<p> This study investigates geospatial relationships among Late Intermediate Period (1000&ndash;1400 CE) settlement patterns within the Moquegua River drainage of southern Peru which were first identified in the 1990s by the Moquegua Archaeological Survey (MAS). A prevalence of walls and defensive locations and a largely vacant no-mans-land between down valley Chiribaya and up valley Estuqui&ntilde;a settlements likely evidences an increased level of inter-cultural conflict in the region during the LIP that may have continued in the Late Horizon. Using viewshed analyses in ARC-GIS, this study proposes and compares two possible chronologies to explore how Chiribaya, Estuqui&ntilde;a, and Estuqui&ntilde;a -Inca settlements interacted or competed for the surrounding river valley through their direct or indirect control of resources, and their ability to defend against each other. Through the identification of these prime factors, this study aims to understand how the placement of settlements corresponds to the larger web of social interactions.</p><p>

<p> This research is on the ways Puerto Rican women fought for their reproductive justice. It covers the years 1930 through to the 1980s on the island of Puerto Rico and the city of New York. The fight was not always won in the streets or in the courts but also through everyday struggles to survive. There were multiple forms of resistance used in order to fight for control of their own bodies and for the lives of their children. Reproductive justice is not limited to the right to have or not have children but also the ability to exercise choice and freedom over the children you have, over your own body and sexuality. The resistance led by these women was in all the ways they fought against oppressive forces which limited their ability to exercise reproductive freedom. The research was conducted through archival records, secondary sources and an interview conducted with my mother to learn the stories of the women in my own family and how they reflect the history I had researched. Puerto Rican women dealt with overcoming a high rate of sterilization, migration to the United States where they were met with racism and hostility and the ability to rise up and organize to demonstrate their voices as a collective. None of this could have been gained without the drive to survive.</p><p>

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) plays a role in facilitating multilateral security mechanisms among its members. The central question of this work asks whether regional integration results in the establishment of cooperative security mechanisms. The dependent variable involves multilateral security initiatives within the MERCOSUR, in the present context of inter-American relations. The independent variables include regional transitions to democracy, the regional strategic consequences of the ending of the Cold War, and regional integration experiments. This work departs from the stated central question to the particular case of international involvement in the Paraguayan political crises of 1996 and 1999. The active intervention of Paraguay's largest MERCOSUR partners, Brazil and Argentina, in the course of these developments is analyzed. The evidence demonstrates that economic integration does not necessarily result in the establishment of formal cooperative security mechanisms. In the present context of inter-American relations, however, there exists a tendency toward multilateral regional responses to internal threats to democracy as witnessed in the Paraguayan case. This project shows that membership in a regional economic organization, as seen by the ASEAN, European Union and MERCOSUR, enhances the establishment of common security measures.

The purpose of this research was to examine Colombian immigration in South Florida from a sociological standpoint. This thesis studied Colombian immigrants from the moment they made the decision to depart Colombia to the moment they established themselves in South Florida. The main question of this study was: What is the level of satisfaction of Colombian immigrants in South Florida? The central hypothesis was that the level of information prior to migration greatly affects their level of satisfaction in South Florida. It was also hypothesized that informal sources of information - rumors, stories from relatives or friends in the U.S. - raise their expectations about migrating and contribute to the decision to migrate. The methodology used for this research was based on two elements. First, a theoretical approach, which explored three migration theories related to the topic. Specifically, a behavioral theory that examines the migrant's decision-making process became the core of the theoretical approach. Second, an ethnographic approach, which used focus groups, interviews with leaders of the Colombian organizations in South Florida, and one-to-one interviews conducted in Colombia and in South Florida. Through the interviews and the focus groups, this study established the way that Colombian migrants raise their expectations before arrival and the process they go through once in South Florida. The findings reveal that potential migrants in Colombia, as well as immigrants (already living in South Florida) tend to make the decision to migrate to the United States based on informal information sources. Such information is often incomplete and unreliable. As a consequence, most of the Colombian immigrants in South Florida are disillusioned, as they failed to realize their expectations. The study concludes that reliable and accurate information may contribute to the lowering of expectations and the picturing of more realistic images of the migration experience.

