This thesis is an ethnography of the indigenous religion, education system and social organization of the community living in the central mountains of Sikka Regency on the island of Flores in Indonesia. The question that has motivated my research is ‘how are the ideas and practices of this community’s indigenous cosmology taught and learned so to persist with continuity through generations?’ In answer I explore the ways in which cosmological ideas and practices are taught to be valued as truth as they are embodied during the practical activity of ritual. This study advances a performative theory of ritual education through a combination of Gregory Bateson’s theory of the ecology of mind and Roy Rappaport’s theory of ritual and sanctification / I begin with a critical examination of the representations of the community in question that have been made by scholars and neighboring populations. I argue that these representations wrongly imply a static and bounded community. Instead, I contend that the community is constituted by dynamic village and clan relationships anchored on sentimental and structural forms of individual belonging to particular villages and clans. This belonging is principally developed through individuals’ adherence to the indigenous cosmology, locally called Adat. I continue by discussing the educational methods by which this cosmology is perpetuated. Ritual language lessons concerning education insist that from an early age community members participate fully in daily religious life (particularly in the practice of ritual) under the guidance of close family. I then describe the learning environments found in childhood, marriage and mortuary rites. Following Bateson, I argue that during ritual contexts participants ‘deutero-learn’ embodied skills that are patterned by previous experiences, and generate the future conditions, of these same ritual contexts. / In addition to traditional educational settings, the Adat cosmology is now taught in Indonesian primary and high schools in ‘local content curriculum’ classes. I compare Adat education based on participation in ritual with that of modern schools, and I argue that in the classroom the indigenous cosmology is abstracted from its performative underpinnings. Adat is embodied differently in ritual and school contexts, and the tensions caused by these differences lead to transformations in Adat knowledge. I end this thesis by contextualizing my findings with national discourses of indigeneity and intercultural education.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The American University, 2005. / (UnM)AAI3187220. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-09, Section: B, page: 5110. Chair: Anthony H. Ahrens.

This dissertation is looking at quilombo grassroots land and identity politics as they transpire in a compound of Black rural communities in the north of the state of Maranhão, Brazil. One of the main questions this thesis asks is: How do communities mobilise resources in defence of their territories when formal means of establishing land claims have been exhausted? Based on ethnographic research conducted over fifteen months my analysis delves into strategies employed by peasant groups for the assertion of their collective land ownership. This assertion taps into specific ethno-racial legislation and it is especially directed towards Evangelical Christians, whom the majority of Catholic quilombola residents regard as their territorial and religious antagonists. This thesis's broadest argument is that this territorial defence mainly materialises through two streams of action: religious and cultural grassroots activism. It is argued that creative uses and articulations of cultural and religious practices, and the creation of a network of alliances, transpire as the most relevant means of 'informal' community politics. More specifically, I argue that local ceramic production (intrinsically attached to notions of a 'quilombo heritage') and religious festivities in honour of the local patron saint contribute to the preservation of a specific quilombo territoriality. In the ethnographic context examined, this territoriality is inherently attached to popular Catholicism and notions of quilombola cultural identity. Employing approaches from agrarian, peasant politics, quilombo, and heritage studies, this dissertation seeks to illuminate the dynamic relation between local perceptions of land and territoriality in the 'lands of Santa Teresa'. Overall, this thesis aims at contributing to those studies that explore the diversity and creativity of politics 'from below'.

Orientador: Mauro William Barbosa de Almeida / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T21:54:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mendes_SergioProcopioCarmona1985-_M.pdf: 1000277 bytes, checksum: d723bf4fd94cab0ea080dabcfbd7dc9a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O objetivo geral dessa dissertação é investigar, de maneira ensaística, as contribuições de Marshall Sahlins para o desenvolvimento de uma teoria antropológica das "necessidades econômicas". A hipótese inicial é que essas contribuições teóricas de Sahlins permitem o desenvolvimento de uma arqueologia do conceito de "necessidade econômica". A estratégia escolhida para organizar essa argumentação é em um primeiro momento, estudar as interpretações que Sahlins propõe sobre as relações entre Natureza, Cultura e Economia, evidenciando as críticas que Sahlins desenvolve sobre as teorias materialistas. Posteriormente, será exposto um mapeamento teórico sobre o conceito de economia selvagem. Esse mapeamento é baseado nas definições de Sahlins sobre o modo de produção doméstico e permite o desenvolvimento de um debate com as teorias de Pierre Clastres e Gilles Deleuze. No terceiro capítulo, será exposto o processo de invenção do conceito de "necessidade econômica" pela Ciência Econômica. Esse mecanismo de invenção conceitual será submetido a uma análise crítica, abrindo espaço para a noção de produção do desejo / Abstract: The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the contributions of Marshall Sahlins in the development of an anthropological theory of "economic necessity". The initial hypothesis is that these theoretical contributions of Sahlins allow the development of an archeology of the concept of "economic necessity". The strategy chosen to host such an argument is at first, to study what Sahlins proposes interpretations on the relationship between Nature, Culture and Economy, highlighting the critical Sahlins develops on materialist theories. Subsequently, a mapping will be exposed on the theoretical concept of wild economy. Based on the domestic mode of production will develop a debate between the theories of Sahlins, Pierre Clastres and Gilles Deleuze. The third chapter will be explained the process of inventing the concept of "economic necessity", by the Economic Science. This mechanism of conceptual invention will be subjected to critical analysis, making room for the notion of production of desire / Mestrado / Antropologia Social / Mestre em Antropologia Social

