Race and Ethnicity Commons^™

Western Influence, Latent Racism, And Their Impact On Access To Health Care In Madagascar, Jessica Joy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

While the Malagasy commemorate their Independence Day on June 26 as the day they were freed from colonization and allowed to function as their own country with their own cultures and practices, colonization and Western influence has left an indelible mark on Madagascar that continues to exert its power to this day, shaping Malagasy social behaviors, values, and lives. The introduction of the slave trade to Madagascar in the mid-1800s, as well as French colonization, has left behind a thriving latent and structural racism in the country; a Western ideal of beauty, made complete by its valorization of fair skin, …

The Influence Of Local Government And Bid Initiatives On Cuca Che Guevara As A Center For Social Inclusion, Tessa Baizer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Fortaleza, Brazil, is a city known for its extreme levels of social inequality in between the center of the city and the periphery. Over time, these have led to high rates of social problems among youth living on the outer reaches of the city, including truancy and lack of employability. These problems have led many of the youth in the city to become excluded from general society, and more likely to engage in risky behaviors, including crime and early pregnancy. After abandoning these areas for many years, the local government decided to create a physical center to promote the employability …

The Identity Of The Chinese In Belgrade: A National Question, Wan (Sabrina) Tsai

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Chinese community is an unknown population to the general Serbian society. Since most of the Chinese function within their own established spaces, it is difficult for outsiders to fully understand the dynamics of Chinese identity. This study aims to explore the layers of identity formation in the Chinese transmigrant community in Belgrade, Serbia. By taken into account different daily-life factors that impact identity formation, this study examines the extent to which Chinese identities are influenced by living and working in Serbia.

The methods used in this study are four semi-structured interviews and thirty-two informal conversations with the Chinese in …

The Language Of Action: A Creative Study Of Resistance To Slavery From West Africa To The Days Across The Sea, Kali Block-Steele

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The goal of this paper is to study one of the lesser known aspects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade: resistance. Before the discussion of resistance, a brief history of the trade can be found. The focus on active resistance to slavery both on an individual and collective level begins on the African continent and continues through the Middle Passage, finishing with a discussion on forms of resistance in the Americas. There is a second part encompassing some creative writings inspired by the formation of this paper.

Funding The Fundamentals: A Peace First Teacher’S Recommendations For Increased Quality Sixth Grade Curriculum To Effectively Engage And Educate An Increasing Quantity Of Students., Pamela Gonzales

Capstone Collection

In the United States, the top 20% of the population owns 85% of the wealth. This leaves only 15% of the wealth for the rest of the population. This clear disparity of wealth, in combination with the common practice of racial segregation (created by 300 years of inequality) has direct correlations to violence in United States cities. Boston is one of these cities. Impoverished minority neighborhoods are struggling because they exist in a society that is essentially ignoring them. There are fewer opportunities in poor minority neighborhoods, particularly for young people. As a result, a cycle of violence has continued …

Developing Intercultural Sensitivity In Children And Adults: A Trainer’S Experiences In The Field, Laura E. Schairbaum

Capstone Collection

Intercultural training is a broad field which seeks to enhance participants’ cultural self-awareness, understanding of “Others”, and skills related to effective communication across difference. These are essential competencies for individuals, organizations, and societies to have in our increasingly diverse nation and globalized world. This capstone paper is a training course-linked capstone (CLC) related to Training of Trainers: Ethics and Intercultural Training Design. My Reflective Practice Phase (RPP) training design and facilitation experiences are presented and analyzed using experiential learning and intercultural training frameworks. My previous training experiences, motivation, and philosophical approach to intercultural and social justice-based training are also …

Perceptions Of Access To Education: Inclusion And Exclusion For Non-Karen Refugees In Mae La Camp, Matthew Gross

Capstone Collection

Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border is the largest of the seven “Karen” refugee camps in the area and is considered the center of education for refugees. Continued fighting inside Burma between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the ethnic armies as well as the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 have greatly altered the demographics in Mae La refugee camp. Perceptions of Access to Education: Inclusion and Exclusion for Non-Karen Refugees in Mae La Camp attempts to understand, through qualitative data, how non-Karen speaking refugees perceive their access to education. Is education in Mae …

