This project supports the dissertation research of an anthropology student from the University of Michigan in Nepal. The project will examine changes in behavior and values associated with changes in marriage practices. A case study will be done of a small, traditional rural community where marriages have recently changed from arranged to individually initiated relationships. Using ethnographic methods of participant observation, a community survey and intensive interviews, the student will examine how behavior associated with individually initiated marriages modifies the community social and authority structures. This research is important because marriage changes similar to those studied have occurred, and continue to occur in many regions of the world. Increased comprehension of the impact of these changes on local communities helps us understand sources of conflict and change.
