Culture and Sustainability
TSPR Commentaries by Dr. McIlvaine-Newsad
Explore thought-provoking discussions on cultural and environmental sustainability from an anthropological perspective.
Read My Commentaries Below
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Commentary: The art of teaching
As a teacher, the constant cycle of grading papers feels endless. I fondly recall my mother, an exceptional high school home economics teacher, immersed in her work with a stack of papers at her feet. Now, as Western Illinois University wraps up its final week of classes, I find myself at 10 pm, alternating between…
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Commentary: I’m dead. Now what?
Last Christmas, our youngest daughter Maren gifted me a book titled “I’m Dead. Now What?” This wasn’t a gag or a mean-spirited present, but a heartfelt gift from a young adult not yet twenty. It stemmed from our decade-long, open family conversations about life and death, reflecting her deep love and compassion. Read more on…
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Commentary: The iron mermaid and the remarkable human being
I believe it was 1992. At that time, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, working on reforestation near San José de Ocoa. Despite deforestation issues in the DR, conversations often highlighted Haiti’s more severe environmental degradation, poverty, and healthcare challenges. My host-sister, Mayra, then a medical student, and I frequently discussed…
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Commentary: Vaccines
When I was around five or six, I came down with chickenpox. I remember having blisters in my ears, nose, and all over my torso, making me an itchy, grumpy mess for about a week. My sweet mother, a high school teacher, relied on Western medicine, while my Grandma Mildred, with her rich ethnobotanical knowledge…
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Commentary: When art imitates life
Like many during the holiday break, I indulged in a fair amount of Netflix and Hulu. I have a particular fondness for contemporary Scandinavian crime dramas and German and Russian series that delve into the daily struggles of the masses. It’s hardly escapism from our current reality, I admit. Perhaps this reflects my subtle appreciation…
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Commentary: What is a Good Life?
Since 2007, I have been teaching Introduction to Cultural Anthropology to small groups of First Year Experience (FYE) students at Western Illinois University. For most, it’s their first and possibly only encounter with anthropology. As professors and parents, we ask young adults to make significant life decisions—choosing a major, finding a job—while they seek meaning…
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Commentary: The Demise of Local News
For the past 17 years, a familiar “thump” has marked the arrival of my morning newspaper between 6:00 and 6:30. However, last week, I ventured out at 7:30, barefoot and in my pajamas, only to find no sign of my daily McDonough County Voice. I searched behind the chair, under the table, and even in…
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Commentary: The Lasting Legacy of Dr. Patricia Anderson
Lately, I’ve been contemplating the concept of legacy. A quick Google search revealed the Oxford dictionary definition as “an amount of money or property left to someone in a will,” but this didn’t capture what I was seeking. While material things like money have their uses, they don’t truly endure after one’s passing. Driven by…
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Commentary: 3 Days, 1000 Miles, College During COVID, and an Empty Nest
Michael and I are among the millions of parents in the US with children heading to college this fall. Last year, Willow and Maren attended their first semester remotely from their childhood bedrooms, as I believed their university, like many others, would switch to entirely online classes. I was wrong and gladly so. I underestimated…
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Commentary: Heroes are Compassionate
As we mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been reflecting on the stories that will endure from this period in history. A hundred or even a thousand years from now, how will humanity, if we are still around, view our response to this crisis? What narratives will emerge about our actions, challenges,…
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