International and Area Studies Commons^™

Woven Narratives From Tsum Valley: Reconfiguring Local, Erica Gibble

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Tsum Valley is on the border between Nepal and Tibet. It exists as a border land and a trekking trail and a home. Despite its label as a “Hidden Himalayan Valley,” Tsum is currently undergoing changes that make it increasingly connected to the globalized world. I set out to study and learn weaving in Tsum. I dispersed within my account of learning the craft with scenes from everyday life to better understand how weaving and production of the chu pa fits into work, family, economy and community. For my study I stayed in one home in Lamaguan, Upper Tsum to …

Stories From A Place Called Walung, Jenny Ding

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The goal of the project is to explore the relationship between people and the natural landscape through storytelling. I’m interested by elements like: terrain, topography, path, wayfinding, natural disasters, weather, natural resources, flora and fauna. How do these elements manifest in people’s oral history, daily lives, and spatial identity? How are these elements and the environment changing, and how are people adapting to these changes? My approach will be to talk to people at Walung about their interactions with elements of the natural landscape, both current and from the past. I will also document my own observations of these elements. …

Comprehending Climate Change In The Himalayas: An Exercise In Digital Storytelling, Emily Carlson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was completed as an attempt to visualize, contextualize, and humanize the effects of climate change in the Himalayan orogen through the lens of digital storytelling. The ArcGIS software application, Story Maps, was used to create a highly visual “storytelling” webpage. It combines spatial and empirical data from across the whole Himalayan range with stories and case studies collected in eight villages of Lower Mustang, Nepal. This project is thus a union of climatologic and ethnographic research. As climate change continues to charge ahead in an incredibly vulnerable part of the world, the people of the region face the …

Boys’ Sex Education In Rural Maharashtra: Context, Community, And Trust, Sierra Bradshaw-Kreimer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The primary research question of this study is: do alumni of CRHP’s Adolescent Boy’s Program (ABP) and parents of alumni of the ABP report that the boys have changed after completing the program, and if yes, in what ways? Beyond that, the study is also concerned with examining potential reasons behind the results of the primary research question. The researcher conducted interviews with 3 ABP alumni and 3 parents of ABP alumni, in addition to attending information sessions and observing the workings of CRHP. The primary findings were that yes, the respondents reported a change. The change was described as …

Trust, Access, And Adaptation To Needs: The Role Of Community-Based Promoters In Health Insurance Delivery In Gujarat, India, Lauryn Stafford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The research question this study addresses is: How do community-based promoters contribute to the delivery and utilization of health insurance among marginalized populations in India? To address this question, the successes and difficulties experienced by VimoSEWA community-based insurance promoters, called aagewans, were investigated through field visits and personal interviews in Ahmedabad and nearby rural districts in Gujarat. VimoSEWA’s insurance delivery model is an appropriate topic of investigation for this study because its beneficiaries are self-employed women with limited prior access to financial protection. Both aagewans and insurance members were interviewed during this study to develop a comprehensive understanding of the …

Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome In India: A Socio-Cultural Perspective, Hannah Wickham

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines the ways in which cultural determinants affect the health-seeking, diagnosis and treatment process of women with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) as well as the underlying socio-cultural causes of the illness. Often coined as a “lifestyle disease”, PCOS is becoming a growing concern of physicians and women alike as its prevalence is on the rise with no signs of slowing down. Lifestyle, stigmas/taboos, PCOS’s effect on identity, and quality of life are all areas that are examined throughout this paper. A mixture of patients’ and doctors’ perspectives on PCOS were gathered throughout a three-week time period in …

What Does It Mean To Respect One’S Mother? A Narrative Approach Exploring Maternal Respect Through The Perspectives Of Zulu Mothers And Their Children, Sarah Robertson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper attempts to synthesize both background research and interview content on respect, specifically respect for mothers from their children in Cato Manor. Cato Manor is populated with largely single-mother, matriarchal households of Zulu identifying people.

I conducted eight interviews with four mothers and their children, with the “children” ranging in age from 19 to 29. I requested that my participants share as many stories with me as possible in order to help me write my findings in a narrative approach. I asked about a variety of topics, including what respect is in general, what it means to respect one’s …

“If You Seek, You Know You Will Find And If You Find You Have Cancer, Why Do You Seek?” Knowledge And Practices Regarding Cancer Screening And Prevention In Cato Manor, Lilly Hennessey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The incidence of cancer continues to increase in South Africa, creating a serious concern for public health. There are currently several cancer awareness programs operating in the Durban area, but little is known as to whether they are having a positive impact on communities. This project aimed to understand the knowledge and practices regarding cancer screening and prevention in Cato Manor, KwaZulu-Natal. In doing so, it assessed the effectiveness and knowledge of current programs which work to increase cancer awareness.

This study used a mixed methodology approach. Surveys were given to 30 residents of Cato Manor to gain a quantitative …

Exploring The Space Between Healers: A Narrative Approach To Understanding The Relationship Between Traditional Healers And Biomedical Practitioners In Kwazulu-Natal, Marisa Delsignore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite playing essential and parallel roles in the lives of patients, there exists a frictional, imbalanced relationship between traditional healers and Western doctors in South Africa. While national policy encourages a seamless system rooted in both Western science and indigenous knowledge, biomedical institutions are hesitant to accept traditional medical practices, which are based on less tangible and more spiritually-oriented elements. This research project turns to these two ideologically different entities to assess their perspectives on the roles of themselves and the other within the context of the South African health system.

