CURRICULUM VITAE
Simeon Waliaula Chilungu
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
Buffalo State College
1300 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222
Educational Background
Ph.D. was earned in 1974 from State University of New York at Buffalo
The dissertation was in medial and urban anthropology
MA was earned in 1970 from State University of New York at Buffalo State College
The Master's project was in psychiatric anthropology
BA was earned in 1969 from State University of New York at Buffalo State College
The areas of concentration were cultural anthropology and linguistics
Senior project in linguistics was on Ilocano, a Malayo- Polynesian language of the Philippines
Courses which I have developed and teach
ANT 102: Introduction to ethnological analysis
ANT 305: Peoples of Africa
ANT 307: Urban anthropology
ANT 315W: Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
ANT 411: African family
A statement about my teaching
One major reason why I became an anthropologist was to discover similarities and uniqueness about peoples of the world, their nations and their cultures. Anthropology as a comparative science provides this opportunity to any one who wants to explore possible explanations for observed similarities and diversities among world cultures. I therefore urge my students to always look for similarities and diversities and to search for explanations for such similarities and uniqueness. I discourage my students to stay away from using misnomers, demeaning and offensive language in writing about any community of people around the world.
My research experience
I have carried out applied research in the United States and in Kenya. In Nairobi, Kenya, I carried out monitoring and evaluation research in Dandora Housing Estate for the low income people. I also carried out feasibility research in Malindi north in coastal Kenya for a rural settlement scheme.
My continuing research
My current research is of hologeistic [worldwide] nature. Using George Peter Murdock's data bases I am rearranging sample nations into language clusters to highlight cultural characteristics that are observed within such linguistic groupings of nations. I also create databases from the United Nations annual publications about social characteristics of modern nations. In addition I have used data from Barbara Grimes' Ethnologue: Languages of the world, to highlight linguistic characteristics within world language clusters. I am also working on kinship terms in world languages to show similarities in kinship rules among world language clusters. Finally, I am working on indigenous and modern African nations for similar reasons.
Results of my continuing research
The products of my continuing research are compiled in two book length manuscripts titled:
George Peter Murdock’s Contributions to Understanding of World nations and their cultures
World Ethnographic Notes
I use these manuscripts in my teaching. From these manuscripts I show students how to write mathematical statements to describe distribution of observed characteristics per language cluster and or per geographical region. I show them how to draw conclusions based on descriptive statics, and I also show them how to formulate and test hypotheses using such measures as Tendency statistics, Yule's Q, Chi square and Pearson's correlation coefficient.
Publications
Chilungu, Simeon Waliaula
1989 Marriage, Family and Kinship Ties in Africa
In: African Continuities/L'Heritage African. Edited by Simeon Waliaula Chilungu and Sada Niang'
Toronto: Terebi
Chilungu, Simeon W.
1989 Introduction to African Continuities/L'Heritage African. Edited by Simeon W. Chilungu and Sada Niang' Toronto: Terebi
Chilungu, Simeon W.
1984 Alternative Ethnologie Aus Der Dritten Welt.
In: Ethnologie als Sozialwissenschaft. Edited by Von Ernst Wilhelm Muller, Rene Konig, Klaus-Peter Koepping and Paul Drechsel
Westdeuscher Verlag
Chilungu, Simeon W.
1976 Issues In the Ethics of Research Method: An Interpretation of the Anglo-American Perspective
Current Anthropology, 17: 451-467, 475-481
Special Project
Chilungu, Simeon W.
1977 Magarini Settlement Scheme: A Sociological Survey
Nairobi: Department of Sociology, University of Nairobi
In Preparation
Chilungu, Simeon Waliaula
2006 Peoples of Africa: Their Nations and Their Languages
Department of Anthropology: Buffalo State College
In this document I use maps as well as quantitative techniques to show and analyze social and linguistic characteristics of indigenous and modern African nations. Indigenous nations are grouped into genetic linguistic affinities to show patterns of similar social and linguistic traits. Such traits are then compared and contrasted with those traits brought to Africa by colonizing nations.