abstract: This dissertation investigates the life and career of singer Celia Cruz and the cultural legacy she has left the Hispanic culture in the United States and the world. It explores the musical journey of the Queen of Salsa and analyzes the different genres and themes that she developed in her performances during the years of her dedication to the public professional career. Among the various topics, this work discusses the African influence on the music of Celia Cruz because she made her first step to fame with the music and lyrics from African religious traditions. Additionally, this project investigates the theme of nostalgia and how Celia Cruz, with her music, helped to perpetuate the nostalgic feelings of Cuban exiles. It surveys the repertoire of songs with nostalgic themes that helps to perpetuate in the memory of the Cuban diaspora, a Cuba that no longer exists and is reflected only in their imagination. This work also examines feminist and queer issues in the life of Celia Cruz, in the lyrics of her songs and in many of her performances. Finally, it explores various stages in Celia Cruz's career that stand out: first, her beginnings in Cuba and Latin America where she soon became known as the Guarachera of Cuba; then, the contribution of Celia Cruz to the salsa music since its appearance in New York, its development in the United States, and its rapid international spread. Similarly, this project shows that Celia Cruz, with her performances worldwide, gained popularity and became the Queen of Salsa. She excelled on indoor and outdoor stages, on the small and big screen, and took her musical talent around the world. Because of her great artistic work, she was recognized for her achievements multiple times and won awards in the United States, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, finally winning the title of Global Salsa Icon. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2014

abstract: Addressing the pending problem of understanding and interpreting the baroque discourse and multiple symbols in the third part, Realización, of the trilogy Crisol (1984) by Justo S. Alarcón, this study compares the vision of mestizaje, or miscegenation, in the said trilogy part and La Raza Cósmica (1925) by José Vasconcelos. To do this, we examine existing research on the two authors and we particularized the conception of mestizo, taking into account its expression in Mexico and the United States (U.S.). To analyze the text by Alarcón, our critical framework is based on fables and their didactic function as represented by the parables in the Bible and their moral functions as personified in the fables by Aesop and other writers. Although both authors predict the birth of a new race, we found that Vasconcelos, in a Utopian way, claims it would rise in Mexico. This new race, according to Vasconcelos, will be the product of hybridization between four races: white, yellow, red or Native American, and black. Justo S. Alarcón, on the other hand, suggests in Realización that such hybridization will take place in the United States, specifically the Southwest. Using analogies, allegories, and parables, the narrator presents several Aesopian characters that engage in massive and repeated migrations that ultimately produce a new crisol or melting pot. Such new hybridization takes place in the U.S. This study draws attention to the origin of the Chicano and the issue of identity. Future work could focus on both issues / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Spanish 2012

abstract: ABSTRACT This thesis aims to demonstrate the validity of political violence in contemporary Chicano and Peruvian American narratives as a reflection of the sociopolitical situation of immigrants and their descendants in the United States (U.S.). The thesis explores the various ways in which contemporary Chicano and Peruvian American narratives present the political violence in the U.S. towards Mexican and Peruvian immigrants and Chicanos and Peruvian Americans examining the intersections that exist between the resistance and violence discourses and its sociopolitical consequences. Although the topic of political violence has been previously studied in U.S. and Latin American narratives throughout its history, its analysis has been insufficiently explored as far as contemporary narratives of the XXI century are concerned. With this in mind, two texts will be used to study this discourse of violence in Chicano and Peruvian American literature: Alejandro Morales' "Pequeña nación" (2005) and Daniel Alarcón's "Guerra en la penumbra" (2005). The thesis examines the immigrant as a center of discourse exploring the conflict between them and the institutions or groups in power that instigate this political violence. The first chapter covers the socio historical background regarding Mexican and Peruvian migration flows to the United States in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The second chapter introduces "The Triangle of Violence" proposed by Norwegian mathematician and sociologist Johan Galtung as the basis for the theoretical framework and approach of this analysis. Chapter three analyzes the Chicano short story "Pequeña nación" by Alejandro Morales. The analysis of the Peruvian American short story "Guerra en la penumbra" by Daniel Alarcón follows in chapter four. The conclusion emphasizes the problem of political violence experienced by immigrants in the U.S. in contemporary Chicano and Peruvian American narratives and possible solutions contained therein, protesting a problem that can hinder immigration policy reforms and the defense of human rights. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Spanish 2013

