Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Megalithic Art In The Boyne Valley Passage Tombs, Andrew Benoit

Summer Research

The purpose of this study is to quantify the locations of megalithic art within the main passage tombs at Knowth and Newgrange, in the Boyne Valley of Ireland, with the aim of better understanding meanings associated with the art as well as their social contexts. Of particular interest to this study was the identification and analysis of the location of “endogenously-derived arts” as a way to take into account the often overlooked role that altered states of consciousness (ASC) play in rituals throughout prehistory and history. Furthermore, this study places megalithic art at the forefront of its analysis in the …

Interstitial Space: An Exploration Of The Urban Landscape And Marginal Communities Of Tacoma, Washington, Oscar Edwards-Hughes

Summer Research

In this project I researched the interactions between Tacoma’s homeless population and interstitial spaces. Interstitial space is the unplanned or abandoned space that can be seen throughout urban areas. It consists of those spaces where planning and boundaries are unclear or non-existent; a space seemingly missed, un-calculated, or overlooked by city planners. In conversation with Professor Andrew Gardner, who has conducted extensive field research on the subject in Doha, Qatar, I focused my research on the vitality and social importance of interstitial space to the homeless communities of our society in this era of high inequality in America. The goal …

Understanding Burning Man Through Fundamental Religious Studies Theories, Tio Lloyd

Summer Research

Burning Man is an arts gathering that has taken place every year up until 2020 in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. The gathering brought together more than 70,000 “burners” in 2017 to create a massive community for nine days on a dry lake bed. The temporary city provides a space to explore and more deeply understand humanity and humanity’s relationship to religion. The event is unique, it is the participants’ responsibility to put on the show. Themed camps, art displays, and interactive settings are created by burners, for burners. A climactic burning of “The Man,” a massive wooden figure, …

Weaving Sustainability, Carving Identity: An Exploration Of Artisan Livelihood In Oaxaca, Mexico, Mariana Sanchez Castillo

Summer Research

The southwestern region of Mexico is world known for its beautiful folk art that is high in quality and variety, and which derives from ancient indigenous traditions. Weaving and woodcarving are such pre-Hispanic traditions that have taught artesanos to care for the gifts that nature can provide. However amidst a global environmental crisis and a rise in socioeconomic barriers to indigenous community development, artesanos have had to find ways to uplift their families from poverty resulting in the exploitation of primary resources. This ethnographic exploration of two aspects of folk art production in Oaxaca, Mexico uncovers the ways in which …

Exploring The Urban Infrastructure Of Transnational Labor Migration In Nepal, Alena Mcintosh

Summer Research

This project examines the ways in which outmigration from Nepal is impacting the built landscape of Kathmandu. This project employed ethnographic methods to explore transnational labor migration through the lens of the city and the use and construction of urban spaces. While outmigration was the original focus of the project, it became clear through the research process that internal migration, the first step in the transnational migration process, plays a more direct role in the development of the city. This research was based on nineteen interviews conducted in Kathmandu as well as photo ethnography. Transnational labor migration is an exceedingly …

(Re)Writing Home: Unimagining And Reimagining Haitian Identity In Diasporic Literature From The United States, Ashley Coyne

Summer Research

This study explores the responses of the members of the Haitian diaspora in the U.S. to the current historical moment. This historical moment in which the President of the United States would feel so inclined as to ask: “Why do we want people from Haiti here?” and “Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries come here?” (Davis et al. 2018; Dawsey 2018). The same man who promised Haitians “I will be your champion,” has made the decision to force 59,000 members of the Haitian diaspora who currently hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to return to Haiti in …

Values, Justifications, And Perspectives Connected To The Anti-Vaccination Movement, Gigi Garzio

Summer Research

The array of reasons for drifting from mainstream medical guidance surpasses a lack of comprehension, but rather stems from the propagation of alternative ideologies and the rationalization of these perspectives through different modes of thought. The people who make up the anti-vaccination movement range in socio-economic status, gender, age, race, and religion, however, they are unified by their ideals and means of justification. I was curious as to what mechanisms allow these individuals to continually rationalize their medical decisions and what contributes to making people so immovable in their beliefs, even in the face of empirical scientific data. Multiple themes …

An Ethnographic, Experimental Philosophical Inquiry Into Attitudes And Perceptions Toward Suicidality, Samantha Dawn Lilly

Summer Research

With the logical and analytical approaches of experimental philosophical inquiry and the qualitative methodologies of ethnography I was able to create an account of the ways that the initial moral assumption that “suicide is wrong” appears to be harmful, not only to the deceased, but to the survivors, and those who have previously attempted suicide. A possible normative solution to these harms would be to shift our current societal intuition that: "suicide is morally wrong" to understanding suicide as a social fact.

