DAVID F. LANCY
Program in Anthropology
Utah State University
Logan,UT, 84322-0730
435-797-1322
email: David.LANCY @USU.EDU
Education History
Undergraduate:
Yale University 1963 to 1967, Bachelor of Arts
Major: Psychology
Minor: Art History
Postgraduate:
University of California, Irvine, 1967 to 1969
Major: Psychology
University of Pittsburgh, 1971 to 1975, Doctor of Philosophy
Major: International and Development Education
Minor: Anthropology
University of California, Los Angeles, 1979 to 1980
N.I.M.H. Fellow in Developmental
Psychology
Employment History
1997-2005 Director Utah State University Honors Program
1996 Spr Fellow of University of Cyprus Multimedia
1992- Assoc/Full Professor College of Humanities, Arts &
of Anthropology Social Sciences
1989-1992 Associate Professor,
Dept. of Educational
Psychology, Research, College of Education
& Social Foundations University of Toledo
Dir, Center for Applied
Cognitive Science
1984-1988 Associate Professor, College of Education
Elementary Education Utah State University
1980-1983 Director, Office of College of Education, Arizona
Research Services State University
1976-1979 Director of Research Department of Education,
1974-1976 Research Associate Learning Research & Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
1969-1974 Instructor Communit
1968-1969 Instructor/Research Cuttington College/USAID, Project Director Liberia
Awards
2001 Utah Professor of the Year Carnegie Foundation
1999 Humanist of the Year Utah State University
1995 “Last Lecture” Honors Program, Utah State University
1995 Fulbright Fellowship Sweden
1988-1989 Fulbright Fellowship Trinidad &
Tobago
Teaching
UNDERGRADUATE
Symbol Systems: The Origins of Writing and Literacy
Archaeology of Ancient Civilization
Introductory courses in Psychology,
Anthropology, Education and Sociology.
Ethnographic
Methods
GRADUATE Introduction to Research Methods,
Memberships
American Anthropological Association
Society for Anthropological Sciences (SASci)
Society for Cross-Cultural Research
Society for Psychological Anthropology
(ARCE)American Research Center in Egypt
American Education Research Association
Association for the Study of Play (Founding Member,Newsletter Editor 1996-2001)
Council on Anthropology and Education
Human Behavior and Evolution Society
International Society for the Study of Behavior Development
International Society for Human Ethology
Int’l Union of Anthropological/Ethnological Sciences Commission on Anthropology of Children, Youth and Childhood (Treasurer 2001-)
Council on Teaching Anthropology (Chair
2001-2002)
Major Publications
Lancy, D.F. (in press) The Anthropology of Childhood: Cherubs, Chattel and Changelings Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Lancy, D. F. (2007) Accounting for variability in mother-child play. American Anthropologist, 109(2): 273-284.
Lancy, D.F. (2001) Studying Children and Schools: Qualitative Research Traditions.
Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
Lancy, D. F. (2001) Cultural constraints on children’s play. Play and Culture Studies. 4,
53-62.
Lancy, D. F., et al (2000) Whose Mummy is it?; An interactive introduction to
Egyptology http://www.egyptinteractive.com/
Lancy, D.F. (1996) Playing on the Mother Ground: Cultural Routines for Children’s Development. NY: Guilford (Culture and Human Development Series)
Lancy, D. F. (Ed)(1994) Children’s Emergent Literacy: From Research to Practice.
Westport, CT: Praeger
Lancy, D. F. (1994). Anthropological study of literacy and numeracy. chapter In T.
Husén & T.N. Postlethwaite (Eds) International Encyclopedia of Education. (pp
3346-3453)London: Pergamon
Lancy, D. F. (1993). Qualitative Research in Education: An Introduction to the Major Traditions.. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Lancy, D. F. (1991). The autotelic environment revisited: An exploratory study. Play
and Culture, 4, 124-128.
Lancy, D. F., Draper, K., & Boyce, G. (1989). Parental influence on children's acquisition
of reading. Contemporary Issues in Reading, 4, 83-93.
