on the poster campaign to ban minarets) and Canada (on the Ontario commission report on Islamic law and private dispute resolution). |
| Meghan Burchell burcheme@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Archaeological Histories of Shellfish Harvest and Management in Coastal British Columbia Supervisors: Dr. Aubrey Cannon and Dr. Henry P. Schwarcz Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research examines resource management practices and seasonal settlement patterns on the Coast of British Columbia though the biological and chemical analyses of archaeological shells. Using stable isotope analysis coupled with high-resolution sclerochronology, my work models patterns of local and regional paleoclimate in relationship to the intensity of local resource harvesting practices. This research is facilitated through the Fisheries Archaeology Research Centre, the McMaster Stable Isotope Research Laboratory, and I am also a member of the INCREMENTS research group at the University of Mainz in Germany. |
| Sally Carraher carrahs@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - A Journey Inside Ourselves - Helicobacter pylori, Health and Humanity Supervisors: Dr. Ann Herring and Dr. Wayne Warry Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health I am a second-year PhD student working with Drs. Herring and Warry. I use ethnography in conjunction with epidemiology to study the health effects of Heliobacter pylori , the bacterium that causes ulcers and stomach cancer. I believe in action-oriented research and the community-based participatory approach, which seeks to collaborate with the local communities and share ownership over the entire research process. |
| Ani Chenier chenieae@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Aubrey Cannon Sub-discipline: Archaeology |
| K. Jack Conley conleykj@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis- "Coming Home": Environmentally Protected Areas and the Missanabie Cree First Nation Supervisor: Dr. Harvey Feit Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology My dissertation explores how protected areas have emerged in the homeland of the Missanabie Cree and how these impact community, territory and identity. I examine three protected areas in order to locate the common features which lead to dispossession and displacement and explore ways to address these damaging problems. The Missanabie Cree have been working for almost a century to transform the management of these areas and to restore their collective influence in how the land is used, protected and understood. Searching for ways to decolonize protected areas leads into challenging questions about cross-cultural knowledge production, governance and public education. |
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Nadia Densmore |
Supervisor: Dr. Aubrey Cannon Sub-Discipline: Archaeology |
| Alison Devault devaulam@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Ancient DNA of Infectious Diseases Supervisor: Dr. Hendrik Poinar Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology My background is in biology and archaeology (B.A. Boston University) and biological anthropology (M.A. McMaster University). My current thesis research focuses on the evolutionary history of human infectious disease as studied through the molecular remains of pathogen DNA in archaeological human remains. I am interested in the potential for ancient DNA (aDNA) to provide meaningful anthropological and evolutionary biological insights into past pathogens, beyond species identification. What can aDNA tell us about the biological characteristics of historical epidemics, and can these insights inform our interpretation of historical and archaeological narratives about these epidemics? Studying aDNA helps shape our understanding of current infectious disease, because a greater knowledge of pathogen evolutionary relationships and trajectories can inform our environmental and pharmaceutical strategies to combat their virulence. |
| Jeffrey Dillane dillanjb@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Long-term Settlement Change in the Trent River Drainage Supervisor: Dr. Aubrey Cannon Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research interests include landscape and settlement archaeology of hunter-gatherers, the archaeology of Southern Ontario, GIS applications in archaeology, and the archaeology of death. My current research is focused on the changing settlement and landscape dynamics of the Trent Valley in Southern Ontario between 2000 BC and AD 1500. This period saw a significant number of changes in the local environment and in the social structure, subsistence economy, and settlement patterns of the inhabitants of this region. |
| Lilian Dogiama dogiamte@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Points of reference: projectiles, hunting and identity at Neolithic Catalhoyuk, Turkey Supervisor: Dr. Tristan Carter Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research interests lie in lithic analysis, projectile technology, the Greek Neolithic and Bronze Age, Neolithic Turkey, hunting in farming societies, and archaeological theory. My PhD research focuses on how social identity is constructed, expressed, and maintained through the social practice of hunting, with specific reference to the cultural biography of stone projectile points from Catalhoyuk, a Neolithic site in central Anatolia (7400-6000 BC). My research will contribute to a better understanding of hunting practices as an arena of symbolic expression and negotiation of power relations within small scale agropastoral societies. |
| Bernice Downey downebe@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Knowledge Translation for Indigenous Populations: What's Missing? Supervisor: Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health My current academic interests are a culmination of the many years spent working in the area of Indigenous health promotion and health policy and research at the community, regional, national, and international level. I am a committed advocate in the work related to promoting, supporting and fostering the resiliencies of Indigenous populations. This includes building awareness regarding both the serious health inequities that is the current reality of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people in Canada and the historical, structural and socio-cultural factors that perpetuate the status quo. My research interest is in the area of health knowledge translation for Indigenous populations. I have been pondering the concepts of cultural knowledge brokering and Indigenous health literacy and how they might inform the work needed to enhance knowledge uptake for Indigenous populations. |
