Global Studies Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/6124

Note that prior to Fall Term 2023, the department was known as International Studies.

Browse

Browsing Global Studies Theses and Dissertations by Subject "African studies"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Boundless: Conservation and Development on the Southern African Frontier
    (University of Oregon, 2011-12) Lauermann, Paul David
    This thesis interrogates the transfrontier conservation areas (TFCA) program of southern Africa. Promoted since the mid-1990s as the solution to the vexing problems of environmental degradation and rural development in the region, these cross-border projects have attracted a broad coalition of supporters including public and private donor groups, regional politicians, and the international conservation community. Though a large academic literature surrounds the program, a holistic understanding of its development--and an accounting of its success--has yet to emerge. This thesis seeks to rectify this by probing the nature and structure of transfrontier discourse, positing the program's success as directly born of its appeal to a triad of interests composed of donors, national politicians, and the regional conservation community. Further, it is argued that the heavy marketing of the program as a "win-win" scenario for conservation and development has effectively displaced once popular community-based narratives/approaches.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Traditional Culture and Educational Success in Senegal, West Africa
    (University of Oregon, 2011-06) Diame, Maguette
    This thesis explores the effects of: 1) traditional values, 2) parental involvement, and 3) poverty on student performance. Instead of regarding tradition and poverty as obstacles, this paper argues that they can play a positive role in improving the educational quality. This thesis draws on interviews in three communities with administrators, teachers, students, parents, and elders. They show that traditional culture plays an important role in ensuring student motivation, but it is not clear which aspects of tradition will be incorporated into the curriculum, and by whom. My work also shows that parental involvement in schools is largely limited to fund-raising, and there is demand for more engagement. Finally, this project reveals that poverty is a double edge sword: it contributes to the school drop-out problem but also can serve as a tremendous source of personal motivation for students who want to help improve the economic condition of their families.