Sociology Commons^™

Análisis De “Proyecto Mirlo”: Aprendiendo A Acoger Al “Desconocido”, Abigail Bissette

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the fall and early winter of this year, I volunteered with a program called, “Proyecto Mirlo,” which is a small part of a larger organization, “Caritas,” whose focus is providing support to marginalized groups of people in Spanish society. Proyecto Mirlo is a subsection that provides free language classes for immigrants, as well as food and, in extreme cases, financial help. In my volunteer work, I taught basic Spanish classes to an eighteen-year-old immigrant from Senegal. As my student grew in his language proficiency, I grew in my teaching proficiency, especially on the discovery of teaching resources that I …

La Cara De La Explotación: Un Estudio De La Industria Minería En El Sur De La República De Ecuador, Jillian Howell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mi viaje continúo al sur oriente a la ciudad de Macas en la provincia de Morona Santiago, a dónde había una reunión del Programa de Pequeños Donaciones (PPD) de las Naciones Unidas - Proyecto de Desarrollo (UNDP) sobre los pequeños proyectos sostenibles en el sur de Ecuador. Unos de estos proyectos era sobre mitigando de los impactos ambientales de los mineros artesanales de La Pangui y Congüime en el Cordillera del Cóndor. Yo visité este proyecto una semana después, cuando fui a La Pangui y viví una noche con la familia del presidente de una asociación de los mineros artesanales. …

Una Lucha Por Valor Y Dignidad: La Situación Actual De Trabajadoras De Hogar En Bolivia = A Struggle For Value And Dignity: The Current Situation Of Domestic Workers In Bolivia, Jenny Kauffman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El gobierno actual de Bolivia tiene una retórica de cambiar el poder en el país para dar más capacidad y una voz más fuerte a la gente marginalizada. Esta investigación entra a este tema para entender cómo estas ideas e ideologías del estado han afectado las vidas de los bolivianos. Para examinar la relación entre los ciudadanos y el estado, la investigación explora las realidades de las vidas de trabajadoras de hogar. La situación actual de trabajadoras de hogar es muy pertinente porque ellas viven los efectos de una confluencia de tensiones entre Bolivia. Basado en entrevistas con varias trabajadoras …

Cultural Tourism In Mjini Ole, Pemba: A Case Study In Its Establishment And Marketing, Peter Rashid Clabby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to attempt to better outfit the Kidike Pemba Flying Fox Ecotourism Center of Pemba Island, Zanzibar, in order to increase its appeal to a wider audience of tourists and to benefit the surrounding community of Mjini Ole. This goal was specifically carried out by establishing and marketing cultural tourism under the Kidike brand. In Kidike’s initial condition, guests were able to see the roost site of this endemic giant fruit bat – the Pemba Flying Fox – and continue on to see historical ruins and a mangrove forest, but the presentation and experience as …

Les Impacts De L’Éco-Tourisme Sur La Population De Ranohira: Étude De Cas Du Parc National De L’Isalo, Benjamin Cook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

À Madagascar, une île dans l’Océan Indien, le tourisme et les installations touristiques sont en processus de développement. Alors que certains étrangers profitent du climat tropical pour aller à la plage, d’autres passent le temps dans l’un des 20 parcs nationaux, tous connus pour la flore et la faune uniques. Madagascar National Parks, une organisation privée qui était établie en 1990, est chargé de la gestion de chaque parc y compris l’éco-tourisme, la conservation, et le développement durable. Généralement reconnu comme l’un des parcs les plus visités de Madagascar (avec des dizaines de milliers de touristes chaque année), le Parc …

Rally Around The Flag And Support The Black Stars: Multi-Relational Analysis Of Nationalism And Contemporary Football In Ghana, Elka Peterson Horner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper examines the relationship between sports and nationalism in Ghana. I draw on Ghana‟s performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a major resource and site of argument in framing the research. Ghana, just like many other postcolonial African countries, has a multitude of ethnic groups and cultural variations; past governments worked very hard to cultivate a sense of nationalism Ghana. I am arguing that football transcends these differences or variations, especially since the culture of football is a significant tool in promoting expressions and feelings of unity and nationalism. I also argue that football is an …

Body Politics Within The Body Politic: Ghanaian Disabled Communities And Their Relationships To Power, Conner Chivone Spinks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I chose as my research topic disabled communities within Ghana and their relationships with different sources of power in Ghanaian society. To begin my analysis, I deconstructed the „disabled body‟ and established disability as an axis of identity that has bearing on social positioning. I explored the power dynamics that dictate the lives of minorities, particularly the lives of those with non-normative bodies. Using my interviews of disabled Ghanaians and my observations of disabled Ghanaians in public spaces, I analyzed how systems are felt in everyday life.

