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Full-Text Articles in Sociology of Culture

Puritan Patriarchal Construction Of American Sexual Morality And Woman's Worth: A Daughter's Response, Savannah Mather Jun 2022

Puritan Patriarchal Construction Of American Sexual Morality And Woman's Worth: A Daughter's Response, Savannah Mather

Honors Projects

While modern conceptions of Puritanism regard it as an artifact of American history, whose woman-killing theologies are long buried and forgotten, the bible in my father’s closet and the recently leaked Supreme Court draft to overturn Roe. Vs. Wade would argue otherwise. Cotton Mather’s favorite book Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion outlined both the ideals and detriments of the Anglo-American female identity. In this text, white women were taught to absolve themselves of the “nakedness” in dress Puritan settlers associated Indigenous people with. A woman’s ability to align herself to the ideals of chastity determined her own and her …


Structural Delusion, Religious Anxiety, And A Melodramatic Priest: Exploring Macro And Micro Influences On The CóRdoban Martyrs, Emma K. Friesen Jun 2021

Structural Delusion, Religious Anxiety, And A Melodramatic Priest: Exploring Macro And Micro Influences On The CóRdoban Martyrs, Emma K. Friesen

Honors Projects

After escaping the assassination of the Umayyad royal family in Damascus, a member of this family, Abd al-Rahman I, fled to the Iberian Peninsula to establish a new Umayyad Empire (756-1492 AD). Famous for its pluralistic polity, unparalleled scholarship, artistic prowess, and more, this empire rightfully established itself as a powerful political force. Many scholars emphasize the unique convivencia, or coexistence, that characterized Islamic Spain during these centuries while others thoroughly question this reality, concerned that it ignores the cultural strain that is inevitable in such a diverse society. In this essay, we find ourselves balancing a middle position, recognizing …


Localizing Resistance: How Southern Women Locate Sexual And Bodily Autonomy And Strategically Resist The Institutions Aiming To Shape Them, Gillian Raley Jan 2021

Localizing Resistance: How Southern Women Locate Sexual And Bodily Autonomy And Strategically Resist The Institutions Aiming To Shape Them, Gillian Raley

Honors Projects

This paper analyzes the methods of resistance enacted by women-identifying people in Mississippi against the institutions seeking to police how they understand their own sexuality and bodily autonomy. This analysis draws upon a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted in the summer of 2020 focused on construction of community, intersectional identity, relationship with the body, and what inputs frame how women in Mississippi understand sex. This project puts these interviews in conversation with literature from a variety of subfields, including resistance studies, the Sociology of the South, and the Sociology of sexuality, all of which help bring the argument behind …


Placemaking And Community-Building Among Lesbian, Bisexual, And Queer (Lbq) Women And Non-Binary People During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Gabby Unipan Jan 2021

Placemaking And Community-Building Among Lesbian, Bisexual, And Queer (Lbq) Women And Non-Binary People During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Gabby Unipan

Honors Projects

This paper draws on data collected through in-depth interviews with multi-generational participants recruited from various online sites to explore the place-making strategies among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women and trans- and gender-non-conforming people (tgncp) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Historically denied public space, placemaking in immaterial space (i.e., digital spaces) has been essential to the production and maintenance of communities for LBQ women and tgncp. Because these populations rely on non-traditional placemaking strategies that are not always instantiated in material space, sociologists often overlook their efforts to create place for themselves. This paper corrects this omission by exploring how communities …


The Association Between Family Income And Adults’ Attitudes On Whether The Government Should Help The Poor, Emily Malloy May 2020

The Association Between Family Income And Adults’ Attitudes On Whether The Government Should Help The Poor, Emily Malloy

Honors Projects

This research examines whether people in different social classes have varying views on whether the government should help the poor and whether that depends on political affiliation. Income inequality has become a greater problem in the U.S. in recent decades. This means that the poor could require more assistance and it is important to know if the public thinks the government should help the poor. Knowing what influences public opinion on this issue could help policy makers make informed decisions about whether the government should help the poor. Data from the 2008 (N=2,023) and 2018 (N=2,348) General Social Survey (GSS) …


Investigation Of The "Cultural Appropriation" Of Yoga, Olivia Bartholomew May 2020

Investigation Of The "Cultural Appropriation" Of Yoga, Olivia Bartholomew

Honors Projects

With our world becoming increasingly globalized and cosmopolitan, practices that were once very traditional and spiritual are much different when they confront Western societies. Many yoga instructors and practitioners around the world are concerned about the issue of cultural appropriation within their practice. The researcher defines cultural appropriation to mean the process of a dominant culture manipulating aspects of a marginalized culture for its benefit. Traditionally, yoga comes from India, but it has become popularized throughout the world in our recent human history. Through interviews with nine yoga instructors, each from different yogic traditions, who teach in a variety of …


