This research looks at the ethnographies Mules and Men (1935) and Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (1938) by Zora Neale Hurston focusing on representations of Time and the anthropologist’s body. Hurston was an African-American anthropologist, folklorist, and novelist who conducted research particularly between the end of the 1920s and the mid-1930s. At first, her fieldwork and writings dealt with African-American communities in Florida and Hoodoo practice in Louisiana, but she consequently expanded her field of anthropological interests to Jamaica and Haiti, which she visited between 1936 and 1937. The temporal and bodily factors in Hurston’s works are taken into consideration as coordinates of differentiation between the ethnographer and the objects of her research. In her ethnographies, the representation of the anthropologist’s body is analysed as an attempt at reducing temporal distance in ethnographical writings paralleled by the performative experience of fieldwork exemplified by Hurston’s storytelling: body, voice, and the dialogic representation of fieldwork relationships do not guarantee a portrayal of the anthropological subject on more egalitarian terms, but cast light on the influence of the anthropologist both in the practice and writing of ethnography. These elements are analysed in reference to the visualistic tradition of American anthropology as ways of organising difference and ascribing the anthropological ‘Others’ to a temporal frame characterised by bodily and cultural features perceived as ‘primitive’ and, therefore, distant from modernity. Representations and definitions of ‘primitiveness’ and ‘modernity’ not only shaped both twentieth-century American anthropology and the modernist arts (Harlem Renaissance), but also were pivotal for the creation of a modern African-American identity in its relation to African history and other black people involved in the African diaspora. In the same years in which Hurston visited Jamaica and Haiti, another African-American woman anthropologist and dancer, Katherine Dunham, conducted fieldwork in the Caribbean and started to look at it as a source of inspiration for the emerging African-American dance as recorded in her ethnographical and autobiographical account Island Possessed (1969). Therefore, Hurston’s and Dunham’s representations of Haiti are examined as points of intersection for the different discourses which both widened and complicated their understanding of what being ‘African’ and ‘American’ could mean.

<p> The democratic decentralization of government administration in Indonesia from 1999 represents the most dramatic shift in governance in that country for decades. In this dissertation I explore how health managers in one kabupaten (regency) are responding to the new political environment. Kabupaten health managers experience decentralization as incomplete, pointing to the tendency of central government to retain control of certain health programs and budgets. At the same time they face competing demands for autonomy from puskesmas (health center) heads. Building on Scott&rsquo;s (1985) idea of a &ldquo;moral economy&rdquo; I delve beneath the political tensions of competing autonomies to describe a moral landscape of underlying beliefs about how government ought to behave in the health sector. Through this analysis certain failures and contradictions in the decentralization process emerge, complicating the literature that presents decentralization as a move in the direction of &ldquo;good governance&rdquo; (Mitchell and Bossert 2010, Rondinelli and Cheema 2007, Manor 1999). </p><p> Decentralization brings to the fore the internal divisions within government, yet health workers present a united front in their engagements with the public. Under increasing pressure to achieve global public health goals such as the Millennium Development Goals, health managers engage in multiple translations in converting global health discourses into national and local health policies and in framing these policies in ways that are comprehensible and compelling to the general public. Using the lens of a &ldquo;cultural theory of state&rdquo; (Corrigan and Sayer 1985) I describe how health professionals and volunteers draw on local cultural forms in order to render global frameworks compatible with local moralities. I introduce the term &ldquo;moral pluralism&rdquo; to describe how individual health workers interrelate several moral frameworks in their health promotion work, including Islam, evidence based medicine and right to health. My conclusion is that kabupaten health managers are engaging in two balancing acts. The first is between decentralization and (re)centralization and deals with the proper way to manage health programming. The second is between global health discourses and local cultural forms and concerns the most effective way to convey public health messages in order to bring about behavior change in line with national and global public health goals. This is the first anthropological study of how government officials at different levels negotiate the process of health decentralization in the face of increasing international pressure to achieve global public health goals.</p>

<p> This thesis presents an investigation of body image and connection with nature among American Indian female adolescents. This mixed method study incorporating the use of focus groups and survey for data collection examined the perspective and voice of teen girls from a rural American Indian community. The thesis considers how modern western influences play a role in American Indian teen girl&rsquo;s development and views of beauty and body image. This research provides perspective on American Indian adolescent girls&rsquo; perceptions of their body image, as well as their perceptions regarding their connection to the natural world. Participants experienced an array of outdoor activities and most of the participants claim they have had or have a connection with the nature world and enjoy the outdoors. The research discovered the importance of cultural identity and how it can support a positive sense of self and a positive body image among American Indian female adolescents. The study provides insight and understanding regarding adolescent girls in American Indian communities, thereby allowing greater understanding in initiatives towards the development of all female American Indian adolescent adventure programming that is both meaningful and relevant to the culture. The research suggests the participants are influenced by their community and culture, focusing on the inner beauty or self-esteem of a person rather then the physical aspect of a person. Most of the participants like being out in nature and claim to have a connection with the natural world.</p>

