A recurring presence of patriarchal family dynamics—particularly absent or antagonistic father figures—persists in narratives of female shamanism across Korean literary and ethnographic texts. Focusing on two literary texts—"Princess Bari" and "The Shaman Sorceress"—and two ethnographic texts—"Shamans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits" and "The Life and Hard Times of a Korean Shaman"—the paper explores the similar patterns in how these stories link emotional and familial narratives to the spiritual callings of the shamans. More specifically, rather than determining a causal relationship between familial trauma and the female characters' shamanic identity, this paper will uncover why these patterns persist frequently in these narratives by analyzing the Korean female shamans' gendered sufferings during historical, societal shifts in Korean history, particularly during Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War. Ultimately, these narratives suggest that shamanism becomes a space where Korean female shamans reflect on their experiences of marginalization during historical shifts in Korean society and embody a form of agency from patriarchal harm.

This paper explores the narratives of people with CMT-SORD, an ultra-rare neurological condition first published in 2020. Individuals with this disease experience varying degrees of disability throughout their lives as it progresses. While the current literature focuses on the clinical, genetic, and biological aspects of CMT-SORD, no attention has been given as to its sociocultural impact. Incorporating evidence from interviews, chat groups, and personal correspondence—and inspired by my own diagnosis of CMT-SORD—I argue for the value in illuminating patient voices. During times of medical uncertainty, narratives—the stories that people tell about themselves—are employed to contextualize suffering and (re)imagine potential futures. Individuals with chronic conditions possess an embodied expertise that guides their motivations, actions, and relationships with institutions of care that may be hostile. By recognizing this expertise, we contribute to the healing process and respect the agency of disabled individuals, which soothes some of the chaos that comes with medical uncertainty. Key words: illness narratives, uncertainty, healing, agency, expertise vs experience, suffering, medicine

Tracing a shift in the landscape of homelessness that begins with the re-passing of Los Angeles Municipal Code 41:18, a sit, lie, law that bans individuals from certain city spaces, this work is inspired by its opposite: a community space in North East Los Angeles where weekly, unhoused individuals gather for a sense of place, material resource, and belonging. As the disappearance and dispersal of community becomes commonplace I center the experience of Black unhoused and formerly unhoused individuals as they navigate the landscape of housing in Los Angeles. This ethnography explores their sense of place in upper-middle class neighborhoods where the boundaries of containment are blurred by urban development. I build from Black geographies to highlight how individuals make claims to space through participation rather than ownership, reconceptualizing “geographies of homelessness” through the relationships that individuals have with a place and its people. Focusing in particular on the stories of a small group of individuals, I explore in greater detail how memory and embeddedness shape notions of home as individuals think through their past and future.

Urbanization drives land expansion, often placing social and environmental burdens on marginalized communities. While urban greening initiatives can alleviate some issues, they are often concentrated in wealthier neighborhoods, limiting access to those who need them most. This ethnographic study examines how two underserved Los Angeles-Westlake and South El Monte engage and shape urban green spaces amidst socio-environmental challenges. Through participant observation and interviews at a 0.16-acre community garden and a 5.5-acre urban farm, this research asses the roles these spaces play in fostering social cohesion, community resiliency, and advancing environmental justice. Findings suggest that in the face of pollution, housing insecurities, limited space, health disparities, and institutional neglect, these spaces serve as vital community hubs. Residents and volunteers transform the gardens into places of care, food distribution, cultural exchange, and healing. Whether through night markets, medicinal herb gardens, or youth-led farming programs, community members reclaim these spaces as sites of joy, resistance, and wellness. By centering community voices, this study highlights the transformative power of these spaces and underscores the need for deeper investment to support communities in building resilience. These gardens are not only responses to environmental and social instability, but are also visions of what a more just and community-driven urban future can look like.

Historically, advertising has been used as a powerful tool to influence consumerism and cultural narratives, especially within the sport of surfing. The portrayal of surfing as a predominantly White, high-risk, and masculine domain has led to the reinforcement of heteropatriarchal ideals and the exclusion of female identities. Guinness’s 1981 advertisement entitled Big Wave emphasizes these misogynistic ideals by associating the figure of the surfer with consumerism, alcohol, and extreme sports, all rooted in White hypermasculinity and heroism. The portrayal of beer as an inherently male drink reinforces the colonized belief that surfing is solely a male activity, a concept emphasized by settler colonialism and the commercialization of Indigenous practices. Through critically analyzing the rapid splicing of film between women's bodies, male surfers, and abstract wave imagery within Guinness’s Big Wave advertisement, this paper seeks to address how commercial media presents surfing as a capitalistic and gendered pursuit meant to reinforce traditional gender norms and the Westernized commodification of surfing. Guinness’s advertisement ultimately reveals how surfing has become an activity devoid of Indigenous culture, and reimagined as a sport solely for male pleasure and revenue. The lack of gender diversity and portrayal of women as passive, secondary figures and men as these heroic, thrill-seeking individuals, reveals how the figure of the surfer is directly intertwined with male dominance, power, and Western masculinity.

Anthropological literature has long acknowledged cultural products of the imagination and their social impact. Yet, the imagination and related concepts are ill-defined, with little being known about the practices and experiences of everyday people with fantasy. Renaissance Faires can be defined as a “reenactment of the past, both real and imagined [...] showcasing the tastes and sights of cultures from renaissance Europe” (Speer, 2013). The collective recreations of visitors and workers make Renaissance Faires a cultural phenomenon susceptible to the process of fantasizing. Through semi-structured interviews with eight frequent attendees of a Renaissance Faire in the midwestern United States and participant observation over six weeks, this study explores how fantasy is integrated into the faire environment and the role it plays in visitors' experiences. The results suggest that Renaissance Faires act as spaces of encouragement for people’s imaginations and creativity through an accepting and empathetic community, which embodies these values through faire practices and traditions. Within this community and space, narratives are continuously being crafted and shared, establishing the Renaissance Faire as separate from the outside world. Thus, fantasy becomes socio-communally constructed as people become empowered to explore themselves and their realities differently from how they can in their regular lives. This study provides a new approach to fantasy, highlighting the interpersonal dimensions of fantasy and the imagination

This paper explores the intersection of empathy, historical consciousness, and film as tools to combat hate speech, particularly among youth. Focusing on a documentary project led by members of UNESCO, I examine how a small group of people are dedicated to mitigating hate speech and fostering empathy through the lens of the Anthropology of the Holocaust. By establishing links between the historical persecution of the Holocaust and current hate speech, the documentary aims to increase viewers’ empathy- particularly among young people, and empower them to engage with social justice issues. UNESCO, with its global reach and authority, has a history of promoting human rights and fostering intercultural dialogue. This documentary reflects a need for innovative teaching methods for the Holocaust to remain a powerful and relevant lesson. The study examines how cinematic techniques, like reconstructions, can be effective means for generating historical and emotional consciousness. Through ethnographic research- which includes participant observation, archival work, and interviews with the UNESCO team- I analyze the ways in which empathy education can foster social integration and emphasizes the significance of youth agency in removing obstacles to empathy, particularly for marginalized youth. Incorporating empathy, historical awareness, and youth agency into educational films can be a potent tactic to combat hate speech and social exclusion and according to the findings, provide a fresh take on Holocaust education.