Date

2006

Document Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Department

Social, Behavioral & Global Studies

Abstract

While studying social change and grassroots organization in Oaxaca, Mexico I discovered that every community I visited in Oaxaca City, the surrounding pueblos and the Mixteca region, were heavily impacted by migration. While immigration is playing out in high profile media coverage and in the economies of the U.S. I became interested in the impacts of migration on the people living in Mexico, especially those who are left behind by family and friends who migrate. From these experiences in Oaxaca, Mexico my Capstone developed into an exploration of the identity of Oaxacan youths who have never migrated. I found that their cultural circles, social networks and identities were still influenced heavily by migration even though they have never left the country. The paper includes what some of these influences were, how they were being integrated into Oaxacan communities, and the subsequent changes that were occurring among the youth population. The paintings displayed as part of this project were done by a group of art students at the Casa de Cultura in Oaxaca City. Their opinions and emotions came alive in the colors and figures on the canvases displaying sadness, anger, pride, frustration and much more. Their finished works I think added a different and very necessary dimension to this Capstone, one that I could never have represented in my own words.

Comments

Capstone Project (B.A.) Global Studies Department

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