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
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
“Tem um Doido no CAPS / Que diz que Louco é Gente/Que diz que Louco Sabe/Que diz que Louco Sente” Failures and Successes in Brazilian Mental Health Reform: A Case Study of CAPS – Quixadá, Zachary Fuhrer, Yale University
Between the Lines of Hegemony and Subordination: The Mombasa Kadhi’s Court in Contemporary Kenya, Bailey Funderburk, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Discursive Study on Centrality of Dutch Society, Religiosity, and Female Body: How Five Women Reflect, on Faith, on Embodiment, and on Dutchness., Mollie Rachel Garber, American University
A Case Study of Appendicitis at Antanimalandy Lutheran Hospital, Jennifer Gemmell, Colby College
Crouching Tiger Hidden Goiter Belt: A Critique of Health Care and Universal Salt Iodization in the Tsum Valley, Julian Goetz and Vanessa Soetanto, Binghamton University, Williams College
Las Percepciones de la Salud Mental y su Evolución, Rebecca Gourevitch, Carleton College
Traditional Plant Use of the Raglay in Cãu Gãy Village, Núi Chúa National Park, Alex Greene, University of Puget
Coloured Identity in the Rainbow Nation: Historical Narratives of the Durban Coloured Community, Olivia Greene, Columbia University
Contrainsurgencia y Salud: Contradicciones en la Teoría, Historia y Aplicación del Programa Oportunidades en Comunidades Rurales en Chiapas, José Carlos Gutiérrez, Yale University
Kenya’s Post-Election Violence: Using a Kisii-Luo Case Study for a Critique of Common Thought, Josh Gwin, Hofstra University
Marriage and Other Social Unions: A Study of Marriage Alternatives and Cultural Trends in the Netherlands, Claire Harris, American University
The Prospects of Using Athrospira platensis as a Malnutrition Treatment in Kenya, Kari N. Harris, Wofford College
Finding the Right Fit: Unique Challenges Faced by Health NGOs in the Health System of Lamu District, Lauren Hartel, University of Denver
El Camino Largo de Integración Regional de Defensa y Seguridad: Desafíos y Potencialidades del Consejo de Defensa Suramericano, William Heegaard, University of California Berkeley
Una Investigación de la Cultura y la Identidad Mapuche en la Escuela Municipal G-539 Chapod, Jessica A. Howard, Bates College
La Cara de la Explotación: Un Estudio de la Industria Minería en el Sur de la República de Ecuador, Jillian Howell, Colby College
¿Donde Están los Padres de la Plaza de Mayo? La Militancia de los Padres de Desaparecidos en Comparación con las Madres = Where Are the Fathers in the Plaza de Mayo? The Militancy of the Fathers of the “Disappeared” in Comparison to the Mothers, Iris Howorth, Smith College
¿Amigos, Enemigos o Hermanos en Riña?: Cooperación y Conflicto Entre el Gobierno de Morales y la Confederación de los Pueblos Indígenas, Antti Aki Eemeli Isoaho, Lake Forest College
Los Problemas Energéticos de Chile y Sus Soluciones: El Rol de las Energías Renovables No Convencionales, Megha Jain, University of Pennsylvania
El Fin de la Xenofobia: el Plurilingüismo, George Wendell James, Jr., Bennington College
“Real Culture” Preservation, Authenticity, and Change in Hoi An’s Heritage Tourism Industry, Ursula James, Southwestern University
Civil Society and Inequality in Jordan: A Study on the Effectiveness of the Community Development Center in Ashrafiyah, Mary-Katharine Johnson, Loyola College
NGO’s: The Voice of the People: The Relationship Between Government and Civil Society in a Samoan “Democracy”, Dani Karnoff, University of Pittsburgh
Sobrevivientes del Holocausto en Argentina: La Importancia de sus Testimonios = Holocaust Survivors in Argentina: The Importance of Their Testimonies, Jessica Michelle Katz, Emory University
Una Lucha por Valor y Dignidad: La Situación Actual de Trabajadoras de Hogar en Bolivia = A Struggle for Value and Dignity: The Current Situation of Domestic Workers in Bolivia, Jenny Kauffman, Skidmore College
AIDS Epidemic in the Russian Federation and Policy Reform, Veronika Kiselev, University of Washington
Pabean Sangsit: A Cultural Study Through the Lives of One Family, Sylvie Kovnat, Sarah Lawrence College
Transformación de la Mente: Desarrollando una Conciencia de Empoderamiento Ideológico en Mujeres = Transformation of the Mind: Developing a Consciousness of Ideological Empowerment in Women, Amber Lakin, Emory University
La Historia de la Energía y Desarrollo en Una Comunidad Rural: El Uso e Historia de la Energía en Santa Rosa de Pacto y las Implicaciones Para el Futuro de los Países en Vías de Desarrollo, Julie Lapidus, Scripps College
Alcohol and Dutch Masculinity: How Does Alcohol Influence the Dutch Male Image?, Adriana Lara, Franklin & Marshall College
A Review of Psychosocial Support and the Challenges Faced in Disclosing HIV Positive Status to Children in Kibera, Katherine Lesyna
The True Cost of a Cup of Coffee: Wealth Concentration and Worker Exploitation in the Nicaraguan Coffee Industry, Rose Levy, Bates College
DEVELOPING THE SACRED: Local & Global Bikas in the Nepali Bhotkhola, Clayton Andrew Roger Hawkins Lewis, New York University
Políticas Públicas Para Enfrentar los Desafíos Proporcionados por las Rentas Económicas: El Caso del Impuesto Específico a la Minería, Andrew Linville, Davidson College
Protecting Indigenous Identity and Culture in the Modern Nation-State: A Case Study of the Sami in Norway, Claire Lockerby, Duke University
Bringing War Criminals to Justice and Justice to Victims: Mass Rape in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Efficiency of the ICTY, Meredith Loken, The College of Wooster
Trapped in the Street: Defining the Health Care Use of the Homeless Adult in Salvador, Bahia, Nicole Lunardi, Johns Hopkins University
Lebanese Water Resources: A Potential to Alleviate Middle East Water Stress, Basil Mahfouz, Georgetown University
A Study of Corallivores of Bawe and Chumbe Islands, Zanzibar, Rachael Mallon, University of Puget Sound
“No voy a Invitarte a mi Cumpleaños”: El Acoso Escolar de Niñas, Hana Maruyama, Carleton College
Invernaderos: la Búsqueda por el Trabajo Estable y Seguro y un Medioambiente en Peligro, Elli Matkin, Whitman College
España y el Buen Ciudadano: el Debate Educativo, Thomas McAfee, Tulane University
Modernization of the Hijab in Amman, Jordan: A Symbol of Islam and Modernity, Nicole McDermott, Arcadia University
Reconstructing Pitaguary Identity: Indian Exchange and Outside Resources, Tess McMahon, University of Colorado at Boulder
Formal Education and the Rural Dwelling Vezo of Ankilibe: A Study of the Relationship Between Daily Life of the Vezo and the Public Education System in Madagascar, Katherine McNeil, Bowdoin College
Race, Class, Gender and the Law: A Study of the Relationship Between Empregadas Domesticas and Their Patroas, Vasti Marilyn Mejía, Occidental College
La Libertad do Expression Politica en la Prensa Escrita de Chile, Jessica Merrill, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil