What started out as senior thesis research by Cassie Bragdon and Mary Ruth Wossum-Fisher turned into scholarly presentations worthy of a national audience in anthropology.
The two students presented papers at the Society for Applied Anthropology conference in Philadelphia April 3–7. Bragdon’s research culminated in her presentation, “Eclipsing the Sun: Modern Implications of Japan’s Gender Ideology,” and Wossum-Fisher presented on “Contextualizing the Murderous Ethnic Cleansing of the Rohingya.”
Their papers were well-received, said Abby Wightman, associate professor of anthropology at MBU, who also presented a paper at the conference, “Diversity, Difference, and Safety: Student Perspectives on Community Engagement.”
“They are incredible students, both heading to excellent graduate programs in anthropology next year — Mary Ruth at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for their Disasters, Displacement, and Human Rights Program and Cassie at The Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland,” said Wightman.
MBU’s Office of Sponsored Programs and Undergraduate Research, the Arnold Fund, and the Sociology Department supported their trip.