Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

A Tale Of Two Priests And Two Struggles: Liberation Theology From Dictatorship To Democracy In The Brazilian Northeast, Jan Hoffman French

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Land for the landless, food for the hungry, literacy for the uneducated— not through charitable works, but by forcing the state to take seriously its responsibilities to its poorest citizens. This was integral to the theology of liberation as it was practiced by bishops, priests, and nuns in Brazil beginning shortly after the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Important sectors of the Brazilian Catholic Church were “opting for the poor” at a time when economic development, modernization, and democracy were not considered appropriate or meaningful partners in the repressive environment characterized by the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985).

Photojournalistic Manipulations Of Reality: The Power Over Knowledge, Valerie Friedman

Honors Theses

This project is an anthropological study on how students at Colby College interpret photojournalistic images and news media. Using extensive literature, I strove to find a better understanding of how news agencies and the media control the flow and availability of information. Through fieldwork and numerous research methods, I wanted to understand how students formed relationships with images and news stories they encountered. This paper shows how the media and images people see in the news controls the minds and ideas of the public. Newspapers, magazines, the radio, internet sites, television broadcasts, and other forms of news media are primary …

Book Review Of, Mark Whitaker. Learning Politics From Sivaram: The Life And Death Of A Revolutionary Tamil Journalist In Sri Lanka, Michele Ruth Gamburd

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book "Learning Politics from Sivaram: The Life and Death of a Revolutionary Tamil Journalist in Sri Lanka," by Mark Whitaker.

The "Visions Of Pele" Competition And Exhibit At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Jeremy Spoon

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article provides an overview of the "Visions of Pele" competition and exhibit at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

World War I Turkish Prisoner-Of-War Beadwork, Jane A. Kimball

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Drawing on the rich tradition of textile crafts in the Ottoman Empire, Turkish soldiers incarcerated in British prison camps in the Middle East during and immediately after World War I made a variety of beadwork items to relieve the boredom of their prolonged imprisonment and to barter or sell for food and other amenities. Best known are the bead crochet snakes and lizards, but the prisoners also used loomed and netting techniques to produce necklaces, belts, purses, and other small items.

This Sporting Life: Sports And Body Culture In Modern Japan, William W. Kelly, Atsuo Sugimoto

CEAS Occasional Publication Series

Yale CEAS Occasional Publication Series - Volume 1

Sports in Japan have long been embedded in community life, the educational system, the mass media, the corporate structures, and the nationalist sentiments of modern Japan. For over a century, they have been a crucial intersection of school pedagogy, corporate aims, media constructions, gender relations, and patriotic feelings. The chapters in this book highlight a wide range of sports, and together, they offer a significant window on to the ways that the sporting life animates the institutions of modern Japan.

Houses Great And Small: Reevaluating The 'House' In Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Carrie Heitman

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In recent years, a growing number of archaeologists have explored the potential of expanding Lévi-Strauss’ concept of house societies to better understand specific archaeological contexts. Looking specifically at the classificatory distinction between “great houses” and “small houses” within Chaco Canyon (A.D. 850–1180), I suggest this theoretical model might yield new insights with regard to four symbolic dimensions of house construction: the use of wood, directional offerings, resurfacing practices, and the bones of ancestors. Using Puebloan ethnographic literature and cross-cultural comparisons, I suggest a house model analysis may serve to integrate anomalous “ceremonial” dimensions of house construction in an effort to …

Two-Faced Racism: Whites In The Backstage And Frontstage, Leslie H. Picca, Joe R. Feagin

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Racial events that reveal the larger forces of racism in society are common and obvious in the sociospatial realm we term the backstage, especially in situations where whites interact with white friends and relatives. Backstage settings, where interactions typically take place among whites only, involve an array of complex interactions and performances. There we observe all dimensions of racial events-- indications of who is allowed and not allowed in the backstage, what racialized performances are tolerated or expected there, the sociospatial character of contexts, the impact of conventional racial framing, and the pervasive influence of the larger society. Here we …

