• Site map
• About us
• K-State photo services
• Stock photos
• Inclement weather policy

 

 

 

Join us on facebook

 

Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Source: Harald Prins, 785-532-4966, prins@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/prinsbio.html
Note to editor: Adam Bohannon is the son of Glenn Bohannon and Linda D. Hollenbeck and a graduate of Blue Valley Northwest High School, Overland Park. Jessie Stone is the daughter of Norm and Debra Stone, Bakersfield, Calif.

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008

DOCUMENTARY BY K-STATE PROFESSOR, STUDENTS IS PRESENTED AT OXFORD

MANHATTAN -- A documentary film by a Kansas State University professor, made with assistance from two of his students, has been presented at the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Oxford University in Oxford, England.

"Among Xavante Friends: A Tribute to David Maybury-Lewis" is a 22-minute film by Harald Prins, university distinguished professor of anthropology at K-State. It was co-authored by recent K-State graduates Adam Bohannon, Overland Park, and Jessie Stone, Bakersfield, Calif. Both Bohannon and Stone earned bachelor's degrees in anthropology from K-State in May 2008; Bohannon also earned a bachelor's in psychology.

The film, presented by Prins June 19 at Oxford's anthropology museum for an international conference of South American Indian specialists, is about the late David Maybury-Lewis, the eminent Harvard University anthropologist. The founder of Cultural Survival, an indigenous rights advocacy organization, Maybury-Lewis was especially famous for his work with Brazilian Indians.

Both Bohannon and Stone played major roles in the creation of the film.

"I was responsible for most of the major editing," Bohannon said. "After we all determined what footage should be included from Maybury-Lewis' public television documentary series 'Millenium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World,' I was responsible for editing all of it into a 22-minute tribute with Dr. Prins' expert input. This also included incorporating appropriate historical photos and Brazilian Indian visual images as well as Dr. Prins' narration, which we recorded in K-State's Media Center."

Stone helped with cutting and splicing video segments and collaborated with Prins and Bohannon on video ideas.

Bohannon and Stone said they both enjoyed the opportunity to work with Prins, an award-winning teacher and scholar.

"Working on this film with one of my greatest mentors was invaluable," Bohannon said. "Dr. Prins has so much experience in ethnographic filmmaking and collaborating with him on this film taught me a great deal of which I can take with me as I pursue a career in anthropology.

"People always talk about the collision of generations, but Dr. Prins' traditional 16 mm-film training and my experience with digital video editing resulted in a fabulous synthesis of expertise," he said.

Prins is the author of "The Mi'kmaq: Resistance, Accommodation and Cultural Survival" and the documentary film, "Our Lives in Our Hands." He also served as principal research adviser for the award-winning film, "Wabanaki: A New Dawn." His other works include a co-edited volume, "American Beginnings: Exploration, Culture and Cartography in the Land of Norumbega"; four co-authored and widely used anthropology textbooks, including "Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge," 12th edition; two co-edited special journal issues; and more than 100 scholarly articles, book chapters, reviews and encyclopedia entries.

While Bohannon and Stone were unable to attend the film presentation at Oxford University, both said they were pleased to hear it went well. The film has been invited to be posted at the Web site of Cultural Survival, http://www.cs.org

The film also will be screened and discussed at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Nov. 19-23, in San Francisco.

Bohannon and Stone are each using their anthropology degrees in different ways.

Bohannon is working for Sun Microsystems as an instructional designer and social media specialist, bringing an anthropological perspective to designing learning experiences using new media. He also is in the process of applying to doctoral programs in anthropology, hoping to start graduate school in fall 2009.

Stone is with Teach for America, a two-year program dedicated to alleviating educational inequities in U.S. schools. She is teaching 11th- and 12th-grade social studies at an under-resourced high school in 'Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

"It has been challenging, frustrating and amazing," Stone said of her job.