My dissertation, Wixárika Art and Artists: Resisting Neocolonialism While Crossing Visible and Invisible Borders is an ethnographic study of the Wixáritari who have lived in the region of Northern Central Mexico known as El Gran Nayar or the Sierra Madre Occidental, with a specific focus on the Wixáritari who live in Huejuquilla el Alto, Guadalajara, and Zacatecas, Mexico. This dissertation examines the legal, cultural and historical influences as well as the sociopolitical and economic circumstances that have pushed Wixárika (Huichol) art and artists out of their original homeland in Mexico. This dissertation concentrates on the historical construction of race in Mexico to illustrate that Wixáritari have been pushed outside of their territories either willingly or unwillingly. I analyze and interpret this concept through historical events and the process of colonialism through which politics, policy and laws have shaped and created hierarchies of race. Through ethnography I illustrate that the Mexican government's neoliberal policies and laws have adversely affected Wixáritari artists and non-artists in the Sierra Madre, and also those who work in the large cities where half the population now resides. Furthermore, this work illustrates that the Wixáritari are organizing against the Mexican laws and policies that served to exclude and marginalize them. Wixáritari activism is thus creating powerful social change. By using the theoretical framework ethnoexodus, I demonstrate that Wixáritari cannot be put in a box or be stereotyped as a homogenous pan-ethnic group.The second half of my dissertation is devoted to "voluntary" or involuntary im(migration) processes that take place. I specifically explore these forms of dislocation through the use of oral history, oral narratives, and testimonios. I have found that the Wixáritari have a desire to reproduce their traditions and resist modernity. They have experienced cultural changes and in the process they have been integrated into their surrounding society by forming new relationships and learning to adapt on their own terms to the capitalist system and "modern" way of life. In these spaces, I argue that their homeland and geographic space in and outside of the Sierra Madre Occidental along with their spirituality is part of their identity, which crosses many borders that are both visible and invisible. / text

El análisis del rol de radio Pachamama en la ciudad del Alto entre el 9 y el 17 del Octubre del 2003, va a permitir conocer las modificaciones que experimenta la comunicación radiofónica en escenarios de crisis sociopolítica. Asimismo este trabajo hace hincapié en que para que la comunicación contrainformativa pueda tener éxito, necesita tanto de un medio de comunicación dispuesto a abrir los micrófonos, como de los movimientos sociales: los cuales por intermedio de la apropiación de las radioemisoras populares, motorizaron el fenómeno comunicativo en la llamada Guerra del Gas. No sólo se va a hacer referencia a los aspectos teóricos del problema, sino que también se le va a dar prioridad al aspecto humano de ese grupo de periodistas alteños: que sin dudarlo decidió salir a las calles para cubrir todo lo que estaba pasando. / Programa de investigación: Comunicación y Política

Vi har utgått från de strukturella ojämlikheterna som finns i det Bolivianska samhället, och insett att dessa måste reduceras för att skapa ett mera fungerande samhälle. Vi har valt att göra en undersökning kring hur dessa strukturella ojämlikheter kan förminskas. För att göra detta har vi utfört en fältstudie i Bolivia där vi genom intervjuer och observationer studerat en social organisation belägen i El Alto, kallad FEJUVE. Vi har fokuserat på hur denna genom sitt arbete och organisation påverkar det Bolivianska samhället, såväl positivt som mindre positivt. Vi har valt ut fem olika aspekter av organisationen som vi har undersökt i särskilt djup detalj, då vi anser att dessa har en speciell relevans i kampen mot utraderandet av strukturella ojämlikheter. Dessa aspekter behandlar frågor om demokrati, machismokultur,tvång, kritisk medvetenhet, organisationens relation till det styrande politiska partiet, samtdess relation till samhällsomstörtande konflikt. Teorier kring demokrati; strukturella ojämlikheter; marginaliserade gruppers relation till konflikt, samt sociala rörelser diskuteras och utvärderas i denna uppsats. Vår slutsats visar att FEJUVE har goda så väl som mindre goda egenskaper, och således studie bidrar vår studie till att visa på civilsamhällets komplexitet, och omöjligheten i att se detta endast som en positiv eller negativ kraft. / We have taken as our point of departure the structural inequalities in Bolivian society, and recognised that these need to be reduced in order to create a better functioning society. We have chosen to conduct an investigation on how these structural inequalities can be reduced. In order to do this we have conducted a field study in Bolivia, where we through interviewsand observations investigated a social organisation situated in El Alto, called FEJUVE. We have focused on how this through it’s work and organisation influence Bolivian society, in positive as well as less positive manners. We have chosen five different aspects of theorganisation which we have studied in closer detail, since we hold that these have a special relevance in the struggle for a structurally more equal society. These aspects deal with questions concerning: democracy; machismo culture; coercion; critical awareness; theFEJUVE’s relation to the ruling political party and it’s current relation to conflict that “shuts down” society. Theories about democracy; structural inequality; marginalised groups’ relation to conflict and social movements are discussed and assessed throughout this thesis. Our conclusion erads that the FEJUVE has good as well as less good qualities, our investigation thus contributes to exhibiting the complexity of civil society, and the impossibility to view this as either simply a positive or a negative force.

