A Journey To New Narratives: How Sri Lankan Migrant Women Challenge Perceptions Through Resistance, Kimaya De Silva

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis draws on ethnographic research carried out with a group of returned Sri Lankan migrant women who migrated for employment to the Middle East. This retrospective ethnography, based on their time working abroad, brings forth ideas of silent resistance and hidden weapons of women from developing countries, and intends to work against dominant discourses like the human trafficking framework which deems migrant women ‘victims’ of the system of migration, largely ignoring the agency that they exercise throughout the process. The ethnography argues that resistance and resilience are better frameworks with which to characterise the experiences of migrant women. The …

Gender Division In Sport: Through The Eyes Of Female Student-Athletes At Cms, Kris Brackmann

CMC Senior Theses

In this ethnography (anthropology thesis) I explored the binary gender division in modern sports culture through the analysis of stereotypes shaped by the history of women's sport, iconography of female athletes portrayed by mainstream media, and the reinforcement of stigma and pressure to conform to social norms by the normalized everyday discourse of college men and women at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Even though Title IX brought significant gender equality to sport in terms of women's access to athletic participation and facilities, I argue that there is still much work to do to modify social attitudes toward women's sports. While CMS female …

The Socio-Political And Economic Causes Of Natural Disasters, Nicole Southard

CMC Senior Theses

To effectively prevent and mitigate the outbreak of natural disasters is a more pressing issue in the twenty-first century than ever before. The frequency and cost of natural disasters is rising globally, most especially in developing countries where the most severe effects of climate change are felt. However, while climate change is indeed a strong force impacting the severity of contemporary catastrophes, it is not directly responsible for the exorbitant cost of the damage and suffering incurred from natural disasters -- both financially and in terms of human life. Rather, the true root causes of natural disasters lie within the …

Gëm Sa Bopp: A Case Study Of Peace Corps Senegal Girls’ Camps, Tesia A. Eisenberg

Capstone Collection

This research explores the design, curriculum, and monitoring & evaluation efforts of Peace Corps Senegal Girls’ Camps through the lens of Youth Program Leadership and Design theory. The literature review reveals a research gap in youth camp programming and hopes to draw attention to this fact to promote more literature on this subject in the future. Interviews were conducted to gain information on the design and monitoring & evaluation experiences of camp facilitators from the 2015 and 2016 PCS Girls’ Camps. This research draws upon data collected from literature, interviews, personal experience, and relevant documents from Peace Corps Senegal to …

The Keystone Pipeline: Is This Black Gold Worth It?, Claudia Salazar

A with Honors Projects

In this persuasive essay, the student describes the negative impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline, and argues that it is culturally threatening, socially unethical, economically unwise, and environmentally dangerous. Lists the negative consequences that may arise from the construction and operation of the pipeline, and concludes that the pipeline should not be constructed, since the danger it represents is greater than the benefits it may have.

Activistas Empedernidos E Intelectuales Comprometidos: Ensayos Sobre Movimientos Sociales, Derechos Humanos Y Estudios Latinoamericanos, Marc Edelman

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Gender, Everyday Mobility, And Mass Transit In Urban Asia, Anru Lee

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Ritualization Of Ethno-Nationalism: A Textual Analysis Of A Hungarian Corpus Christi Procession, Lisa Pope Fischer

Publications and Research

Observing a Corpus Christi procession in post-socialist Hungary, this article uses a textual analysis to explore how the ritual mirrors post-socialist trends that affirm Hungarian identity. This article serves to both document an interesting ritual procession but also view it in light of growing ethno-nationalism that both unites a community yet also shows exclusion of others. It is like a mirror at a microcosmic level that reflects a kind of ritualization of ethno-nationalism.

Beyond The Coal Divide: The Cultural Politics Of Natural Resource Extraction In Central Appalachia, Julie A. Shepherd-Powell

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

During the last several years far southwest Virginia, like elsewhere in the central Appalachian region, has faced a decline in all coal mining activity and a subsequent loss of coal mining jobs, meaning that local economies are suffering and the unemployment line is long. In addition, this area continues to face environmental pollution from surface coal mines that are still in operation or have not been reclaimed. Drawing upon anthropological literature on natural resource extraction and economic and environmental inequality, this dissertation highlights the lives of members of a local grassroots environmental organization, as well as other local residents, in …

Reproducing Childbirth: Negotiated Maternal Health Practices In Rural Yucatan, Veronica Miranda

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This ethnographically informed dissertation focuses on the ways rural Yucatec Maya women, midwives and state health care workers participate in the production of childbirth and maternal health care practices. It further addresses how state health programs influence the relationships and interactions between these groups. Although childbirth practices in Yucatan have always been characterized by contestation, negotiation and change, their intensity and speed have significantly increased over the last decade. Drastic changes in the maternal health of rural indigenous communities in Mexico and throughout the world are directly connected to intensified state interventions that favor biomedicine over traditional health systems. In …

Spiritual Journeys: A Study Of Ifá /Òrìṣà Practitioners In The United States Initiated In Nigeria, Tony Van Der Meer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the culture of one of the newest branches of traditional Yorùbá Ifá/Òrìṣà practice in the United States from practitioners born in the United States that were initiated in Nigeria, West Africa.The epistemology of the Ifá/Òrìṣà belief system in the United States has been based on the history and influence of Regla de Ocha or Santeria that developed out of Cuban innovation and practice.This is an ethnographic and auto-ethnographic study that pulls from participant observation, field notes, interviews, and photos as data.The central question of this dissertation is what are the challenges and …

