International and Area Studies Commons^™

Ritual Among The Scilohtac: Global Catholicism, The Nacirema, And Interfaith Studies, Anita Houck

Journal of Global Catholicism

More than six decades after its publication, Horace Miner’s 1956 article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” remains a reliable pedagogical tool, remarkably successful in helping students see their own ethnocentric biases. Catholics & Cultures has potential to do similar work. The site lacks some of what makes Miner’s text so effective, in particular its capacity to bring about a sudden shift in perception. The site also shares some of the article’s limitations, particularly in focusing on ritual to the relative exclusion of other aspects of religion. That said, the site can help students gain the religious literacy and develop the …

Focus On The Busy Intersections Of Culture And Cultural Change, Laura Elder

Journal of Global Catholicism

The dynamics of religious resurgence reveal the important ways that religious ritual and performance are meaning making spaces which are not self-contained or cut off from the rest of culture, but rather are a key locus of cultural change. A renewed emphasis on the busy intersections of meaning making – as rituals are connected, disconnected, and reconnected to other domains of social life – would improve the utility of the Catholics & Cultures website for understanding global cultural change. And a renewed emphasis on cultural change would also provide a better means for exploring reflexively by seeking to understand both …

A Widened Angle Of View: Teaching Theology And Racial Embodiment, Mara Brecht

Journal of Global Catholicism

Today’s undergraduate students are digital natives, shaped by constant access to information and countless experiences of encountering the world through the convenience of a screen. The ostensible comfort students have with difference gives way to a paradox, and one that’s made especially apparent in the theology classroom: Students are comfortable with seeing difference and particularity at a distance, but not adept at locating difference and particularity “at home.” I contend that Catholics & Cultures can help students from the dominant culture—namely, white students who comprise the vast majority of Catholic college students—destabilize their notion of the Catholic tradition as tightly …

Introducing Catholics & Cultures: Ethnography, Encyclopedia, Cyborg, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

In introducing the Catholics & Cultures site and the articles in this special issue, this essay initially locates the overall Catholic & Cultures project within the traditions of ethnography and encyclopedia. Drawing extensively on the work of J. Z. Smith, this essay reflects upon the theoretical implications of emphasizing the diversity of Catholicism in and through a web-based platform that facilitates comparative study and pedagogy. This essay then more specifically considers the web-based aspects of Catholics & Cultures by identifying a nascent cyborgian aesthetic in the site and considering how the site might eventually engage post-modern themes and concerns.

Book Review Of Eating Nafta: Trade, Food Policies, And The Destruction Of Mexico By Alyshia Gálvez, Laura Kihlstrom

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

This is a book review of the book 'Eating NAFTA: Trade, Food Policies, and the Destruction of Mexico' by Alyshia Gálvez.

Participatory Mapping With High-Resolution Satellite Imagery: A Mixed Method Assessment Of Land Degradation And Rehabilitation In Northern Burkina Faso, Colin Thor West, Elisabeth Kago Ilboudo Nébié, Aaron J. Moody

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

Sahelian West Africa is a region that has high population densities and that has frequent severe droughts and enormous pressure on natural resources. Because of these challenges, it is the place where the term desertification was originally coined. Recently, however, experts have identified large zones of greening where the amount of vegetation exceeds what one would expect based on rainfall alone. This pattern is well documented, but its mechanisms remain poorly understood. This research employs participatory mapping linked with high-resolution satellite imagery to better understand the human role behind regional vegetation trends. Through a case study of three communities in …

Should The State Of Israel Pursue Krav Maga As An Intangible Cultural Heritage Of The Jewish People? History And Politics Say Yes., Guy Mor, Andrea Molle

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Krav Maga (‘contact combat’) is an Israeli combat discipline arguably one of the many intangible cultural heritages of Israel and the Jewish people. It has played a unique role in the (re)creation and preservation of the Jewish identity and the formation of the state of Israel.

Recently we observe a growing academic literature debating the role of martial arts in international affairs and domestic political processes. It is the scope of this paper to contribute to this proposing a framework for understanding Krav-Maga as a means of cultural diplomacy as seen in other nations.

