Digital Commons Network^™

Finding Balance And Identity: Second And Third Generation Immigrants In The Netherlands, Alexis Beveridge

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Netherlands has a large population of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants. With a population of approximately 16.6 million, almost 20 percent of the population is non-indigenous. Turkish and Moroccan immigrants each represent approximately one tenth of the entire population, together accounting for one fifth of the immigrant population. The Netherlands began accepting Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in the 1970s. These immigrants were accepted as guest workers for manual labor jobs. Most historians agree that the first generation of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants did not intend to stay permanently in the Netherlands. Further, native Dutch people did not expect them to …

A History In Limbo: A Human Rights Perspective On Conflict-Ridden Nepal, Claire Mueller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nepal is at a historical junction, the recent victory of the second People’s Movement garnering a plethora of democratic reforms. Since the end of April, King Gyanendra has reinstated the House of Representatives, which then declared its supremacy and dramatically curtailed the king’s powers. Nepal has been declared a secular state; the Royal Nepal Army has been transformed the Nepali Army; a ceasefire has been created between the army and the Maoists - who are also participating in peace talks; and the seven-party alliance and the Maoists held a summit at which they agreed to frame an interim statute, form …

A Critical Assessment Of The Impact Of World Heritage Site Designation In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lauren Blacik

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Archaeological associations and development agencies alike are celebrating the recent effort by the World Heritage Committee to inscribe as many African sites as fast as it can onto its List recognizing the heritage with the highest universal value to our collective human history. While it seems an obvious move of equality, in reality, this flurry of inscription is doing untold damage to African sites. Issues of local involvement in site management have not been resolved or streamlined, so site designation exposes communities to degradation of their traditions and values. Likewise, traditional management practices have not been institutionalized, often stripping sites …

The Musician Is The Messenger: Islam And Jaliya In Mandinka Music, Blake Walker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper explores the complex dynamics at play surrounding jalis, or professional praisesingers, in the culture of the Mandinka people of West Africa. Jalis, almost certainly present among the Mandinka prior to the arrival of Islam in the area, remain one of the strongest reminders of pre-Islamic culture in Mandinka society. However, the art and social roles of the jali have undergone numerous transformations in adapting, conforming to, and sometimes challenging Muslim cultural norms. This paper explores some of the means by which the two cultural fountainheads of Islam and West Africa are reconciled by jalis and other members of …

A Qualitative Study Of Pregnancy And Maternal Mortality In Rural Senegal: An Examination Of The Pregnant Woman’S Experience, Megan Frances Harlow

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Much prior research has focused on the problem of maternal mortality in Senegal, the factors that cause it, and the numerical trends that indicate either decline or increase in maternal mortality. Few studies, however, have captured the mentality, attitudes, or beliefs of Senegalese women in rural areas, or the rationality behind their behaviors during pregnancy, which ultimately have implications for the alleged contributors to maternal mortality. I conducted the bulk of my field research in Saraya, a small town in southeastern Senegal. Through study of prenatal consultation records, participant observation in multiple settings, and interviews with healthcare practitioners and recent …

The Story Of Eej Khad: Mother Spirit Of The Earth And Her Children, Ethan Gohen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an attempt to collect and present knowledge on the subject of Eej Khad, which translates to Mother Rock, in one single place. Since very little has been written about Eej Khad, it is an attempt to preserve knowledge that might easily be lost. Eej Khad is a widely popular granite rock in central Mongolia that worshippers believe has the power to fulfill their dreams. The information presented in this paper is collected almost entirely from interviews with people willing to share what they know or believe about Eej Khad. It does not judge the opinions of individuals, …

“Happy Dancing Natives” Minority Film, Han Nationalism, And Collective Memory, Benjamin D. Shaffer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cinematic representations of China’s ethnic minorities have been prominent in Chinese visual culture and collective memory since the 1950s. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party led campaigns to classify China’s diverse range of ethnic groups. These social experiments inspired a number of documentary and narrative films about the ostensibly “exotic” and “colorful” non-Han peoples of China. The audience for these depictions of minorities in visual culture varied considerably. Some early documentaries fueled the rise of Han nationalism and political agendas within the Communist Party. Several narrative films had large audiences in mainstream Chinese …

