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You Can’T Build A Canoe Online: Activism And Identity In Indigenous Taiwan, Adam King Hinden
You Can’T Build A Canoe Online: Activism And Identity In Indigenous Taiwan, Adam King Hinden
Senior Independent Study Theses
The Republic of China is the current government occupying the island of Taiwan –– a multiethnic land that has been populated by diverse groups for thousands of years. Today, these groups continue to face a range of adversities on behalf of the colonial government. Further, the island’s internet is dominated by Western social media platforms that exclude native modes of communication. Through ethnographic surveys and interviews, this study explores how indigenous Taiwanese activists understand their own identities, strategies of activism, and relationships to social media platforms to interrogate dominant postcolonial frameworks. It comes to two separate yet linked conclusions regarding …
From Fried Bologna Sandwich To Butternut Squash Prosciutto Flatbread: Examining Food Culture As A Multivocal Dominant Symbol In The Wessex, Ohio Restaurant Foodscape, Clare T. Carlson
Senior Independent Study Theses
This Independent Study explores the restaurant foodscape in the rural city of Wessex, Ohio and examines how two different sets of restaurants in this foodscape identify themselves as emblematic of the city. Restaurants opened in Wessex over the last ten years that have been selected for inclusion on Wessex Food Tours comprise the first set of restaurants examined. These restaurants are a curated set of local businesses that Wessex Food Tours presents to visitors as representative of a rejuvenated, contemporary Wessex. The other set of restaurants examined are those restaurants that have existed in Wessex for over 50 years, but …
“You Can’T Change What You Were”: Liminality And The Process Of Role Exit Among Former Amish, Kathryn Foster
“You Can’T Change What You Were”: Liminality And The Process Of Role Exit Among Former Amish, Kathryn Foster
Senior Independent Study Theses
Aside from reality television, which often depicts former Amish as raucous partiers, many documentaries and memoirs portray ex-Amish as runaways, leaving in the night with nothing but the clothes on their back. As the gap between “the world” and the Amish closes, how accurate is this portrayal of leaving the Amish for the roughly 15% who choose to leave? How do ex-Amish negotiate the transition from Amish to English (non-Amish) life? This study, based on interviews with former Amish, explores the difficult decision to leave the Amish church as well as the challenges of transitioning into English life and negotiating …
'You Are Who We Say You Are': The Politics Of Ethnicity In Post-Genocidal Rwanda And Bosnia-Herzegovina, Stephanie A. Sugars
'You Are Who We Say You Are': The Politics Of Ethnicity In Post-Genocidal Rwanda And Bosnia-Herzegovina, Stephanie A. Sugars
Senior Independent Study Theses
The establishment of peace in post-genocidal states is vital, as the experience of extreme division and violence can scar a population, contributing to violence and inequality moving forward. Existing literature on post-conflict transition and governance argues that two main systems are typically used: consociationalism and assimilationism. While consociationalism argues for heterogeneity in the state and assimilationism for homogeneity, both of these systems use the institutionalization of identity as a step in post-conflict recovery, through such means as proscribing or privileging particular identities. This study posits that this is inherently flawed, as attempts to institutionalize identity ignore its contextually fluid or …
Eat Until You're Full: The Pursuit Of Autonomy And Health Through The Adoption Of Organic Agriculture In Mae Ta, Thailand, Erin Jean Plews-Ogan
Eat Until You're Full: The Pursuit Of Autonomy And Health Through The Adoption Of Organic Agriculture In Mae Ta, Thailand, Erin Jean Plews-Ogan
Senior Independent Study Theses
This research explores the role that farmers' concerns about health and community autonomy play in the emergence of an organic agriculture movement in the village of Mae Ta in northern Thailand. In the midst of the push for export-oriented and urban-centered development, many rural people have migrated to urban areas for work or adopted contract farming of chemical-intensive cash crops. Yet farmers in Mae Ta chose a unique alternative: sufficiency-based organic polyculture. Why take on such a risk without solid policy and market support for organic agriculture in Thailand? I investigated these questions through six weeks of participant observation and …
Hello, I Love You, Won’T You Tell Me Your Name?: An Anthropological Investigation Of Naming, Haley Lisa Close
Hello, I Love You, Won’T You Tell Me Your Name?: An Anthropological Investigation Of Naming, Haley Lisa Close
Senior Independent Study Theses
This study investigates how parents select the names of their children. Anthropological research on naming is very sparse, despite the immense power of names to reflect cultural variables, such as: kinship, gender relations, socioeconomic class relations, and differences in taste and personal preference. I surveyed a sample of parents at three daycare facilities in a small town in the Midwest about their children’s names and how they chose those names. My findings indicate that kin naming plays a significant role, but many parents find a balance between choosing a name with “meaning” and choosing a name based on their personal …