Honors Projects

The Cultural Omnivore in Its Natural Habitat: Music Taste at a Liberal Arts College

Anna Michelson — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:11:06 PDT

This mixed-methods study examines college students’ music preferences in order to better understand the phenomenon of cultural omnivorousness, or eclectic taste. I found that the majority (76%) of students were cultural omnivores. Education is a very important influence on music taste, but it works in complex ways. Formal classes increase appreciation of new genres. Parent influences were a factor, but musicianship was a more important predictor of “highbrow” taste than parents’ education level. The major way college education promotes omnivorousness is through increased diversity of social networks. There were, however, patterned dislikes that suggest both music as a symbolic boundary and omnivorousness as a status distinction. Even this overwhelmingly omnivorous population has hierarchies of taste, as some types of music and listeners are more highly regarded than others.

The Bureaucratic Savior: How Human Service Professionals Allocate Rights to Noncitizens

Mary Pheng — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:31:39 PDT

Lacking civil and political rights, over 30 million noncitizens in the United States hold de facto citizenship through the accumulation of social rights. Although governments confer rights, the United States relies on non-profit human service organizations to deliver many social support services. As the primary institution that interacts with noncitizens, human service organizations not only make policy in practice, but also play a key role in determining who gets to stay and who should receive help in doing so. This arrangement poses important questions: How do human services interact with pressures from immigration and welfare regulation? How does the institutional and organizational environment affect professionals’ prioritization of services and client selection? Through ethnographic interviews with human service directors, this study analyzed on the ground policy implementation and how noncitizens gain access to social rights and legitimacy. Due to regulatory pressures and referrals across professional networks, human services adopt similar practices and structures that decreased case variability irrespective of noncitizen’s needs. Additionally, directors responded to uncertainty in their work by using formal intake processes to serve varied interests and motivations. Thus, the immigration policy environment constrains discretion and narrows directors’ practical understanding of eligibility, limiting rather than expanding access to social rights.

Going Global: Explaining Participation in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations

Joshua Rubin — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:45:48 PST

Due to indigenous peoples' focus on maintaining localized cultural difference, it is surprising that the indigenous rights movement has been so robust and pervasive on the global scale. World polity and transnational advocacy network (TAN) theories have attempted to explain the rise of the global indigenous movement, but unique features of indigenous peoples and their rights make the applications of these theories potentially problematic. This study looks at participation in the global movement empirically, attempting to answer the questions of why and when indigenous peoples participate. With a new data set, I use event history analysis to model participation in the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. I find that despite inherent contradictions between world culture and tenets of indigenous rights, world polity theory provides a compelling explanation of variation in participation in the Working Group. At the same time, my research calls into question the explanatory power of grievances as a causal mechanism for participation, problematizing the application of TAN theories to the indigenous movement. Additionally, I find evidence for regional and materialistic explanation of participation in the Working Group. It is likely that these factors can complement world polity theory in providing an understanding of indigenous involvement in the global movement.

The Walls We Build: Borderwork and Manipulation of Power Relations in Hebron

Shahar Eberzhon — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:40:49 PST

Although borders mark the beginning on one political administrative unit and the ending of another, individuals who live in borderlands translate the abstract ideas of borders into part of their daily, physical reality. Conflicts about borders indicate that despite their static representations on maps, people in borderlands may challenge the legitimacy and meaning of these boundaries. Social interactions that are created through the borderwork of using, resisting, and avoiding borders and through practices of exclusion and inclusion affect the daily lives of communities. The main question this research will therefore answer is how borderwork in contested borderlands produces the types of social relations that can enhance or mitigate conflict. By examining Hebron, a Palestinian city in the West Bank, in which a minority of Jewish settlers decided to reside four decades ago, this research illustrates how actors use orientation toward borders to deploy corresponding strategies of resistance, compliance, surveillance and navigation of space. These different borderwork strategies challenge and perpetuate the status quo dictated by the inner and external borders, both intentionally and unintentionally.

