Anthropology Commons^™

Relocating Lubra Village And Visualizing Himalayan Flood Damages With Remote Sensing, Ronan Wallace, Yungdrung Tsewang Gurung, Ryan Kastner

Journal of Critical Global Issues

As weather patterns change worldwide, isolated communities impacted by climate change go unnoticed and we need community-driven solutions. In Himalayan Mustang, Nepal, indigenous Lubra Village faces threats of increasing flash flooding. After every flood, residual muddy sediment hardens across the riverbed like concrete, causing the riverbed elevation to rise. As elevation increases, sediment encroaches on Lubra’s agricultural fields and homes, magnifying flood vulnerability. In the last monsoon season alone, the Lubra community witnessed floods swallowing several agricultural fields and damaging two homes. One solution considers relocating the village to a new location entirely. However, relocation poses a challenging task, as …

Prioritizing Indigenous Participation And Compensation In Research, Amanda Sabin

Journal of Critical Global Issues

Throughout history, the dynamic between colonial entities and indigenous groups has been characterized by exploitation and power imbalance. Indigenous knowledge has the potential to positively impact the world, through medicinal breakthroughs, radical approaches to sustainability, cultural heritage, systems of learning and adaptation, and more. Particularly in the context of research, fields like anthropology, botany and pharmacology serve to benefit from indigenous knowledge, but these interactions cannot continue to be based on extraction at the cost of indigenous communities. This work will discuss the future of relationships between researchers and indigenous communities; how this power dynamic must be transformed into an …

Gallardo, Guisinde Y Hacer Puntas Agudas De Huesos De Guanacos: Un Análisis De Fuentes Etnográficas Sobre Tecnologías Elaboradas Sobre Materias Primas Duras De Origen Animal, Benjamin Van Rooy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Tierra del Fuego has been home to hunter-gatherer-fisher societies since time immemorial, and over time these societies developed quite distinct subsistence economies. Among these are the Yaghan and Selk'nam, who traditionally practiced nomadic hunting and gathering, with marine centered and pedestrian subsistence economies respectively. For these, they had developed a diverse and specialized assemblage of technologies. Among these technologies were those which came from bone and shell, which although well preserved in the archaeological record of Tierra del Fuego, remain poorly understood. For this study an analysis of a number of ethnographic sources was undertaken to compile data on these …

Lo Nuestro: Turismo Y La Revalorización De La Cultura Kichwa Karanki En La Parroquia De Angochagua, Daltin Danser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Utkalla yuyaykuna

Angochagua ayllu llaktapi, chiri suyu, Ecuador mama llaktamanta, kichwa Karanki runa kawsayka asha llaki kan, wakinka llukshishka ayllaktamanta hatun markakunaman yachana wasiman rinkapak, wakinka llamkakapak.

Chayra kay watakunapi shuk mushuk muyukuna wiñarikun Angochaguapi chikan mashikunata ñanta paskankapak.

Angochagua ayllu llaktaka kimichin chikan mashikunata, sumak allpata rikuchinkapak, shinallata runa kawsayta malichinkapak. 2022 watapi, Angochaguata riksichinkuna sumak llakta kashkamanta, 32 ayllu llaktakuna akllashka ashka hatun pachapi, Organización Mundial del Turismo tantanakuypi. Kay llamkayta rurankapakka achka mashikunata kay hawa tapurkani, kawsarkanipash kimsa hunkaykunata pakta pakta Potosi Chuquin ayllukunawan, Angochagua ayllu llaktapi.

Paykunawan allpapi llamkashpa, paykunawan mikushpa, maykunashina muskushpa. Kay llamkayka tantachin …

Social And Cultural Values In Alaskan Subsistence Management: Rurality And The Meaning Of “Meaningful” Natural Resource Management, Jarred Haynes

Capstone Collection

In Alaska, subsistence is a way of life for some communities. The Federal Subsistence Board (FSB) oversees the Federal Subsistence Management Program. One of its responsibilities is to determine areas as subsistence or non-subsistence areas. This decision, in part, is based on whether subsistence is a “principal characteristic of the economy, culture, and way of life”. (James A. Fall, Division of Subsistence, 2018). The federal policy grants these communities priority in the taking of wild resources (Title VIII of the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act). Interviews revealed factors of vulnerability and resilience, specifically in the context of subsistence. Scoones …

