The ISP, or Independent Study Project, is written by students from the undergraduate programs of SIT Study Abroad and relates to a program theme. Using primary sources students choose topics with a manageable focus that can be carried out in a variety of settings, such as schools, nongovernmental organizations or field research stations. During the independent study period students work closely with a project advisor and other key contacts in the field. The ISP is typically a 20- to 40-page paper presented to student colleagues, the academic director and, often, the advisor and other interested host-country individuals.
Copyright permissions have been obtained by all contributors to this collection.
Submissions from 2011
Media in Sāmoa: Journalists‟ Realities, Regional Initiatives, and Visions for the Future, Leslie Pyne, Wesleyan College
Wood Usage in Rural Tanzania: An Investigation Into the Sources and Accessibility of Fuelwood and Polewood for the Residents of Kizanda Village, West Usambara Mountains, James Ray, University of Puget Sound
Puerto Disperso: La Existencia o No de la Comunidad y el Espacio No-Heteronormativa en Valparaíso, Chile, Rebecca Raymond-Kolker, Smith College
Reproductive Realities: Fulani Women & Contraception, Corrina Regnier, Vassar College
Autism in Kenya: A Social, Educational and Political Perspective, Ariana Riccio, Tufts University
A National Symbol or a National Frustration: Academic, Artistic, and Political Perspectives of the African Renaissance Monument, Justin Wayne Ritter, University of Denver
Effectively Filling Gaps in Care: A Comparative Study of Models of Government Partnerships with Community Health Organizations in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Madeline Ross, Tulane University
The Crisis of Unity in the 21st Century: The Unrealized Dream of Pan-Africanism in Cameroon, Araba Sapara-Grant, Syracuse University
La Educación en España: Del Franquismo al Partido Popular Education in Spain - From Francisco Franco to the 2011 Popular Party: Una Historia Breve de las Leyes y los Caminos del Cambio Educativo en España - A Brief History of the Laws and Paths of Educational Change in Spain, Kaitlyn Saruwatari, University of California Riverside
Love for Sale: How Working Conditions Influence the Dramaturgical Presentation of Self for Sex Workers in Amsterdam, Elizabeth Scheib, Fordham University
El Caso de Mapuches Urbanas y su Relación al Estado Chileno, Rachel Schmidtke, University of Virginia
Reproductive Health Education in the Kibera Slum: Developing a Slum-Specific Curriculum, Susanna Schneider Banks, Wesleyan University
La Medicina Tradicional y la Medicina Moderna en Cusco, Katelyn Scott, Illinois Wesleyan University
Playing the Blame Game: English Education in Omani Government Schools, Valentine Sergon, Pomona College
Permaculture and Community: Manifestations of Subculture, Ecology, and Objectives in Comunidade Campina, Emily Sessoms, Rollings College
Contradictions Between Party and Man: Student Perceptions of Julius Malema, Annie Elise Shapiro, George Washington University
Plants, People, and Partnership in Madagascar: How Pharmaceutical Companies and Bioprospecting Ventures Must and May Positively Benefit the Communities Whose Resources They Use, Rebecca Slotkin, Washington University in St. Louis
“Se ha Levantado la Bandera Mapuche”: La Identidad del Estudiante Mapuche y Cómo se Relaciona con el Perfil de Egreso del Establecimiento Intercultural, Gale Stafford, Bennington College
Cultural Conceptions of Health, Caroline Stephens, George Washington University
Influence of Sexual Education on Sexual Behavior and Contraceptive Use Among 15 to 19 Year-Olds at Colégio Azevêdo Fernandes in Salvador, Brazil, Julia Still, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
La Operación y Estructura de Salud Familiar Comunitaria Intercultural en el Caso de Achocalla, Dominic Strada, George Washington University
Tafasiry: Theater as a Tool for the Conservation of Malagasy Oral Tales, Cassandra Stroud, Barnard College
“Gente Que Va y Viene”: Relaciones Entre el Turismo y las Comunidades Mapuche en la Zona de San Martín de los Andes “People Who Come and Go”: Relationships Between Tourism and Mapuche Communities Near San Martin de los Andes, Katharine Sullivan, Washington University
In the Realm of Supay: The Stories of the Miners, Graham Sutherland, Macalester College
Exploring Taksu & Meditation - Mysterious Power and the Tools to Realize It, Leonard Swanson, University of Oregon
Batik: A Process and a Means of Progress, Emily Swietlik, Tulane University
Bills, Bribery and Brutality: How Rampant Corruption in the Electoral System Has Helped Prevent Democracy in Uganda, Sam Tabachnik, Tulane University
Preferencias Sexuales de Aves a las Carreteras Los Efectos de la Carretera Cuenca - Molleturo – Naranjal en las Proporciones de los Sexos en los Individuos de la Especies de Phrygilus Unicolor en el Parque Nacional de Cajas, Sarah Takushi, Illinois Wesleyan University
