<p> This dissertation examines the experience of Freemasonry, as practiced in the United States, Colombia, and through Masonic literature, from an anthropological perspective. The Freemasons are a fraternal society with a global presence. In this work, the experience of Freemasonry, as both an individual/personal journey and a shared/collective <i>activity</i> is discussed. The work utilizes a number of methods and theoretical bases, including, but not limited to, a reliance on both primary and secondary textual sources which enhance both an understanding of Freemasonry from Masonic perspectives as well as presents anthropological and interdisciplinary context and analyses. Theoretical discussions include, but are not limited to, a reconsideration of what constitutes a field site, how scholarship on secrecy can enhance the study of a society which generally does not consider itself a true secret society, and how texts can act both as reference and as a set of participants. The core inquiries of this project discuss how philosophical systems of individualism can be sustained through specific forms of collaboration, and how the simultaneity of the shared and the individual experience of Masonry constitutes a culture in its own right. Contributing to work done within the anthropology of Freemasonry, along with a range and combination of disciplinary and interdisciplinary orientations, such as an &ldquo;activity-based approach&rdquo;, and including elements of variation and consensus, this project provides a dialogue on themes of belonging, individualism, knowledge production, access, &ldquo;activity&rdquo;, and experience. </p>

Magíster en gestión cultural / La presente investigación se plantea como un cruce disciplinario, que si bien se sitúa dentro del margen de la gestión cultural, confluyen aquí distintos puntos y elementos que pretenden aportar a la reflexión en materia de educación intercultural, pueblos indígenas, políticas públicas y participación de la sociedad civil. Todo esto desde la perspectiva y las herramientas adquiridas en el transcurso del magíster y comprendiendo que la gestión cultural es una disciplina naciente que debe nutrirse y arraigarse a otras áreas más tradicionales y consolidadas por la academia y la institucionalidad pública. En este sentido, nos posicionamos desde la gestión cultural, para reflexionar y problematizar sobre el rol y relevancia que tienen los pueblos indígenas dentro de la construcción nacional y de qué manera se entiende la diversidad cultural.

Magíster en gestión cultural / La necesidad de generar una metodología para la valorización de las artes visuales, en un mercado con escasa información y baja estandarización resultó un desafío interesante. Por una parte, fue necesario una aproximación a los conceptos y definiciones para caracterizar la valorización y comercialización de las obras de artes visuales, utilizando diferentes medios, libros, revistas e internet, adicionalmente fue necesario un referenciamiento de las metodologías utilizadas en países de vanguardia en el tema, y finalmente levantar información de interés con un estudio de benchmarking donde participaron 46 artistas visuales nacionales. Los resultados de la investigación impulsan a, desarrollar y utilizar modelos de estandarización para la valorización de las obras de arte en el mercado nacional, y a incorporar asignaturas o talleres en las universidades y centros de formación de artistas, con el objetivo que los artistas desarrollen competencias específicas para la gestión y comprensión de los mercados de arte. En contraparte a lo indicado, también se requiere profesionalizar la función de tasación y comercialización de obras de artes, para generar confianza y acercamiento de los artistas, y que en suma, impulsen el desarrollo del mercado del arte nacional. Para un mercado con creciente demanda de obras de arte, el principal valor del trabajo de la tesis es proponer una metodología para la tasación de obras de arte que permita a artistas y agentes del mercado, establecer reglas básicas para la comercialización.

The purpose of this essay is to let the reader become philosophically aware of the various historical, sociological, psychological, and aesthetic views connected with the word kitsch. The first two sections of this essay are devoted to the research of these outside views. Because of the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon of kitsch, the concluding sections of this essay suggests another approach to what we view as the real problem of kitsch--a lack of understanding for kitschman as he relates kitsch-art to boredom. The method of exploration into the phenomenon of kitsch will be that of existential phenomenology. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-09, Section: A, page: 2706. / Major Professor: Peter Stowell. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

In this research project, I examine the role that three organizations play in the greater Boston area. I sought to understand how these organizations were offering care to this population, and, in a broader sense, what it means to care for asylum-seekers and refugees. To answer this question, I developed a qualitative study that consisted of semi-structured interview and participant observation at three different sites from August 2015 through February 2017. I argue that the agencies where I did my research demonstrated that healthcare does not equal medical care. These agencies offered an integrative approach to overall care for those refugees and asylum-seekers utilizing their services. This care reflected the pre-defined needs and desires of refugees and asylum-seekers while also remaining fluid and adapting to individual cases.

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The dissertation utilizes an ethnographic investigation to understand how globally standardized economic ideas, policies and institutions are put into practice in developing countries. How are institutions, laws, policies and standards being transferred from the West to developing countries? And how do they reconstruct and regulate markets? Which actors, other than states, are involved in this process, and how do they relate to each other? In an attempt to answer the foregoing questions, the dissertation examines the remaking process of the tobacco market in Turkey. Its starting point is the February 2001 Turkish financial crisis, a benchmark event, after which a series of sweeping reforms were implemented to fix the collapsed economy. The tobacco law was one of the reforms designed to bring the tobacco market in line with the standards of the Western capitalist market. Following the circulation of tobacco from fields to cigarette factories, the dissertation explores how legal policies, market procedures and technical issues have transformed the tobacco market in Turkey. Decision-making processes of experts and the impacts of their decisions constitute the basic focus of this investigation. The study examines three different kinds of experts, namely global policymakers, technocrats and tobacco experts, and explores the ways in which these experts establish standardized institutions, market devices and technical guidelines. The methods and theories of anthropology, political economy, as well as science and technology studies are drawn on to scrutinize economic liberalization policies in developing countries that have adopted standardized guidelines of Western countries and institutions.