Writing About Aj Pop B'Atz': Bruce Grindal And The Transformation Of Ethnographic Writing,
2015
Rollins College
Writing About Aj Pop B'Atz': Bruce Grindal And The Transformation Of Ethnographic Writing, Sarah Ashley Kistler
Faculty Publications
The works of Bruce Grindal teach us many things about anthropology’s humanistic tradition. With examples such as Redneck Girl and “Postmodernism as Seen by the Boys at Downhome Auto Repair,” Bruce Grindal demonstrated how we can creatively engage our ethnographic writing to reflect lived experiences. In this article, I examine Bruce’s influence on my ethnographic writing and collaborative research in the Maya community of San Juan Chamelco, Guatemala. Since 2006, I have worked collectively with a group of Chamelqueños to investigate the story of their local hero, Aj Pop B’atz’. In the sixteenth century, Aj Pop B’atz’ welcomed Spanish invaders …
Altruism Online: An Ethnographic Exploration Into League Of Legends,
2015
University of Puget Sound
Altruism Online: An Ethnographic Exploration Into League Of Legends, Rodger Caudill
Summer Research
If League of Legends can provide a social model for cooperation and altruistic behavior, the source of this behavior can be easily derived for future applications. What allows five strangers from all walks of life to come together, or fall apart may also be indicative of what allows global leaders to cooperate in a gg, or be confronted with defeat. League of Legends has provided for five possible ways by which a diverse population can come together to achieve a state of cooperative altruism. Through a shared identity, and an efficient communal dialect, players from around the world can …
Scribblescholar Was Here: Confessional Notes Of A Vandal Academic,
2015
University of Kentucky
Scribblescholar Was Here: Confessional Notes Of A Vandal Academic, Clay Shields
Theses and Dissertations--English
As a (former) vandal-punk in the academy, I often fear succumbing to Ivory Tower Stockholm syndrome. The identities I perform, vandal-punk and scholar, ideologically clash to the point that they often feel irreconcilable. By codemeshing the high-low discourses associated with these adopted cultures, I attempt to disrupt any hierarchal privileging of either, instead searching for a way to live with and harness both.
Thinking Outside The (Archival) Box: Innovative Uses Of Jules Henry’S Field Notes,
2015
Washington University in St. Louis
Thinking Outside The (Archival) Box: Innovative Uses Of Jules Henry’S Field Notes, Miranda Rectenwald
University Libraries Presentations
This poster presents a case study of how archived documents provide multi-faceted, dynamic opportunity for teaching and learning in both academia and indigenous communities. Anthropologist Jules Henry compiled extensive language and cultural field notes in the 1930s while living among the Xokleng Laklãnõ (Brazil) and Pilaga (Argentina) communities. Until recently, these documents and photographs archived at Washington University in St. Louis were seldom used. However, by starting a collaborative digital project with Unicamp State University (São Paulo, Brazil) a number of innovative uses have emerged. Examples include: The Unicamp Linguistics Department is working with the Xokleng Laklãnõ to turn the …
Once Upon Our Time: The Ancient Art Of Storytelling In A Contemporary West Africa,
2014
SIT Study Abroad
Once Upon Our Time: The Ancient Art Of Storytelling In A Contemporary West Africa, Harlee Keller
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Storytelling is an art form that has been flourishing in Senegal since the country’s origin. Traditionally, storytelling was a communal endeavor, oral and interactive. As modernity crept up on Senegal storytelling began to change, oral tradition only partially surviving in rural settings, almost completely obsolete in big cities. I am particularly interested in how Wolof tales and oral storytelling are surviving in a modernizing Senegal. I think that storytelling is a form of cultural education for children and adults alike, and that preservation is dire for the survival of this art. I will discuss story structure, content and the opinions …
Toward A New Theory Of Waste: From "Matter Out Of Place" To Signs Of Life ,
2014
Binghamton University--SUNY
