Sabine Stratton
B.Sc. (Alberta), BA (Alberta), MA (Alberta)
Sabine Stratton received two undergraduate degrees and her Master of Arts from the University of Alberta. The degree in zoology led to an interest in skeletal biology and a degree in physical anthropology established an enthusiasm for the study of human biology. While serving on the medical examiner’s human identification team, investigating the 1986 Hinton Via Rail collision, a fascination for human individualization crystallized. Research since that time has focused upon human skeletal anomalies; ante- and post-mortem x-ray comparison; video superimposition; and public perceptions toward autopsy. Her field experience has been wide-ranging, including working for organizations such as the Alberta Medical Examiner’s Office, Physicians For Human Rights (The Cyprus Project), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Project Evenhanded (the Robert Pickton Case). Stratton is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and the American Association of Biological Anthropologists.
Teaching Philosophy
- Be enthusiastic and passionate about what I teach.
- To assist students in developing their passion for intellectual pursuits.
- To allow students to benefit from my personal experiences.
Courses taught
- ANTH 1200: Biological Anthropology (Q Course)
- ANTH 1217: Forensic Anthropology (Q Course)
- ANTH 2217: Forensic Methods & Analysis (Q Course)
- ANTH 3211: Forensic Science: Fact and Fiction
- ANTH 3220: Human Osteology
- ANTH 3242: A Survey of the Primates
- ANTH 3502: Special Topics in Biological Anthropology
- ANTH 3510: Anthropology of Genocide
Areas of Interest
Human Skeletal Variation; Forensic Anthropology; Humanitarian and Human Rights Investigations; Primatology.
Forensic Case Studies: I was the first anthropology student allowed access to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Alberta. During that time there were numerous cases for which I was allowed to participate and observe, including a mass disaster, the Hinton/Via Rail train collision in February, 1986.
From June, 2002 to June, 2003 I worked as a civilian contractor for the R.C.M.P.
Spring 2011, Member of multidisciplinary team investigating the deaths of the Whistler sled dogs after the Whistler Olympics.
Scholarly Work
- Lieverse, A.R., Stratton, S.U., and Ardley, S. (2012). Kurma XI: Human osteological remains. In A.W. Weber, O.I. Goriunova, and A.R. Lieverse (eds.) Kurma XI, a Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Cemetery on Lake Baikal, Siberia: Archaeological and Osteological Materials. Northern Hunter-Gatherer Research Series, Volume 6. Edmonton, Alberta: Canadian Circumpolar Institue Press. Chapter 3, pp. 81-140
- S. U. Stratton and O. B. Beattie. (1999) “Mass Disasters: Comments and Discussion Regarding the Hinton Train Collision of 1986”, in Forensic Osteological Analysis: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology, edited by S. I. Fairgrieve. Springfield, Ill.: C. C. Thomas, Chapter 18, pp.267-286.
- S. Stratton. “The Attitude of University Students Toward Autopsy”. Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of The American Academy of Forensic Sciences Volume 4, February 1998. Abstract, pp. 214-15.
- Photos of Research published in The Buffalo People, Prehistoric Archaeology on the Canadian Plains by Liz Bryan. Edmonton, Alberta: The University of Alberta Press. 1991, pp. 112-113.
- O. Beattie and S. Stratton. “Acetabular Rim Morphology As An Individualizing Characteristic”. Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal. Abstract, Volume 20, Number 3, August 1987.