Anthropology - Butler University

United States and China: the Struggle for the African Oil
Fabio Frettoli, Faculty Sponsor: Robert Oprisko, Butler University
My research would like to analyze which is the current situation of The United States and China
in the African oil sector. I would like to use as paradigmatic cases the investments and the
strategies that these countries and their oil companies are applying in two African countries,
Nigeria and Sudan. I’ve chosen them because they represent the main oil exporters for United
States and China in the African Continent.
In a world where oil is becoming a scarce resource every day more and where the Middle East
area seems less stable than in the past, the diversification of oil supplies is fundamental in order
to assure to every country a constant and certain oil supply, and in the future Africa will play an
important role in this field.
“Crise d’Identité”: The Push to Preserve National Identity in France
Katie Hammitt, Faculty Sponsor: Paul Hanson, Butler University
In 2010, in response to his proposed “national history” museum to open in Paris, French
President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke of a France in the midst of a “crisis of identity.” The backlash
from the academic community and the political posturing proposed as motive for such a museum
speaks to how true the President’s statement was. In a world where the place of the nation is
thrown into question in the wake of ever-increasing globalization, France’s struggle to establish
and maintain a cohesive national identity represents a particular case of a widely-experienced
problem. This presentation will trace various aspects of France’s struggle for identity as it seeks
to find its place as a nation in a world where national eminence is challenged by international
entities.
The Social Media Revolution
Needa Malik, Faculty Sponsor: Robert Oprisko, Butler University
This presentation will analyze the revolutionary quality that is social media and how it is altering
relationships in a modern age. Individuals are staying connected all over the world and these new
methods of communication are changing how they relate to each other. Additionally, the
communal aspect of social media is allowing individuals and groups to not only socialize with
others globally, but also as a venue to express their social and political opinions, to spread
awareness about topics they find important, and just about anything they might want to do. Not
only is social media revolutionizing relationships, it also is altering the way we receive
information and the way we perceive the material. Instead of being alerted by a newspaper or
online article, individuals are being notified of headline news via his or her own personal
networking site. This presentation will also argue how social media is being used as a platform to
facilitate revolutionary movements, particularly by the youth. To investigate this concept in
detail, I will examine the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement, both which have altered the
course of history on a global scale.
Narco Paradise: Mexico, United States, and Drug Culture
Cameron Panther, Faculty Sponsor: Robert Oprisko, Butler University