Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The Vietnam War still maintains immense cultural significance within American collective memory. Previous studies of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have largely focused on either individual meaning produced by the memorial or the significance of the structure in recuperating a singular national identity. Rather than seeing these readings as antagonistic, this study suggests that a single rationality confirms that both perspectives are partially correct. Using the Galveston County Vietnam Memorial to establish a basis for comparison, this study suggests that both participate in a larger cultural formation based on what Michel Foucault identifies as pastoral power. This type of formation advances a form of reasoned governance based on the care of each and all in the population. The paper concludes by suggesting that scholars ought to investigate how the arrangement of memorials enables certain possibilities for individual and collective memory to emerge as reasonable within a particular cultural context.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper reports findings from interviews with the children of married laymen and deacons who were appointed by their bishop to administer Roman Catholic parishes. Concerns and strategies that emerged from the interviews include the following: living in a rectory, being “watched” by people, having your dad as the pastor, kids who were deviant, and kids “helping dad out.” The paper concludes with views about the future for Catholic parish life.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper draws on empirical evidence to investigate how resource scarcity or abundance might influence armed conflict or cooperation among pastoralist groups in the Horn of Africa. Competition for natural resources, particularly water and pasture, and the cultural value placed on cattle has produced a tradition of raiding in the region. In 2004, violent pastoralconflict in the Karamoja Cluster alone resulted in more than 600 human deaths and the loss of over 40,000 heads of livestock (primarily cattle and goats) in just 12 months. We draw upon field data on pastoral conflict behavior collected by the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in East Africa. Since July 2003, CEWARN field monitors have been collecting field situation andincident reports on pastoral conflict behavior within the Karamoja Cluster from twelve reporting locations along the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. This study will draw on CEWARN's data extending through 2005 to investigate how natural resources might drive armed conflict in pastoral East Africa.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Abstract
Theory: This study draws upon the works of James Hunt, who argues, in
what he defines as the Attribution approach, the importance of internal
and external attributes on explaining the decisions of leaders. In
using this theory, the internal model, one is able to understand how a
leader decides policy based on that leader’s perception(s). Placing
this theory within the context of community participation by churches,
which is linked to the broader support of the faith-based initiative
grants, this research looks at black pastors’ perceptions. These
include pastor’s perception of the church’s role, responsibility for
community, pastoral networking, church support, community, and
community problems.
Hypotheses: This paper tests five independent variables linking African
American pastor’s perceptions to their churches' level of community
participation.
Method: Targeting a universe of 68 black protestant churches in Albany,
Georgia, 36 pastors responded (53 percent of the total targeted population),
which is the result of using an university's database of ministers,
the local ministerial alliance membership list, the local newspaper’s
religious section, the most recent edition of the city’s telephone
directory, and the city’s black funeral homes, we test the perceptional
variables of these pastors using Pearson’s chi-square. Results:It was
discovered, as previous research had concluded about black churches in
general, that black churches in Albany, Georgia were community aware
and involved. However, their level of involvement was low in regards to
direct community action. This study’s findings noted that none of the
perceptional variables revealed an association to the dependent
variable.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Through participant-observation at some 200 Fundamentalist churches, the author discerned speech codes that instantiated cultural assumptions about social relations and suggest deeper causes for the "culture wars." Yet Fundamentalists are sundered into two rhetorical communities that center on "expository preaching" and "narrative preaching." These rhetorics operate according to Fisher's rational-world and narrative paradigms. Thus, because they preach the same doctrine, Fundamentalist discourse illustrates how differing rhetorics alone can produce variant degrees of alienation from the dominant culture.