Notions of race, ethnicity, and gender are so frequently essentialized precisely because they are such complex, messy, contingent, contradictory, and fragmentary concepts. As a result, representations of race, gender, and ethnicity tend to mistake the wholeness of the representations for the wholeness of the racial, ethnic, or gendered subject. Just as race, gender, and ethnicity are lived and experienced by comic book creators, so too are they imagined and constructed within the constraints of industry practices. This dissertation examines the representation of race, gender, and ethnicity in comic books through the eyes of comic book producers; a relatively small segment of the U.S. entertainment industry consisting of men, women, and corporate entities that make their living imagining identities and telling tales of adventure and heroism. This dissertation is an intentional and, I will argue, necessary break from more traditional models of media and cultural studies that emphasize consumption, textual analysis, audience reception, and reading practices.

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate that for some Mexican migrants and members of their families, migration is stress-inducing. Certain types of migration or mobility carried out under certain circumstances may make the individual's and family's psychosocial adaptation to everyday life problematic. It is argued and defended with ethnographic and empirical data that migration may be distinguished as a causal or precipitant factor in social deviance. The results of survey research among 218 Mexican psychiatric patients, many of whom had a social history of migration, are discussed. The incidence of patients with a history of migration in this group is reported and interpreted. The maladaptive approaches to migration which these patients seem to have taken are described. Those patients with migration in their backgrounds are distinguished from non-migrant patients and it is suggested that, because migrants had a notably different set of social factors which contributed to their problems and because their emotional problems ran a very different course, migration may elicit a syndromic response of maladaptation in some migrants and members of their families. Finally, through the presentation and analysis of case material on fourteen families currently involved in migration, an effort is made to distinquish adaptive from maladaptive migration. The way in which migration in certain directions and under particular circumstances entails risks that may affect individual well-being and family functioning is described. Migration is depicted as a multifaceted social process which permeates all aspects of personal and social life. The short term effects of migration as they directly influence those who migrate, such as culture contact, isolation, separation from kinsmen are considered and the way in which the well-adapted and poorly-adapted families sought to cope with these consequences of migration is discussed. Also, the indirect effects of migration are described and the case study material is used to explain how migration established certain pathological family themes in these maladapted groups which contributed to the onset of psychiatric illnesses in their members.

On November 3, 1978, the West Indian island of Dominica became an independent nation. Although international analysts and Dominican citizens alike questioned the economic viability of the new Caribbean mini-states, the approximately 80,000 citizens of this small island had little choice but to seek political independence. Dependency on former colonial powers in the West Indies is not restricted to economic matters. The colonial experience in the West Indies profoundly affected the societies of the region. As the indigenous Caribbean cultures were largely exterminated during the process of colonization, many Caribbean societies have been dependencies of Europe during their entire existence. The cultivation of sugar cane, which made the West Indies very profitable colonies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, required a large labor force and large plantations. For the efficient production of sugar, numerous African slaves were imported and only the owners of large estates grew sugar cane. The resulting social structure, a hierarchy based on racial differences, remained virtually intact throughout the history of the region. A century or more after emancipation, universal suffrage was introduced to the West Indies. Positions in the social structure that were once the exclusive perquisites of whites are now held by blacks. Although the changes accompanying emancipation have resulted in new ideals such as racial integration, the hierarchical social structure remains. The transition from colonial to self-governing status has been a largely orderly one in the West Indies. Anxious to decolonize, Britain has encouraged her dependencies to become more self-sufficient. After the British West Indies Federation failed to usher the British colonies in the region into independence as a unit, the smaller islands became associated states with Britain as a transitional step to independent status. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of school.) UMI

This dissertation illustrates the similarities between the ritual and mythology of the Lacandon Maya and that of the pre-Columbian Maya in the Yucatan. Its focal points are an analysis of contemporary Lacandon rituals in which the symbolic expression of human sacrifice and cannibalism are found, and a demonstration of the importance of the ba'alche ritual in Lacandon society. The drinking of ba'alche was an important part of ancient Mayan ritual, and today it forms the cornerstone of virtually all of the Lacandon communal rituals. Included as an integral part of this analysis is a film of the rite. It covers the ritual over a span of two days, from making ba'alche to cleaning up at the end of the ritual. It is meant to be a visual counterpart to the written analysis of the ba'alche ceremony. Evidence is also provided to support the contention that traditional Lacandon religion is not in danger of extinction as is popularly believed but is in fact a stabilizing force in Lacandon society today. Based on extensive interviews with young Lacandon men and economic data it is argued that the younger generation of Lacandon have very good social and economic reasons to not abandon their traditional faith. The historical analysis of Lacandon myths and prayers forms a large part of this work, and provided in appendices are the raw data, the myths and prayers transcribed in Lacandon Maya. The field research for this dissertation was conducted between May 1980 and March 1982. Support for this work and funding for the film was provided in part by a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.

