Digital Commons Network^™

'We Are The Big Six:’ Maasai Perceptions And Organization Of Cultural Tourism In Kenya, Kara D. Kelliher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Kenya’s wildlife has long been considered an international treasure. Travelling to the renowned Masai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) to capture the ‘big five,’ those five large wild animals considered to be Africa’s greatest, with their camera lenses, visitors will also see or even meet local Maasai living and/or working in the area. Employing ethnographic methods this research examines three sites: the Enkang Oloirien Village Homestay, Olapa village and the main entrance to the MMNR where Maasai women sell souvenirs to explore Maasai perceptions and organization of cultural tourism. Responding to literature which considers benefits from tourism to accrue when hosts …

Sociocultural Diversity In The Prehispanic Southwest: Learning, Weaving, And Identity In The Chaco Regional System, A.D. 850-1140, Edward A. Jolie

Anthropology ETDs

Between about A.D. 850 and 1140, the archaeology of Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico reveals the rapid construction of large communal structures where smaller settlements had existed previously and shows that the locality became the core of an extensive regional system in the Four Corners region of the northern Southwest integrated by formal trails, the circulation of nonlocal goods, and the sharing of ritual items. Researchers vigorously debate the role of increased sociopolitical complexity in this development, but less attention has been given to questions of sociocultural diversity and its impacts.

Guided by previous research suggesting the existence of …

Identity In The Archaeological Record: Richardville, Natoequah And The Fur Trade In Northeastern Indiana., Elizabeth Spott

Theses and Dissertations

Gender, ethnicity and social class are powerful structuring components that influence the formation of personal identity and social groups, as well as constrain interpersonal interactions within social groups. The following dissertation is an examination of how gender, ethnicity and class were actively negotiated and employed by Native Americans, Métis and whites to construct personal and social identities on the frontier during the nineteenth century fur trade. This discussion of identity will focus on the example of John B. Richardville to examine how he used material culture to construct, portray and maintain multiple personal and social identities in the nineteenth century …

"Too Hard To Pronounce"- Examining Immigration Ideologies In The Treatment Of Newcomer Youths' Names, Nadja Schlote

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines how the treatment of newcomer youths’ names within social interactions between immigrants and the Canadian host society reveals immigration ideologies indicating either an integrationalist or assimilationist attitude. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews with newcomer youths and staff members at the Cross Cultural Learner Centre in London, Ontario, from April to August 2017. One the one hand, I examine how the newcomer youths’ names are treated by members of the dominant society, often including forms of name-based microaggressions that reflect an immigration ideology that includes a preference towards cultural assimilation. On the other hand, I demonstrate …

Soccer, Space, And Community Integration: Being And Becoming Canadian In London, Ontario Through The World's Game, Marcelo Eduardo Herrera

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract:

In this thesis I explore various forms of participation in organized soccer in London, Ontario – a mid-sized Canadian city with a diverse and growing immigrant community. My research took place between April 2015 and September 2015 and is based on focus group discussions, individual interviews, and casual conversations mainly, but not exclusively, with players and non-players, parents of players, and team or club administrators from London’s soccer community. My work’s primary objective is to provide an informed account of how and why soccer has and continues to be used by immigrant groups in London to integrate into Canadian …

The Things We Carry: Pilgrim Identity And Material Culture Along Spain’S Camino De Santiago, Isabelle Moore

Senior Theses and Projects

In recent decades, the mediaeval Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route has enjoyed a significant resurgence in popularity. Despite the route’s Christian heritage as “the way of St. James,” todays Camino-walkers present an impressive range of spiritual, physical, and personal motivations for undergoing the route. This modern twist on an ancient tradition has sparked an academic discussion surrounding what constitutes a “pilgrim” versus a “tourist,” including the ways in which people of different motivating identities experience heritage. I investigated this dichotomy by walking the Camino Frances and conducting ethnographic fieldwork from St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago, Spain. In …

From Invisibility To Liminality: The Imposition Of Identity Among Non-Federally Recognized Tribes Within The Federal Acknowledgment Process, Christopher M. Drake

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the imposition of a “liminal” identity among non-federally recognized American Indian tribes pursuing federal recognition through the Federal Acknowledgment Process. By requiring a tribe to simultaneously appear as both intelligible/similar to and distinctive/different from American society, the “liminal” identity fails to be maintained, barring a tribe’s recognition.

