Digital Commons Network^™

The Unsovereign Citizen: The Reconfiguration Of Rights And Belonging In Fascist Italy, Roberta Pergher

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Modern political thought tends to associate citizenship with democracy, equality, and political participation. This article demonstrates that citizenship can be profoundly important also for authoritarian rule. In Fascist Italy, citizenship remained central to political life, not as a vehicle of democratic participation, to be sure, but as a category through which the regime redefined belonging, hierarchy, and sovereignty. Drawing on citizenship legislation, imperial ordinances, racial laws, police reports, and ministerial commentary between 1912 and 1943, this article shows how the dictatorship hollowed out liberal citizenship within the peninsula, stratified it across imperial territories, consolidated it across diasporic populations, and ultimately …

Volume 28, Issue 2 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Courts Closest To The People: The Battle Between Populism And Democracy In The U.S. District Courts, Shruti Rana

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The U.S. district courts have emerged as a critical site of contested terrain amid the chaos and controversies consuming American law and politics since the start of the second Trump administration. This article examines these frontline courts through the theoretical lens of populism, arguing that they have become a critical institutional flashpoint in the populist assault on constitutional democracy in the United States. As the courts closest to the people, the district courts occupy a unique structural position: They are the fact-finding courts, the most geographically dispersed and professionally diverse tier of the federal judiciary, and often the first institutional …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Why Publish With Mssj?

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Editorial History

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

George C. Roberts Award Recipients

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Submission Guidelines

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Fighting The Black Snake: The Dapl And The Case For Indigenous Environmental Stewardship, Kenny Moll

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis analyzes the current scope of environmental injustice on Native lands in the U.S. Specifically it examines The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and its impacts on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota. Western colonialism and capitalism have dominated North American ecosystems since their forcible introduction hundreds of years ago, causing the commodification of natural resources and leading to injustices such as that of the “Black Snake.” However, the story of The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s resistance will be analyzed through the framework of Indigenous philosophy and environmental justice. Chapter 1 analyzes the implementation of the DAPL and …

Conceptualising Sacred Grove Tourism For Future Research Models - A Research Note, Debasish Batabyal, Rupa Sinha Dr., Kareem M. Selem Dr.

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Sacred groves or woodlands are known in tourism settings, they require a long historical process, and their classification as a unique tourism element is expanded in academic literature. To explore the characteristic features of sacred grove tourism, this research note reviews existing studies of tourism. Moreover, this research note seeks to uncover interesting socio-religious, cultural, and conservation dimensions that could guide policy-making in nature-based tourism. A comprehensive review of the tourism literature was conducted to determine whether sacred groves were included as a tourism feature. This research analysed previous studies on nature-based, religious, and cultural heritage tourism to formulate a …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of The One Paleopathology Workshop, Julianne R. Stamer, Mario Apata Mamani, Bernardo Arriaza, Robin Bendrey, Kelly Blevins, Tessa Campbell, Nicole Gottdenker, Rebecca Gowland, Haagen Klaus, Carina Marques

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Background and objectives: One Paleopathology is a novel concept in Paleopathology that extends the One Health paradigm into the past. A workshop at the University of Durham, UK, was held prior to the 2024 International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health (ISEMPH) meeting, firstly to define and expand the concept of One Paleopathology and secondly to generate transdisciplinary research and outreach under this framework. This article presents a logic model to evaluate how effectively the workshop met its goals.

Methodology: Two surveys were conducted, one immediately following the workshop and at the 1-year mark. These surveys assess the direct …

Neanderthals And Their Exhibitions Of Fine Art: Unpacking Neanderthal Art On The European Continent, Jacob T. Simpson

UROP Posters

This research project aims to bridge the gap between anatomically modern humans and our closest genetic relative, Neanderthals. By analyzing research literature on artistically symbolic artifacts potentially created by these ancient humans (focusing on populations in Europe) I hope to offer a superior speculation of Neanderthal intellect. Neanderthals potential capability to create artistic objects could transform our understanding of them and their cognitive abilities, and raise philosophical questions on what it means to be human.

Black Ecological Care: Conservation, Environmental Justice, And Sovereignty In Baltimore, Maryland, Alexandria Nicole Casteel

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Dominant traditions of urban planning, municipal policy, and environmental science register Black urban spaces through a vocabulary of pathology, as sites of ecological deficit, contamination, and social decay. This dissertation investigates how Black communities in U.S. cities attend to the environment in ways that address legacies of environmental and social injustice while opening pathways toward different environmental futures. I gather these practices under the analytic of Black ecological care, which captures the generative labor of making and maintaining livable worlds within, alongside, and beyond histories of harm. I develop the analytic across twenty-nine months of ethnographic fieldwork in 2021 and …

