Latin American Languages and Societies Commons^™

Understanding Adolescent Physical Activity In The Early Nutrition Transitioning Country Of Haiti, Haley V. Becker

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nutrition transition is underway in Haiti, giving rise to the dual burden of malnutrition. Physical activity (PA) plays an important role in mitigating the negative health consequences of nutrition transition and the dual burden, but heretofore this data has been unavailable for Haiti. This dissertation undertook an exploratory needs assessment providing baseline PA data for Haitian adolescents. It evaluated two different PA data collection methodologies: a cross-sectional survey adapted from the IPAQ long-form and objectively measured PA via Actigraph GT1M accelerometers. Next, it identified initial covariates of self-reported and objectively-assessed PA behaviors; data was operationalized as meeting the World …

A Sinful Reaction To Capitalist Ethics In No Quiero Quedarme Sola Y Vacía (2006), Celina Bortolotto

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article “A Sinful Reaction to Capitalist Ethics in No quiero quedarme sola y vacía (2006)” Celina Bortolotto analyzes how Lozada’s characterization of the main character, La Loca, questions the ideals of free agency offered by consumerist capitalism and the urban gay male ideal under the promise of a liberating gay lifestyle in a social context defined by identity politics. The novel is a fictionalized autobiographical account of Puerto Rican author Angel Lozada’s misadventures in the early 2000s gay scene in New York. This essay plays with the punitive sense of the word “capital” in the seven capital sins …

An Exploratory Study Of Acculturation Experiences Of Graduate Student Immigrants At The University Of San Francisco, Courtney Lamar

Master's Theses

This study explores the shared challenges during the acculturation process of graduate student immigrants pursuing higher education in the United States. 13 graduate student immigrants at the University of San Francisco discuss their experiences of cultural adjustment into U.S. culture. Through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, this study seeks to understand the acculturation experiences of graduate student immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. This analysis is based on the individual-level experience examining attitudes and acculturation strategies in the dominant society. Analysis, possibly policy implication for institutions of higher education, and possible directions for future research …

America's New Favorite Food, Laura E. Duclos, Sshiva Tejas M

Capstones

America's New Favorite Food focuses on the culinary shift the United States is making. The days of burgers and fries are dwindling and tacos are taking over. This short documentary series follows four people who hold distinctive views on Mexican cuisine. Viewers are also able to experience Mexican food in augmented reality, where they can tinker with the models via computer or phone.

LINK TO PROJECT: DuclosTejasCapstone.weebly.com

Intersectional Invisibilization: Black Female Movement Leaders In Mexico And Their Private Sphere Resistance, Lindsay Fasser

Undergraduate Honors Theses

International attention drew to Afro-Mexican individuals in 2015, when the Mexican inter-census survey first allowed Black Mexican people to self-identify as Afro-Mexican. The Black movement in Mexico revolving around recognition rather than liberation had been stirring in Coastal regions for decades prior, fueled by the work of incredible activists across the gender spectrum. However, the representation of such activists in public discourse is largely male. In analyzing this particular movement, the importance of intersectional theory becomes apparent, in unpacking both gendered and racialized forms of hierarchy and invisibility. By exploring the intersections between social movement and social suffering, as well …

Producing, Collecting, And Exhibiting Bizango Sculptures From Haiti: Transatlantic Vodou On The International Art Scene, Catherine Benoît, André Delpuech

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Textures Of Transition: Understanding Memorial Spaces In Medellin, Colombia, Hayley Pedrick

Shared Knowledge Conference

The past decade has welcomed a surge in the creation of memory and human rights museums with existing scholarship linking concepts of transitional justice and the rush to memorialize. The role of symbolic reparation in transitional justice through memorials in Latin America, in particular, is increasingly prominent at both local and international scales, ranging from recommendations outlined by the Inter-American court system to the state-funded construction of memory sites in rural communities. Colombia, home to the longest ongoing civil conflict in the Americas and currently in transition towards peace, presents unique approaches to symbolic reparation. Apart from land restitution and …

An Interventionist Approach To Language Study Abroad: Exploring Metalinguistic Awareness In The Acquisition Of Spanish Through Digital Portfolio Documentation And Expert Mentorship, Meredith Mcgregor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Language study abroad offers the possibility of acquiring a multitude of competencies, linguistic and otherwise. While historically study abroad research has emphasized linguistic gains in isolation, it has gradually moved towards a more sociocultural approach whereby individual factors and intercultural competencies are seen as integral to the process of acquiring knowledge of a language. With remaining gaps in the literature, and as new instruments emerge, so too do new opportunities for tracking and measuring learning outcomes in innovative ways. The present study, framed by the intervention hypothesis and sociocultural theory, utilizes the social media platform Google+ as a space to …