Toward A New Theory Of Waste: From "Matter Out Of Place" To Signs Of Life , Joshua Reno
Anthropology Faculty Scholarship
This paper offers a counterpoint to the prevailing account of waste in the human sciences. This account identifies waste, firstly, as the anomalous product of arbitrary social categorizations, or ‘matter out of place’, and, secondly, as a distinctly human way of leaving behind and interpreting traces, or a mirror of culture. Together, these positions reflect a more or less constructivist and anthropocentric approach. Most commonly, waste is placed within a framework that privileges considerations of meaning over materiality and the threat of death over the perpetuity of life processes. For an alternative I turn to bio-semiotics and cross-species scholarship around …
Interpreting,
2014
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent
Doctoral Dissertations
What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …
Executive Control In Hispanic Children: Considering Linguistic And Sociocultural Factors,
2014
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Executive Control In Hispanic Children: Considering Linguistic And Sociocultural Factors, Miriam M. Martinez
Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Executive control represents a collection of high-order cognitive processes that are associated with important child outcomes, including academic achievement and social competencies. Despite the burgeoning interest in examining the development of executive control, less is known about the development of these skills among ethnic minority children. Hispanic children are currently the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and their diverse sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds provide an excellent context to study the influence of linguistic and sociocultural factors on the development of child executive control. The purpose of the three complementary studies reported in this dissertation is to contribute …
Toward A Biocommunicable Cartography Of Health Decision-Making In The Amazon Basin Of Ecuador,
2014
Lawrence University
Toward A Biocommunicable Cartography Of Health Decision-Making In The Amazon Basin Of Ecuador, James Cartwright
Lawrence University Honors Projects
This paper comprises a critical, ethnographic study of health communication in a rural community of Amazonian Ecuador. By synthesizing approaches from anthropology, discourse studies, and public health, the study explores how conversations influence health decisions, how communities understand health systems, and how macrostructural discourse changes the political economy of healthcare in Ecuador. My work draws on the recent theoretical development of ‘biocommunicability’ in anthropology as well as earlier sociological research on knowledge construction. Most importantly, this paper offers a critique of current interventions by NGOs in the region.
The Phonetics Of Moraic Alignment In Yoloxóchitl Mixtec,
2014
Yale University
The Phonetics Of Moraic Alignment In Yoloxóchitl Mixtec, Christian Dicanio, Jonathan Amith, Rey Castillo Garcia
Anthropology Faculty Publications
This talk highlights recent research on the phonetics of tonal alignment in Yoloxóchitl Mixtec (YM). This language is notable for its large tonal inventory, where 20 tonal melodies contrast on monosyllabic words. The language’s phonological structure strongly supports the alignment of tonal targets to moras, resulting in contrastive contour types even within a single syllable, e.g. /1.3/ vs. /13.3/. Patterns of phonetic tonal alignment were investigated. The alignment of non-glottalized tonal targets was examined with original field data collected by the authors from 10 speakers. Words varied by word type (monosyllabic, disyllabic) and tone. Both the phonological patterning of tone …
Bilingualism And Language Ideologies Among Colombian Asylees In Atlanta,
2014
Georgia State University
Bilingualism And Language Ideologies Among Colombian Asylees In Atlanta, Sara Betancur
Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference
No abstract provided.
Resident Assistants: Students, Staff, Or Somewhere In Between?,
2014
Georgia State University
Resident Assistants: Students, Staff, Or Somewhere In Between?, Justin Taylor
Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference
No abstract provided.