Great And Little Traditions: A Framework For Studying Cultural Interaction Through The Ages In Jordan, Oystein S. Labianca

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

L’Espace Sexué Dans Riwan Ou Le Chemin De Sable De Ken Bugul, Antje Ziethen

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

In Riwan ou le chemin de sable by Ken Bugul, the protagonist lives in the interstice between her own house and that of her husband’s, between the life of a woman educated in Europe and the life of a wife subjected to the laws of mouridism. In her circular movement along the sandy road evoked in the novel’s title, she gradually creates a space that allows her to reconcile the two facets of her identity. Merging different genres, stories and languages, the text itself enacts the symbolism of the road as a transitional sphere.

La Représentation Du Politique Dans La Littérature Gabonaise, Jean René Ovono Mendame

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

From which viewpoint do Gabonese writers relate to the realities of the political and social policies of their country and what place do political players occupy in their works? Why do they hesitate so much to denounce the problems of their society? Why is there such a pronounced silence within their literary works? This article raises these delicate and complex questions. The report produced on the evolution of Gabonese writing affirms that writers’ silence is the product of self-censorship. They are condemned to fear saying anything, not only because of potential reprisals, but because they are, for the majority, political …

Incisal Dental Microwear Of The Prehistoric Point Hope Communities: A Dietary And Cultural Synthesis, Kristin L. Krueger

Masters Theses

The prehistoric coastal communities of Point Hope, Alaska have been considered important Arctic archaeological sites since their initial excavations in 1939. The majority of the archaeological artifacts are grouped into two temporally distinct cultural components, the Ipiutak (2100-1500BP) and the Tigara (800-300BP). Although debated, Arctic archaeologists have suggested that the Ipiutak depended heavily on land mammals with only seasonal reliance on sea mammals, whereas the Tigara relied primarily on sea mammals including whales. While both groups clearly utilized foraging subsistence economies, the contrasts in their food acquisition strategies would have placed different demands on the males and females, particularly with …

The Analysis Of Ceramic Symbolism From The First Street Site In Barbados, Aya Hashimoto

Masters Theses

The expression of race and racism in material culture is of increasing interest in historical archaeology ( e.g., Epperson 1990, 1999, 2000; Mullins 1996, 1999). This study investigates 6 ceramic sherds from one vessel associated with a white urban domestic site on First Street, in Holetown Barbados. This vessel conveys a racist message. A black slave in a loincloth serving tea to a white person is transfer printed on the ceramic. The ceramic seems to be an annular designed pearlware from England in the first half of the 19^th century.

By interpreting the meanings of the ceramic decoration, this …

Putting The Ninth Ward On The Map: Race, Place, And Transformation In Desire, New Orleans, Rachel Breunlin

Anthropology Faculty Publications

In this article, we consider how long-term patterns of resistance to structural violence inform citizens’ responses to displacement before and after Katrina. Drawing on Abdou Maliq Simone’s (2004) conceptualization of people as infrastructure, we recenter the discussion about the rebuilding of New Orleans around displaced residents, taking the place-making practices of members of a social club as a lens through which to examine the predicament of the city as a whole. Members have been generating alternative ways of thinking about and dwelling together in a restructuring city. Their perspectives are articulated through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and the embodied practices …

Home On The Range: Case Study Of Kham Nomadic Peoples And The Litang Region, Katelyn Ransom

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Grey Suit Or Brown Carhartt: Narrative Transition, Relocation, And Reorientation In The Lives Of Corporate Refugees, Brian Hoey

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Research

This article examines relocation stories of people who leave behind corporate work culture, relocate from metropolitan areas to small towns and rural places, and attempt to reorient themselves to work and family obligations. Decisions to start over take place within the context of moral questions about what makes a life worth living and what does not through a process in which geography has a bearing. For these migrants, a choice about where to live is also one about how to live. Choices of how to live one's life are made of more than simple economics, they are also moral. The …

