Doc Billingsley | Elmira College (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Doc Billingsley
Vertical magnetic gradient measurements and soil phosphate analysis were employed for mapping the... more Vertical magnetic gradient measurements and soil phosphate analysis were employed for mapping the subsurface architectural characteristics of two Early Copper Age settlements at Vésztő-Bikeri, SE. Hungary. The geophysical investigations were part of a larger excavation campaign, the Körös Regional Archaeological Project, which is focused in the study of settlement organization, land use, and subsistence in the Neolithic-Copper Age transition on the Great Hungarian Plain.
Cultures and Globalization: …, Jan 1, 2011
The books in my "Maya literature" collection are written by authors and scholars who identify the... more The books in my "Maya literature" collection are written by authors and scholars who identify themselves as Maya, as members of the indigenous civilizations that have occupied the highlands, coasts, and cloud forests of Central America for more than three millennia before the arrival of European colonists or the birth of the creole / mestizo nations of the Americas. Some Maya authors write in Spanish or English in order to reach a broader audience. Others write in any of the twenty-one distinct Mayan languages spoken today in Guatemala. Although I consider it my most valued collection, in fact it remains relatively small, constrained by the difficulties of transporting each new addition across the mountainous terrain of Guatemala and back home each summer. My policy for packing each May is to take clothing that I won't mind leaving abroad, in order to make room for more books in my luggage on the flight home.
olemiss.edu
This paper represents the marriage of two research projects that I conducted as an undergraduate ... more This paper represents the marriage of two research projects that I conducted as an undergraduate at Millsaps College. As a junior, I was assigned a research paper in which I had to examine a contemporary social phenomenon using the major theories of three classical sociologists. I chose to examine the recent and remarkable demographic history of Thailand, a nation regarded by many as providing a highly successful example of voluntary family planning. The results of this academic exercise suggested that there are meaningful patterns in fertility behaviors that correspond to religious and linguistic affiliations. I later decided to pursue a deeper understanding of the Thai demographic transition by studying in Thailand and touring the sites of family planning activity myself. After completing intensive language training, I enrolled as a student at Chiang Mai University in Northern Thailand for the fall semester of my senior year. As I met with public health officials and nongovernmental volunteers who operate Thailand's multifaceted family planning program, and as I became more fluent in Thai culture and Theravada Buddhism, my perspective on family planning has gradually shifted focus.
Journal of …, Jan 1, 2004
Geophysical prospection and soil chemical analyses were conducted at the Early Copper Age (ECA, c... more Geophysical prospection and soil chemical analyses were conducted at the Early Copper Age (ECA, ca. 4500-3900 cal BC [Antiquity 76 (2002) 619, Journal of Field Archaeology (2004) in press] site of Vésztő -Bikeri as part of the Koros Regional Archaeological Project investigations of the Neolithic-Copper Age transition on the Great Hungarian Plain. The goal of these investigations was to locate and map subsurface features and activity areas at the settlement. Vertical magnetic gradient measurements defined the extent and layout of the structures and features across the settlement and revealed that previously unidentified concentric ditches enclosed the site. Excavations confirmed the locations of most of the wall trenches, postholes, ditches, and pits detected in the geophysical survey. The soil chemical survey recorded high concentrations of phosphate around the perimeter of the site, some of which were associated with a midden. With the geophysical survey, details of the plan and organization of the Early Copper Age settlement were revealed that could not be discerned from surface artifact distribution patterns and test excavations. The soil chemistry survey results showed a contrast between the "cleaner" center of the site (near the structures) and the ring of debris at the edge of the site (near the circular enclosures). The continuation of such nondestructive investigations at other ECA sites will help improve models of settlement organization during the Neolithic-Copper Age transition.
Teaching Documents by Doc Billingsley
This course examines how national narratives shape the ideas of nation-states about themselves an... more This course examines how national narratives shape the ideas of nation-states about themselves and others. It considers cultural, psychological, and political aspects of narratives used to interpret the past and understand the present. In addition to reviewing conceptual foundations from the humanities and social sciences, particular national narratives are considered as case studies.
Este curso se divide conceptualmente en dos componentes: en la primera mitad del semestre, revisa... more Este curso se divide conceptualmente en dos componentes: en la primera mitad del semestre, revisaremos la larga historia de temas políticos en la sociología y la antropología con el fin de completar y examinar críticamente los diferentes argumentos que han llegado a definir la antropología política. Revisaremos las teorías clásicas de los estructuralistas y de las teorías de conflicto de los sociólogos de los principios de siglo 20, las críticas fundamentales por las teóricas feministas y posmodernas en los años 1970-80, y el giro más reciente de atención a las micro-políticas del poder, la violencia y el arte de gobernar (statecraft) en un mundo globalizando marcado simultáneamente por el desmantelamiento del Estado Viejo y por el ascenso de nuev@s naciones y nacionalismos.