Common-Pool Resource Management And Conflict Resolution: A Case Study Of Two Self-Governed Irrigation Schemes In Ntcheu, Malawi, George Kasch

Capstone Collection

Contrary to conventional common-pool resource (CPR) theory – where it is presumed that strong central states must be the primary actors in regulating the commons – self-governed CPR theory is a method that enables the appropriators themselves to be the primary actors in designing and managing a given CPR. Irrigation systems are one on the most common examples of CPR sharing. Using Elinor Ostrom’s theory on self-governed CPR management and her Eight Design Principles, I examine the mechanisms by which two neighboring small-scale irrigation schemes in rural Malawi manage and govern common-pool water resources to contrast intra-scheme functions and the …

Grabbing The Paycheck: A Glimpse Into The Modern Economic Livelihoods Of Xe Máy Grab Drivers In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Maddie Davis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Woven into the very fabric of urban life in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam is commuting via motorcycle (Vietnamese: xe máy). The versatility of xe máy can be witnessed in the surge of rush hour traffic, the shipment of a great variety and quantity of goods, and the crunch of people in order to get the whole family atop a single bike. Due to xe máy as the primary way much of the population gets around, Ho Chi Minh City’s transportation infrastructure and traffic patterns are highly conducive to this method of transit. Resulting from these favorable conditions, a multitude …

El Significado Cultural De La Platería Mapuche Contemporánea, Anna Frankel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mapuche silver jewelry (rüxan) is one of the best known symbols of the Mapuche people and is an important aspect of their history and cultural tradition. Silver jewelry production reached its peak in the mid-19th century, but declined drastically with the Chilean invasion and annexation of Mapuche territory in 1883. Despite this loss, Mapuche rüxan and rüxafes (silversmiths) exist to this day.

I analyzed the modern use and relevance of mapuche jewelry to understand why this tradition has survived the repression and poverty the mapuche people have faced. I asked the question: What are the roles of silverware in the …

A Case Study Investigating Perceptions Of The Covid-19 Vaccine In Cato Manor And Chesterville, Caitlin Chan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite countries all over the world transitioning to life post COVID-19, there are still many aspects of the pandemic that remain controversial and hot topics of debate. Perhaps among one of the most debated subjects is the question of whether vaccinations are necessary and if they truly had an impact on eliminating the virus. The concept of vaccine hesitancy has become a growing concern and threatens the health of communities around the world.

This project employed a mixed-methodology research design to investigate attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine constructed by community members living in the townships of Cato Manor and Chesterville. …

Riding On Giants: Elephant Tourism In Chitwan National Park, Joshua Jacoves

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For the nearly 100 Asian Elephants (elephas maximus) in and around Chitwan National Park, life revolves and often depends around their interactions with humans. Since the advent of elephant tourism for the masses in around the 1980s, the elephants in and around the park have had a dramatic shift in their ways of life. This shift has also affected those who work intimately with these animals, the mahouts, or elephant keepers / riders, have also seen a complete shift in their role and livelihood. For those involved with this industry elephants are seen through different lenses; as an investment, as …

Aman Iman: Resilient Customs, Community Water Management, And Dry Futures In Anounizme, Morocco, Haley Kirtland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project explores how Anounizme, a village in southeastern Morocco, interacts with water. I was particularly curious about how traditional community management systems operate in the context of drought. I argue that the customary management system exhibits resiliency like it has in the face of Arabization, colonization, exploitative industry, and land privatization. It is capable of adapting to drought because it is more than a management system; it is a part of culture engrained as custom. Customs have porous boundaries, allowing a space for old aspects of culture to interact with both emerging aspects of culture and external pressures. I …

“For A Better Future”: The Impact Of Labor Migration On Families In Samoa, Rebekah Underwood

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research sought to investigate the motivations, benefits, and consequences of international labor migration on Samoan families. Seasonal worker schemes in New Zealand and Australia were generally found to be beneficial to families given the tangible and material benefits it provided to them. The benefits of remittances were found to have been multiplied through investment in the village of Poutasi to increase industry and job opportunities. A lack of economic opportunity in Samoa was implicated in the motivation and beneficiality of participation in labor schemes and may have increased due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Family was at the forefront of …

