Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Maryann R. Cairns, Environmental Anthropologist, Associate Professor, and Director of Graduate Studies

Dr. Maryann Cairns (Image Source: Cairns' SMU Research Website)

This blog post is dedicated to profiling the academic research and applied work of Dr. Maryann R. Cairns.  Cairns did not initially start out studying anthropology.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Classical Civilization and Political Science from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois, followed by earning a Master’s of Science in International Development from Tulane University out of New Orleans, Louisiana.  She entered into anthropological scholarship when she completed her doctorate in Applied Anthropology at the University of South Florida.

 

Cairns is currently employed as an Associate Professor at Southern Methodist University where she engages in research and mentors students in environmental anthropological research projects.  She utilizes sociocultural anthropological methods to identify public health solutions as they pertain to environmental issues.  Her academic and applied work has focused on water quality, environmental justice, Covid-19 responses, and more recently on waste within the fashion industry.  Her research is not simply academic but also very much applied to addressing real problems occurring across the globe.  She has worked on water and environmental issues throughout Greece, Costa Rica, the United States, and the Caribbean.  The nature of her work has required her to work with biologists, chemists, public health professionals, engineers, ecologists, and statisticians, specifically in understanding the problems from multiple perspectives (e.g., how are people using and impacted by technology, what specific technologies are necessary to solve the problems, etc.).

 

Cairns is quite passionate about public outreach and communicating her work with the public.  She and her students have been engaged in a variety of public outreach projects and programs.  A full list of them can be found on her website, but a sample include a recent public talk about the wastefulness of the fashion industry (video linked here), podcast interviews about tourism, health, and water quality and safety (recording is available here), public lectures on environmental racism (linked here), and her work with Water for People on water sanitation infrastructure in Bolivia, which required working closely with engineers and others. 

 

Dr. Maryann Cairns is in no way slowing down as she is near the beginning of her career.  It will be interesting to see where she goes next, both academically and professionally.  Given what she has accomplished thus far the impacts of her work may likely affect many of you reading this post today, even if you do not know it.

 

Works Cited

AAAS. (2021, May 26). PODCAST | Unhealthy Waters, featuring Dr. Maryann Cairns. Retrieved from AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships: https://www.aaaspolicyfellowships.org/blog/podcast-unhealthy-waters-featuring-dr-maryann-cairns

Cairns, M. A. (2024). Our Research. Retrieved from DR. MARYANN CAIRNS: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENT: https://people.smu.edu/mcairns/

Cairns, M. (n.d.). Maryann Cairns, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University. Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryann-cairns-865647a/

 

 

Righting A Wrong Within Archaeology: Dr. Mary Ellingson

Dr. Mary Ellingson (Image Source: University of Evansville)

As previously discussed on this blog archaeology has been useful in shedding light on past injustices (e.g., the Tulsa Race Massacre, acknowledging the murder of George Tompkins, locating missing and murdered Residential School students, and cillini research).  The research skills, excavation methods, and interpretative lens required of archaeological work makes it well suited to correct the historical records, and more and more archaeologists are working toward those goals as necessary.  This has also led to introspection within the discipline itself, specifically in correcting and rectifying for previous past mistakes.  Today’s post addresses one such situation wherein past excavation work had been intentionally credited to the wrong person.  This post will share the story of Dr. Mary Ellingson.  

 

Dr. Mary Ross Ellingson was born in Canada.  She pursued her undergraduate studies in Classics through the University of Alberta, and she attended the prestigious John Hopkins University for her graduate work in 1931.  It was here that she came under the supervision of David Moore Robinson, who invited Ellingson to assist in excavations occurring at Olynthus in Greece.  These excavations were different from those previously completed.  Rather than focus on monumental religious architecture or cemeteries the team was going to excavate and analyze domestic structures, providing insights into how people lived and carried out their daily personal and family activities. 

 

It was a unique opportunity for Ellingson, a woman, to be able to do this work, and even more so when you realize that she was in charge of over 50 workers.  She supervised the excavations, photographed the site and artifacts, and wrote the site reports.  She also took meticulous notes that she drew upon for the completion of her Masters and Doctoral research.  For her Master’s research she focused on terracotta figurines, describing the types she discovered at the site, and in her Dissertation she expanded her work to include multiple other sites throughout Greece, as well as discussed the meanings and purposes of these figurines in domestic spaces.  This was monumental because prior to her work Classical scholars believed that terracotta figurines were purely functional in ritual contexts, expecting to find them only in temples and cemeteries.  Ellingson successfully demonstrated that within domestic contexts terracotta figurines were used not just for ritual purposes (in small home shrines) but also for decoration and even as toys.