The Campaign For Bias-Free Policing In Vermont: One State’S Resistance To The Localization Of Federal Immigration Agency, Amanda L. Park

Capstone Collection

There are roughly 1,500 immigrants from Mexico and Central America currently working on farms in Vermont, helping to sustain approximately half of all milk produced in the state. But the lack of adequate visa-to-work options leaves these individuals without proper documentation to be in the US. As such, they are vulnerable to exploitation by their employers, susceptible to harassment from the communities in which they live, and under constant threat of deportation by federal immigration agents. Now, the US Department of Homeland Security—in charge of domestic defense and immigration—is attempting to use local and state law enforcement officers in the …

Experiences In Coexistence And Anti-Normalization Phenomenological Case Study: Arab Alumni Of The Arava, Lauren Rauch

Capstone Collection

Many Arabs are confronted with the accusation that they are “normalizing with the Zionist enemy” when they participate in people-to-people programs with Israeli Jews. This paper explores the phenomenon of Arab participation in the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies, an academic coexistence program in Israel, and how the participants relate their experiences to the anti-normalization discourse. At the Arava Institute, Palestinian and Jordanians study and live alongside Israelis; Arab participants are often labeled “normalizers” within their society, a term associated with being a traitor or collaborator. From an anti-normalization perspective, people-to-people programs promote a positive public image of Israel and …

Protecting Indigenous Identity And Culture In The Modern Nation-State: A Case Study Of The Sami In Norway, Claire Lockerby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The plight of indigenous peoples around the world is a serious one, and without significant international action, many valuable cultural and linguistic traditions are in grave danger of disappearing altogether. Many of these indigenous groups have experienced detrimental consequences from the history of slavery, colonialism and imperialism, and the emergence of nation-states that stripped them of their autonomy and greatly threatened their way of life. Today, there are some positive examples of international and national efforts to protect indigenous peoples, but unfortunately, most indigenous populations remain dispossessed and underrepresented. Although the international community has established principles of unalienable human rights, …

The Afro-Brazilian University Experience: How Racial Quota Policy Beneficiaries At The Federal University Of Bahia Perceive Racial Quota Debates, Ufba Quota Policy, And Life As Quota Students, Vivian O. Ekey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For my project I will explore the experiences of Afro-Brazilian students enrolled in the Universidade Federal da Bahia through the University’s Resolution 01/04.[1] Through interviews with six students admitted through the quotas system at UFBA along with interviews with civic society leaders, and university advisors, I aim to identify the varying attitudes that these students may have in response to criticisms of racial quotas, the implementation of the quota system on their campus, and their own experiences as quota students. The implementation of affirmative action in Brazilian Universities has sparked serious debate and questioning of racial politics and what …

Una Investigación De La Cultura Y La Identidad Mapuche En La Escuela Municipal G-539 Chapod, Jessica A. Howard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Durante una estadía de tres semanas en la localidad rural de Chapod se realizaron observaciones y entrevistas con alumnos, padres y profesores de la Escuela Municipal G-539 Chapod, además de entrevistas con estudiantes en práctica de la Universidad Católica de Temuco, realicé una investigación sobre la cultura e identidad Mapuche en este establecimiento educacional. Encontré que aunque los estudiantes dicen ser Mapuches, ellos no tienen una cultura ni identidad Mapuche y, por tanto, la cultura e identidad Mapuche no permanecen  en la escuela de Chapod. Este establecimiento educacional está incorporando algunos elementos de la cultura Mapuche, pero a mi manera …

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 …

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 …

Coloured Identity In The Rainbow Nation: Historical Narratives Of The Durban Coloured Community, Olivia Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

South Africa is working to come to terms with the residual effects of institutionalized racist policies that governed all aspects of its citizens’ lives during Apartheid. One struggle individuals and communities must wage is to define how they see their own racial identity in a post-Apartheid South Africa. There are many questions to ask. Is race no longer pertinent, or does it have a past that must be earnestly engaged and challenged, or does it constitute eternally fixed boundaries embodying cultural norms and biological traits? I, as I show in this paper, see the concept of race itself as a …