“Because this is not the end:” Motivation and Change in People Living with HIV/AIDS

Chloe I. Souza — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:55:38 PDT

With great improvements in antiretroviral treatment, HIV/AIDS has become a condition people are living with throughout their lives. It is therefore important to understand how people mentally and emotionally cope with the onset of disease and create behavioral change to maintain health. Through interviews with residents living at a housing facility for people with HIV/AIDS, I found there are a variety of ways that individuals respond to illness. Behavioral change results from how people understand their identity in a personal and social context. People also vary in how they manage their disease, depending on the type of social support they receive. As individuals learn and grow from their experiences with illness, they often became advocates for their own health and view their status as an asset in helping others. This research helps to inform service providers, policymakers, and communities about how to best allocate resources and foster health change for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

Time for Myself, Time for Others: Gender Differences in the Meaning of Retirement

Kate L. Lanning — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:36:25 PDT

Research has demonstrated that work is a meaningful activity that contributes to peoples' identities. This meaning, however, may depend on the stage of the life course that one is in, and may be gendered. To contribute to understanding the social meaning of work and potentially gendered life-course transitions, I examine the experiences of older adults with work and retirement. Through interviews with both retired and working older adults, I examine whether and how older men and women differ from each other in the workplace and in retirement. Men and women face different challenges if they continue to work and when they retire from formal work. One might assume that workplace identity would tend to be more important to men’s formal, public sense of purpose and self-identity than it is to women, who are more likely to find that home holds a “second shift” of work that is equally important to their identity. I explain how the primary difference found between men and women is the importance of work to self-identity. This difference affects how each gender approaches when to retire, and what is done during retirement. What was surprising, however, was the lack of gender differences in terms of life satisfaction post-retirement, as previous theory would suggest gender differences in all regards of work and the workplace.

Socialization with Alcohol or Alcohol as Socialization: An Actor-Network Theory Approach to Understanding College Student Alcohol Use

Sean B. Hoops — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:31:48 PDT

Many studies of college student drinking focus on understanding the problematic consequences of alcohol use. This research, however, does less to illuminate the cultural meanings of the use of alcohol. To address this gap, I examine how students relate to drinking alcohol socially, paying particular attention to how drinking and non-drinking emerge as meaningful behaviors in particular social settings. I analyze drinking qualitatively, focusing on the student perception of the significance of alcohol consumption as part of social interaction to understand the impact that alcohol itself has on the social setting. By employing an Actor-Network Theory framework I conclude that the presence of alcohol defines the setting and the types of interaction that take place. I also find that frequent drinkers, non-frequent drinkers, and abstainers engage in various identity-management strategies to facilitate or impede interaction by using setting-specific strategies.

The Creation of State-Level Regulatory Systems: A Case Study of Post-Prohibition Alcoholic Beverage Regulation

Jeremy Carp — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:23:44 PDT

To better understand the way in which local and national forces operate to influence the design of subnational regulatory systems, this paper analyzes the development of alcohol regulation in the post-prohibition era. In particular, I examine why, in the period between 1933 and 1935, some states adopted a monopoly system of alcohol regulation and others a license system of alcohol regulation. I use fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and case-based research to identify causal pathways leading to each regulatory outcome. I draw on state-level demographic, religious, and voting data, as well as measures of alcohol industry prevalence and prohibition enforcement to test hypotheses of alcohol regulatory origin and variation. My study shows that while the emergence of two universally adopted models of alcohol regulation was largely the design of capitalist elites, state-level variation reflected individual population and government preferences. I find the following conditions to be among those relevant to a state’s choice of framework: Canadian heritage population, conservative religious population, immigrant population, and popular as well as government attitudes toward national prohibition. My analysis points more broadly to a hegemonic relationship between elite generated priorities and agendas at the national-level and (limited) pluralist based legislative processes at the local-level.

With Heart-Strings Attached: Funding Decisions as Identity Work in Nonprofit Organizations

Jonathan L. Cole — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:11:42 PDT

Resource dependency theory states that nonprofit organizations’ acceptance of public monies is acceptance of government control. Through detailed grants, government agencies can enact their priorities through willing or unwilling nonprofit organizations that need government grants to survive. To complicate the extant literature on nonprofit autonomy, this study uses an expansion of Viviana Zelizer’s connected lives theory (2005) to ask, How do nonprofits select sources of funding for specific services in reference to their relationship with granting agencies? Using qualitative interview methods the study concludes that nonprofits are agents in relationships with government grant agencies, and that nonprofits use funding decisions as opportunities to reinforce organizational self-identities.

"Getting Educated": Working Class and First-Generation Students and the Extra-Curriculum

Taylor Laemmli — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:07:51 PDT

Previous research shows that participation in the extra-curriculum supports college students' integration, but participation varies based on students' background: working class students and first-generation college students tend to participate less. I contribute to this literature by analyzing interview data. I find students differ in how they participate in activities and integrate into college based on their likelihood of attending an elite institution. Working-class and first-generation students participate in activities as an extension of academics, while other students participate for social reasons, resulting in different experiences of campus life. This difference can restrict students' gains in social and cultural capital, potentially limiting any decrease in inequality that results from elite college access.