Conditional Acceptance: Asserting Fa’Afafine Claims To Legitimacy In Samoan Society, Teake

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The author aimed to gauge levels of acceptance throughout Samoa of individuals known as fa’afafine. The term translates literally: “in the manner (or fashion) of a woman.” The term applies to those male-bodied individuals whose lifestyle and general conduct is characterized as feminine in the public’s imagination of a strict gender binary. Fa’afafine generally perform “feminine” roles in a sexual division of labor (often from a very early age). Some fa’afafine dress in women’s clothing and speak or walk in a manner commonly associated with feminine patterns of behavior.

The author initially hoped to investigate the extent to which the …

Persecution Of Religious Minorities In Samoa: The Bahá’Ís Struggle To Face A Common Problem, Zoe Bryan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aim of this research is to determine the prevalence of religious persecution and examine how minority religions, particularly within the Bahá‟í Faith, have experienced it in Samoa. Case studies from the Bahá‟í and research looking at prominent stories of persecution will demonstrate the overarching problem that a lack of religious freedom presents in Samoa for minority religions. Understanding Samoans‟ perceptions of religious persecution will be gleaned from the survey portion of the research. Finally, the paper will yield some ideas for improvement in looking at the future of the Bahá‟í Faith and religious freedom in Samoa. In addition to …

Ngo’S: The Voice Of The People: The Relationship Between Government And Civil Society In A Samoan “Democracy”, Dani Karnoff

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project examined the meaning of civil society, both in its true form as well as in the Samoan context, the roles of civil society, and whether civil society is used as a modem to converse with the Samoan government on behalf of the people. The purpose of this study was to formulate a more complete understanding of the term “civil society”, how civil society works within the Samoan Democracy, and the relationship between civil society and government. Research for this study was completed through interviews, surveys, secondary research, and field based observations. The interviewees for this study were either …

Post-Independent Kosovo: From Prescriptive To Descriptive Identities, Marisola Xhelili

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aim of this study was to uncover the existence, or possibility of, a Kosovar identity in today’s Kosovo. I intend to discuss the role personal experience plays in confirming or challenging one’s identity, and in this light show how the memories and personal experiences of Kosovo Serbs and Albanians endorse their ethnically-based interactions.

The methods of my research were mostly of an experiential nature, and consisted of staying in Kosovo for a two-week period. My research shows that there is no clear idea of what a Kosovar identity means for the people of Kosovo at this time. Their narratives …

Sobrevivientes Del Holocausto En Argentina: La Importancia De Sus Testimonios = Holocaust Survivors In Argentina: The Importance Of Their Testimonies, Jessica Michelle Katz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

After World War II ended and Nazi’s prisoners were released from concentration camps, labor camps, and ghettos, many refugees immigrated to Argentina, either to live with a relative who had emigrated before the war or because the language was similar, or because life was easier there, among other reasons. Today there are around 800 Holocaust survivors living in Argentina, 450 of them just in Buenos Aires. Despite the efforts of the testimonial project done by Steven Spielberg and the Shoah Visual History Foundation to record oral histories of survivors around the world, including many in Argentina, there is still a …

¿Amigos, Enemigos O Hermanos En Riña?: Cooperación Y Conflicto Entre El Gobierno De Morales Y La Confederación De Los Pueblos Indígenas, Antti Aki Eemeli Isoaho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este trabajo investiga la relación entre la Confederación de los Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente, Chaco y Amazonía Boliviana (CIDOB) y el actual gobierno, es decir, identifica conflictos, así como áreas de cooperación recientes entre los dos. A través de la realización de ardua investigación literaria, distintas entrevistas y participación directa en la Gran Asamblea Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (GANPI 2010), esta investigación propone responder de manera detallada la siguiente pregunta: ¿Cómo es y cómo ha evolucionado la relación entre el actual gobierno boliviano (liderado por un indígena) y los pueblos originarios del Oriente? Este estudio revela que a pesar …

The Incompatibility Of Dependence And Development: A Critical Analysis Of International Development Efforts In The Nicaraguan Context, Molly Dunton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Countries in the Global South have been receiving billions of dollars annually in humanitarian and development aid for the past half-century. But they still remain poor, marginalized, and on the periphery in spite of this massive influx of money into the region. Many would argue that this very aid is in fact working to maintain the economic hierarchies responsible for their poverty. Through the lens of Dependency Theory, I analyze this apparent failure of the International Development Industry in the context of Nicaragua. After researching what was working and what wasn’t in Nicaraguan rural development, I was able to categorize …

Transforming Society, Transforming Leadership, Aqeel Tirmizi Phd, Associate Professor, Azim Ahmad Phd, Academic Director, Marla Solomon Edd, Professor, Ken Williams Edd, Assistant Professor

