Education:
2009 University of Southern California
M.A., Cinematic Arts
2005 University of California, Irvine
B.A., Anthropology
Cum Laude in the School of Social Sciences
Honors in the Department of Anthropology: Awarded for completion of an optional, year-long, research and writing project culminating in a thesis entitled "In the Flesh: Body Piercing as a Form of Commodity-Based Identity and Ritual Rite of Passage" supervised by Dr. Teresa Caldeira.
Honors Undergraduate Studio Space recipient in the Department of Studio Art: Awarded quarterly to six students based on academic and artistic merit.
Activities:
2003-2005 Anthropology Club
On-campus student organization
University of California, Irvine
Officer 2004-2005
2001-2004 Art for Humanity (AFH)
On-campus student organization
University of California, Irvine
“To foster an interest in art as an expression of humanity”
President 2002-2004, Vice-President 2001-2002
Fellowships:
2004-2005 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Fellowship
University of California, Irvine
Awarded for: “In the Flesh: Body Piercing as a Form of Commodity-Based Identity”
Presentations:
2007 “MyDeathSpace and Cinema: Reconfiguring Life Through Memorials”
Critical Studies Graduate Student Conference
University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts
Abstract:
The popular social networking website MySpace contains over 100 million profiles, some of which belong to deceased users. In January of 2006, MyDeathSpace was launched. MyDeathSpace is a website which chronicles deceased MySpace users in conjunction with newspaper obituaries and stories submitted by friends and family; posts include links to users' MySpace profiles. When a MySpace user dies, friends and family members can submit requests to MySpace to have their late acquaintances profiles deleted from the site or to gain access to their profiles to maintain them as memorials.
The use of MySpace profiles as memorials evokes the concepts of death and cinema on several levels: first, the memorials revolve around the deaths of individuals; second, the profiles represent the online and popular appropriation of sound and visual images by amateur content creators. This appropriation employs cinematic techniques in traditionally non-cinematic structures and spaces. Although it would seem that the death of cinema is revealed through these memorials, this paper argues that these memorials do not signify the deaths of persons or cinema, but rather the reconfiguration of the lives of each.
2007 “Body Piercing and the Re-Embodiment of Commodity-Based Identity”
Society for Psychological Anthropology Biennial Meeting
Abstract:Commodity-based identity is a significant part of today's consumer culture society. Some scholars view this reliance on commodities as limiting the power of the individual. However, this study focuses on the activity of body piercing to argue that individuals exercise authority as they utilize commodities to create bodily-centered identity. In the community of college-age individuals, body piercing has emerged as an important commodity used to express personal and communal identity. This project draws upon first-hand ethnographic research and existing theoretical analysis in Anthropology and other Social Science disciplines to argue that body piercing represents the re-embodiment of commodity-based identity.
In this study, the practice of body piercing in the college-age community is analyzed in relation to traditional rites of passage with which it shares undeniable similarities. When children become distanced from their parents, as in the case of 'going away to college,' they enter a new stage in life; they may then undergo a crisis of identity when the structure on which they based their identity, their family unit, is replaced by a community of their peers. This crisis often occurs in conjunction with the crisis of bodily detachment which arises in part from the practice of commodity-based identity. However, in this case, body piercing as a form of commodity-based identity intercedes as a way to reconcile these crises of identity and claim, or reclaim, bodily-centered identity through the activity of body piercing.
2006 "Illustrating Identity: Body Piercing and Photography"
Society for Visual Anthropology Visual Research Conference
105th American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting
Abstract: Body piercing and photography are two instances of the human manipulation of visual media: one is a topic of anthropological study, and the other a tool.Using photography and ethnographic research of the contemporary, western practice of body piercing as an example, this presentation explores the ability of photographs to exhibit the embodiment of personal and communal identity.The research not only uses visual media as a means of anthropological study, it also focuses on the use of what may be the most 'natural' or at least universally human visual media, the body. The creation and demonstration of identity is an actively visual process. We relate to each other and to ourselves through our bodies, and thus our bodies become the objects of our expression, the visual media of our identity.
Much of the photography included in ethnographic texts is appended as a means of granting authority to the researcher or as an attempt to help the reader visualize the site and subject of research. Aside from the ethical concerns of this approach, as a methodology it is limiting in that it does not allow the audience to experience the photographs as a separate dimension of the study. Most ethnographies transition from words to images without facilitating the transition of the user from the position of reader to that of viewer. This limits the extent to which the photographs may serve as a deeper and alternate agency of communication and understanding. The strategic use of photography as an instrument and exhibit of research should be regarded as essential rather than supplemental to the anthropological study of visual media.
2005 “In the Flesh: Body Piercing as a Form of Commodity-Based Identity”
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
Annual Symposium: “Undergraduate Research: Inventing Yourself”
University of California, Irvine
Thesis:
2005 “In the Flesh: Body Piercing as a Form of Commodity-Based Identity and Ritual Rite of Passage”
Honors Thesis
Department of Anthropology
University of California, Irvine
Advisor: Dr. Teresa Caldeira
Abstract: Commodity-based identity is an important part of today’s consumer culture society. People use commodities to create identities for themselves. Some may view this reliance upon commodities as limiting the power of the individual. However, this study focuses on body piercing practices to argue that individuals exercise choice and authority as they utilize commodities and their symbolism to create their own identity. In the community of college-age individuals, body piercing has emerged as an important commodity used to express identity and individuality. In this study, the practice of body piercing in the college-age community is analyzed in relation to traditional rites of passage with which it shares undeniable similarities. When children become distanced from their parents, as in the case of “going away to college,” they enter a new stage in life. They may, then, undergo a crisis of identity when the structure by which they based their identity, the family unit, is replaced by a community of peers. This project draws upon existing theoretical analysis and first-hand ethnographic research to argue that body piercing is both a form of commodity-based identity and a way to reconcile a crisis of identity by undergoing a rite of passage.
Experience:
2009 Director of Development
North of Two Pictures
2007-2009 Teaching Assistant
University of Southern California
School of Cinematic Arts
Department of Critical Studies
2005-2007 Administrative Assistant
Child Development Center (CDC)
Department of Pediatrics
University of California, Irvine
2005 Docent
Beall Center for Art and Technology
Claire Trevor School of the Arts
University of California, Irvine
2004-2005 Administrative Assistant
Graduate Programs in Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry (MBGB) and Interdepartmental Neuroscience (INP)
School of Biological Sciences
University of California, Irvine
Memberships:
American Anthropological Association
Society for Visual Anthropology
Technical Skills:
Strong research skills with experience in ethnographic and archival methods.
Artistic background with strong skills in sculptural fabrication and video production and editing. Very strong photography skills in both analog and digital formats, including knowledge of various types of scanning and printing technologies.