Washing Machine Races, Gulag Pizza, And Mc Lenin: Kitsch-Ification In Post Socialist Hungary, Lisa Pope Fischer

Publications and Research

During the cold war, material culture could symbolically mark conflicts between the East and West. Lenin, Marx, the sickle and hammer symbolized communist strength. Household items and electronics were marveled at as new and advanced in contrast to the Western capitalist exotic “Other.” In Hungary today these symbols become Communist kitsch that can undermine former tensions and illustrate a collective ambivalence towards the post-socialist condition by (1) reinterpreting time and space, (2) symbolizing the cold war ‘other,’ (3) creating fantasized spaces, (4) and by representing a generational divide. Making former symbols of Communist strength ‘kitschy’ illustrates a mockery of the …

Black-Americans In Michigan’S Copper Mining Narrative, Brendan Pelto

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis details the Phase 1 archaeological investigation into Black-Americans who were active on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan during the mining boom of the 1850s-1880s. Using archaeological and archival methods, this thesis is a proof-of-concept for future work to be done that investigates the cultural heritage of Black Americans in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Investigating The Utility Of Rapid Assessment Process For Environmental Development Work Of Peace Corps Master’S International Students, Mariah Maggio

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) students engage in international development when they assume the role of Volunteer and graduate researcher. Michigan Technological University had the largest PCMI program in the country, with many Volunteer assignments involving environmental problem solving opportunities. Unfortunately some PCMI students have experienced “failed projects,” something not un-common to international development approaches. This research design supports institutional interdisciplinary efforts aimed at preparing PCMI students to engage in productive community development that avoids historic pitfalls of international development efforts. In order to contribute to this effort, the Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) approach was identified as a potential tool …

A Landscape Of Water And Waste: Heritage Legacies And Environmental Change In The Mesabi Iron Range, John Baeten

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation explores the intersection between mining technology, industrial heritage, and environmental history, using iron mining in the Mesabi Range of the Lake Superior Iron District as its core case study. What impact did technological shifts in iron mining and ore processing have on the environment of the Lake Superior basin? How did the environmental changes wrought from low-grade iron ore mining and processing, such as the expansion of open-pits and the production of tailings, affect different communities in Minnesota’s Mesabi Range? And finally, how have the environmental legacies of iron mining been remembered and memorialized, or ignored and forgotten?

Immigration, Integration And Ingestion: The Role Of Food And Drink In Transnational Experience For North African Muslim Immigrants In Paris And Montréal, Rachel D. Brown

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation is motivated by two research questions: (1) how can food act as a means of reimagining, recreating, reaffirming, and expressing, sometimes complicated and contested identities for minority religious immigrant communities in highly secular contexts? (2) What impact does the context of reception, particularly the host society’s unique and complex history and interaction with colonialism, immigration, secularism, and nationalism, have on these identity negotiations? To examine these questions, I conducted a comparative ethnographic study of the foodways of North African Muslim immigrants in Paris, France, and Montréal, Canada, in 2012-13.

The results presented here show that food is often …

Uncovering The Processes And Consequences Of Egyptian Immigrant Parental Involvement In Their Children’S Education: Bridging Cultural Differences, Hend Shalan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

For more than a decade, researchers have concluded that immigrant parents face several barriers to becoming involved in their children’s education. All studies agree that language and cultural differences are the most significant barriers to immigrants’ involvement in their children’s education, yet we know little about what these cultural differences are and how these cultural differences influence the school involvement of immigrant parents. This study integrates theories of cultural differences, acculturation, and culture shock and the corresponding literature to investigate the lesser involvement of immigrant parents in school-related activities.

A focused ethnographic design was employed and a thematic analysis …

Savannah's Ethnic Irish Neighborhoods In The Nineteenth Century: A Historical Multimethod Examination, Sarah A. Ryniker

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to identify residency patterns and neighborhoods for Savannah-Irish immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century. Using a multimethod approach, this thesis explores historical, social, and economic factors that influenced settlement patterns and cultivated the conditions for an Irish-American identity, particularly in two neighborhoods, Old Fort and Yamacraw. Guided by Yancey et al.’s (1976) emergent ethnicity theory, this study uses archival materials, as well as chi-square tests for association, and the 1860 Federal Census of Chatham County, Georgia, to geolocate Irish immigrants. With an emphasis on County Wexford, Ireland, the results suggest residency was associated with Irish …

Ancient Egyptian Figurines: An Investigation Into Manufacture, Use, And Culture., Kristina B. Donnally 2455289

UROP Posters

I will analyze the social and religious role of figurines in Egyptian society. I will delve into the differences in the figurines in both manufacture and purpose between the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. I hope to look at religious, political, and other figurines to get a broad spectrum of usage for the artifacts. The main purpose of the research is to identify the time period, purpose, and usage for the figure donated to VCU by Professor Waybright. Questions I have is if the changes in political structure and minute changes in religion between each Kingdom affected the manufacture and …

The Bamboo Ceiling: A Study Of Barriers To Asian American Advancement, Emily Cheng

UROP Posters

The idea of cultural diversity in the workplace is a popular one, generating much discussion about the inclusion of and affirmative action toward minorities. However, these conversations rarely involve Asian Americans, who despite above-average levels of educational achievement, household income, and employment, find themselves underrepresented in and shut-out of upper-level management positions. In this project, I investigated the stereotype of East-Asian Americans as a model minority (created by non-Asians) to find out why East-Asian Americans are underrepresented in upper-level management in corporate workplaces, a phenomenon known as the “bamboo ceiling.” I explored a variety of scholarly sources that analyzed the …