2024-03-28T12:50:53Z
http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/do/oai/
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1000
2010-06-21T20:18:09Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:honors
publication:sociology
“Judaismo a tu manera”: What it Means to be Jewish in 21st Century Buenos Aires
Ben-Yosef, Gili
Honors Paper
2009-05-01T07:00:00Z
Judaism
Jewish identity
Argentina
Buenos Aires
In the summer of 2008 I set out to discover what it means to be Jewish in 21st century Buenos Aires. Through extensive field work, 22 formal interviews, visits to multiple Jewish organizations, and daily informal conversations, I gathered the information necessary to answer my question.
By focusing on three case studies of different Jewish institutions in Buenos Aires, this thesis aims to elucidate two points. First, that despite theories of sociologists such as Marx, Weber, and Durkheim who believed the importance of religion would fade with the onset of modernity and rational thought, religion has not yet disappeared. My research shows that religion remains a prominent factor in society, yet in changing forms, as different people react to modernity in distinctive fashions.
Second, many of the reactions to modernity have to do with the prevalence of choice, loss of central moral authority and anxieties associated with contemporary society. My research shows that some people return to orthodoxy in order to regain moral authority and not to have to deal with making choices, while others have claimed the right to choose how they wish to express their Jewishness, something that is innovative and characteristic of modernity.
To categorize my information and organize my findings, I have created a tripartite model of contemporary approaches to Judaism in Buenos Aires. The model distinguishes between three major groups: the “Retreaters” who reject modernity and retreat to a life based on the authority of traditional religious texts; the “Adjusters” who reflexively find a balance between traditional Judaism and their needs as modern individuals; and the “Creators” who fully embrace modernity and choose distinctive aspects (mostly nontraditional) of Judaism with which to signify their Jewish identity.
This thesis and its framework are based on my own original research. I am the first person to do such research specifically on how modernity has influenced the various segments of the Jewish community of Buenos Aires. The process of researching, compiling, analyzing, and organizing my information has proved to be the most intellectually challenging exercise of my college career.
Race and Ethnicity
Sociology
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/1
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1001
2010-06-21T20:17:29Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:honors
publication:sociology
Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment in Honduras
Sugg, Katherine
Honors Paper
2010-01-01T08:00:00Z
microfinance
Honduras
women
empowerment
This thesis examines the possibilities for women’s empowerment through microfinance. It utilizes the results of a survey conducted in 2009 with clients of the microfinance organization FINCA Honduras. The analysis of these survey results yields important conclusions on FINCA Honduras’ ability to empower Honduran women economically, psychologically, and socio-culturally. The original hypothesis of this study stated that FINCA Honduras’ financial services would help the female client to improve her standard of living, her psychological well-being, and her gender relationships in the home. FINCA Honduras has partially succeeded in empowering its female clients in these ways, but currently lacks the specific tools and/or motivations to fully empower women through its services. The findings presented by this thesis offer evidence against microfinance’s ability to automatically empower the female client, and consequently challenge its growing reputation as a panacea for world poverty and gender inequality.
2010-05-06T07:00:00Z
Finance
Growth and Development
Rural Sociology
Sociology
Work, Economy and Organizations
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/2
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1002
2014-05-20T18:27:00Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:honors
publication:sociology
“Chicks Be Like”: Masculinity, Femininity, and Gendered Double Standards in Youth Peer Cultures on Social Media
Dinsmore, Brooke
Honors Paper
2014-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>In the midst of a social panic over youth’s social media use, little attention has been given to youth’s voices and perspectives. Adult perspectives on gendered issues of cyberbullying and sexualized performance have completely ignored youth’s agency in constructing and performing gender on social media. While a body of literature on how youth construct femininity on social media has emerged, little qualitative work has been done addressing masculinity, looking at the comparatively at the construction of both masculinity and femininity or looking at how youth critically evaluate gendered performances. This study explores how youth both construct and evaluate gendered performances within peer cultures on social media. More specifically, taking the sociology of childhood approach, it explores how youth construct masculine and feminine social media performances, and how these performances are reinforced through negative and positive feedback. To capture the complexity of youth’s social worlds from multiple angles, this study uses an innovative youth-driven social media tour to enhance the traditional semi-structured interview (N=22; 11 girls & 11 boys). Across performance of the consumer, romantic relationship and friendship roles, gendered patterns of social media usage emerge. Feminine usage on social media is constructed as <em>relational performance</em>, where youth actively perform relationships in pursuit of social capital. Masculine usage is constructed as <em>instrumental usage</em>, where social media is used as a tool to achieve specific outcomes. As youth evaluate each other’s social media performances, a <em>gendered double standard </em>emerges, with critiques of feminine social media performance being directed at girls as a whole, whereas critiques of masculine social media performance are directed at individual boys. Youth construct and reinforce gendered performances within vibrant and complex peer cultures on social media. </p>