Lancy, D. F. (1989). An information processing framework for the study of culture and
thought, in Topping, D., Kobayashi, V., and Crowell, D. (Eds.). Thinking Across Cultures. (pp 13-26) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lancy, D. F. (1987). The message is the medium: Studies of computer applications in
schools. In Fraser, B. J. (Ed.) The Study of Learning Environments. (pp64- 71)Volume 2, Perth: Curtin University Press, .
Pomponio, A. & Lancy, D. F. (1986). A pen or a bush knife: School, work and personal
investment in Papua New Guinea. Anthropology and Educ. Qtrly, 17, 40-61.
Goldstein, G. & Lancy, D. F. (1985). Cognitive development in autistic children. In Morrison, F. J., and Siegel, L. S., (Eds.), Cognitive Development in Atypical Children. (pp 83-112) New York: Springer Verlag, .
Lancy, D. F. (1984). Play in anthropological perspective in Smith, P. K., (Ed.), Play in
Animals and Humans. (pp 295-303) Oxford: Basil Blackwell .
Lancy, D. F. (1983). Cross-cultural Studies in Cognition and Mathematics. New York,
N.Y.: Academic Press.
Lancy, D. F. & Goldstein, G. (1982). Using non-verbal Piagetian tasks to assess the cognitive
development of autistic children. Child Development, 53, 1233-1244.
Lancy, D. F. (1982). Some missed opportunities in theories of play. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 5, 165-166.
Lancy, D. F., Souviney, R. J., & Kada, V. (1981). Intra-cultural variation in cognitive development: conservation of length among the Imbonggu. International Journal of
Behavioral Development, 4, 455-468.
Lancy, D. F. & Madsen, M. C. (1981). Cultural patterns and the social behavior of children:
Two studies from Papua New Guinea. Ethos, 9, 201-216.
Lancy, D. F. & Strathern, A. J. (1981). Making-twos: Pairing as an alternative to the
taxonomic mode of representation. American Anthropologist, 81, 773-795.
Lancy, D. F. (1980). Becoming a blacksmith in Gbarngasuakwelle. Anthropology and
Education Quarterly, 11, 266-274.
Lancy, D. F. (1980). Play in species adaptation. In Siegel, B. J., (Ed.), Annual Review of
Anthropology, IX, 471-495.
Lancy, D. F. (1978). The classroom as phenomenon. In Bar-Tal, D., and Saxe, L.,(Eds.),
The Contribution of Social Psychology to Education. New York: Wiley, 111-132.
Lancy, D. F. (1977). Studies of memory in culture. Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 285, 297-307.
Lancy, D. F. & Tindall, B. A. (Eds.) (1976/1979). The Anthropological Study of Play:
Problems and Prospects. West Point, N.Y.: Leisure Press, (Rev. ed.).
Lancy, D. F. (1975). The social organization of learning: Initiation rituals and public
schools. Human Organization, 34, 371-380.
Other Publications
Gaskins, S, Haight, W. and Lancy, D.F. (2007) The cultural construction of play. In
Göncü, Artin & Gaskins, Suzanne (Eds.) Play and Development: Evolutionary, Sociocultural, and Functional Perspectives. Pp. 179-202. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
Lancy, D.F. (2003) Interdisciplinary research: The NCUR/Lancy awards. in J.A. Kinkead
(Ed) Valuing and Supporting Undergraduate Research in series New Directions in Teaching & Learning No. 93 (pp79-86). San Francisco: Jossey Bass
Lancy, D.F. (2003) What one faculty member does to promote undergraduate research. In
J.A. Kinkead (Ed) Valuing and Supporting Undergraduate Research in series New Directions in Teaching & Learning No. 93 Pp. 87-92. San Francisco: Jossey Bass
Lancy, D.F. (2000) Writing Assignments in Large Introductory Classes in P.
C. Rice & D.W. McCurdy eds) Strategies in Teaching Anthropology (pp171-3)Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall
Lancy, D.F. (1999) Teaching with Technology:Digital Slides.College Teaching 47(3)82-3
Lancy, D.F., Call D. (1998) The Kin Game. Modules in Teaching Anthropology #5.
