Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Roma Education In Serbia: The Implications Of Prejudice And Ethnic Conflict And The Potential For Change, Shane Branon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cultural, religious and ethnic divisions are nothing new to the Slavic people of the southwest Balkans. The region once known as Yugoslavia has experienced periods of assimilation and peaceful coexistence as well as ethnic hatred and aggression. In recent years, the majority of this has been concentrated inside Serbia, the nucleus of the former Yugoslavia. While it may appear that Serbia has overcome the ethnic hatred that has plagued its social and political culture, there continues to be ethnic discrimination in both the social sphere and government institutions. This prejudice is most evident in the relationship between the Serbian majority …

Outing The Center: Homophobia In Jamaica, Jamilah King

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Jamaica is a country with a unique historical legacy of slavery and resistance. Once Britain most prosperous colony, Jamaica was also home to the majority of slave uprisings in the New World . This legacy of resistance has created a contemporary climate rife with cultural contradictions; the country’s motto, “Out of many one people” belies the many racial, class and gender hierarchies that are omnipresent forces in Jamaican daily life.

Despite the image heralded around the world of Jamaica as a tropical paradise, the country also has the reputation for being fiercely homophobic. How is homosexuality perceived in Jamaican society? …

Dutty Wine: Ooman Big Up Or Dis?, Nicole Cruz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study explores the extent to which females are liberated or oppressed in dancehall in Kingston, Jamaica. Using a qualitative approach and feminist perspective, I explore dancehall culture and the ghetto communities on which it centers. Participant observation allowed me to experience the dynamics of the dancehall space. Using in-depth interviews, I assessed my observations with the opinions of dancehall fans and other community members. Ultimately, it becomes clear in this study that though heterosexual females are liberated with their freedom of sexual expression, dancehall is still has a deeply patriarchal structure. Heterosexual males dominate dancehall by oppressing heterosexual females, …

Sex-Education And Preventative And Contraceptive Services: Educação-Sexual E Serviços Contraceptivos E Preventativos, Elizabeth M. Ortiz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Maternal morbidity is one of the leading causes of death amongst women in Latina America. Lack of access to Reproductive Health services has incited a continental epidemic amongst adolescent women - and should be considered a public health crisis. Yet, there is little being done by the governing male bodies to secure access and the Right to Reproductive Health services. This is not only a means of re-enforcing gendered inequalities- but also class, and racial disparities. Reproductive Health in Brazil and Northeastern Brazil in particular, serves as an allegory for socio-economic, gender, ethnic, and racial inequality in the region. The …

Learning To Fight: The Mst’S Escola Nacional And Its Pedagogy Of Resistance, Marisol León

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

O Movimento de Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, or Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST), has accomplished extensive land occupations and other socioeconomic and political gains by interjecting a class struggle in its agrarian reform platform. Thus, connected to its physical fight and demand for land, the MST from its inception has engaged in the political formation of sem terra—a process that “refers to learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (Freire 35). For the MST, this political formation is critical in the construction of an alternative socialist “nation that …

Casa Da Mulher Do Nordeste: Feminist Visions Of Development, Sarah Frazer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study presents the unique approach of Casa da Mulher do Nordeste to rural women’s empowerment and sustainable development. Their approach focuses on three main areas: 1) raising collective consciousness about unequal gender relations; 2) providing technical skills and assistance to in the areas of production and commercialization; 3) providing institutional support to the networks created in the occupation of economic and political spaces. CASA intimately links women’s empowerment to movements of agroecology and economic solidarity, thus extending the vision of equality between women and men to equality between human beings and the Earth—an ultimate definition of sustainable development. Their …

La Economía Solidaria: Ayudando A Las Mujeres A Cambiar Su Destino De Pobreza, Michele Frix

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the last two decades in Latin America many social movements have arisen in response to the permeation of neo-liberalism throughout. These movements have many different labels (economía solidaria, economía comunitaria, economía social, solidaridad social, etc) but are all centered around the objective of forming a network of groups in the fight for economic justice, joining in solidarity, cooperation and mutual support. The idea of “economía solidaria” has become an alternative method of development in Latin America on the micro level, alleviating the effects of poverty that result from neo-liberal policies. Many non-governmental organizations have adopted the beliefs of “economía …

Reproducing Social Identities: Employer-Employee Relationships Within Paid Domestic Labor In The Netherlands, Melissa Macdonald

