Ivory

Dr. Lisa Mitchell, Associate Professor of South Asia Studies, has guided her students to create voiceover videos as class assignments for a large undergraduate class (ANTH 063 / SAST 063 / HIST 087) in South Asia Studies. Her class focuses on how the desire to possess and consume commodities has shaped cultures. In addition to the commodities studied by the full class, each student researches a commodity for an individual presentation. Projects from the 2012 spring semester include some integration of video content in addition to stills. Students in all six sections of the course viewed the videos, and chose winners at the section and course levels. This video won 2nd place overall. Salina and Mier follow the shift of ivory from globally-consumed commodity to unethical product. By unearthing stills from the peak of the environmental conservation movement, Salina and Mier evoke the same emotions in the viewer as conservationists felt during the elephant genocide of the 1990s. The video explores: Different uses of ivory throughout history Origins of the environmental conservation movement Legislation and global regulation of the ivory trade View curriculum and materials for this course