Dr. Carleen D. Sanchez
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies (Latino/Latin American Studies program)
Ph.D. University of California - Santa Barbara (UCSB), 2003
Office: 919 Oldfather Hall
Email: csanchez2@unl.edu
Phone: (402) 472-3925
Fax: (402) 472-9642
Research Interests
Ancestral Mesoamerica and Central America; Popular Culture; Feminism and Gender Theory, Contemporary Latin American social issues
I am a broadly trained anthropologist with a variety of research interests. My dissertation research, funded by a Fulbright fellowship, was an archaeological study of the Classic Period site of La Union in Honduras. This area lies at the confluence of multiple cultural traditions between Maya and numerous other societies. My focus is on the regional political and economic dynamics of Classic period Maya civilization (AD 250-900). I began working in Central America in 1991 with the Late Dr. LeRoy Joesink-Mandeville at the Formative period site of Yarumela in Central Honduras. My master's research was an analysis of obsidian tools from Yarumela. I am also interested in the intersections between nationalism, tourism, and cultural heritage in contemporary Central America.
I am also interested in Transnational Feminist research, a new yet growing area of study that seeks to problematize the category "Third World Woman." In particular, I examine and critique western derived feminism that fails to recognize that the legacy of European colonialism has complicated identity formation in Indigenous societies in Central America. A third area of research I am pursuing, the politics of representation, interrogates traditional gender and racial categories deployed in visual media. A current work in progress draws feminist and post-structuralist theory to deconstruct the narrative of evolution. I argue that visual representations of human evolution reflect androcentric and Eurocentric biases and reify western notions of cultural superiority. My analysis contrasts archaeological and paleo-anthropological data against the visual representations of evolution to demonstrate the discordance between what we know and how it is made visible through various texts (both written and visual).
As an anti-racist activist educator, I am strong proponent of Ethnic Studies. I hold a joint appointment with the Institute for Ethnic Studies and am on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Ethnic Studies. I also sit on the Board of Directors of the Peoples Health Center of Lincoln, NE.
Subfields
Latin American Studies
Archaeology
Ethnic Studies
Current Writing Projects
Frida Kahlo: Artist, Legend, Emblem of an Era. Written from a feminist and Latina perspective; the merit of this approach is that it will reveal a more nuanced cultural reading of the subject placed in the context of 20th century Mexican society, contemporary US popular culture, as well as the international art scene.
Using popular magazines to explore racial stereotypes in Introduction to Ethnic Studies: learning to see and decode. Proposal accepted for the Journal of Media Literacy Education.
Recent and Representative Publications
n.d. Cihuacoatl. Encyclopedia of Latino Folklore, ed. by Maria Herrera-Sobek, Greenwood Publishing Group (in press).
n.d. Hill of Tepeyac. Encyclopedia of Latino Folklore, ed. by Maria Herrera-Sobek, Greenwood Publishing Group (in press).
n.d. Huitzilopochtli. Encyclopedia of Latino Folklore, ed. by Maria Herrera-Sobek, Greenwood Publishing Group (in press).
n.d. Tezcatlipoca. Encyclopedia of Latino Folklore, ed. by Maria Herrera-Sobek, Greenwood Publishing Group (in press).
n.d. Tonantzin. Encyclopedia of Latino Folklore, ed. by Maria Herrera-Sobek, Greenwood Publishing Group (in press).
2008 Songs of the Ancestors: Ancient Maya Musicians. Istmo: Revista virtual de estudios literarios y culturales centroamericano, No. 17, julio - diciembre (www.denison.edu/istmo/archivo.html).
2008 Las canciones de los antepasados: La música de los antiguos mayas. Istmo: Revista virtual de estudios literarios y culturales centroamericano, No. 17, julio - diciembre (ww.denison.edu/istmo/archivo.html). [Spanish version of above]
2008 Pitfalls in Archaeological Fieldwork: On Gender, Ethics, and Danger. Practicing Anthropology Winter 2008 30(1): 54-58.