Pluralism And Critique In A Renewed Environmental Anthropology, Helen Kopnina

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

Environmental anthropology has evolved from early ethnographic traditions that emphasized the interplay between culture and ecology to a field increasingly influenced by ideological perspectives across the political spectrum. Traditionally, anthropologists examined how human societies adapted to their environments through cultural practices, laying the groundwork for ecological anthropology. However, in recent decades, the field has increasingly been shaped by political and theoretical shifts that prioritize critiques of capitalism, colonialism, and environmental injustice—sometimes at the cost of empirical diversity and democratic debate. There are critiques of the broader trend in academia where intellectual discourse becomes dominated by elite-driven ideological conformity. Critics warn …

The Non-Reciprocity Of Cultural-Ecological Resilience In Eastern Sumba, B. Retang Wohangara

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Resilience is one key concept of culture and ecology. It highlights a particular system's adaptive and thriving capacities in facing various challenges. This research-based article investigates the reciprocity of cultural-ecological resilience in three traditional communities in Eastern Sumba. It starts with the examination of cultural resilience and ecological resilience using five and seven qualitative indicators, respectively. The last part of the discussion analyzes how culture and ecology reciprocate in the given communities. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method. Data are collected by conducting mini-ethnographic field research for interviews, documentation, and focus group discussions. Using the five and seven indicators …

Music And Sustainable Development Goals: Telling The Story, Mark Reimer

Journal of Global Awareness

Now, 10 years after the United Nations adopted its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the music profession continues to work toward being a responsible partner in the health and preservation of the planet and its inhabitants. By transcending social barriers, music promotes cultural awareness and mutual understanding, encourages creativity, and enhances emotional well-being, outcomes vital to the global goals of health, freedom, peace, education, equality, prosperity, and environmental sustainability. The article includes various examples of how music performers, educators, composers, and scholars are creating or adopting new practices that are mindful of reducing the carbon footprint, yet financially feasible in their …

Communities With Diverse Subsistence Needs Require A Variety Of Functional Tree Traits, Minoseheno Rakotovao, Cortni Borgerson, Kerry A. Brown, Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt, Steig E. Johnson, Onja H. Razafindratsima, Ruth Mendum, Onjaniaina O. Andrianjatovo, Harisoa B. Ravaomanalina, Seheno Andriantsaralaza, Sheila M. Holmes

Department of Anthropology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Tree species preference is an understudied yet crucial component of sustainable forest management, as unsustainable harvesting can lead to non-random loss of functional traits. We examine wood resource preference across five regions of Madagascar's biodiverse eastern humid forests. We asked forest users in 19 men's and 19 women's focus groups to list their preferred tree species for common short- (charcoal, firewood) and long-term (house construction, furniture, tools) uses. We then measured functional traits of 260 preferred and common tree species: height, DBH, bark thickness, specific leaf area, wood specific gravity, and seed dispersal syndrome in the surrounding landscape. Using household …

Book Review: Ecologies Of Inequity. How Disaster Response Reconstitutes Race And Class Inequality, Abel Traslaviña-Arias

Critical Disaster Studies

In Ecologies of Inequity: How Disaster Response Reconstitutes Race and Class Inequality, Sancha Doxilly Medwinter gathered diverse stories about how various migrant communities had to overcome not only disaster but also the overlapping networks established by those who were supposed to support them in 2012 in New York City. Medwinter portrays this contested post-disaster landscape through a thorough data recording of 120 individuals affiliated with various groups: racialized migrants or locals, tenants or property owners, local or external helpers, and those from wealthy or impoverished backgrounds. Ecologies of Inequity refer to the spatialized networks of organizational and interpersonal relations …

Mountain Communities During A Time Of War: A Case Study Of The Hutsul Region In The Carpathian Mountains Of Ukraine, Pavlo Rybaruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the ethno-ecological technologies employed by the Hutsul people within the highland agrarian economy of the Carpathian Mountains. Over centuries, the Hutsuls have developed ethno-ecological technologies that maintain ecological integrity while supporting community livelihoods.

The study addresses three primary research questions: What are the most important ethno-ecological technologies of the Hutsul highland economy? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be applied to economic, agricultural, and tourism development in the Hutsul region? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be combined with contemporary approaches to encourage sustainable development in the region?

The research explores the devastating impact of the Russian …

Shifting Grounds Of Accountability: How Governmentality Reduces The Commoning Practices Of The Monpa Community In Arunachal Pradesh, Pijush Kumar Dutta

Journal of Law and Public Policy

Pastoralism is one of the traditional livelihoods of Monpa community that resides in western Arunachal Pradesh, India. They have been rearing yaks, an integral part of their culture and tradition, and managing summer and winter pasture lands as commons for grazing, However, the Monpa’s yak‑based livelihood is facing challenges as the number of villagers engaged in grazing related activities is reducing and the composition of livestock in the area is changing. To understand the reasons for these changes and its impact, an open‑ended questionnaire was used to interview herders, members of traditional village institutions and village panchayats, and elderly villagers …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

