Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Typological And Iconographic Analyses Of Casas Grandes Pottery At The Milwaukee Public Museum, Samantha Bomkamp

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the results of analyses conducted on 80 ceramic vessels from the

Casas Grandes region (Chihuahua, Mexico) currently housed at the Milwaukee Public Museum

(MPM). This collection, most of which was donated in 1977, was accompanied with little to no

provenience information, and no research has been conducted on the materials since they came

to the Museum. Drawing upon published studies of Casas Grandes pottery, a detailed coding

scheme was developed in order to record formal and stylistic data that could be used to classify

the vessels typologically and chronologically. Fifteen different ceramic types dating to the Viejo …

International Migration In Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca [Migración Internacional En Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca], Yasmin Angelie Cordero

Theses and Dissertations

Migration into rural areas has been of increasing interest in the last decades of research. Mexico has implemented development initiatives to reduce emigration and strengthen locally depressed communities resulting in immigration to the target areas. Santa María Huatulco is one of the areas of focus where the Mexican government created tourism development projects subsequently attracting internationals to migrate. This study focuses on international migrants who have chosen to relocate to the area of Huatulco, currently under development by the Mexican government. This was one of Mexico’s poorer regions and has seen the slowest amount of growth since the development projects …

The Smuggler Journals: Transgressing And Policing The Border In The Rio Grande Valley, Lupe Alberto Flores

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis summarizes recent human smuggling scholarship and provides ethnographic insights into migrant smuggling in a border zone that is my home. Through exploring my own experiences and observations of smuggling and militarized border policing, and those of other interlocutors in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, I advance nuanced understandings of the symbiotic processes of irregular migration and of the people who brokerage a great deal of these journeys across militarized borders. I analyze fieldnotes that highlight the quotidian realms in which gender and power play out when irregular migration takes place and argue that acts of border …

Tools For Assessing Relatedness In Understudied Language Varieties: A Survey Of Mixtec Varieties In Western Oaxaca, Mexico, Erin Padgett

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents findings of research conducted on the relatedness of seven Mixtec varieties spoken in indigenous language communities in western Oaxaca, Mexico. Mixtec varieties vary widely from one community to the next, and it is necessary to determine the relatedness of Mixtec varieties in order to best serve the language development needs of communities. Understanding the relatedness of these varieties is also an important step in measuring their intelligibility.

I used three research tools to gather data: a General Wordlist, a Tone Wordlist, and a Sociolinguistic Questionnaire. I present five analyses: percentage of phonologically similar forms, displaying phonological correspondences …

How Social Media Affect The Social Identity Of Mexican Americans, Kaitlin Eve Felsted

Theses and Dissertations

This is a thesis conducted qualitatively using the Grounded Theory approach where in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 legal Mexican Americans in order to understand how social media affect Mexican Americans' social identity. This effect was understood by discovering the relationships between social identity theory and integration. Results showed that Mexican Americans felt that social media helped them with their English skills and connected them to their friends and family in Mexico. Mexican Americans were able to use social media to connect to their in-group community, and Mexican American community leaders were able to connect Mexicans to their in-group within …

"The Ruins And Us Go Together": The Neoliberal Challenge To Archaeological Heritage And Patrimony In Mexico, Daniel Dean Kreutzer

Theses and Dissertations

When it comes to the pursuit of archaeology, what would archaeologists like to do, what are they required to do, and what do they end up doing? These questions are at the heart of this dissertation, which studies how archaeologists from the United States who work in Mexico negotiate the web of relationships in which they find themselves. Foucault's concept of governmentality allows us to learn more about how power flows within and between these relationships and shows the tensions that exist when these relationships are unequal. As outsiders, foreign archaeologists need to become more informed about local culture, including …

The Tone System Of Acatepec Me'paa, Kevin Cline

Theses and Dissertations

The tone system of Me'phaa, an Otomanguean language (or group of languages) spoken in the eastern part of the state of Guerrero, Mexico, is quite complex, largely due to the complex agreement systems used with nouns and verbs. Aspects of the tone system have been described to some degree for the Malinaltepec and Azoyú varieties, but little has been documented about tone in other varieties. This thesis focuses on the tone system of a less-documented variety, Acatepec, with the goal of broadening the understanding of the tone systems of other Me'phaa varieties.

The thesis follows the methodology set forth in …

Mormon Fertility In Latin America, Kiira Elizabeth Fox

Theses and Dissertations

While previous research has identified religion as an influence of fertility, how context changes the nature of that relationship remains little understood. Using census data from Brazil, Chile and Mexico, this study examines whether the high fertility pattern of one pronatalist, American-born religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) translates to the Latin American context. Results indicate that it does, but only inconsistently as the pronatalist pattern is masked by members' educational attainment and mixed religion marriages. When these attributes are accounted for LDS fertility is high in Latin America, especially among the more educated. This study highlights …

Combating Biological Terrorism From Imported Food, Jeffrey S. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a threat that a terrorist or terrorist organization will use access to the US food supply to kill or sicken Americans by contaminating imported food products from Mexico. The food that Americans eat is coming more and more often from foreign countries such as Mexico. Foodborne diseases infect nearly fifty million people in the US each year, resulting in over three thousand deaths. There are many terrorist organizations that would like to deliberately contaminate American food. Drug cartels and terrorist organizations currently operate in Mexico, one of the leading food importers into the US. The purpose of this …

Networks And Cultural Bridges: A Case Study With The Tarahumara Of Northern Mexico, Jennifer Marie Nations

Theses and Dissertations

Network and cultural bridge theories predict the source and durability of cultural boundaries, including how cultural boundaries are overcome in order for differing groups to have meaningful exchanges. Ethnographic interview data with three research subjects in Northern Mexico reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each theory. Minita Bustillos, Juan Daniel Villalobos, and Horacio Echeverrí­a contribute to bridging ties between the closed indigenous community of the Tarahumara and outside Mexican and American groups. Their positions elucidate the veracity of theoretical propositions found in network and cultural bridge theories. Findings suggest that though useful in understanding several aspects of network structure and …

Murals And The Development Of Merchant Activity At Chichen Itza, De Luna Lucha Aztzin Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The militaristic interpretations of the art of Chichen Itza, Yucatán, Mexico, fails to sufficiently describe its entire decorative program. Absent from discussions of the art tradition is the apparent focus on merchant activity in the city. The influence and power of merchants strengthened during the transition from the Classic to Postclassic in Mesoamerica. With an increase in demand of foreign goods, new exchange relationships developed between centers in Central Mexico, the Gulf, and Maya region. As a result, several cultural regions participated in a vast economic network that created political alliances and syncretic art styles. Focusing on the mural tradition …

The Juarez Stake Academy, Dale M. Valentine

Theses and Dissertations

While the history of the Latter-day Saints who colonized in Mexico is probably not generally known by the majority of Latter-day Saints living throughout the world today, it nevertheless comprises an exceptionally colorful and exciting chapter of the history of Mormonism. The Latter-day Saints who went to Mexico created there a culture and society which has never been duplicated. Probably one of the chief concerns of the Mormon Colonists in Mexico was to establish in their society a culture which would be lastingly enduring and which would progressively improve. Secondly, it is also probable that they were passionately desirous of …