Among Tamil Brahmnin Aiyars, the world of women is separate yet complementary to the world of men. These women, through their rituals comprising primarily non-Vedic (laukik, oral) life cycle rituals and vows (vratas/nombus), express their domestic concerns, their fears of widowhood and barrenness, and their ambitions of motherhood and eternal 'sumangalihood' (state of auspiciousness). This study, which deals with rural and urban south Indian Aiyar women aims to show (1) how the various symbolic and 'non-serious' elements in their rites of passage reflect their traditional as well as their contemporary tastes; (2) how the liminal period plays a significant role in molding the women; (3) how marriage leading to motherhood, and not simply marriage, is their most important goal; and (4) how this in turn is a commentary on their position and status in this society. Part One introduces the reader to the two research sites, highlights the important traditional life-goals of Aiyar women, and delineates the differences as well as the complementary nature of the Vedic and laukik traditions. In Part Two, Chapter VI provides indepth descriptions and analyses of their life cycle rituals, grouped as "separation," "transition," and "incorporation" rites. This reveals that the women are integrated into society in stages. The various 'playful' and symbolic elements clearly emphasize this fact. Chapter VII deals with the important vratas/nombus performed by Aiyar women. All the rites and vratas are explained by means of case studies and photographs. In Chapter VIII Aiyar women's rituals are viewed as a set and two common symbolic elements--colors and foods--are explored. In Chapter IX a brief description of the roles of 'auspicious' women (sumangalis) and widows in 'antyeshti' (last rites) as well as an account of the rite of widowhood are included to further exemplify the auspicious/creative/positive and the inauspicious/destructive/negative qualities of women and the importance this society attaches to the state of sumangalihood/motherhood. Women's rituals, basically performed by women ritual specialists, have hitherto received scant attention from scholars. This study is intended as a contribution toward rectifying this state of affairs.

From 1986 to 2006, northern Uganda was the site of a violent conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Acholi sub-region in 2009, this thesis examines the narratives of young women who were abducted by the LRA, forced to serve multiple roles in "the bush," and have since returned to civilian life. I explore the supernatural dimensions of the conflict and contend that women were agents of their own survival because they learned to manipulate their physical and cosmological circumstances, both during and after their captivity. At the margins of transitional justice debates, women negotiate their own memories within an intricate web of religiosity. Though forced into marriage, motherhood, and soldiering, only to come home to lives marked by stigma, patriarchy, and poverty, ex-LRA women are complex persons who defy the tropes of "sex slave" and "child soldier." / De 1986 à 2006, le nord de l'Ouganda a été le site d'un conflit violent entre la «Lord's Resistance Army» (LRA) et le Gouvernement de l'Ouganda. Basée sur une recherche ethnographique menée dans la sous-région d'Acholi en 2009, cette mémoire de thèse examine les récits de jeunes femmes qui ont été enlevés par la LRA, forcés de servir de multiples rôles dans «la brousse», et ont depuis réintégré la vie civile. J'explore les dimensions surnaturelles du conflit et je soutiens que les femmes étaient des agents de leur propre survie, car elles ont appris à manipuler leurs conditions physiques et cosmologiques, à la fois pendant et après leur captivité. En marge des débats de la justice transitionnelle, les femmes négocient leurs propres souvenirs au sein d'un réseau complexe de la religiosité. Bien forcées de se marier, de devenir mères, et d'être des soldats; rentrées à des vies marquées par la stigmatisation, le patriarcat, et la pauvreté, elles sont quand même des personnes complexes qui défient les tropes «d'esclave sexuelle» et «d'enfant soldat».

The impact of labour migration on rural households in China has become a topic of interest to scholars both inside and outside China. Household members who stay in the village while others migrate have been referred to as the "left-behind". This paper explores who is "left-behind" in one village in Gansu, China, using interview data collected from forty-eight households. The author concludes that the label "left-behind" is a limited one, as rural households engage in migration strategies linked to their life-cycle stages and participate in multiple strategies for income generation, combining agriculture, local employment, non-local employment, and other activities. / L'impacte de la migration de main d'oeuvre sur les ménages ruraux en Chine est devenu une matière d'intérêt pour les chercheurs à l'exterieur comme à l'intérieur de la Chine. Les membres de ménage qui restent dans leur village sont désigné comme 'oubliés'. Ce mémoire explorer les 'oubliés' du village de Gansu en Chine en se baseant sur des entrevues avec 48 ménages. L'auteur conclut que le titre d'oublié est limité étant donné que les ménages ruraux s'engagent dans des stratégies de migration liées au cycle de vie et participent dans multiples stratégies à but de générer de l'argent en combinant l'agriculture, l'emploi local, l'emploi non-local, et d'autres activités.

