Few archaeological sites in the Southwest have been documented, much less excavated, which contain occupations that span the pre- and post-Spanish contact time periods in the same way as Awatovi, an abandoned Hopi village in Northeastern Arizona. Awatovi provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of European contact on a traditional society. Using ethnohistorical, ethnographical, and archaeological data, primarily the zooarchaeological collections, a means of ascertaining what effects the introduction of Old World domestic animals had on Hopi subsistence strategies and bone resource utilization over time is explored. An intrasite comparison is conducted between the three major Awatovi sections: the Western Mound, the Hopi Village, and the Spanish Mission so that these effects may be studied. The prehistoric and historic Awatovi archaeofaunal assemblages are compared to the Hopi sites of Homol'ovi and Walpi, respectively, in order to identify possible sampling problems and animal usage patterns.

In this dissertation, I explore the complex layers of the dynamic American cultures that inform personal experiences, shape national identities, and impinge upon the global order. Situating this project within recent explorations of cultural globalization within American Studies, Cultural Studies, and the Environmental Justice Movement, I examine cultural narratives united by one colonial trope: the colonial conquest of natural resources through the subjugation of feminine body and feminized land (noble savage), and the retreat of the primitive ignoble savage in the face of civilization and progress. These narratives include Henry Adams and Everett Emerson's opposing representations of Captain John Smith, the articulation of America as 'nature's nation' in Thomas Cole's art and the PBS program Frontier House, the Broadway show Miss Saigon, and the now infamous Wen Ho Lee case. These disparate narratives, at the intersection of discourses of nation, nature, race, and gender, accumulate a collective force even in their separate moments. Adams and Emerson demonstrate a linear view of American history that upholds progress in terms of industrialization and expansionism at the cost of nature, and racialized and gendered others. Cole and Frontier House romanticize subjugation in terms of nature, race and gender, which is construed as an inevitable and necessary step towards progress. In the Broadway musical Miss Saigon and media and political representations of the Wen Ho Lee case, such progress contributes to an American identity that plays a leading role within the current the globalized order. The ancient colonial trope remains alive today through these narratives, I argue, because the apparatuses of global capitalist development and environmentalism have created new global regimes of governmentality that continue, under new guise, the structures and relationships under colonialism. These narratives are part of a cultural process productive of a new 'common sense,' an understanding that helps people grasp cultural representations, solve social conflicts, and negotiate political realities. As such, cultural texts are integral aspects of history and politics.

In the present era, scientists and researchers have gathered together a considerable amount of evidence which putatively demonstrates that contact occurred between the Old and New Worlds far in advance of either Columbus or the Vikings. This paper will describe and examine a small part of this evidence as well as provide a background summary of how pre-Columbian history was constructed. The emphasis of this paper reveals how epigraphic research has become the principle element in current investigations.

The western guest ranch evolved out of an era when American literature, film, and radio romanticized the cowboy and his landscape as symbols of the frontier west. As with architectural style, landscape imagery was a powerful tool in conveying social trends. Research briefly details the evolution of the dude ranch and its development in southeastern Arizona. Specific area of study is the San Simon and Sulphur Springs Valley of present day Cochise County, Arizona. A brief history of the region's settlement is provided. The location, landscape, facilities, and entertainment of eight guest "dude" ranches in the study area is described. A detailed examination of Faraway Ranch is provided, including site plans, photographs, and inventory of existing vegetation. The vernacular landscape of the southeastern Arizona guest ranch is identified. Reasons for the appeal of a guest ranch and its landscape to patrons is described.

This thesis asserts that the problem of gang violence is not solved through the deportations of criminal immigrants. There are several reasons deported Salvadoran gang members return to Los Angeles, including identification with the city of Los Angeles, lack of identification with El Salvador and fear of persecution in El Salvador. The history of El Salvador provides a base on which the current issue of deportations can be analyzed. Since the majority of gang activity in the United States is based in the Los Angeles area, the impact of growing up as an immigrant in Los Angeles is important to understand. Finally, immigration attorneys present asylum arguments based on the documented persecution of gang members by agencies the government of El Salvador cannot or will not control. My data, including interviews, newspaper articles and a transcription of a case for gang-based asylum, show a clear pattern of persecution by the Salvadoran national police.

