Other Anthropology Commons^™

The Politics Of The Self: Psychedelic Assemblages, Psilocybin, And Subjectivity In The Anthropocene, Joshua Falcon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how psychedelic substances become drawn into particular sociohistorical and political arrangements, and how psychedelic experiences with psilocybin ‘magic mushrooms’ are used as tools of subjectivation. Guided by literatures in philosophy, critical theory, and the social sciences that focus on subjectivity, assemblage theory, and critical posthumanism, I argue that psychedelics are drawn into variegated assemblages, each of which conceptualizes the nature of psychedelics in highly specific ways that reflect implicit conceptions of the world and the self. In developing the concept of psychedelic assemblages, this research provides a window onto the politics of the self in the Anthropocene. …

“My Daughter Was Sacrificed By My Mother”: Women’S Involvement In Ritually Motivated Violence And Murder In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Ritually motivated crimes are grave crimes that continue to plague contemporary Africa. Occasionally, victims abducted for ritual purposes are discovered and set free. Fresh or decomposing bodies are spotted somewhere, often with missing parts taken by the ritual killers who killed the victims. Some missing persons in the continent are presumed to have been abducted or killed by ritually motivated criminals. Although ritually motivated crimes take different forms, most of them involve brutal acts of violence and murder. The barbaric manner in which these criminals attack or slaughter their victims creates fear and panic. Traditionally, men commit serious crimes involving …

“We Always Hurt The Things We Love”—Unnoticed Abuse Of Companion Animals, Bernard E. Rollin

Bernard Rollin, PhD

Despite the fact that companion animals enjoy the status of “members of the family” in contemporary society, there are numerous diseases affecting the longevity of these animals and their quality of life. Some of the most pervasive and damaging problems accrue to pedigreed animals whose genetic lines contain many major and severe diseases which are detrimental to both the quality and length of life. If one considers the most popular dog breeds in the United States, the top 10 include the Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, French Bulldog, Beagle, Poodle, Rottweiler, Yorkshire Terrier, and German Shorthaired Pointer. Some idea …

Kinship Ties Across The Lifespan In Human Communities, Jeremy Koster, Dieter Lukas, David Nolin, Eleanor Power, Alexandra Alvergne, Ruth Mace, Cody T. Ross, Karen Kramer, Russell Graves, Mark Caudell, Shane Macfarlan, Eric Schniter, Robert Quinlan, Siobhan Mattison, Adam Reynolds, Chun Yi-Sim, Eric Massengill

ESI Publications

A hypothesis for the evolution of long post-reproductive lifespans in the human lineage involves asymmetries in relatedness between young immigrant females and the older females in their new groups. In these circumstances, inter-generational reproductive conflicts between younger and older females are predicted to resolve in favor of the younger females, who realize fewer inclusive fitness benefits from ceding reproduction to others. This conceptual model anticipates that immigrants to a community initially have few kin ties to others in the group, gradually showing greater relatedness to group members as they have descendants who remain with them in the group. We examine …

God, I Hope This Part Of My Life Is Over: A Focused Ethnography Of A Correctional Youth Facility’S Therapeutic Climate, Eric Meyer

Theses & Dissertations

Although all prisons have the same goal of isolating offenders from society, the precise strategies used vary from one jurisdiction to the next. Some prisons use means of punishment to gain inmate compliance. Other prisons concentrate their limited resources on rehabilitation. Contained within the following pages are details of a focused ethnography that was completed in a state correctional youth facility that housed males between the ages of 15 and 21 years, all of whom were convicted of violent crimes. This study had the objective of exploring the climate of therapy in this correctional youth facility where rehabilitative programs were …

Inheritances Of Injustice/Transference Of Freedom: An Intimate Project On Black Women's Intergenerational Relationships And The Consequences Of The Punishment System, Whitney Richards-Calathes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project centers the multi-generational familial relationships between system-impacted Black women, mapping and uncovering the ways in which incarceration and practices of punishment impact, shape, hurt, and displace Black femme lineages. Through a qualitative lens and a specific focus on the current social and political landscape of Los Angeles, this dissertation examines the ways Black women are impacted by carceral ideology; from punitive definitions of Black womanhood, to the surveillance on Black femme familial intimacy and the rupture of Black women’s sense of home and place. Understandings of mass incarceration are frequently male-centered and most analyses of Black women’s system …

“We Always Hurt The Things We Love”—Unnoticed Abuse Of Companion Animals, Bernard E. Rollin

