Between 1990 and today, the small town of Bàu Trúc just south of Vietnam’s central highlands, has experienced drastic economic growth from increased sales of ceramic art. Based on four months of ethnographic research, interviews conducted from the US, my study revisited how different notions ‘authenticity’ shape how art is produced and its interpretation. Examining the various meanings of ‘authentic’ for the producer and consumer, this study argues that the concept ‘authenticity’ fosters development on local, national and international scales. Engaging the discourses that problematize notions of authenticity, my paper argued that ‘authenticity’ gives otherwise disadvantaged producers the ability to influence the price of their goods, the interpretation of their art and the development of their culture within Vietnam and the globe.
Posted by Tim Robinson '14 My inspiration for this study stems almost entirely from Sa Kaya, cited above by her Vietnamese name, Lo Minh Hoang Tran. Fearing the dissipation of the Champa minority’s traditions and culture, Sa Kaya and myself spent many nights discussing the myriad of factors contributing to the loss of the Champa language and religion among this minority’s youth. In the context of the Vietnamese system of education, contemporary increases in mobility and modern entities like Facebook and cheap cell phones, we quickly realized the vast complexity of the issue. Consequently, my study focused on just one contributing aspect: the recent boom of ceramic art production and its impact on tourists and the preservation of Champa culture.
Between 1990 and today, the small town of Bàu Trúc just south of Vietnam’s central highlands, has experienced drastic economic growth from increased sales of ceramic art. Based on four months of ethnographic research, interviews conducted from the US, my study revisited how different notions ‘authenticity’ shape how art is produced and its interpretation. Examining the various meanings of ‘authentic’ for the producer and consumer, this study argues that the concept ‘authenticity’ fosters development on local, national and international scales. Engaging the discourses that problematize notions of authenticity, my paper argued that ‘authenticity’ gives otherwise disadvantaged producers the ability to influence the price of their goods, the interpretation of their art and the development of their culture within Vietnam and the globe. Posted by Bridget Smith '14 Local projects can still have international ties and resonance. In my project I explore several yoga studios in downtown Saratoga Springs looking for the continuance and modern iterations of yoga philosophy as present in the classes offered. My project takes on modern notions of spirituality and wellness, and analyzes the ways in which the ancient practice of yoga fits into contemporary Western life. By engaging at the community level, I assessed larger trends of health and wellness within the States and observed the philosophy and practices associated with these lifestyle choices. Through participant observation and interviews, I entered into and experienced personally the contemporary world of Western yoga practice, which I found personally and academically fulfilling. Through my exploration of the local, I carried out transnational research into ancient yoga practices and philosophies as well as different global interpretations of this practice. By choosing a project that personally interested and excited me, I designed a study on a topic that related to both my Religion and Anthropology majors as well as being an all-around engaging experience.
In my research, I found that wellness and spirituality are very personal terms to define. Despite the great variety in both class style and studio space, I found participants and myself engaging with wellness and spirituality. From the slow, meditative classes of Saratoga Springs Yoga to the athletic and strenuous practice of Hot Yoga, participants come to 'get away' from normal life, focus on themselves, and embrace their inner quietude and oneness. What I came away with from my project is the observation and understanding of yoga as much more than a physical discipline. While physical health and fitness are indeed effects of a regular yoga practice, my observations and interviews with practitioners in Saratoga reveal benefits extending beyond the physical body. I conclude by classifying yoga under wellness, rather than health, as it engages the spirituality of participants as well as the physical body. By being a practice that affects the mind and spirit as well as the body, yoga is a practice of wellness, a classification that extends back to its origins more than six thousand years ago. Posted by Ben Oppenheimer '14 My multispecies ethnography centers on the relationship between the mounted human riding horseback and the horse whose back is mounted by a human, observed in Saratoga Springs, New York at Skidmore College. To fully grasp the Skidmore College experience, I analyzed human-horse relations, a key component to the student life and culture. My ethnography examines human-horse relations and the influence the horse has on the college community. Anthropocentrism regards human as the central fact of the universe, to which all surrounding facts have reference. Multispecies ethnographies aim to avoid this notion by focusing on human interaction with other living organisms. The social studies of human-animal relationship must not permit anthropocentric observation to overlook the presence of interspecies relationships, the way in which two things are connected. This mode of anthropological research is not confined only to the study of humans but also inclusive of our relationships and interactions with other living beings. Saratoga Springs is a hub for human-horse relations. Based on ethnographic research, this project draws on data from interviews, observations, ethnography, and participant observation. The findings demonstrate that interaction between humans and animals has the potential to form groups, relationships, codes of conduct, and other structures that construct and organize human behavior within a community. This has proven to be the case with human-horse relations in Saratoga Springs, New York. Posted by Sarah McInerney '14 In the general public, the field of archaeology tends to be somewhat misunderstood. One approach to public archaeology includes presentations at local museums. My senior capstone project uses information gathered through archaeological excavations conducted on the Skidmore College campus in North Woods during the fall of 2012 to illustrate the importance of archaeology. The excavations uncovered material from the 19th and 20th centuries and focused on the Grotto Stables of the Woodlawn Estate, which was built by Henry Walton in 1820. This project had two main goals: (1) to gain a deeper understanding of the Woodlawn Estate in terms of its use, the people who lived and worked there, its historical significance within Saratoga, and more importantly, what the site can teach us about archaeology; and (2) to find ways of educating the public (in this case, elementary-school aged children) about archaeology and why it is so vital to our understanding of the human past as well as the present and our collective future. This project demonstrates what we can learn about the class differences, architecture, and tourism of Saratoga Springs through the lens of archaeology. For the presentation aspect of my capstone, I decided to present my findings to elementary-school aged children at the Saratoga Springs History Museum. In order to keep the kids interested in what I was telling them, I decided to introduce them to the concept of archaeology through a hands-on activity. The activity consisted of the children searching through different items in a box that I provided, and together coming up with a possible story that links all of the items together. Every item in the box stood for a material object I found during my excavation. For example, I included things such as a cut up paper plate, a rubber horse shoe, a small bottle of mouthwash, and peanut shells to symbolize broken ceramic plates, metal horse shoes, glass medicine bottles, and discarded clam shells respectively. The children reacted well to this activity, and were able to come up with interesting stories as to how these pieces of the puzzle fit together. Afterwards, I explained to them that the activity they just did is very similar to what archaeologists do. They are like detectives, in a way, and use what they have (in terms of archaeological evidence) to learn more about different peoples and cultures. When I put it in a perspective that these children can relate to, they were able to understand the concepts very easily. Posted by Sofie Belkin-Sessler '14 Immediately upon entering the One Big Roof workshop and retreat center, before anyone had arrived, I felt a sense of calm. Pierre Zimmerman, the director, welcomed me as he always does, and the space grew in size and beauty in front of my eyes. It was bigger than I had remembered, the floor more wooden, the sunshine through the two back windows even more beautiful… Taking in the empty space I felt good, thoughtful and ready. There comes a point in time where you know what you know, and you know that that knowledge must be shared. It is bubbling up inside you, it bangs at your chest to be let out. I finally let it out like a breath held for too long… For the past year I have been studying the conjunction and interplay between Zen meditation and movement. As someone who is both an anthropologist and a dancer, I was attracted to the idea of conducting a study looking at how dance is meditative for dancers, performers, dance teachers and choreographers. The results of my fieldwork, conducted both in India and the U.S., have most recently culminated in a Movement Meditation Workshop held One Big Roof in downtown Saratoga Springs. Posted by Abigail Silverman '14 The two questions people most commonly asked after studying abroad in Israel were why I would choose to go to a country like Israel, and wasn’t I afraid for my safety while I was there. I was not asked about the culture and the people of Israel or what my experience was like while I was there. Rather, people used their pre-conceived notions of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict to question my study abroad destination. While Israel may be a country plagued by conflict, there is so much more to it than is portrayed in the news. Israel is a place with a rich and diverse history and culture, and home to a people that are incredibly nationalistic and welcoming. Through my study abroad semester, I was able to fully immerse myself in Israeli culture and learn about everything the country has to offer. Thus, when I returned to America, I felt a responsibility to share my stories from my study abroad semester so that those who questioned my study abroad destination would be exposed to a new perspective on Israel. But, a message is even stronger when heard not from one voice, but from many. Therefore, I embarked on a project to share the stories of ten other students who spent a study abroad semester in Israel. My project sheds a new light onto the country that Israel is by convey these students messages about Israel and the study abroad experience that they had. {Photographs by author) Posted by William Makepeace '14 In the spring of 2013, I embarked on a School for International Training (SIT) study abroad journey to India, Senegal, and Argentina. It was during the 5 week time period spent in Delhi that I fell in love with India and decided to commit to spending the following summer working at a Mumbai-based non-governmental organization (NGO). When I arrived in early June, it was my first time living by myself for an extended amount of time, and it is no overstatement that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Luckily, despite being a carefree 20-year old traveler with little sorted out at the time, I was fortunate enough to meet people that helped me forge an incredible summer that would go on to become the basis of my senior Anthropology capstone project. My ethnographic study of NGO relations in India is based on my experiences and observations working at Dasra, a Venture Philanthropy NGO that conducts research, capacity building, and creates networks for grassroots NGOs and philanthropists. My work in the Portfolio and Business Partnership departments put me in contact with many NGOs working for education, street children, and anti-sex trafficking. I conducted over 20 online initial assessments and visited 6 NGOs for more in-depth information. I kept wondering, however, why there are so many NGOs (approximately 3 million in India) with similar altruistic goals, yet they don’t collaborate to tackle those problems on a large scale. My study examines the internal and external pressures that prevent collaboration between NGOs and the various reasons for the existence of a fragmented the social sector. Ultimately, my research suggests that that donor competition, intra-organization social dynamics, and external structural pressures fragment horizontal networks (NGO-NGO) and indicate that bottom-up NGO development continues to be guided by ‘top-down’ agendas and forces. Below are some photographs that illustrate my summer in Mumbai. Posted by Emily Nesha Streim '14 First there was Siya. He was ten years old, and he had the best Gagnam Style dance I had ever seen. Then there was Sphe, a fourteen-year old boy who did not understand why I did not own a Lamborghini. Finally, there was every other kid in the neighborhood, all of whom were convinced that I had lunch dates with famous musicians on a regular basis. I was American. For them, that meant I was part of a rich, beautiful, musical society. First there was a girl who said that the worst thing about America was school shootings. Then there was a boy who thought murder was the worst thing about America. Finally, there was an entire class that believed in the Illuminati. They were South African. For them, even in the shadows of the glorified American celebrity life, negative aspects of American culture still managed to expose themselves. The students at Addington Primary School in Durban, South Africa seemed to spend every moment of their free time (and even their time when they were supposed to be working in class) asking me questions about America. Practically every question was music related—had I met Chris Brown? Was my favorite musician Nicki Minaj? Did I think Ke$ha was a member of the Illuminati? It was no surprise to me, then, that this intense interest in American music affected their interpretation of American culture. They translated music lyrics and images in music videos as they would a language; but this language was not universal. That is, not everyone translated it in the same way. Posted by Emma Matthies '14 The welcoming apthapi in our rural homestay. We spent four days in a small village just off of Lake Titicaca. During the meal we ate seven different kinds of potatos with a homemade pico de aji (garlic salsa). Despite not speaking the same language all of us were laughing by the end of the meal (Photograph by Heidi Baer Postigo) The influence of foreign countries on Latin American culture is an ever-evolving process with a distinct manner of adaptation. In anthropology, studies of globalization have mainly focused on the influence the Western world has on South American countries, but the way in which new ideas are adopted and incorporated into culture is a crucial part of the process. Food culture in Bolivia has changed drastically throughout its history, from the Spanish colonists to NATO’s food aid to the introduction of fast foods. My study is based on ethnographic research carried out from February until May of 2013 in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and focuses specifically on culinary traditions and how they have changed in response to a variety of factors within the country and also because of pressures from outside. The importance of traditional foods still prevails through much of Cochabamba’s culinary world, but at the same time new foods are cropping up all across the city. I found that the global and the local coexist in Cochabamba and thus create new meanings within its population.
Posted by Anne Salzman '14 Post-genocide Rwanda continues to deal with the challenge of reconciling a nation of traumatized Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa twenty years after the genocide. My study examines the success of the reconciliation process, through an analysis of the post-genocide labels applied to Hutus and Tutsis and Twa, and suggests structural changes to further the reconciliation process. One of the main barriers to the success of the reconciliation process is the label “victim,” “perpetrator,” “bystander,” and “survivor” that index the ethnic labels of Hutu and Tutsi. Based on two ethnographic research trips to Rwanda (January 2013 through May 2013, January 2014), my research looks at the government’s principal reconciliation initiative, the gacaca courts. It argues that the gacaca courts, as well as the post-genocide labels used, were central to the initial success of the reconciliation process, but now, 20 years later, serve to divide the population along the ethnic lines they were created to eliminate. My ethnographic research contributes to the larger debates on reconciliation initiatives, and also to a broader understanding of the complexities of conflict resolution processes. |
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