Get cultured
If you want to dig into the history of art or the Bloomington community, explore some of IU’s renowned collections.
133 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
If you want to dig into the history of art or the Bloomington community, explore some of IU’s renowned collections.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For some teenagers, reality TV may be more than mindless entertainment. A new IU research study revealed frequent viewers of MTV shows “Teen Mom 2” and “16 and Pregnant” were more likely to believe teen mothers have an “enviable quality of life.”Teens who perceived reality television as realistic were most likely to believe this, according to the press release.Authored by Nicole Martins, assistant professor of telecommunications at IU, and Robin Jensen, assistant professor of communications at the University of Utah, the paper will be published in the journal Mass Communication and Society.Stars of “Teen Mom” are estimated to receive more than $60,000 for the show, almost 10 times the average annual income of $6,500 for real-life teen mothers.The discrepancy affects the way frequent viewers imagine the life of a teen mom.“Heavy viewers of teen mom reality programs were more likely to think that teen moms have a lot of time to themselves, can easily find child care so that they can go to work or school and can complete high school than were lighter viewers of such shows,” Martins and Jensen wrote.Both shows have been criticized for portraying a glamorized view of teen pregnancy or advocating risky sexual behavior.A 2012 study of “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” by Paul Wright, an assistant professor of telecommunications at IU, researched how family background influences the way young women perceive these shows.Wright and his co-authors found frequent viewing of these shows, combined with fathers who did not talk to their daughters about sex, increased “pregnancy-risk behavior” in these women.Whereas Wright’s study focused on college-aged women, students in Martins and Jensen’s study were 185 high school-aged young men and women.Martins and Jensen selected participants for the study from schools whose demographics matched the national average — a $52,000 median annual household income and an 80 percent white population.More young women than men watched the show, but exposure to the shows affected them similarly, according to the press release.The fame and celebrity of some teen mothers may cause a longer-lasting impression in teens than any hardships depicted on-screen.“As you study reality television with younger populations, you’re going to find that younger children are going to have a harder time understanding that this is something that is scripted, edited and put together in a purposeful way to create a narrative and a drama,” Martins said in a press release.Follow reporter Katelyn Thacker on Twitter @katelynthacker
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s really cold in Chicago.This is news to no one, but my body has yet to adjust to that negative-three-degrees-Fahrenheit-with-the-wind-chill-and-still-snowing kind of cold.Knowing I was tanning in Kochi this time last week makes it worse.Terrible weather aside, it’s great to be home.My family put up our Christmas tree and decorations. I’ve been drinking as much tap water as possible, my mosquito bites are healing and the yellow curry stains are finally washed out of my fingernails.Friends and relatives have asked what my favorite and least favorite parts of studying abroad in India were or what I learned. I told them I enjoyed living in a country that’s completely different than where I grew up in. I learned that labeling things as good or bad would help me little in understanding the complexities of Indian life. Comparisons are only helpful to share my experiences with people back home.If nothing else, I definitely gained perspective.As I reflect on what I’ve learned, here are a few things I found surprising during my time in India.Bollywood runs the music industry. Rather, Bollywood is India’s music industry. With classical music as the only exception, film soundtracks encompass every musical genre. Contrary to what people with minimal exposure to Indian movies might think, most Bollywood actors don’t sing. Playback singers are well-known and successful in their own right. Age, gender and class don’t dictate musical preference like they do in the United States. Old Hindi film songs are especially popular.Also, obesity and diabetes are big problems.Before going to India, my family joked I would lose weight from eating so many fresh vegetables. In reality, the high salt and sugar diet many Indians eat combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle has lead to an obesity and diabetes epidemic. Roughly 67 million people in India have diabetes, according to the Times of India. In comparison, the American Diabetes Association reports 25.8 million Americans have the disease.Third, “servants” are common and referred to as such.Middle class and affluent families often keep one or more full-time servants to cook, clean and do the washing.While they are usually treated well, servants typically sleep on the floor and do not use the same bathrooms as the families they work for.People can tell if someone is a servant or a low-wage worker based on their appearance. During my first week in India, I ate lunch at a fairly nice restaurant where the busboys didn’t wear shoes. Lastly, poverty isn’t isolated.Families live underneath blue tarps alongside mansions worth several crore, or 10 million rupees. Manual laborers sleep on the grassy medians of busy streets in Hyderabad. Women, children and handicapped people begging for money are commonplace. Sure, homeless people are a fairly common sight on the streets of Bloomington and in cities across America. But the frequency and severity of poverty I saw in India felt very different.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @KatelynThacker.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Before the sun rises over India tomorrow, I’ll be on a flight home to the United States.I keep wondering if I would even recognize Hyderabad if I visit five or 10 years from now.Construction is constant here.Some friends and I traveled to Kerala last week. When I arrived back to my neighborhood, two buildings near my flat that have been under construction for months were almost complete.The terribly potholed road was partially repaired, too.It’s amazing how quickly things are built, considering how they’re constructed.Wooden poles rather than metal scaffolding bear a building’s weight from floor to floor. Layer upon layer of cement is added from the foundation up over the course of several weeks. I have yet to see a hard hat or safety goggles around any construction site.In Hyderabad, and presumably around the rest of the country, builders live hand to mouth. To put it another way, they eat, sleep and work in the buildings they’re constructing.Laundry hangs out to dry as workers mix cement or saw metal to support interior columns during the heat of the day.Given the circumstances, it’s not surprising building collapses are fairly common. In September, 61 people died when an apartment building collapsed in Mumbai.The Guardian reported more than 2,650 people died in building or bridge collapses in India last year. But lack of building regulation and oversight is a story for another day.Hyderabad isn’t just building up. It’s also building out. University of Hyderabad is located in Gachibowli. When it was founded in 1974, the spacious university campus was at the outskirts of the city.Now, it’s almost part of the hustle and bustle of Hyderabad. HITEC City, the information technology hub, is right next door.I’m excited to see what’s in store for the city I’ve grown to appreciate during the course of these five months.Looking back on my time in India, I hope to remember both the mundane and the exceptional. I want to remember the dusty walks along the side of the road to school when I couldn’t manage to catch an auto, as well as walking up to the Taj Mahal in Agra.The sound of the paperboy shouting up from below our balcony every morning is just as vivid in my mind as the sight of the tea plantations in Munnar from 2,200 kilometers above sea level.Life here can be a sensory overload. I expect living in the U.S. again will feel unusually calm.These columns have been a way to process, reflect on and remember my experiences in India. Thanks for sharing the journey with me.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @KatelynThacker.