For the past decade, seeds have been at the centre of a relentless global war. This is a war of rhetoric—fought in courts, in corporate publicity campaigns, and in international environment and trade negotiations; but it is also a "down-to-earth" struggle, fought in farmers' fields around the world. Indeed, with the advent of plant genetic engineering, seeds have undergone a formidable transformation. Formerly a common good, produced by peasants/farmers and exchanged freely among them, seeds are becoming a tradable commodity on the global marketplace covered by extensive patent rights. As the first link in the food chain and the basis of our food supply, seeds carry tremendous material and symbolic importance. Not surprisingly, these developments have proven highly controversial, and Brazil is one of the terrains where the global struggle over seeds is being played out. This dissertation combines an ethnographic analysis of how genetic engineering is transforming small farmers' seed practices in Southern Brazil with a broader analysis of the Brazilian transgenic seed landscape. It includes a discussion of the recent evolution of Brazilian seed industry, and intellectual property rights (IPRs) and seed legislation; a detailed account of the transgenics controversy in Brazil; and an examination of the role played by civil society in the transgenics debate. I argue that the right of farmers to save, use and exchange their seeds—and not genetic engineering per se—is at the heart of farmers' resistance to genetically engineered organisms in Southern Brazil. Small farmers' response to transgenic seeds does not reflect so much a distrust of a new technology as an acute awareness of the power relations intrinsic to the current biotechnological revolution. Indeed, small farmers are aware that recent technological developments open the way to the heightened commodification of seeds, and that, in this process, they are being dispossessed of the right to seeds, the mos / Depuis une décennie, les semences font l'objet d'une lutte acharnée au niveau international. C'est une guerre rhétorique, menée devant les tribunaux, à travers des campagnes de publicité et dans le cadre de négociations commerciales et environnementales au niveau international; mais c'est également une lutte « sur le terrain », menée dans les champs des agriculteurs à travers le monde. En effet, avec l'introduction de plantes issues de l'ingénierie génétique, les semences ont subi une formidable transformation. Auparavant un bien commun, produit par les paysans et agriculteurs et échangées librement entre eux, les semences sont devenues une marchandise sur le marché global, assujetties à des brevets étendus. En tant que premier maillon de la chaîne alimentaire et base de notre approvisionnement alimentaire, les semences revêtent une énorme importance matérielle et symbolique. Il n'est donc pas surprenant que ces développements soient hautement controversés, et le Brésil est l'un des terrains où se mène la lutte globale autour des semences. Cette thèse présente à la fois une analyse ethnographique de la façon dont le génie génétique transforme les pratiques semencières des petits agriculteurs au Sud du Brésil, et une analyse plus ample du paysage brésilien des semences transgéniques. Elle comprend un exposé de l'évolution récente de l'industrie semencière et de la législation en matière de droits de propriété intellectuelle et de semences; un compte-rendu détaillé de la controverse autour des semences transgéniques au Brésil; ainsi qu'une étude du rôle joué par la société civile dans le débat sur les semences transgéniques. Je soutiens dans cette thèse que le droit des agriculteurs de sauvegarder, utiliser et échanger les semences — et non le génie génétique en soi — est au coeur de la résistance opposée par les agriculteurs aux semences transgéniques dans le Sud du Brésil. En effet, leur réa