Factors Associated With Chronic Kidney Disease Of Non-Traditional Causes Among Children In Guatemala, Alejandro Cerón, Brooke M. Ramay, Luis Pablo Méndez-Alburez, Randall Lou-Meda

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Objective. To identify factors associated with chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes among children in Guatemala. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. The study population was all pediatric patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease active in FUNDANIER’s pediatric nephrology unit (N = 156). Simple random sampling led to a total of 100 participants. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire addressing individual and household characteristics, access and utilization of health care, and place of residence when the disease began. Chronic kidney disease etiology was obtained from medical records. Municipality-level secondary data were collected. Descriptive statistics were estimated. Logistic regression was …

Mortalidad Por Infarto Agudo De Miocardio En Guatemala 2018: Patrones E Inequidades, Alejandro Cerón, Gila Goldstein

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

El presente estudio busca analizar la mortalidad por infarto agudo de miocardio (IAM) en Guatemala con el propósito de identificar posibles criterios epidemiológicos que orienten la priorización de acciones de salud pública. El riesgo de morir de IAM en Guatemala muestra marcadas desigualdades por departamento, las que son aún más marcadas al comparar por municipio. El riesgo de morir es también más alto en personas mestizas o ladinas, en niveles educativos bajos, y en personas que se dedican a ocupaciones elementales. Deberían implementarse medidas de salud pública orientadas a los municipios y grupos en mayor riesgo de morir de IAM. …

Metaphoric Recursiveness And Ternary Ontology: Another Look At The Language And Worldview Of The Yaminahua, Carlos A. Segovia

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

My purpose in this paper is, first, to explore metaphorical recursiveness in Yaminahua, i.e. the latter’s folding of the common binary structure: {(x) things + (y) words} into the threefold scheme: (A) things + (B) external analogies + (C) internal metaphors, as displaying a multi-iconic semiotic system of the type: A ≈ [B] ≈ C, which is finally reduced to a twofold indexical system: A ← [B], contra Graham Townsley’s dismissal of semiotic theory as being of no relevance in contrast to cognitive construction. And, secondly, to show that within the traditional Yaminahua worldview "animism," "totemism," …

Peace And Conflict Studies Journal Conference, Christopher Appiah-Thompson

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

State Conspiracy And Counterterrorism Engagements In Nigeria: Changing The Peace Agenda Narratives, Victor Chidubem Iwuoha Dr., Jude Tochukwu Omenma, Celestine Uchechukwu Udeogu

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

No abstract provided.

Review Of Imitating Christ In Magwi: An Anthropological Theology, David A. Hoekema

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Framing The Border: Liminality In The Network Narratives Of Alejandro González Iñárritu, Muhammad Muzammal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores liminality conveyed as displacement before death in the network narrative films of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. Due to their depiction of existential crises and possibly fatal scenarios of several characters in different countries and regions, these network narrative films are colloquially referred to as the “Death Trilogy.” Therefore, rearranging the many strands of death-related abstractions and notions in these films around liminality becomes a jumping-off point to explore deeper layers of these works. Through interdisciplinary yet markedly film studies excavations, this thesis projects the liminal spaces of Iñárritu’s films onto border spaces. With borders considered as sites of …

We Cannot Heal What We Will Not Face: Dismantling The Cultural Trauma And The May '98 Riots In Rani P Collaborations' Chinese Whispers, Alberta Natasia Adji, Marcella Polain

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In May 1998, ethnic riots and widespread sexual violence occurred in several major Indonesian cities. Chinese-Indonesians were targeted and, since then, there has been an interest in feminist visual art created by Chinese-Indonesian diaspora in Australia. This article explores Chinese Whispers, a digital graphic novel by Rani Pramesti, a Chinese-Javanese-Indonesian actor and Melbourne-based performance maker, and her team of Indonesian-Australian collaborators. Applying solemn imagery, it narrates a young woman’s attempts at understanding cultural trauma that has marked both personal and public identities of Chinese-Indonesians. Imbued with black-and-white illustrations and interview transcripts, the digital graphic novel tries to answer questions …

Adjectives Pertaining To Good And Evil In The Tales Of The Brothers Grimm And Their Universal Values, Julia Wulandari, Setiawati Darmojuwono

International Review of Humanities Studies

The values of good and evil in the tales recounted by the Brothers Grimm are so universal that they have become an integral part of world literature. The research data for this paper was compiled from three tales, Aschenputtel (Cinderella), Rapunzel, and Schneewittchen (Snow White). This research project analyzed the language used in the stories to assess the values of virtue and evil that prevailed in reality in German society at the time the stories were compiled, and that are still valid today. This paper intends to describe the 19th century German concepts of good and bad, the pan-German values …