‘Too Shy To Talk About This Topic’: The Impacts Of Gender Conceptions On The Embodied Sexual Experiences And Perceptions Of Urban Vietnamese Students In Ho Chi Minh City, Lily Kafka

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper aims to articulate how ‘traditional’ gender roles are resisted, conformed to, and changed among youth within the context of Vietnam’s emerging market economy and consumer culture. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of how gender conceptions have progressed throughout Vietnamese history was a significant portion of my research. The data collection consisted of qualitative data through online surveys and in-depth interviews to understand the impacts of Vietnamese gender conceptions on the embodied sexual experiences and perceptions of university students in Ho Chi Minh City. My findings suggest that contemporary Vietnamese youth, specifically students residing in Ho Chi Minh City, are …

Feminism At The Borders: The Navigation Of Gender Issues By Mexican-American Women Along The U.S.-Mexico Border, Carolina Fuentes

Capstone Collection

Feminist movements have taken on various iterations since they first began, particularly as the movements expanded beyond predominantly Western and white spaces. This research study explores how gender equality is perceived and navigated along the U.S.-Mexico border area, taking into account the various Latin American and U.S. feminist developments that have shaped the current landscape of the border. 11 Mexican and Mexican-American women living in U.S.-Mexico border states were interviewed to gain an understanding of their definitions, perceptions, and opinions on feminism and gender-related issues given their bicultural contexts. These conversations revealed that ideas of rights and equality were central …

El Impacto De La Pandemia En La Formación De Los Hábitos De Alimentación En Niñes Pequeñes En La Villa 21-24 En Barracas, Buenos Aires / The Impact Of The Pandemic In The Creation Of Nutritional Habits In Young Children In Villa 21-24 In Barracas, Buenos Aires, Hannah Seewald

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Durante la Pandemia COVID-19 en Argentina, la inflación aumentó, y el desempleo aumentó especialmente entre los trabajadores informales, lo que dejó a muchos de ellos dependientes de los comedores comunitarios y de la ayuda nutricional para alimentar a sus familias. La violencia doméstica y la pobreza aumentaron aún más. Problemas estructurales como la falta de agua potable y los cortes de luz, situaciones que suelen enfrentar los habitantes de la Villa 21-24, Barracas, Buenos Aires, continuaron. Las escuelas se cerraron y la instrucción presencial se suspendió, en ese contexto los grupos comunitarios trabajaron para alcanzar los suministros adecuados de alimentos. …

“Somos Un Pueblo Fumigado”: Un Análisis De La Lucha Contra La Fumigación Y Sistema De Agronegocios En La Provincia De Buenos Aires, Samuel Brooks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación estudia el movimiento contra el sistema de monocultivo de soja transgénica, la fumigación con “agrotóxicos,” y los grandes agronegocios en la provincia de Buenos Aires. Con la información de tres entrevistas y una visita a un encuentro de habitantes de pueblos fumigados, examino los diferentes “marcos” que el movimiento tiene para describir las formas en que ellos expresan el problema actual, las soluciones que proponen, sus métodos para motivar a la gente, y la perspectiva del movimiento en general. También, incorporo perspectivas académicas para profundizar el análisis de las diferentes áreas de discurso en el movimiento y definir …

La Ciencia Deshumanizada: La Relación Humano-Ambiental Entre El Cadic-Conicet Y La Antártida, Ariel Silverman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Las investigaciones científicas reconocen cada vez más que los humanos tienen una relación recíproca con la naturaleza, donde cambios rápidos en uno produce inestabilidad en el otro (Mace, 2014). Los humanos y la Antártida son particularmente interdependientes considerando la vulnerabilidad de los servicios ecosistémicos antárticos al cambio climático antropogénico. El Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC) en Ushuaia, Argentina, es una institución importante en la producción del conocimiento sobre el continente. Por lo tanto, cómo lxs científicxs del CADIC perciben la relación de los humanos con la Antártida pueden afectar la manera en que la Antártida es afectada, y, en …

Héroes Anónimos: La Relación Entre La Gente Y Las Plantas Nativas En Río Grande, Argentina, Rachel Elliott