Vietnamese Beauty: Exploring The Definition Of Female Beauty In Present Day, Urban Vietnam As Seen Through The Desire For White Skin, Dorie Topolsky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Upon my arrival in Vietnam, I was exposed to Vietnamese women’s desire for white skin. The beauty industry in Vietnam is heavily represented in everyday life through the women who do not go into the sunlight unless they are completely covered from head to toe and by the numerous skin care stores and advertisements on every block. I started my research on the skin whitening community in Vietnam with hopes of gaining an understanding of the motivations behind why Vietnamese women are willing to put so much effort into obtaining white skin and quickly realized that the development of the …

‘These Things Are Simply Very Difficult’: An Exploration Of The Existence Of And The Relationship Between Sectarianism And Racism In Present-Day Northern Ireland, Coreen Walsh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report is the outcome of a month-long exploratory study of the relationship between sectarianism and racism in present-day Northern Ireland. This exploration compares and contrasts the ideas and beliefs behind sectarianism and racism as well as how these issues exist and continue to be manifested in society. Data was obtained by way of qualitative methods using semi-structured interviews, participant observation and desk research. It is concluded that sectarianism and racism have very similar origins and exist in parallel ways, but these two things are not identical. Sectarianism and racism both represent distorted ways of relating to others and managing …

Fiji’S Relationship With India: The Answer To Or The Source Of Fiji’S Problems?, Julia Fogleman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Fiji is a nation constantly confronted by the difficult realities of having a multicultural population. One of these delicate situations is its relationship with India, the country of origin of Fiji’s largest and most controversial minority group, the Indo-Fijians. India has historically taken a great interest in Fiji because of its large population of overseas Indians, a result of the nations’ shared colonial heritage. This paper thoroughly examines the nations’ past at times rocky relationship in light of race relations, both Indo-Fijian and ethnic Fijian struggles, and decades of political instability from indigenous Fijian eugenics. India’s current global standing and …

Molding Memory: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Representations Of Candomblé In Public Places Of Memory And The Afro-Brazilian Community, Lauren Hobby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over eighty-five percent of the population of Salvador, Brazil is of African descent, creating a rich history of cultural, political and social development. Nevertheless the majority of the museums in Salvador have historical spoken very little of this culture and its relationship to the city. In 1982, the Museu Afro-Brasileiro opened, introducing a small museum focused solely on the cultural exchange between Africa and Brazil as well as the development of Afro-Brazilian religiosity. Thinking critically about the importance of museums in the construction and dissemination of awareness, knowledge and respect for cultures as well as the current debates over the …

The Interplay Of Peace, Justice, And Logic: Bali-Bawock As A Case Study For Inter-Ethnic Land Disputes, Masumi Hayashi-Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

his paper seeks to explore the conflict existing between two ethnic groups, the Bali-Nyonga and the Bawock, as a case study for inter-ethnic land dispute. Through the process of this study the researcher tried to look past arguments of logic in order to uncover the struggle for autonomy, the struggle for respect, and how damaging the muddy relationship between tradition and modernity can be. She found that ultimately models of mediation and dialogue were the most constructive in helping the conflict’s actors heal among themselves, and to develop the tools for interacting with a globalized society.

Combating Educational Inequalities: Afro-Brazilian Youth & The Bahia Street Project, Kimberly Menendez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In her article entitled “Inequity and Human Rights of African Descendants in Brazil,” Lucila Beato insists that Afro-Brazilian rights are violated everyday. Those who experience this violation the most are Afro-Brazilian, or Black, women who are considered to be at the bottom of the social hierarchy. These women are a double minority who are condemned for being both Black and women. Many women, as do men, drop out of school early in life in order to help their families, who live below the poverty line and struggle to make ends meat. Many girls turn to prostitution, pornography, and even sexual …

Diary Of The Hijab, Monica Ek

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

To understand the position the veil has within modern society and examine the perspective of women. It is also to understand and know the reasons for wearing and not wearing the hijab and the opinions of women about it. To study the respect issues associated with hijab, by actively wearing and not wearing; expectations and treatment on the streets. Interviews, observations and participant observations were methods to study.

