Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Women's Mobilization In Latin America: A Case Study Of Venezuela, Brianna Russell

Master's Theses

Abstract

I examine the following elements in regards to women’s mobilization in Latin America and Venezuela from the late 1950s to the present: (a) the influence of the state and economy on times when women mobilized (b) class division within the movement (c) women’s demands during different time periods (d) the ways in which women were successful in working towards gender equality. This thesis reviews the literature on women’s mobilization in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century. I find that women mobilized across class lines with the masses to end dictatorships. Women demobilized during transitions to …

Creating Transformation Through Art The Role Of Community Arts In A Transitioning Society Ballymun, Dublin And Belfast Northern Ireland, Katherine Power

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper presents my findings from an Independent Study Project conducted over a three-­‐week period in Belfast on the role of community arts in a transitioning society, with a focus primarily on youth. I have found three themes concurrent with my research being that community arts can boost self-­‐confidence and build positive identity, they can be used as a tool for addressing difficult issues, and finally, that community arts can unify a community. The arts, as a cause of these themes, have the potential to help a society transition and transform from conflict.

Manifestations Of Tibetan Buddhism In Pudacuo National Park And Its Effectiveness As An Environmental Education Tool, Ellen Martin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Pudacuo National Park in Shangri-la, Yunnan is mainland China’s first national park and comprehensive conservation and eco-tourism attempt. The Nature Conservancy worked with Yunnan provincial government to establish park guidelines and advocate for certain conservation measures. One of the important guidelines that The Nature Conservancy included was local cultural preservation. A primary goal of this experiment in US-modeled national parks is to ensure the longevity of traditional values and beliefs in the parkland area. Pudacuo National Park is not only attempting to conserve the local Tibetan Buddhist tradition but also is attempting to capitalize on the uniqueness of the experience …

Art As A Cure: Analyzing Healthcare Treatment For The Mentally Ill Through The Lens Of Art Therapy Programs In Dakar, Senegal, Sofia Porter-Castro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mental illness is a malady that affects roughly 2.3 million people in Senegal ("Statistics by Country” 2012), but the wide and sometimes opposing range of healing practices suggests that the attitudes surrounding mental illness are still largely contested. This is especially true in Senegal’s capital, where advances in medicine in big city hospitals are growing while ties to traditional beliefs and practices remain strong. Alternative therapies, such as art therapy, provide an opportunity for practitioners to explore different techniques for treating the mentally ill while still integrating elements of the local culture. It is precisely this integration that this paper …

Les Oubliés De L’Histoire: Perceptions Of Harkis And Community Awareness, Lauren Gilbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“Harki” is derived from the Arabic word “Harka,” meaning movement. This term is used to denote not only the original approximately 200,000 Algerian Arab and Berber Muslims, who militarily supported the French Army during the Algerian war for independence between 1954 and 1962, but also their families and descendants.[1] Especially during the war with Algeria and immediately following, they were often referred to as francais-musulmans, francais-musulmans repatries, or repatries d’origine nord africaine, thus avoiding the topic of conflict with the colony. This support took a range of forms, not always military; for example, the “Groupes d’auto defense (GAD) was …

Harmony Or Mere Toleration? Examining Inter-Religious Relations In Amertasari, Keller Hawkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When I was first told about a small village in North Bali where Hindus and Muslims live in harmony with one another, I was immediately intrigued. A month and a half later, our group was driving on the windy roads that take one from the southern part of Bali through the mountains into North Bali. We arrived in the village of Pegayaman and listened to some of the more distinguished village members tell us about life in Pegayaman. Because the village is known for being an example of religious harmony between Hindus and Muslims, this was the main topic of …

Beyond Dogma: The Role Of "Evolutionary" Science And The "Embodiment" Of Archetypal Energies, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

At individual and collective levels (locally, nationally, and globally), humanity is currently entertaining many challenges and opportunities for growth. In my view, these challenges and opportunities are connected to Energy shifts that are taking place on the planet, and the inability of some to move beyond dogma in relating to these Energy shifts. By its pre- and proscriptive nature, dogma fosters limiting beliefs that often interfere with how best to relate to these Energy shifts as vibrational beings in an evolving, vibrational world. Here, I want to briefly identify some of the limiting effects of dogma, and the role of …

A Lone Nut In Compton:Lessons In Community Engagement With Treepeople In South Los Angeles, Jason Schlatter

Capstone Collection

The following study was conducted as an exploration of the community engagement practices of the Los Angeles based nonprofit organization, TreePeople. The intention of this study was to foster a deeper understanding about the theories and practice of the “outsider” TreePeople’s community engagement initiatives in the region of South Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the communities of Compton, Inglewood, and historic South Central. I attempted to synthesize a collective narrative about the way TreePeople interacts with its constituents and community partners by drawing upon the experiences and perceptions of TreePeople staff, community partners, and community members. The individual experiences …

How Environmentalists And Skeptics Can Discover The Same Goals: Making Eco-Friendly More People-Friendly, Caroline Craig

Honors College Theses

Oftentimes, environmental activists treat and pose issues with a sense of emergency. Unfortunately, to a population who does not feel it has the energy to care, such panic has a negative effect. Worse still is when people do not agree that there is a problem. The difference in risk perception greatly divides environmentalists from regular Americans. On the one hand, it is crucial for environmentalists to continue changing the political and economic paradigms. However, policy-making and the development of solutions become greater hurdles when there is a lack of support from the general public. The very nature of environmental problems …

Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? An Investigation And Analysis Of The Nature Of The Trinity College And Surrounding Neighborhoods Relationship As Seen Through Gates, Ariel Schuster

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

江戸時代女性の噂話 第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 (町の女1), Cecilia (淑子） S. Seigle (瀬川） Ph.D.

