This project involves the dissertation research of an anthropology student from the University of Michigan. The student will study changes in the social stratification of a village in a developing area of Sri Lanka. Using baseline data from the 1960s, the student will get life histories, practice participant observation, and analyze daily linguistic interactions to assess changes in the underlying principles of caste, class, and gender as they affect changes in social stratification. This project is important because it will provide a case study of changes in social stratification in one village in Sri Lanka that are mirrored in many traditional societies of the world. Understanding the affect of new economic opportunities on old hierarchies of gender and caste dominance can help policy makers ameliorate the problems created by rapid social and economic change.
