Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2019, Anthropology

This dissertation examines how a matrilineal Tibetan society has reacted to the political, economic, and socio-cultural changes in China. The Zhaba region of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province was chosen as the overall field site because of its matrilineal kinship system and "visiting marriage" tradition, in which partners live in their natal matrilineal households while children belong to the mothers' family. Based on eleven months of anthropological fieldwork, this dissertation is the first ethnography on marriage, family, and intergenerational relations among matrilineal Tibetans in Southwestern China. This dissertation discusses how the changing ideals of marriage and family formations influence people of different generations. A major argument of this dissertation is that the interplay of state policies including birth planning policy, household registration policy, marriage certification rules, and socio-economic developments over the past few decades, have contributed to changes in the "visiting marriage" tradition and family ideals among the matrilineal Zhaba Tibetans. This has led to the sense of exclusiveness between the visiting partners, an increase of the father's contribution in childrearing, and the emergence of neolocal nuclear families. However, this dissertation shows that there has been a revival of the traditional "visiting marriage" among the majority of young people in their twenties (63.64%) who still chose to practice "visiting marriage" and live with their natal matrilineal households. Using ethnographic data, this dissertation brings to the forefront how a matrilineal society in the cultural context of China, structures the life course of different generations and affects the well-being of the elderly. Moreover, this in-depth, on-the-ground ethnography of Tibetans residing in Sichuan province, demonstrates the diverse manner that ethnic Tibetans are adapting to change and development in China. By comparing family ch (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Melvyn Goldstein (Committee Chair); Lihong Shi (Committee Member); Vanessa Hildebrand (Committee Member); Peter Yang (Committee Member) Subjects: Cultural Anthropology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2011, Curriculum and Instruction Social Studies Education (Education)

Ghanaians are still looking forward to enacting a law on inheritance and succession, though many attempts have been made since 1884. Policy-makers and academics who try to address the problem are divided, with many of them showing their personal biases. For example, Appiah (1992) questioned the rationale behind the Akan customary practice that deprives sons and daughters of a deceased the right to enjoy a fair share of their fathers' estate. Nzegwu (2001) reacted that Appiah (1992) ignored the matrilineal implication of the Asante and underwrote a neocolonial Africanist career by privileging a particular conception of family. Awusabo-Asare (1990) contended that the Intestate Succession Law of Ghana had created problems for people in matrilineal societies because it contravened some principles about the matrilineal system of inheritance. In this dissertation, I adopted functionalism and postcolonialism as theoretical frameworks and used qualitative research design, specifically, critical ethnography to examine the problems associated with inheritance systems of the matrilineal Fantse-speaking Akan. I selected five settlements in the Central Region of Ghana for observation, and conducted in-depth interview with 32 participants made up of five chiefs, two queen mothers, 10 clan heads, 10 widows and five widowers. The study sought answers for the following research questions: - What is the nature of the social organizations of the Fantse? - What are the rights and obligations that these social institutions confer on their members? - What are the changes that have taken place in the family systems of the Fantse? - What is the influence of national laws on the Fantse family systems and their customary practices? I concluded that among the Fantse, the social systems are woven around the lineage and clan with rights and responsibilities molded in dual roles to the conjugal and composite families and the clan or lineage. It also emerged that changes have occurred in f (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Francis Godwyll PhD (Committee Chair); Ron Stephens PhD (Committee Member); Steve Howard PhD (Committee Member); Jerry Johnson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Ethnic Studies; Families and Family Life; Gender Studies; Legal Studies; Multicultural Education; Social Structure; Social Studies Education; Sociology; Sub Saharan Africa Studies