Digital Commons Network^™

Migration In The Early Chesapeake: Dorchester Co., Md, As A Case Study, 1650–1750, Thomas Daniel Knight

History Faculty Publications

This article examines the migration patterns that shaped the early settlement of Dorchester County, Maryland. Dorchester County is located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, an area distinctive in terms of its geography, history, and culture. In U.S. history, migration has generally proceeded from eastern areas to western ones and from northern areas to southern ones, a pattern dating back to the earliest colonial settlements. Settlement in Dorchester County proceeded primarily from east to west and south to north, with additional migration streams coming from the north out of Delaware and from the west out of Somerset County. This gave Dorchester County …

Legitimacy As Politico-Cultural Integration, Chase Plante

Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society

Since the social sciences first began considering the concept of political legitimacy, or people’s acceptance and support of authority, the field has struggled to effectively define the concept in terms it can operationalize. This paper uses Talcott Parsons’ model of societal subsystems to advance a theorization of political legitimacy as the integration of the polity and culture subsystems. For society to function, all four subsystems (economy, societal community, culture, polity) must integrate. This research demonstrates that legitimacy is a process of politico-cultural integration by examining legal compliance. I argue that formal norms (laws) must be translated into informal norms, representing …

I See Sick People: Beliefs About Sensory Detection Of Infectious Disease Are Largely Consistent Across Cultures, Joshua M. Ackerman, Theodore Samore, Daniel M. T. Fessler, Norman P. Li, Et Al

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Identifying cues to contagious disease is critical for effectively tracking and defending against interpersonal infection threats. People hold lay beliefs about the types of sensory information most relevant for identifying whether others are sick with transmissible illnesses. Are these beliefs universal, or do they vary along cultural and ecological dimensions? Participants in 58 countries (N = 19,217) judged how effective, and how likely they were to use, cues involving each of the five major sensory modalities in an imagined social interaction during a flu outbreak. Belief patterns were strongly consistent across countries (sight > audition > touch > smell > taste), suggesting a largely …

Remaking Life: The Culture Of Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Workers, Caroline Jordan

The Purdue Historian

This paper examines the methods by which Chinese immigrants involved with the construction of the first transcontinental railroad maintained cultural ties to their native China, as well as the changes they made to adapt to their new surroundings. The United States’ first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, primarily at the hands of Chinese immigrants. Despite their massive contribution, no primary documents from Chinese workers themselves are known to exist. Their role in the railroad’s construction was largely forgotten until relatively recently. Chinese workers faced hostile living and working conditions during their life on the railroad. This paper covers multiple …

Sociology: Culture, Marcia Morrison

Open Educational Resources

This work examine culture. It begins by examining the foundations of culture to include norms, values, language, symbols and knowledge. In looking at each, it breaks down the implication of each to the development of ourselves as well as the person in the environment. It moves on to look at contexts of culture such as dominant cultures juxtapose to competing cultural systems, and how the various elements of culture can serve to either promote or minimize the various cultural constructs within society.

A Showman And A Scholar: Bascom Lamar Lunsford And The Preservation Of Traditional Appalachian Music, Benjamin Grist

Masters Theses

Appalachian musical culture is well-known in the modern day. Between old time, bluegrass, country, and clogging, people around the world know and enjoy the musical traditions of the mountains. However, in the 1920s, Appalachian culture was in serious danger of going extinct. A mix of industrialization destroying local economies, an influx of rich outsiders moving to the region, and the people of Appalachia trying to distance themselves from their impoverished lifestyles, traditional Appalachian music and culture was being crushed on one hand and abandoned on the other. Realizing that the region's musical traditions were disappearing, several scholars tried to record …

Presence Of The Past: The Translation Of Traditional Culture Into Contemporary Form Among The Igbo Peoples Of Southeastern Nigeria, Nelson Agalaba

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Architecture serves as the physical embodiment of a group’s cultural values, history, and social dynamics- or identity. The arrival of European colonialism and modernism brought about a paradigm shift, prioritizing a universal European aesthetic and “international style”, displacing indigenous architectural traditions and severing the deep connections between culture and the natural and built environments. The global south has experienced the brunt of this process, especially the African continent. For example, the Igbo peoples of southeastern Nigeria have lost nearly all examples of their building traditions and have been in a constant struggle to create an architecture that captures their rich …

Reframing The Message Of Jesus : For The Newer Generations Of Urban Latin American Youth, Rich Brown

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Praktik Memancing Di Jerman: Kegemaran Dan Tanggung Jawab, Adelia Rachman, Setiadi Setiadi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