In the early 1960âs, internal conflict erupted in the majority of Central American countries. Substantial setbacks in economic development, human right, and social aspects in these countries were the result of the democracy struggling with this conflict. Bogin and Keep (1999) reported that height declined among Mayan and Ladino children from all social classes in Guatemala from 1974 to 1984 (This period included some of the most devastating fighting of the civil war), but an even stronger decline was seen in low-SES (socio economic status) , the average height decline around nine centimeters differences between high-SES and low-SES. During the armed conflict, Guatemalans Maya with low -SES suffered irregular supply of water, no safe water, unsanitary condition, economic instability, declines in food production, and lack healthcare. Maya Indians have been to object of massive discrimination and political repression with a continuous human rights violation. My thesis examines what kind of implications the internal armed conflict in Guatemala has had on health and nutrition matters in Maya rural life. The violence against the Maya people is the materialization of the structural violence that permeates the body, community, and social fabric. The structural violence perspective allows for a nuanced and global account of the pathogenic effects of health under warfare. My thesis proposes a framework for which to examine the structural, collective, and individual violence embodied in chronical social conditions about health and nutrition.

The objective of this Master's thesis is to analyze how female characters are represented in the Argentinean Luisa Valenzuela's novels Novela negra con argentinos (1990) and La travesia (2001), and the way in which these characters, through the writing process, move forward in their awareness development and in the elaboration of a discourse that proposes an inversion to male domination. The introduction and theoretical framework explain both the objectives and the theoretical tools utilized throughout the thesis chapters: the first chapter develops the analysis of Novela negra con argentinos, emphasizing the concept of what the novel's main character calls writing with the body. An attempt is made to solve the questioning on whether it is possible to consider writing with the body within non-female aesthetics. The androgenisation process of Valenzuela's characters is also analyzed as a strategy that allows for questioning the roles that have traditionally been assigned to men and women. This strategy is also an attempt to bring closer two aesthetics that appear as conflicting in the text: the female discourse of writing with the body, and the male logocentric discourse. The second chapter focuses on the analysis of La travesia ; a novel that is considered as an adult Bildungsroman. This part shows how awareness through memory allows the main character to develop some strategies that make it possible for her to rebel against the patriarchal system. Such awareness becomes evident in the manner in which she begins to relate to men; as well as in finding a way of writing in which she has ceased to please the male Otherness that has alienated her for years. That way of writing gives her access to a new symbolic order in which gender relations appear more equitable. The last chapter presents the conclusions of this work on the Argentinean author who, through her essays and creative production, denounces the female oppression situation, as one of her structural central themes; as well as her proposals to promote liberation from such oppression.

The small town of Chinchero in the highlands of Cusco, Peru is a popular tourist stop known for its rich tradition of handmade textiles and weaving techniques. The female weavers and vendors in Chinchero have developed a competitive market of Textile Centers that sell an aestheticized and commercialized tradition to tourists. The quaint town is now faced with plans to build the new Chinchero International Airport, which would become the largest airport in Peru. This thesis analyzes ethnographic findings from 2017 to examine how the female vendors of Chinchero perceive the airport will affectâand already has affectedâtheir well-being. Well-being is measured both subjectively through understandings of the Quechua term sumaq kawsay and objectively through a life satisfaction scale ranked from 1 to 10. In their explanations, the women expressed values of community, reciprocal relationships, and environmental harmony that they believe they are still upholding in their peaceful lives. However, they identify the airport as a direct threat to these pillars of sumaq kawsay with the projectâs impending urbanization, pollution, increased traffic, and heightened economic competition. Although the airport project has been postponed for four decades due to corruption and political conflicts, the vendors have already adapted their economic activities and discourses. Overall, this thesis contributes to discussions of the effects of unfinished megaprojectsâabsent presencesâand to anthropological studies of well-being.