Washington, D.C.: American Anthropological Association.
Talley, S., Lancy, D.F., Lee, T.R. (1998) Children, Storybooks and Computers.Reading
Horizons 38(2) 116-128.
Lancy, D. F. (1995) It's not just what you do but how you do it that counts. chapter in
T.V. Rasinski (ed) Parents and Teachers: Helping Children Learn to Read and
Write. (pp 41-45)Orlando: Harcourt, Brace & Co.
Lancy, D. F. , Rhees, A., & Kinkead, J. (1994) A sense of community: Collaboration in a
large Anthropology class. College Teaching 42(3) 102-106.
Stoddart, P. T., Lancy, D.F., Kinkead, J. (1993) The Ginger Bread Man meets CD-ROM.
Utah English Journal, 21, 17-21.
Lancy, D. F. & Nattiv, A. (1992) Parents as volunteers: Storybook readers/listeners.
Childhood Education. 68 (4) 208-212.
Lancy, D. F. (1990). The microcomputer and social studies. OCSS Review, 26(1), 30-38.
Lancy, D. F. (1990). Educating with computers in Trinidad and Tobago, Educational Technology Research and
Development, 38(1), 98-99.
Kinkead, J. & Lancy, D. F. (1990). Looking for yourself: The classroom teacher as
researcher. Utah English Journal, 18(1), 2-13.
Forsyth, A. S. Jr., & Lancy, D. F. (1989). Girls and microcomputers: A hopeful finding.
Computers in the Schools, 6(3/4), 51-59.
Raitt, M. & Lancy, D. F. (1988). Rhinestone cowgirl: The education of a rodeo queen. Play
and Culture, 1(4), 267-281.
Lancy, D. F. & Hayes, B. L. (1988). Interactive fiction and the reluctant reader. The
English Journal, 77(6), 42-46.
Lancy, D. F. (1987). Will video games alter the relationship between play and development? In Fine, G. A. (Ed.), Meaningful Play, Playful Meanings.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 219-230.
Lancy, D. F., Forsyth, A. S., Jr., & Meeks, L. L. (1987). An after-school program utilizing
computers. National Association of Laboratory Schools Journal, 11(2), 1-9.
Forsyth, A. S., Jr., & Lancy, D. F. (1987). Simulated travel and place location learning in a
computer adventure game. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 3, 377-394.
Hayes, B., Lancy, D. F., & Evans, B. (1985). Computer adventure games and the
development of information processing skills. In McNinch, G. H., (Ed.), GA:
Reading Research in 1984: Comprehension, Computers, Communication.
Athens, American Reading Forum, 60-66.
Lancy, D. F., Cohen, H., Evans, B., Levine, N., & Nevin, M. L. (1985). Using the joystick as a
tool to promote intellectual growth and social interaction. Laboratory for
the Comparative Study of Human Cognition Newsletter, 7, 110-185.
Lancy, D. F. (1982). Socio-dramatic play and the acquisition of occupational roles.
Review Journal of Philosophy and Social Science, 7, 285-295.
Lancy, D. F. (1981). The indigenous mathematics project: An overview. Educational
Studies in Mathematics, 12, 445-453.
Madsen, M. C.& Lancy, D. F. (1981). Cooperative and competitive behavior: Experiments
related to ethnic identity and urbanization in Papua New Guinea. Journal of
Cross-cultural Psychology, 12, 389-408.
Lancy, D. F. (1980). Some observations on technology and education in Papua New
Guinea. Catalyst, 10(1), 3-7.
Lancy, D. F. (1980). Speech events in a West African court. Communication and
Cognition, 13(4), 397-412.
Lancy, D. F. (1980). Work as play: The Kpelle case. In H. Schwartzman (Ed.), Play and
Culture. West Point, N.Y.: Leisure Press, 324-328.
Lancy, D. F. (Ed.) (1979). Education research 1976-1979: Reports and essays. Port
Moresby: UNESCO/Education.