Angling has been taking place and is deeply rooted in historically German culture. Its functionality evolves from subsistence, economic livelihoods, customs and traditions, to recreational activities offering enjoyment of nature. Summer field research was conducted around Baden-Württemberg and Hessen with ten anglers of diverse backgrounds living in Germany. The qualitative ethnographic research and perspective-taking approach were applied through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and literature studies to explore the current angling culture in freshwater ecosystem landscapes comprising angling experiences and practices, and anglers’ perceptions. The research findings demonstrate angling goes beyond fondness, it is a matter of responsibility in terms of …

Castles, Lands, And Locks: Exploring The Social Capital Of Heritage Sites, Loren Carter

Research Symposium

This Honors thesis aims to analyze the social roles of heritage sites as modes of cultural communication and connection. Through combined ethnographic and archaeological research methods, I argue that while the museumification and industrialization of heritage does provide useful information for populations with little knowledge of cultural processes, the communities most closely related to the heritage sites lose both tangible and intangible cultural connections when their backyards turn to tourist destinations. Studies of heritage have long argued that heritage processes take place not just through tangible heritage artifacts but also through everyday intangible heritage activities (Smith 2006). Throughout this work …

Unearthing Silence: Deaf Archaeology As A Pathway To Social Justice And Accessibility, Abigail H. Steiner

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Deaf archaeology is an emerging field exploring the material culture, spaces, and histories of Deaf communities to understand their social lives and identities. This paper examines Deaf archaeology as a framework for uncovering the historical presence of Deaf individuals and promoting social justice. It begins by defining deafness, contrasting medical and cultural perspectives, then traces the field’s roots in sign language evolution, marginalization, and Deaf education. Through a timeline of findings, the study reveals how Deaf individuals have been recognized or overlooked historically. Engaging with the Southern Tier Deaf community, I explore accessible archaeology and the role of Deaf archaeology …

Photo Essay: Japan’S Demographic Changes And Opportunities: A Tale Of Two Cities, Ryoko Yamamoto

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Japan is in the midst of a population implosion. Schools struggle to fill classrooms, and vacant houses are a common sight in smaller towns. While the demographic shift makes it difficult to sustain traditional ways of life, it also brings opportunities for new possibilities. This essay highlights the challenges and opportunities of demographic change through the stories of two communities: Tsushima City in Aichi Prefecture and Ikuno Ward in Osaka City. In Tsushima, residents have embraced a more inclusive approach to their autumn festival, inviting women and non-residents to perform roles previously reserved for male residents. In Ikuno, a closed …

Res Historica, Volume 4, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2025 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Samuel Sanders, and Julia Ackerman. The cover art for this volume is an open access image.

In, Out, Beyond: A Theology Of Selfhood Against Throwaway Culture, Ethan Pieter Vander Leek

Dissertations (1934 -)

Within what Pope Francis calls “throwaway culture,” everything—non-human and human alike—is perceived according to the dictates of powerful individuals and impersonal analyses and systems. Throwaway culture’s anthropology is both individualist and collectivist. According to throwaway culture’s individualism, the human being is an isolated subject dualistically opposed to the world, engaged with the world through either appropriative consumption or defensive withdrawal. According to its collectivism, the human being is a meaningless object within a collective whole, determined by forces and realities wholly external to it. These apparently opposed perspectives are in fact mutually reinforcing. To theologically respond to and critique throwaway …

‘I Flip The Switch’: Aboriginal Entrepreneurs’ Navigation Of Entrepreneurial Imperatives, Admiral Manganda, Tanya Jurado, Jason Mika, Farah Palmer

Indigenous Business & Public Administration

Culture is integral to Indigenous entrepreneurs, but how culture manifests in their entrepreneurial processes is understudied. This paper explores how Aboriginal entrepreneurs in Perth, Australia navigate cultural and commercial imperatives in their entrepreneurial practice. The study uses an interpretive lens and thematic analysis based on Altman’s hybrid economy model (HEM) to explore how ten Aboriginal entrepreneurs managed commercially viable enterprises while meeting their cultural obligations and aspirations. The focus is on the convergence of the customary and market economies and entrepreneurs’ experiences of navigating the hybridity of that space. We find that Aboriginal entrepreneurs iteratively assess the complementarity of cultural …