El Género Y La Sexualidad Como Herramientas Coloniales: Lo Que Significa Ser Epupillan (Dos-Espíritu) En Contextos Mapuche / Gender And Sexuality As Colonial Tools: What It Means To Be Epupillan (Two-Spirit) In Mapuche Contexts, Sophia Knowlton-Latkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Demuestro cómo la imposición de las normas europeas de género y sexualidad a los pueblos indígenas no es sólo un resultado de la colonización, sino más bien cómo se ha utilizado como herramienta de colonización, con atención específica de cómo se relaciona con ser un mapuche epupillan (dos-espíritu) viviendo en Chile. Sostengo que estas categorías de organización social mediante normas coaccionadas y impuestas de género y sexualidad han funcionado históricamente y actualmente para colonizar a los pueblos indígenas e incorporarlos al modelo capitalista del trabajo en Chile. Para lograr esto, no doy por hecho estas categorías de identidad, de género …

Graphic Representations Of Grammatical Gender In Spanish Language Anarchist Publications, Mariel Mercedes Acosta Matos

Publications and Research

This paper offers a descriptive analysis of the suffixes -@, -x, -e and other orthographic innovations as transgressions to the genderedness of Spanish language. First I discuss the grammatical rules of expressing gender in Spanish and a summary of the ongoing debates concerning linguistic sexism and androcentrism in Spanish language. Then I present some examples of the gender neutral suffixes drawn from articles found in 3 “Do It Yourself” journals published online by three anarchist collectives in Latin America.

Cuban Vintage Car Culture, Zachary H. White

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

The purpose of this research was to investigate the culture surrounding the vintage American cars found in Cuba. Through preliminary research, the researcher determined Cubans are continuing to use these cars as a means of transportation as well as a source of income. They have kept the cars maintained by recycling parts from other cars, tractors, and boats, as well as buying new parts from the black market. Once they have been repaired, many owners around major cities use them as taxis. This is so that the owners can afford to maintain them as well as provide additional income for …

Modeling Sound In Ancient Maya Cities: Moving Towards A Synesthetic Experience Using Gis & 3d Simulation, Graham Goodwin

Anthropology Department: Theses

Digital technologies enable modeling of the potential role of sound in past environments. While digital approaches have limitations in objectively rendering reality, they provide an expanded platform that potentially increases our understanding of experience in the past and enhances the investigation of ancient landscapes. Digital technologies enable new experiences in ways that are multi-sensual and move us closer toward reconstructing holistic views of past landscapes. Archaeologists have successfully employed 2D and 3D tools to measure vision and movement within cityscapes. However, built environments are often designed to invoke synesthetic experiences that also include sound and other senses. Geographic Information Systems …

The Variable Expression Of Transitive Subject And Possesor In Wayuunaiki (Guajiro), Andres M. Sabogal

Linguistics ETDs

In Wayuunaiki, verbal affixes cross-reference clausal arguments in various ways. Most notably, there are two ways to express transitive subjects, and two ways to express possessors. Much like voice alternatives, the variable expression of subject and possessor impart different perspectives on a situation type, but unlike traditional voice categories, syntactic valence remains equal. This dissertation characterizes these constructions with a specific question in mind: what do these two cross-referencing alternations communicate and what influences their usage? To answer these questions, I consider the linguistic properties observed in the usage of these constructions in narratives (Jusayú 1986, 1994), and informal conversations. …

Jarrod Hayes. Queer Roots For The Diaspora: Ghosts In The Family Tree. Ann Arbor: U Of Michigan P, 2016., Annie De Saussure

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Review of Jarrod Hayes. Queer Roots for the Diaspora: Ghosts in the family tree. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2016. 325 pp.

Coarticulation In Two Fricative-Vowel Sequences Of Latin American Spanish, Jeff Renaud

Celebration of Learning

Dialectal surveys of Latin American Spanish (Perissinotto 1975, Resnick 1975) describe three main possible pronunciations for fu (fuego 'fire') and fo (foco 'focus') sequences: faithful [f], velarized [x], and bilabialized [ɸ], in order of frequency. While the velar realization has received phonetic and theoretical consideration (Lipski 1995, Mazzaro 2011), little is understood about the voiceless bilabial fricative [ɸ] in Spanish. This paper describes a three-part production study to uniformly account for the unfaithful velar and bilabial realizations.