Quarantining And Dining, Madeline Flagg Apr 2020

Quarantining And Dining, Madeline Flagg

Honors Projects

Quarantining and Dining captures and reflects the many ways in which comfort is provided through food. The project content was collected through food culture research, interviews, and observation and then mediated through Instagram. The Instagram feed has a designed aesthetic architecture and branding system that makes it distinct and identifiable. The Instagram account name can be found @Quarantininganddining. Although the project is rooted in Midwestern food culture, the perspectives provided are from across the United States, as well as from numerous occupations in order to express a diverse range of perspectives. The Instagram account encourages interaction and an exchange of …


“How The World Could Be In Spite Of The Way That It Is”: Broadway As A Reflection Of Contemporary American Sociopolitical Life, Isabel Thomas Jan 2020

“How The World Could Be In Spite Of The Way That It Is”: Broadway As A Reflection Of Contemporary American Sociopolitical Life, Isabel Thomas

Honors Projects

Drawing on the plays and musicals of the 2018-2019 Broadway season, this thesis examines how theatre responds to the sociocultural, economic, and political conditions of society. Sociologists have largely overlooked theatre’s cultural influence, but Broadway productions act as social reflection by reproducing the conversations and inequalities of their context. Access to Broadway is limited, in various manners, by socioeconomic class, race, gender, ability, and age. As conversations about equity expand and audiences increasingly demand diversified representation, Broadway begins to shed the restraints of its conventions. In many regards, the recent changes fail in meaningfully transforming the Broadway institution. Those who …


The Personalization-Privacy Paradox Explored Through A Privacy Calculus Model And Hofstede’S Model Of Cultural Dimensions, Kellen M. Schwartz Jun 2019

The Personalization-Privacy Paradox Explored Through A Privacy Calculus Model And Hofstede’S Model Of Cultural Dimensions, Kellen M. Schwartz

Honors Projects

The Personalization-Privacy Paradox is a relevant issue for companies today, as it deals with the paradox of customers who on the one hand want to keep their personal data private, but on the other hand desire the personalization benefits that can be gained by giving up that privacy. Many studies in the past have observed the Personalization-Privacy Paradox, but not thoroughly through the lens of a privacy calculus model. This paper uses a privacy calculus model to examine the Personalization-Privacy Paradox using Hofstede’s Six Dimensions of Culture and examines the United States, Germany, and China as case studies of three …


Nationalism And Attitudes Towards Immigration: A Comparison On Ethnic And Civic Nationalism And The Impact On Attitudes Towards Immigrants., Maryta L. Kaber Lewis Feb 2019

Nationalism And Attitudes Towards Immigration: A Comparison On Ethnic And Civic Nationalism And The Impact On Attitudes Towards Immigrants., Maryta L. Kaber Lewis

Honors Projects

Immigration has been an important topic throughout America’s history. Studies have linked nationalism to attitudes towards immigrants, and literature has repeatedly distinguished different types of nationalism. This study looks at measures of two different types of nationalism (civic and ethnic nationalism) and tests the measures on the impact of attitudes towards immigrants. It was predicted civic and ethnic nationalism would both be predictive of negative attitudes towards immigrants, but that measures of ethnic nationalism would have greater predictive value than measures of civic nationalism. Data was used from the 2014 General Social Survey, with analysis being run using SPSS. Findings …


The Effect Of Gender Stereotypes On Academic Success, Brooklyn Proudlock Dec 2018

The Effect Of Gender Stereotypes On Academic Success, Brooklyn Proudlock

Honors Projects

Gender stereotyping is the idea of making assumptions about a person or group based on their gender. Commonly heard ones may include “boys are stronger than girls” or “girls belong doing housework.” Gender Stereotypes at Bowling Green State University are analyzed using a survey to undergraduate students.


An Exploration Of Artist Housing In Greater Boston, Ma, Clairessa Morrow Dec 2018

An Exploration Of Artist Housing In Greater Boston, Ma, Clairessa Morrow

Honors Projects

Boston is a city bursting with art and culture. However, many of the artists and craftspeople who create this environment are being driven out by external factors. This project examines the personal experiences of artists in the Boston area to gain their insight on present issues and their perceptions for the future.


Crossroads: How Race, Class, And Gender Affect Views Of Poverty, Heather Webb Apr 2016

Crossroads: How Race, Class, And Gender Affect Views Of Poverty, Heather Webb

Honors Projects

The existence of poverty in the United States is paradoxical and how people view poverty is complicated. This research provides details about the history of poverty, what causes it, how it is measured, and current statistics. It also provides a condensed history, including relevant types of welfare, of social policies, as well as an overview of social-policy making and current statistics. Secondly, this research analyzes how race, class, and gender affect how we view poverty and policies to amend it. It also uses intersectionality to analyze how intersections between identities contribute to changing these views. The goal of this research …


Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein May 2013

Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein

Honors Projects

This project focuses on American prison writings from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Much has been written about American prison intellectuals such as Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis, who wrote as active participants in black and brown freedom movements in the United States. However the new prison literature that has emerged over the past two decades through higher education programs within prisons has received little to no attention. This study provides a more nuanced view of the steadily growing silent population in the United States through close readings of Openline, an inter-disciplinary journal featuring …