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 2008
Human Mobility Through Closed Borders: The Impact of Morocco’s European and Algerian Relations on Sub-Saharan Immigration, Caitryn McCallum, University of Virginia
Flowers and Feeders: A Comparison of Hummingbird Feeding Activity, Caitlin A. McHugh, Wesleyan University
Romancing Dahalo: The Social Environment of Cattle Theft in Ihorombe, Madagascar, John McNair, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Creative Ecology: Art’s Role in Addressing Environmental and Sustainability Issues in Australia, Michael Meade, Connecticut College
Storybooks: A Teaching Tool for Sustainability, Amanda Medress, Oberlin College
“Art as Direct Political Action:” An Investigation Through Case Studies and Interviews, Emily Meinhardt, Claremont McKenna College
Transnational Anti-Imperialism: A case study of Witness for Peace and their relationship with El Regadío, Estelí, Sam Menefee-Libey, Willamette University
Combating Educational Inequalities: Afro-Brazilian Youth & the Bahia Street Project, Kimberly Menendez, Pomona College
From Subsistence to Existence: Worker Strategies in the Recovery of Talleres Union, Ryan Merz, University of Iowa
Community-Based Income Generation: A Case Study of its Effects and Replicability in Urucureá, Santarém, Lucy Midelfort, College of William and Mary
Walking Amongst the Sacred Spines: Social and Ecological Investigation of the Fenoaivo and Zanavo Sacred Forests in Southern Madagascar, Laura Miller, Macalester College
Surfistas for Change: Building New Identity and Community in Poor Brazilian Communities Through Sport and Education, Stephanie Miller, Washington University in St Louis
Economics, Epidemics & Eradication: A Case Study of Malaria in Madagascar, Kathleen Minton, Colby College
The Stories of Juruti Velho, David Mittelman, Brown University
Acceso Limitado a Educacion y los Efectos en la Experiencia Familiar por los Jovenes Aymaras Traslado, Adaptación Social y la Identidad en Arica, Kate Mooney, St. Michael's College
Code-Switching Among Tunisian Women and its Impact on Identity, Krista Moore, Macalester College
“We’re Talking About Sex”: Young Adults and Sexual Health in Northern Ireland, Caroline Erin Morris, Southwestern University
Desarrollo de la Comunidad y Humano Como Resultado del Turismo, Annie Moulton, University of Virginia
Art, Ritual, and Representation: An Exploration of the Roles of Tsam Dance in Contemporary Mongolian Culture, Mikaela Mroczynski, Smith College
A History in Limbo: A Human Rights Perspective on Conflict-Ridden Nepal, Claire Mueller, Tufts University
Baguncaco Cleans Up the Bagunca of "Racial Democracy", Afro-Brazilian Consciousness and Racial Identity in Alagados, Salvador, Bahia, Monica Mugure, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Legacies and Potentials of Feminism in Art de Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam: A Case Study, Tatyana Neplioueva, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Obstetric Fistula in Mali, Chandler O’Connell, Harvard University
Prey Selectivity of Planktivorous Fish: Analysis of Stomach Contents in Four Pomacentrids at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, James O'Hare, Oberlin College
The Flavor of Money: The Vanilla Industry and the Economy of Antalaha, Elizabeth Packer, University of California - Los Angeles
Concentración Urbana: El Papel de la Competición, Jason Peuquet, George Washington University
Health as a Basic Human Right: Efficacy of Quality Assurance for Healthcare in Uganda, Ally Pregulman, George Washington University
South Africa’s Unsung “She-roes”: A Practicum Study of NPO Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS, Khayelitsha Township, Cape Town, Rachel Pryzby, Smith College
Estatus Actual de los Búhos Terrestres (Athene cunicularia) en la Zona de Puerto López, Ecuador: Efectos de las Creencias y Sentimientos hacía los Animales Silvestres, Allison Qubain, University of Puget Sound
Sigue la Lucha: Metodologías de Resistencia en Contextos de Cultura de Violencia, Alicia Quiros, University of Notre Dame
Supervivencia Cotidiana: Un Análisis de las Estrategias de Vida de las Mujeres del Comedor Infantil Virgen Del Valle, Salta, Argentina, Kate Ono Rahel, Kenyon College
“The Dust of Some”: Glasnevin Cemetery and the Politics of Burial, Nina Ranalli, Harvard University
Urf: Islamic Biomedical Ethics in Rural Mali, Amanda Reider, Pomona College
Interning at the Médecins Sans Frontières Operational Office in Geneva, Casie Reiss, University of St. Thomas