Cecilia S Seigle Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2, Cecilia (淑子） S. Seigle (瀬川）江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2 江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2 Ph.D.

Cecilia S Seigle Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Eastern Pequot Archaeological Field School, Steven Silliman

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This project assists with locating historical cultural sites on Eastern Pequot reservation established in A.D 1683, and providing historical preservation and archaeological services at low to no cost to this Native American community. This project also trains undergraduate and graduate students from UMass Boston and other institutions and tribal community interns in archaeological techniques, heritage preservation, Native American history, colonial studies and collaborative research methods. It aims to improve archaeological fieldwork and interpretations as part of a deeply collaborative relationship, and also study Eastern Pequot house sites, using artifacts, animal bones , plant remains, architecture, landscape historical documents and oral …

Beads, Sculptures, And Baskets: South African Traditional Craft As A Means Of Economic Empowerment, Sasha Kaori Hippard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The significance of the South African traditional craft industry is often associated with the preservation of historical culture. However, besides being a crucial element in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, craftwork also can be a significant source of income generation for disadvantaged communities across South Africa. The African Art Centre, a non-profit organization located in Durban, reaches out to various communities of disadvantage in and around the KwaZulu Natal province, holding training and design workshops, providing access to craft skills and materials, and providing a market for the sale of craft as a source of sustainable economic empowerment. …

Visual Interventions And The “Crises In Representation” In Environmental Anthropology: Researching Environmental Justice In A Hungarian Romani Neighborhood, Krista Harper

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

Participatory visual research, or "visual interventions" (Pink 2007) allow environmental anthropologists to respond to three different “crises of representation”: 1) the critique of ethnographic representation presented by postmodern, postcolonial, and feminist anthropologists, 2) the constructivist critique of nature and the environment, and 3) the “environmental justice” critique demanding representation for the environmental concerns of communities of color. Participatory visual research integrates community members in the process of staking out a research agenda, conducting fieldwork and interpreting data, and communicating and applying research findings. Our project used the Photovoice methodology to generate knowledge and documentation related to environment injustices faced by …

Conclusion, Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner Phd

Sikaiana Ethnography

Conclusion to Sikaiana ethnography. Discusses how the Sikaiana people maintained a tight-knit community with intense interpersonal relationships in the 20th Century..

Related material at www.sikaianaarchives.com

“Don't Call Me A Student-Athlete”: The Effect Of Identity Priming On Stereotype Threat For Academically Engaged African American College Athletes, Keith Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

Academically engaged African American college athletes are most susceptible to stereotype threat in the classroom when the context links their unique status as both scholar and athlete. After completing a measure of academic engagement, African American and White college athletes completed a test of verbal reasoning. To vary stereotype threat, they first indicated their status as a scholar-athlete, an athlete, or as a research participant on the cover page. Compared to the other groups, academically engaged African American college athletes performed poorly on the difficult test items when primed for their athletic identity, but they performed worse on both the …

Visual Interventions And The “Crises In Representation” In Environmental Anthropology: Researching Environmental Justice In A Hungarian Romani Neighborhood, Krista Harper

Krista M. Harper

Participatory visual research, or "visual interventions" (Pink 2007) allow environmental anthropologists to respond to three different “crises of representation”: 1) the critique of ethnographic representation presented by postmodern, postcolonial, and feminist anthropologists, 2) the constructivist critique of nature and the environment, and 3) the “environmental justice” critique demanding representation for the environmental concerns of communities of color. Participatory visual research integrates community members in the process of staking out a research agenda, conducting fieldwork and interpreting data, and communicating and applying research findings. Our project used the Photovoice methodology to generate knowledge and documentation related to environment injustices faced by …

The First Generation Community: What Does It Mean To Be A Youth Member?, Elissa M. Gallup

Capstone Collection

This paper examines the impact of being part of the First Generation community on the youth members. The context of Springfield, Massachusetts and the culture of First Generation are explained. The role of The Performance Project, the nonprofit through which First Generation operates, is also described, as it pertains to the context. A literature review, with other youth programs’ methodologies and findings of analyzing impacts in their programs, has been included.

Following months of work with First Generation and the literature research, qualitative interviews were crafted and conducted with members of the group. These anonymous interviews allow some insight into …

Mexican-Americans In Los Angeles: Strengthening Their Ethnic Identity Through Chivas Usa, Stephanie Goldberger

CMC Senior Theses

A large Mexican-American population already exists in Los Angeles and, with each generation, it continues to rise. This Mexican-American community has maintained its connection to its heritage by playing and watching soccer, Mexico’s top watched sport. In this thesis, I analyze how Major League Soccer's Chivas USA serves as an outlet through which many Mexicans in Los Angeles have developed their ethnic identities. Since the early twentieth century, Mexicans in Los Angeles have created separate residential communities and sports organizations to strengthen their connections with one another.

To appeal to Mexican-Americans, Chivas USA has branded itself closely to its sister …