The International Folk Art Market: Cultural Commodification In The Global Marketplace, Kate Roscher

Summer Research

This research project focuses on the work of the International Folk Art Market (IFAM) which takes place annually in Santa Fe, New Mexico. IFAM emphasizes the importance of preserving folk art traditions, providing artists with opportunities for social innovation, and hosting a lively international event for Market attendees. The IFAM provides a unique vantage point from which to view historical forces which shape social and economic relations between individuals at the Market and, more broadly, between the Global North and the Global South. The goals of this research are to gain a better understanding of how cultures are commodified at …

Segmented Assimilation Concern Among Refugee Families, Tessa Samuels

Summer Research

My research project examined what public schools, day-camps, and childcare facilities can do to help newly-arrived refugee families in the socialization process. With my AHSS research project, my goal was to bridge the communication gap between school/childcare systems and refugee families. This project was mainly executed through the use of semi-structured interviews and participant observation.

What I quickly came to understand was that most families are not so concerned with the ongoings in classrooms or childcare facilities, and did not express fear of segmented assimilation or loss of culture and values — which I had anticipated would be the worry …

Environmental Decision-Making And Sense Of Place: Exploring The Effects Of Bears Ears' Shifting Status On Stakeholders' Personal Relationships To The Land, Ana Siegel

Summer Research

The aim of my summer research was to explore how sense of place is affected by environmental decision-making—whether that be on a local or federal level—examining Bears Ears, as a case study. Ever since the initial push—back in 2013—to designate Bears Ears as a National Monument, this landmark of the Four Corners Region represented a quarrel, familiar to the American Southwest: friction between those who wish to conserve Western landscapes for their sacred value, and those who would rather exploit those lands for their natural resource—and thus economic—potential. After years of advocacy and petitioning of the federal government, in 2016, …

Tacoma’S Lincoln District: Assessing And Improving Collaboration Between City Government And The Vietnamese Business Community, Julia Lin

Summer Research

Known as "The City of Destiny", the city of Tacoma and its government continue to build on urban planning projects in hopes of making the town a true destination city. Amongst the district roadway improvements, the extension of the lightrail, and the renovation project passed for the Tacoma Dome, the developers are in full flux. The funding has been passed and the construction in motion -- but what about the communities? This research aims to gauge the tensions that emerge within the relationship of community engagement and urban planning.

Face, Identity, And Normalcy: Systems Of Support For Individuals With Clefts Of Lip And Palate, Ariane Farris

Summer Research

This summer I conducted a project studying the stigma of facial anomalies through the eyes of the health care professionals who work with patients who have them. My goal was to learn what kind of stigma these individuals deal with and what kinds of support systems are available to help these individuals thrive in a society that values the concept of normalcy. I believe that this research is particularly important because of the large number of individuals who have a facial anomaly of some sort and because it relates to many other forms of stigma tied to the perception of …

Cultural Authenticity And The Impacts Of Cultural Tourism In Malaysian Borneo, Elena Becker

Summer Research

This project explores the effects of the cultural tourism industry on the indigenous cultures of Malaysian Borneo. Do the economic incentives of tourist dollars lead to the retention and assertion of indigenous identity, or do they create a façade that highlights only certain aspects of Dayak culture? This project simultaneously emphasizes the need for a reassessment of the phrase “cultural authenticity” that moves beyond purely historic perspectives and identities. These issues are addressed through an ethnographic exploration of tourist longhouses and cultural villages in Malaysian Borneo.