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

For several years, SIT Graduate Institute worked with the Ford International Fellows Program (IFP) to provide IFP fellows worldwide with training and reflection on their engagement as leaders for social justice. Out of this effort grew a conceptual framework on “leadership for social justice” and a capacity-building resource manual derived from the Leadership for Social Justice (LSJ) Institutes we carried out. Since that time, a few members of the LSJ project team have been undertaking further research on social justice leadership from varied perspectives. In addition, SIT Study Abroad Academic Director Azim Khan is an IFP and LSJ Institute alumnus, …

Educating Policy Advocates – Current And Potential Roles For Sit And World Learning, Jeff Unsicker Phd, Professor, Charlie Curry-Smithson Phd, Professor

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

The session will focus on ways that we are now engaged and could become more engaged in educating students and civil society leaders to influence the policies of governments, international organizations, corporations and other institutions of political and economic power – in local, national and global contexts. Presentations will focus on the Policy Advocacy concentration, courses and field-based learning within the SIT Graduate Institute; Civil Society and Governance programs managed by World Learning; any similar courses or programs connected with SIT Study Abroad (e.g., host country universities and capacity building organizations, such as the Democracy Center in Bolivia); and our …

Knowing Your Community: Fostering Biodiversity Awareness In Our Students’ Daily Existence, Tony Cummings Bs, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

There are strong arguments suggesting that developing students’ sensitivity to local biodiversity and conservation issues is as important as emphasizing an understanding of global conservation issues happening in faraway lands (Ehrenfeld, 2009). Many students arrive at a Study Abroad destination, with a good understanding of theory, but with little field experience at home. Environmental educators in Study Abroad are able to use the novelty and grandeur of our exotic destinations to systematically teach students the patterns and processes of ecological and human communities at our sites, while inspiring a sense of place in our students. By immersing students in the …

The Feminization Of Hiv: Patriarchy As A Threat To Public Health In Ecuador – A Trans-Feminist Perspective, Fabián Espinosa Ma, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

This article attempts to analyze male sexual conduct in Ecuador and its determining role in the feminization of HIV. Male promiscuity, not only tolerated but celebrated by sexist discourse, severely impairs public health initiatives and remains one of the critical issues for both individuals and collectives struggling for structural changes in sexual politics. The exercise of citizenships, sustained by a new constitutional framework, embraces the principle of “subversion from within”, the only significant way of challenging heterosexist imaginaries and practices. This type of activism focuses on the formal and normative political dimension of sex and gender, but also and most …

Social Identity Development: Africans To United States, Claire Halverson Phd, Professor

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

There are a plethora of racial identity development models based on experiences of racial minorities in the United States which Halverson and Ken Williams use in their Social Identity class. None of these models describe the experience of immigrants and long-term residents of color from Asia, So America, and Africa. Halverson and Williams interviewed 25 Black and Arab Africans who have lived in the United States in order to understand if there is a pattern of identity development for this population that could be replicated in a model. Based on these interviews, they developed a model which they named the …

Learning From Homestay Hosts, Alison Swartz Mph Candidate, Program Assistant, Jesse Delaughter Ma, Assistant Program Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

Homestay hosts play a pivotal role in many study abroad programs, including all of ours at IHP. We know that homestays are an important part of the learning experience for our students. We hear it anecdotally from alumni and read generally positive reviews of homestays in student evaluations. We talk about homestays as a program element that contributes to learning and fosters intercultural exchange, but we don’t really know what students are learning from their hosts or what kind of exchange is occurring. We have not typically incorporated hosts into the core of the academic program in the way that …

Giving Voice To Our Students And Partners: From Principles To Actions, Ana Rita Diaz-Munoz Ma, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

The principle of reciprocity guides our daily work: the idea that we are giving something back to the community in order to make a difference. We try not only to implement it, but pass it on to our students.

The core of our work as educators is possible thanks to the relationship with the host communities and organizations with which we work. This is the reason why it is crucial to find ways to give back to those organizations that work to improve the community.

Based on a dialog with students, colleagues and partners, we intend to answer a few …

Modernization Of The Hijab In Amman, Jordan: A Symbol Of Islam And Modernity, Nicole Mcdermott

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This goal of this research is to obtain data that describes how modernization has affected the practice of women wearing the hijab in Jordan. The intention of this project is also to refute the commonly held notion that the Islamic veiling practice is a backwards, oppressive act that is hinders women from becoming modernized in current society. This study collected data through distribution of surveys to 38 subjects and by conducting six in-depth interviews with respondents (44 respondents in total). The survey consisted of questioned that aimed to capture beliefs on the mandates of wearing the hijab in Islam, views …