Lancy, D. F. (Ed.) (1979). The community school. Papua New Guinea Journal of Education,
15, special issue.
Lancy, D. F. (Ed.) (1978). The indigenous mathematics project. Papua New Guinea
Journal of Education, 14, special issue.
Lancy, D. F. (1977). The impact of the modern world on village life: Gbarngasuakwelle,
Papua New Guinea Journal of Education, 13(1), 36-44.
Lancy, D. F. (1976). The play behavior of Kpelle children during rapid cultural change.
In The Anthropological Study of Play: Problems and Prospects, 72-79.
Lancy, D. F. (1976). The beliefs and behaviors of pupils in an experimental school:
Introduction and overview; The science lab; school settings. Pittsburgh, Learning and Research and Development Center Publication Series, Nos. 3 (ED 127301); 6
(ED 127300); 21 (ED 134573). ISBN# 0318-14697-5
Fantino, E., Weigele, S., & Lancy, D. (1972). Aggressive Display in the Siamese Fighting
Fish
(Betta Splendens). Learning and Motivation, 3,
457-468.
Presentations(since1982)
Lancy, D.F. (2007) Organizer/Chair Panel on Culture and Childhood: The Relative Value of
Children/Youth, Annual Meetings, Society for Cross-Cultural Research, Society for
Anthropological Sciences, San Antonio, Feb. 21st-24th.
Lancy, D.F. (2007) Toddler Rejection. Paper presented at Annual Meetings, Society for Cross-
Cultural Research, Society for Anthropological Sciences, San Antonio, Feb. 21st-24th.
Lancy, D.F. (2006) Nature redefined as nurture: The case of mother-infant play. Paper
presented at annual meeting American Anthropological Association, San Jose, Nov.
15th-19th.
Lancy, D. F., Grove, M. A. (2006) “Baby-parading:” Child care or showing off? Paper
presented at Symposium “Defining Childhood: Cross-cultural Perspectives,” Annual Meeting Society for Anthropological Sciences, Savannah, GA., February.
Lancy, D.F. (2005) Gods or Gremlins: Cultural solutions to the problem of infant mortality.
Paper presented at Annual Meeting, American Anthropological Association, Washington, D.C., November.
Lancy, D.F. (2004) Teaching and Culture. Invited presentation for a Workshop on Teaching
& Cognition sponsored by the McDonnell Foundation. St. Louis, Dec 4th.
Lancy, D. F. (2004) The Anthropology of Children. Invited presentation for a Seminar on Learning processes and everyday cognition: the role of play and games April 16th , Charmey, Switzerland
Lancy, D. F. (2003) Anthropology and Children: A Critical Appraisal of Hirschfield’s
Claims. Paper presented at the 29th Annual Meeting, The Association for the Study of Play. Charleston, SC, February, 2003.
Lancy, D. F. (2003) A developmental ecology of Kpelle children’s play. Invited Paper
presented at Symposium “The Cultural Construction of Play” Jean Piaget Society Annual Meeting Chicago, June 5th, 2003
Lancy, D. F. (2002) The Achievement Gap: Ideology and Policy in Educational
Programming for Low-achieving American Students. Paper presented at Symposium on Children and Youth at Risk, Int’l Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Tokyo, September.
Lancy, D. F. & Dethier, B. (2002) Get the word out! Informing undergraduates of
research opportunities. Poster presented at the first conference on Undergraduate Research and Scholarship and the Mission of the Research University, College Park, Maryland, Nov.
Lancy, D.F. (2001) Lead Presenter, First Annual Institute on Teaching, American
Anthropological Association, Washington, D.C., Nov.
Lancy, D. F. (2001) Whose Mummy is it?, presentation at the annual meeting, American
Research Center in Egypt, Providence, April
Lancy, D.F.(2001) What value do parents from differing societies attach to play? Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Play, San
Diego, Feb.
Lancy, D. F. (2001) Teaching with technology, invited presentation, 4th annual “What is
an educated person?” conference. Provo, Feb.