Several studies explore new technology and social media usage, especially in the global North. This study set out to investigate what kind of experiences and opinions youth in La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia, had of their internet and communication technology usage, through semi-structural interviews, at the same time comparing the possible differences in this between LGBT and non-LGBT youth. That way I am trying to add a perspective and voice in the new media discourse, as well as adding to the knowledge of my partner organization, Svalorna Latinamerika. I decided to focus on three main online activities; security issues, relationship building and information management, and the nine informants were encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences as well as information about their general ICT usage. The results showed that the youth’s internet usage was depending more on their interest in the different media and platforms, rather than on their sexual orientation or gender. The LGBT informants however had more experiences of discrimination and threat online. Also, all of the informant’s seemed to create new relations not only to other users online, but also to the platforms and media itself, this depending on how much they were using the platforms. Finally I could see that the informants could satisfy many different needs with their ICT and social media use, depending on their interests, resources and time spent online.

Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 21 août 2020) / En Bolivie, l’élection du président autochtone Evo Morales en 2005 et la réforme constitutionnelle de 2009, intégrant le concept ancestral du vivir bien ont fait couler beaucoup d’encre ces dernières années. Alors que la plupart des ouvrages se penchent principalement sur l’apport théorique du vivir bien, ce mémoire cherche à enrichir la compréhension de ce concept dans sa dimension pratique et locale. Ce mémoire porte plus particulièrement sur l’expérience urbaine des autochtones, principalement des Aymaras, et des non-autochtones dans leur quête du bien-vivre à La Paz et à El Alto, en Bolivie. L’analyse se penche principalement sur la négociation des identités en mettant en lumière les différentes dimensions, tant politiques, économiques, sociales, culturelles qu’artistiques, du quotidien des autochtones, mais aussi des non-autochtones. En particulier, ce mémoire explore les stratégies d’affirmation mises en avant pour se sentir bien, notamment la création de réseaux, le maintien de pratiques rituelles et la participation à diverses manifestations culturelles et artistiques dont l’entrada folclórica universitaria, un festival folklorique auxquels prennent part les étudiants. -- Mots-clés : vivir bien, identité, authenticité, anthropologie urbaine, fête, danse, culture, LaPaz, El Alto, Bolivie. / In Bolivia, the election of indigenous president Evo Morales in 2005 and the constitutional reform of 2009, incorporating the ancestral concept of living well have been the subject of much attention in recent years. While most books primarily focus on the theoretical contribution of the living well concept, this thesis seeks to enrich the understanding of its practical and local dimensions. This thesis examines the urban experience of Indigenous people, mainly Aymaras, and non-Indigenous people in their pursuit of living well in La Paz and El Alto, in Bolivia. The analysis focuses on the negotiation of identities by highlighting the different dimensions, both political, economic, social, cultural and artistic, of the everyday lives of Indigenous people, but also of non-Indigenous people. This thesis more specifically explores the affirmation strategies put forward to feel good, including the creation of networks, the preservation of ritual practices and the participation in various cultural and artistic activities including the entrada folclórica universitaria, a university festival in which students partake. -- Keywords: Aymaras, living well, identity, authenticity, urban anthropology, fiesta, dance,culture, La Paz, El Alto, Bolivia. / En Bolivia, la elección del presidente indígena Evo Morales en 2005 y la reformaconstitucional de 2009, que incorpora el concepto ancestral del vivir bien, han sido objeto de mucha atención en los últimos años. Si bien la mayoría de los libros se enfocan en la contribución teórica del vivir bien, esta tesis busca enriquecer la comprensión de este concepto en su dimensión práctica y local. Esta tesis se centra en la experiencia urbana de los indígenas, principalmente los Aymaras y de los no indígenas en su búsqueda del vivir bien en La Paz y El Alto, en Bolivia. El análisis se enfoca en la negociación de identidades, destacando las diferentes dimensiones, tanto políticas, económicas, sociales, culturales y artísticas, de la vida cotidiana de los indígenas, como también de los no indígenas. En particular, esta tesis explora las estrategias de afirmación presentadas para sentirse bien, incluyendo la creación de redes, el mantenimiento de prácticas rituales y la participación en diversos eventos culturales y artísticos, como la entrada folclórica universitaria, un festival universitario al que participan varios estudiantes. -- Palabras claves: Aymaras, vivir bien, identidad, autenticidad, antropología urbana, fiesta, baile, cultura, La Paz, El Alto, Bolivia.

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