Mazzaro (2011) explains the velar [x] variant by arguing that, given the acoustic similarity of, e.g., [fu]/[xu], listeners misperceive a speaker's …

El Viaje Desde Centroamérica A Los Estados Unidos: How Us Foreign Policy Impacts Migration From Central America To The United States, Cecilia Cerja

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In the face of ever increasing civil conflict in Central America, the United States is attempting to grapple with immigration reform as the number of refugees continues to rise. Though the dominant narrative seems to indicate that people are flocking to the United States for economic opportunity, upon further analysis it seems that there are a variety of push and pull factors for migration to the United States. In this thesis three case studies of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are analyzed to determine the push and pull factors causing migration to the United States. After examining the push and …

Relanzamiento Of Nicaragua’S Christian Base Communities: Forging New Models Of Church And Society For The Twenty-First Century, Lara M. Gunderson

Anthropology ETDs

How do narrative practices used by members of Christian Base Communities (in Spanish, CEBs) construct particular Catholic-political subjectivities within the Church, the nation-state, and the larger global institutions? Christian Base Communities, the vehicle by which liberation theology is put into practice, played a significant role in Nicaragua’s Sandinista revolution. Their proclaimed renewal is happening under dramatically different contexts from which they first emerged. Their religious beliefs continue to justify and place a moral thrust on their struggle for a more egalitarian society despite the reduction of social programs on the part of neoliberal governments, including the current Sandinista party administration. …

Climate Change, Colonialism, And Second-Class Citizenry: A Case Study Of The Impacts Of Hurricane María In Puerto Rico, Aislyne Calianos

Senior Honors Projects

The hurricane season of 2017 was a historic one, with mammoth storms making landfall one after another, in what seemed like an unrelenting assault on our coastal cities and communities. Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, Irma plowed through Florida, and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, but one of these storms was unlike the others. Why is it that the American citizens of our southern states were able to recover so much more quickly than our citizens in Puerto Rico? In the era of climate change, we will be forced to reckon with the modern legacy of colonialism, as vulnerable communities must face …

Self-Perceived Success Of First-Generation College-Going Latinx Students, Sarah Mongillo

Honors Scholar Theses

This exploratory study aims to address the unique experiences of Latinx first-generation college-going students during their undergraduate careers. Literature has emphasized the obstacles Latinx students face during admission phase to college; this research examines the experiences of students attending a predominantly white institution (PWI) in the northeast. Latinx individuals are the most underrepresented ethnic group on college campuses, and those whose parents lack knowledge of the US education system must overcome additional struggles. Through qualitative data analysis of 20 undergraduate students’ survey responses, this study finds that first-generation college-going Latinx students feel isolated in their college experience and prioritize non-traditional …

El Andaluz Y El Español Estadounidense: Exploring Traces Of Andalusian Sibilants In U.S. Spanish, Carolyn M. Siegman

Hispanic Studies Honors Projects

The Andalucista Theory claims that Andalusian Spanish was particularly influential during the development of Spanish in Latin America during the time of Spanish colonization. The present study seeks to examine traces of Andalusian Spanish in Spanish in the United States, considering the added level of complexity brought by contact with English and heightened contact with other dialects of Spanish. By examining 10 interviews from Andalusian Spanish speakers and 12 interviews from Spanish speakers in the U.S., we provide a comparison of the modern-day phonetic realizations of , , and in these two distant linguistic regions.

Coca, Capitalism And Decolonization: State Violence In Bolivia Through Coca Policy, Margaret A. Poulos

Political Science Honors Projects

I approach Bolivian coca policy under Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous President, as a site to examine the broader issue of decolonization. My paper argues that the new General Law of Coca, passed in March 2017, is part of a larger systemic pattern of violence towards historically disenfranchised communities in Bolivia, despite Morales’ indigenous Aymara identity and pro-coca activism. Drawing on interviews I conducted and a postcolonial theoretical framework, I analyze how although Morales has rhetorically advocated for indigenous communities and decolonizing Bolivia, colonial legacies supplanted in the subjectivity of Bolivians and institutions of its government have persisted. I suggest …

Artesana De Sí Misma: Gabriela Mistral, Una Intelectual En Cuerpo Y Palabra, Claudia Cabello Hutt

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Artesana de sí misma by Claudia Cabello Hutt reevaluates the place of Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral in the literary and intellectual history of Latin America, illuminating and filling a number of lingering voids in the study of this canonical figure. Cabello Hutt introduces readers to Mistral’s vast but scarcely studied journalistic prose as well as her unpublished manuscripts, letters, and images held in the United States and in newly opened Chilean archives. Moving beyond her amply discussed poetry, Cabello Hutt demonstrates that Mistral’s essays, visual representations, and gender performance are key to understanding Mistral’s self-construction as a Latin American female …

Lupe Under The Sun, Rosie Pineda

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Lupe Under the Sun is a neorealist film following an aging migrant worker living in California, who longs to return to Mexico before it is too late. Featuring a cast of nonprofessional actors, real farmworkers and authentic locations, Lupe Under the Sun tackles issues of depression, homesickness and the immigrant myth of the American Dream.

