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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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- And Social Justice (9)
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- Brazil: Culture (5)
- Argentina: Social Movements and Human Rights (4)
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- And Civil Society (2)
- Brazil: Amazon Resource Management and Human Ecology (2)
- Jordan: Modernization and Social Change (2)
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- Netherlands: Sexuality and Gender Identity (1)
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Articles 1 - 30 of 38
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Responsibility, Reconciliation, And Remembrance: Serbian Youth Perspectives In Dealing With The Past, Erica Getto
Responsibility, Reconciliation, And Remembrance: Serbian Youth Perspectives In Dealing With The Past, Erica Getto
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Dealing with the past is a process in which a society determines truthful facts of previous events, and with the support of civil society and its leaders, undergoes a transformation from a culture of conflict to one of peace, through reconciliation and depolarization . Youth between the ages of 18-30 are the future of Serbia. They grew up in the midst of war, under a regime that greatly affected the economical, social, and political stability of the newly independent country. Because of these factors, their perspectives and opinions become critical in determining how this country is approaching topics of the …
“Happy Dancing Natives” Minority Film, Han Nationalism, And Collective Memory, Benjamin D. Shaffer
“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 …
A Critical Assessment Of The Impact Of World Heritage Site Designation In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lauren Blacik
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 …
Gaaro: Nepali Women Tell Their Stories, Sarah Cramer
Gaaro: Nepali Women Tell Their Stories, Sarah Cramer
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
“In the 1970s, women were discovered to have been “bypassed” by the development interventions. This “discovery” resulted in the growth during the late 1970s and 1980s of a whole new field, women in development (WID), which has been analyzed by several feminist researchers as a regime of representation” (Escobar, 13). This “regime of representation” was a way in which development discourse linguistically, and consequently practically, imposed a homogenized identity on these “bypassed” women, in order to bring them into development programs. This homogenizing discourse was constructed by Western development efforts and takes place by constructing all third world women as …
The Collective Right Of Indigenous Peoples To Self-Determination In Accordance With The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Lena-Katharina Skandera
The Collective Right Of Indigenous Peoples To Self-Determination In Accordance With The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Lena-Katharina Skandera
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, after more than twenty years of negotiations between states, indigenous representatives, lawyers, and academics. Although the resulting document is controversial and complex in its treatment of several important issues, its ambiguous characterization of the collective legal right of indigenous peoples to self-determination has been chosen as the focus of this work because it is the primary right from which all other rights, and problems, are derived. The work commences with a critique of the position held by certain states that the categorization …
Child Labour And Microfinance In Morocco: Using Microfinance To Reduce Child Labour And The Case Of The Al Amana Microfinance Institution, Kristyn Schomp
Child Labour And Microfinance In Morocco: Using Microfinance To Reduce Child Labour And The Case Of The Al Amana Microfinance Institution, Kristyn Schomp
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Approximately 218 million children are child laborers worldwide. These children work as agricultural workers, prostitutes, handicraft producers, and in virtually in every other form of employment imaginable. But although the problem of child labour has been one of recent international focus, there are still 126 million children involved in some form of hazardous work each year.
The existence of such statistics can be attributed in part to the complex and multi-faceted nature of child labour. Similarly, the reasons for child labour can range from economic and political instability, migration, lack of work, and/or poor school systems. Therefore, the reduction of …
The Politics Of Engagement: The Influence Of Identity On The Experiences Of Activists Involved With The Roma Community In Serbia, Becca Gardner
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 …
Unemployment, Women, And Taxis: A Study Of The Taxi-Sister Program In Its Test Phase, Mackenzie Israel-Trummel
Unemployment, Women, And Taxis: A Study Of The Taxi-Sister Program In Its Test Phase, Mackenzie Israel-Trummel
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
In May of 2007, the Senegalese Ministry for Family and Female Entrepreneurship in collaboration with a private car dealership, Espace-Auto, announced plans for the Taxi-Sister program, which introduced ten women into the taxi driving profession. The first ten women, who hit the streets in September 2007, are considered a test-run for the program, as the Ministry seeks to expand women’s roles in Senegalese society and presence in the economic sector. The program is considered to be both an effort to address women’s poverty and to establish a feminine presence in professions formerly reserved for men.