Orientador: Bela Bianco / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T04:16:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gimeno_PatriciaCuri_M.pdf: 862548 bytes, checksum: 0f200c7fbb95ab8666e5e598821e588d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: O objetivo desta dissertação foi o de apresentar alguns aspectos fundamentais para a compreensão do processo de construção da relação entre o rap, os rappers e a periferia. Tal relação é entendida como o resultado de um processo bastante abrangente de diálogo e, por vezes, de conflito, entre alguns rappers paulistanos e outros sujeitos e instituições no tocante à própria conceituação da periferia, à ocupação de territórios da cidade de São Paulo, às visões mais comuns sobre a violência e à criminalidade e, por fim, ao papel desempenhado por estes artistas na cena pública. Tomando como base as trajetórias e as letras de músicas dos integrantes dos grupos Racionais MC's, RZO e dos rappers Rappin Hood, Xis e Sabotage, procurou-se mostrar que, ao defenderem a legitimidade do olhar construído a partir do interior da periferia, assim como de seus papéis públicos de representantes autorizados dos moradores, os artistas tornaram-se mediadores entre esse mesmo território e o restante da sociedade. E, mais importante, transformaram o rap em um veículo de expressão e de formulação de demandas sociais e políticas de uma parcela bastante significa de jovens pobres e negros que, assim como eles, nasceram e cresceram nas periferias da cidade de São Paulo a partir dos anos 1970 / Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation was to present some fundamental aspects for comprehending the upbuilding process of the relations between Rap, rappers and peripheral neighborhoods. Such relations are understood as the result of a quite broad dialogical process, and sometimes a conflictual one, between rappers from São Paulo and other institutions and individuals concerning the very conceptualization of the peripheral neighborhood, the occupation of some of the city's territories, the most common points of view about violence and crime and, lastly, concerning the role played by these artists in the public scenario. Taking as a start their life histories and lyrics by members of the groups Racionais MCs, RZO, and the rappers Rappin Hood, Xis and Sabotage, efforts were made towards the purpose of demonstrating that by defending the legitimacy of this look developed within the peripheral neighbourhood as well as the legitimacy of their roles as public representatives as authorised by the community, artists became mediators between these very territories and the rest of the society. More importantly, these artists have turned rapping into a medium of expression and formulation of social and political demands for a significant share of poor and black young ones who, just like them, were born and raised in the peripheral areas of the city of São Paulo from the 70's onwards / Mestrado / Antropologia Urbana / Mestre em Antropologia Social

Green urban spaces are a vigorous part in cities development, all over the world (Swanwick, Dunnet, & Wooley, 2003). These spaces are persistently constructed and negotiated over a creative process, which includes a network of actors, such as clients, designers, constructors, and users. This thesis addresses this process - with a case study of landscape architects in Stockholm, and their practice of creativity. The landscape architects present one group of actors involved in the process, where they design urban spaces for the future through their creative work. It begins with a mental image, an idea, and ends with a built site, a designed space. In reference to practice theory (Ortner, 1984 and 2006) and the biosocial becomings approach (Ingold, 2013), I analyze how creativity as a practice is socially produced by history, culture and power, through the biosocial growth of the creative agent, the landscape architect. Referring to Hallam and Ingold ́s definition (2007, p. 3), I understand creative practice as an improvisational process. I argue that creativity is accumulated, i.e. a becoming practice amongst becoming creative agents. While investigating the practice of creativity through a traditional participant observation, I primarily focus on sounds, where I listen to the practice, and use it as a method of collecting empirical data. With that method, I enrich the registration of sensor impressions (Borneman & Hammoudi, 2009, p. 19) during my fieldwork, providing a sonic dimension to the knowledge of creative practice amongst landscape architects.

This thesis examines the composition of affective atmospheres, emerging in court sessions of criminal matter in Vienna. The notion of atmosphere is used to explore collective affective qualities, emerging through the interplay between affective bodies and their environment. The focus provides as analytical frame for bringing forward the workings of affect in legal procedures. From a starting point in theories of affect and atmosphere, I cast light at how the affectively charged space is both monitored and beyond control. First, I trace affect through the lens of spatial arrangements of courtrooms. I show how the architectural and interior arrangements and aesthetics of courtrooms are expedient in creating resonance between the bodies and control over the situations, while being visual and material representations of law. Second, I trace affect in the relation between the bodies that produce atmosphere and regard for the bodily capacity to affect and be affected. I consider principles of criminal procedure structuring and disciplining affective bodies in courtrooms and the juridical labour entailing work on emotions. Third, I trace affect in the dynamics and changes of affective atmosphere by showing how atmospheric changes come about and are contested through intensification and ruptures in atmosphere. I discuss the compositions of affective atmosphere in relation to discipline and control converging with bodies entering the legal setting. The ethnographic material is collected through participant observation in one hundred court sessions, as well as through interviews with people involved.

En mammas starka känslor kan påverka hennes uppfattningar kring sitt moderskap. Denna studie kommer att titta på varför vissa mammor väljer att stanna hemma med sina barn. Dessa mammor menar att barnomsorgen som erbjuds av samhället inte passar in i deras förväntningar om vad ett barn behöver. Genom att ha barnen hemma längre än samhällets norm, skapar detta val en negativ respons från vissa individer i samhället. Individer som menar att dessa mammor påverkar jämställdhetsutvecklingen negativt.   Studien har utförts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Utöver intervjuer har empiri från flödet i Facebook gruppen: hemmaföräldrars nätverk samlats in. Även information från bloggar, samt litteratur i ämnet, har använts. De två teorierna som har applicerats i denna uppsats vilar på två ben. Den ena teorin vilar på idén om ett intensivt moderskap. Ett begrepp som beskriver mammornas modersidentitet som den primära vårdgivaren. Den andra teorin tar upp hur mammornas subjektiva uppfattning om moderskapet påverkar henne agens.Studien visar att det finns mammor som aktivt väljer att stanna hemma med sina barn. Ett val som dessa mammor säger sig vara nöjda med. Mammorna upplever att de saknar förståelse från samhället, en önskan om acceptans, samt fler valmöjligheter kring moderskapet.

In contrast to how anthropologists usually study groups that we readily sympathize with, this thesis sets out to create an understanding of one of the most anti-mainstream groups in Sweden: Men Going Their Own Way. Through combining an engaged fieldwork with extended interviews, I aim to explore the emic experience of finding, being, and practicing MGTOW. With the aid of certain theoretical frameworks and concepts concerning feelings of tension and frustration, processes of discipline and exclusion, and acts of everyday resistance, my informants' experiences and accounts are understood and contextualized. In addition to contributing to a very thin field of academic knowledge production around MGTOW, I hope to nuance the polemic debate through which "the other" is perceived.

Assyrians are members of a stateless nation with roots in the Middle East, although due to conflict, persecution and instability a majority of Assyrians now live in diaspora in many different countries. The Assyrian community in Sweden now numbers approximately 100.000 individuals, of which approximately 18.000 to 25.000 live in the greater Stockholm area. This thesis utilizes the example of the Swedish-Assyrian community to analyze two research topics: the political engagement of a diaspora within a host country; and diasporic efforts to maintain a distinctive culture and contribute to its own nation building while residing in diaspora, a particularly pressing question for a stateless nation, such as the Assyrian nation. This thesis utilizes ethnographic data acquired via personal interviews with Swedish-Assyrian individuals and participant observation to discuss these research subjects. With regards to diaspora political engagement, the thesis finds that Swedish-Assyrians utilize their rights as Swedish citizens and their voices as Assyrians to engage with both Swedish politics and Assyrian causes. They are motivated by both Swedish political issues and by the Assyrian national cause. The ethnographic data is further used to analyze the discourse on identity and nation-building among the Swedish Assyrian community, including the impact of the host country’s culture and policies on the diaspora group and attempts to create a unified nation through education and placing emphasis on an ethnic, rather than solely religious, identity. These efforts bring Assyrians in Sweden closer together by helping to bridge differences in language and culture, but as Assyrians internationally now find themselves also affected by the cultures of their new nations, new differences and divisions simultaneously appear.