A Culture Seen Through Cuisine: Traditional Zanzibari Recipes, Lizzie Resta, University of San Diego
The Current State of Populations of Diadema antillarum on Isla Colón in Bocas del Toro, Panamá, 25 Years After Mass Mortality, Leah T. Ritz, Macalester College
Corallivorous Reef Fishes as Potential Vectors of Coral Disease Based on a Study of Dietary Preferences, Tanya Rogers, University of Puget Sound
Improving Beekeeping on Unguja Island, Larken Root, University of Puget Sound
On Est Ensemble: A Participatory Study of the Jembe Tradition as Preserved by the Griots of West Africa, Joel Rowe, Fordham University
“Chaque Femme a son Histoire:” Exploring the Lives and Voices of Sub-Saharan Migrant Women Living in Morocco, Silvana Rueda, Vassar College
¨En Este País no se Habla con la Verdad¨: Investigando la Falta de Educación Sexual en el Ecuador¨, Laney Rupp, Scripps College
Samoa: A Truly Religious Place? Views Toward Religion in Samoa, Angelica Saada, Swarthmore College
Summary and Analysis: Mental Health Infrastructure in Ulaanbaatar, Mini Saraswati, Wellesley College
Formal Education for Sustainable Development, Caryn Saslow, Skidmore College
Behavioral Disparities Between Two Troops Of Lemur Catta That Occupy Different Habitats, Laura Saucier, Duke University
Fijian Art: Traditional Roots, Contemporary Expression, and a Source of Livelihood, Emma Scanlan, Wheaton College - Norton
La Sucesión Primaria de la Vegetación Sobre los Flujos Piroclásticos del 2006 en el Volcán Tungurahua, Lauren Schaefer, DePauw University
Sacred Work: Transforming Spirit and Community in Lucena, Paraíba, Jenny Schneider, Brown University
Alcoa in Juruti, Brazil: A Case of Environmental Injustice and Colonialism?, Caitlin Schroering, Denison University
“Ahora es Cuando”: La Lucha por el Derecho a la Ciudad en la Villa 31 = “Now is the Time”: The Fight for the Right to the City in Villa 31, Margaret Scott, Macalester College
A Domestic Pas de Deux: The Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist-Regime Relations in Jordan, Simon Shogry, Claremont McKenna College
Faith and Freedom: A Profile of the Religious Environment in Mongolia’s Emerging Democracy, Jeffrey Sinick, Grinnell College
HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care in a Long-Term Conflict Setting: Observations From The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in the Teso Region, Emma Smith, Yale University
The End of the Line: Understanding the Morocco-Algeria Border, Katherine Solberg, Boston College
The Union des Populations du Cameroun and Third World Internationalism: Solidarity, Cooperation, and Abandonment, 1955-1970, Jamie Stevenson, Vassar College
A Reassessment of Avian Assemblages Along the Lakes Corridor in the Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland, Shaina N. Stewart, Kenyon College
The Polar Thaw: An Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Environment and Geopolitics of the Arctic Polar Region, Alexandra Stoicof, George Washington University
La Fragilidad Persistente de las Transgresiones: Los Mundos Públicos y Privados de los Vladivideos, los Medios de Comunicación, y la Fantasma de Fujimori., Annie Strother, Oberlin College
The Influence of Medicinal Plants on the Spiritism, Religion, and Science of Tulear, Madagascar, Meghan Sweet, George Washington University
Fortaleza’s Feminisms: Searching for Feminist Theory in the Centro de Referência da Mulher and the Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher, Paige Sweet, Washington University in St Louis
La Mondialisation et les Croyants: Des Effets de la Mondialisation sur les Communautés Chrétiennes = Globalization and Believers: Globalization’s Effects on Christian Communities, Carrie Lee Tallichet, Texas A & M University
La Mondialisation et les Croyants: Des Effets de la Mondialisation sur les Communautés Chrétiennes = Globalization and Believers: Globalization’s Effects on Christian Communities, Carrie Lee Tallichet, Texas A & M University
What the Fish is Going on Here? Are Regulations Being Followed at the Ver-O-Peso Market in Belém, Para?, Neil Thompson, University of Vermont
Turkish – EU Relations: Let’s Just Say, It’s Complicated, Cora Allie Treske, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Factors Related to the Marital Satisfaction of Malian Women in Polygamous Marriages, Lauren E. Troy, Northwestern University
Post-Fire Demography of a Dry Eucalypt Forest in the Midlands, Tasmania: A Pilot Study, Christine Urbanowicz, Gettysburg College
The First Modern Diaspora Community in the Netherlands: Lessons From the Moluccan Experience, Jamie van Wagtendonk, Brandeis University