Playing And Eating Democracy: The Case Of Puerto Rico's Land Distribution Program, 1940s-1960s, Ismael Garcia-Colon

Publications and Research

In the early 1940s, the colonial government of Puerto Rico with the consent of the U.S. federal government began to elaborate a land reform. Under Title V of the Land Law of 1941, the government established resettlement communities for landless families. One of their goals was to transform landless agricultural workers into an industrial and urban labor force by teaching them “democratic, industrial, and modern” habits. Government officials distributed land to landless families through lotteries, portraying the ceremonies as acts of democracy. Community education programs produced literature, films, and posters aimed at fostering development and political participation. The colonial state …

The Bloomberg Way: Development Politics, Urban Ideology, And Class Transformation In Contemporary New York City, Julian Brash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the links between a development project, a particular urban ideology, and processes of class transformation in contemporary New York City. The city's postindustrial transformation, especially since the 1970s fiscal crisis, has created a newly dominant corporate elite consisting of executives and high-level professionals. This ruling class alliance has begun to supersede the city's older, real estate-centered traditional growth coalition, as emblematized by the political rise of billionaire ex-CEO Michael Bloomberg. Mayor Bloomberg, along with other ex-corporate executives in his administration, implemented a private-sector inspired corporate, technocratic, and antipolitical approach to governance in general and urban and economic …

Understanding Chaco: A Digital, Archival Approach, Stephen Plog, Carrie Heitman

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

MANY ASPECTS OF Chacoan prehistory remain unclear due to the inaccessibility of unpublished excavation records and photographs for the earliest excavations and explorations. As a result, key unanswered questions about the nature of Chaco itself and individual Chaco villages and towns—small- rather than large-scale issues—have become more, rather than less, significant over time. Despite the magnitude of the excavations at Pueblo Bonito and Pueblo del Arroyo and the amount and range of materials recovered, our knowledge of why these sites were built and how they were used remains remarkably uncertain or, at best, highly contested. To explore some of these …

Professional Ethics: Forensic Anthropology And Human Rights Work, Jana Webb

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Human rights forensic anthropology does not have an ethical code developed specifically for this field. Currently, forensic anthropologists look to ethical codes in different fields. These codes may offer differing opinions. They do not address the specific work and issues forensic anthropologists may encounter in the field. An analysis of existing ethical codes in anthropology and forensic science was done to show which areas of the code were applicable to human rights forensic anthropology. Areas that these codes needed to address were also demonstrated. It was found that there was an emphasis on honesty and responsibility. Professionals had responsibilities to …

Nationalism, Law, Gender And Sexuality: An Anthropological Study Of U.S. Military Culture Among Veterans, Elizabeth R. Gwin

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This study looks at the ways that sexual and gender identities are constructed through the translation of military experience into the veteran culture of a VA hospital, taking into account the influences of US nationalism in both military and civilian culture. Through life-history interviews, formal vocabulary association exercises, and informal participant observation carried out over the course of three months in 2006, questions about how the VA culture encourages or discourages certain displays of gender and sexual identity through its policies as well as its unofficial customs and traditions are identified and explored. The emergence of a new, unofficial “uniform” …

Representations Of Native American Women In Museums, Heather Lauren Knapp

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

For centuries, Native American women have been presented in a variety of stereotypical manners, from the “squaw–drudge” workhorse to the “Indian princess.” From literature to film, they have been presented often in less-thandignified ways and usually in subservience to their fellow men. Another way in which these perceptions may have infiltrated the minds of the average American adult or child is through the tours and displays of the many museums offering exhibits on Native Americans across the country. This thesis focuses on the representations of Native American women in a selection of such museums. With the aim of experiencing the …

Contemporary Art In Samoa: The Role Of Personal Expression, Christina Cioffari

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Contemporary art is a means of creating and recreating the self, a means of self reflection and defining ones identity. Conceptual art that expresses personal ideas and emotions plays a small role in the arts of Samoa, however it does exist in the minds and galleries of a few individuals. The intention of this study is to examine the role that personal expression plays in Samoan society and the artwork created here. The attitudes and approaches to contemporary art was explored, in addition to the underlying causes of those perceptions.