Queering Normal Or Normalizing Queer? Marriage Equality And The Divisions Between The Queer And Mainstream Gay Movements In The Netherlands, Catharine Atkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project examines the queer movement and the mainstream gay movement in the Netherlands and the ways in which these communities are divided and the ways in which they are united. The project specifically uses the issue of marriage equality to understand these differences and similarities. Data was obtained by conducting eight in-depth semi-structured interviews and attending a queer conference called “Queeristan.” This data was then analyzed using Butler’s theory on recognition, regulation, and normalization, the theory of Intersectionality, the theory of Covering, and Subculture theory. It is concluded that, while there are several differences between the queer …

“Real Culture” Preservation, Authenticity, And Change In Hoi An’S Heritage Tourism Industry, Ursula James

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Following the achievement of World Heritage site status in 1999, Hoi An shifted from a primarily agricultural economy to a primarily tourism-oriented economy. This economy is based on the idea of heritage tourism, focused mostly on preserved tangible heritage but increasingly accompanied by attempts to preserve and capitalize on intangible heritage. As the heritage tourism industry grows, the city of Hoi An must make constant decisions as to the nature and goals of the ideas of preservation and authenticity and their interplay with economics and the forces of globalization. The city has consequently had to balance the many conflicting demands …

Cultural Heritage Preservation Meets Modern Port Development: Securing The Integrity And Authenticity Of The Lamu Town World Heritage Site In The Face Of Current And Future Challenges, Sarah M. Wiggins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study identifies the current major threats to the Lamu Town World Heritage Site, which lies on the coast of Kenya. Lamu gained status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its well preserved Swahili living culture as well as the physical representations of that culture in architecture etc. Lamu is a tourist hotspot within the region and hosts over 50,000 for the Maulidi Festival alone. However, the town is in desperate need of infrastructure development if it is to be maintained for the future. The greatest barrier to development and cultural heritage preservation is the lack of a …

“We Can No Longer Declare Ourselves A Multicultural City Until We Start Reacting To Things Like This” : Contextualizing The Violence At The 2008 Queer Sarajevo Festival, Sarah Schrag

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The 2008 Queer Sarajevo Festival was an effort by LGBTIQ activists to raise visibility and educate the public through a series of artistic and cultural exhibitions over the course of five days. However, the Festival was preceded by a month-long media campaign in widely distributed right-wing newspapers, which declared the immorality of the Festival—particularly because of its timing during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan—and a crowd gathered outside the opening exhibition, throwing stones and violently assaulting at least eight Festival attendees. The remaining events of the Festival were cancelled. Government officials, political parties, and religious leaders’ responses to the …

Civil Society And Inequality In Jordan: A Study On The Effectiveness Of The Community Development Center In Ashrafiyah, Mary-Katharine Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Poverty exists across the globe, in almost every region and area there is present a form of social injustice. This inequality comes from several different factors and is caused by a multitude of both domestic and foreign affairs alike. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is no exception to the rule. This study is aimed at measuring the effectiveness of the Community Development Center in reducing the inequalities that exist in the town of Ashrafiyah, however, through the method of teaching civil society. Civil society, originally a western, democratic concept, is not often spoken about in Jordanian society. However, with the …

Alcohol And Dutch Masculinity: How Does Alcohol Influence The Dutch Male Image?, Adriana Lara

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The present study investigated the impact alcohol has in creating Dutch masculinity. Twenty Young men between the ages of thirteen and nineteen participated in interviews for this project, participants under the age of eighteen were required to have a parental consent form signed. The focus of the research was to find out how, and if, alcohol plays a role in creating masculinity. It was assumed that most participants would drink alcohol on a regular basis and believe that drinking it was essential to be a man. In my results, my assumptions were proven incorrect. Most of the boys were not …

Indlovukazi Yase-Afrika (Zulu Queen): A Curriculum For Young Women’S Empowerment In Kwa-Zulu Natal, Judith Merzbach

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Fifteen years into a democratic society, fifteen years after the abolition of a governmental structure that purposefully marginalized a majority of citizens, South African women are still living as a marginalized majority. While the position of women holding symbolic and representational positions remains changed for the better, the role of women in civil society has made little progress. Since the end of apartheid, the number of cases of sexual assault and rape against women continues to increase, painting a bleak picture regarding the protection of women. Young women also find themselves the victims of HIV/AIDS at an incredibly unbalanced rate …

Policing With The Community, Dream Or Reality: Perspectives Of The Police Service Of Northern Ireland In West Belfast, Tom Carey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report is a culmination of three weeks of intensive primary research on community policing methods suggested in the Patten Report and the perspectives concerning police and policing in west Belfast held by Police officers as well as members of the community. My research question was; is the PSNI policing with the community as the Patten Report suggested in 1999? I set out to find if the active partnerships between the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the community were actually being realized. Data was collected through interviews with both the Police Service of Northern Ireland officers from the Woodbourne …