Soil Ph Analysis Of Pig Decomposition In Southeast Nebraska, Camryn Nelson, William Belcher

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

This study investigated the effects of a decomposing pig carcass on soil pH in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem of Southeast Nebraska, using pigs as proxies for human decomposition. The experiment spanned 171 days, encompassing decomposition stages from fresh to advanced decay. Soil samples were collected at regular intervals from four cardinal directions (north, east, south, west) and distances (0, 33, 66, and 100 cm) from the carcass to analyze changes in pH over time. Results indicated that decomposition significantly influenced soil pH, with the most dramatic changes occurring on the south side of the carcass, where the pig burst. pH …

The Reciprocity Of Misfortune: The Little Tradition Of Disasters In The Philippines, Greg Bankoff, Bianca Angelien Aban Claveria, David Lozada Iii, Camille L. Silva

History Department Faculty Publications

Just as there is a great and little tradition in religion and civilization, there is a great and little tradition in disaster. This article explores the origins of community resilience in rural areas of the Philippines based on local reciprocity and cooperation and how ­ these customary practices form the basis of national disaster risk-­reduction policies. The endless strug­gle to feed and shelter a family and contend with repeated hazards, whether natu­ral or human-­induced, promotes collective action. There is a need to cooperate with neighbors, a web of dyadic and community relationships born out of necessity that constitutes a “reciprocity …

Snake Spirits, Fishermen And Water Birds On Lake Victoria: A Case Study Of Cultural Conservation In The Musambwa Islands, Uganda, And Prospects For Tourism To Improve Local Livelihoods, Joel T. Heinen, Henry Batenda

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

Abstract.

Using a combination of site visits, document reviews, focus group and key informant surveys of fishermen, we explore the cultural beliefs, taboos and norms that protect Musambwa Islands, Uganda. The islands form part of a large protected wetland with nesting habitat for thousands of water birds and a large population of highly-venomous forest cobras that coexist in and around fishermen dwellings. There are strong taboos against cutting trees, allowing women on the island, and harming cobras. We present some of our ideas on how to improve the economic situation of fishermen through the promotion of nature-based and cultural tourism …

Textile Work And Its Interface With Climate Change For Quechua Communities In Peru, Esmeralda Torres-Martinez

Capstone Collection

English – Indigenous communities have argued that their knowledge, lived experiences, and representation are crucial to address the climate transition because their communities have adapted to past climatic changes. Although climate change and culture can be interconnected in ways that are unique to each community, little research is done on how cultural practices can be catalysts for climate action. In fact, communities around the world have sparked socio-political movements from within their cultural context to solve both local and global issues. Therefore, this research asks how the practice of traditional textile making and weaving assist Quechua communities with adapting to …

Soft Power: Brics Cultural Diplomacy And The Rebalancing Of Global Narratives, Brice Tseen Fu Lee, Kotchaphop Kornphetcharat, Juan Pablo Sims

International Review of Humanities Studies

BRICS has broadened its agenda beyond finance to cultivate soft power through coordinated cultural diplomacy. Examining official statements, press releases, and scholarly commentary on the bloc’s flagship film, sports, and ministerial initiatives, this article shows that cooperation is advancing from one-off spectacles toward structured, recurring institutions. Findings indicate two simultaneous dynamics: outwardly, BRICS venues amplify Global-South perspectives that diversify international cultural flows; inwardly, member states use the same platforms to signal national prestige, revealing persistent status competition. The result is an early but uneven cultural architecture—one that counters Euro-Atlantic narrative dominance yet has not crystallized into a fully coherent BRICS …

Living Heritage, Resilience And Ethically Informed Infrastructures In Malawi, Martha B. Lerski, Frank Puluputu Mwale

Publications and Research

Rooted in a rural community’s needs, this paper explores how historically, and ethically informed infrastructures can support community engagement towards identification, documentation, and dissemination of local, traditional, and indigenous knowledge relating to climate change. The paper examines climate adaptation and sustainability issues through the lenses of community organizing and Library & Information Science best practices. It draws on a growing body of literature identifying a role for expanded epistemological and subject discipline perspectives. While the impacts of climate on material culture are increasingly recognized, intangible, and biocultural heritage have not received as much attention. Living heritage traditions and knowledge systems …

Culture And Environment: The Calling Lakes Ecomuseum As A Community Sustainability Initiative, Kace N. Anders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Located in Saskatchewan, Canada, the Calling Lakes Ecomuseum, CLEM, is a community-based organization focused on water management and sustainability. Ecomuseums are holistic organizations that occupy landscapes, are responsive to community needs, conserve in situ heritage, and incorporate sustainability along with community development. The ecomuseum movement came from a need for holistic heritage management that disengaged with conventional museology and created space for communities to engage with their heritage in ways that promote community identity. This thesis analyzes the Calling Lakes Ecomuseum and how it utilizes the ecomuseum concept alongside environmental sustainability. Both semi-structured interviews and place-based field observations were used …