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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Anthropologist Paul Roscoe to speak on 'Remembering the Dead' Feb. 19

The University of New England presents a lecture, "Remembering the Dead," by Paul Roscoe, Ph.D., professor of anthropology and cooperating professor of quaternary and climate studies at the University of Maine, Orono, on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 at noon in the St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, University Campus.Since the dawn of the United States as a republic, many more women have died giving birth to the nation than have men in defending it.  Yet, while the sacrifices of the nation's warriors are glorified, even sanctified, those of its mothers go virtually unacknowledged. Why is it that we honor dead warriors but ignore dead mothers?

Dr. Roscoe will provide an answer to this intriguing question. In this presentation, he will discuss the construction of death and honor in human society, review the data on death and its memorialization in the U.S., and consider several possible explanations for the discrepancy.  He will conclude that the explanation lies in the nature of human social organization.

Biography
Born in England, Paul Roscoe began his professional life as a physicist, a field that he quickly decided "did not sit with me very well."

He then spent three years trying to find a better fit, including part-time work as a stringer for the BBC, following in the footsteps of his father, a freelance journalist. When he later discovered anthropology, however, he knew immediately it was the career he'd been looking for. Dr. Roscoe earned an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Manchester and a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 1983. 

He has been at the University of Maine, Orono, since 1984. His research interests include the anthropology of war, cultural ecology, and political evolution. He has conducted fieldwork amongst the Yangoru Boiken of the East Sepik, Papua New Guinea, and the Mountain Arapesh.

Dr. Roscoe's lecture is sponsored by the New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Studies. It is free and open to the public.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.