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My independent study project analyzes how through employer relationships with their domestic workers, whether maternalism, personalism, distant hierarchy, or business relationship, social statuses and structural inequalities are reproduced within paid domestic labor in the Netherlands. Using Pei-Chia Lan’s concept of “boundary work” and Mary Romero’s employer typologies as theoretical tools I analyzed four interviews with native Dutch, female employers, and three with immigrant domestic workers. Along with providing an overview of paid domestic work within the Netherlands, my analysis focused employers perceptions of the “Other;” conceptualization of personal relationships, and conceptualization of labor relationships. This research found that employers fell …

Decision Modeling: Why Farmers Do Or Do Not Convert To Organic Farming, Ryan Locke

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines why farmers in Northern New South Wales, Australia do or do not convert to organic farming from conventional farming practices. Organic agriculture provides a production alternative that may be environmentally and nutritionally beneficial. Because the structural settings of economy and society influence decision-making on an individual basis at the farm level, discussions of policy must consider why farmers do, or do not, convert to organic farming. Ultimately, the successfulness of a policy depends on the effectiveness of motivating individual action. A hierarchical decision tree was created using ethnographic decision tree modeling. Elimination criteria, motivational criteria, and constraints …

Interpreting Their Blood: The Contradictions Of Approaches To Menstruation Through Religious Education, Ritual And Culture In Rabat, Morocco, Nitzan Ziv

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Menstruation is often perceived by individuals of different cultural and religious backgrounds as dirty or impure, and therefore has become a demeaning feature of womanhood. The dialectical concepts of purity and impurity are integral parts of Islamic religion, thought and practice as they draw lines between those things sacred and those profane. Women’s religious education, in particular, is critical in establishing positive reinforcement for their perceptions of their physical selves and their role in society. However, education in this manner cannot be limited to schools and religious institutions; family and culture are integral parts of a women’s education about subjects …

Mediation In Morocco: Current Uses And Future Possibilities, Rachel Markowitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the world is searching for more effective methods and implementation of conflict resolution, it becomes increasingly important to consider the traditional uses of mediation and current efforts at training in communities, organizations, and the government. The purpose of this case study is to describe the role of mediation as a form of conflict resolution for several groups in Morocco as well as to analyze the prospect for more effective formal mediation in the future through training mechanisms from observations and interviews with current and future leaders throughout Morocco.

Contemporary Art In Samoa: The Role Of Personal Expression, Christina Cioffari

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Contemporary art is a means of creating and recreating the self, a means of self reflection and defining ones identity. Conceptual art that expresses personal ideas and emotions plays a small role in the arts of Samoa, however it does exist in the minds and galleries of a few individuals. The intention of this study is to examine the role that personal expression plays in Samoan society and the artwork created here. The attitudes and approaches to contemporary art was explored, in addition to the underlying causes of those perceptions.

The foundation of this paper evolved out of statements from …

Migration As An Economic Activity: The Efficiency Of Population Redistribution In Viet Nam, Megan L. Maurer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration policy in Viet Nam views land and populations as economic resources. At reunification, these resources were not evenly distributed, thus the migration policy of the newly formed Socialist Republic of Viet Nam sought to redistribute them in a more efficient manner. However, this viewpoint does not take into account environmental and social factors. These factors include, but are not limited to issues surrounding the suitability of land for cultivation, the choice of crops to be cultivated, the infrastructural supports provided to migrant communities, and the lack of capital being put into the system.

As a consequence of these factors, …

Arte En Las Calles, Graffiti En Granada: Un Movimiento En Cambio, Alyson Virginia Visser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

¿Qué significa arte? Esta es la pregunta más popular en todas las clases básicas de historia del arte del mundo. ¿Cómo podemos definir el fenómeno de arte? Hay miles de argumentos de lo que puede ser arte, de lo que deberían enseñar en los museos de bellas artes. A lo largo de historia, ha habido artistas de todas las formas cambiando las “reglas” de lo que es aceptado como arte en la sociedad. Ahora mismo, en el siglo XXI, la mayoría de la sociedad puede comprender el arte como una expresión con un mensaje del artista, hecho sobre algún material …

A Promising Start In An Arid Region: Assessment Of The Anaqeed Al-Khair Cooperative’S Impact, Jason Shenk