Masyarakat Tionghoa: Singaraja’S Chinese Community, Tammy Lew Lee Kreznar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Engagement: The Influence Of Identity On The Experiences Of Activists Involved With The Roma Community In Serbia, Becca Gardner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Debate and mystery surrounds the origin and culture of the Gypsies in Europe; however, there is no question that the space they inhabit today reflects their position of marginalization and discrimination. During the last five years, there has been a surge of activism and interest in the experiences of the Roma, largely due to the implementation of the Decade for Roma Inclusion . The Decade is a commitment among governments, intergovernmental, non-governmental organizations, and Romani civil society to address the inequality of Roma in Europe by focusing on employment, education, health, and housing within the specific context of each participating …

Atua Of The Aga: A Comparison Of Ancestor Worship In The Highlands Of Bali And Polynesia, Jamison Liang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to understand the practice of ancestor worship among the Bali Aga village of Sukawana and its relation to how its inhabitants trace their origins. When did their ancestors arrive in Sukawana and where did they come from? Did any of their descendents continue to migrate across Indonesia? And how do the Bali Aga practice ancestor reverence through the use of shrines and temples—tangible evidence—in their villages? The responses to these questions provided a platform for comparison to current anthropological, linguistic, and archaeological theories in order to understand how locally constructed truth in Sukawana related …

Mame Coumba Bang: A Living Myth And Evolving Legend, Michelle Margoles

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper seeks to discover the story of the goddess Mame Coumba Bang, to examine her origins, and to analyze it as myth or legend. Through interviews, surveys, and few written documents, it investigates various aspects of the story of Mame Coumba Bang, including descriptions of the goddess, rituals, encounters, and manifestations of her existence. It also looks at the origins of the story and the ways it corresponds with Muslim beliefs. In analyzing the findings, it is found that Mame Coumba Bang is both a legend that is varied and evolving, as well as a myth that remains a …

To Live With The Sea: Community-Based Management Of Marine Resources In Southwest Madagascar, Hannah Pitt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“God intended us to fish, and we will fish until the end,” the elderly Vezo fisherman explained, shrugging his shoulders as if in resignation to an unavoidable truth (Niry). For a people whose history, culture, and economy have revolved around the sea for generations, the idea of preservation is just not palatable, he seemed to be saying. The momentum of tradition, in other words, cannot be stopped. Yet in 23 Vezo fishing villages in the region of Andavadoaka, along the southwest coast of Madagascar, communities have collectively established seasonal and permanent restrictions on critical fishing grounds that together make up …

Leprosy: A Study Of Identity Through A “Marginalized” Population, Aarti Bhatt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

People of all different cultures use identity as a way of mediating with surrounding institutional structures and personal communities. Identity however, is not a concrete idea but a multidimensional and dynamic condition. For communities of so called "marginalized people" an identity perceived or created from the outside and imposed can have drastic implications on a person's capacity to act as an agent. Stefen Ecks argues for the value of ethnographic study from the point of view of the marginal people, going on to say that "this is of critical importance since marginality puts health most under stress when it is …

The Learning Organization In A Post-Development Era: A Case Study On Orgnizational Development At The Valley Trust, Justin Haruyama

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the past two decades, the rise of Post-Development theory has witnessed the questioning of the core assumptions of development. Post-Development theorists point to the failures of “development” to create significant decreases in poverty or inequality worldwide. Meanwhile, other theorists call for radical transformations of conventional practice. This paper seeks to grapple with these questions, using the example of The Valley Trust, a development NGO in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, as an entry point into the debate. Research was conducted over a four-week period through a mixture of participant observation and formal interviews with staff members of The Valley Trust. An …

Evaluating The Medicinal Properties Of Mandravasarotra (Cinnamosa Sida) Through Chemical And Pharmacological Screening, Henry J. Bowden Jr.

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I worked for four weeks at the University of Antananarivo (Ankatso), spending two weeks each in the chemistry and pharmacology laboratories. There I ran a total of eight experiments or “screens” with an alcoholic extract of the medicinal plant Mandravasarotra. This plant is found mainly in northwestern Madagascar, and is often used to stimulate contractions for women having difficulty giving birth. The plant tested positive for three secondary metabolites: tannins, steroids and flavanoids. In the pharmacological tests, the plant exhibited anti-inflammatory properties, and high toxicity in doses exceeding 10ml/kg. Together, conjectures may be made between what is known of the …

Kaya Hip-Hop In Coastal Kenya: The Urban Poetry Of Ukoo Flani, Divinity Lashelle Barkley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the global world of the 21st Century, music is one of the few things that has the ability to cross physical as well as cultural borders, which is why my Independent Study Project (ISP) focuses on the role of hip-hop music in the youth culture in Kenya’s largest coastal city, Mombasa. Throughout history, music has proven its artistic power; inspiring people to resist oppression, challenge inequality, and even claim salvation.