Responses from semi-structured interviews with seven health practitioners from …

Who And What Is Amazigh? Self-Assertion, Erasure, And Standardization, Alexis Colon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research focuses on the identity of the indigenous peoples of Morocco, or the Amazigh. While this culture has endured different iterations of colonization, self-assertion and activism in favor of preserving culture and improving conditions for Amazigh can often be viewed as controversial to the elites of Morocco. This controversy, however, does not stop Moroccans from proclaiming their Amazigh background or portraying their culture. This paper aims to describe qualitative data taken from numerous interviews on the subject of self-identification of Amazigh and different hopes and expectations for the continuation of the language and culture of Amazigh among common peoples.

Sufis In A 'Foreign' Zawiya: Moroccan Perceptions Of The Tijani Pilgrimage To Fes, Joel Green

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this ISP is to investigate Moroccan perceptions of sub-Saharan members of the Tijaniyya during the completion of their religious pilgrimage to Fes. The relationship between Moroccans andTijani pilgrims is particularly complex as it occurs at an intersection of various identities, most prominently including race, religion, class and nationality. This project focuses on Moroccans who work in the area surrounding the shrine of Ahmed al-Tijani and either market their business towards Tijani pilgrims or frequently serve Tijani pilgrims as customers. In the course of interviews with five Moroccans, three major themes emerged: 1. Condemnation of Tijani religious practice. …

Missing Youth: The Absence Of The Young Moroccan Voice In The Nation, Reid Leiter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Morocco has long maintained stability in a region historically known for fluctuating sociopolitical climates, considerably in part to a robust constitutional monarchy. However, the 20 February movement that coincided with the 2011 Arab Spring showed that the government is vulnerable to an energetic, organized, and a vocal youth population. Now, seven years after a constitutional referendum aimed at installing more democratic processes was passed, the growing youth populous feel more detached from their nation than ever, ignored by the government and monarchy, and ultimately lacking a voice in Moroccan politics. By excluding their voice and ignoring their opinions, the government …

Examinando La Relación Entre El Ecoturismo Y La Migración En La Nevería, Pueblos Mancomunados, Oaxaca / Examining The Relationship Between Ecotourism And Migration In La Nevería, Pueblos Mancomunados, Oaxaca, Thomas Canny

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Los proyectos ecoturísticos en los Pueblos Mancomunados de la Sierra Norte de Oaxaca son un ejemplo de organización comunitaria para disminuir la emigración y mejorar la calidad de vida. Esta investigación intenta de analizar los cambios en el fenómeno migratorio del pequeño pueblo de La Nevería por medio de entrevistas personales con pobladores, y trazando la historia del proyecto ecoturístico que han implementado en su comunidad.

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The ecotourism projects in the Mancomunados Towns of the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca are an example of community organization to reduce emigration and improve the quality of life. This research tries to analyze …

El Estado “Ingobernable” La Relación Entre Usos Y Costumbres, La Migración, El “Progreso” / The "Ungovernable" State The Relationship Between Uses And Customs, Migration, "Progress", Rosario Rivera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Renegado: Immigrant Identities And Aspirations Of White Muslim Converts In Morocco, Paul Williamson Kiefer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If one turns over enough stones in Morocco, they will come across hundreds of Western converts to Islam, most of whom are white. Some are obvious: one might spot a blue-eyed Belgian wearing a jellaba on a train to Fes or a Danish woman in a hijab running a bakery in central Casablanca. Others might be mistaken for tourists, like an American woman with her hair pulled back into a ponytail seated in the corner of a high-end café in Rabat. These converts are immigrants, and most chose to live in Morocco as a form of hijra, or migration for …

The Theology Of Reconciliation As A Contemporary Political Theology: The Present State Of The Balkan Region And Its Possible Outcomes, Sergej Beuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article aims not only to give an insight into the theological premises of the problem of reconciliation, but it also suggests the practical implementation of this theology within the body of the public policies of the countries of the West Balkans. I have tried to clarify elementary terms inherent in both post-conflict and contemporary theology, especially prominent within the theology of reconciliation which revolves around searching for possible solutions for a lasting and a viable peace. The theology of reconciliation should not remain within the scope of academic speculation, but it should be implemented by religious organizations as a …

Is Article 16(3) Of The Model Law A ‘One-Shot Remedy’ For Non-Participating Respondents In International Arbitrations?, Darius Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

It is not uncommon for practitioners acting for claimants in an arbitration to encounter a respondent who chooses to boycott the arbitral process. In cases involving such “non-participating” respondents, what are the rights and obligations of each party? Specifically, insofar as Model Law jurisdictions are concerned, if a tribunal decides on jurisdiction as a preliminary issue must the non-participating respondent apply under Article 16(3) of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (Model Law) to the curial Court to review that decision, or otherwise lose the right to challenge any eventual award thereafter on jurisdictional grounds? Can the non-participating …

Frontmatter (Volume 38, Issue 4), Paul B. Mojzes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Is Collective Memory Making The Next Balkan War Imminent?, Nikola Knežević

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Sometimes cultures, religions, and ethnicities that shared the same space for centuries become fierce rivals, forcing their irreconcilable differences to develop to such an extent that they see war as the only option. The Balkans has had its share of conflicts, destruction, and atrocities leaving scars too deep to heal. The question is: have they seen the end of it, or will the frozen conflict lurking beneath the fragile peace unleash its deadly force again?

Tajikistan: Almost Two Thousand Mosques Closed In 2017, Http://Www.Forum18.Org/Archive.Php?Article_Id=2356 Forum 18

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Tajikistan has claimed to have closed almost 2,000 mosques in 2017. Officials claimed they were closed at the request of local residents, but have not been able to explain why they only allow mosques with a capacity far below the possible numbers of worshippers.