This study attempts to describe …
Helping Women Help Themselves: Sex Work, Health, And Development In Mahajanga, Madagascar, Rachel Pryzby
Helping Women Help Themselves: Sex Work, Health, And Development In Mahajanga, Madagascar, Rachel Pryzby
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Poverty is an inescapable reality in Madagascar, a force that permeates the lives of many Malagasy people. Approximately 75 % of the population lives below the poverty line, defined as one United States dollar per person per day . This poverty proves to be particularly cruel to women who are often illiterate, unmarried, and have children to support. In cases such as these, often the quickest and most lucrative type of work available is sex work. The proportion of sex workers (called makorelina in Malagasy and travailleuses de sexe in French ) in the city of Mahajanga is quite large—approximately …
Leprosy: A Study Of Identity Through A “Marginalized” Population, Aarti Bhatt
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 …
Black Identity Formation As Racial Politics In São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil, Ariel Sloan
Black Identity Formation As Racial Politics In São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil, Ariel Sloan
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
What is Black identity in São Luis, Maranhão and how does the Centro de Cultura Negra do Maranhão use Bloco e Banda Afro Akomabu and Grupo de Dança Afro Abanjá to construct black identity with Afro- descendants in São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil? Through active participation in Bloco Afro Akomabu and Grupo de Dança Afro Abanjá rehearsals and performances, interviews with Bloco Afro Akomabu and Grupo de Dança Afro Abanjá leaders and participants, and interviews with CCN leadership, the process of black identity formation encouraged by CCN through its two cultural projects emerged as a definite progression. This progression includes the …
Los Afro-Descendientes De Buenos Aires: Mitos Y Realidades, William Cowles
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 …
“How To Change The World”: Writing An Online Sustainability Leadership Manual For Young Australians, Nina Sherburne
“How To Change The World”: Writing An Online Sustainability Leadership Manual For Young Australians, Nina Sherburne
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Under the direction of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership (CSL) in downtown Melbourne, VIC, three articles were written for the CSL online manual entitled “How to Change the World”. These articles contain straightforward, easy-to-read answers to questions young people have regarding sustainability and leadership in their community. The three questions include: “Should I register my not-for-profit? If so, how do I?”, “How do I fundraise for my organization? And do I need to register as a Fundraiser?”, and “How to I sell the idea of sustainability (or change in general) to my boss?”.
This online manual will remove the barriers …
Unholy Union: The Convergence Of Agendas Between The Gay Community And The Political Right-Wing In The Netherlands, Michael Wayne Perry
Unholy Union: The Convergence Of Agendas Between The Gay Community And The Political Right-Wing In The Netherlands, Michael Wayne Perry
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The introduction of immigrants from traditionally Islamic countries has created a new dynamic within the Dutch social system. Seemingly clashing with the established facade of Dutch “tolerance”, this group of Muslim immigrants has logically found a natural enemy within right-wing political parties. However, on a more interesting level, we see that the political agenda of the gay movement has seemingly converged with the agenda of those right-wing groups. In a sense, this convergence of agendas seems odd considering the general association of the gay movement with leftist, more progressive political movements. This study intends to examine this convergence of agendas; …
Memory, Place And Nation-Building: Remembering In The ‘New’ South Africa, Kate Ronan
Memory, Place And Nation-Building: Remembering In The ‘New’ South Africa, Kate Ronan
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The purpose of this project was to look at memory and memorialization in Cape Town in order to better understand the role of sites of memory and memory initiatives in the making of the ‘new’ South Africa. This study focuses on connections between memory and place and memory and identity. It also looks at the Cape Town landscape, the ways in which it has changed over time and contestations over sites on this landscape. This project was conducted as a social analysis project over the period of one month. Visits to monuments and museums, interviews with people involved in memory …
Khal: An Exploration Of The Language Around Blackness In Morocco, Rachel Leigh Johnson
Khal: An Exploration Of The Language Around Blackness In Morocco, Rachel Leigh Johnson