Through ethnography, this dissertation chronicles how a West African variant of HIV, known as HIV-2, emerged as a knowable entity. It examines how a nation like Senegal, which exists at the margins of capitalism and the periphery of the biomedical knowledge empire, has come to occupy a central place in the trajectory of this "other" form of HIV. The dissertation draws upon scholarship from science studies to unweave the social and historical factors that created an environment in which HIV-2 became an object of scientific knowledge and practice. It also builds upon contributions from medical anthropologists whose work has elucidated the multiple ways that scientific facts, and the practices that produce them, accrue different meanings for the myriad actors engaged in their construction. The extension of bioscience into low-income settings has created new networks of scientific extraction, and with them, new configurations of power. By tracing the trajectory of Senegal's HIV-2 research apparatus, the dissertation demonstrates how global inequalities shape the avenues of scientific possibility in low-income nations such as Senegal. / Specifically, the dissertation examines how a group of female sex workers in Senegal have been transformed from a population of bodies-to-be-managed into a cohort of enormous scientific value. It traces the series of enrollment practices that have allowed the Senegalese state and local HIV researchers to gain access to their biological profiles for more than three decades. The social behavior, and more importantly, the blood of these women have been systematically analyzed and banked, creating a reserve of biological data that Senegal's researchers have referred to as "a gold mine." While home to such powerful scientific raw materials, in the absence of any meaningful internal research funding, Senegal's HIV-2 research program is exposed to the shifting priorities of international funders. The thesis takes HIV-2 seriously at a biological level, while also employing the virus as a useful lens for articulating the relationships between emerging forms of global power and the formulation of scientific truth. / Cette thèse examine d'un point de vue ethnographique comment le VIH-2 (une variante ouest-africaine du VIH) est devenu un objet de savoir. Elle décrit comment le Sénégal a pu, en dépit de sa position marginale dans les systèmes capitalistes et biomédicaux, occuper une place centrale dans la trajectoire de cette « autre » forme de VIH. Cette thèse s'appui sur les travaux des sociologues de la science pour examiner les facteurs sociaux et historiques qui ont contribué à la création d'un environnement dans lequel le VIH-2 est devenu un objet scientifique. Elle se base aussi sur des études en anthropologie médicale qui décrivent les multiples façons que les faits scientifiques, ainsi que les pratiques qui les produisent, développent de significations différentes pour les divers acteurs qui contribuent à leur production. L'épanouissement de la bioscience dans des milieux défavorisés a crée de nouveaux réseaux d'extraction scientifique, et en conséquence, de nouvelles configurations de pouvoir. En traçant les méchanismes de recherche sur le VIH-2 au Sénégal, cette thèse démontre le rôle des inégalités mondiales dans la formation des possibilités scientifiques dans des pays à faibles moyens comme le Sénégal. / Plus précisement, cette thèse explique comment une population de « corps-à-gérer » (des « travailleuses du sexe » au Sénégal) est devenue cohorte de grande valeur scientifique. Elle trace les pratiques d'inscription qui ont permis à l'État sénégalais et aux chercheurs locaux sur le VIH d'avoir accès à leurs profils biologiques pendant plus de trois décennies. Les comportements et le sang de ces femmes ont été systématiquement analysés et enregistrés, créant une banque de données biologiques considérée comme une « mine d'or » par les chercheurs sénégalais. Malgré la possession de matières premières scientifiques aussi puissantes, l'absence de financements nationaux pour la recherche fait en sorte que la recherche sénégalaise sur le VIH-2 est assujettie aux instabilités des priorités de bailleurs internationaux. Tout en considérant les dimensions biologiques du VIH-2 , cette thèse se sert du virus comme outil pour analyser les relations entre des formes émergentes de pouvoir mondial et la formulation de la vérité scientifique.

State and market expansion and consolidation are definitive characteristics of the process of modernization. The ways in which modernization occurs is illustrated in artisanal and medium-scale gold mining in Guyana. This work examines the ongoing process of state modernization in Mahdia, a mining town in Guyana's interior rainforest territory. It outlines the making of this mining place, the economic livelihood strategies that keep people coming and going to this place, and ideas of what it means to be somebody in this place. By exposing cultural paradoxes that are emerging through the process of modernization, this work reiterates the idea that modernity can be found in a broad range of times and places, and does not follow one universal trajectory. Thus, the discrete practices and experiences of modernization in places like Mahdia have also been referred to as the unfolding of "alternative modernities." / L'expansion de l'État et la consolidation du marché sont des caractéristiques propres au processus de modernisation. Plusieurs des formes que prend la modernisation sont illustrées dans l'extraction artisanale et à moyenne échelle de l'or en Guyane. Cet ouvrage examine le processus continu de modernisation de l'État dans la ville minière de Mahdia, située à l'intérieur des territoires de forêt tropicale de la Guyane. L'ouvrage décrit la création de ce lieu minier, les stratégies économiques de subsistance qui font de cette localité un centre où les gens viennent et passent ainsi que quelques idées quant à ce que cela peut signifier que « d'être quelqu'un » dans cette ville. En exposant quelques uns des paradoxes culturels qui émergent à travers le processus de modernisation, cet ouvrage réitère l'idée selon laquelle les attentes de la modernité ne coïncident pas toujours avec les différentes réalités locales et de ce fait, les pratiques discrètes et les expériences de modernisation dans des endroits comme Mahdia sont plus fidèlement définies comme le déploiement de "modernités alternatives".