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio fue realizado para la Fundación Estepa Viva, Naturaleza y Ciudadanía con el fin de entender mejor cómo lxs residentes se relacionan con las plantas nativas y dónde ellas están ubicadas dentro de la ciudad de Río Grande, Argentina. Un total de 52 manzanas en 10 zonas de la ciudad fueron muestreadas en busca de 5 especies nativas clave: la lenga (Nothofagus pumilio), el ñire (Nothofagus antarctica), el guindo (Nothofagus betuloides), la mata negra (Chiliotrichum rosmarinifolium), and el calafate (Berberis microphylla). Además, se realizaron 50 entrevistas y se creó un mapa interactivo. Se observó que las plantas eran poco …

Políticas Visuales Y Acción Colectiva: Un Investigación Sobre Las Articulaciones Estético-Políticas En Manifestaciones De Arte Público En Ushuaia Y El Bolsón / Visual Politics And Collective Action: An Investigation Of Aesthetic-Political Articulations In Manifestations Of Public Art In Ushuaia And El Bolsón, Laura Woodhouse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Art in the public sphere is an integral tool of communication that transcends the vertical hierarchies of social organization by infiltrating the popular consciousness with disruptive mediums and reclamations of visual space. Because of the specific accessibility of a variety of forms of public art, for both creators and observers, manifestations of public art have become a popular method through which counter-hegemonic social narratives can be constructed and mediated; in Argentina, a profound history of disruptive art has has been intricately intertwined with an equally rich history of popular activism. With a focus in El Bolsón and Ushuaia, two localities …

Duelos Incompletos: La Situación Actual Del Acceso A Servicios De Salud Mental Para Los Sobrevivientes Del Conflicto Armado En Ayacucho, Olivia Frison De Angelis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La salud mental es un asunto relativamente nuevo en el Perú. En la ciudad andina de Ayacucho en la provincia de Huamanga, el gobierno solamente empezó a financiar proyectos de salud mental accesibles a las comunidades campesinas en los últimos seis años, desde 2016. Considerando que la región de Ayacucho ha sufrido el número más alto de muertes y desaparecidos durante el conflicto armado interno de 1980 hasta 2000, es atroz que estas medidas han empezado tan tarde. Entretanto, mientras que las conversaciones avanzan sobre cómo seguir haciendo reparaciones de salud mental a los sobrevivientes del conflicto, ellos siguen con …

(Witch) Crafting Identity: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of The Dutch National Identity Through Women In Haunted History, Hallie Kamosky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This autoethnographic study analyzes the presentation of women in haunted history in order to dissect the construction of the Dutch national identity. Through a personal narrative experience, the art, museums, tourist enterprises, and physical locations that constitute the city of Amsterdam are put in conversation with one another in order to draw out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the Dutch narratives of progress. Firstly, the Spin Huis and the ghost story connected to it are juxtaposed to the City of Amsterdam’s narrative in order to draw out themes of sexual exceptionalism at the expense of foreign bodies. Next, the Amsterdam …

Jabaaru Immigré Ak Goor Jaarin: Migration, Marriage, And Emigrants’ Wives In Senegal, Sophia Patterson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research studies the community of women in Senegal whose husbands migrate to other countries for work. I examine how migration has impacted their marriages and their understanding of their roles as wives. I aim to answer the following question: How does migration affect women’s relationships with their husbands, their roles and responsibilities as wives, and their standing in society? To answer this question, I interviewed six women whose husbands work abroad. Before interviewing these women, I will arrange an initial conversation so we can get to know one another. This pre-interview also will allow me to determine other potential …

Perceptions Of The Efficacy And Trustworthiness Of Faith-Based Organizations And Secular Ngos In Mgwashi, Bumbuli District, Tanzania, Naomi Tomlin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigated perceptions of faith-based organizations (FBOs) compared to secular non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Mgwashi, Bumbuli District, Tanzania. Perceptions were sorted into two categories: efficacy of services and trustworthiness. This study also examined gender and religion to determine potential influences on perceptions of trustworthiness and efficacy.

This study conducted 72 interviews of Mgwashi residents (18 Muslim men, 18 Muslim women, 18 Christian men, and 18 Christian women). Participants were asked for their opinions on the trustworthiness and efficacy of secular NGOs and FBOs with which they had experience. Then, those who had experience with both types (n=41) were asked …

Factors Driving Changing Community Acceptance Of Gays And Lesbians In Cato Manor, Kwazulu-Natal, Isabella Van Der Weide

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Acceptance of LGBTQ people is an important and encouraging area of social progress. As attitudes change in South Africa and across the world, it is important to understand the drivers of change and how that change is experienced within communities. Using both semi-structured interviews (n=19) and collection of survey data (n=30), this study interrogated the factors that formed and changed views on gay and lesbian people among respondents from a community in Cato Manor, a peri-urban area near Durban, South Africa. About half of all participants reported an opinion change. Interview participants who experienced opinion change most commonly reported the …

Domesticated: Migrant Domestic Workers In Jordan And Their Place In Jordan’S Law And Homes, Jeromel Dela Rosa Lara

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to bring attention to the labor conditions for migrant women domestic workers and what agency they have in the workplace (the home of their employers) and the law in Jordan. Jordan is considered as having a model labor law for migrant workers in the region. Officials from the Ministry of Labor have claimed that this makes the Kafala System––a system of labor that puts migrant workers under the care, standards, and control of the employer––non-existent in the country. This study will look further on the extent that this is reflected to the experiences of …

Can Joy Be Racialized? Analyzing How Ghanaians Conceptualize Joy, Zakiyyah (Zaza) Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The racialization of joy is one’s own experience of joy being tied to their racial, and ethnic identity. Inspired by the concept of Black joy, which is an example of the racialization of joy, this paper aims to understand how Ghanaian university students conceptualize joy and whether they would consider their experience of joy to be influenced by their racial/ethnic identity. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). In addition, photography was used as a methodology to capture images of Black people experiencing joy …

Restoring Dignity In The Gardens Of Ekhenana, Jordan Buser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study investigates the lived experiences of eKhenana, a shack settlement under the leadership of Abahlali baseMjondolo, as they attempt to navigate the increasingly unequal urban landscape. The research presented is focused on theories of urban marginality, food sovereignty, and dignity. I advocate that, in the margins, dignity can be restored through the implementation of a communal garden. Presented as a case study, this research centers the voices and experiences of the commune. The paper first depicts a brief timeline of eKhenana, and explains how they have created not just a place to live, but a community and a …

The Maps Of Us: Generational Trauma, Community Building, And Creative Resistance In Amman, Jordan, Neha Malik

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research study focuses on the intersections of generational trauma, community-building, and creative resistance to observe the impacts of intergenerational trauma on social-political processes, including the role of community spaces and creativity in building social movements in Amman, Jordan. Understanding the implications of generational trauma can help bring an understanding of its prevalence, what populations need to thrive in the face of generational trauma, organizing successful social movements, and the political implications of generational trauma in Jordanian society. By conducting interviews with local Palestinian families, psychologists, activists, community leaders, and creatives, the research study found that generational trauma plays a …

Los Impactos Del Cambio Climático En Las Comunidades Aymaras En Putre, El Valle De Azapa Y Arica, Lindsey Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How is climate change affecting Aymara communities in Putre, the valley of Azapa, and Putre?

Objectives: To understand the effects of climate on communities by 1) describing which environmental problems exist and their impact on agriculture and ranching, 2) understanding the patterns of migration away from the ancestral land, 3) exploring the connections to the social determinants of health that exist with these change, and 4) analyzing the significance of these changes in the agriculture for the communities’ traditions and connection to the land.

Background: Aymara communities have historically inhabited agricultural and ranching lands in …

La Política Cultural Del Aborto: Las Percepciones Y El Manejo Del Aborto En Arica, Chile, Eva Strelitz-Block

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chile has a long history of restricting access to legal abortion. Until 2017, when the government passed the law N° 21.030 decriminalizing abortion on three grounds, abortion was completely illegal. However, despite this movement towards decriminalization, legal abortion access is still very limited and highly restricted. In this criminalized, highly stigmatized environment, self-managed abortion has emerged as a way to transform the landscape of abortion. This qualitative, exploratory study seeks to explore perceptions of abortion and practices of abortion management both within and outside of the official healthcare system among women and people with the capacity to become pregnant and …