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 2007
Beyond the Classroom: The Implementation of Creative Movement and Music in Schools for the Disabled, Rachel Katz, Bates College
Roma in Vojvodina: Expressions of Cultural Identity Through Performance, Jane Kaufman, Wesleyan University
Immigration: An Escalator to the American Dream Nicaraguans’ Experiences with Immigration to the United States in the Midst of the War on Terror, Allison Koenker, Vassar College
Beauty Ideals & Body Image: Suva, Fiji, Melissa Kong, Hamilton College
The Effects of Space on Sex Worker Experience: A Study of Amsterdam’s Red Light District, Hannah Koski, Vassar College
Masyarakat Tionghoa: Singaraja’s Chinese Community, Tammy Lew Lee Kreznar, Sarah Lawrence College
Investigating a Method to Measure Sperm Transfer in Chelidonura sandrana (Opisthobranchia: Cephalaspidea), Kate Kunigelis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Resistant Cultures: Punk Identity and Anarchist Resistance in Three Yugoslav Successor States, Jeff Lambert, American University
La Identidad Colectiva del Pueblo Mapuche: El Pasado, Presente y Futuro de su Lucha Territorial, Katherine A. Lawyer, University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Construyendo un Nuevo Modelo: Un Estudio de la Relación Entre los Piqueteros K y el Gobierno, Daniel Lesser, Oberlin College
Atua of the Aga: A Comparison of Ancestor Worship in the Highlands of Bali and Polynesia, Jamison Liang, Washington University in St Louis
People Moving Matters: Theorizing Tourism and Migration on the Nepali ‘Periphery’, Adam Linnard, Dalhousie University
Changing Channels: The Bhutanese Middle Path Approach to Television, Kate Linthicum, Barnard College
The 1916 Easter Rising: A History Of Commemoration, Emily Litwin, Carleton College
Watered Down: The Intersection and Integration of Tourism Development and Water Resource Management in Marrakech, Morocco, Alison Maassen, George Washington University
Mame Coumba Bang: A Living Myth and Evolving Legend, Michelle Margoles, Carleton College
Valorar lo Nuestro Para Fortalecer el Futuro: Etnoturismo Mapuche en la IX Región, Ashleigh Martin, Duke University
No Shelter: UNESCO’s Efforts to Save Lalibela’s Culture, Kellen McClure, University of Vermont
Spectator to Actor to Multiplier: EDISCA’s Humanizing Methodology, Hannah McDowell, Occidental College
China Environmental Study, Monty McGee, Norfolk State University
Expectativas de Alumnos de la Enseñanza Media: Un Análisis del Nivel e Influencias de las Expectativas de Estos Estudiantes en la Comuna de Quinchao, Chilé, Jennifer McNally, Tufts University
Throne Names, Pen Names, Horse Names, and Field Names: A Look at the Significance of Name Change in the Ethiopian Political Sphere, Krista Mehari, Hope College
Manifester une Solidarité Active : Devoir d’Histoire et la Cimade, Hillary Mohaupt, Macalester College
The Realization of the Rights to Health, Education and Social Welfare Among Disabled Youth in Ingwavuma and Bhambanana, Kwazulu Natal, Ali Mumford, Brown University
Analyzing Site Loyalty in Nyctimene robinsoni at the End of the Dry Season, Kolleen Nellett, Oberlin College
Self-Employed, Self-Empowered: Working Women in Benares, Madeline S. Oatman, Middlebury College
Diarios Bajo Democracia: La Prensa Escrita en Chile, Hoy en Día, Jake Pearson, Tufts University
La Musique Malgache : Moyen de Protection de l’Environnement, Geneviève Pearthree, University of Redlands
Unholy Union: The Convergence of Agendas Between the Gay Community and the Political Right-Wing in the Netherlands, Michael Wayne Perry, Wake Forest University
AIDS Optimism and Condom Usage Among Men who Have Sex With Men in Australia, The Netherlands and United States., Tan Pham, University of Connecticut
A Caldron of Militancy: Construction of Feminine Consciousness in the Movimento Sem-Terra: A Community Study in Palmares II, Caroline Lamar Pihl, Harvard University
To Live With the Sea: Community-Based Management of Marine Resources in Southwest Madagascar, Hannah Pitt, Northwestern University
Helping Women Help Themselves: Sex Work, Health, and Development in Mahajanga, Madagascar, Rachel Pryzby, Smith College
What’s a Girl to Do: Repatriarchalization and Croatian Women’s Reproductive Freedom, Brittany Rast, Agnes Scott College
A Critical Analysis of the Current Status of the Fijian Language, Stephanie Roberts, Dickinson College