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In light of increased use of cooperatives by the Jordanian government and the sparseness of in-depth impact assessments, this study seeks to investigate the Anaqeed Al-Khair's impact on livelihoods in terms of income flows, vulnerability, and quality of life as well as analyzing the distribution of impacts based on degree of need, membership status, and gender. Working within the framework of the sustainable livelihoods approach, the study is based on qualitative research using participatory monitoring and evaluation guidelines. Findings include that cooperative projects are valuable for their impact on participants and demonstration of new viable livelihood strategies, but the benefits …

Obstacles To Women’S Political Empowerment In Jordan: Family, Islam, And Patriarchal Gender Roles, Margaret Pettygrove

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Recent developments in women’s legislative rights in Jordan, and rising interest in women’s issues throughout the world, have sparked interest in women’s political participation. The purpose of this study is to investigate why, despite numerous advancements for women in Jordanian society, women have not gained greater representation in political processes. This study is based primarily on interviews with 15 Jordanian women between the ages of 18 and 36, as well as interviews with 6 professionals in the field of women’s studies in Jordan. The results of these interviews were analyzed within a theoretical framework provided by literary sources. Research was …

Male Istine: A Collection Of Short Stories And Prose Exhibiting Pre-War Lifestyles, Experiences, Ideals, & Memories, Adriana Lebaron

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Muslim Women’S Religious And Feminist Identities: A Study Of Muslim Feminism In The Bosnian Context, María Lis Baiocchi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper explores Muslim Feminism in Bosnia Herzegovina as a phenomenon that has been developing in the past ten years or so among Muslim women.

The introduction to this paper defines the concept of Muslim feminism and examines how women’s identities as Muslim believers and their identities as women fighting for gender equality (i.e.: feminists) shape and determine one another.

I then move on to examine my ethnographic research methodology and my self reflections from the field.

Later, I give an account of the history of feminism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I pay particular attention upon the noticeable absence …

Education For Survival: Roma And Hopes For The Future, Keevan Labowitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

The Black Question, Nicole L. Butler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In April 2006, a 37-year old Ethiopian man was brutally attacked by two skinheads sending the country into a state of mourning. In the days to follow, the German press covered the attack extensively raising the question if whether or not race-based crimes had witnessed resurgence in Germany. For many people, the answer to such a question required a further analysis of the last few years in Germany. In 2005, Oury Jalloh, an immigrant from Sierra Leone burned to death while in a holding cell at the city jail in Dessau. The examiners labeled his death suicide although his hands …

Trazando Fronteras, Persiguiendo Sueños: La Realidad De La Migración Del Campo En Nicaragua Hacia Costa Rica, Becca Telzak

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“Este viaje en búsqueda de una mejor vida es lo que llamaremos migración y a sus pasajeros trabajadores migrantes.”

Durante este proyecto, yo escuché muchas veces las palabras Trabajadores Migrantes. Pero quien es un trabajador migrante? Según la organización ATC (asociación de Trabajadores del Campo del Nicaragua), “toda persona que se traslade de un país a otro para buscar empleo, trabaja o que haya realizado una actividad laboral remunerada.” Hay muchos tipos de trabadores que son migrantes: temporal, Semi permanente o permanente. Los trabajadores temporales son por un año o menos y trabajan durante las cosechas para exportación y dependen …

Mujeres De Frente: Conciencia, Amistad Y Voz En La Cárcel De Mujeres El Inca, Rachel Nordberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Pasé el mes de este proyecto de estudio independiente en Quito, la ciudad capital del Ecuador. Hablaba y participaba con el grupo Mujeres de frente, externas e internas en la cárcel de mujeres de Quito, un colectivo de mujeres dentro y fuera de la cárcel de mujeres que está en el barrio quiteño el Inca. En este ensayo, estudio desde las perspectivas de las Mujeres de frente, el ambiente sociopolítico del Ecuador y la resultante caracterización y criminalización de las internas, además de la pobreza y cómo se relaciona a las experiencias de criminalización. Comento en las distintas concepciones qué …

Luta: The Story Of The Movimento Dos Atingidos Por Barragens In The Valley Of Jaguaribe, Rachel Wood

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is a paper about communities of share-croppers, landless families, and often-illiterate subsidence farmers who organized themselves to fight for their human rights after they were displaced by a dam. By organizing themselves with the national Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens, they were able overcome their marginalized position and demand changes that would protect their culture, protect their community, give them better access to education, access to work, and access to safe drinking water. What’s more, they are fighting for their right to participate in politics and in decisions about their own lives, and by promoting participation, promoting education, and …