This enduring characteristic of music is central to my ISP which explores the emergence of hip-hop in Kenya as well as the evolution of Ukoo Flani, one of the …

An Ancient Practice: Scarification And Tribal Marking In Ghana, Alyssa Irving

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research on tribal marking and face scarring took place in various parts of the country, but much of the information comes from the residents of Gwollu. By interviewing different people belonging to different regions and ethnic groups throughout the country, I was able to discover the main uses for marking: medical use, decoration, spiritual protection, and tribe or family identification (these marks specifically for ID can be referred to as tribal marks). This paper sweeps over the origins of marking and how it became quite important during slave raiding, but has various uses and implications in modern times. This …

Faith As A Means Of Healing: Traditional Medicine And The Ethiopian Orthodox Church In And Around Lalibela, Lauren Anderson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines and explores the relationship between indigenous medical traditions in Ethiopia and the healing rituals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The practices still upheld by the Church today are explored in depth as is the prevalence of debtera, church educated traditional healers in Ethiopia. The relationship between traditional and modern modes of medical treatment in Ethiopia is explored as well as the legitimacy of both church healing and alternative medicine worldwide. Present research into the benefits of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) including mind/body healing is also examined.

Buscando La Luz: Changes In Partería And The Loss Of Feminine Autonomy In Oaxaca, Mexico, Hannah Ewert-Krocker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Birth is one of the most fundamental moments of every human being’s life, and women have long been honored in the world’s societies as sacred and vital due to their important roles as life-givers. Because of the importance of birth in the lives and societies of human beings, birth and birthing practices can reveal many values of a culture and of the women within that culture and also demonstrate how and why those values are changing. The choices women make between traditional health care and more “modern” Western models are almost always influenced by the socio-economic and cultural conditions of …

A Place In The World: Mh2o’S Construction Of A Peripheral Identity, Ryan Schutt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hip Hop and, more specifically, Rap music, has been a culture rooted in the notion of the social periphery, the section of society excluded from mainstream, capitalist, bourgeois society. It has historically been a way for this voiceless, disenfranchised, and alienated population to criticize, question, and protest its societal position. The Movimento do Hip-Hop Organizado uses this medium as a way of politicizing and mobilizing the excluded members of Brazilian society. Using Hip-Hop, the organization constructs a socially informed, politically aware, and critically conscious community that is united through their common identification with Hip-Hop culture and MH2O. The case is …

Los Afro-Descendientes De Buenos Aires: Mitos Y Realidades, William Cowles

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the 19th century, the black population of Buenos Aires suffered a massive demographic decline that brought their population from roughly 30% of Buenos Aires in the beginning of the century to an almost invisible fraction. According to the popular Argentine historical myths, this decline was the product of several concrete factors, most importantly an outbreak of Yellow Fever and the various wars of 19th century Argentina in which the black population suffered heavy losses. However, the demographic facts and the historical evidence do not support this explanation. The historical reality of the decline of the black population in Buenos …

Roma In Vojvodina: Expressions Of Cultural Identity Through Performance, Jane Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper begins to cover some of the ways Roma cultural identity is expressed through performance in Vojvodina. The way Roma music and dance is seen in Vojvodina is highly influenced by the “circus” image and very little scholarly writing on Roma folklore exists to challenge this image. Roma musicians in rap/hip-hop groups incorporate elements of Roma traditional music and Roma language into rap/hip-hop to confront this stereotype and in performance these influences can interact, challenging stereotypes and revealing current values and traditions.

Resistant Cultures: Punk Identity And Anarchist Resistance In Three Yugoslav Successor States, Jeff Lambert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project attempts to discover the roots of the anarchist movement and reveal any connections to the punk subculture (both historic and contemporary) that emerged in Slovenia in the late 1970s and propagated throughout the federate republics. Given the unique economic history and geopolitical significance of the SFR Yugoslavia, there is a discussion of how anarchism differs in the Yugoslav successor states today (specifically Croatia) from other countries on the European continent. Punk is discussed as an alternative to nationalism and personal stories of anarchist identification are recorded herein.

