Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Memoirs Of A Mother: Life Between An Islamic Fantasy, Cultural Patriarchy, And The Startling Reality., Nicole Fauster

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Article 490 of the Moroccan Penal Code deems sexual relations outside of marriage illegal and punishable by one month to one-year prison time. But in a society where marriage is often delayed due to financial restrictions, premarital sex is common and pervasive. Though premarital sex is the norm amongst many, if a lady becomes pregnant, the tables turn she is labeled a “whore” or a “street woman”. If a man fathers a child out of wedlock; he can simply deny affiliation and walk out of the picture.The woman is marginalized, and the father of the child does not bear any …

The Art Of Vaisnava Vegetarian Cooking: The Manifestation Of Cultural Identity Through The Culinary Craft, Selena Greising

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Food and religion are both defining characteristics of a culture, serving as a unique language of communication. The Vaisnava Hindu tradition holds very specific guidelines for food in relation to the religious lifestyle. The inclusions and exclusions, cooking techniques, history, and the manifestation of anciently rooted traditions in the modern world reveal a great deal about the people within the culture. Vaisnavas do not consume meat, fish, garlic, onion, carrot or mushroom, but still maintain the Indian tradition of food bursting with flavor. Beyond the strict culinary aspects of the culture, the religious beliefs exhibit a strong influence upon the …

Limits To Literacy: The Perceived Relationship Between Functional Literacy And Political Empowerment Amongst The Forest-Dwelling Van Gujjars, Nicola Soekoe

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The failure of countrywide basic literacy campaigns to enhance social mobility has led to the promotion and development of localized, comprehensive functional literacy campaigns. These campaigns are particularly applicable to marginalized groups; as they aim to empower communities by providing them with the necessary skills to navigate their socioeconomic and political environments. This qualitative study examines the long-term impact of one such functional literacy campaign on the semi-nomadic pastoral Van Gujjar community. I use the Assets, Opportunity Structure, and Degrees of Empowerment (DOE) method to investigate community members’ perceptions of the level of political empowerment that followed their participation in …

Stories Of Tufuga Ta Tatau, Drea Miesnieks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The art of tattooing holds immense cultural importance to Samoa and the tatau (traditional full body tattoo) is a significant mark of Samoan identity. While the date of origin is not recorded, traditional tattooing has been an instrumental aspect of Samoan society throughout history. Tattooing proved resilient in the face of missionary condemnation as it survived in Samoa, while diminished in much of Polynesia. Tattooing has often been studied from the perspective of recipients of tatau. This study documents the transformation of this cultural practice and focuses on the perspectives of the masters. It examines the stories, opinions, beliefs, and …

The Sacred Practice Of Patra, Rob Granfelt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was conducted at the National Institute for Zorig Chusum in Thimphu, Bhutan in April, 2014. The majority of the study was a full-time enrollment in the school’s carving program, meeting 6 days per week and taking classes with the second year carving students. Along with learning the techniques and methods of Bhutanese woodcarving, I sought to understand the socio-cultural importance of woodcarving in Bhutan both historically and contemporarily. In addition to a cultural analysis, this study attempts to locate the Institute within a rapidly developing Bhutan, seeking to understand the ways in which it is maintaining traditional means …

Los Voces Literarias En La Preservación De La Memoria La Representación Artística De Los Triunfos, Los Fracasos Y Los Contrasentidosde La Sociedad Chilena Desde 1973, Katharine Johnstone

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The role of the writer in a society is so important because, when the writing is meaningful and transcends the trivial day to day plot twists that so often distract us from what really matters, from our own personal truths and beliefs, it has the ability to explore the grey areas and fissures of our past, present, and future in order to make sense of the mind-boggling mess of human existence. We write in order to record and thus immortalize in some small way that which we see, hear, and wonder about. This project seeks to investigate the concept of …

