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 2010
El Papel de la Educación y las ONG’s en Mejorar el Acceso a Derechos Para Inmigrantes: El Caso de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos = The Role of Education and NGO’s in Helping Immigrants Obtain Better Access to Their Rights: The Specific Case of Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Amy Torres, Wesleyan University
Border Conflict and Tibet: The Asian Giants and Their History of Power Struggle, Evan Towt, Franklin & Marshall College
Amor Revolucionario: La Educación en las Escuelas de Reingreso en Buenos Aires, Argentina., Cara Tratner, Wesleyan University
Desenterrando la Verdad: El Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense y la Continuación de la Búsqueda Para los “Desaparecidos” = Unearthing the Truth: The Argentina Forensic Anthropology Team and Search for Argentina’s “Disappeared”, Frederica Tunnard, Columbia University
De Sous le Matelas: La Capacité d’Épargne des Propriétaires de Petites Entreprises Dans le Réseau de Microfinance de UNICS, Ali Urban, Middlebury College
Articulando la Lucha: Los Procesos e Historias de Politización de la Juventud Alteña = Articulating the Fight: Processes and Stories of the Politicization of the Youth of El Alto, Luke Walsh-Mellett, Guilford College
As Rivers Run Dry: A Study of Global Freshwater Scarcity and Its Implications for Socio-Economic Development, Sophia Wenzlau, Western Washington University
Cultural Heritage Preservation Meets Modern Port Development: Securing the Integrity and Authenticity of the Lamu Town World Heritage Site in the Face of Current and Future Challenges, Sarah M. Wiggins, Southwestern University
Las Jefas de Hogar Empobrecidas: Servicios y Recursos Públicos Para Estas Mujeres en Chile, Florence Williams, Cornell University
Cosmopolitan Romance in Nepal: An Investigation of Young Newari Women’s Emerging Views of Marriage and Dating, Rachel Williams, Whitman College
Identity and Fashion: A Look at Jordanian Christian Women and How Their Identity is Portrayed Through Their Clothing, Brittany Witcher, Arcadia University
La Integración de los Inmigrantes: Una Sociedad que Acoge, Weddy Worjroh, Villanova University
HIV Risk Factors Among Moroccan and Turkish Same-Sex Attracted Youth in Amsterdam, Daniel Woznica, Washington University in St. Louis
Post-Independent Kosovo: From Prescriptive to Descriptive Identities, Marisola Xhelili, Skidmore College
75 Hours, 18 Babies, Dozens of Women, and Me: Exploring Gynecological and Obstetrical Care in Bamako, Minnie Yordon, Franklin & Marshall College
Stop Pummeling My Primates: Effects of Land Use Change on Behaviors of Papio Anubis Near Lake Manyara National Park in Mto wa Mbu, Tanzania, Hannah Young, Portland State University
Landscape Factors Impacting Survival of Sympatric Red-Necked Wallabies (Macropus Rufogriseus) and Swamp Wallabies (Wallabia Bicolor) in Urbanized Areas, Karen Zusi, Villanova University
Submissions from 2009
Effects of Re-Grown Forest Habitat on Lemur Catta Behavior, Sophie Ackoff, Wesleyan University
“We Didn’t Choose to Live in a Transition Society:” The Youth of Milošević’s Serbia Ten Years Later, Jessica Tsunami Acosta, Colby College
The Perseverance of Aboriginal Australian Time Philosophy and its Impact on Integration Into the Mainstream Labor Force, Kelly Adams, John Hopkins University
Critical Mass Representation in Uganda, Daisy-Cynthia Nneamaka Adi, Emory University
Train Hard, Win Easy: Running on the Periphery in Rural Kenya: The Last Shall Be First, Jordan Apfeld, Brown University
Marriage in Conflict: Formerly Abducted Women’s Struggles with Marriage Upon Return, Julie Bailey, George Washington University
Yugonostalgia: The Pain of the Present, Claire Bancroft, Macalester College
Who’s to Blame?: An Analysis of Agricultural Subsidies and Their Effects on Development, Jared Baragar, Yale University
Spirits & Sacred Sites: A Study of Beliefs on Unguja Island, Julie Bardenwerper, Gustavus Adolphus College
L’Aide au Développement : les Perspectives des Immigrés Sénégalais = Development Aid: The Perspectives of Senegalese Immigrants, Allyson Barnett, University of Pittsburgh
Political Capital and the Project Planning Process: An Action Research Exercise of the Shirazi Community Health Clinic Project, Lindsay Beebe, University of Vermont
Tradition in Transition: Tharu Traditional Governing System in Post-Conflict Nepal, Briana Bellamy, Bryn Mawr College
Lost Wax: An Exploration of Bronze Sculpture in Senegal, Kevin Bell, University of Denver
Forever Home: Funeral, Burial and the Life After This Life in Hue, Vietnam, Molly Bennett, Colby College
Un Juego de Identidad y Percepción: Un Estudio de Caso de “Visuales,” una Tribu Urbana en Viña del Mar, Chile, Anya Bergman, Brandeis University
The Role of the Local Community in Integrated Conservation with Development Projects: A Case Study of the Phu My Lepironia Conservation Project, Marion Boulicault, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Rompiendo el Espejo Invertido: La Búsqueda Para Autosuficiencia y una Vida Campesina y Digna, Tara Brian, Colby College
O Último Peixe Ideas About the Future in Coastal Trairí, MaryCate R. Brower, Brandeis University
Shake It: A Study of Traditional Dance and Drumming in Tanzania With the African Traditional Dance Group, Megan Browning, Colby College
El Espíritu Revolucionario: El Movimiento Obrero en los Sindicatos de Siglo XX y Catavi, Will Brunnquell, Bates College
Learning for Life at Escola Comunitária Luiza Mahin: Integrating Classroom and Community Experiences in a Neighborhood’s Mission for Social Change, Alexa K. Catao, Amherst College
The Ethical Limitations of South Africa’s Education Market, Ethan Chang, University of Redlands
Prevalence and Intensity of Trypanosome Infections in Stable and Declining Populations of Brush-Tailed Bettongs (Bettongia Penicillata), Melissa Chiasson, Yale University
The Efficacy of Climate Change Projects in Samoa: Evaluating Community-Based Adaptation Initiatives, Marisa Chock, Brown University
Disparities in the System: The Effects of Free Primary Education (FPE) on the Quality of Education in Nairobi’s Public Schools, Adrienne Chuck, Middlebury College
Investigating the Technical Feasibility of Utilizing Aquifer Storage and Recovery to Supplement the Public Water Supplies in Evans Head and Ballina, Brandon Cohen, Dartmouth College
“Fusion” Musics and Tunisian Identity in the Age of the Global Stereo, Rachel Colwell, Oberlin College
Renewable Energy as a Means to Community Development: A Case Study of Solar Power With Avani in Kumaon, Uttarakhand, Sarah Connette, Davidson College
Stand By Me: A Study of Activity Budgets, Nearest Neighbor, Social Behavior, and Home Range of the Olive Baboons (Papio Anubis) of Ndarakwai Ranch, Katie Conway, Bucknell University
Bodhisattvas in the Pagoda and in the World: Socially Engaged Buddhism in Hue, Rachel Cotterman, Oberlin College
Una Manera de Vida Diferente: Embarazos en Adolescentes y Planificación Familiar en la Zona de Intag, Ecuador, Jennifer Dabrow, Brandeis University
Die Taal is Gans die Volk? Building a Common Afrikaans-Language Identity and Community in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Susan DeMartino, George Washington University
The Impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia Program on Food Security in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Mario Felipe Dest, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ugandan by Birth, Proud by Circumstance: A Look at Pride and Patriotism in Northern Uganda, Hannah Detig, Illinois Wesleyan University
“It’s A Ripple Effect”: Global Mamas in a Developing Ghana, Mara Dold, Gettysburg College
Ceeb ak Jën: Deconstructing Senegal’s National Plate in Search of Cultural Values, Megan Duffy, Kenyon College
Constructions of Disease in Mayo Village, Rachel Eades, Bates College
An Oriental Christ: A Perfect Condition After the State Was God, Thomas Nathaniel Eaves, Guilford College
Herbs, Qur’an, and Mashetani: Practice, Use, Perception, and Integration of Traditional Medicine in Bodo, Elan Ebeling, University of Oregon
The Legalities and Realities of Emancipation Policies in the Netherlands and Their Associated Welfare State Typologies, Leigh Ellis, American University
Power to the People: Rural Electrification in Uganda, Zachary Ezor, Colby College
Teaching Peace: An Exploration in Youth Peace Building Through Peace Education Programs in Gulu Municipality, Northern Uganda, Julia Firestone, Hampshire College
L’adoption de Bracharia par les Éleveurs Mahafaly : Un Étude du Projet de AVSF Dans la Commune de Betioky, Michelle Fisher, Cornell University
Community, Infant Feeding, and AIDS: Empowerment Evaluation in Rural Eastern Cape, Laura Flamm, Miami University: Oxford Campus
OPACITY: A Socioeconomic Study of Diamond Mining in South-Eastern Cameroon, Steven Fox, University of Richmond
The Story of the Beverage Can: How Cans Are Re-Used and Recycled in the Village of Maun, Emma Frappier, Warren Wilson College
All That You Can’t Leave Behind: Making and Administering Laws in the Select Government Localities of Komenda, Cape Coast, and Accra, Andrew Freeman, Trinity College
The Traditional Wolof Voice: Lessons from a Griot in Pout, Senegal, Lucy French, Washington University in St. Louis
National Parks in China: A New Model for Nature Conservation, Katherine Fritz, New York University
