Browsing by Author "Ferguson, Jenanne"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Checking in on Sakha Studies
    (2021) Ferguson, Jenanne
    In going over submissions to Sibirica at the beginning of 2021, I found several articles related to culture and history in the Sakha Republic. Naturally, I thought it would be illuminating to bring them together to see how they might complement each other. Although this is not a typical special issue with a planned overarching theme, I found that these articles are not only geographically united but subtly reflective of broad underlying concerns—the revitalization and continuity of culture, and the agency of minoritized and indigenous peoples in striving for self-definition and survival. This issue is a way of “checking in” on the state of some of the diverse scholarly work happening in and on Sakha (Yakutia) in recent months and years—from the perspectives of researchers in anthropology, literary studies, history, and art history and criticism.
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    Fresh eyes
    (2022) Ferguson, Jenanne
    Once again, this issue of Sibirica is diverse and disparate. We move from understanding food security as a laboratory in the northern districts of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) all the way to a brief yet trilingual Tuvan geological glossary, with stops along the way to learn about an influential yet little-known Buryat activist, as well as cultural developments in Magadan in the 1950s and 1960s. However, what unites these varied pieces is a central theme of creativity, and the effects of approaching problems with fresh eyes and new ideas even amid restrictive conditions or systems—whether political or infrastructural.
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    How words make the world: language materialities and the circulation of the Sakha algys
    (2021) Ferguson, Jenanne
    This article investigates contemporary uses of the Sakha language algys (blessing poems) and reveals the “old” and “new” types of language materiality present in this genre of ritual poetry. Focusing primarily on one example of algys shared online in 2018, I discuss how performing algys has always involved close interconnection between language and the material world and present the changing contexts and forms of algys transmission that highlight both fixity and fluidity in the way speakers conceive of language and materiality. Despite the new mobilities and technologies that build upon the previously established written textual forms of this poetry—and contribute to its continued circulation and transmission—certain elements of traditional algys remains salient for speakers, reinforced by ideologies or ontologies of language that foreground the power of the (spoken) word. This is connected to the production of qualia and the invocation of chronotopes. Thus, while textual forms further enable processes of citationality as they are circulated online; the written words alone do not constitute an algys. Rather, here the importance of embodied, spoken language materiality is at the fore.
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    Revisitations
    (2022) Ferguson, Jenanne
    It is often challenging to find the strands that connect articles in a given issue of a small yet heavily interdisciplinary regional studies journal. Yet I often marvel at how certain themes emerge time and time again. This issue is random at first glance; the topics are individually diverse when compared, but it is mostly their perennially significant nature within our region that makes them similar. Therefore, in this first issue of Sibirica’s twenty-first volume, I found that a theme of revisiting (and rethinking) came to the fore. The four articles included here all revisit key themes in Siberian studies—from human-animal interconnectedness and bear ceremonialism to state-instituted identity categories and urbanization—from fresh perspectives.
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    Solving or not solving problems
    (2021) Ferguson, Jenanne
    The three articles featured in this issue may not appear to be related, but within their varying contexts, I found myself teasing out several chords that resonate throughout them, and one, in particular, struck me as notable. Directly or indirectly, these articles (as well as the report) all address the notion of problem-solving in some shape or form. Whether a historical account of protest as an attempt to solve issues of discontent among fur trade workers in Russian America, approaches to discussing climate change in northeastern Siberia, coping with failing infrastructure and the negotiation of corporate versus state responsibility—or dealing with COVID lockdowns and scholarly knowledge exchange at present—the articles in this issue all explore the confrontation of problems and how they might be solved.