 

While Ellingson published all of this information in her Master’s and Doctoral theses she was unable to publish to the wider academic community.  Her personal life and the disruptions of World War II kept her from doing so.  Then her graduate supervisor committed academic fraud.  He plagiarized her work by publishing both her Master’s and Doctoral theses under his name.  Robinson’s actions robbed Ellingson of recognition for her hard work, but it did additional damage to her, as well.  He received high accolades for “his publications” and was considered a pioneer in the field of Classical Archaeology, none of which he deserved since he did not do the work. 

 

Ellingson never disclosed the plagiarism, more than likely due to the strong sexist attitudes against women working in the field.  She ultimately took a position at the University of Evansville in the 1960s and worked there for over a decade before retiring.  She took the secret to her grave as she passed away in 1993, never receiving acknowledgement for her work during her lifetime. 

 

Several years later, however, Dr. Alan Kaiser, an archaeology professor at the University of Evansville, discovered some of Ellingson’s old records, which led him to realize Robinson’s transgressions against her.  He investigated further and published his research in a book titled, Archaeology, Sexism, and Scandal.  He did not just stop there, however.  He publicly denounced Robinson’s actions in various ways, bringing much needed attention to this scandalous act.  As support for Ellingson increased John Hopkins University petitioned the Library of Congress to change the authorship of the works credited to Robinson, which they did in the Fall of 2023.  Dr. Kaiser stated,

 

"Recognizing Dr. Mary Ellingson's long-suppressed contributions to the Excavations at Olynthus series is a significant step toward justice in the academic world. Her groundbreaking work has finally received the acknowledgment it deserves, and her story stands as an inspiration to all those who strive for truth and recognition in their respective fields."

 

Hopefully Ellingson’s contributions to the field and recognition of the injustice against her initiates greater scrutiny of women’s contributions to not only archaeology but other academic disciplines, as well as be a source of inspiration for others to not let this continue to happen to other women and other marginalized groups.

 

References

Archaeological Institute of America. (2023). Mary Ross Ellingson (1906-1993). Retrieved from Archaeological Institute of America: https://www.archaeological.org/archaeologists-you-should-know-ellingson/

Kaiser, A. (2015, March 27). Mary Ross Ellingson. Retrieved from Trowel Blazers: https://trowelblazers.com/2015/03/27/mary-ross-ellingson/

News & Public Relations. (2023, November 6). Library of Congress Recognizes Plagiarized University of Evansville Archaeologist After 90 Years. Retrieved from University of Evansville: https://www.evansville.edu/news/articleDetail.cfm?articleId=3126

 

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Aimee Hosemann, Ph.D., Director of Qualitative Research at RHB

Aimee Hosemann (Image Source: RHB)

The path one takes in life is very rarely linear.  It is also safe to say that life sometimes does not go as planned.  These are comments that very much epitomize the career of Aimee Hosemann, Ph.D.  Hosemann pursued her degrees in various areas of anthropology, but she opted to work outside of academia.  Today’s blog post will cover how she uses her anthropological expertise in her current position with RHB.

 

Aimee Hosemann attended Idaho State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree.  At that time she worked as a journalist for a local newspaper.  She took a new position, still within the newspaper industry, in southern Illinois, causing her to move across the country.  She eventually pursued her Master’s of Arts degree in Biological Anthropology.  Her research focused on primate communication patterns, but when she began to pursue her doctorate she continued to study language but instead among humans, not primates.  Her Ph.D. was rooted in sociocultural and linguistic anthropology, and she studied the language and songs of Amazonian groups, specifically those spoken exclusively by women.

 

Hosemann began teaching as an Adjunct Faculty member at various institutions, but as she tired of the grind of the part time teaching she began to seek employment options outside of the academy.  When she saw the ad from RHB, a higher education consultancy, she felt that the position was tailored for an anthropologist.  She immediately applied. 

 

She ultimately landed her current position as the Director of Qualitative Research.  In this position she is responsible for research and composition of various resources for her higher education clients.  She employs her linguistic and ethnographic skills frequently, be it for interviewing students, faculty, and staff to composing emails or website content for specific audiences, who are typically generations younger than herself.  As the RHB president put it, “Aimee adds a new level of appreciation for nuance in the selection of words and understanding of the sociological implications of human interactions to our expertise in serving higher education.”  She has served in this position since 2019, becoming a permanent employee in 2020, and we wish her all the best as she continues on in this fulfilling position.

 

Works Cited

Hosemann, Aimee. "Ace Advice: A Virtual Chat with Aimee Hosemann." n.d. Prime Earth. Electronic. 4 January 2024.

RHB. Aimee Hosemann, Ph.D., Director of Qualitative Research. 2024. Electronic. 4 January 2024.

—. "RHB is pleased to announce the appointment of Aimee Hosemann, Ph.D., to the research and creative team." 2020. RHB. Electronic. 4 January 2024.