Lancy,D.F (2000) The NCUR/Lancy Summer Research Fellowships, Invited Presentation
at panel on undergraduate research, Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences,
Toronto, November
Lancy,D.F (2000) Taking the pain out of testing. Invited Presentation at panel on
teaching anthropolgy. American Anthropological Assoc, San Francisco, Nov.
Lancy,D.F. (1999) Presenter and organizer two part symposium on "Course WEB sites, WEB
connectivity and Internet-assisted teaching in Anthropology." Annual meeting American Anthropological Association, Chicago, November.
Lancy, D.F. (1999) EDUtainment in anthropology. Presentation at Society for Information
Technology and Teacher Education, San Antonio, March 3rd.
Lancy, D. F. (1999) Play studies in an undergraduate ethnography class. Paper presented
at joint annual meeting of The Association for the Study of Play and The Society
for Cross-Cultural Research, Santa Fe, February 5th.
Lancy, D. F.(1999) “Myths, folk tales and chores in the anthropology of childhood.”
Invited colloquium speech, University of California, Los Angeles, February 17th.
Lancy, D, F. (1998) Blurring Genres: Using Multimedia to Widen the Audience for Media,
Anthropology. Invited session Anthropology Courseware: Teaching with
Electronic American Anthropological Association, Philadelphia, December.
Lancy, D.F. (1998) Organizer/Chair/Presenter Using Multimedia to Teach Anthropology.
Workshop for 14th International Congress of Anthropological and
Ethnological Sciences, Williamsburg, VA, July.
Lancy, D.F. (1998) Cultural Constraints on Children's Play and Toys, Invited address, The
Culture of Toys Conference, Emory University, January.
Lancy, D.F. (1997) Playing on the Mother Ground: Cultural Routines for Children's
Development paper presented at joint meeting, Society for Research in Child
Development, Association for the Study of Play Washington, D.C., April
Lancy,D.F. (1995) Culture, social class and emergent literacy. Invited address. Royal
Danish College of Education, December.
Lancy,D.F. (1995) Culture, social class and emergent literacy. Invited address. Lund
University, November.
Talley, S. & Lancy, D. F. (1995) The effects of a CD-ROM storybook program on Head Start
children's emergent literacy. paper presented at biennial meeting, Society for
Research in Child Development, Indianapolis, March.
Lancy, D.F. & Talley, S. (1995) The effects of a CD-ROM storybook program on Head Start
children's emergent literacy. paper presented at annual meeting, European
Association for Research in Learning and Instruction, Nijmegen, August.
Lancy, D.F. (1994) "On not throwing the baby out with the bathwater or, please let's not
blur our genres." keynote address, First Annual University of Northern Colorado
Symposium on Qualitative Research, April.
Organizer/Chair (1994) "Parental Responses to Family Literacy Initiatives", session at
the annual meeting, American Educational Research Association, New Orleans,
April.
Aldridge, J. & Lancy, D.F. (1994) Profiles of Even Start participants, paper presented at
above session at the annual meeting, American Educational Research
Association, New Orleans, April.
Kinkead, J. & Lancy, D.F. (1994) "Making a virtue of necessity: Using undergraduates
in instruction." paper presented at American Anthropological Association
symposium on Reform in Higher Education, Atlanta, November.
Lancy, D. F., Kinkead, J., Rhees, A. (1993) "A sense of community: Collaboration and interdependency in an introductory Anthropology course." paper presented at annual meeting, American Anthropological Association,
Washington, D.C., November.
Lancy, D. F. Kinkead, J., Rhees, A., Larsen, K., O'Rourke, N. (1993) "Multiple
perspectives on cooperative learning groups." panel presentation,
International Society for Exploring Teaching Alternatives, Ogden, UT, October.
Lancy, D.F. (1993) "Cultural perspectives on children's acquisition of literacy and numeracy," paper presented at the 13th International Congress of
Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Mexico City, August.
Lancy, D.F. (1992) "Using mini-proposals in teaching qualitative research methods,"
panel presentation, annual meeting, Am Anthro Assoc, San Francisco, Dec.