<p>The dominant narrative mode in Ainu studies today stresses an activist agenda that, although worthwhile, limits the potential for new research in the field. In this thesis, I analyze historical accounts of the development of Ainu bear carvings as a case study of the characteristics of the dominant activist mode and present an alternate narrative in order to demonstrate the need for a variety of approaches to Ainu research. </p><p> The activist narrative mode is structured to engender sympathy for Ainu people and respect for their cultural heritage. Activist accounts of Ainu bear carvings often claim that the carvers were pressured by the Japanese tourist industry to violate religious taboos against producing realistic depictions of bears. In this way, the carvings serve as a symbol of oppression of Ainu people under Japanese imperialism. At the same time, activist scholars state that the Ainu bear carvings followed a linear progression from tourist souvenirs to respected works of &ldquo;fine art.&rdquo; Thus, the carvings also reinforce optimistic projections regarding the future status of Ainu culture and socioeconomic condition. </p><p> My alternate narrative focuses on the complexities and ambiguities in the field and avoids judging events in moral or sympathetic terms. I explore a broad range of contextual issues, tracing the regional production of wooden bears from the paleolithic ancestors of Ainu people, examining the role of bears and woodcarving in Ainu culture, analyzing Ainu interactions with Japan, Russia, and other neighboring empires, and investigating the commodification of bear carvings as tourist souvenirs. </p><p> Activist narratives have contributed a wealth of valuable research to the field of Ainu studies and remain a useful tool for promoting social and cultural equality for Ainu people. However, automatic conformity to the dominant activist mode perpetuates the obfuscation of certain details in Ainu history, including the diversity within Ainu and Japanese cultures and institutions, instances of political cooperation between Ainu and Japanese communities, and unanswered questions regarding the complex development of Ainu cultural practices and beliefs. Although any historical account (including this thesis) inherently simplifies its subjects, varying our narrative approach helps us to identify and fill some of the gaps. </p>

<p>Survival of a Perverse Nation traces the ways in which contemporary Armenian anxieties are congealing into the figure of the “homosexual.” As in other post-Soviet republics, homosexuality has increasingly become defined as the crisis of the times, and is understood by many as a destructive force linked to European encroachment. In Armenia, a growing right-wing nationalist movement since 2012 has been targeting LGBT and feminist activists. I suggest that this movement has arisen out of Armenia’s concerns regarding proper social and biological reproduction in the face of high rates of emigration of especially men in search of work. Many in the country blame this emigration on a post-Soviet oligarchy, with close ties to the government. This oligarchy, having quickly and massively privatized and liquidated industry and land during the war over the region of Nagorno-Karabagh (1990-1994) with Azerbaijan, created widespread un(der)employment. A national narrative attributing the nation’s survival of the 1915 Genocide and dispersion of its populations to strong morality preserved by institutions such as the Church and the family has now, in the post-Soviet era, ruptured into one of moral “perversion.” This dissertation is based on 15 months of ethnographic research, during which I participated in the work of two local non-governmental organizations: Public Information and Need for Knowledge, an LGBT rights organization and Women’s Resource Center, a feminist organization. I also conducted interviews with 150 households across Yerevan, the capital city, and did in-depth interviews with other activists, right-wing nationalists and journalists. Through psychoanalytic frameworks, as well as studies of kinship, I show how sovereignty – the longed for dream for Armenians over the last century – is felt to have failed because of the moral corruption of the illegitimate figures that fill Armenian seats of authority. I, thus, examine the ways in which a missing father of the household is discursively linked to the lack of strong leadership by a corrupt government, producing a prevalent feeling of moral disintegration that nationalists displace onto the “homosexual.”</p> / Dissertation

<p> Healthcare access is a highly reported problem for immigrant populations in the United States, especially for Hispanic migrants at the US-Mexico border. This statement holds particularly true for populations living in unincorporated communities known as <i>colonias</i> in the borderland region. Residents of a <i>colonia</i> are estimated to suffer from preventable or treatable illnesses including tuberculosis, hepatitis A, cholera, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, depression, substance abuse, among other health problems, at two to four times the national average (Matthiesen 1997; Anders et al. 2010:366; Mier et al. 2013:208; Sharkey et al. 2011; Davidhizar 1999). This apparent disparity is a result of unequal healthcare access due to social, legal, economic, and physical/spatial barriers. Using a structural violence framework as a lens, this study attempted to determine the barriers impeding access to healthcare for <i>colonia</i> residents, as well as analyze the interrelationships between the types of barriers. This study utilized semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of perceived social, legal, spatial/physical, and other suggested barriers preventing healthcare access in El Paso County, TX <i>colonias</i>. In order to fully demonstrate the role of spatial/physical barriers on access to care, this study utilized Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map obstacles in the targeted communities.</p>