Religion, Culture, And Politics, Jared Rubin

ESI Working Papers

This chapter presents a conceptual framework for understanding the interaction of religion, ideology, and politics. The framework’s key insights are: i) culture and ideology provide a shared mental framework for interpreting the world; ii) ideology is malleable, and it can be used to justify a wide set of empirical realities in a manner that is consistent with the prevailing mental framework; iii) religion is particularly adept at shaping this mental framework because it attempts to explain the unknown; iv) because co-religionists share a mental framework that depends on a (religious) interpretation of events, religions are particularly likely to be co-opted …

The Melanesian Triad Of Unity, Ibrahim Peyon

Antropologi Indonesia

In the Melanesian worldview, humans, land, waters, plants, animals and the entire universe were created by the Creator God, and this is the essence of the original religions in Melanesia. This paper investigates this basic Melanesian philosophy, which is called the Melanesian Triad of Unity here. Oneness denotes God the Creator as the core entity, the parts of his body constituting all beings and the universe. The three principles are 1) one nation, 2) one soul and one spirit, and 3) one land and nature. All the elements are composed naturally in these three principles. As argued in this paper, …

Demonstrating A Free Listing Data Collection Approach To Cultural Instruction, Gregory De La Piedra

Dimensions

Free listing tasks are a common data collection method used by cultural anthropologists, language historians and linguists (Nolan, 2002; Ryan et al., 2000; Weller & Romney, 1988; Wolfram & Schillings-Estes, 1998). These tasks are interviews in which a researcher asks groups of respondents to list words or expressions that come to mind for a given cultural topic. This study focused on a free listing task collected from working class Mexicans about fiestas y celebraciones [parties and celebrations]. Although this topic is routinely included in second language (L2) teaching materials, common terms or slang used by Spanish speaking populations that U.S. …

A Zoomorphic Clay Figurine From ‘En Ḥakhlil, Migdal ‘Ha-Emeq (Pp. 113–116), Nadeshda B. Knudsen

'Atiqot

A nearly complete clay zoomorphic figurine was uncovered in the Early Bronze Age I–II burial cave at ‘En Ḥakhlil. The animal species represented is not clear, as the shape of the ears/horns is vague, and the tail is missing; it may represent a donkey or a bull. The figurine seems to have been deposited as a burial offering for the deceased.

Boba Tea Shops And Identity: Exploration Of Boba Shops Among College Students In Greater Orlando, Naydelin Karime Trejo Vega

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis explores the cultural and social significance of boba tea shops among college students aged 18 to 26 in Greater Orlando. Although many people view boba tea as a trendy drink, this study treats it as a meaningful part of some students’ daily lives, identity formation, and sense of belonging. Through a multi-method approach that includes participant observation, surveys, and semi-structured interviews, I examine what motivates college students to purchase boba tea and how boba shops impact their identity and sense of belonging. I conducted fieldwork at three different boba tea shops in Greater Orlando—two franchises and one locally …

Interfaith Marriages: Exploring The Role Of Upbringing And Lived Experiences On Interfaith Couples' Unions, Meghna Gogoi

Theses and Dissertations

This study on interfaith marriages is an example of the micro-macro linkage that we seek to make in sociology. Marriage is a “primary,” intimate relationship, but one that increasingly involves “intermarriage” across lines of race/ethnicity, religion, and cultural backgrounds. Interfaith marriages, which refer to unions between individuals from different religious backgrounds, are becoming more common in today’s contemporary society. Therefore, it is relevant to understand the experiences of couples in interfaith marriages. It highlights how individual decisions in intimate relationships are influenced by larger social structures, such as religious norms and cultural expectations. This study explores how upbringing and lived …

“We Understand Each Other, Then”: Binaries At Play In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Christopher P. Jolivette

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

As the United States grappled with the fallout of the September 11th terrorist attacks, another, subtler conundrum was arising. As Mohsin Hamid writes in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, a chasm of difference arose between the First World and the Third. In Derridian terms, the United States grew to center itself, forming its own complete national identity that defied the Third World's cultural realm. In his writing, Hamid viciously attacks this deepening realm of cultural difference by taking aim at the violent domineering and heteronormative American culture whose imposition in the Middle East served to severe any ties between the two cultures. …

Metaphoric Sense Developments In The Names Of Places Of Worship In Contemporary American English, John G. Newman, Sylwester Łodej

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

This paper offers an account of the metaphorical extension of the names of religious houses of worship such as temple, church, mosque, and synagogue in contemporary American English, reflecting processes of linguistic secularization. Using data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), the study investigates how the meanings of religious terms enter into secular domains, signalling shifts in societal perceptions of religious experience. The findings show that temple and church frequently undergo metaphorization, appearing in phrases like temple of learning and church of football, where non-religious modifiers drive semantic extension. These terms increasingly denote secular places characterized by human …