The Grass Is Always Greener In Gated Communities: The Social Segregation And Construction Of Difference In The Urbanizaciones Cerradas Of The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, Ben Simons

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the past 15 years, the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires (RMBA) has experienced the phenomenon of the massive development of hundreds of gated communities outside the city center (Capital Federal). This has been due to a perceived decrease in the quality of life within the city center by many middle to upper class residents, and a rising sensation of insecurity and fear within the open urban environment. The search for a more safe and secure setting as well as a higher quality of life has led many of these residents to flee the city for the enclosed environments of …

Viviendo Sin Bosques: Perspectivas En Disputa Sobre El Desarrollo Y Su Impacto En El Pueblo Mbya Guaraní, Maya Politis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The indigenous populations all over the world have been and continue to experience drastic transformations in these past decades, each at its own pace and in its own form. Although throughout history all cultures and societies experience transformations, for the most part the recent transformations have been forced on these communities to a degree more brutal than ever. The powerful effects of the modern capitalistic system are quickly displacing and endangering indigenous populations. Practically every square foot of land and air has been privatized, sold to big corporations and exploited to benefit productivity without even the consideration of sustainability. This …

What About Sustainable Improvement? Current Efforts And Challenges In The Work Of The Municipal Government To Improve The Rights Of The Garbage Pickers In Fortaleza, Brazil, Shehzia Valiulla

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The government programs seek to improve the condition of the oppressed and the poor, but very few truly have a sustainable positive impact on the lives of the poor. This research, through a case study of a program, Pilot Project of Selective Collection in Jangurussu, run by municipal officers for the benefit of garbage pickers (catadores do lixo in Brazil), attempts to define what characterizes and ensures the sustainable improvement in the work-related rights of catadores in Fortaleza, a city in Northeast Brazil, through seeking perspectives from two important stakeholders, the catadores and the municipal officers. Organizing catadores into legal …

From Quilombo To Bairro: The Maintenance Of A Permanent Afro-Brazilian Underclass, Calisha Myers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Inequalities in access to education, as a result of institutionalized racism and social exclusion, are contributing to the maintenance of a permanent Afro-Brazilian underclass. Beiru, a community that sits on the periphery of Salvador, Bahia is an example of what the results of this physical and social marginalization is doing to Afro-Brazilian communities all over the Northeast. In my research, I sought to gain an understanding of what the young Afro-Brazilians that attend secondary school at the Escola Estadual de Zumbi dos Palmares and youth in the community are getting from these schools (in terms of what they are learning, …

The Road To Recovery: Economic And Social Development In Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Erinn Lachner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina is recreating itself. This municipality, located in the Republic of Srpska, is the setting of the 1995 genocide, which murdered 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Destroyed by the war, this municipality is rebuilding its economy, infrastructure and civil society from scratch. Srebrenica has made a large amount of progress in the past ten years, with the help of international and local donors. These donors have contributed millions of dollars to the effort. However, Srebrenica still faces many obstacles, namely, high unemployment, lack of physical infrastructure and poor attention to social welfare. While slow, progress is made everyday in …

“Oh Uncle Pema!” The Role Of Musical Agency In The Creation Of A Modern Tibetan Identity, Tracy Ellwanger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“Aku Pema,” a widely popular song in both Tibet and exile, is a useful vehicle for camparing the agency of Tibetan musicians and audiences, as they interact with dominating cultures (Chinese, Hindi, and Western) and official paradigms (espoused by the Chinese government and the Tibetan government-in-exile). After examining the role and implications of “Aku Pema” as a “political” song in both locales, I will look at notions of modernity and tradition, especially in the context of the growing sinocization of Tibetan culture in Tibet and the resulting exile views of pure versus impure Tibetan music.

At the heart of this …

La Migración Por Obligación: Los Movimientos Migratorios De Los Mapuche, Rebecca Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project seeks to explore connections between the neoliberal economic model with the migratory patterns of the mapuche, an indiginous people group in Chile. Since the imposition of neoliberalism the mapuche have been forced to migrate from the country to urban centers in order to survive. Chile has taken control over the majority of mapuche land, forcing an economy of subsistence agriculture on the pueblo. Thus, the youth vacate their communities, migrating to the cities to try and provide a future for their families. In so doing, the influences of the dominant culture permeate nearly every aspect of their lives. …