Anthropology and Sociology

Professor Emeritus Dr. Marshall Becker continues to be a prolific scholar with the following publications:

• 2016
  • Book review published in the American Journal of Archaeology
  • Human Skeletal Remains Recovered from Tomb 6423. Appendice 1 (pages 27-29) in, Osservazioni introduttive sulla Tomba dell’Aryballos sospesso di Tarquinia, by Alessandro Mandolesi, Eleonora Altilia and Maria Rosa Lucidi. ORIZZONTI XVII: 11-34.
  • (with Ingrid E. M. Edlund-Berry, Massimo Limoncelli, Edward G. D. Robinson, Francesca Silvestrelli, and Serena Viva) The Tombs at Sant'Angelo Vecchio. Pages 85-127 in, The Chora of Metaponto 6: A Greek Settlement at Sant'Angelo Vecchio [Italy], edited by F. Silvestrelli and Ingrid E. M. Edlund-Berry. Austin: University of Texas Press.
  • Human Skeletal Remains Associated with the Deconsecrated Church of San Lorenzo, Cremona (Lombardy), Italy. International Journal of Anthropology 31(1-2): 1-50.
• 2015
  • Flotation and Analysis of Organic Materials Recovered from Excavations at the Montgomery Site (36CH60), Chester County, Pennsylvania. Bulletin of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc. 85(2): 18-24.
  • Lenape ("Delaware") Mail Carriers and the Origins of the US Postal Service. American Indian Culture and Research Journal 39(3): 99-121.
  • Ancient Maya Markets: Architectural Grammar and Market Identification. Pages 90-110 in, The Ancient Maya Marketplace: The Archaeology of Transient Space, edited by Eleanor M. King. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
  • Native Mail Carriers in Early America. Postal History Journal, Number 160: 16-27.
  • Lenopi Land Use Patterns in Central New Jersey During the Late Woodland Period as Inferred from a Deed of 1710. Newsletter of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey, No. 247 (March): 3-5.
  • Native American Bags and Pouches: Some Notes on Puzzle Pouches and Their Makers. New York State Archaeological Association Newsletter 11 (1): 4-8.

• Dr. Di Giovine has appeared in the news several times recently:
  • Along with anthropologist Elisa Ascione, he published a blog post Oct. 26 discussing the ways in which food is being used to create solidarity movements in earthquake-ravaged Central Italy. Read it here: https://foodanthro.com/2016/10/28/the-amatriciana-per-amatrice-campaign-reflections-on-food-solidarity-and-the-earthquake-in-central-italy/
  • He was interviewed on WBEZ Chicago for the Oct. 18 story Israel Drops Ties With UNESCO After New Jerusalem Holy Sites Resolution.
  • He was quoted in the Boston Globe in September discussing Catholic devotion to St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and the unprecedented veneration of his heart in Boston: The heart of a Catholic saint is on display in Lowell.
• In May, he participated in a WCU delegation to Turkey that included 10 faculty members from across campus (see photos below). Coordinated by the Office of International Programs in conjunction with the Philadelphia-based Peace Islands Institute, the WCU-Turkey initiative aimed to explore and deepen international partnerships and student opportunities for study, exchange, and enrollment with a number of diverse universities across Turkey, many of which are newly founded institutions. The itinerary was packed with five university visits in Istanbul, Kayseri, Izimir and Ankara, as well as visits to an array of cultural and historical sites such as Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, Ephesus, and the early Christian cave-churches of Cappadocia. Along with Associate Dean Hyoejin Yoon and Assistant Professor Elizabeth Urban (history), Dr. Di Giovine will present future plans for fostering student and faculty exchange to the College of Arts and Sciences community in September. The team welcomes suggestions for engagement from students and faculty. 

LEFT: The group sits at the Early Christian cave settlements of Cappadocia. CENTER: The group stands in front of Istanbul University with Vice Dean of Education Dr. Lütfü Ilgar, who previously was a visiting scholar at WCU. RIGHT: The group stands in front of the library at Ephesus. 