Stop Shying Away From Race: Black Americans’ Cultural Models For Shyness, Carrie Zack

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study explored how African American adults understand and experience shyness, with particular attention to the influence of race and racism. While most psychological research on shyness has largely centered white experiences and treated race as a peripheral variable, this study applied Critical Race Theory and Cultural Model Theory to investigate whether Black Americans share a cultural model for shyness. Using semi-structured interviews with sixteen African American adults, the study sought to uncover shared mental frameworks that guide interpretations of shy behavior, especially in contexts involving unfamiliarity or potential negative evaluation.

Contrary to expectations, the findings did not support the …

Cultural Adaptation And Environmental Challenges: A Case Study Of Nubian Communities In Egypt Through The Lens Of Cultural Ecology Theory, Imam Wicaksono, Sherif Sa’Ad Algayyar, Ahmed Hassan Mohammad Hassan

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the ecological changes brought about by the building of the Aswan Dam have affected the Nubian community's social structure, cultural identity, and coping mechanisms. The study emphasizes how important it is to comprehend how people interact with their surroundings considering modernization, which frequently jeopardizes the viability of regional customs. In addition to a literature review approach, a thematic analysis grounded in Julian Steward's cultural ecology theory—which highlights how societies adjust to changes in their physical surroundings—was used. The results show that ecological changes have profoundly impacted the Nubian people's cultural rites, …

Revitalisation Of Cultural Tourism Through Folk Narratives, Sabrina Lyngdoh, Punit Gautam Dr

Journal of Tourism Insights

Abstract

Folk narratives such as myths legends and folk tales are representative of the unique cultural heritage of an ethnic community. The inclusion of legends as a description of tourist attractions, projects their indigenousness thereby promoting oriental and otherness themes. Reports suggest that tourism plays a vital role in the revaluation and revitalisation of culture. [in-text citation removed] Destination managers across the world are projecting legends in their promotion attempts as they are confident that these legends have the power to attract tourists. As such, this present piece of research underlines the role of myths, legends and folk tales in …

Case Study: Creativity And Innovation In Graphic Design, Arberesha Hoxha

UBT International Conference

Design communicates thoughts, ideas, emotions, and narratives in a universal language. Cultural differences, however, have a big impact on how people view and understand design. Storytelling, usability, aesthetics, and symbolism are all impacted by the intricate relationships between culture and design. In a world growing more interconnected by the day, it is critical to recognize and comprehend the impact of cultural subtleties on design. Through the lens of cultural aesthetics, design is assessed. These aesthetics consist of fashion trends, color palettes, and design elements that are representative of specific civilizations. Aspects of design frequently have rich cultural meaning and symbolism. …

Bridging Boarders: Ngo Involvement With Moroccan Immigrants In Andalusia, Stephen Allgeier

Global Studies Senior Capstone

This paper examines the cultural, economic, and political barriers that legal and documented Moroccan immigrants experience throughout their assimilation journey and analyzes the various roles NGOs play to help them navigate these challenges to integration. Furthermore, it will attempt to explain the limitations that these NGOs encounter as well as offer suggestions to better their efforts in supporting Moroccan immigrants in Andalusia.

Prls 2250 Digital Life Stories: Chicana/Latina Testimonio, Jasmine Mitchell

Open Educational Resources

This is an introductory course exploring intersecting histories, ideas, and social, political and cultural structures in Latin America. We will focus on the workings of Latin American cultures as shaped by race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, place, and religion. Throughout this course we will ask: Where is Latin America and what is Latin America? Over the semester, we will ask critical questions of a wide variety of materials: essays, television, poems, photographs, films, music, visual art, historical documents and legal texts. Students will be exposed to and experiment with a wide range of current interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological approaches with …

Palestinian Sports Fans' Rooting Practices And Preferences: A Case Study Of The 2022 Fifa World Cup In Qatar, Oqab Jabali, Munther Saeedi

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Objective: This study explores the motivations and justifications driving Palestinian sports fans to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup and support specific national teams. The objective is to understand the underlying factors that contribute to their engagement with this global sports event. Methods: The study targeted 732 residents of Nablus Governorate with a primary interest in watching football matches on television. A five-point Likert scale was used to assess Palestinian fandom preferences concerning the FIFA World Cup 2022, covering demographic information and reasons motivating Palestinians to watch the World Cup. Results: The study reveals several significant associations between the variables …