In order to meet the demands of a European roaster interested in coffee produced by women, a Colombian coffee cooperative developed a female growers' program in 2000. Today this program has grown into an association of 390 women. This thesis evaluates how marketing strategies have impacted women's lives, gender roles, experiences of leadership, and expectations of improving profits as well as individual and communities living standards. In addition, it examines how women have taken advantage of gender equity, female leadership, and empowerment discourses as a marketing strategy. The lessons learned from the successes and challenges that these women have experienced is documented. This research examines how new circumstances and struggles have increased women's participation in coffee production and how these transformations have opened new opportunities for women in the market. The study is based on interviews with members of the Asociación de Mujeres Caficultoras Cauca, in the summer 2007.

This paper creates a contextualized narrative of the history of Amazonian development projects. This project will examine understandings and representations of nature and the Amazon, and how these representations, and their assumptions, have influenced the trajectory of development projects by the Brazilian state. The first chapter reviews how humans theoretically and philosophically understand and construct the human nature relationship, in theory and practice. The second chapter examines how the dominant views of the human-nature relationship were formalized and operationalized under the military dictatorship's Operação Amazônia and fostered economic and social incorporation of the region through the Polonoroeste and Carájas programs. Finally, the third chapter will use the Brazilian states hydroelectric plan and the Belo Monte case study to examine the contested nature of the narrative of Amazonian nature by examining competing visions for the Amazons future advanced by the Brazilian state and international environmental contingent. Throughout these different chapter topics the same themes of modernity, progress, economic growth, conceptualization of nature and definitions of appropriate human-nature relationships are examined.

During the past ten years, Mexico has witnessed incredible progress in the fight for rights of its gay and lesbian citizens. In 2009, Mexico City became the first city in Latin America to legally permit same-sex marriage. Several years later, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that marriages performed in the capital must be recognized in all 31 of the countrys states. This is dramatic social change in a nation where nearly 80 percent of the population self identifies as Catholic. So how did a predominantly Catholic country, with a reputation for a dualistic approach to gender become one of the Latin American leaders in same-sex rights? Using data from the Latin American Popular Opinion Project (LAPOP), this paper examines levels of support for same-sex marriage in Mexico, changes in that support between 2010 and 2012, and the factors that explain these shifts.

I investigated the stereotypes of Brazilians identified as black using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodsunobtrusive observation, 12 informal interviews, and a content analysis of 33 newspaper issues and 26 magazine issues. The results of my analyses indicate that skin color is more important than racial classification in relation to stereotypes. Certain stereotypes are more applicable to darker skinned Brazilians, while others are only applicable to race. The Brazilian media oscillated between presenting a more egalitarian view of Brazilians of all colors in prominent positions and replicating stereotypes. In general, darker skinned Brazilian males were likely to experience negative consequences of stereotypes due to their gender, skin color and socioeconomic status.

<p> Citizenship is not a neutral word; it evokes numerous interpretations and connotations in various policies, discourse, and practices. Its significance is motivated by current narratives of rights and responsibilities of a citizenry, (illegal) immigration, and English-only ideologies. The basis for this investigation is the perception that the U.S. has traditionally been a country of immigrants as well as the role that English plays in a nation without an official language. </p><p> This dissertation is situated in the research domains of language policy (Shohamy, 2006; Spolsky, 2004), globalization (Blommaert, 2003; Bruthiaux, 2005), language assessment (McNamara, 2000; Shohamy, 2001), and language ideologies (Ricento, 2003; Wiley &amp; Wright, 2004). Understanding that meanings are transmitted both from the top-down and the bottom-up (McCarty, 2011; Ramanathan, 2005), citizenship is investigated in naturalization policy and the citizenship test, swearing-in ceremonies for new citizens, interactions at a local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office, citizenship preparation classes, and the media, uncovering discrepancies between what citizenship means and how it is ascertained. Data from these sites is analyzed using qualitative methods such as grounded theory, ethnography, interviews, social semiotics, linguistic landscape research, and corpus-based critical discourse analysis. </p><p> This dissertation asserts that discursive and semiotic ideals of citizenship affect the status of English in the U.S., societal ideologies of immigration, language assessment practices, and teaching pedagogy. How naturalization applicants conceive of citizenship is not always in accord with the U.S. government's representations of citizenship, but it is the government's definitions of citizenship that affect applicants' future access and opportunities. The dissertation concludes with suggestions for citizenship reform at the level of classroom pedagogy and test design, and ways that critical and active citizenship can be practiced in everyday life.</p>