Lancy, D. F. & Bergin, C. (1992) The relationship between reading affect and parent-
child interaction in beginning readers. paper presented at annual meeting,
American Educational Research Assoc, San Francisco, April
Lancy, D. F. & Zupsic, A.B.(1991) A case study of Running Start. paper presented at conference on Family and
School Support for Early Literacy, Toledo, May.
Bergin, C. & Lancy, D.F.(1991) The role of parents in supporting beginning reading. paper presented at a
conference on New Directions in Child and Family Research, Washington,D.C., June.
Lancy, D. F. (1991) The role of parents in early reading. Paper presented at annual conference National Council of
Teachers of English, Seattle, November.
Organizer/Chair (1991) Family and School Support for Early Literacy, Conference University of Toledo SeaGate
Center, May
Dewitz, P.A., Lancy, D.F., Bergin, C. & Humberger, J.(1991) Student Literacy Corps: Catalyst for student,teacher
and institutional change. paper presented at annual meeting, National Reading Council, Palm Springs,
December.
Organizer/chair (1990). The social context of story-book reading: Home, School,
Community. Thirteenth World Congress of the International Reading
Association, Stockholm, July.
Lancy, D. F. (1987). The expert/novice dimension in cross-cultural studies of
cognition. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on
Thinking, Honolulu, January.
Lancy, D. F. (1989). Cultural Literacy: Implications for Curriculum in the Caribbean.
broadcast lecture over UWIDITE network, April.
Lancy, D. F. (1988). Individual variation in working/playing with computers. Paper presented at the annual
meeting International Association for Computing in Education, New Orleans, April.
Lancy, D. F., & Draper, K. D. (1988). Parents' strategies for reading to and with their
children. Paper presented at the SIG: Families as Educators, American Education
Research Association annual meeting, New Orleans, April.
Organizer/Chair (1987). Symposium: Current Issues in Home Schooling, Northern
Rocky Mountain Education Research Association, Park City,October.
Schramm, M. & Lancy, D. F. (1987). Reasons for Schooling at Home: A Utah Survey.
Paper presented at the annual meeting, NRMERA, Park City,October.
Organizer/Chair (1986). Symposium: The Computer as an Environment for Learning, American Education
Research Association, San Francisco, April.
Lancy, D. F. (1986). Models of computer use in schools: A comparative analysis. Paper
presented at CIES Western Region Conference on Education in the Age of
Information and Technology: International Perspectives, Honolulu, December.
Lancy, D. F., & Hayes, B. H. (1986). Building an Anthology of Interactive Fiction. Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association,
San Francisco, April.
Lancy, D. F. (1986). The message is the medium: A framework for understanding for the
computer use in schools. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
Association Anthropological Study of Play, Tempe, Arizona, March.
Lancy, D. F. (1985). Will video games alter the relationship between play and
development? Invited paper presented to the biennial meeting of the Inter-
national Society for the Study of Behavior Development, Tours, France, July.
Lancy, D. F., Evans, B., & Forsyth, A. S., Jr. (1985). Five models for using computers in the
schools: Perspectives from the USA. Paper presented at the 12th CESE Congress on Impact of Technology on
Society and Education, Antwerp, Belgium. Published in conference proceedings, July.
Lancy, D. F., Goldstein, G. I., & Rueda, R. S. (1984). Concept acquisition in language handicapped populations
. Paper presented at the annual meeting, American Education Research Association, New Orleans, April.
Lancy, D. F. (1983). A Comparative, Structural Analysis of Playforms in Six Papua New Guinean Societies. Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Anthropological Study of Play, Baton Rouge, April.
Organizer/Chair (1982). Symposium: Problem Finding and Problem Solving: LEA and IHE Collaborative
Research, American Education Research Association, New York City, March.
Organizer/Chair (1982). Symposium: Culture and Mathematics I: Learning in School; II: Out-of-School Learning,
American Education Research Association, New York City, March.
Lancy, D. F., Englehardt, J., Cohen, H., Smith, L., & Watts, L. (1982,). The Navajos and Geometry. Paper presented
at the annual meeting, American Education Research Association, New York City, March.