Conference Presentations by Doc Billingsley
This paper shares lessons I have learned in the course of engaged research with three influential... more This paper shares lessons I have learned in the course of engaged research with three influential Maya organizations in Guatemala over the past six years. I discuss the purpose and value of long-term engagement with indigenous communities as well as the immediate concerns and practices of engaged research on the ground. Although engaged anthropology takes many forms and carries various meanings, one commonly shared goal is a more equitable distribution of power between researchers and our collaborators. In my work with indigenous intellectual leaders, this required revisiting familiar paradigms of activism and political mobilization—focused primarily on the role of the State—and recognizing the value of campaigns focused on cultural politics, language activism, and the recuperation of historical memory. As these “strange” strategies became more familiar, I gained understanding of the greater context of Guatemala’s indigenous activism: the necessity of conserving limited resources, building and maintaining precarious alliances, and the inter-generational goals of building a shared historical narrative. I also describe the unexpected roles I adopted in my day-to-day practices of engagement, as I sought to make meaningful contributions to my collaborators’ projects. In some cases, I was required to pursue knowledge and learn skills that I could not have expected in advance of fieldwork. In turn, these ideas and tools led my research in new directions and provided access to alternative perspectives—a rewarding experience that points the way for engagement to serve as a centerpiece in future ethnographic methods.
In contemporary Guatemala, historical memory (memoria histórica) offers a valuable generative res... more In contemporary Guatemala, historical memory (memoria histórica) offers a valuable generative resource for (re)defining identity at multiple sites and scales—from individuals’ profound personal experiences with ritualized remembrance in Maya spiritual traditions, to national-level political and legal contests over the official version of history. However, personal and collective memories in Guatemala often reflect the past as experienced from perspectives that were substantially divergent—sometimes even violently at odds. The public negotiation of these contrasting memories can thus have highly charged political consequences, creating impasses that indicate a national-scale crisis of truth. In order to explain how, why, and to what effect different Guatemalans could remember the past so differently—e.g., how the current president can claim that “there was no genocide” while one of his predecessors stands trial for its perpetuation—I turn to an anthropological framework of memory as mediated action. In this paper, I examine and contrast three movements that seek social change through transforming practices of collective remembering: protest-oriented ‘memory offensives’ that challenge society to discuss rather than silence the difficult past, pedagogically-oriented campaigns for textbook reform that seek to re-imagine national history, and legally-oriented movements to prosecute former military leaders for war crimes. I focus on the ways in which each of these movements draws on Maya memories and mnemonic practices, arguing that some approaches are fundamentally transformed by this borrowing while others merely appropriate Maya discourses in ways that are deeply (though often unintentionally) problematic.
Keywords: Memory, Activism, Guatemala
Book Reviews by Doc Billingsley
Vertical magnetic gradient measurements and soil phosphate analysis were employed for mapping the... more Vertical magnetic gradient measurements and soil phosphate analysis were employed for mapping the subsurface architectural characteristics of two Early Copper Age settlements at Vésztő-Bikeri, SE. Hungary. The geophysical investigations were part of a larger excavation campaign, the Körös Regional Archaeological Project, which is focused in the study of settlement organization, land use, and subsistence in the Neolithic-Copper Age transition on the Great Hungarian Plain.
Cultures and Globalization: …, Jan 1, 2011
The books in my "Maya literature" collection are written by authors and scholars who identify the... more The books in my "Maya literature" collection are written by authors and scholars who identify themselves as Maya, as members of the indigenous civilizations that have occupied the highlands, coasts, and cloud forests of Central America for more than three millennia before the arrival of European colonists or the birth of the creole / mestizo nations of the Americas. Some Maya authors write in Spanish or English in order to reach a broader audience. Others write in any of the twenty-one distinct Mayan languages spoken today in Guatemala. Although I consider it my most valued collection, in fact it remains relatively small, constrained by the difficulties of transporting each new addition across the mountainous terrain of Guatemala and back home each summer. My policy for packing each May is to take clothing that I won't mind leaving abroad, in order to make room for more books in my luggage on the flight home.
olemiss.edu
This paper represents the marriage of two research projects that I conducted as an undergraduate ... more This paper represents the marriage of two research projects that I conducted as an undergraduate at Millsaps College. As a junior, I was assigned a research paper in which I had to examine a contemporary social phenomenon using the major theories of three classical sociologists. I chose to examine the recent and remarkable demographic history of Thailand, a nation regarded by many as providing a highly successful example of voluntary family planning. The results of this academic exercise suggested that there are meaningful patterns in fertility behaviors that correspond to religious and linguistic affiliations. I later decided to pursue a deeper understanding of the Thai demographic transition by studying in Thailand and touring the sites of family planning activity myself. After completing intensive language training, I enrolled as a student at Chiang Mai University in Northern Thailand for the fall semester of my senior year. As I met with public health officials and nongovernmental volunteers who operate Thailand's multifaceted family planning program, and as I became more fluent in Thai culture and Theravada Buddhism, my perspective on family planning has gradually shifted focus.