¿Pérdida O Persistencia? La Cultura Andina Y Los Efectos De La Influencia Evangélica En Las Dos Comunidades Indígenas Peruanas De Patacancha Y Rumira Sondormayo., Hannah Eby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Español: Este estudio se realiza como un Proyecto de Estudio Independiente del programa de estudiar fuera de SIT Perú: Pueblos indígenas y la globalización. Por un método etnográfico compuesto de entrevistas y observaciones de la vida religiosa de las dos comunidades rurales indígenas de Patacancha y Rumira Sondormayo, esta investigación explora la cuestión actual de la influencia evangélica cristiana en la cultura católico-andina. En las décadas recientes, la religión evangélica ha incrementado mucho en el Perú, la conversión creciendo rápidamente en las comunidades indígenas andinas. Según la teoría de la emergencia y la persistencia nacido de una conferencia del año …

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 …

Cosaan To Tostan: The Evolution Of Wolof Women’S Verbal Art As A Means For Social Empowerment, Iana Robitaille

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For Wolof women, verbal art has always been an important tool for negotiating power. In a public context, griottes have lent their voices to traditional ceremonies such as marriages and baptisms; in a private context, all women have used songs as accompaniment to daily tasks and as an informal way to comment on the society in which they live. This paper explores the way that certain Wolof songs, sung by and for women, simultaneously challenge and adhere to traditional Wolof culture—that is, the way their texts and performances both contradict and perpetuate traditionally mandated gender codes. In order to achieve …

“Bëggel Sa Réew :” Negotiating Contestation And Citizenship Through Hip Hop Production In Guédiawaye, Dakar, Dylan Mcdonnell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hip hop cultural production has flourished in Senegal since the early-1980s, especially in Dakar, the administrative and economic capital, since the early 1980s as both a medium of engagement with “global” flows of musical influence and a localized platform for socio-political and contestation and organization. In the past ten years, high-profile rap and hip hop personalities based in communities centered in the banlieues (the disfavored, often impoverished neighborhoods surrounding Dakar) have begun to realize formal structures of professionalization and education in the elements of “urban culture.” This paper focuses on research done at Guédiawaye Hip Hop Center and Association, an …

Educational Music: The Role Of Music Education, Combined With The Ideology Of The Popular Education Movement, In The Development Of The Agency Of Children From Villa 21/24, Laurel Bingman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Music is something that has a power all its own. It has the power to join people together, to empower protests, to inspire creativity and enhance learning. Countless studies have been conducted proving the intellectual and emotional benefits of music in the lives of children, and I have experienced this myself in my own life and in my volunteer work in the United States and in Bolivia. This investigation seeks to analyze the combined power of music and education in vulnerable populations, specifically a neighborhood in Buenos Aires called Villa 21/24. The people who live in this Villa are faced …

Disabled: Watching Stories Of The Malagasy Deaf, Nadeen Hamza

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Dislabeled: Mislabeled and Disabled - two words that Malagasy Deaf individuals have used in this project to describe themselves and the struggles of their community. This project explores dynamics between the mainstream Malagasy society and the marginalized Deaf community as well as the dynamics within the Deaf community of Antsirabe. I argue that mainstream stereotypes of the Deaf are manifested in the ways these individuals see themselves as well as the opportunities that society offers them. I also argue that individuals who have high proficiency in Malagasy Sign Language have wider access to public services as well as a higher …

An Appraisal Of Quality Basic Education In Ashanti Farming Communities Of Ghana, Sophia Larsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Methodology: I lived in two Ashanti farming villages, Senchi and Okaikrom, for a total of eight days with four additional day trips. I also commuted to two other rural communities in the Sekyere East district. In these villages I conducted a total of 28 formal interviews of three headmasters, four primary teachers, 10 JHS teachers, nine JHS students, and two nurses. Within the schools I conducted a few group interviews and polls to gain quantitative data about student interest and education aspiration. I visited the regional and district offices of education where I spoke with five administration officials within various …