"Crooked" Language: Moroccan Heritage Identity And Belonging On Youtube, Radia Lyna Lahlou

Honors Papers

With the advent of user-generated social media, people are able to assert their ideas, opinions and positionality through online multi-way communication and participation. One such website is YouTube, a video platform where language production and identity negotiation are common. This thesis looks at a series of videos published on YouTube, entitled the "Moroccan Tag" to examine the ways five second-generation French-Moroccan YouTubers assert their national identities online. Using methods of guerrilla ethnography, I glean discourse from video content and comments to outline three key scaler processes through which identity performance manifests: through semiotic ideologies surrounding authenticity, language and imagined community. …

Embodying The Hyphen: An Ethnography On Korean Adoptees, Barbara Hammersberg

All Master's Theses

An estimated 150, 000 Korean children have grown up in culturally and racially different homes in the United States and other countries since the increase of transnational adoption in 1953. Due to the large number of Korean adoptees living in the U.S. the potential for ethnographic research is profound. Past studies have favored adoptive parents’ perspectives over that of Korean adoptees. This study aims to address that limitation in hopes of contributing to the growing trend of Korean- adoption ethnographic research led by Korean adoptees. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with six Korean-American adoptees living in the Seattle metropolitan area in …

(Un)Packing The Natural: Exploring Tactics Of Empowerment For Girls Through Outdoor Education, Avalon Blue Qian

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

From Parilla To Pa' Amb Tomaquet: Argentine Migrant Identity In Barcelona, Spain, Vera Armus

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores Argentine migratory experiences in Barcelona, Spain. Paying specific attention to the cultural adjustments migrants have made upon arrival, it considers food choices, habits, and social tastes in order to gain insight into how identity is impacted upon migration. Given that Argentines form one of the biggest migrant communities in Barcelona, and that they hold various cultural and ethnic similarities to their Spanish counterparts, their experiences upon arrival present a particularly interesting topic of inquiry. Based on first-hand accounts, participatory observation, fieldwork, and media research, I argue that the nature of Argentine identity in Barcelona is fluid and …

Exemplary Welshness : The Role Of The Transnational Welsh Heritage Network And Being Welsh In Patagonia, Kimberly Anne Berg

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In recent years, the Welsh Diaspora community in Chubut has gained significant visibility in Welsh and other media in light of the 150th anniversary of the settlement’s establishment. In addition to the commemorative sesquicentenary celebrations taking place in July of 2015, the performance of Welshness has become increasingly congruent with homeland displays of the familiar aspects of Welsh national identity. In large parts, Welsh Patagonian language and heritage revitalization efforts have been facilitated by the transnational Welsh heritage network, composed of Welsh national institutions and Welsh Patagonian heritage associations collaborating with the expressed goal of maintaining a distinct Welsh identity …

Lowcountry Identities, Labor, And Material Culture: An Archaeological Survey Of 38ja1138, Zachary W. Dirnberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Archaeologists have long struggled with understanding the relationship between material culture and actual, emic identity. Early practitioners assumed that there was a one-to-one correspondence between the two and that a suite of artifacts recovered archaeologically could be matched with a specific ethnic affiliation or peoples that produced and utilized those artifacts. Later generations of archaeologists challenged this view by demonstrating how mutable and historically situated identity is, and how often material culture crosscuts ethnic boundaries. Historical archaeologists have played a central role in this debate. In this thesis, I examine 38JA1138, a largely undocumented late eighteenth-century site in Jasper County, …