Writing For A Future Audience Contemporary Children's Literature In Wolof,
2014
SIT Study Abroad
Writing For A Future Audience Contemporary Children's Literature In Wolof, Mariana Robertson
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Wolof as a whole is a language in transition from oral to written. The immense oral tradition of stories and songs in Wolof is increasingly being supplemented by new literature. This movement is visible across all genres of literature, but I am particularly interested in literature for children, both because it has been largely ignored in the existing research on Wolof literature, and because I think that children’s literature written in local or indigenous languages is important for increasing literacy and keeping these languages alive and vibrant. I will provide an analysis of the activities of two authors of Wolof …
“Little Soldiers With Big Guns”: The Language Of Child-Soldiering In Africa,
2014
Gettysburg College
“Little Soldiers With Big Guns”: The Language Of Child-Soldiering In Africa, Karen J. Norris
Student Publications
This project examines the language of child-soldiering in Africa, specifically in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Uganda, comparing its use between Western observers and the Africans who experienced the conflict first hand. It concludes that Westerners unilaterally display ethnocentric conceptions of the sanctity of childhood in their admonitions of child-soldiering, while former child-soldiers, perpetrators, victims and local aid workers exhibit more diverse perspectives that more accurately reflect the complexity of the conflicts. Furthermore, it concludes that the use of rhetorical, monolithic language regarding child-soldiering perpetuates stereotypes about African conflict and state-failure while diverting attention from underlying root causes of conflict, and …
Successes And Problems Of The Hawaiian Language Revitalization Movement,
2014
Eastern Washington University
Successes And Problems Of The Hawaiian Language Revitalization Movement, Anna Greiner-Shelton
2014 Symposium
The revitalization of the Hawaiian language is considered a success in the short term due to several factors including favorable government policies regarding revitalization, a large independent movement that formed the core of the language revitalization movement and provided the basis for Hawaiian language schools, and successful adaptation and use of the Internet and other multimedia sources to teach and promote use of the Hawaiian language. However, even though the revitalization effort has been largely successful, there are still several problems associated with the language revitalization movement. These problems include the authenticity of the version of the Hawaiian language being …
Review Of Reclaiming Basque By Kathryn Woolard,
2014
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Review Of Reclaiming Basque By Kathryn Woolard, Jacqueline Urla
Jacqueline L. Urla
Book Review of Reclaiming Basque by Kathryn Woolard. American Ethnologist February 2014.
Language Ideologies In Morocco,
2014
Connecticut College
Language Ideologies In Morocco, Sybil Bullock
Anthropology Department Honors Papers
The process of decolonization in Morocco has created new spaces for displaying national identity, most notably through the development of official policies regarding the acquisition, promotion, and performance of language in the public sphere. The flow of languages into the Moroccan linguistic mosaic has facilitated the transmission of beliefs about language as well. These beliefs are far from neutral, for each language possesses symbolic capital that grants access to explicitly demarcated domains of power. In this thesis, I examine the construction of national power that resides in discourses on multilingualism in Morocco. In the process, I uncover the sources of …
An Ethnographic Inquiry: Contemporary Language Ideologies Of American Sign Language,
2014
Scripps College
An Ethnographic Inquiry: Contemporary Language Ideologies Of American Sign Language, Anya A. Leyhe
Scripps Senior Theses
Historically, American Sign Language (an aspect of Deaf culture) has been rendered invisible in mainstream hearing society. Today, ASL’s popularity is evidenced in an ethnolinguistic renaissance; more second language learners pursue an interest in ASL than ever before. Nonetheless, Deaf and hearing people alike express concern about ASL’s place in hearing culture. This qualitative study engages ethnographic methods of participant observation and semi-structured interviewing as well as popular media analysis to understand language ideologies (ideas and objectives concerning roles of language in society) hearing and Deaf Signers hold about motivations and practices of other hearing Signers. Although most hearing ASLers …
Talking Across Borders : Information And Communication Technology Use Among Iraqi Refugees In Amman, Jordan, And Louisville, Kentucky.,
2013
University of Louisville
Talking Across Borders : Information And Communication Technology Use Among Iraqi Refugees In Amman, Jordan, And Louisville, Kentucky., Irene Levy
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses
A series of interviews conducted in Amman, Jordan and Louisville, Kentucky posed the following questions: “How is information and communication technology (ICT) use affecting interpersonal communication patterns within the displaced Iraqi community in the US and Jordan?” and “What are the factors that limit the proliferation of the internet as a communication tool in that community?” Participants were individuals with legal refugee status and Iraqi nationality who left Iraq after the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War. Eight interviews were conducted in Louisville during the summer of 2012 and twelve were conducted in Amman during November 2012. Participants were asked …
In The House Of Transformation: Language Revitalization, State Regulation, And Indigenous Identity In Urban Amazonia,
2013
The University of Western Ontario
In The House Of Transformation: Language Revitalization, State Regulation, And Indigenous Identity In Urban Amazonia, Sarah A. Shulist
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation examines the practices surrounding advocacy for Indigenous language revitalization and maintenance in order to better understand the changing nature of of ethnolinguistic identity and the politics of culture in the Brazilian Amazon. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, it specifically considers the complex challenges created for language revitalization activism among urban and diasporic Indigenous populations. São Gabriel is a small, highly multilingual city, in which speakers of 21 languages from 5 language families live and come into contact with one another, and in which individuals commonly speak multiple Indigenous languages. Although …
