Browsing by Subject "Heritage"
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Item Family, ethnic identity and education in relation to generational heritage language maintenance and shift among Chicanos of the South Plains(Texas Tech University, 2006-12) Torres, Ana; Benavides, Alfredo H.; Midobuche, Eva; Mendez-Morse, SylviaResearch in recent years has devoted increasing attention to the maintenance and shift of heritage languages among ethnic minorities in the United States, with Chicanos being no exception. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors related to family, ethnic identity and education in relation to the maintenance or shift of the Spanish language over generations of Chicanos on the South Plains of Texas. This dissertation presents the findings of a mixed methodology study involving thirteen families in the South Plains area. The focus of the study was on the families of United States born adolescents of Mexican descent. Three generations within each of these families were studied in order to develop a greater understanding of the forces at work in their daily lives that have contributed to either the maintenance of Spanish or the shift to English over time. Each family member was interviewed, and was asked to take part in a Spanish language assessment, a cultural identity measure, and a questionnaire related to linguistic practices and language attitudes. The study utilized a heuristic phenomenological approach to investigate the three constructs of family, ethnic identity and education as they relate to the past and present language experiences of the research participants. Understanding the relationship of these three constructs to heritage language maintenance and shift will serve to further inform educators, parents, and community members about the effects of past and current policies and practices on the maintenance or shift of the Spanish language among Chicanos on the South Plains and in similar geographical areas, so that they may make informed decisions on language policy and socialization according to their long-term goals regarding the linguistic development of future generations. By helping to achieve a greater understanding of the forces at work in the daily lives of Chicanos that contribute to either the maintenance or shift of the Spanish language over generations, this research can add to the knowledge that has been acquired thus far regarding minority language patterns.Item Shoreline Management at Padre Island National Seashore: An Investigation of Angler Relationships to the Beach(2010-01-14) Aldrich, Chelsea L.Park management at Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS) actively continues to modify the General Management Plan to maintain the safety of the increasing numbers of visitors and protect natural resources. When changes conflict with anglers' current usage of the beach, park management receives vocal opposition from local and visiting anglers who do not want their long-standing rights to the beach to be affected. To better inform management decisions and policies surrounding the beach area, this qualitative thesis research used ethnographic interviews to address the following key objectives: (1) Understand the relationship between surf anglers and the beach at PAIS, (2) Identify the main issues, concerns, needs, and expectations of the surf anglers at PAIS, (3) Describe the relationship between surf anglers and the National Park Service (NPS), and (4) Determine key areas of conflict and tension surrounding NPS management of the beach. At Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS), referred to by local anglers as "the PINS," anglers connect to the beach because of memories experienced there, a heritage of use, a sense of serenity and spirituality, and camaraderie. Those who have a long-standing relationship to the beach at the PINS, in some cases multi-generational, feel a sense of guardianship and even ownership over the beach. Many surf anglers at the PINS experience the outdoors through a family heritage of fishing, connect to others through fishing, and promote conservation practices through media, camaraderie, and local knowledge. Angler feelings towards the NPS range from distrust to an appreciation of the role of the NPS in protecting their sacred fishing place. Areas of conflict and tension stem from anglers' safety concerns, new regulations that challenge and threaten their traditional values and experiences associated with surf fishing, and a lack of communication and inclusion of anglers in the National Seashore's decision-making processes. To better manage conflict surrounding management issues on the beach at PAIS, this thesis suggests that park managers (1) reinstate public meetings; (2) utilize moderated roundtable discussion at public meetings; and (3) involve the scientific community, appropriate stakeholder groups, and angler knowledge in informing decisions and new regulations.Item A very modern tradition : Costa Rican swing criollo as urban popular folklore(2014-05) Griffith, James Brian; Moore, Robin D., 1964-Over the past ten years, the Costa Rican dance style known as swing criollo has gone from relative obscurity to acceptance as national heritage. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was considered a dance of the urban working-class chusma, or "riff-raff," because of its associations with the working-class music of cumbia and San José's seedy dance salons. Starting in the early 2000s, however, an active campaign of nationalization and folklorization by dance instructors brought the dance to the status of national patrimony. This was achieved through dance classes, festival performances, the creation of a short video documentary, and the work of the dance company La Cuna del Swing to canonize the dancers and stages of swing criollo. The folklorization of swing criollo at first seems to be a top-down phenomenon that suggests little agency among working-class dancers; they have been personified in the national imaginary as exotic Others, an urban folk from an earlier generation that now exists only to perform and embody that tradition. On further examination, the folklorization of swing criollo represents a new sort of folklore, one that is highly contested and engages in a different discourse of authenticity, some influenced by dancers themselves. Swing criollo as a "modern" and "urban" form has allowed for self-mythmaking among the dancers of the self-proclaimed "old guard" that invented the style. It also legitimizes the dance style in its popular form, as opposed to older projections of folklore that that place tradition in opposition to modernity. I examine discourses surrounding the nationalization of swing criollo as well as the negotiations of spaces of culture through which swing's legitimization unfolded. I conclude by suggesting that ethnomusicologists should continue to theorize folklore's changing nature as it is contested and re-defined to include popular, urban, and modern cultural expressions.