Animal Cruelty and Abuse Collection

Despite the fact that companion animals enjoy the status of “members of the family” in contemporary society, there are numerous diseases affecting the longevity of these animals and their quality of life. Some of the most pervasive and damaging problems accrue to pedigreed animals whose genetic lines contain many major and severe diseases which are detrimental to both the quality and length of life. If one considers the most popular dog breeds in the United States, the top 10 include the Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, French Bulldog, Beagle, Poodle, Rottweiler, Yorkshire Terrier, and German Shorthaired Pointer. Some idea …

People And Animals, Kindness And Cruelty: Research Directions And Policy Implications, Frank R. Ascione, Kenneth J. Shapiro

Kenneth J. Shapiro, PhD

This article addresses the challenges of defining and assessing animal abuse, the relation between animal abuse and childhood mental health, the extensive research on animal abuse and intimate partner violence, and the implication of these empirical findings for programs to enhance human and animal welfare. Highlighted are recent developments and advances in research and policy issues on animal abuse. The reader is directed to existing reviews of research and areas of focus on the expanding horizon of empirical analyses and programmatic innovations addressing animal abuse. Following a discussion of forensic and veterinary issues related to animal abuse, we discuss policy …

Annotated Bibliography: Cruelty To Animals And Violence To Humans (1998-2013), Erich Yahner

Erich Yahner

No abstract provided.

Toward A Biocommunicable Cartography Of Health Decision-Making In The Amazon Basin Of Ecuador, James Cartwright

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This paper comprises a critical, ethnographic study of health communication in a rural community of Amazonian Ecuador. By synthesizing approaches from anthropology, discourse studies, and public health, the study explores how conversations influence health decisions, how communities understand health systems, and how macrostructural discourse changes the political economy of healthcare in Ecuador. My work draws on the recent theoretical development of ‘biocommunicability’ in anthropology as well as earlier sociological research on knowledge construction. Most importantly, this paper offers a critique of current interventions by NGOs in the region.

Labour Migrants And Access To Justice In Contemporary Qatar, Andrew M. Gardner, Silvia Pessoa, Laura M. Harkness

All Faculty Scholarship

In 2012, the Open Society Institute’s International Migration Initiative launched a study to examine migrants‘ access to justice in Qatar. This study was led by researchers Andrew Gardner (University of Puget Sound), Silvia Pessoa (Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar), and Laura Harkness. The study was built on the foundation of a the research team’s large, three-year research project funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF). That project administered Qatar’s first large-scale survey devoted solely to exploring the migration experience. Of the 1189 migrants surveyed for that project, the research team was able to identify those individuals who had reported …

Beyond Dogma: The Role Of "Evolutionary" Science And The "Embodiment" Of Archetypal Energies, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

At individual and collective levels (locally, nationally, and globally), humanity is currently entertaining many challenges and opportunities for growth. In my view, these challenges and opportunities are connected to Energy shifts that are taking place on the planet, and the inability of some to move beyond dogma in relating to these Energy shifts. By its pre- and proscriptive nature, dogma fosters limiting beliefs that often interfere with how best to relate to these Energy shifts as vibrational beings in an evolving, vibrational world. Here, I want to briefly identify some of the limiting effects of dogma, and the role of …

Beyond Tolerance: Consciously Using Universal Energy Laws, Discernment, And Harmonious Relationship Principles, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

Every day we, as human beings, maneuver through a myriad of circumstances in our individual and collective life spaces. Central to our experiences is the nature, kind, and quality of our relationships. When we encounter differences (racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, economic, sexual orientation, the mentally and physically challenged), a common issue that often emerges in our experiences is the extent to which we use tolerance in relating to other people and circumstances. For this reason, I want to discuss the nature of tolerance and its limitations, and how to move beyond tolerance by consciously using Universal Energy Laws, discernment, and …

Characteristics Of Six Recent Animal Hoarding Cases In Manitoba, Amanda I. Reinisch

Passive Cruelty to Animals Collection

Six recent cases of animal hoarding in Manitoba were compared to the relevant literature. Cases were similar to previous reports in age and demographics of hoarders. Five cases involved small mammals and 1 case involved horses. Understanding this phenomenon would be enhanced by consistent investigative format and reporting and closer working relationships with public health.