Journal of …, Jan 1, 2004
Geophysical prospection and soil chemical analyses were conducted at the Early Copper Age (ECA, c... more Geophysical prospection and soil chemical analyses were conducted at the Early Copper Age (ECA, ca. 4500-3900 cal BC [Antiquity 76 (2002) 619, Journal of Field Archaeology (2004) in press] site of Vésztő -Bikeri as part of the Koros Regional Archaeological Project investigations of the Neolithic-Copper Age transition on the Great Hungarian Plain. The goal of these investigations was to locate and map subsurface features and activity areas at the settlement. Vertical magnetic gradient measurements defined the extent and layout of the structures and features across the settlement and revealed that previously unidentified concentric ditches enclosed the site. Excavations confirmed the locations of most of the wall trenches, postholes, ditches, and pits detected in the geophysical survey. The soil chemical survey recorded high concentrations of phosphate around the perimeter of the site, some of which were associated with a midden. With the geophysical survey, details of the plan and organization of the Early Copper Age settlement were revealed that could not be discerned from surface artifact distribution patterns and test excavations. The soil chemistry survey results showed a contrast between the "cleaner" center of the site (near the structures) and the ring of debris at the edge of the site (near the circular enclosures). The continuation of such nondestructive investigations at other ECA sites will help improve models of settlement organization during the Neolithic-Copper Age transition.
This course examines how national narratives shape the ideas of nation-states about themselves an... more This course examines how national narratives shape the ideas of nation-states about themselves and others. It considers cultural, psychological, and political aspects of narratives used to interpret the past and understand the present. In addition to reviewing conceptual foundations from the humanities and social sciences, particular national narratives are considered as case studies.
Este curso se divide conceptualmente en dos componentes: en la primera mitad del semestre, revisa... more Este curso se divide conceptualmente en dos componentes: en la primera mitad del semestre, revisaremos la larga historia de temas políticos en la sociología y la antropología con el fin de completar y examinar críticamente los diferentes argumentos que han llegado a definir la antropología política. Revisaremos las teorías clásicas de los estructuralistas y de las teorías de conflicto de los sociólogos de los principios de siglo 20, las críticas fundamentales por las teóricas feministas y posmodernas en los años 1970-80, y el giro más reciente de atención a las micro-políticas del poder, la violencia y el arte de gobernar (statecraft) en un mundo globalizando marcado simultáneamente por el desmantelamiento del Estado Viejo y por el ascenso de nuev@s naciones y nacionalismos.
This paper shares lessons I have learned in the course of engaged research with three influential... more This paper shares lessons I have learned in the course of engaged research with three influential Maya organizations in Guatemala over the past six years. I discuss the purpose and value of long-term engagement with indigenous communities as well as the immediate concerns and practices of engaged research on the ground. Although engaged anthropology takes many forms and carries various meanings, one commonly shared goal is a more equitable distribution of power between researchers and our collaborators. In my work with indigenous intellectual leaders, this required revisiting familiar paradigms of activism and political mobilization—focused primarily on the role of the State—and recognizing the value of campaigns focused on cultural politics, language activism, and the recuperation of historical memory. As these “strange” strategies became more familiar, I gained understanding of the greater context of Guatemala’s indigenous activism: the necessity of conserving limited resources, building and maintaining precarious alliances, and the inter-generational goals of building a shared historical narrative. I also describe the unexpected roles I adopted in my day-to-day practices of engagement, as I sought to make meaningful contributions to my collaborators’ projects. In some cases, I was required to pursue knowledge and learn skills that I could not have expected in advance of fieldwork. In turn, these ideas and tools led my research in new directions and provided access to alternative perspectives—a rewarding experience that points the way for engagement to serve as a centerpiece in future ethnographic methods.
In contemporary Guatemala, historical memory (memoria histórica) offers a valuable generative res... more In contemporary Guatemala, historical memory (memoria histórica) offers a valuable generative resource for (re)defining identity at multiple sites and scales—from individuals’ profound personal experiences with ritualized remembrance in Maya spiritual traditions, to national-level political and legal contests over the official version of history. However, personal and collective memories in Guatemala often reflect the past as experienced from perspectives that were substantially divergent—sometimes even violently at odds. The public negotiation of these contrasting memories can thus have highly charged political consequences, creating impasses that indicate a national-scale crisis of truth. In order to explain how, why, and to what effect different Guatemalans could remember the past so differently—e.g., how the current president can claim that “there was no genocide” while one of his predecessors stands trial for its perpetuation—I turn to an anthropological framework of memory as mediated action. In this paper, I examine and contrast three movements that seek social change through transforming practices of collective remembering: protest-oriented ‘memory offensives’ that challenge society to discuss rather than silence the difficult past, pedagogically-oriented campaigns for textbook reform that seek to re-imagine national history, and legally-oriented movements to prosecute former military leaders for war crimes. I focus on the ways in which each of these movements draws on Maya memories and mnemonic practices, arguing that some approaches are fundamentally transformed by this borrowing while others merely appropriate Maya discourses in ways that are deeply (though often unintentionally) problematic.
Keywords: Memory, Activism, Guatemala