| Mohamed El Faki elfakimo@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Petra Rethmann Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology I am interested in the issues of identity, identification and ethnic conflict. In my project, I intend to draw on historical and anthropological scholarship with a special focus on ethnic identity and violence, genocide and Darfur, Sudan. I will ask about the historical parameters and configurations (local, regional and international) that my have helped to generate the current violent situation in Darfur. The challenge, therefore, is to examine and explain the complexity of the conflict while also paying attention to the means that would make it possible for Darfur to move beyond it. |
| Kymberley Feltham felthakd@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis-Dance and Empowerment in South Africa Supervisor: Dr. Petra Rethmann Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology I am interested in how the performances of South African dance artists reflect the transformations of the post-aparthied state; particularly in how South Africa's sociopolitical climate is embodied by contemporary dancers and their performance projects, and how dance is used by them as a communicative tool that aids in the ongoing transformation of the state. |
| Kyle Freund freundkp@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Tristan Carter Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research interests include lithic analysis in the prehistoric Mediterranean, from the Mesolithic through Bronze Ages. By integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with obsidian sourcing by means of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, I study the history of obsidian use in the Mediterranean to examine the changing nature of procurement, circulation, technology, and cultural values in light of major shifts in socio-economic structure, maritime technology, and incipient metallurgy. My ultimate goal is to expand on current archaeological theory as it relates to conceptions of materiality in the archaeological record. |
| Rebecca Gilmour gilmourj@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisors: Drs. Megan Brickley and Tracy Prowse Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology |
| Anastasia Holobinko holobia@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Tracy Prowse Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology My research systematically assesses stable isotope signatures in a sealed, static human tissue (i.e., tooth enamel) with the isotopic signatures in a continuously forming tissue (i.e., hair) to compare and link geographic provenance early in life with that of geographic location around the time of death. In addition, I am exploring multi-isotopic signatures of dentin to determine what potentially valuable information can be gleaned from it regarding provenance. I hope my results will contribute to the development of a multi-faceted forensic technique to facilitate victim identification in circumstances when other identification techniques cannot be implemented. |
| Alyson Jaagumagi jaagumae@mcmaster.ca |
Supervisor: Dr. Tina Moffat Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health |
| Stacy Lockerbie lockers@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Supervisor: Dr. Petra Rethmann Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology My interests include: China, globalization, reproduction and feminist anthropology. My doctoral research explores transnational adoption of children between Canada and China. I am particularly interested in how these practice shape female subjectivity, and actively challenge and reshape North American ideals of motherhood and the family. I am also interested in exploring popular and independent media images of motherhood as a site of empowerment and the celebrity culture of philanthropic adoption, HIV research, and the endorsement of environmental campaigns. |
| Madeleine Mant mantml@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Megan Brickley Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology My doctoral research seeks to better identify perimortem trauma-- injuries occuring around the time of death -- by studying the skeletal remains of individuals from 19th century London, UK. I am to create a comprehensive biocultural framework, incorporating physical, archival, and mechanical bone fracture testing data, in which to understand and interpret the trauma. |
| Stephanie-Marie Marciniak marcis@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Tracy Prowse Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology
My doctoral research examines the biological relationships and geographic origins of individuals from a Roman necropolis, integrating metric trait analysis, isotopic and ancient DNA evidence with mortuary analysis of the cemetery. The spatially discrete burials are well-suited to address hypotheses about the structure of family groups and whether genetic relationships are reflected in the organization of the cemetery. Through this research, I will directly explore questions of identity in terms of family and social structure, situated in the archaeological and historical context of rural life in the Roman period. |
| Myriam Nafte naftem@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Trophies and Talismans: The Art of Human Remains Supervisor: Dr. Ann Herring Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology After receiving an MA in physical anthropology at McMaster in 1993, I pursued work and research in the field of forensic anthropology, and combined this with more advanced studies in visual art, including sculpture and anatomical drawing. As such, the human body has been the focus of my art and research for the last 20 years. I have developed a particular interest in how, cross-culturally, human remains are processed for display as trophies, art objects, talismans, relics and specimens. From early tribal customs to the religious and contemporary art scenes, the body as material culture is explored through its transition from cadaver to an object of power, art and ideology. |
| Jessica E. Pace paceje@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Memories and Meaning: Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia and Aging in Canadian Aboriginal Communities Supervisor: Dr. Wayne Warry Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health My PhD project utilizes Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) as a lens through which to pursue a broader ethnographic inquiry into aging, health and the role of the aged in Canadian Aboriginal communities on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. This is a community-based participatory research project that will use ethnographic research techniques, including in-depth interviews, participant observation and focus groups to identify knowledge, perceptions and behaviours related to ADRD. I will work with seniors with dementia, families, caregivers, and traditional mainstream health care professionals to better understand how these beliefs reflect and shape the experience of being and becoming old in a Canadian Aboriginal context.