2014-05-20T07:00:00Z
Gender and Sexuality
Sociology
Sociology of Culture
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/3
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1003
2016-05-26T19:56:32Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:honors
publication:sociology
Exploring the Spectrum of Racialized Social Control: A Comparative Analysis of Hate Crimes, Correctional Supervision, and Immigration Enforcement
Kelekay, Jasmine
Honors Paper
2015-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>Hate crimes are informal social control mechanisms utilized in stratified societies to police relative identity boundaries (Perry, 2009). No research has, however, located racially-motivated hate crimes as a form of racialized social control. Considering the long history of racial violence and racialized social control in the United States, the war on drugs, the post-9/11 socio-political context, immigration reforms, and increased attention to racialized police violence, it becomes important to explore the spectrum of racialized social control. In order to do so, this study introduces racially-motivated hate crimes as an informal mechanism of racialized social control. As such, this study engages an explorative and comparative analysis of reported racially-motivated hate crime rates, correctional supervision rates, and immigration enforcement rates in the United Stated of America. The findings capture the continued anti-Black racism, the complicated racialization and criminalization of Latinos, and a drastic intensification in the social control of Muslims, ‘Muslim-looking’ Arabs, and Middle Easterners post 9/11. The mirroring of hate crime trends against patterns of correctional supervision and immigration enforcement illustrates the broad spectrum of racialized social control. Specifically, racially-motivated hate crimes are an informal mechanism of racialized social control that supplements formal and semi-formal control mechanisms.</p>
2015-05-27T07:00:00Z
Race and Ethnicity
Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance
Sociology
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/4
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1004
2016-06-08T19:28:34Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:honors
publication:sociology
The Consequences of ‘Choice’: Experiencing Youth Peer Culture in a Racial and Ethnic Integration School Reform
Hall, Grace
Honors Paper
2016-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>Since Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, racial and ethnic diversity and integration as well as educational equality has become a prominent consideration for American educational policy. While attempts have been made to increase integration, reforms have often fallen short due to residential segregation and choices spurred by parental privilege. These racial and ethnic integration reforms have had effects on individuals and communities; yet, the young people who daily experience these reforms are not having their voices heard. Therefore, this qualitative analysis examines how young people of color perceive and experience a racial and ethnic integration reform, especially with regards to their friendships and peer cultures as these are central to their well-being and happiness. A subsample of 20 young people was selected from a larger qualitative research project. The sample consisted of 10 girls and 10 boys, 15-18 years old, who self-identified as African American, Latino/a, Jamaican American, Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic, or White. These 20 young people attended 18 inter-district and intra-district schools in a Northeastern metropolitan area in the U.S. that is undergoing a racial and ethnic integration educational reform. The findings show that young people’s peer cultures and friendships were often in transition due to an adult-dominated lottery experience. They actively had to navigate differences in race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, which either resulted in positive or negative interactions, depending on the context. Furthermore, young people often employed a good kid/bad kid binary to make meaning of the educational inequalities they witnessed.</p>
2016-06-08T07:00:00Z
Inequality and Stratification
Sociology
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/7
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1005
2016-06-08T19:32:56Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:honors
publication:sociology
Searching for Nature through Frames of Meat Production and Consumption
Klonoski, Elena
Honors Paper
2016-01-01T08:00:00Z
environmental sociology
meat consumption
animal ethics
food production
nature-society
<p>The relationship between meat production/consumption and the permeable boundary of nature-society has been largely ignored. Because meat consumption and production is at the crossroads of environmental sociology, sociology of food, and sociology of animal ethics, elements of each field are necessary to fully understand the closely intertwined concepts of nature and meat. By drawing from each of these sub-areas and using Brewster and Bell’s (2009) analytic ‘Goffmanian’ frames, this study explores how <em>natural </em>(unguided) and <em>social </em>(human controlled) frames of meat are used to separate modern society from nature. Semi-structured interviews (n=20), including image elicitation, were conducted with individuals at different locations relative to food production. These interviews were analyzed using a grounded thematic analysis. Participants viewed meat production as <em>social </em>and human controlled. Because meat consumption can be separated from production through <em>socio-spatial </em>and <em>socio-psychological </em>distancing, participants oscillated between framing meat-eating as <em>natural </em>and <em>social</em>. This framing was complicated by the conflicting perceptions of killing agricultural animals through both a <em>natural </em>and <em>social </em>frame. Conflicting frames compounded by <em>socio-spatial </em>and <em>socio-psychological </em>distancing left participants feeling disconnected to an ambiguous nature. Participants attempted to reconnect to nature by closing the <em>socio-psychological </em>and <em>socio-spatial </em>distance from meat production. However, the differing methods used to close this distance only re-affirmed the ambiguity of nature. </p>
