Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Becoming Kin: Modernity, Authenticity, And The Construction Of Spiritual Relatedness In An Evangelical Parachurch Ministry, Brad Codr

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation explores how families are formed and spiritual kinship is created by members of the Body of Christ evangelical parachurch ministry at one public university in the United States. Spiritual relatedness is used to conceptualize members' social relationships and demonstrate the diverse forms of Christian community that emerge in the lives of young adults. Results from this study provide an alternative perspective to social science literature labeling Christianity as an individualistic belief system. It also contributes to continuing dialogue within the anthropology of Christianity, which seeks to describe and understand what it means to be Christian. I argue that …

Issue 66, Spring 2015, Society Of Bead Researchers

The Bead Forum: Newsletter of the Society of Bead Researchers

Imitations of Natural Objects Made for the African Trade by the French Factory Bapterosses, by Marie-José Opper and Craig Eady.

Business, Education, And Enjoyment: Stakeholder Interpretations Of The Gettysburg Museum And Visitors Center, Ava M. Muhr

Student Publications

An anthropological study of the Gettysburg Museum and Visitors Center undertaken to understand the ways in which the visitor experience is conditioned by their own personal background, as well as filtered through the carefully constructed historical narrative created by museum historians, National Park Service rangers, and administrators. The Gettysburg Museum and Visitors Center is a site in which multiple stakeholders contend to ensure that their interpretations of the museum’s purpose is being upheld. This paper will examine the ways in which these various stakeholders – primarily NPS rangers, Civil War historians, and history buffs – interpret the catalyst(s) for constructing …

Kwakwaka’Wakw “Clam Gardens”: Motive And Agency In Traditional Northwest Coast Mariculture, Douglas Deur, Adam Dick, Kim Recalma-Clutesi, Nancy J. Turner

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America actively managed natural resources in diverse ways to enhance their productivity and proximity. Among those practices that have escaped the attention of anthropologists until recently is the traditional management of intertidal clam beds, which Northwest Coast peoples have enhanced through techniques such as selective harvests, the removal of shells and other debris, and the mechanical aeration of the soil matrix. In some cases, harvesters also removed stones or even created stone revetments that served to laterally expand sediments suitable for clam production into previously unusable portions of the tidal zone. …

“Seguimos Siendo Indígenas” Una Investigación Sobre El Discurso De Los Derechos Y Necesidades De La Comunidad Shipiba De Cantagallo Como Pueblo Indígena En El Contexto Urbano De Lima., Janet Sanchez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A través de un método etnográfico basado en entrevistas formales e informales y observaciones tomados durante dos semanas en la Comunidad ShipiboKonibo de Cantagallo, este informe examina cómo esta comunidad expresa sus derechos y necesidades como pueblo indígena en el contexto urbano de Lima. Este estudio fue ejecutado durante un tiempo de conflicto entre la comunidad y la Municipalidad de Lima, que bajo el cargo de Luis Castañeda, canceló la reubicación de la Comunidad ShipoKonibo que está siendo desplazado por la construcción del Vía Parque Rímac. Los resultados demuestran que los Shipibos de Cantagallo luchan por ser tratados como iguales …

“Doce Pasos” En La Dirección Correcta: La Adaptación Cultural De Prácticas Terapéuticas En Un Centro De Rehabilitación Para Hombres Ecuatorianos, Jason Tinero

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto se trata de cómo un centro de rehabilitación ha adaptado sus prácticas terapéuticas para hombres de la cultura ecuatoriana. El programa de tratamiento está basado en el programa norteamericano de los Doce Pasos, asociado con Alcohólicos o Narcóticos Anónimos. Según el marco de la psicología cultural, las prácticas terapéuticas no pueden generalizarse interculturalmente; entonces, hay que corresponder las terapias para la sociedad misma. La cultura ecuatoriana está marcada por tres rasgos sobresalientes: la religión católica y la espiritualidad, el machismo y la intimidad de la familia nuclear. A través de observaciones de terapias, entrevistas con terapistas y usuarios …