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| Catherine Paterson patersca@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Aubrey Cannon Sub-discipline: Archaeology I am in the fourth year researching the links between cemetery use and family, community and identity as settlers and later generations established and used family cemeteries and transitioned to the use of community and church cemeteries in the Niagara region of Ontario. Visiting these cemeteries has been a series of adventures from the roadside to the backwoods and is a great way to explore the region and meet many interesting and helpful people. It has expanded my interest in the conservation of cemeteries and monuments to include how historic cemeteries are incorporated into modern landscapes and identity. |
| Rebecca Plett plettra@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Badone Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology The research questions I am pursuing focus on what processes, cultural forces, and ideas occur that cancer (and the cander death in particular) is imbued with violent and militaristic metaphors, and further, what the relationship is between such discourse and wider social understandings of violence and the body - how has cancer been constituted as a "fight" and "battle"? By looking at these questions through an examination of how Mennonites, a historically and ideologically pacifist ethnic group, experience cancer as an illness and coping with death due to cancer, what can we further decipher about what cancer and death mean in the medical and Western imagination. |
Shari Prowse |
Supervisor: Dr. Aubrey Cannon Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research interests revolve around understanding the relationships that exist between patterns of settlement and subsistence and other cultural phenomena. My most recent studies examined netsinker use and manufacture as evidence for a mass capture strategy of fishing among Woodland period populations within the Lower Great Lakes region. For my doctoral research, under the supervision of Dr. Aubrey Cannon, I am looking at the role various fishing strategies played in the development of the Late Woodland village cultural pattern within central Ontario. I am a part-time student and am employed full-time with the Ontario Ministry of Culture as an Archaeological Review Officer for the southwest region where, among other things, I provide technical advice on cultural resource management projects. I am also an associate editor of the Ontario Archaeological Society’s journal Ontario Archaeology. |
| Vanessa Sage sageve@mcmaster.ca  |
Thesis - Downtown Arts Revitalization: Visions for James Street North in Hamilton, Ontario Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Badone Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology My work explores an arts scene that has recently been developing on James Street North in Hamilton, Ontario. I am interested in how it has come to embody hope for a revitalized street, neighbourhood and city. I ask how do the efforts at revitalization, concerns over displacement and the feeling of loss that are part of the social fabric of the street connect to people's hopes, fears and dreams? More generally, I study aesthetics, place and materiality in urban and religious contexts. My previous work explored these themes by examining Goddess pilgrimage in Glastonbury, England and through an analysis of the Crop Circle movement as a new religious movement. |
| Jairus Skye skyejs@mcmaster.ca  |
Supervisor: Dr. Wayne Warry Sub-discipline: The Anthropology of Health |
| Robert Stark starkrj@mcmaster.ca  |
Subject- Non-metric traits and stable isotopes Supervisor: Dr. Tracy Prowse Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology My research will examine the use of non-metric skeletal traits for differentiating between archaeological populations. This research will seek to use a holistic approach through the employment of traits from the entire skeleton in the hope of identifying significant patterns of trait distribution within and between populations. This work will be carried out in conjunction with isotopic studies of strontium and oxygen for looking at migration patterns. Through the combined use of these methods it is hoped that increasingly reliable means of examining for population differentiation and migration can be developed. |
| Lilianna Watamaniuk watamalu@mcmaster.ca |
Supervisor: Dr. Megan Brickley Sub-discipline: Physical Anthropology |
| Cora Woolsey woolsec@mcmaster.ca  |
Subject- Technological and Manufacturing Attributes of New Brunswick Aboriginal Pottery Supervisor: Dr. Aubrey Cannon Sub-discipline: Archaeology My research is concerned with Aboriginal ceramics from the Maritime Peninsula on the east coast of Canada, and with understanding the reasons that people in this region made pottery. I am interested in the ways that so-called "stylistic" attributes of pottery, such as decoration, in fact have technological functions and contribute to a well-honed tool tradition that is highly specialized and consciously designed for accomplishing a specific purpose. I attempt to show this through experimental laboratory work, geoarchaeology, and vessel replications, especially by determining firing cycles and other technological and manufacturing attributes of pottery. |
| Tian Yang |
Supervisor: Dr. Kee Yong Sub-discipline: Socio-cultural Anthropology |
