Suchergebnisse

Provincetown, MA, located at the tip of Cape Cod, has transitioned over the twentieth century from a predominantly Portuguese fishing village to a magnet for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and queers, both as tourists and year-rounders. Newcomers have fostered change – economically, socially, and culturally – to which the town's predominantly straight old-timers have responded with a libertarian, generally accepting stance. Accommodation to newcomers – both 'good gays' and 'sexual rebels' – with its attendant social and cultural challenges, has not been without conflict. Today, economic gentrification and an influx of workers of color test the community's resolve to maintain and promote a culture of diversity and acceptance, as members cope with ever-more challenging economic issues, including escalating housing, and living costs. Provincetowners also confront other troubling demographic changes, especially declining school enrolments caused by the so-called 'straight flight' and an ever-increasing number of households without children, reflecting the transition to a GLBTQ majority. Today Provincetowners retain an edgy, risqué lifestyle, where community decisions are negotiated through small-town democratic institutions, and where citizens intersect across social, economic, and cultural divides. This paper examines Provincetown as a laboratory to interrogate how citizens accommodate others, as they grapple with uncertainties inherent in a predominantly seasonal – and diverse – tourist economy.

The Central American country of Belize offers a unique opportunity for our students to learn about the history, society, and culture of this former British colony, inhabited by descendants of former slaves, Mestizo migrants, and other ethnic and religious groups. Unlike much of Hispanic Latin America, Belize is a predominantly Afro-Caribbean, English-speaking country tucked between Mexico and Guatemala. A democracy, Belize has struggled to overcome persistent poverty, lack of resources, and an inability to develop a self-sustaining economy, as it has struggled to retain a richly blended population of approximately 200,000 citizens. This proposal is to develop a Belize Study Tour, through which students will be exposed to the complex history, culture, and society of Belize, through an anthropological participant observation study tour format. I will travel to Belize to meet with representatives from Belen University, San Ignacio, Belize, and to inspect possible sites, to develop a Study Tour educational plan and explore other education exchange opportunities.

Based on over six years of fieldwork, Sandra L. Faiman-Silva's The Courage to Connect traces the transformation of the well-known Cape Cod community of Provincetown from its nineteenth century origins a Portuguese fishing town to its present status as a welcoming, sexually diverse tourist enclave. This book critically examines the history of the Portuguese ethnic community and the local economy, as well as the nature of intersections between gay and straight culture in areas such as public education, local government, and the police. Using queer and critical culture theory to deconstruct day-to-day local encounters, it lays bare the roots of social conflicts and how they can be resolved. Capturing the pathos and joy of a community that has struggled to accommodate radical social changes, The Courage to Connect serves as a model for understanding how communities can construct themselves to overcome their differences. ; https://vc.bridgew.edu/fac_books/1054/thumbnail.jpg

Choctaws at the Crossroads examines the political economy of the Choctaws at the end of the twentieth century. Forcibly relocated in the 1830s from the lower Mississippi Valley to the southeastern corner of Indian Territory, the Choctaws today are a dynamic and complex rural ethnic community in Oklahoma. Many work as nonunionized laborers for large corporations, yet they seek to maintain some aspects of their traditional way of life. Combining fieldwork and archival research, Sandra Faiman-Silva uncovers the processes by which the local economic and social practices of the Choctaws have become intertwined with and, in some respects, dependent on corporate and global economic forces. Low wages and often temporary work force the Choctaws to supplement their income through tribal economic assistance and through traditional practices of horticulture, fishing, craft production, canning, and residence sharing. Faiman-Silva finds a troubling paradox in this strategy. Such traditional economic activities are central to Choctaw identity and way of life and are outside the non-Indian controlled, capitalist system; at the same time, these practices help sustain the power and profits of corporations. This sensitive and theoretically informed study makes an important contribution to understanding the historic, economic, and social conditions of contemporary Native Americas. ; https://vc.bridgew.edu/fac_books/1055/thumbnail.jpg

The dramas of daily life are often substance for true anthropological inquiry because they present us with examples of social conflict and its resolution, thereby illuminating perennial questions faced by members of a society. What can a dispute between two neighbors in a not-so-remote village of Cape Cod tell us that might be of interest to students of dispute resolution, resource use, and even political economy? The dispute examined here appears to have far-reaching implications not only because of the disputants themselves, representatives of two classes of American citizenry; but also because their conflict and the process used to achieve resolution address important environmental and ecological dilemmas faced by Americans today.

Each individual's experiences and position in politics, culture, scholarship, and professional relationships are shaped by her or his multiple sources of identity including gender, race, class, sexual orientation, (dis)ability status, age, nationality, religion. The discussants in this roundtable all use varying aspects of diverse identity to help students explore and discuss the significance of identity, power, and authority. Dr. Gentlewarrior regularly discusses with students how their own identities (as well as those of the people they are serving) affect social work practice. Dr. Faiman-Silva focuses on citizenship and feminist/queer discourse to broaden students' understandings of diversity in the U.S. and Globally. Dr. O'Connor uses gender to explore issues of power and authority in the production of historical and anthropological scholarship on Latin America. The panelists will facilitate an exercise addressing our diverse identities, and how these influence our work in preparing students to participate in our "diverse and global society."

How can the definition and conceptions of environmental sustainability be expanded across academic disciplines? What can faculty and students in arts, humanities and social science contribute to the conversation with persons from natural sciences, education and management? Immigration, globalization and climate change are challenging scholars to develop creative and culturally competent solutions across disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Participants in this session will consider these questions and are invited to share ideas of how this is presently occurring or may be done more effectively. Participants will consider new and existing examples from within and outside of Bridgewater State College. Such partnerships may involve the college, community based organizations and businesses and governmental authorities in the New England region and beyond. The challenges and opportunities will be realistically assessed in terms of the mission and resources of the college dedicated to teaching, scholarship and service.