La Educación de Sordos en España Deaf Education in Spain, Jaclyn Terrio, University of Arkansas
Healers and Researchers: Towards a More Balanced Relationship, Gracie Tewkesbury, Duke University
Las Montañas Respiran: La Cosmovisión de la Comunidad de Rayampata Representada a Través del Mito Pitusiray-Sawasiray, Gillian Thornton, University of Oregon
El Uso Escondido de Anticonceptivos Modernos: Una Reflección del Machismo de los Hombres y el Empoderamiento de las Mujeres en El Alto y La Paz, Kathleen Elizabeth Trocin, Northwestern University
The Identity of the Chinese in Belgrade: A National Question, Wan (Sabrina) Tsai, University of Texas at Austin
Conflicting Perspectives, Contentious Problems A Case Study of Kwale International Sugar Co. Ltd. in Msambweni District, Jayme Tsutsuse, University of Southern California
Understanding Social Marketing in a Not-For-Profit NGO Setting: An Internship With PACE in Eastern Uganda, Veronica L. Tuerffs, University of Colorado at Denver
Reconstructing the Farm: Life Stories of Dutch Female Farmers, Marisa Turesky, Brandeis University
Beyond Words: Chronicling Spiritual Ecstasy and Experience in Sufi Poetry, Kate Van Brocklin, Brown University
Economic Empowerment and HIV Prevention Among Young Women and Girls in Kenya: Lessons From the Study of Economic Empowerment Programs, Samantha van Putten, University of Richmond
LGBTI: El Movimiento de Base de Quito, Genevieve Venable, Whitman College
L’Entrepreneuse et la Réunion Examining ROSCAs and Women’s Entrepreneurship in Bafoussam, Cameroon, Elizabeth Verity, University of the South
Healing South Africa: The Institute for Healing of Memories as a Lens for Post-Conflict Trauma Initiatives, Rachael C. Ward, Gettysburg College
Commercial Patterns and Spatial Networks in Hanoi’s Old Quarter: A Case Study of Vendors on Lan Ong Street, Daniel Weiner, Tufts University
La Relación Entre el Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires y un Grupo de Cartoneros Organizados, El Ceibo - La Necesidad de una Alianza de Esfuerzos The Relationship Between the Government of the City of Buenos Aires and an Organized Group of Cartoneros, El Ceibo - The Need for an Alliance, Ketter Weissman, University of Pennsylvania
The Deep Roots of Vietnamese Tea: Culture, Production and Prospects for Development, Robert Wenner, University of Denver
La Etnia y las Cesáreas en los Partos en el Hospital Público de Arica, Chile, Marisa Westbrook, George Washington University
Faces of Angels: Photography as a Fundraising Tool for AIDS-Affected Children in the Kibera Slums, Sandhira Wijayaratne, Johns Hopkins University
Riesgo de Exposición a los Plaguicidas en Familias con Niños Menores de 6 Años de Azapa y Lluta, Andrew Wilbur, Johns Hopkins University
Sandino Socialists, Flagwaving Comrades, Red Rabblerousers: The Struggle for a Left Praxis in Northern Ireland, Benny Witkovsky, Vassar College
Le Centre d’Alliances et Cultures, Esther Wittenberg, Tulane University
Nairobi Youth Sexual Culture: Gaining Insight on Youth Understandings of Sexuality Through Formal Sexual Health Education and Exposure to Pornography, Amee Wurzburg, Barnard College
The Hui Migrant Laborers’ Urban Experience and Implications for the Development of Civil Society in China, Billy Yates, University of Texas at Austin
The Mongolian Horse and Horseman, Elisabeth Yazdzik, Carnegie Mellon University
Like the Roar of a Thousand Thunders: Instrumental Music and Creativity in Tibetan Buddhist Ritual, Eben Yonnetti, Siena College
Coming Home: Considering Sustainable Human Development in Jordan’s Palestinian Refugee Camps After the Conflict, Jordan Young, University of Denver
Post-Revolutionary Effects: Political Self-Education of Tunisian Youth, Erica Zarlenga, Loyola University Chicago
Submissions from 2010
A Trekker’s Guide to the Khumbu Himalaya: Trailside Geology Along the Everest Base Camp Trek, Brigit Anderson, Bates College
Mental Models of the Nature of Language in Kunming, China, Ellie Ash, Stanford University
Queering Normal or Normalizing Queer? Marriage Equality and the Divisions Between the Queer and Mainstream Gay Movements in the Netherlands, Catharine Atkins, Vassar College
Energy From the Sun: A Solar Feasibility Study for Macquarie University, JJ Augenbraun, Williams College
The Rice Farmer vs. the Multinational: Mali’s Winding Path Toward Food Sovereignty, Emily Bell, Boston University
Faulty Structure and Uninspired Member States Fail the Euro: Lessons Learned From the Greek Crisis, Maximilian Bevan, Skidmore College
Análisis de “Proyecto Mirlo”: Aprendiendo a Acoger al “Desconocido”, Abigail Bissette, Warren Wilson College
La Globalización de la Educación en España, Lauren Blanchet, University of North Carolina
Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence, Rebecca Bolden, University of Denver
Un Estudio Ecológico de las Lagartijas del Valle Seco de Buenavista y de los Valles Húmedos de La Josefina y Salango, Ross Brennan, Pomona College