• Dr. Di Giovine was inducted as an Expert Member of the International Cultural Tourism Committee within ICOMOS, the International Council of Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS is the historic preservation advisory body to UNESCO.
• He was appointed a regional representative within the tourism section of IUAES, the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Scientists.
• He was awarded a WCU College of Arts and Sciences Student Engagement Grant to develop an ethnographic field school in Perguia, Italy, next summer through the Umbra Institute. He is looking forward to taking WCU students to central Italy to research culinary heritage in this gastronomic mecca. Check back: More information will be announced.
• He gave an interview about Padre Pio and miracles that was published online Sept. 23, which is Padre Pio's feast day.
• He published chapters in four books, including his first publication in Italian:
• When Popular Religion becomes Elite Heritage: Tensions and Transformations at the Shrine of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. In Helaine Silverman and Mike Robinson (eds.), Encounters with Popular Pasts: Cultural Heritage and Popular Culture. NY: Springer Publications, pp. 31-47.
• UNESCO's World Heritage Program: Challenges and Ethics of Community Participation. In N. Adell, R. Bendix, C. Bortolotto, M Tauschek (eds). Community and Participation: Core Concepts in Heritage Policy and Practice. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen Press, pp. 83-108.
• Un'ostensione controversa. Il culto di Padre Pio come campo di produzione culturale. In Dionigi Albera and Melissa Blanchard (eds). Pellegrini del Nuovo Millennio: Aspetti Economici e Politici delle Mobilita' Religiose. Messina: Mesogea, pp. 175-202.
• Patrimonial Ethics and the Field of Heritage Production. In C. Gnecco and D. Lippart (eds.). Ethics and Archaeological Praxis. NY: Springer, pp. 201-227.
• In other publishing news, reviews of the two books he published last academic year have been positive. Read a recent review of Edible Identities: Food as Cultural Heritage from the Anthropology of Food journal and from AllegraLab. Read a review of Tourism and the Power of Otherness: Seductions of Difference from the Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change.

• 2015
• "'Should I Trust the Bank or the Social Movement?' Motivated Reasoning and Debtors' Work to Accept Misinformation." Sociological Forum 30(4): 900-924.
• 2013
• "Substantive-Rational Authority: The Missing Fourth Pure Type in Weber’s Typology of Legitimate Domination." Journal of Classical Sociology 15(1): 73-95.
• "Reasons and the Acceptance of the Authoritative Speech: An Empirically-Grounded Synthesis of Habermas and Bourdieu." Sociological Theory 31(3): 267-289.

• She presented a poster titled "Chronic Inflammation at the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status: The Mediating Effects of Composite Health Lifestyles" at the 2015 Population Association of American conference in San Diego, CA (May)
• She also won a College of Arts and Sciences Student Engagement Grant to explore study abroad opportunities for WCU students in Ghana. In July, she traveled to Accra to collaborate with colleagues at the University of Ghana, and she reports that the meetings were productive. Any students interested in a faculty-led, summer study abroad trip should contact Dr. Richman.

• She presented the following papers:
  • "Foragers in Anthropological Context: Applications in Middle Atlantic Prehistory." Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference, Ocean City, MD
  • "Foragers in Middle Atlantic Prehistory." Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, Florida
  • "Eastern Pennsylvania Steatite Quarries." Pennsylvania Archaeological Council Symposium, West Middlesex, PA
• She published a book chapter: "Transitional Archaic Settlement Density in Eastern Pennsylvania." In The Nature and Pace of Change in American Indian Cultures: Pennsylvania 4,000-3,000 BP. Pennsylvania State University Press.
• She was appointed to the Society for American Archaeology Committee on Climate Change Strategies and Archaeological Resources.

• She published a book chapter: “The Role of Mass Media in the Transmission of Culture.” Pp. 203-219 in Communication and Information Technologies Annual (Studies in Media and Communications, Volume 11), edited by L. Robinson, J. Schulz, S. Cotten, T.M. Hale, A.A. Williams, and J.L. Hightower. Bingley, Bradford, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.
• She received WCU University Research Funding Award in Spring 2016 for her project “New Media Technologies as Resources for Social Change.”
• She participated in the 2016 Digital Methods Summer School, hosted by the Queensland University of Technology’s Digital Methods Research Centre in Brisbane, Australia.
• She presented the following papers at national sociology conferences:
  • “Fear and False Impressions: Public Perceptions of Serial Murder.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Atlanta (April 2016).
  • “New Media Mobilization: Theorizing Social Change in a Digital Age.” Presented as part of the Social and Political Change through Social Media mini-conference at the annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, Boston (March 2016).
  • “New Media Technologies as Resources for Social Change.” Presented as part of the Media Sociology Preconference at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago (August 2015).
  • “Violations Via Vague-ing: Interaction Norms on Social Media.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, Chicago. (August 2015).
• She organized the following conference sessions:           
  • “Social Construction of Experience.” Paper session at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, Seattle. (August 2016).
  • “Mass Mediated Meaning.” Paper session at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, Seattle. (August 2016).
  • “The Self in a Digital Age.” Paper session at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, Seattle. (August 2016).
  • “Reflections in the Double Mirror: The Relationship between Media and Culture.” Invited panel session at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Atlanta. (April 2016).
  • “Feminist Leadership: Individual Strategies and Structural Change.” Invited panel session at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Atlanta. (April 2016).
  • “Technologically Mediated Interaction.” Paper session at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, Chicago. (August 2015).
  • “21st Century Community-Based Social Justice Activism.” Paper session at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, Chicago. (August 2015).
• She co-facilitated two faculty seminars sponsored by the Office of Distance Education: “Engaging Online Students” (March 2016) and “Planning and Preparing for a New Online Course: Tips & Strategies from Seasoned Online Faculty” (February 2016).