El Movimiento de Mujeres y Anamuri: Un Estudio de Caso, Stephanie Roberts, University of Evansville
“Tout Travail Doit Nourrir Son Homme” The Dakar-Niger Railroad and the 1947-1948 Strike in the Political and Labor History of Senegal, Julia Coyner Robinson, Columbia University
Memory, Place and Nation-Building: Remembering in the ‘New’ South Africa, Kate Ronan, Syracuse University
“Share the Wealth” A Critical Analysis of Private Sector Development in Uganda’s Rural and Urban Settings, Michael Roscitt, University of Notre Dame
Reconstructing Gender and Activism: The Case of Women’s Initiatives in Al-Wihdat Refugee Camp, China Sajadian, Smith College
Child Labour and Microfinance in Morocco: Using Microfinance to Reduce Child Labour and the Case of the Al Amana Microfinance Institution, Kristyn Schomp, Duke University
“Sustainable Soy” in Santarém: Power Struggles for the Future of Development, Jake Schoneker, Villanova University
A Place in the World: MH2O’s Construction of a Peripheral Identity, Ryan Schutt, Pomona College
The Role of Industrial and Traditional Fishing in Sustainable Resource Management, Aime Schwartz, Colby College
Education in a Rural Context: A Catalyst for Disappearing Villages?, Seth Schy, University of Colorado at Boulder
Aborto Legal Para no Morir: Un Análisis de los Discursos de la Lucha por los Derechos Reproductivos en Argentina, Jessica Scruggs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Happy Dancing Natives” Minority Film, Han Nationalism, and Collective Memory, Benjamin D. Shaffer, Columbia University
Desarrollo Turístico y Sustentabilidad: Caso Villa Pehuenia y la Comunidad Mapuche Puel, Sasha Shahidi, Swarthmore College
Liberation Theology in the 21st Century: The Catholic Church, the CPT, and Rural Movements in Southern Pará, Eleanor Sharp, Oberlin College
Messages of Maternity: The Relationship of State and NGO Institutions to Reproductive Health Services and the Construction of Family in Jordan, Julia Shatz, Vassar College
Potentiality of Biogas and the Role of Substrates in Biogas Formation Potential, Scott Shealy, University of Colorado at Boulder
“How to Change the World”: Writing an Online Sustainability Leadership Manual for Young Australians, Nina Sherburne, University of Puget Sound
Democracy on the Steppe: A Search for Active Local Citizenship in Rural Mongolia, Matthew D. Simonson, Williams College
The Collective Right of Indigenous Peoples to Self-Determination In Accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Lena-Katharina Skandera, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Black Identity Formation as Racial Politics in São Luis, Maranhão, Brazil, Ariel Sloan, Harvard University
A Case Study of Pediatric Diarrhea at Murchison District Hospital in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, T. Smith, Hamilton College
The Individual Psychology of Tibetan Buddhism, Lee Spivak, Bates College
Cuando Viene el Agua: Percepciones de los Impactos Sociales del Proyecto Hidroeléctrico “Chan-75” en las Comunidades Ubicadas en la Cuenca del Río Changuinola, Bocas del Toro, Jeffery D. Stein, Wesleyan University
Returning Home: The Makings of a Repatriate Consciousness, Hope Steinman-Iacullo, Wesleyan University
En Busca de Equilibrio: Una Evaluación del Componente de Salud Intercultural del Programa Orígenes en la Primera Fase, Sarah Stellberg, Whitman College
A Través de Nuestros Ojos: Un Estudio Fotográfico de Niños Trabajadores en Cochabamba, Bolivia, Margaret Ann Stewart, College of Wooster
Sustainable Surfboards, Sean Sullivan, Bowdoin College
Radio Sawa in Jordan: Different Perceptions, Together?, Michael Turner, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Policing the Police: Democracy and Effective Methods of Accountability in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Alaina Varvaloucas, Yale University
The Musician Is the Messenger: Islam and Jaliya in Mandinka Music, Blake Walker, Northwestern University
Power-Sharing, Stability and the May 8th Devolution Day, Christopher A, Walker, Washington & Jefferson College
Structural and Financial Constraints for Arabica Coffee Planters, Chloe Wardropper, Wesleyan University
Preludes to Violence: A Comparative Look at the Pre-Maquis Period and Contemporary Cameroonian Society, Mathew Welch, Pomona College
Economy of Change: The Organic Market as a Model for Agricultural Development in India, Amanda White, New York University