Co-Development in Mali: A Case Study of a Development Phenomenon Exploited by Immigration Policy, Diane Galatowitsch, Tulane University
Changing Dress and Changing Perceptions: A Look at Traditional Muslim Dress in a Small Coastal Town, Maggie Gilligan, Kenyon College
Remembering the Roots: Political Consciousness in the Quilombo Pitanga de Palmares in a Modernizing Society, Matthew Glenn, Pomona College
Consumption as Lifestyle: The Use of Western Lifestyle as a Status Symbol in Multinational Corporations' Advertising in India, Alissa Goddard, Hamilton College
The Transition Movement in Australia: An Analysis of the Progress, Challenges, and Future of Transition Initiatives, Mia Goldwasser, Brandeis University
The Politics of Genetically Modified Organisms: Global Rules, Local Needs, Ximena Gonzalez, The University of Texas at Austin
Churning the Ocean of Milk: The Role of Vocal Composition in Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Music, Gabriel Gordon, Wesleyan University
Campesinos/as Cultivating Soil: Promoting and Adopting Sustainable Agriculture in Jinotega, Nicaragua, Emily Grady, Bates College
Music in Its Social Context: Fiji in a Microcosm, Alexander Greene, St. Michael's College
A Preliminary Linguistic Analysis of Plant Names in Ikpaná (Logba), an Endangered Ghana Togo Mountain Language, Lydia Jewl Green, University of Southern California
Extending the School Day: The Design, Execution and Steps Towards Sustainability of an After-School Program for Young Girls in Kibera, Rebecca Green, Hamilton College
Reserved Women: The Implementation and Efficacy of a Reserved Seat Quota for Women in the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, Carolyn Griffiths, Bates College
Playing Past the Troubles: Theatrical Expression in a Post-Conflict Society, Jayce Hafner, Hendrix College
Las Secuelas Psicológicas y las Necesidades en Salud Mental Para las Víctimas de la Dictadura: Una Mirada Crítica a los Servicios de PRAIS, Kate Hails, Hamilton College
Creating a Culture of Accountability: The Prosecution of Gender Crimes in the ICTY, Alice Hansen, University of Colorado
Pisco por la Razon o la Fuerza El Debate Entre Perú y Chile Sobre la Denominacion de Origen del Pisco, y sus Implicaciones., Courtney Harrell, University of Virginia
The Expression of Power in Mughal Architecture, Arielle Hein, University of Colorado at Boulder
The Secrets and History of the Madaniyya Sufi of Ksibet al-Mediouni, Tunisia, Ryan Heisler, Brandeis University
Flamenco y Género: ¿Amigos o Enemigos? = Gender in Flamenco: Friends or Enemies?, Maya Hislop, Williams College
Voz de los Internos: Atención de salud en el recinto penal en Arica, Chile, Lily Hoffman, New York University
Globalization’s Impact on Identity Through Billboard Advertisements, Sarah Hogan, Dickinson College
Mitigating the Impact of AIDS on a Rural Community: Observations of the inner workings of a rural non-governmental organization, Kara Huselton, Boston College
Sex Trafficking: Social Constructions and Stereotypes of Recovery in Viet Nam, Linh Huynh, Northwestern University
La Ciada de la Industria Salmonera y las Consequences, Kyla Jacobs, Colby College
Dublin’s Forgotten: The Transition From ‘Separated Children’ to ‘Aged-Out Minors’ Through Policy, Media, and Organizational Support., Meghan Jaird, St. Michael's College
Green Dharma: Clearing the Pollution of Our Minds to Save the Environment, Richard Dale Jenkinson IV, Middlebury College
An Assessment of How Land Use and Productivity Has Changed in Villages Surrounding Mazumbai in the West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania: Specifically the Original Tea Plot Allocations Received by Members of the Sagara Group in 1991, Abby Jensen, The College of Wooster
Shifting Focus: Redefining the Goals of Sea Turtle Consumption and Protection in Bali, Audrey Jensen, Bates College
Cultural Tourism in Botswana and the Sexaxa Cultural Village: A Case Study, Rachel Jones, College of William and Mary
Behavioral Application in Wildlife Photography: Developing a Foundation in Ecological and Behavioral Characteristics of the Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey (Procolobus kirkii) as it Applies to the Development Exhibition Photography, Matthew Jorgensen, Cornell University
Weaving and Scheming: Adventures on Planet Mosuo, Melissa Judson, University of California: Los Angeles
The Body as Text: The Construction of Contemporary Gender Within a Queer Context in Salvador, Bahia, Tigist Kassahun, Pomona College
Zoran Djindjic Remembered: The Formation of Collective Memories, Rebecca Gabrielle Porath Katz, Vassar College
A Multidisciplinary Approach on Swiss Organic Food and Agriculture, Jae In Kim, Washington University in St. Louis