Reconstructing Gender And Activism: The Case Of Women’S Initiatives In Al-Wihdat Refugee Camp, China Sajadian

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper explores the various ways that major social, political, and economic issues influence Palestinian women’s consciousness and initiatives in Jordan. Based on a set of interviews with self-identified female activists in Al-Wihdat refugee camp, I contextualize my findings in the multiple institutional and discursive realms through which female identity is constituted, such as nationalism, socioeconomic status, humanitarian development, and community. By investigating these women’s perspectives on a personal basis, I seek to uncover female subjective identities which subvert, complicate, and contest dominant constructions of the needs, roles, and ambitions of Palestinian refugee women.

Environment As Social And Literary Constructs: An Exploration Of The Relationship Between The Environment And Mahafaly Oral Literature, Eugenie Cha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

There was a time, long ago, when a small lake or reservoir had formed in a remote area whose location still remains a mystery today. One day, a king was passing through this region. He desperately needed water and searched and searched, but to no avail. Finally, he found this lake and was able to quench his thirst, and thus prevented himself from dying of dehydration (Avimary).

This story is one of many that are present within the canon of oral literature in Madagascar today. It originated from a small town called Ampanihy, which lies in the southwestern region of …

Endangered ? Yambetta In Its Speech Community, Carolyn Benbow

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is a study on the village of Yambetta and its efforts to keep its local language of Yambette. It looks into the organisation YALICO and the role of the local language within Yambetta’s speech community. Through observation and interviews, this study found that Yambetta is a living language not in immediate danger of dying out, and that the efforts of the Summer Institute of Linguistics through the local linguistic committee in Yambetta village is improving the chances that Yambetta will continue to be a living language. This was important because around half of the world’s languages are estimated …

“Le Goût De Travail:” Work Value For Bamiléké Children, Diana Carlson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research examines the value of work in the Bamiléké context, and explores the psychosocial and cultural factors that influence the transmission of this value to children. Research questions explored included the perception of children within the Bamiléké family, the values that exist within the family and specifically the value of work within these families, how this value is transmitted to children, whether children are motivated to learn the value of work, and the impact of work on the personality development of a child. Data was collected through questionnaires, interview, and observation. 121 questionnaires were collected, and 9 interviews completed. …

Changing Channels: The Bhutanese Middle Path Approach To Television, Kate Linthicum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The experience of watching commercial television and the ideals it promotes are incompatible with fundamentalist Buddhist teachings about consciousness, community and desire. However, the Bhutanese, whose culture, traditions, and worldview have a strong Buddhist foundation have not rejected the medium, which was introduced in Bhutan in 1999. But they have not fully embraced it. Instead they follow the Middle Path, weighing its positive and negative impacts in a manner that seems influenced by the guiding principle of non-extremism in Buddhist philosophy, and a notion the Bhutanese have adopted as a developmental strategy to attain Gross National Happiness. By first examining …

Education In A Rural Context: A Catalyst For Disappearing Villages?, Seth Schy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the proposal for this ISP the basic hypothesis was that education would catalyze an urban transition in Ogna. Specifically, it seemed as though people were leaving Ogna in pursuit of higher education, and eventually for a job in the city. It was posited that the eventual yet large migration to the city would have various effects on the social, economic, and structural stability of Ogna, and further, it was thought that with this migration a drastic change in Ogna’s culture would occur. Thus it appeared possible that eventually Ogna as it is today might cease to exist. As a …

Self-Employed, Self-Empowered: Working Women In Benares, Madeline S. Oatman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“Economic independence is the password to women’s empowerment.”

Sathi Nair, a Senior Administrative Services official in Andhra Pradesh.

Twenty or so women sit peacefully on a cool cement floor at the Kutumb program center in Benares, India. The room floats like an oasis above the dusty heat of the street, and unobstructed light pours in through a large window. The women, heads bowed, black hair shining, are stitching and measuring, brows furrowed in concentration despite the lull of the lazy afternoon. They have come to learn a skill in order to make extra income, to be around women, exchange advice …