Heritage
Project: Bok Kai Temple artifact identification.
Principal Investigator: Marco Meniketti
Partner: Bok Kai Temple, Marysville
Summary: Working with the Oldest Buddhist Temple in western states to identify and document artifacts of the temple collections and prepare for museum exhibition.
Funding: Bok Kai Temple
Timeline: 2015-2018 ongoing intermittently.
Student Opportunities: Internship in museum and material culture studies. Students catalogued and interpreted artifacts in the Bok Kai collections. Material culture studies, Chinese diaspora of California. Assisted in museum exhibition design.
Student Researchers: Michael Boero, Robert Gelb, Ruoheng Mao
Project: Colonial Caribbean Landscapes, Nevis, West Indies. A study of sugar capitalism, slavery, and environment.
Principal Investigator: Marco Meniketti
Partner: Nevis Historical and Conservation Society
Summary: Archaeological investigation of historic colonial landscape associated with sugar plantations and the institution of slavery. Included archaeological documentation of plantations, slave villages, and associate material culture
Funding: Self-funded through Faculty Led Programs Abroad program.
Timeline: 2007-2018
Student Opportunities: Students could develop advanced undergraduate or graduate thesis projects based on material culture, GIS based spatial analysis, forensics, geoarchaeology, and ethnographic studies. Leadership opportunities as field supervisors and field staff.
Student Researchers: John Schlagheck, Afonso Tinoco (McNair Scholar), Kathy Mistely, Jerry Starek, Rebecca Spitzer, Marissa Massaro [pdf], Chris Keith [pdf], Erika Harvey [pdf]
Project: California Maritime Cultural Landscapes. A study of historic industry and maritime culture on the west coast.
Principal Investigator: Marco Meniketti
Partner: Various, including California State Parks. INHA (Mexico), NOAA.
Summary: Statewide documentation and interpretation of maritime communities and historical industries from ethnographic and archaeological perspectives. Analysis of historical maritime groups, such as Italian fishermen, Portuguese shore whalers, Chinese abalone hunters, timber schooners and doghole communities. Also, historic Spanish explorers and indigenous communities.
Funding: Variable, including RSCA research funds.
Timeline: 2015-current
Student Opportunities: Students can pursue ethnographic, GIS, or archaeological documentation of California’s maritime industries, pre-historic and historic societies. Students can contribute directly to publications or develop thesis projects. Students may also work with XRF sampling of artifacts.
Student Researchers: Cathy Mistely, Karen Johansson, Sean Davis, Amanda Jorgenson, Leslie Hoefert.
Project: Native California Sovereignty Support
Principal Investigator: Charlotte Sunseri
Client/Partner: Native California communities, California Indian Legal Services
Summary: For eight years, we have partnered with Native California groups (including the Mono Lake Paiute and Dunlap Mono communities) to support bids for federal recognition with documentation required for this petition. The project focuses on community mapping, historical and archival study, genealogical study, oral history collection, and digitization of tribal records.
Timeline: 2012-Ongoing
Outcomes: Possibilities for student research and internships for students interested in collaborating with Native California communities. Student volunteers, interns, and researchers must be approved by tribal councils.
Student Opportunities: There are opportunities for funded student research assistantships and individual student MA projects and theses.
Student Researchers: Michael Boero, Julianne Cadden, Kris Cameron, Jillian Ferini, Robert Gelb, Arianna Heathcote, Nancy Johnson, Alisha Ragland, Wil Reibach, Erik Savage, Rebecca Spitzer, Courtney St. Aubin, Lily Van Osdol, Megan Watson
Project: Physical Anthropology
Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Weiss
Client/Partner: N/A
Summary: Research in osteological studies using the Amerindian curated skeletal collection to reconstruct the past and better understand bone biology.
Funding: N/A
Timeline: N/A
Student Opportunities: Students who are interested in pursuing a physical anthropology (e.g. forensics, paleoanthropology, or bioarchaeology) thesis should contact Dr. Elizabeth Weiss at Elizabeth.Weiss@sjsu.edu.
Student Researchers: N/A