The Villas Boas Brothers And Anthropologists, John Hemming

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

This paper describes the history of the Villas Boas brothers of Brazil and their role in establishing and administering the 26,000-square-kilometer Xingu Indigenous Park in the Amazonian state of Mato Grosso. Many anthropologists came to work in the Park during the Villas Boas brothers’ decades-long residence there. The paper details some of the unique features of the Park that shaped fieldwork conditions and describes the relations between anthropologists and the brothers. Despite some skeptics, the great majority of anthropologists expressed a positive assessment of the brothers’ work. The article includes an appendix listing the anthropologists who worked in the Park …

Archaeobiogeography Of Extinct Rice Rats (Oryzomyini) In The Lesser Antilles During The Ceramic Age (500 Bce–1500 Ce), Marine Durocher, Violaine Nicolas, Sophia Perdikaris, Dominique Bonnissent, Gwenola Robert, Karyne Debue, Allowen Evin, Sandrine Grouard

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

During the Ceramic Age (500 BCE–1500 CE), Lesser Antilles rice rats (tribe Oryzomyini) made up a significant portion of the diet of Caribbean islanders. Archaeological excavations across the archipelago resulted to the discovery of large quantities of remains from to these now extinct taxa. It offers a unique opportunity to investigate the past biogeography of this taxon of high cultural and ecological importance. We have studied 1,140 first lower molars originating from 40 archaeological sites across eleven islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago using two-dimensional geometric morphometric approaches to establish spatiotemporal pat-terns relying on phenotypic variations. This study identified three …

Looking For Better: A History Of Black Southern Migrations, Selena Sanderfer Doss

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

A broad overview of migrations affecting black southerners is presented, including the Atlantic slave trade, the domestic slave trade, colonization movements to Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Exoduster movement, the Great Migration, and the Return South migration. Emigrants convey their experiences and motivations through testimonies and personal accounts. Surviving the trauma of forced migrations, black southerners organized numerous migration movements both outside and within American polities in search of better opportunities. In the late 20th century, black southerners also initiated a return migration to the American South and have since achieved notable socioeconomic and political progress.

Disrupted Identities And Forced Nomads: A Post-Disaster Legacy Of Neocolonialism In The Island Of Barbuda, Lesser Antilles, Sophia Perdikaris, Rebecca Boger, Edith Gonzalez, Emira Ibrahimpašić, Jennifer D. Adams

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

In the aftermath of the forced evacuation of the island of Barbuda due to Hurricane Irma, the Barbudan people have experienced an exile and return to a ‘new’ geographical, political, and economic context, albeit on the same island. With the specter of climate change and the potential impacts on island communities and nations, we use Barbuda, sister island of Antigua in the Lesser Antilles, to examine the trajectory of nomadic identities as they navigate changes that threaten contemporary land relationships and culture. Since its first permanent settlement in the 17th Century, the island geography of Barbuda has been fundamental to …

Understanding Struggles And Triumphs Of Widows In Central Nigeria: A Path To Communication And Economic Empowerment, Meredith Annette Garrison

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

One in ten African women age 15 or older are widows. Approximately 8 million widows live in Nigeria with many living in extreme poverty. Throughout the nation, widows are subjected to physical and psychological harm from their families and communities following the deaths of their husbands. Women are marginalized across Nigeria, but widowed women often experience ostracization and oppression that leads to poverty. Most widows rely on informal business and petty trading to survive but these ventures typically only bring in less than a $1 a day for a family. This dissertation critically examined the situation of widows in a …

The Rainbow Nation Vision: (Re)Constructing & (Re)Imagining South Africanness, Riley Crouthamel

Capstone Showcase

“Rainbowism” or the new form of nationalism inspired by Mandela’s “Rainbow Nation vision” emphasizes unity, equality, and non-racialism, and has become the dominant myth and metaphor by which South Africa is recognized in the post-apartheid era. Through an application of a theoretical framework that emphasizes the mythological and imaginative aspects of constructive nationalism and an analysis of Rainbowism’s rise to mythical dominance and evolution in the South African imaginary over the span of the past three decades of democracy using ANC “Rainbowist” discourses in both explicit and inexplicit ways, this thesis argues that Rainbowism arose as a counter myth in …

Effects Of States’ Laws On Youth Physical Activity Participation And Obesity Prevalence, Chae Young Chang

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The alarming prevalence of obesity and lack of physical activity among adolescents led to immediate policy action to address these concerns. Accordingly, many states introduced and enacted their own legislation to encourage physical activity in schools. Few studies have explored the effectiveness of the new legislation, however, especially at the state level. To answer the fundamental question of whether policy is effective and to describe the varying effects of state obesity policies, this study analyzed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System from 2007 to 2017. Using the difference-in-differences method, this study found that legislative efforts to encourage physical activity had …

