Date of Award
6-2012
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Anthropology
First Advisor
Dr. Louann Wurst
Second Advisor
Dr. Vincent Lyon-Callo
Third Advisor
Dr. Sharon Carlson
Keywords
archaeology, asylum, control, autonomy, Michigan
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
This project is designed to look into mechanisms of control and patient autonomy in institutional confinement, using Colony Farm in Kalamazoo, Michigan as a case study. I have chosen to specifically examine landscape, architecture, foodways, and personal goods/dress as avenues in which to parse out information regarding control and autonomy. The main themes throughout this paper are work as a cure, patient labor, and the blurring of roles between patients, staff members, and paid hired workers. These themes are intertwined with landscape, architecture, foodways, and personal goods/dress and highlight the contradictions inherent in institutional confinement, especially in the context of Colony Farm. These themes are also important in trying to understand not only daily life, but how mechanisms of control and autonomy played out in this more informal institutional environment.
Recommended Citation
Thornton, Alison, "Archaeological Investigations of Control and Autonomy at the Colony Farm of the Michigan State Asylum, 1880-1950" (2012). Masters Theses. 17.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/17