When the Rivers Run Backwards: Field studies and statistical analyses of an indigenous social movement in northern Coclé province, Republic of Panama, in the face of a planned Panama Canal expansion

Nina Müller-Schwarze

Temporary Part-time Lecturer, University of Washington; Precarity; Senior Research Fellow, Southern Food and Beverage Museum, New Orleans.

Abstract

The social movement Coordinadora Campesina Contra Los Embalses (CCCE) successfully stopped a planned Panama Canal expansion.  This presentation will describe the quantitative research in my dissertation, which depicts in a factor analysis this social movement at the height of the threat of flooded ancestral land.  This work shows how factor analysis is an excellent methodology for grounded research in sociocultural anthropology and addresses key theoretical ideas in sociocultural anthropology through quantitative methods.  Knowledge co-production through a collaborative probe in my previous Peace Corps host community informed teamwork and data collection over eight months in 55 communities in the Indio River watershed.  Quantitative research methods revealed aspects of the social movement that the vaguely defined mainstay of cultural anthropology’s methodology, “participant observation,” could not have.  The methodology of factor analysis further facilitated knowledge co-production regarding statistical results.

Grounded quantitative research led to grounded qualitative theory, which revealed this social movement as indigenous and Catholic, and showed the historical continuity of an indigenous political structure.  The state political structure exists in linear time and the indigenous political structure is flexible and exists in cyclical time.  My published book qualitatively supports the grounded theory and documents the connection and disjuncture between the two social structures over time with archival research, describes the indigenous women’s movement Frente Femenina associated with the CCCE, and addresses postmodern writing concerns about ethnographic authority in its use of cyclical time.  Additional statistical analyses about identification practices and definitions of the discursive field, “poverty,” are described in the dissertation and book.

The threat of flooding and deterritorialization is a theme throughout this work.  I will tell the story of a rural social movement and the context in which I produced this knowledge; Hurricane Katrina disrupted my career trajectory and I am returning in a new cycle to this work.

Note: Throughout the Spring 2020 quarter, the CSSS Seminar Series will be conducted online via Zoom. Interested participants can join us at the following password-protected link.

Link:https://washington.zoom.us/j/389714634?pwd=eFhtUTlMNnpybkdpbU8wSThrdWlPZz09 

Password: CSSS.NMS

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed serious structural weaknesses in the nation’s health care and economic infrastructure. This crisis also reveals how the lives of all community members, immigrants and citizens, are interconnected.

Congress is taking steps to mitigate the harm of the coronavirus pandemic.  Unfortunately, the COVID-19 relief bills didn’t go far enough, and failed to cover many immigrants. For example, the recovery rebate in the stimulus bill was not made available to taxpayers who filed with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Nevertheless, state and local advocates are engaged in incredible work to fill in some of the gaps left by the federal government. This includes advocacy to address issues of economic security & access to nutrition programs during these critical times.

In this webinar, our presenters will discuss what the new COVID-19 relief laws provide to immigrants, the gaps left by the federal government and what some state and local advocates and allies are doing to fill in these gaps.

This webinar will take place on Thursday, April 16 at 10am-11:30am PT/1-2:30pm ET

Presenters:

Avideh Moussavian, Legislative Director,  National Immigration Law Center

Jackie Vimo, Economic Justice Policy Analyst, National Immigration Law Center

Sara Cullinane, Director, Make the Road New Jersey

Gabriela Ibanez Guzman, Staff Attorney, Somos Un Pueblo Unido (New Mexico)

With millions of immigrant workers in essential jobs at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that all immigrants know their rights at work and have the information they need to ensure their health, safety, and wellbeing during this unprecedented public health crisis.

In this webinar, our presenters will discuss several areas of workers’ rights as they relate to immigrant workers and the COVID-19 pandemic. These protections are covered in a new Know Your Rights resource co-authored by NILC, the National Employment Law Project, and the Occupational Safety and Health Law Project. This new resource, and this webinar, are designed to answer frequently asked questions from immigrant workers and their advocates related to COVID-19 in areas such as:

• Safety and Health on the Job

• Using Collective Action to Improve Workplace Safety and Health

• Paid and Unpaid Time Off from Work

• Unemployment Insurance

In addition, the presenters will discuss how changes in recent federal COVID-19 relief legislation impact immigrant workers in the areas of Paid Sick Leave, Paid Family Leave, and Unemployment Insurance.

This webinar will take place on Wednesday, April 15 at 1:30pm ET/12:30pm CT/ 11:30am MT/10:30am PT.

Presenters:

Emily Tulli, Senior Attorney, Occupational Safety and Health Law Project

Ingrid Nava, Associate General Counsel, SEIU Local 32BJ

Jessie Hahn, Labor and Employment Policy Attorney, National Immigration Law Center

Joanna Cuevas Ingram, Staff Attorney, National Immigration Law Center

The West Virginia University program in Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST; https://womensgenderstudies.wvu.edu/) invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Service Assistant Professor. This position is for the 9-month academic year with a 3-month summer assignment. The preferred start date is July 1, 2020. Service faculty appointments at WVU are full-time, promotable, and non-tenure track.

The Service Assistant Professor normally will teach two courses per semester, including online courses, with the remainder of the appointment dedicated to administrative service as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Education to support our major, minor, and an LGBTQ+ Studies minor. This position requires a regular presence on the Morgantown campus.

WVU (https://www.wvu.edu/) is a comprehensive land-grant university that enrolls about 29,000 students. It is classified as “R1-very high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation. WVU is located in Morgantown (www.morgantownwv.gov)  within 1.5 hours of Pittsburgh and 3.5 hours from the Washington/Baltimore area. Morgantown has been recognized as one of the most livable small cities in the U.S. There are extensive recreational opportunities, excellent public schools, and a supportive University environment in which to develop a visible and productive career. The WVU Dual Career Program is available to assist candidates with suitable employment opportunities for spouses or partners. 

The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest is to encourage innovative health services research that can directly and demonstrably contribute to the improvement of minority health and/or the reduction of health disparities at the health care system-level as well as within clinical settings. This will be an R01.  It has certain specific interests depending on the funding agency. Read the full announcement: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-MD-20-011.html.