Altruism Online: An Ethnographic Exploration Into League Of Legends, Rodger Caudill

Summer Research

If League of Legends can provide a social model for cooperation and altruistic behavior, the source of this behavior can be easily derived for future applications. What allows five strangers from all walks of life to come together, or fall apart may also be indicative of what allows global leaders to cooperate in a gg, or be confronted with defeat. League of Legends has provided for five possible ways by which a diverse population can come together to achieve a state of cooperative altruism. Through a shared identity, and an efficient communal dialect, players from around the world can …

And The (Fourth) Wall Came Tumbling Down: The Impact Of Renegotiating Fan-Creator Relationships On Supernatural, Alena Karkanias

Summer Research

This paper explores the unique relationship that has developed between the fans and creators (encompassing writers, producers, directors, crew, and particularly actors) of the television show Supernatural. Since early in its run, fans of the show have interacted avidly with each other and the show’s creators on social media platforms, and at conventions, working together to create charities, support each other in fights against mental illness and other personal struggles, and celebrate the show and their relationship with humor and compassion. However, these interactions have also raised questions about ownership, influence, and input on the show, particularly concerning the fate …

People, Plants, And Fungi: Examining The Ecological And Social Landscapes Of The Swan Creek Park Food Forest, Renee Meschi

Summer Research

This summer, I researched the plants, fungi, and people of Tacoma’s Swan Creek Park Food Forest (SCPFF) in order to allow the site to tell its own story through the histories in which the local plants and people are both rooted. My overall goal was to unearth the submerged influences that have shaped the SCPFF which, in their exposure, can create an approach to sustainable community building that is inclusive of multiple cultural identities, as well as respectful of the sovereignty of those identities.

I began my investigation with plants and fungi that are indigenous to the area, with a …

No Whiners Allowed: Breast Cancer’S Contradiction In Visibility And The Delegitimization Of Women’S Illness Experiences, Annie Ryan

Summer Research

Despite the unchanging and staggering statistics about breast cancer diagnosis and morality rates, the culture of breast cancer activism is characterized by cheeriness and optimism. This study illuminates a contradiction in visibility in breast cancer awareness: despite our heightened public awareness of the illness, the reality of women’s experiences is essentially invisible. Through literature on the sociology of emotions and guided by interviews with women from my experience as a participant in the Komen Foundation 3-Day walk, I identify three social mechanisms for the delegitimization of women’s voices: the gendered emotional responsibilities placed on women that deny them the emotional …

The Politics Of Transgenic Food: An Ethnographically Informed Analysis Of The Ban On Genetically Modified Crops In Bolivia, Kristin Gjelsteen

Summer Research

This research investigates a country that has recently committed itself to replacing all genetically modified crops with non-altered crops. Limitations and benefits associated with allowing or banning transgenic technology are examined through interviews with farmers, agricultural researchers, agronomists, biologists and environmental advocates in three diverse communities in Bolivia. This research explores how these stakeholders experience and understand the recent national rejection of this agricultural technology. Controversy surrounding development and use of transgenic technology illustrates moral, political, social and economic conflicts, presents risks and creates complex societal decisions with the potential to impact ecological systems, diversity of life, health (both natural …

Migrant Remittances In Rural Nepal: A Mixed Methods Household-Level Analysis, Evan Skamarock

Summer Research

This paper aspires to add to the bourgeoning field of interest concerning migration practices in the Gulf States. Based upon first hand ethnographic experience conducted in Bhairawah, southern Nepal, this paper hopes to encourage a deeper, more humanistic exploration of migratory practices that are currently approached from a political and economic lens. This paper begins with a chronological analysis and description of individual and household experience with migration. Moving further, this paper touches on a change over time of traditional gender roles for women.

War Tourism: Shaping Memory And Perception In Post-War Vietnam, Max Keyes

Summer Research

Dark tourism, which is the travel to places associated with death and suffering, can play an important role in a country’s economy and construction of historical narratives. Visiting sites associated with the Vietnam War has emerged as a vibrant part of Vietnam’s tourist industry, and crowds of foreign tourists can be found at several sites that are dedicated to commemorating the war. Several questions emerge from these sites, concerning the nature of their representation of the war, the reasons tourists visit, the impact on perceptions of visiting tourists, and the ethical implications on local Vietnamese that war tourism creates. This …