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    The impact that cultural food security has on identity and well-being in the second-generation U.S. American minority college students
    (2021) Wright, Kathrine E.; Lucero, Julie E.; Ferguson, Jenanne; Granner, Michelle L.; Devereux, Paul G.; Pearson, Jennifer L.; Crosbie, Eric
    Food contributes to an individual’s physical and mental well-being and expresses one’s cultural identity through preparation, sharing, and consumption (i.e., foodways). Inadequate access to cultural foods can create cultural stress and affect one’s identity and well-being. In particular, second-generation U.S. American student populations may have a higher risk for cultural stress due to being away from family, academic stress, environmental changes, and diminished financial stability to purchase cultural foods. Thus, an exploratory qualitative methodology was used to elicit information about second-generation U.S. Americans’ food experiences to identify how cultural foods play a role in individual identity and how individual well-being is influenced by the presence or lack of cultural foods. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with second-generation American students at the University of Nevada, Reno, who self-identified as a cultural or ethnic minority. A standard thematic analysis was conducted. The authors identified that cultural food security influenced the ability to practice foodways, which tied Second-generation American students to their cultural identities. The absence of foodways led to anxiety and depression among students, amplifying the feelings of identity degradation. Second-generation American students discussed that the ability to practice their foodways improved multiple well-being components and led to feelings of happiness, decreased stress, warmth, better digestion, and a sense of belonging, comfort, and safety. College populations continue to grow and become more diverse, and with the increasing Second-generation American students, it is essential to improve the access and availability of cultural foods to improve their overall well-being. (245/250 words).
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    The influence of cultural food security on cultural identity and well-being: a qualitative comparison between second-generation American and international students in the United States
    (2021) Wright, Kathrine E.; Lucero, Julie E.; Ferguson, Jenanne; Granner, Michelle L.; Devereux, Paul G.; Pearson, Jennifer L.; Crosbie, Eric
    The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of cultural food insecurity on identity and well-being in second-generation American and international university students. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted from January–April 2020. Audio transcripts were analyzed using continuous and abductive thematic analysis. Students indicated that cultural foodways enhanced their well-being by facilitating their cultural/ethnic identity maintenance, connection, and expression. Conversely, cultural food insecurity diminished student well-being due to reduced cultural anchors, highlighting the importance of cultural food in this population. Universities that reduce cultural foodways barriers may mitigate cultural food insecurity for second-generation American and international university students.
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    The persistence of antiquity: language ideologies and perceptions of language vitality among Sakha speakers
    (2022) Ferguson, Jenanne
    This paper explores language ideologies and attitudes among both urban and rural speakers of Sakha (Yakut) in the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation. Like other non-Russian languages in the Soviet era, Sakha was subject to many repressive and often contradictory policies; while today there is a sizeable, growing population of speakers and the presence of top-down support for the language within the Sakha Republic’s government, many contemporary Sakha speakers still express uncertainty about the future of Sakha. Differing perceptions of linguistic value and vitality together with the sustenance or abandonment of connections with other local speakers all shape Sakha speakers’ beliefs about whether the language is flourishing or disappearing. By tracing the shifts in contemporary metalinguistic discourse that circulates as language ideologies, we can see that while there have been positive changes in Sakha language policy and practices, some ambiguities from the Soviet period still linger and continue to influence how speakers view the future of the language.
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    The subsistence practices and food insecurity in the Arctic Circle - a focus on the Inuit and Sámi communities
    (2023) Sheikh, Marium; Ferguson, Jenanne
    Over this semester, I was deeply touched by how food was so spiritual for arctic communities and how their lives were shaped around their subsistence practices. I often found myself comparing my lifestyle to the one Sami and Inuit. I noticed a vast differences in our lifestyles. I quickly realized that their conditions meant they needed to follow their ancestors’ way of life and not get affected by globalization or modernization. However, things have changed over the years, and arctic communities are slowly losing their cultural roots due to socio-political intervention. Hence, the topic of subsistence in the arctic circle began to pique my interest. Moreover, Inuits and Sami have a few similar experiences and lifestyles, so it was interesting to compare both communities and discuss their struggles. I am passionate about discussing the issue of food security in the Inuit community because it must be highlighted, and more solutions must be discussed to help tackle food insecurity in the Arctic Circle. Moreover, Sami and Inuit are communities that find themselves dispersed in different areas of the land, yet they have been practicing the same way for centuries. Canada and Scandinavia both have been actively involved in trying to reverse the effects of colonization and help establish a better support system for indigenous communities. Both communities have the capacity to be self-sufficiently if there was no socio-political interference caused by colonization which has altered the structure of various practices that are critical to the stability and survival of their community.