Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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This thesis explores how digital representations of Indigenous movements influence the political outcomes of these movements in settler colonies. Since the beginning of its development, digital...Show moreThis thesis explores how digital representations of Indigenous movements influence the political outcomes of these movements in settler colonies. Since the beginning of its development, digital technology has been utilized by Indigenous people to connect, share and learn but also to advocate. Historically indigenous people have been demanding recognition and indigenous rights, and in the current digital age, this fight has partly moved to the digital sphere, on social media. Here, Indigenous people are less dependent on mainstream media and their prejudices and can spread their perspectives on their struggles and what it means to be Indigenous. I look at the political effects of this new form of activism by analyzing three different case studies. Two of the cases are located in Canada, Idle No More and MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls), and the third is situated in America the NoDAPL movement. These cases show that the use of social media can shift power relations between governments and Indigenous movements and that Indigenous people have more control over how they are portrayed. Though, this thesis also shows the weaknesses of using social media as a activism strategy.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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Cars have been for years dominating our lives and landscapes and are deeply shaped by our culture. By focusing on a particular car, a 2CV, and its reconstruction, observing and analyzing its social...Show moreCars have been for years dominating our lives and landscapes and are deeply shaped by our culture. By focusing on a particular car, a 2CV, and its reconstruction, observing and analyzing its social life, as a commodity as well as an object linked to a particular history since it was the former car of anthropologist-filmmaker Jean Rouch, these study and concomitant film contribute to reveal specific aspects of the relationship between man and car, mainly through the concept of bricolage, that Rouch was also familiar with in his filmmaking. The opposition between bricoleur and ingénieur is revisited, through a detailed film-based ethnography with the diverse participants and situations encountered during a three-month fieldwork, in a follow-the-thing type case. Cars are also envisioned as religious objects that have their cathedrals, worshippers and sorcerers. They are machines but they have their part of humanity, that interacts with us. The perspective is enriched by a physical and practical approach to fieldwork shared with participants, and as an actual making together in a practice-led research during the reconstruction of the car. Inspired as well by Jean Rouch’s approach, filmmaking is thus considered a way of acquiring knowledge as well as facilitating a relational fieldwork.Show less