<p> The intent of this research is to reveal and understand the symbolic meanings of cultural and ethnic identity that cultural creators and receivers perceive through their involvement in mariachi. This study&rsquo;s shows the way those involved in mariachi perceive their cultural and ethnic identity while living in a city that infuses Mexican and Texan cultural sensibilities. A mixed-method approach was taken between in-depth qualitative interviews and participant observation. Participant observation was utilized as a means to build a stratified snowball sample of the various cultural producers and receivers of mariachi. The cultivation of this sample was guided by Griswold&rsquo;s cultural diamond framework. Reliance on semi-structured in-depth interviews as the primary research method of inquiry illuminated the various horizons of meaning that mariachi performers, instructors, gatekeepers, and aficionados held in regards to their efforts to preserve a long standing cultural musical art form in San Antonio, Texas. Some findings include various stories and perspectives on cultural and ethnic identity in mariachi, varying strategies undertaken to preserve mariachi music in the twenty-first century through technology, its institutionalization into a public-education setting, the varying gender dynamics among mariachi performers, the question of authenticity and hybridization in mariachi music, and cultural politics in the mariachi music scene.</p>

<p> Following the 1975-1979 genocide, Cambodian exiles in the U.S. recreated cultural institutions through music. Music remains significant in rebuilding cultural life in diasporic Cambodian communities. Live bands perform contemporary and classic ballads during Cambodian New Year in April, at wedding parties and in restaurants on weekend nights. Live rock bands continue to dot community celebrations as survivors collectively create musical repertoires and schedule practices to perform at festive community events. Despite the ubiquity of live musical performance in Cambodian communities, this aspect of Cambodian American cultural formation has been scarcely addressed in the literature. This Thesis addresses the deficiency in the literature through ethnographic fieldwork with a Southern California rock band called the Soriya Band, comprised of three guitarists, a keyboardist, a drummer and two vocalists who are all first generation Cambodian survivors. Music persists as a vehicle for cultural creation and change for Cambodian American refugee-survivors. </p>

<p> In today&rsquo;s world, people from various cultures interact on a daily basis on a number of occasions. During these intercultural encounters, conflicts often arise. Intercessors are needed to help people navigate these types of disagreements. Mediators are considered some of these peacekeepers. This thesis engaged with mediators at a mediation center in the Midwestern United States in order to understand what strategies seemed most effective. </p><p> I examined the research that scholars have conducted regarding building rapport through utilizing respect and face issues, as well as nonverbal behavior. In addition, I explored the connection between the understanding of these factors and intercultural competence and intercultural conflict competence. </p><p> The purpose of this thesis was to see how these mediators understood and valued respect and face issues, including nonverbal behavior, when building rapport with parties in mediations. These mediators were engaged in two manners, via survey and interview questions. The intercultural competence of the mediators in these domains was also explored. </p><p> The results of the research in this thesis showed how the mediators were skilled in some areas, such as in rapport building and respect issues. It further revealed that they were in need of some skills for their toolbox, such as training on face issues and nonverbal behavior, including silence, tone of voice, and eye contact. Detailed recommendations for the mediators are provided. Future research is encouraged: A group of mediators that have exhibited intercultural competence should be selected in order to test their intercultural conflict competence.</p>

<p> Recent changes in the ethnic composition of the population of the United States pose great challenges for healthcare institutions and healthcare providers. In recent years, policy statements on nursing education indicated that nursing educators recognized the need to increase the cultural caring of the nursing workforce (Swanson, 2012). Salimbene (2014) discussed the importance of considering clients&rsquo; culture as an integral part of assessing their healthcare needs and planning culturally appropriate nursing care to meet those needs. Currently, there is a paucity of information regarding patients&rsquo; perceptions of culturally competent care. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify culturally sensitive caring behaviors of professional nurses from the perspective of Hispanic American maternity patients two to four weeks post-discharge in a WIC program in rural Georgia. Utilization of a phenomenological research design included interviews with 15 Hispanic American women. Data analysis was conducted using phenomenological analysis methods with the aid of the software program Nvivo 11. Themes that were identified were: Better Future, Better Medical Care, Treatment of Patients, Customs and Practices, and Meaning of Care. This information may aid in creating a culturally competent maternity care curriculum.</p>