Long estranged from his family in Michoacán, migrant laborer Lupe finds relief from the backbreaking work of harvesting peaches in California’s Central Valley through camaraderie and a quiet love affair with fellow immigrant Gloria. Soon the stability of his daily routine begins to crack under …

Knowledge Sharing As A Means For Capacity Building In International Non-Governmental Organizations In Ecuador, Yolanda E. Ledesma Silva

Latin American Studies ETDs

The purpose of this research was to study factors that facilitate technical knowledge sharing internally in international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Ecuador. Using a qualitative design, and semi-structured interviews this study examined knowledge sharing practices in four INGOS located in Quito, capital of Ecuador.

The findings supported nine factors identified in the literature as influencing knowledge sharing practices. These factors included (1) organizational culture, (2) role in organization, (3) procedures for managing knowledge, (4) perceived value of knowledge sharing, (5) media used for sharing information, (6) management practices, (7) organizational structure, (8) mission and strategy, and (9) organizational climate and …

Shiwilu, Pilar Valenzuela

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research

"Shiwilu, also known as Jebero (ISO jeb), is a critically endangered Kawapanan language spoken in the District of Jeberos, in northeastern Peru. Kawapanan languages exhibit a “mixed” areal profile, in that they combine structural properties typical of Western Amazonian languages with features specifically associated to the Central Andean families Quechuan and Aymaran (Valenzuela 2015). On June 23, 2016, Shiwilu became the first Peruvian language to be declared National Cultural Heritage (Resolución Viceministerial N° 073-2016-VMPCIC-MC). The present text was delivered orally in 2013 by one of the youngest native speakers, Mr. Fidel Lomas Chota, who was 59 years old at the …

L’Agitation Du Quotidien: Une Conversation Sur La Réflexion Ⓐnarchiste Face Au Sexisme Dans La Langue, Mariel Mercedes Acosta Matos, Ernesto Cuba

Publications and Research

Ernesto Cuba interviewe Mariel Acosta au sujet des résultats de son mémoire de master, qui traite des propositions de morphèmes de genre inclusif dans des publications anarchistes de langue espagnole, parmi lesquelles le @, le x et d’autres innovations orthographiques cherchant à contrecarrer le biais androcentré de la langue.

Ernesto Cuba interviews Mariel Acosta about the findings in her master’s thesis, which investigates inclusive gender morphemes in Spanish-language anarchist publications, among which is the use of @, x and other orthographic innovations that seek to challenge the androcentric bias of language.

The Importance Of Language In Cross-Cultural Interaction, Lacy Norton

Senior Honors Theses

Language and culture are connected. Because of this connection, people have a preferred language with which they have an emotional or cultural connection. In Latin American cultures, it is beneficial to speak to a person in their preferred language. Using a person’s preferred language as opposed to any other language will facilitate a deeper connection with that person, cross cultural barriers that may separate them, and be more effective when attempting to share the gospel.

Pearl Lagoon's White Lobster: The Societal, Economic, Political And Autonomous Effects, Rafely Palacios

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua is home to the greatest number of impoverished individuals in the country. However, the people of Pearl Lagoon - a municipality in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region - have found a way to escape their poor economic situations.

Due to the municipality’s close proximity to drug routes utilized by Colombian cartels and to the country itself, community members have turned to the drug trade in hopes of pursuing financial secureness. With the introduction of the “white lobster” or cocaine packets, the community as a whole has transformed its social, economic, and political spheres. In …

Re-Imagining The Theatre: Existence And Change, Andres Aguilar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With acknowledgement of Nicaraguan Theatre and its different dynamics, this research works to expose and create visibility of current Nicaraguan Theatre with relation to social change in Managua, Nicaragua. The microcosm of theatre is revolutionary in creating the necessary change to reach a state of consciousness that allows others to accept and understand society and others for what they are and what they can be. The theater is simply a tool. Intrinsically, all acts are political, therefore the theater is a political declaration. The theater is, and always will be, a political arena, when the aesthetics of the theater are …

La Comercialización Del Mural Porteño / The Marketing Of The Porteur Mural, Alexandria Ashley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Valparaíso is home to a visually stimulating urban landscape which has become one of the identifying factors of the famous port city. The flamboyant cityscape and stunning murals that splash color across the once-empty walls of Valpo attract tourists from all over the world to come and admire the rich hub of bohemian culture. However, it hasn’t always been the vibrant city that it is nowadays. What many porteños, or lifelong citizens of Valparaíso, cite as the city’s authentic identifying characteristic is its history as a major port city. However, after the construction of the Panama Canal, Valpo experienced …