The foundation of this paper evolved out of statements from …

Male Istine: A Collection Of Short Stories And Prose Exhibiting Pre-War Lifestyles, Experiences, Ideals, & Memories, Adriana Lebaron

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Cubans In Costa Rica: A Collection Of Life Stories, Adriana Solis Black

McNair Scholars Research Journal

This ethnographic essay examines the experiences of Cuban immigrants living in Costa Rica. The study aims to examine the degree of adjustment, adaptation, integration and/or assimilation of Cubans living in the small city of San Isidro del General in southern Costa Rica. This group represents a minor body of immigrants for whom Costa Rica serves as a country of first asylum and potentially as their new, adoptive homeland. Some major theoretical considerations and analytic themes that emerge out of this work are the issues of immigrant identity through the displaced people’s perspective; issues of separation from one culture and introduction …

El Arte Ngöbe De La Chácara: Su Significado Cultural Y Potenciál Financiero En Una Asociación De Artesanas, Danica Taber

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the role played by traditional, plant-derived bags known as “chácaras” or “kra” in the Ngöbe indigenous culture of Panamá, with a focus on the market for chácaras as experencied by a Ngöbe women’s artesanal association.

Chácaras have played an integral and versatile part in the lives of the Ngöbe for centuries, functioning to carry heavy loads of bananas, cradle babies while they sleep, and everything in between. However, in recent decades the previously isolated Ngöbe culture has experienced exposure to mainstream Latino culture, resulting in a dwindling cultural regard for chácaras and traditional Ngöbe culture as a …

True Sons Of Erin: Catholic/Nationalist Ideology And The Politics Of Adventure In Our Boys 1914-32, Michael Flanagan

Doctoral

Conservative Irish society perceived itself to be under threat from a variety of “foreign“ cultural expressions in the decades around the turn of the twentieth century. The “sensational” nature of newspapers and periodicals produced for the broader metropolitan market and espousing the values of a more urban and less controlled society were particular sources of concern for Irish Catholics, as was the musical hall and the newly available cinema publications. The Christian Brothers entered the leisure reading market in September 1914 with their own magazine, Our Boys. The primary focus of this publication was to compete with the imperial and …

Arte En Las Calles, Graffiti En Granada: Un Movimiento En Cambio, Alyson Virginia Visser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

¿Qué significa arte? Esta es la pregunta más popular en todas las clases básicas de historia del arte del mundo. ¿Cómo podemos definir el fenómeno de arte? Hay miles de argumentos de lo que puede ser arte, de lo que deberían enseñar en los museos de bellas artes. A lo largo de historia, ha habido artistas de todas las formas cambiando las “reglas” de lo que es aceptado como arte en la sociedad. Ahora mismo, en el siglo XXI, la mayoría de la sociedad puede comprender el arte como una expresión con un mensaje del artista, hecho sobre algún material …

Here, There, And Everywhere: Tale-Ing Liz Weir; Uses Of Storytelling In Northern Ireland Today, Leanne Gaffney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Interpreting Their Blood: The Contradictions Of Approaches To Menstruation Through Religious Education, Ritual And Culture In Rabat, Morocco, Nitzan Ziv

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Menstruation is often perceived by individuals of different cultural and religious backgrounds as dirty or impure, and therefore has become a demeaning feature of womanhood. The dialectical concepts of purity and impurity are integral parts of Islamic religion, thought and practice as they draw lines between those things sacred and those profane. Women’s religious education, in particular, is critical in establishing positive reinforcement for their perceptions of their physical selves and their role in society. However, education in this manner cannot be limited to schools and religious institutions; family and culture are integral parts of a women’s education about subjects …