The idea for Liz Organ’s thesis, “The Makings of a Good Birth,” emerged from a moment of doubt about career paths and a deep frustration with how often women are ignored in the birthing process. What began as a casual discovery of the differences between doulas and midwives, and whether this could be a potential career path, turned into an interview-based anthropology project examining how birth is experienced, remembered, and shaped by culture, history, and power.

Drawing on conversations with nine people, the thesis traces the evolution of American birthing culture, and explores different anthropological birth care models and individuals’ personal experience with the medical system. In this episode, Liz also reflects on the challenges of researching a highly specialized topic without a dedicated advisor in medical anthropology, and on learning to let interviews guide the research. Tune in for reflections on centering people’s stories, the rewards of interviewing family and friends, and why education, autonomy, and support are ultimately essential to a good birth.

Reed community members can read Liz’s thesis, “The Makings of a Good Birth” online in the Electronic Thesis Archive.

Arianna focused on the impacts of the closure of a Walmart in her hometown of Albuquerque for her thesis in the anthropology department. She also tells us about how Reed College’s Anthropology Student Fund helped to support her research, and how her thesis adviser helped her re-work her initial thesis ideas using a concept from environmental anthropology.

Reed community members can read Arianna’s thesis, “One Albuquerque? Crime, Security, and Dispossession in Albuquerque’s Sacrifice Zone” online in the Electronic Theses Archive.