“Sabha theater” is a genre of Tamil language comedy theater that started in Madras (Chennai) in the period following India’s 1947 independence. Its name comes from the fact that the amateur drama troupes rely on cultural organizations known as sabhas for patronage, but the theater also has a very specific aesthetic and narrative style. Sabhas are known for their patronage of classical music and dance, but many also support amateur theater troupes. These organizations, along with the press and academics, create a notion of “good” taste in Chennai, India. All three fields are dominated by the high caste Brahmin community, which thus both constructs and embodies the idea of good taste in the city. The identity of Brahmins, as the taste-makers of the city, is influential in shaping middle-class culture in Chennai. I argue that this identity is not best visible in tradition, because performances of the classical arts and the response of connoisseur audiences to them reveal an ideal that is frozen in time. I look instead to something spontaneous: humor. The fact that elite Tamil Brahmins choose to join sabhas or attend sabha dramas is not to say that the plays are ideal representations of Tamil Brahmin culture or good taste. In actuality, the discourse about the plays has created two factions within the Tamil Brahmin community, the most vocal of which dismisses them as “just comedy.” I engage with both voices through case studies of plays that have remained popular with audiences over the years. I also consider such things as how the contemporary political climate and development of mass media have affected live theater in Chennai in terms of aesthetics, personnel, scripts, production, and patronage. / text

The world is changing. India is changing. Food is changing. Bodies are changing. What does this mean for the women of Maharashtra, India? Globalization and modernity manifest in new and interesting ways the world over. As people establish networks of global commodity, capital, and human circulation, anthropologists raise pertinent concerns. While some are apprehensive about cultural loss and western cultural imperialism, others make a case for the rise of glocalization. While some espouse the positives of a free market economy, others are critical of the nutrition transition in developing countries and what this means for the health of the people undergoing this transition. The site of this study is the region of Konkan in Maharashtra, India. India is undergoing fast paced culture change since liberalizing its economy in the year 1991. I focus on the experiences of present day rural and urban Deorukhe Brahmin women (mothers and their daughters), who belong to an endogamous upper caste group that claims to be indigenous to Konkan. Generally, rural Indian regions are modernizing more slowly than urban areas. This study looks at how women are active agents in the changes that are taking place in their bodies, diet, and gender identities. A biocultural study, this dissertation takes into consideration anthropometric data and ethnographic data to comprehend the manner in which women, who are the gastronomic decision makers at the household level, are responding to the increasing influx of non-traditional foods. My study focuses on the moral implications of changing dietary practices and the appearance of chronic non-communicable diseases on the notions of the self. By discussing the manner in which Indian women practice their agency, using traditional gender roles, I aim to demonstrate how these women adjoin that which is thought to index the global and the local to shape a new India.

This thesis examines the cultural context of opera in Boston between the years 1620 to 2010. Specifically, I look at how the Boston Opera Company was founded, its existence, and its ultimate demise. The rise of opera in colonial Boston is also explored and especially how the immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries influenced the city. Around this time of changing demographics Eben D. Jordan, Jr., of Jordan Marsh Co. decided to build an opera house for the city of Boston. The effects that Puritanism had on music and the culture of Boston during its early years are also explored. Then Boston musical independence is catalogued about how it relates to the unique form of music that did form during this time, starting with the First New England School. During the mid to late nineteenth century massive immigration took place that changed this country, especially Boston. The modern United States was formed during this time, including its music. Boston, starting in the 1830’s had numerous societies and schools disseminating music to the populace. This in turn led to the creation of the Boston Opera Company in 1908. The Boston Opera Company was founded by Eben D. Jordan of Jordan Marsh Co. He decided that the city of Boston needed a proper opera company, so he paid for the construction of the house and operation. Unfortunately, the populace soon lost interest and the company made in ill-fated trip to Paris in 1914. This trip, coupled with the start of WWI, forced the company to declare bankruptcy in 1915. There are definite cultural considerations as to why the opera company was unable to make itself part of the fabric of the city, like the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is very much a part of the city and there is no reason why opera should not be with that part either. Boston has a very large metropolitan area and with the proper guidance and determination, opera could be supported here year round. A new house would have to be built, since the original opera house was torn down in 1958. With the proper determination, however, it could be done for permanent opera in the city.