The First Modern Diaspora Community In The Netherlands: Lessons From The Moluccan Experience, Jamie Van Wagtendonk

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Baguncaco Cleans Up The Bagunca Of "Racial Democracy", Afro-Brazilian Consciousness And Racial Identity In Alagados, Salvador, Bahia, Monica Mugure

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The 2001 Brazil census reports that of Brazil’s 150 million people, 53 percent of them are Afro- Brazilians and 47 percent are white. Of these, Afro-Brazilians hold a 28.5 percent illiteracy rate compared to the 11 percent held by whites. Income distribution indicates that the poorest 20 percent of the population owns only 2.6 percent of national wealth, while the wealthiest 10 percent command 48.1 percent. These facts are prime examples of the skewed distribution of wealth across Brazil and offer insight to the reality experienced by Afro-Brazilians who are most affected by this disparity. Together with the assumption commonly …

The Collective Right Of Indigenous Peoples To Self-Determination In Accordance With The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Lena-Katharina Skandera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, after more than twenty years of negotiations between states, indigenous representatives, lawyers, and academics. Although the resulting document is controversial and complex in its treatment of several important issues, its ambiguous characterization of the collective legal right of indigenous peoples to self-determination has been chosen as the focus of this work because it is the primary right from which all other rights, and problems, are derived. The work commences with a critique of the position held by certain states that the categorization …

Returning Home: The Makings Of A Repatriate Consciousness, Hope Steinman-Iacullo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intention of my Independent Study Project was to learn more about what motivates some Afro Americans to repatriate here and/or return habitually and explore whether there were a diverse number of reasons and motivating factors. This aim and question was also put in a historical context. For instance, my research has shown that the Back to African movements of the past mostly aimed to be communal relocations, compared with the current condition of mostly individualistic moves. I also found that although not all of the participants in my project identified as followers of Garvey or Pan Africanism, they often …

“Happy Dancing Natives” Minority Film, Han Nationalism, And Collective Memory, Benjamin D. Shaffer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cinematic representations of China’s ethnic minorities have been prominent in Chinese visual culture and collective memory since the 1950s. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party led campaigns to classify China’s diverse range of ethnic groups. These social experiments inspired a number of documentary and narrative films about the ostensibly “exotic” and “colorful” non-Han peoples of China. The audience for these depictions of minorities in visual culture varied considerably. Some early documentaries fueled the rise of Han nationalism and political agendas within the Communist Party. Several narrative films had large audiences in mainstream Chinese …

Unholy Union: The Convergence Of Agendas Between The Gay Community And The Political Right-Wing In The Netherlands, Michael Wayne Perry

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The introduction of immigrants from traditionally Islamic countries has created a new dynamic within the Dutch social system. Seemingly clashing with the established facade of Dutch “tolerance”, this group of Muslim immigrants has logically found a natural enemy within right-wing political parties. However, on a more interesting level, we see that the political agenda of the gay movement has seemingly converged with the agenda of those right-wing groups. In a sense, this convergence of agendas seems odd considering the general association of the gay movement with leftist, more progressive political movements. This study intends to examine this convergence of agendas; …

Khal: An Exploration Of The Language Around Blackness In Morocco, Rachel Leigh Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Morocco has been described as a melting pot. While various ethnicities, religious beliefs, and languages merge and intermingle within the country, the language in the majority of Moroccan homes is Darijaa. The language itself is a mixture of the Amazigh language and classical and popular Arabic with some European elements. Additionally, Darijaa is the language through which the majority of Moroccans have come to understand the world and the people around them. It is also through this language that I will explore conceptions of blackness and black identity in Morocco. Through evaluating the words for “black” in Darijaa, I hope …

Los Afro-Descendientes De Buenos Aires: Mitos Y Realidades, William Cowles

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the 19th century, the black population of Buenos Aires suffered a massive demographic decline that brought their population from roughly 30% of Buenos Aires in the beginning of the century to an almost invisible fraction. According to the popular Argentine historical myths, this decline was the product of several concrete factors, most importantly an outbreak of Yellow Fever and the various wars of 19th century Argentina in which the black population suffered heavy losses. However, the demographic facts and the historical evidence do not support this explanation. The historical reality of the decline of the black population in Buenos …