People And Animals, Kindness And Cruelty: Research Directions And Policy Implications, Frank R. Ascione, Kenneth J. Shapiro

Animal Welfare Collection

This article addresses the challenges of defining and assessing animal abuse, the relation between animal abuse and childhood mental health, the extensive research on animal abuse and intimate partner violence, and the implication of these empirical findings for programs to enhance human and animal welfare. Highlighted are recent developments and advances in research and policy issues on animal abuse. The reader is directed to existing reviews of research and areas of focus on the expanding horizon of empirical analyses and programmatic innovations addressing animal abuse. Following a discussion of forensic and veterinary issues related to animal abuse, we discuss policy …

Understanding The Human Aspects Of Animal Hoarding, Amanda I. Reinisch

Passive Cruelty to Animals Collection

The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium reviewed the case records of 71 incidents from across the United States and Canada to determine what characterizes a typical animal hoarding case (5). Of the cases reviewed, 83% involved women (71% involved individuals, who were widowed, divorced, or single); 53% of the animal hoarding residences were home to other individuals including children (5%), elderly dependents and disabled people (21%). Often essential utilities and major appliances such as showers, heaters, stoves, toilets, and sinks were not functional. Residential home interiors were usually unsanitary, 93%; 70% had fire hazards; and 16% of residences involved in …

Hoarding Of Animals: An Under-Recognized Public Health Problem In A Difficult-To-Study Population, Gary J. Patronek

Passive Cruelty to Animals Collection

Objective. The objective of this study was to better characterize the problem of hoarding, or pathological collecting, of animals.

Methods. The author summarized data from a convenience sample of 54 case reports from 0 animal control agencies and humane societies across the country.

Results. The majority (76%) of hoarders were female, and 46% were 60 years of age or older. About half of the hoarders lived in single-person households. The animals most frequently involved were cats, dogs, farm animals, and birds. The median number of animals per case was 39, but there were four cases of more than 00 animals …

Dogfighters On The Run: The Hsus Spurs Police Crackdown

Close Up Reports

How can anyone derive satisfaction from watching two dogs tear each other apart? How can anyone sit for hours, not only watching but cheering every wound, every broken leg or mangled eye?

We can only guess the answers to such questions. What we do know is that every weekend, hundreds of men, women, and children attend dogfights, enjoying the blood and excitement of dogs matched to the death and even wagering on the outcome. Virtually anyplace--a vacant garage, warehouse, apartment building basement, or city park--can house a dog pit. A picturesque farmhouse or barn may hold hundreds of spectators brought …

Hsus Helps Bust Cruel Dogfights

Close Up Reports

The HSUS believes that dogfighting, along with other blood sports, is nothing less than torture for fun that is degrading and unfit for a civilized society.

The HSUS' dogfighting program is one of the most extensive in the nation. We are frequently contacted by other animal welfare groups, law enforcement agencies, and the media to provide assistance or expertise. Our investigators frequently travel undercover to dogfights, risking their lives to garner information from the heavily armed and often drug-using dogfighting fraternity. It is often information that only we are interested in providing that enables dogfighters to be caught and arrested. …

A Response To Dr. Ian Dunbar, Graham Henderson

Pets Collection

In his article, "A Strategy for Dog Owner Education," (2(1):13-15, 1981), Dr. Ian Dunbar reveals his masterplan: Pet owners are not, he claims, irresponsible, they are for the most part merely "ignorant." We must, therefor, educate them, and to do this we must somehow contrive to have potential pet owners apply for a license before they may obtain their dog. At the same time as this initial application is made, the hopeful candidate would be issued with an information package, the content of which he or she would be tested on at some indeterminate future date. Although a failure to …

Illegal, Secret Dogfights And Cockfights Rampant In The U.S.

Close Up Reports

Early in July, a team of more than 30 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers led by HSUS investigators made a raid on a secret cockfight arena on the outskirts of town. More than 100 people were caught inside the building. All were violating Wyoming state law and possibly federal law.

Unlike cockfighting, dogfighting is expressly prohibited in all 50 states. It, too, is a violation of the animal fighting ventures section of the Animal Welfare Act. HSUS investigators are continually following up leads and providing information on illegal dogfights to local animal welfare groups and law enforcement agencies.

Hsus Investigation Leads To Fifty Arrests In Cockfight Raid

Close Up Reports

Because cockfighting is illegal in California, cockfights are held in the strictest secrecy. An HSUS undercover informant, posing as a cockfighting enthusiast, managed to win the confidence of some members of the cockfighting fraternity near Sacramento, California. After several months of undercover work, he was finally invited to a major Derby meet on Sunday, April 23rd. He immediately began arrangements to have the fight raided and participants arrested. Three members of the HSUS Investigations Department, Frantz Dantzler, Phil Steward, and Marc Paulhus, flew to California to set up the raid.

Hsus Fights Cruelty In Pounds

Close Up Reports

The following report will tell you of some of the conditions HSUS investigators have found in dog pounds across the country, how HSUS is working to improve them, and how you can help.

Cruelty For Fun, Cleveland Armory

Animal Welfare Collection

No abstract provided.