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Most colleges and universities in the United States today claim that “diversity” is an important institutional value, but it is not always clear what this term means or how “diversity” is actually experienced and understood by students at predominantly white institutions. This ethnographic study examines a predominantly white liberal arts woman’s college in New England, applying data from participant observation, semistructured interviews, autoethnography, and textual data. My research addresses three intersecting areas of inquiry: the experience of students attending a predominantly white institution in relation to issues of race and racial identity, institutional practices related to race, “diversity,” and “culture,” and examples of “white cultural practices” within the institution. The study found that institutional discourse promotes an ideology that marks “students of color” as “other” and the embodiment of “diversity” and creates a dynamic where white students are placed in the role of cultural tourists. Throughout the college community the invisibility and silences surrounding whiteness reinforced an ideology of white privilege. The analysis focuses on four central themes or narratives that circulate through a predominantly white campus. The first theme is the articulation of “diversity” and the “diverse community” specifically through the lens of the college admissions process. The next theme is “culture” as understood through an examination of institutional sites where “culture” is named and deployed on campus such as student cultural organizations. The third looks at the invisibility of whiteness and “white culture.” The final theme considers what happens on a predominantly white campus when there is a high profile racial conflict, or “racial incident.” The conclusion provides specific recommendations and interventions for the broader higher education community related to “re-framing” the “diverse community” and shifting towards the creation of “diverse, inclusive, and engaged learning environments.” Possible interventions include integrating the academic mission of the college more closely with the goals of diversity and inclusion; providing more opportunities for white students to think critically about race and their own racial identity; and an increasing emphasis on the intersections and complexity of identity rather than a reliance on monolithic categories such as “students of color.”

Many creole languages have been studied by linguists and anthropologists alike in order to gain a better understanding as to their formations and social status within their respective cultures. Theories such as the Language Bioprogram hypothesis created by Derek Bickerton researched explicitly the genesis of creoles, primarily the creoles in Guyana and Hawaii. Although many creole languages are the main vernaculars of many cultures, they are often seen as having a lower status than the official language, usually a European language. Papiamentu, a language spoken in Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire, has carried a prestige that many other creoles do not possess; it is spoken by everyone on the islands. There are no class divides that determine what, when, and where the language can be used. It is accepted by the majority on the islands and has gained the status as an official language in March 2003 in Aruba and in March 2007 in Curacao and Bonaire. Although it encompasses this status, Papiamentu is still not accepted in every faction on the islands. It is not the language of instruction in the educational system and official government documentation is still written in Dutch. This research explored the issues of Papiamentu's social status on the islands and has correlated it to its use in several sectors in Aruba and Curacao. Primary research was carried in Aruba and Curacao for six weeks. Interviews along with participant-observation tackled issues such as Papiamentu's presence in education, how Papiamentu was used during childhood, Papiamentu in relation to other languages on the islands, and the use of Papiamentu within the media. This research was executed to acquire a better insight into the perceptions of Papiamentuss social status and whether these perspectives have a profound effect on its usage.

Mental health services within Latinx communities in the United States has been greatly underutilized. Seekers of mental health support face many barriers including internalized stigmas, misconception of mental health serves and low general knowledge of mental health and wellness. For many Latinx, culturally competent mental healthcare has lacked important elements to how Latinx interpret mental healthcare services. The use of Santería in many in Florida and the United States has supplemented gaps left by formal mental healthcare services. Santería has its own stigmas within Latinx communities were its practiced, forcing many Santeros and seekers to practice in private. Lack of public knowledge of Santería allows Latinx with mental illness to freely seek mental healing without the worries of negative judgment and stigma. The purpose of the is thesis is to analyze how mental health services are viewed within Latinx communities in central Florida. This work also examines the various reasons why Latinos generally underutilize mental healthcare services. My research investigates the uses of Santería in Latinx community in Central Florida as both a religious and informal therapeutic practice. Specifically, my research examines the extent to which Santería practitioners fill this gap as informal therapists and counselors; representing both culturally acceptable form of mental health services as well as reflecting the thoughts and perspective of Latinx towards formal mental healthcare.

Humans have been using crystals for various healing and ritual reasons for centuries. Both geographically and culturally, a diverse range of groups have turned to crystals and gemstones to address diverse needs over the millennia. While the oldest legends of crystal magic date back to the mythical ancient continent of Atlantis whose people allegedly used crystals for telepathic communication (Raphael 1985), it is believed that the crystal customs continued to perpetuate in Egypt, South America, and Tibet over subsequent centuries. Over recent decades, a renewed interest in crystals and gemstones has emerged in various New Age and mainstream contexts. In this thesis, I consider the 'explanations' for crystal and spiritual healing in the following interest areas: Great Britain, Indian Hinduism, and among various Native American groups.

Headstones manifest an abundance of historic information and embody society's cultural and socioeconomic statuses over time. Cemetery research has been conducted throughout various regions in the United States, but very little has been focused on headstone analysis in the state of Florida. The purpose of this comparative research is to use a typology established by Meyers and Schultz to compare headstone attributes of Orange County, FL and establish a temporal correlation (2012). The analysis of this study has the ability to highlight societal perceptions and ideals surrounding death and mortuary practices while providing a historical context specific to the state of Florida. Data was collected from two cemeteries in Orange County, representing the headstones of 853 individuals. The methodology of this study entailed visiting the cemeteries, photographing headstones, and noting headstone attributes. Following the model set forth in Meyers and Schultz, attributes taken into consideration for this project were stone type, shape, time period, and sex of the individual (2012). In addition to assessing headstone typology for historic cemeteries, the development of best practices for photogrammetry of headstones will be examined. The questions addressed in this research will hopefully illuminate mortuary trends in Central Florida and encourage future research and literature to shift its focus to include southern regions of the United States in terms of historical Cemetery context. Additionally, practices developed in photogrammetry can aid public archaeology conservation and restoration efforts of historic cemeteries that are endangered of being lost due to external circumstances.

