Nena Amundson Distinguished Professorship

Karla Suomala (2010-2012)

Boundary Crossing: Searching for Wholeness in a Multifaith World
Professor Suomala’s Amundson project focused on three main aspects: the pursuit of health and wholeness involves crossing boundaries, differing ideas of health and wholeness collide within traditions and across religious boundaries, and the search for health and wholeness leads to new understandings of the self and the religious other. Students read, listened to, and discussed sacred literature, liturgical texts, and work of contemporary writers, thinkers, and practitioners from religious traditions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. In doing this, they reflected on the roles health and wholeness play in their own lives and as part of their identities.

Wanda Deifelt (2008-2010)

Embodying the Student Body
Professor Deifelt’s Amundson project addressed the dichotomy between body and mind/soul, the human body in our culture, the role of human sexuality in embodiment, and practices that foment embodied selves. Students enrolled in the course God and Gender were given the opportunity to conduct surveys on their Luther College peers to reveal how students perceive their bodies, what their ideal and real body images are, what mechanisms they employ to address the pressure of having a “perfect body”, what healthy and unhealthy practices should be highlighted, and whether they are aware of the venues for support available on campus. Participants then met for group discussions to address the original four issues described above.

Lea Pickard (2006-2008)

Health and Wellness of Latina Immigrants in Postville, IA
Professor Pickard’s Amundson project was related to women’s health care needs including barriers preventing health and wellness, health strategies that are not provided by Western medicine, and the role of family, social networks, and cultural background in women’s health. Wanda and a student colleague attempted to answer a number of questions using an anthropological research methodology that included a survey, open-ended interviews, and participant observation.

Nancy Barry (2004-2006)

Revising the Body: Inside the Cancer Classroom
Professor Barry’s Amundson project took the form of collaborative research with a student regarding breast cancer that had implications for behavior choices made by undergraduate women. The collaboration yielded several pieces of writing by the student, under her mentorship, and one co-authored essay on the nature and efficacy of teaching undergraduate women about a disease that many think they are immune to, given their age.

Betty Hoff (2001-2004)

Health and Wellness