Innovation Education: Problems and Prospects in Governance and Management of the Vietnamese Higher Education System, Taylor Brooks, Emory University
Ending Generational Poverty: A Contemporary Application of the Work of Paulo Freire in Nicaragua, Los Angeles and Uganda, Nicole Broom, University of Southern California
The Sand in the Oyster: A Study of Post – Trauma Storytelling as a Means of Facilitating Individual Healing and Impacting Societal Healing in Northern Ireland, Eliza Browning, Pacific Lutheran University
El Futuro de la Inmigración en España - (“Future of Immigration in Spain”), Joshua Bruno, Endicott College
Persecution of Religious Minorities in Samoa: The Bahá’ís Struggle to Face a Common Problem, Zoe Bryan, Bates College
Guano Exploitation in Madagascar, Christina Buliga, Smith College
Internal Displacement: Recent History, Visions for the Action Ahead, Mayela Calderon, University of Texas at Austin
¿Qué Significa Ser Militante en la Actualidad? What Does it Mean to Be a Militant Today?, Kathryn Campbell, University of Virginia
Policing With the Community, Dream or Reality: Perspectives of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in West Belfast, Tom Carey, Stonehill College
Factors That Contribute to the Low Uptake of Skilled Care During Delivery in Malindi, Kenya, Alexandra Carter, Clark University
Early Care and Education for At-Risk Children in Rural and Urban Slums in Kenya, Giselle Emilia Navarro Casillas
Cultural Tourism in Mjini Ole, Pemba: A Case Study in Its Establishment and Marketing, Peter Rashid Clabby, Boston College
Seeing Stripes: A Study of How Dominance Rank Within a Herd of Resident Burchell’s Zebra (Equus Burchelli) at Ndarakwai Ranch Correlate to Frequencies of Other Behaviors., Alexandra Clayton, Bucknell University
Les Impacts de l’Éco-Tourisme sur la Population de Ranohira: Étude de Cas du Parc National de l’Isalo, Benjamin Cook, Colby College
Assessing the Potential Ecological Impacts of the Proposed Kazungula Border Development at Cassandra Farms, Gabe Cordry, University of Tulsa
Tibetan Tantric Buddhism: Envisioning Death, Kathryn Coster, Trinity University
Painting the Town Green: Realities, Challenges, and Possibilities in Mexico City’s Budding Urban Agriculture Movement, Molly Alexandra Croog, Barnard College
El Muralismo: El Papel de los Murales en la Lucha de los Organismos Sociales en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires = Muralism: The Role of Murals in Social Organizations, Loren Crosier, Goucher College
Caterpillar Fungus of the Tibetan Plateau, Lucas Crouch, University of Colorado At Boulder
More Than Just Biology: Creating an Informational Website for Teens on Sexuality and Lifelong Sexual Health, Sarah Cyr-Mutty, Simmons College
An Accident Waiting to Happen: A Study of Taxi Driving Mentality in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Brittany Daniels, Stonehill College
Education as a Detour on the path to Inevitable Motherhood: the acquired values and collective ambitions of the students at La Maison D’Education Mariama Ba, Hannah DeAngelis, Colby College
La Medicina Alternativa en Oaxaca: Su Coexistencia con la Medicina Alópata, Katie Deeg, Carleton College
Frontier: The Making of the Northern and Eastern Border in Ladakh From 1834 to the Present, Jonathan M. Deng, Washington University in St. Louis
The Future of Tradition: An Ethnographic and Comparative Study of Social Preference and Medicine in Rural Ghana, Shannon Dick, Seattle University
Percepciones de Género en la Medicina Mapuche: Machi, Matriarca, y Colonización, Krista Douglass, Wellesley College
An Approaching Epidemic: Exploring Diabetes Awareness & Care in Mombasa, Kenya, Benjamin Marhan Dropkin, Hamilton College
The Incompatibility of Dependence and Development: A Critical Analysis of International Development Efforts in the Nicaraguan Context, Molly Dunton, The George Washington University
The Afro-Brazilian University Experience: How Racial Quota Policy Beneficiaries at the Federal University of Bahia Perceive Racial Quota Debates, UFBA Quota Policy, and Life as Quota Students, Vivian O. Ekey, University of Maryland Baltimore
Life on the Periphery: The Effects of Urbanization on Health in a Bidonville in Bamako, Mali, Adrienne Epstein dit Raki Bah, Macalester College
La Arqueología en el Ecuador: Investigando las Lecciones del Pasado y las Cuestiones del Presente, Brett Erspamer, Pomona College
Ecology of the Seboba Community Trust Nature Trail, Amie Fleming and Erica Hann, Colby College, University of Puget Sound
A Step Towards Realization of the Twenty-Seventh Right?: A Preliminary Analysis of the Proposed National Health Insurance for South Africa, Kelsey Fraser, Duke University
Malagasy Conceptions of Good Governance and Democracy, Molly Fredrickson, University of Evansville
Intellectual Propriety: Compulsory Licenses Through the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration on Public Health, Samuel Mintzer Fuchs, Brandeis University