Digital Commons Network^™

Bureaucratic Sorceries In The Third Policeman: Anthropological Perspectives On Magic & Officialdom, Alexandra Irimia

Languages and Cultures Publications

This article discusses The Third Policeman through the lens of a dialectic of enchantment and disenchantment that is firmly anchored in the history of anthropological discourse on bureaucracy (Malinowski, Lévi-Strauss, Tambiah, Herzfeld, Graeber, Jones). From this angle, Flann O’Brien’s novel is examined as an aesthetic illustration of an essentially anthropological argument: although bureaucracy has been described as an eminently rational form of social systematisation, regulation, and control (since Weber), it also functions, paradoxically, as a symbolic site for irrationality and supernatural occurrences, haunted by madness, mystery, and delusion. The novel is intriguing partly due to its nonchalant, humorous entwining of …

Interview With Kimi Wei, Brianna Martell

Immigrant Leaders

An interview with Kimi Wei, an immigrant leader from Latino Action Network. The interview covers life before immigrating, arrival and integration, and political participation.

Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: Paul D. Murray, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Mathew N. Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Catholicism, interviews Paul D. Murray, Director of the Centre for Catholic Studies and Professor of Systematic Theology at Durham University, about his own intellectual journey and building a global Catholic studies program at Durham.

The International Perception Of The Irish Republican Army And Chechen Insurgency, Henry Forteith

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

This purpose of this project is to examine how the labels used to describe the Irish Republican Army and Chechen insurgency changed after certain acts of violence. This paper begins by describing the history of imperial subjugation of Ireland and Chechnya, as well as examining the similarities between the actions and motivations of the IRA and Chechen insurgency. Then, to study the change in language to describe these groups, two searches were conducted into the New York Times and International Newsstream databases. The first search examined articles about the IRA and Chechen insurgency published between 1998 and 2009, while the …

Commercially Geneticizing Race, Ethnicity, And Nation: The Implications Of The Discourse Surrounding Commercialized Genetic Tests On Identity, Kiara Jacoby

The Compass

No abstract provided.

Pro-Understanding: Understanding The Pro-Choice Catholic, Natalie Eilerman

Honors Theses

Abortion is a widely debated and polarizing topic in the United States. While many Catholic leaders and members tend to hold beliefs against abortion, some Catholics are pro-choice. This study explores the perspectives and experiences of this often-under-recognized group. Mixed methods research was conducted to analyze 1) how perspectives towards abortion are changing among Catholics in the United States (using data from the General Social Survey from 1977-2018), and 2) the experiences of college students at a private, predominately white, Catholic university in the Midwest who identify as pro-choice and Catholic. Quantitative analysis shows that Catholics’ attitudes towards abortion are …

(Witch) Crafting Identity: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of The Dutch National Identity Through Women In Haunted History, Hallie Kamosky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This autoethnographic study analyzes the presentation of women in haunted history in order to dissect the construction of the Dutch national identity. Through a personal narrative experience, the art, museums, tourist enterprises, and physical locations that constitute the city of Amsterdam are put in conversation with one another in order to draw out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the Dutch narratives of progress. Firstly, the Spin Huis and the ghost story connected to it are juxtaposed to the City of Amsterdam’s narrative in order to draw out themes of sexual exceptionalism at the expense of foreign bodies. Next, the Amsterdam …

Academic Presses: Publishing Prostitution Apologists, Jody Raphael

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In the past few five years, academic presses are publishing books advocating the decriminalization of prostitution, the policy prescription buttressed by attempts to minimize the harm of the sex trade industry as well as sex-trafficking. This review essay explores the presses’ eager embracing of this approach, the reasons for it, and the effects of their publications on violence against women. These include the silencing of survivors’ voices, and the drying up of violence research as academics pursue topics of interest to publishers, as opposed to exploring the lives of women.

The 1676 Project: Black And White Together In The U.S.A., Danny Duncan Collum

The Journal of Social Encounters

America’s post-George Floyd racial reckoning has brought a new focus on the country’s history of enslavement, segregation and systemic racism. However, this reckoning has often failed to recognize that the roots of systemic racism lie in the need of the wealthy planters in colonial Virginia to divide the African and English indentured servants who constituted a majority threatening to elite power. Nor do contemporary versions of U.S. history always account for the persistent reoccurrence of class-based interracial movements, such as the late 19^th century Populists, or their promise as a long-term solution to the country’s racial divides.

Book Reviews

Great Plains Sociologist

Reviewer: Cynthia L. Phillips
Gender Justice in the American West: Women Prisoners in Men's Penitentiaries
Ann M. Butler

Reviewer: Mary Warner
New Pioneers in the Heartland: Hmong Life in Wisconsin
JoAnn Koltyk

Reviewer: Elizabeth A. Gill
Transgressing Borders: Critical Perspectives on Gender
Suzan Ilcan and Lynne Phillips, eds.

Reviewer: Melissa A. Jones
The Secret Life of Families: Truth-Telling, Privacy and Reconciliation in a Tell-All Society
Evan Imber-Black

Reviewer: Keith Crew
Murder Most Rare: The Female Serial Killer
Michael D. Kelleher and C.L. Kelleher

Reviewer: Jack Niemonen
New Tribalism: The Resurgence of Race and Ethnicity
Michael W. Hughey, ed.

Reviewer: Evandro …

Gender Equality In Higher Education And Research, Rodrigo Rosa, Sara Clavero

Articles

No abstract provided.

Isolation, Cohesion And Contingent Network Effects: The Case Of School Attachment And Engagement, G. Robin Gauthier, Jeffrey A. Smith, Sela Harcey, Kelly Markowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Isolation and cohesion are two key network features, often used to predict outcomes like mental health and deviance. More cohesive settings tend to have better outcomes, while isolates tend to fare worse than their more integrated peers. A common assumption of past work is that the effect of cohesion is universal, so that all actors get the same benefits of being in a socially cohesive environment. Here, we suggest that the effect of cohesion is universal only for specific types of outcomes. For other outcomes, experiencing the benefits of cohesion depends on an individual’s position in the network, such as …

The Psychology Of Separation: Border Walls, Soft Power, And International Neighborliness, Diana C. Mutz, Beth A. Simmons

All Faculty Scholarship

This study assesses the impact of international border walls on evaluations of countries and on beliefs about bilateral relationships between states. Using a short video, we experimentally manipulate whether a border wall image appears in a broader description of the history and culture of a little-known country. In a third condition, we also indicate which bordering country built the wall. Demographically representative samples from the United States, Ireland, and Turkey responded similarly to these experimental treatments. Compared to a control group, border walls lowered evaluations of the bordering countries. They also signified hostile international relationships to third-party observers. Furthermore, the …