Profitable Retail Customer Identification Based On A Combined Prediction Strategy Of Customer Lifetime Value, Yinglu Sun, Dong Cheng, Subir Bandyopadhyay, Wei Xue

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

As a fundamental concept of customer relationship management, customer lifetime value (CLV) serves as a crucial metric to identify profitable retail customers. Various methods are available to predict CLV in different contexts. With the development of consumer big data, modern statistics and machine learning algorithms have been gradually adopted in CLV modeling. We introduce two machine learning algorithms—the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) and the random forest (RF)—in retail customer CLV modeling and compare their predictive performance with two classical models—the Pareto/NBD (HB) and the Pareto/GGG. To ensure CLV prediction and customer identification robustness, we combined the predictions of the …

Gaming And Culture: How Videogames Can Affect Global Players' Preception And Understanding Of Japan's History And Culture, Garrett Davies

Capstone Showcase

Video game developers have the ability to create synthetic worlds. These are places where players have the ability to immerse themselves within a culture presented to them by the creators. This allows a global audience to participate in the expression and learning of culture but that may come at a cost. Focusing on Japan, I want to dive into how culture is presenting within video games, why it is presented in such ways, and what that means for players' perception of the country through play.

[Introduction To] Paradoxes Of Care: Children And Global Medical Aid In Egypt., Rania Kassab Sweis

Bookshelf

Each year, billions of dollars are spent on global humanitarian health initiatives. These efforts are intended to care for suffering bodies, especially those of distressed children living in poverty. But as global medical aid can often overlook the local economic and political systems that cause bodily suffering, it can also unintentionally prolong the very conditions that hurt children and undermine local aid givers. Investigating medical humanitarian encounters in Egypt, Paradoxes of Care illustrates how child aid recipients and local aid experts grapple with global aid's shortcomings and its paradoxical outcomes.

Rania Kassab Sweis examines how some of the world's largest …

Mortalidad Por Diabetes En Guatemala 2018: Patrones E Inequidades, Alejandro Cerón, Gila Goldstein

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

El presente estudio busca analizar la mortalidad por diabetes en Guatemala con el propósito de identificar posibles criterios epidemiológicos que orienten la priorización de acciones de salud pública. El riesgo de morir de diabetes en Guatemala muestra marcadas desigualdades por departamento, las que son aún más marcadas al comparar por municipio. El riesgo de morir es también más alto en mujeres, en personas mestizas o ladinas, en niveles educativos bajos, y en personas que se dedican a ocupaciones elementales. Deberían implementarse medidas de salud pública orientadas a los municipios y grupos en mayor riesgo de morir de diabetes. Este estudio …

The Human—Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca Fascicularis) Interface At Don Chao Poo Forest, Phana, Thailand, Ashton M. Asbury

All Master's Theses

When provisioned food is available, human-macaque coexistence may result in altered macaque behaviors and the possibility of bidirectional disease transmission through interspecies contact. Don Chao Poo forest in Thailand is a conservation site where ~ 1,000 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) live and interact with people, which includes being provisioned by volunteers and visitors. Phana macaques are habituated to human presence as a result of their frequent interactions with people. I tested whether 1) men and women are equally likely to have contact interactions with macaques, 2) adult and immature macaques are equally likely to have contact interactions with …

Her Story: Ecuadorian Women In New York City, Benjamin Chambers

Capstones

My Capstone Project is an 80-photo reportage about women of Ecuadorian origin living in New York City, including text and video elements. The project is broken down into a general introduction; four photo stories each with captions and story text; and two videos. The project is entitled:

HER STORY: ECUADORIAN WOMEN IN NEW YORK CITY

https://www.chambersphotojournalist.com/capstone/

Las Implicaciones De La Migración Transnacional Entre Estados Unidos / México Para El Desarrollo Profesional De Los Docentes: Perspectivas Antropológicas // The Implications Of Us/Mexico Transnational Migration For Teacher Professional Development: Anthropological Perspectives, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

La docencia suele ser una profesión para toda la vida. Las tareas, res- ponsabilidades y tradiciones que se inculcan a través de la formación del maestro y se refuerzan a lo largo de su desarrollo profesional permiten descubrir qué es lo que hacen y lo que tratan de hacer los maes-tros. Siempre existe una tensión entre lo que la sociedad en general espera, lo que interesa a los alumnos y lo que intentan llevar a cabo los maestros. Pero, estas brechas se hacen más hondas y complejas cuando se trata de alumnos que migraron de un país a otro. En …