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Indians and underdogs

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Date Issued:
2008
Summary:
This thesis examines identity as a process, how it is a reflection of, or reaction to, social, economic, and political circumstances. Identity is examined, through an ethnographically informed analysis, as it is represented, contested, and focused in the visual discourse of a small population. The research suggests that identity manifests at specific and strategic moments within the symbolic practices of resistance in coastal Ecuador. Grievances to economic and political power structures are acted out in clear-cut identity terms, or motifs, and function to organize diverse interests into social action. The study illustrates two identity motifs that are commonly asserted in the local context: depictions of being indigenous and of being the underdog. Using local examples, this thesis addresses the complexities of identity formation, examines the strategic capacity of identity, and offers insight into the relationships between identity, resistance, and power.
Title: Indians and underdogs: notions of identity and the symbolic language of resistance in coastal Ecuador.
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Name(s): Nohe, Sarah Anne.
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Department of Anthropology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: electronic
Extent: vii, 70 p. : ill. (some col.).
Language(s): English
Summary: This thesis examines identity as a process, how it is a reflection of, or reaction to, social, economic, and political circumstances. Identity is examined, through an ethnographically informed analysis, as it is represented, contested, and focused in the visual discourse of a small population. The research suggests that identity manifests at specific and strategic moments within the symbolic practices of resistance in coastal Ecuador. Grievances to economic and political power structures are acted out in clear-cut identity terms, or motifs, and function to organize diverse interests into social action. The study illustrates two identity motifs that are commonly asserted in the local context: depictions of being indigenous and of being the underdog. Using local examples, this thesis addresses the complexities of identity formation, examines the strategic capacity of identity, and offers insight into the relationships between identity, resistance, and power.
Identifier: 316799858 (oclc), 166453 (digitool), FADT166453 (IID), fau:2836 (fedora)
Note(s): by Sarah Anne Nohe.
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008.
Includes bibliography.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Group identity -- Political aspects
Social movements -- Ecuador
Indians of South America -- Ecuador -- Government relations
Indians of South America -- Ecuador -- Ethnic identity
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/166453
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU