Ethnography

correlated to behaviors of dominance and submission and function as expressions of machismo and dominant male power (Carrillo, 2002:80). In several cultures, sexual relations are deeply tied to the submissive/dominant binary and to food imagery. In his ethnography, Kulick (1997) found that this binary is very much present in travesti sexual encounters: there are those who comem (those who eat) and those who dão (those who give). The act of penetration occupies a transformative force in that it…

secular communities, as Hsia points out, “Merely establishing the motive and manner of the murder was insufficient; the magistrates wanted the investigation into Simon’s death to unlock the secret door of Judaism and allow them to construct an ethnography of Jewish rites” (Hsia,…

home, the life inside the foster care home, and the life after foster care. Young adults in foster care live a difficult and sad life. Some studies show how their education and life in the system are more complexed then for most young adults. This ethnography, will focus on the life situations of young adults in foster care from the ages thirteen and older. It studies the groups marginalization, ideology, rituals, their artifacts, and their habitat. This study was assembled by observations in a…

Venkatesh described in detail his multi-year escapade including his experience as Gang Leader for a Day. Despite Venkatesh’s sociological background and claims, Gang Leader for a Day makes very little use of substantive sociological theory. His ethnography of the Black Knights covers a very broad area of study; it does little to focus on…

Throughout this whirlwind of sequenced events dubbed life, every person is confronted with personal issues. One such personal issue for myself is bulimia. From the summer before my freshman year of high school, until the middle of my junior year, I would have bouts of bulimia ranging from a one time incident to a consistent several week episode. Currently, I am doing well and have not taken part in such an issue for about a year and a half. While it is a personal issue that is, in part a result…

Within this paper juvenile crime and delinquency will be explored using the ideas provided with General Strain Theory. There will be an in depth analysis of the impacts of both non-violent and violent abuse on juveniles, and the ways in which said abuse manifests itself into non-violent and violent crimes perpetrated by said victim. The analysis will draw from five various sources that studied youth of low to no economic status. In order to understand the reason for crime perpetration of crime…

impacted the principles upon which gender roles have evolved. Since the beginning of time women have played an important role in the cultural and social dynamics of their environment and the roles they have traditionally played have transformed. The ethnographies, Wayward Women written by Holly Wardlow and Juki Girls, Good Girls by Caitrin Lynch, are works that examine gender response to cultural changes. These accounts analyzed how women altered their gender roles as a result of cultural…

Scientific and cultural understandings of illnesses and treatment often cause polarization in defining and remedying solution to health problems. The cultural outlook of the Hmong people on depression and diagnosing illnesses stem from a holistic approach that takes into account the spiritual condition of individuals. On the flip side, the biomedical model of health- a scientific approach, considers biological factors that can be tested and verified producing similar results across varying…

The Sworn Virgins of Albania are a perfect example of the relationships and differences between male and female, and sex and gender. Taking a vow to dress and act like a man, these Sworn Virgins are accepted by their communities and looked at as men, no matter their sex and/or upbringing. In this paper I will examine the cultural logic and norms that make becoming a Sworn Virgin possible, desirable, and even necessary. Every society has their own specific norms. Depending on the location,…

This was an action research project conducted by a high school science teacher. She took a self-proclaimed constructionism epistemology. In regards to the epistemology, the study’s parameters were governed by the social environment. The study took place in the author’s 10th grade biology classroom, this was a natural setting for both the researcher and participants of the study. The research was conducted using qualitative methods, such as, interviews, observations, and participant. The…