Coffee's worldwide popularity, and especially among Americans, has grown significantly over recent decades. This is credited to the rise of corporate coffee shops like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, as well as the inescapable presence of coffee marketing on the internet and social media in our everyday lives. This thesis traces coffee's popularity from its early days as a facilitator in increased production rate in factories during the Industrial Revolution up to the popularity it has gained on TikTok and other social media platforms in the 21st century. My research examines the growth of coffee culture in America through participant observation and a synthesis of texts, considering how coffee influences daily life through marketing and addiction, and how it has managed to stay relevant through that time.

<p>The conventional study of social change had tended to perceive the values, attitudes, and cultural institutions of non-Western peoples as "obstacles" to the "rational" organization of society. Policy makers, "modernizing" states and "development" agencies have sought to create institutions which would supposedly diffuse values needed to promote rationality. Though this Modernist position has been severely criticized in the last two and a half decades by Dependency, Underdevelopment and Marxist theorists, the critics themselves have not departed from some of the fundamentally Eurocentric premises of Modernism. Despite the recognition of the role played by the historical linkages between the Western Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America in precipitating the condition described as "underdevelopment", it is taken for granted that the desired goal of "development" is the creation of Western type "advanced" societies. The case of the Bassa indicates the dreams and aspirations of the targets of "development", may differ fundamentally from the agendas of governments and development agencies. People in rural communities like the Bassa have their "development" agenda, an agenda informed by priorities derived from their unique historical experiences. Their case suggests that some of the questions development planners and theorists must start addressing are: What do the people themselves want? What are their dreams? What are their visions of the "good life"? In what context(s) are these aspirations formed? Can these be legislated or thought for them by planners and experts? The Bassa case shows that historical experiences are processed and reconstructed through cultural reference points and go on to inform a community's sense of "Who we are" "What is good for us" and "What we want". As communities transform their consciousness and behaviour patterns, new identities emerge. These identities become the instrument for the bestowal of roles in relation to the definition of their sense of "our problems". For the Bassa, struggling for power with their neighbours has involved reformulating the meaning of being "Bassa" in the late 20th century. Assailing "community-powerlessness" has meant developing new definitions for age-old institutions and reinterpreting the value of formal education. Their story shows culture is not the "iron-caged debris" of bygone ages. Rather, culture is as alive as the human beings who create it and for whom it is a reference point for action. The Bassa experience suggests culture is a dynamic sense of collective history and "group consciousness" which is transformed as new challenges to survival emerge.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis examines the practice of the misrepresentation and manipulation of the archaeological record in Italy as it relates to identity formation through three main case studies. Moving chronologically, it begins by analyzing the Palermo National Exposition and the Mostra Etnografica Siciliana of Giuseppe Pitrè using Edward Said’s Orientalism to reveal the othering of Sicilians at this exposition. The second case study looks at the Mostra Augustea della Romanità of the Fascist era, building on the extensive scholarly discussion regarding Mussolini’s misrepresentation of ancient Roman archaeology to construct a fascist identity around the concept of romanità. Moving into the contemporary scene of Italian politics, the third case study analyzes the invention of Padanian ethnicity by Lega Nord in the 1990s and early 2000s by misrepresenting and obfuscating Celtic archaeology of Northern Italy. The analysis briefly discusses the newer phenomenon of “revenge archaeology,” coined by Alessandro Vanzetti, in the region of Calabria, and its relationship to the other case studies and the history of the NorthSouth divide. This thesis analyzes how the misrepresentation of the archaeological record and material culture have been used in Italy to reorganize and assert racial, ethnic, and national identities, as well as examining how these case studies interact with and build on one another.

<p>Urban Aboriginal health and health-related issues are steeped within the sociohistorical, sociocultural, and sociopolitical experiences of Aboriginal peoples since European contact. Thus, urban Aboriginal health issues are very complex in that they consist of aspects associated with collective as well as individual cultural and political life experiences. Therefore, in order to adequately address Aboriginal health issues a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach is required.</p> <p>This study examines how Anishnawbe Health Toronto, an urban Aboriginal community health centre, addresses the specific healthcare needs of the urban population through a multidisciplinary culturally appropriate healthcare model. As my research evolved, a few themes emerged from the data. First, the health issues experienced by the clientele were inherently complex and simultaneously infused with a culturally collective and individualistic quality. Second, practitioners acknowledged and addressed the complex nature of the clients’ health problems through a unique model of health care created at the centre. Third, the philosophy, infrastructure, and model of health care at Anishnawbe Health Toronto goes beyond the notion of merely offering access to both systems of health care, and instead constitutes an innovative and culturally appropriate system of care which is under Aboriginal control, development and implementation. Therefore, through my analysis of these themes, I conclude that the model of health care developed at the centre is an example of complex solutions designed to address complex Aboriginal health issues and as a result, facilitate the embodiment of self-determination in the area of health care.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)