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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Anthropology

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Folklore

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Vibrant Traditions Of Masaya: El Mestizaje As A Culture, A Process, And A State Of Being, Isabelle Lee Apr 2016

The Vibrant Traditions Of Masaya: El Mestizaje As A Culture, A Process, And A State Of Being, Isabelle Lee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“The only constant in life is change.” What this old adage leaves out is that the processes that catalyze these changes can occur in vastly different ways which impact the product. In the case of the history of Masaya, Nicaragua, today’s dominant culture of mestizaje is the result of the arrival of the Spaniards to the Americas and the process of racial and cultural blend that followed between Spanish, indigenous and African peoples. But in this mixing process, Spaniards held disproportionate power: most of the changes they imposed were made through violent and deceptive imposition. Yet indigenous and African people …


Once Upon Our Time: The Ancient Art Of Storytelling In A Contemporary West Africa, Harlee Keller Oct 2014

Once Upon Our Time: The Ancient Art Of Storytelling In A Contemporary West Africa, Harlee Keller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Storytelling is an art form that has been flourishing in Senegal since the country’s origin. Traditionally, storytelling was a communal endeavor, oral and interactive. As modernity crept up on Senegal storytelling began to change, oral tradition only partially surviving in rural settings, almost completely obsolete in big cities. I am particularly interested in how Wolof tales and oral storytelling are surviving in a modernizing Senegal. I think that storytelling is a form of cultural education for children and adults alike, and that preservation is dire for the survival of this art. I will discuss story structure, content and the opinions …