2007 Creando la Identidad Nacional de las Ruinas. In Estudios CulturalesCentroamericanos en el nuevo milenio, ed. by Marc Zimmerman and Gabriela Baeza Ventura, by invitation. CIICLA, Unvivesity of Costa Rica.
2002 Las Ruinas como Cimiento de la Identidad Nacional. Cultura No. 87/88 (Revista del Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y el Arte, El Salvador); pp. 233-240.
2002 Creando la Identidad Nacional de las Ruinas. Istmo: Revista virtual de estudios literarios y culturales centroamericano, No. 3 enero-junio, (a peer-reviewed electronic journal, www.denison.edu/istmo/archivo.html)
Recent Representative Presentations
2009 "Recreating Colonialism: Colonial House, Frontier House, and Texas Ranch House." National Association for Ethnic Studies 37th Annual Conference, April 2009, San Diego, California.
2008 "Changing Demographics and Identity: Future Directions for Chican@ and Latin@Studies." National Association for Ethnic Studies 36th Annual Conference, April 3-5, 2008, Atlanta, Georgia.
2007 "Deconstructing the Visual Narrative of Evolution." National Association for Ethnic Studies 35th Annual Conference, March 22-24, 2007, SUNY New Paltz, NY.
2006 "Stone Tool Production at La Unión, Honduras." Nebraska Academy of Sciences. Nebraska Wesleyan University April 21, 2006.
2005 "Producing Docile Bodies: Indigenous Women and Eurocentric Feminism." Paper presented at the Future of Minority Studies Caucus: Mentoring and Multiculturalism, in the panel Politicized Bodies and Spaces: Critical Feminist Interventions, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, September 30-October 1, 2005.
2005 "Masks in Mexican Culture." Haydon Gallery, Lincoln Nebraska, May 12, 2005
2005 "Frida & Ché: Fetishized Commodities / Secular Icons." Paper presented to the National Association for Ethnic Studies Conference, March 24-26, 2005, Chicago, Illinois.
2004 "Popular and Indigenous Resistances in Central America." Paper presented at the XXV International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, October 2004.
2003 The Use and Perceived Abuse of Cultural Legacy as a Political Platform: Central American Nationalism vs. Indigenous Rights. Fifth World Archaeological Congress (WAC-5). June 21-26, 2003, Washington, DC.
2003 Who owns the Past? Nationalism, Archaeology and Tourism. XXIV International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), March 27, 2003, Dallas, Texas.
Current Graduate Students
Jones, Caroline.
Cabrera-Schneider, Jose. Project: Economic Openness, Corn, and a Community in Guatemala.
Former Graduate Students
Lindsay, James III. M.A. Anthropology, Summer 2009. Thesis: Phase I archaeological assessment of portions of the FTD site (13AM210) and Red House Landing (13AM228), two sites at Effigy Mounds National Monument, Allamakee County, Iowa
Matthew, Samantha, M.A. Anthropology, Minor: Sociology, Summer 2009
Vaughn, Amy, M.A.Anthropology, Minor: German. Fall 2008
Kirkley, Samantha. M.A. Anthropology, Spring 2008. Thesis: "In Small Things Unnoticed: an Interpretation of 19th century Ironstone Maker's Marks."
Giles, Mara. M.A. Anthropology, Fall 2006.
UCARE Project
Misam Ali (1st year UCARE student). Race and Ethnicity in New Media
Courses Taught
Introduction to Anthropology (ANTH 110)
Introduction to Ethnic Studies (ETHN 100)
Archaeology of World Civilizations (ANTH/CLAS 252)
Native Peoples and Cultures of Latin America (ANTH/ETHN 350)
Archaeological Theory and Method (ANTH 432/832)
The Ancient Maya (ANTH436/836)
Pro -Seminar in Latin American Studies (LAMS 478/878):
past topics: Women in Latin America; Social and Indigenous Movements in Mesoamerica.