Consuming Inequality: The Phenomenon of Consumption as Entertainment Among Mad Men Viewers

Daniel Henry — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:33:11 PDT

Maximizing Student Integration through Student Employment: A Study of the First-Year College Student Work Experience

Amanda Duhon — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:08:31 PDT

This study adds to the current research on student support systems and integration among first-year college students, using in-depth interviews to assess how student employment acts as a form of social support. Research identifies social support as a necessary component of college integration and retention rates. However, most research focuses on living, learning, and extracurricular spaces, failing to include student employment as a source of integration. This research addresses this deficiency, showing that students place high value on the social job aspects, that they have positive social interactions, and that their jobs contribute to their social and physical integration to college. I offer an explanation for the difference in job satisfaction between food service employees and all other jobs, isolating specific job characteristics that make the food services job less satisfactory. These findings offer insight into how universities can improve student integration through modifications to certain aspects of student employment.

"Declaraciones de Deseo y Declaraciones de Realidad": State-Indigenous Relations and Intercultural-Bilingual Education in Peru and Guatemala

Emily Christie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:01:25 PDT

Ethnic diversity has historically created conflict in many nation-states throughout the globe. From the era of nation-state formation to the present, states have had various strategies for dealing with this diversity. These strategies can be divided into three distinct categories: assimilation, integration and pluralism. Because of the increasing strength and importance of the global indigenous peoples' movement, relations between states and indigenous peoples are transforming away from assimilationist models toward integration and symbolic support. Why would governments nominally or symbolically support programs to preserve and revive indigenous culture? To answer this question, I compare government support for intercultural-bilingual education programs in Peru and Guatemala. I find that both states have reached a state of institutional paralysis in their implementation of intercultural-bilingual education. A comparative historical overview of both countries finds that internal conflicts were turning points in the states' relationships with their indigenous peoples. Contention between the government and its populations resulted in transformation, either through co-optation or negotiation. Despite these distinct trajectories of change, both countries experience institutional paralysis when it comes to multicultural policy as a result of states' efforts to maintain their authority through law, in accordance with the bureaucratic nature of nation-states.

Making or Maintaining Connections Online? YouTube as Both Site and Tool of Social Interaction

Morgen Chang — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:55:51 PDT

Internet technology may have increased our opportunities for interpersonal interaction and social networking, but has it done so by replacing or supplementing our offline networks? What is the relationship between the social worlds of Internet users, and their social use of Internet technology? Building off a body of Internet research, I tackle these questions by examining YouTube, a web-based video platform that relies on user-generated content and integrates aspects of social media. I conducted a survey of a random sample of university students at a liberal arts college and recruited a sub-sample of survey participants for followup in-depth interviews to understand how variations in the use of YouTube associate with other forms of social interaction. My findings show that the website holds distinct utility for varieties of users, reflecting diverse visions of what makes an ideal interaction community. Quantitative analysis found that users who were less social in the off-line world were more likely to interact in the YouTube environment. The interview data showed that although many of the other users are unlikely to engage in social interaction on YouTube itself, the site is an important tool in enhancing their relationships with online and offline acquaintances. Together these findings indicate a new potential for Internet technologies to facilitate social connection, both as tools and environments for social interaction.

Language in the Name of National Security: The Transformation of Arabic Language Instruction in U.S. Institutions of Higher Education

Evelyn Daugherty — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:17:10 PDT

Government designation of Arabic as a “strategic language” following WWII transformed Arabic language instruction in U.S. institutions of higher education. Funding from the government created a shift away from teaching students to read and translate classical Arabic for academic purposes and toward teaching modern varieties of the language for communication. I employ a three-pronged institutional analysis that takes into account the role of government, the role of professional associations, and the role of individual instructors in the redefinition of norms governing Arabic language instruction during the past seventy years. I find that coercive pressure stemming from government interest affected Arabic language instruction both directly, by creating new curricular materials and achievement goals, and indirectly, by facilitating the professionalization of language instruction and stimulating student demand. Although professional organizations and student demand mediate coercive pressure to treat Arabic as a professional skill rather than an academic skill, they continue to promote an agenda supported by government funding. However, instructors do not perceive student demand or professional norms as symbolizing government intrusion. My analysis thus suggests that even in the face of resistance, coercive power can effectively inspire institutional change if it is disguised as emanating from agents within an organizational field, rather than from an external agent. Furthermore, a case study of Arabic language instruction illustrates that accounts of institutional change must take into account power relations, and the potential of professional associations and individuals to act as partially autonomous agents within an organizational field.