The Art Of Survival: Bengali Pats, Patuas And The Evolution Of Folk Art In India, Pilar Jefferson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The process of becoming a part of a globalized world has made India as a nation worry about what makes it culturally unique. Since the beginning of its relationship with Britain folk artists in particular have been directly connected to cultural preservation efforts in India. The impetus to preserve this uniqueness usually falls on rural folk cultures, whose traditions change more slowly because they have less access to modernizing influences. The problem with idealizing the static nature of folk art is that it keeps the artists from improving their lives, at the risk of abandoning their work to seek out …

Obesity And Dining Out: An Exploration Of Dietary Trends In Urban Malaysia, Sylvia S. Lim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Economic growth has spurred rapid urbanization in Malaysia and triggered changes in diet, lifestyle, and disease trends. National studies show that a third of Malaysia's population is overweight/obese while household expenditures on dining out grow. In metropolitan Kuala Lumpur (KL), residents navigate concepts of nutrition, body weight, and health as they dine out. Using the biocultural framework, this study examined links between body weight, diet, income, street food consumption, and nutritional knowledge through the perspectives of consumers and vendors. Altogether, 77 participants were recruited for this three-phase research. In the first phase, a survey was administered to 60 participants recruited …

Recreational Segregation: The Role Of Place In Shaping Communities, Iyshia Michelle Lowman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Institutionalized racial segregation in the United States has had a significant impact on many aspects of American culture. Segregation was practiced in every aspect of public life, even in areas of recreation. For those labeled as "nonwhite," even going to the beach was legally restricted. The events between the 1950s and 1960s at Homestead Bayfront Beach in Homestead, Florida are evidence that social stratification based on the social categorization of race has a significant effect even today. This research examines how legalized segregation in the past impacted society and contributed to the development of a place and identity at Homestead …

Cultivating Change: Negotiating Development And Public Policy In Southern California's Wine Country, Laurel Dawn Dillon-Sumner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the Temecula Valley, California, neoliberal development policies were implemented that had the potential to bring drastic changes to this semi-rural area, renowned for its wine production and idyllic setting as a wine tourism destination. In order to better understand the contested nature of these development plans, I conducted ethnographic and key informant interviews and public policy analysis research with policy-making officials, local residents and other stakeholding groups that formed in opposition to the planned expansion. This applied anthropology of policy was uniquely situated to explore the tensions between various stakeholders. This thesis serves to propose interventions that could have …

Pathways Of Embodiment: Drug Use Among Adolescents In Popay[Aacute]N Colombia, Sarah Louise Fishleder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the interrelated biological and cultural factors that determine pathways by which recreational drug use is manifest to addiction in the lives of youth aged 12-18 in Popay[aacute]n, Colombia. It utilizes existing data from mixed methods research conducted between 2004-2005 examining epidemiological risk factors, drug use, perceptions about drugs, and a biological phenomenon of the brain known as incentive salience. Perceptions and experiences related to drugs were gathered using structured methods. MDS and hierarchical plots of drug perceptions are presented in order to demonstrate the power of culture and expectation on perception and choice. Structural equation modeling was …

Death Stares, Tamara Kneese

Media Studies

Reports of a general “death taboo” have been greatly exaggerated. But there remains a disconnect between the shiny and seemingly disembodied memorials on social media platforms and the presence of the corpse.

Assessing Attachment Process Among Early Institutionalized Orphans In Burkina Faso, Africa, Clarisse Barbier

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is early attachment among institutionalized infant orphans. Previous research has pointed towards attachment problems in dysfunctional institutions, but did not take a comparative approach to understanding attachment. The present research was conducted in an orphanage in Kaya, a little town located in the Center North Region of Burkina Faso, Africa. The 22 children at the institution were aged four months to five years and were mostly from the Mossi ethnicity. Using mixed psychological and anthropological methods such as behaviors checklist, attachment questionnaires, and participant observation, this research indicates that orphans do not display evident …