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Morocco has been described as a melting pot. While various ethnicities, religious beliefs, and languages merge and intermingle within the country, the language in the majority of Moroccan homes is Darijaa. The language itself is a mixture of the Amazigh language and classical and popular Arabic with some European elements. Additionally, Darijaa is the language through which the majority of Moroccans have come to understand the world and the people around them. It is also through this language that I will explore conceptions of blackness and black identity in Morocco. Through evaluating the words for “black” in Darijaa, I hope …
Returning Home: The Makings Of A Repatriate Consciousness, Hope Steinman-Iacullo
Returning Home: The Makings Of A Repatriate Consciousness, Hope Steinman-Iacullo
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The intention of my Independent Study Project was to learn more about what motivates some Afro Americans to repatriate here and/or return habitually and explore whether there were a diverse number of reasons and motivating factors. This aim and question was also put in a historical context. For instance, my research has shown that the Back to African movements of the past mostly aimed to be communal relocations, compared with the current condition of mostly individualistic moves. I also found that although not all of the participants in my project identified as followers of Garvey or Pan Africanism, they often …
Creating Dreams, Fighting For Rights: A Study With Centro De Cultura Negra Do Maranhão, Brazil, Laura Jenks
Creating Dreams, Fighting For Rights: A Study With Centro De Cultura Negra Do Maranhão, Brazil, Laura Jenks
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The history of race in Brazil is a long and complicated one which has resulted in a contemporary racial climate fraught with hidden racism and the systematic oppression of the entire black population. Because of this complex history, black movements in Brazil have struggled to gain political power and unified support from the black population. Today, the black movement is made up of many independent organizations, working in their own way to fight racism and inequality within Brazil. This research project looks at the work of one such organization of the Brazilian black movement, the Centro de Cultura Negra in …
Liberation Theology In The 21st Century: The Catholic Church, The Cpt, And Rural Movements In Southern Pará, Eleanor Sharp
Liberation Theology In The 21st Century: The Catholic Church, The Cpt, And Rural Movements In Southern Pará, Eleanor Sharp
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
This study explores the present-day manifestation of liberation theology in the south of Pará, Brazil. Liberation theology has been widely recognized as an important development in theology and Latin American history that helped spark social movements across South and Central America in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. In the Brazilian Amazon, progressive Church workers (mainly Catholic) have been historically aligned with movements to protect and regain land rights for poor rural workers. Because these movements and organizations are the primary defenders of human rights in this part of Brazil, researching the changing role of religion in their work is important …
La Recuperación De Ex-Centros Clandestinos De Detención Como Espacios De La Memoria: Un Estudio Acerca Del Caso Del Ex-Centro “Olimpo” En Buenos Aires, Katherine Jensen
La Recuperación De Ex-Centros Clandestinos De Detención Como Espacios De La Memoria: Un Estudio Acerca Del Caso Del Ex-Centro “Olimpo” En Buenos Aires, Katherine Jensen
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The last military dictatorship in Argentine history, from 1976 to 1983, implemented an institutionalized system of state terrorism that by the dictatorship’s end had permanently disappeared 30,000 of its citizens, as well as individuals from the rest of Latin America. The core of this system was the use of centros clandestinos de detención, tortura y extermino (clandestine centers of detention, torture and extermination) in which sequestered persons were tortured and then either disappeared or liberated. In the last few years, a movement has emerged to convert this former centers into espacios de la memoria (sites of memory). One such ex-center, …
What’S A Girl To Do: Repatriarchalization And Croatian Women’S Reproductive Freedom, Brittany Rast
What’S A Girl To Do: Repatriarchalization And Croatian Women’S Reproductive Freedom, Brittany Rast
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Croatia is a country in transition. After decades of officially minimizing differences between itself and the rest of the former Yugoslavia, Croatia is now fiercely fighting to establish its own unique identity. As part of that battle, Croats have embraced their folk traditions, and they have brought the Catholic Church back into prominence. Approximately 85% of Croatians are Roman Catholic, and the Croatian government and the Catholic Church have very strong ties (Drakulic 1993: 125). As is the case in many transitional countries, the embracing of folk culture and its norms, coupled with the resurgence of the Catholic Church has …
Resistant Cultures: Punk Identity And Anarchist Resistance In Three Yugoslav Successor States, Jeff Lambert
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.
Beauty Ideals & Body Image: Suva, Fiji, Melissa Kong
Beauty Ideals & Body Image: Suva, Fiji, Melissa Kong
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Fiji is a country rich with traditions and culture. For many decades, the two dominant ethnic groups in Fiji- Indo-Fijians and Indigenous Fijians- have maintained their distinct cultural values and practices. As a country that is currently experiencing westernization, technological advancement, and the influx of mass media, cultural traditions, lifestyles, and ideals are changing rapidly. One such change from the traditional past is the emergence of a new body ideal and different beauty standards. In this research project, connections will be made between the past and present in regards to body and beauty ideals in Fiji. The differences and commonalities …
El Movimiento De Mujeres Y Anamuri: Un Estudio De Caso, Stephanie Roberts
El Movimiento De Mujeres Y Anamuri: Un Estudio De Caso, Stephanie Roberts
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
In the past century, societies around the world found themselves confronting the cultural and political double standards that existed (and still do) with respect to women’s rights and participation. While many countries have tried to include women equally and without bias, the truth is that women’s participation continues to be below mark. In Latin America, as well as many other regions of the world, women fulfill an interesting double role—on one side, the very center of society itself, on the other, an underrepresented and often ignored majority. This essay investigates the role that women’s organizations play in Chile, focusing on …
Self-Employed, Self-Empowered: Working Women In Benares, Madeline S. Oatman
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 …
Effects Of Standardization On Cultural Identity And Community Involvement: Transgender Clients At The Vrije Universiteit Gender Clinic, Benjamin Davis
Effects Of Standardization On Cultural Identity And Community Involvement: Transgender Clients At The Vrije Universiteit Gender Clinic, Benjamin Davis
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
In the Netherlands, treatment for transsexual individuals has been institutionalized through the protocol established at the Vrije Universiteit Gender Clinic. However, for the population of transgender-identified individuals, those who transgress the gender binary and who identify among or in-between genders, the four phases of transition often do not suit their unique needs and expressions of gender identity. In this study, I examined the narratives of 9 trans-identified individuals who have utilized the services at the Gender Clinic. To supplement my analysis of these interviews, I spoke with S. Leigh Thompson, founder and acting director of the TransMasculine Community Network, Jos …
Messages Of Maternity: The Relationship Of State And Ngo Institutions To Reproductive Health Services And The Construction Of Family In Jordan, Julia Shatz
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
This project examines the ways in which family planning and reproductive health services and the institutions that provide them contribute to constructing definitions of family and motherhood in Jordan. The study is based on personal interviews conducted with representatives at six institutions – the Ministry of Health, the Higher Population Council, the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection, Queen Zein Al Sharaf Institute for Development, the Arab Women’s Organization, and the Jordanian Women’s Union. This paper addresses the issues of family planning as a method of population control, the integrated medical and educational approach currently popular in family planning …
Senegalese Family Values And Sos Village D’ Enfants, Shauna Davidson
Senegalese Family Values And Sos Village D’ Enfants, Shauna Davidson
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
My research studies the concept of family in Senegalese culture by examining family values and their place within families in an orphanage setting. I studied two orphanages in Senegal both run by the international organization SOS Village d’Enfants, one in Dakar and one in Kaolack. I spent a week in each orphanage doing participant observation and conducting interviews with the mothers of the homes in the orphanage. I also conducted other interviews to find out how the orphanage is run and to better understand the concept of family in Senegal from a religious perspective. I found out the importance of …
Living In The Margins: The Male Homosexual Experience In Salvador, Silvano Gonzalez
Living In The Margins: The Male Homosexual Experience In Salvador, Silvano Gonzalez
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Gay men across the world suffer through a reality of discrimination, violence, and hate. Academic literature supports this to be the case in Brazil, considered among many to be the world champion in the number of gay, lesbian and transsexual murders each year. Looking at the specific community of Salvador, Bahia, I have found this same homosexual reality to be the case. Though not experienced as directly as in other locations throughout Brazil, due in large part to the cities vast population and political activism, the effects of homophobia and prejudice are clearly demonstrated in this community.
My goal in …
Spectator To Actor To Multiplier: Edisca’S Humanizing Methodology, Hannah Mcdowell
Spectator To Actor To Multiplier: Edisca’S Humanizing Methodology, Hannah Mcdowell
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Augusto Boal, a Brazilian theater theorist and practitioner, transferred the means of production of theater to the oppressed. The oppressed, formally passive spectators filled by the elites’ images of the world, became liberated participants in the creation of dramatic action. Through “people’s theater,” Boal encouraged participants to critically analyze their relationships with the world and in the world through onstage action. EDISCA (Escola de Dança e Integração Social para Criança e Adolescente [School of Dance and Social Integration for Children and Adolescents]), located in Fortaleza, Brazil, introduces artistic languages to children and adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The youth then …