State Sponsored Liberal Feminism in Jordan

Andrew Pragacz — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:56:59 PDT

The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), established in 1996, is the first expression of a state sponsored liberal feminist organization in Jordan. The JNCW, however, is not a manifestation of a transcendent 'Liberal Feminism,' as some would contend, but is a particular embodiment of it, with its own language, goals, and practical usages. Following this logic, this work contends that the JNCW (1) developed through contingent discursive movements made by the regime and (2) by accepting Jordanian nationalism and development logic as its own the JNCW promotes state desires and goals rather than, necessarily, the 'betterment of Jordanian women.'

Beyond Theology: The Social Construction of Compliance Within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Iain Johnson — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 08:17:46 PDT

Insights from sociology of law have seldom informed sociology of religion, despite the ability of congregations to construct practical meaning and application with church doctrine. In August of 2009 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) lifted its ban on "active homosexuals," allowing for the ordination of homosexuals within committed same-sex relationships. How do individual congregations within the ELCA interpret and implement this new social statement? I have conducted semi-structured interviews with pastors from ELCA congregations concerning the social statement and homosexuality. Interviews demonstrate the ability of actors to construct compliance and to interpret ambiguous policies in a way beneficial to themselves and their congregation. Furthermore, results confirm that ambiguity in text itself is not necessary for the social construction of compliance but rather that actors actively create uncertainty in order to produce policies favorable to individual congregations. As demonstrated, the sociology of religion benefits from the application of legal theory in order to better understand the processes of interpretation and implementation of church doctrine.

Church, Sex, and Communal Bonds: How Religion and Sexual Activity Affect the Mental Health of Older Adults

Kathryn Ganong — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 06:41:31 PDT

How does physical, emotional, and spiritual intimacy affect the mental health of older adults? Can participation in collective religious gatherings or sexual activity provide older adults with a sense of acceptance and belonging to a community? Due to the potential ability of these two activities to spark an individual's spirit through social interaction, I analyze how both religion and sexual activity affect states of depression among older adults. I propose that church attendance and sexual activity negatively correlate with levels of depression because they both provide meaning and a sense of belonging in relation to the ideas of collective effervescence as proposed by Emile Durkheim. To probe this hypothesis, I analyze data from NSHAP, the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative survey of adults ages 57-85 about their overall mental, physical, and sexual health and practices. I found that those who attend church services often and those who engage in sexual activity in combination with other forms of intimacy lower depression. These results suggest that both religious attendance and sexual activity can tie an individual to a larger community in similar ways.

Resegregation in Minneapolis Public Schools: Tipping Points for Academic Success

Collin Cousins — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:47:13 PDT

What happens to achievement gaps in middle school test scores when the racial compositions of schools change? Existing research indicates that academic achievement on standardized tests is negatively related to high concentrations of non-white students in schools, and disproportionately affects non-white students. To explore this, I conducted a two-fold approach of analyzing school characteristics and student test scores from Minneapolis public schools between 1988 and 2004, and interviewing administrators from four different Minneapolis schools that used the MBST test between 1998-2004 in order to better understand the context of the processes that occurred to produce the results. I explored how school characteristics affect eighth grade MBST (Minnesota Basic Standards Test) pass rates among both white and non-white students in the Minneapolis school district. My data are unique because they include controls for stable, but unmeasured school characteristics, and they examine trends independent of district funding. I found that certain low white concentrations had significant and large correlations with lower test scores for both non-white and white students, even while controlling for school characteristics and time.

"I'm a Community Clinic Kind of Gal": Coping with Emotional Labor in Community-Based Organizing

Alexandra M. Zoellner — Mon, 03 May 2010 06:19:02 PDT

How does the organization’s social environment affect the emotional labor employees perform? Previous research on emotional labor has focused on the service sector and omitted examples in nonprofit organizations. To address this gap, I conducted interviews with staff members at a community-based, low-cost reproductive health clinic. Its internal work environment values strong co-worker relationships and support in coping with labor. I found three distinct realms of emotional labor: between clients and employees of the organization; amongst the staff of the organization; and between the organization and the surrounding society. Each realm corresponds to distinct challenges that contribute to employees’ experiences with emotional labor. Employees at community-based organizations understand their emotional labor as an extension of their personal values rather than as a way to earn a wage. The results confirm that employees experience emotional labor differently in community-based organizations and expect to be able to cope with this labor through strong co-worker relationships.