Tertiary Education for Sustainability: Four Australian Universities’ Commitment to Sustainability, Meredith Wilensky, Washington University in St Louis
Priming the Printing Press: The Growing Print Media in Bhutan, Philippa Wood, George Washington University
An Observational Analysis of Psychosocial Behaviors and Caregiver Responses in the Durban Children’s Home, Sarah Young, Bates College
Local and National Health Advancement Using the Power of Sport in South Africa, Lisa Zook, Davidson College
Submissions from 2006
Interpreting Nature in Australia Through Poetry: A Personal Anthology Written Within the Erosion Caldera of Northern New South, Kyla Allon, Connecticut College
“I Don’t Hate Them, They Hate Me”— A Study on the Perceptions of Homeless People in Melbourne and the Implications Those Perceptions Have, Devin Arthur, College of Charleston
Muslim Women’s Religious and Feminist Identities: A Study of Muslim Feminism in the Bosnian Context, María Lis Baiocchi, College of the Atlantic
The Art of Politics: Portraits of Ethiopian Emperors Throughout History, Anna Barrera, Northwestern University
Volviéndose Rebelde: Participación Política Juvenil La Historia de Participación Política de la Juventud Nicaragüense: 1975-2006 Recurring Rebellion: Youth Political Participation in Nicaragua, Julia Beaufait, Eugene Lang College- The New School
Não Sou Sua Puta: An Examination of Preconceptions of Sex Work In Salvador, Bahia, Charmaine Bee, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
¿Hay Mujeres en las Minas? En Busca de Oportunidades Económicas Para la Mujer en la Minería del Cobre Pública y Privada de Chile, Leah Bell, Guilford College
Loaning Health: The Effectiveness of Microfinance as an HIV/AIDS Intervention Method in Kibera Slums, Lara Berlin, Yale University
Transnational Citizenship: Perspectives on Migration in the Greek Cypriot Community, Molly Bowen, Macalester College
Current Issues in Healthcare in Samoa “Making-Do With What Is Available”, Veronica Braden, University of Colorado at Boulder
Roma Education in Serbia: The Implications of Prejudice and Ethnic Conflict and the Potential for Change, Shane Branon, Drew University
La Otra Camina Educativa: Being a Change to Teach a Change at SIIDENOFAL/CIDECI in San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Kailee Brickner-McDonald, College of William and Mary
The Development of Weaning Practices Among Women of the Mombasa District, Its Effects on Children’s Public Health Issues, and the Proposition of Intervention Plans, Rachael Bryan, Wake Forest University
The Development of Bilingual Education in Berlin’s Primary Schools, Elizabeth Buckley, Rollins College
The Black Question, Nicole L. Butler, Loyola University Chicago
Working with the Tabu: HIV/AIDS Education Strategies in Fiji, Amanda Butts, Ithaca College
Wild Bird Banding and Testing for Avian Influenza in the Plain of Reeds, Vietnam, Kyle Campbell, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Traditional Practices and Governmental Responsibilities: An Investigation Into the Evolving Partnership Between Indigenous Brazilian Midwives and State-Provided Maternal Healthcare Services, Caitlin Canfield, Carleton College
Peace Through Music: Music and Multiculturalism in Fiji, Felice Carey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Women’s Literacy in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon, Brianne Carpenter, Hope College
Malo le Folauga Brain Drain: A New Perspective, Mirna Carrillo, Occidental College
Cross-Cultural Encounters: Gringos and Ladinos in Zapatista Territory, Amy Chin, Williams College
Out of the Darkness: A Look at Violence and Politics Through the Experience of the UVF, Alec Chiquoine, Beloit College
Contemporary Art in Samoa: The Role of Personal Expression, Christina Cioffari, Skidmore College
Raising the Future: An Introduction to Three Organizations Caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Using the Cluster Foster Care Model In Kwa-Zulu Natal, Madelaine Colby-Newton, Bethel University
Malaria Prevention and Treatment in the Province of Toliara, Madagascar: A Socioeconomic and Cultural Perspective of Supermoustiquaire Use and Healing, Lily Conover, Bates College
Faleoloa Laititi: The Role of Small Shops in a Developing Samoa, Nicholas K. Courtney, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill