Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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 …

Immigration: An Escalator To The American Dream Nicaraguans’ Experiences With Immigration To The United States In The Midst Of The War On Terror, Allison Koenker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Community Forestry In Oaxaca: An Assessment Of The Level Of Autonomy In Forest Decision-Making And Its Environmental And Economic Importance, Peter Gill

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

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

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 …

Desarrollo Turístico Y Sustentabilidad: Caso Villa Pehuenia Y La Comunidad Mapuche Puel, Sasha Shahidi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With limited resources and overpopulation on a global level, sustainable development is the only way that human beings will be able to survive on this earth. The problem is that the dominant model of development stresses the importance of economic profits in the short term and far too often exploits natural resources and less powerful cultural groups. This creates dangerous long-term affects as natural resources and indigenous cultures that depend on them continue to disappear with no plan, or possibility, to replace them. Sustainability seeks the least negative impacts possible on the natural environment and indigenous cultures in order to …

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 …

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, …

Growing ‘Black Diamonds’: The Role Of The Government In Small Business Development And Black Entrepreneurship, Will Houghteling

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

One of the most damaging and threatening legacies of the Apartheid system is the enormous wealth inequality gap that still persists today. The gulf between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ perpetuates problems of crime, educational attainment gaps and racial isolation and therefore minimizing this inequality is central to future economic stability and national success. In an effort to reconcile past injustices and create a more even and just wealth distribution the post Apartheid government focused on aiding black small business development and spurring entrepreneurship to as a sustainable route to economic growth and job creation. However, as various reports indicate, …

Expectativas De Alumnos De La Enseñanza Media: Un Análisis Del Nivel E Influencias De Las Expectativas De Estos Estudiantes En La Comuna De Quinchao, Chilé, Jennifer Mcnally

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This field study investigation analyzes student expectations in two different high schools located in the municipality of Quinchao, province of Chiloé, Chile. The main objective of the study attempts to confirm or negate that the principal influences that can motivate or unmotivate a student to continue studying in higher education reside in the culture, actors, and relationships of both school and family. Observations and personal interviews are used as qualitative measures, and two different surveys directed at both the students and teachers of each school are used and analyzed for the existence of statistical differences between different groupings of students. …

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.

Caring And Treating Post – Traumatic Stress Disorder In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Colleen M. Boley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a major issue whenever there is a war or natural disaster. From 1992 through 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina was subject to one of the most destructive wars of the 20th century. The groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina that are working with posttraumatic stress disorder are investigated to see if they are truly helping people with posttraumatic stress disorder. This paper explores the ways in which posttraumatic stress disorder has affected individuals and the societies of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the organizations attempting to help people dealing with posttraumatic stress disorder.

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.

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 …

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. …

Along The River Soumsoum: Urban Agriculture In Ngaoundéré, Winnie Fay Bell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With increasing urbanization large amounts of poverty is shifting from rural to urban centres, posing problems of unemployment and access to food. Due to this dynamic, urban poor all over the world have begun cultivating food in open areas in cities as a means of survival and in an attempt of securing food. With this in mind, this paper seeks to establish the place that urban agriculture holds in the small but rapidly expanding city of Ngaoundéré, in the Adamaoua Province of Cameroon. This is done through exploring the form, function and benefits of urban agriculture for those that partake …

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 …

Democracy On The Steppe: A Search For Active Local Citizenship In Rural Mongolia, Matthew D. Simonson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study seeks to understand how engaged Mongolia’s nomadic herders and other rural citizens are in local decision-making. To do so, we conducted over sixty interviews with rural citizens, local officials, and political experts. We also carried out two page-long written surveys which were filled out by nearly two hundred rural citizens in four provinces. Though many Mongolian political experts tend to dismiss local government as powerless and treat rural citizens as homogenous entity, our research has uncovered a remarkable diversity of opinion and activism at the local level. Through their participation in bag meetings and conversations with local officials, …

Economy Of Change: The Organic Market As A Model For Agricultural Development In India, Amanda White

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In India, 50% of children under five years of age are malnourished amidst a yearly surplus in grain production. Approximately 40% of food is lost in transport on a daily basis, yet the country has been able to prevent major famines for over 60 years. In a country with a GDP of 8-9% and an ever-growing presence on the international economic stage, these double standards cannot be tolerated. 260 million Indians live in extreme poverty, and 40% of those depend mainly on agricultural labor. This sector accounts for approximately 26% of India’s GDP, and provides employment for about 70% of …

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 …

The Effects Of Space On Sex Worker Experience: A Study Of Amsterdam’S Red Light District, Hannah Koski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report is the outcome of a month-long exploratory study on the ways in which a space influences the experiences of the sex workers operating within it, using the Red Light District in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, as the site of focus. Data was obtained by way of qualitative methods including focused interviews and unstructured observation and analyzed with a pro-prostitute perspective and within various spatial theoretical frameworks. It is concluded that while the clustering and visibility of sex workers in the Red Light District results in a certain standardization of practice and experience, the independent nature of window sex work …

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 …

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 …

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 …