La Vida Es Un Conflicto, Pero Hay Que Llevar Soluciones: La Resolución De Conflicto En Comunidades Rurales De San Ramón Nicaragua A Través De Facilitadores Judiciales Rurales Y Mediación, Marlee Raible

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In rural parts of Nicaragua historically there has not been a lot of access to the justice system. Conflicts have been going unresolved for years leading to a high amount of violence as people take justice into their own hands. The recent implementation of the Rural Judicial Facilitators Program (RJFP) is an effort to provide access to justice directly in rural communities. These facilitators are trained to use mediation as their principal method to resolve conflict.

This study exposes perceptions of mediation and the RJFP from community members, facilitators, and judiciaries. It discusses the key role of the facilitator in …

Deterritorialización Y Resistencia En El Sur De Buenos Aires: El Qué, El Por Qué Y El Cómo De Preservación De La Identidad En El Barrio De Barracas En Una Era Del Cambio Y Inversión Por Parte Del Gobierno. / Deterritorialization And Resistance In The Southern Barrios Of Buenos Aires: The What, Why And How Of Identity Preservation In The Neighborhood Of Barracas In An Era Of Change And Outside Investment., Paige Moody

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following study explores the processes of change in Barracas, a neighborhood in the southern zone of Buenos Aires. Barracas is the oldest neighborhood of the city, steeped in a rich history and comprised of a population that holds a strong collective identity. In the past couple of decades there have been extensive urban renewal projects applied to the area, bringing with them a struggle for the residents to maintain their identity and control over the future of the neighborhood. The questions this investigation seeks to answer are: What are these changes that have recently come to Barracas? Why were …

El Rol Del Parto Mapuche En El Mundo De La Medicina Moderna / The Role Of Mapuche Birth In A World Of Modern Medicine, Nita Chai

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: Is there existing demand for Mapuche birth practices and what are the barriers to incorporating them in the Chilean healthcare system? Objective: Analyze the current role of Mapuche birth practicesby determining what is the demand from the Mapuche for their use, describing the quality of communication between Mapuche women andmodern professionals, and identifying the perspectives of modern professionals on Mapuche birth practices. Background: Childbirth is an integral process for the human race. For many indigenous communities, the arrival of a new life holds cultural significance that is recognized through ceremonies during or after childbirth. Chile has implemented health …

Genocide In Northeast Brazil: Dismantling Colonial Legacies Of Contemporary State Violence In Salvador, Kelsi Sleet

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The systematic use of violence by the police a lead me to the city of Salvador, Bahia, a city where 80% of the population is Afro-Brazilian. Using a framework of structural violence I develop a critical understanding of how contemporary manifestations of colonialism impact black people in Salvador, Bahia. Through this research I problematize the idea of the “racial democracy” to understand how black people are experiencing the direct use of violence by the Brazilian state in the form of anti-black genocide. I ask how Black Brazilian activists in Salvador resist and challenge state violence, specifically in the context of …

Language As The Foundation Of Identity Among Sherpa Youth In Nepal, Joshua H. Ginder

Student Publications

This paper explores how young Sherpas in Nepal use their language as a tool for identifying themselves as uniquely Sherpa in a mutlicultural Nepal. By analyzing the way Sherpas use their language in social settings and at a radio station, the author suggests the Sherpa language is perhaps the only truly unique quality that delineates Sherpas from other Nepalis.

Liberation Through Domination: Bdsm Culture And Submissive-Role Women, Lisa R. Rivoli

Student Publications

The alternative sexual practices of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism (BDSM) are practiced by people all over the world. In this paper, I will examine the experiences of five submissive-role women in the Netherlands and five in south-central Pennsylvania, focusing specifically on how their involvement with the BDSM community and BDSM culture influences their self-perspective.I will begin my analysis by exploring anthropological perspectives of BDSM and their usefulness in studying sexual counterculture, followed by a consideration of feminist critiques of BDSM and societal barriers faced by women in the community. I will then address the …

Investigating Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War In The Democratic Republic Of Congo (Drc) Through Critical Discourse Analysis, Amanda R. Kaste

Student Publications

This paper addresses the large-scale sexual violence that has taken place (and still continues) within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using critical discourse analysis. Disturbing statistics have resulted in the identification of the DRC as the "rape capital of the world," and a variety of national, regional, and international actors have employed sexual violence as a weapon of war. Victims frequently receive little assistance, perpetrators act without fear of serious repercussions, and the government of the DRC fails to successfully implement relative legislation. Through an investigation of the discourse surrounding victims, perpetrators, and political institutions respectively, I will develop …

Consensual Violence: A Cultural Contradiction, Lisa R. Rivoli

Student Publications

In American culture, violence is typically understood as inherently negative; no one would want to be personally subjected to violence because violence by its very nature is undesirable. Thus, the idea of seeking out violence seems paradoxical. In cases where a person actively pursues violent treatment, the question arises: can violence be consensual? This question is included in discourse on sadomasochism (SM), or an attraction to giving or receiving pain in a sensual or sexual context, which many argue is a form of violence. Through a critical discourse analysis of legal statutes regarding interpersonal violence and interviews with women involved …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Past And Present Conflict For Scottish Independence, Avery N. Fox

Student Publications

A study of the language and word patterns used in the past and present conflict over Scottish Independence.

What's Below The Peak? Perceptions Of Media From Those That Live Below The World's Most Famous Mountain, Jonah P. Lucas

Student Publications

This research seeks to explore the perceptions the Sherpa people in the Khumbu region have on the media that has been created about them and their communities. Interviews conducted in the Khumbu region of Nepal with a variety of individuals gave insight into how different socio-economic and educational backgrounds affect these perceptions. This research found that all Sherpa are aware to some extent of the media about them, and its biggest effect is the international tourism trade that it promotes. Furthermore, journalists visiting the region are regarded as normal tourists, and the work they do is considered accurate and suitable …

Things Fall Apart? The Political Ecology Of Forest Governance In Southern Nigeria, Prakash Kashwan

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

No abstract provided.

Trash Talk: Understanding Food Waste At A Charter Elementary School In Florida, Steven A. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Waste as a topic for anthropological investigation has enjoyed a recent resurgence in interest, mirroring burgeoning discussion among policy-makers and the general public about questions of environmental impacts, economic costs, and social detriments of contemporary waste management paradigms. While waste management in the United States has largely focused on technical and organizational solutions typically considered the domain of environmental planning and engineering (such as source reduction, recycling, and reuse), anthropology and the social sciences have become more prominently involved in efforts to inform policy-makers and researchers about the social and behavioral factors influencing waste norms and habits, particularly in educational …

Engaging-Up: Compromised Spaces And Potential Partners, Jennifer Necole Webb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The anthropology of public policy critically examines policy and its processes and the myriad ways in which power is exercised. To explore these power dynamics, anthropologists studying policy often study up, or study through a particular policy field. This entails the risky work of studying powerful people, whose ability to retaliate against the researcher and others create methodological and ethical dilemmas and contradictions, as well as potentially harmful consequences. Politicians, bureaucrats, employees of powerful non-profits, and, in the public-private neoliberal reality, even the head decision makers within corporations are all prospective research participants--an intimidating prospect for most anthropologists. In contrast, …

Creating A Professional Pathway For The Women Who Care For Our Children: An Anthropological Study Of An Early Childhood Workforce Development Policy, Melissa Kay Van Dyke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the early childhood workforce has been described as undereducated, poor, and disproportionately comprised of women of color. The EDUCATE workforce development policy was designed to advance the professional development of under-paid and under-valued child care workers. This study focuses on the history, intent, and impact of this policy at the intersection between the grantees, the State, the various organizational contexts, and the broader structural forces. More broadly, complex issues and challenges related to the early childhood workforce are surfaced. Finally, through a critical analysis of the findings, the hidden and dominating forces that maintain the current level of inequity …