Los Alcanzes y Límites de Participación Ciudadana: la Conaie y la Plurinacionalidad en la Asamblea Constituyente de 2008, Sara Vogel, Columbia University
Glandular Secretions of Male Pteropus (Flying Foxes): Preliminary Chemical Comparisons Among Species, Jamie Wagner, Oberlin College
Spray-Painting the State, Stenciling the Self: Opening Commons of Art and Identity Though Asamblea, Jesse Waldman, Columbia University
Mivumba in Kampala: Tracking the History, Trade, and Perceptions of a Global Commodity in Local Culture, Claire Walsh, Vassar College
ARAUCO y sus Políticas de RSE en la VIII Región del Bío Bío (Una Comparación Entre sus Políticas Medio Ambientales y la Situación Real), Jamie Warner, Colby College
Ações Para uma Melhor Vida: A Situação de Prostituição no Novo Eldorado de Juruti, Megan Whelan, Brown University
Calidad Química y Microbiológica del Agua y Acceso al Recurso Agua en la Comunidad de Solöng, Territorio Naso-Teribe, Bocas del Toro, Shira Wrightman, George Washington University
Submissions from 2007
Sectarianism and Social Capital: Community Development in Northern Ireland, Becky Alhadeff, Western Washington University
Faith as a Means of Healing: Traditional Medicine and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church In and Around Lalibela, Lauren Anderson, Villanova University
El Cobre Para Hoy y Siempre : Hacia un Futuro Menos Volátil, Más Sostenible y de Mayor Valor Agregado en el Sector Chileno del Cobre, Nicholas Anderson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Development in Our Own Words: A Survey of Development Perspectives Between Cameroonians and Americans in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Frieda L. Arenos, University of Vermont
El Olvido Está Lleno de Memoria: El Proceso de Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica de la Dictadura de Pinochet, Sarah Arvey, Occidental College
Why Logging? A Value Assessment of Forestry Uses in the Huon Forest District, Ryan Bailey, Skidmore College
Kaya Hip-Hop in Coastal Kenya: The Urban Poetry of UKOO FLANI, Divinity LaShelle Barkley, University of Southern California
Along the River Soumsoum: Urban Agriculture in Ngaoundéré, Winnie Fay Bell, Northeastern University
Endangered ? Yambetta in its Speech Community, Carolyn Benbow, Pacific Lutheran University
Crédito y Confianza: Los Impactos Socioeconómicos de Fondo Esperanza en Temuco y Padre las Casas, Rebecca Berwick, Brown University
Leprosy: A Study of Identity Through a “Marginalized” Population, Aarti Bhatt, Marquette University
A Critical Assessment of the Impact of World Heritage Site Designation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Lauren Blacik, Carleton College
Caring and Treating Post – Traumatic Stress Disorder in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colleen M. Boley, University of Redlands
Songs From Imerina: A Creative Study of the Evolving Craft of Merina Hainteny in Madagascar, Elly Bookman, Colby College
Evaluating the Medicinal Properties of Mandravasarotra (Cinnamosa sida) Through Chemical and Pharmacological Screening, Henry J. Bowden Jr., Morehouse College
Lambahoany: Une Utile de Communication, Joanna Bresee, Carnegie Mellon University
Between Bottom Up and Top Down: The Truth-Recovery Debate in Northern Ireland, Suzanne Brundage, Bennington College
V is for Voluntary: Uptake of HIV Testing and Counseling in Mombasa District, Kenya, Julie Caplow, Brown University
“Le Goût de Travail:” Work Value for Bamiléké Children, Diana Carlson, Northwestern University
Distribution of Ultraviolet-Absorbing Sunscreen Compounds Across the Body Surface of Two Species of Scaridae, Elizabeth Cerny-Chipman, Pomona College
Environment as Social and Literary Constructs: An Exploration of the Relationship between the Environment and Mahafaly Oral Literature, Eugenie Cha, Bard College
Tourism in Lugu Hu: Helpful or Harmful? Examining the Impact of Tourism on Lugu Lake’s People and Environment, Joana Chan, Vassar College
Ontogenetic Changes in Feeding Ecology and Habitat of the Damselfish Neoglyphidodon melas at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Sai-Wing Chan, Oberlin College
The Microcredit Impact: The Evaluation and Effects of Microloans on Caboclos Communities of the Tapajós River, Robert Chew, Oberlin College
Struggle, Revolution, and the MST: Reflections on the Meaning of Resistance, Andrew Cole, Bucknell University
El Royalty II y la Búsqueda de la Renta del Cobre Chileno: Un Análisis de la Política Económica del Impuesto Específico, el Royalty II, Sobre Cobre, Paul Collett, Pomona College