Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Communities Of Consumption On The Southeastern Mesoamerican Border: Style, Feasting, And Identity Negotiation In Prehispanic Northeastern Honduras, Whitney Annette Goodwin

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Prehispanic northeastern Honduran communities were situated at the border between southeastern Mesoamerica and lower Central America. Previous studies of pottery style suggest that local groups shifted their affiliation from north to south at the end of the Classic period (ca. AD 1000). This study examines the contexts in which pottery, as a medium for style, was used, and how the food people prepared, stored, or served in these vessels offers a perspective complementary to pottery style for understanding how identity was actively negotiated in this region. In this view, other parts of the foodways system – the foods chosen to …

“I Am Not My Illness!”: Navigating The Mental Healthcare System In New Orleans, Saira Mehmood

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the experiences of individuals diagnosed with chronic mental illnesses and how they navigated the mental healthcare system in New Orleans, Louisiana. To realize the main research objective, I analyzed how individuals with chronic mental illnesses perceive mental illness and stigma; the services individuals use to address their mental health needs and the barriers they face in this process; who individuals disclose their mental illness to and under what contexts; and how individuals diagnosed with mental illness and their caregivers understand and embody recovery. Situated between medical anthropology and urban anthropology, it examines the challenges individuals diagnosed with …

Locating Human Security In The City: The Case Of Rohingya Refugees In New Delhi, Ashvina Patel

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the subjective experience of human security by Rohingya urban refugees who fled to New Delhi, India, from Myanmar, in 2012. It uses bottom-up, top-down, and historical-to-present approaches to recognize the myriad factors that influence the path to security. The bottom-up approach frames the Rohingya present-day experience; the top-down approach delineates motivations embedded in the current India state and the international refugee regime; and the past-to-present approach explains the perspectives of each of these actors.

One urban refugee settlement was chosen as a primary field site to examine the challenges and varied everyday experiences of the city for …

Women’S Experiences With Maternity Care And Medical Discourse In Florence, Italy, Michaela Wallerstedt

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is based on ethnographic research in Florence, Italy. The primary focus of this research is based on a comparison of medical discourse from Italian State documents with women’s experiences during pregnancy and childbirth in Italy. Mirroring trends throughout the developed world, Italy has maintained high rates of cesarean sections since the turn of the century. Italy’s unique political and cultural history has made Tuscany one of the best regions for maternity care within a country with significant regional variability. This dissertation looks at historical and current cultural trends to understand the ways in which women experience high-quality maternity …