2016-06-08T07:00:00Z
Sociology
Sociology of Culture
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/6
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1006
2016-06-08T19:40:40Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:sociology
Who Benefits from the Educational Marketplace? Charter Schools and Neighborhood Composition in New York City
Sharps, Sophie
Restricted
2016-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>For access to this paper, contact the author at ssharps [at] conncoll [dot] edu.</p>
<p>The vast majority of literature that exists on charter schools focuses on student and school outcomes in the hope of answering the question of whether charter schools are "better" than traditional public schools. Largely absent in the literature, however, is an understanding of charter schools within the neighborhood context and a critical examination of the interaction between schools and communities. When placed in the context of neoliberal policies and the history of education reform in the United States, it becomes apparent that non-profit and for-profit school management organizations open charter schools based on market-driven factors largely unrelated to educational quality. This study merges charter school data with neighborhood data in New York City in order to understand the effect that neighborhood composition has on the presence and magnitude of charter schools across neighborhoods in New York City. The findings indicate that charter schools tend to locate in vulnerable communities (as measured by demographic, social, economic, and housing variables), where low levels of economic, social, and cultural capital and high levels of community vulnerability and instability leave these neighborhoods unable to resist the influx of these schools. This study concludes with the implications that the uneven distribution of charter schools across New York City neighborhoods has on children, families, and the nation as it relates to the selective targeting of social groups to create a stratified workforce, the decline in democracy and loss of community control, and the expansion of private equity and concentration of wealth and power in the corporate elite.</p>
2016-06-08T07:00:00Z
Educational Sociology
Sociology
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/5
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1007
2020-05-14T18:18:27Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:sociology
The Sociology of Scientology: Power, Charisma, and What Keeps Scientology Working
McPhillips, Mark
Restricted
2020-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>This paper may be accessed only on the Connecticut College campus.</p>
<p>The social-scientific study of religion is concerned with the ways in which religions interact with society and the impacts these organizations can have on the world. This thesis draws on the work of sociologists and religious studies scholars to pay mind to what is arguably the most controversial and popular new “religion.” Scientology has existed since the 1950s and has continued on a path toward world domination long after its founder died in 1986. Delineating Scientology as anything but a genuine, traditional “religion” and rather as a cult is the main purpose of this study. Through six chapters with topics ranging from the attitudes of current members compared to ex-members, the social context surrounding Scientology’s rise, to media representations of Scientology, the hope is one can gain a comprehensive perspective on the many ways Scientology fulfills the criteria of cult. With two chapters dedicated entirely to the two men at the heart of Scientology, founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, the way power functions within this organization becomes clear. This thesis argues for the cult status of Scientology primarily but ultimately argues Scientology represents a need to study powerful, global organizations and their power closely. </p>
2020-05-15T07:00:00Z
Religion
Sociology
Sociology of Religion
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/9
oai:digitalcommons.conncoll.edu:sociologyhp-1008
2020-05-14T18:25:15Z
publication:sociologyhp
publication:sociology
Liberté, Égalité, Mobilité: A Study of Bordeaux, France through Transportation
Megargee, Madeleine
Restricted
2020-01-01T08:00:00Z
<p>This paper may only be accessed on the Connecticut College campus.</p>
<p>The findings identify the many issues, solutions, and social dynamics that are related to the fast changes Bordeaux has experienced over the last two decades. This is putting a strain on the housing stock, which pushes people without the means to the perimeter of the agglomeration, where transportation becomes less than ideal in some cases. As more people use their cars in the periphery, this created challenges to the planners to create new ways to convince people not to rely on their cars. For those who cannot afford to have a car in the first place, effectively connecting people across growing distances becomes a necessity. Transit has the ability to encourage equity, and this study focuses on Bordeaux, France’s efforts to reach this goal in the past, present and future. There is a strong focus on connecting people through railway projects especially, but there is also a growing interest in bus, biking, and pedestrian infrastructure. The city’s tramway was used as an “urban policy tool” (Sari, 2015) to connect the historically disjointed right and left banks. A major future project is a new regional railroad network which would respond to the growing popularity and spread of the city. The findings suggest that there is a hesitance to address social inequalities through transportation but focus on a universal narrative for improvements.</p>
<p>Bordeaux is a rare example of a city which is gaining transportation ridership and facing challenges to keep up with the demand. One phrase that is often used to describe their transit is a “victim of its success.” Their transit system is based on responding to social and economic demands for people most in need of mobility options. This has brought new unexpected social and economic consequences that are the focus of this study.</p>
2020-05-15T07:00:00Z
Sociology
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/sociologyhp/8