A sign near Dhobi Ghat displays a street name in Hindi and transliterated English in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
A street sign in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, displays the Indian and French names for a street in English, Tamil and French
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Learning a new language is incredibly difficult.Growing up speaking and writing English is a privilege. I can’t imagine trying to learn its inconsistent conjugations, pronunciations and grammar rules as a second, third or even fourth language.But in India, it’s a given that any educated person will speak at least two or three languages, including English.Hindi and English are the two languages of the government of India. The constitution officially recognizes 22 languages, though it is estimated several hundred native languages are spoken throughout the country.After India became independent in 1947, it wasn’t a unified nation as much as a conglomeration of provinces and princely states.Each region had its particular language, religion and culture. States were created largely using the existing British administrative structure.Additional states were added in the 1960s based on linguistic differences.Tamil-speaking areas, originally grouped into the larger Madras State upon Indian independence, became Tamil Nadu. Bombay State split into Gujarat, populated by people who spoke Gujarati, and Maharashtra for Marathi speakers. Telegu speakers live in Andhra Pradesh, although many will live in Telangana when the state is bifurcated next year.English, Urdu and Telegu are the official languages of Andhra Pradesh.Signs in Hyderabad can be in English, Hindi, Telegu, Urdu or any combination of the four languages.It’s amusing to think Americans flip out when the ATM asks them to choose English or Spanish.Hindi is my third attempt to learn a foreign language. After four years of French in high school and two years of Spanish at IU, I’ve retained only a basic working knowledge of either language.Meanwhile, my 11-year-old host sister can proficiently speak, write and read Telegu, Hindi and English. She’s learning French at school, which I try to help with when possible.I’m sure her knowledge will surpass mine fairly soon. My host father is in town this weekend from Mumbai. His native language is Marathi. My host siblings understand and speak basic Marathi, but primarily speak Hindi around him for my host mom’s sake. Hindi is a phonetic language. The first obstacle is learning Devanagari script, which uses consonants as its alphabet with vowels added after. Once vowel signs and half letters are sorted, it’s just a matter of pronunciation and memorization.My program in Hyderabad didn’t have a language prerequisite but required us to study a language while here. Two people took Telegu. No one chose to learn Urdu. Nearly everyone chose to study Hindi.While my Hindi abilities are still dubious, attempting to learn Hindi has made me way more sympathetic to misspelled English signs found around the city.If English made any phonetic sense, quality would be spelled “kwality.” That’s how it’s spelled when directly written using Devanagari script.The frequent use of the letter z instead of s, however, has nothing to do with phonetics and is unforgivable.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @KatelynThacker.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I’ve had a very tumultuous relationship with white rice.Back in September, I hated the stuff.Consuming rice at least twice per day for two months made me loathe the thought of eating it for another day, let alone the rest of the semester.I started coming up with creative ways to avoid eating rice without my host mom noticing. Anything to minimize my rice intake.In India, rice isn’t a side dish. It’s the main component of the meal.The International Rice Research Institute — I swear this is a real nonprofit research group — reports India consumes more than 82.6 million metric tons of rice per year. Andhra Pradesh, the state where Hyderabad is located, is nicknamed the “rice bowl of India.” The IRRI estimates rice constitutes 77 percent of all crops grown in Andhra. During the past two months, I’ve rekindled my love of the staple crop.My favorite way to eat rice is covered in my host mom’s dal palak, which is split lentils with spinach, with a bit of ghee to top it off.White rice does have some nutritional value, contrary to what I once thought. It’s a complex carbohydrate and is easy for most people to digest.When fresh vegetables are cooked in a curry and added on top, it becomes even more nutritious.Twenty percent of the world’s calorie intake comes from rice. It’s easy to grow, cheap and versatile.Rice is also a student-on-a-budget’s dream. University of Hyderabad canteens sell meals, which include several cups of rice and nearly unlimited curry, for 30 rupees, or 50 U.S. cents. I’ll probably have consumed about 15 kilograms, or 33 pounds, of rice during my five months in India.This knowledge would have disgusted me a few months ago. Now, I accept it as an essential part of the cuisine I love so much.But in 20 years, rice consumption may decrease in India and across Asia.Household incomes are rising, and rising incomes allow for greater dietary diversity.Even so, it’s a bit hard to believe that higher incomes will substantially lower rice consumption.Indian food wouldn’t be the same without rice.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @KatelynThacker.
I hold a sparkler at arm's lengh while our neighbors set off firecrakers in the background.
My host mom, affectionately known as Lathaji, strings marigold flowers onto thread to create a garland for our door.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Imagine a celebration that combines the fireworks and nationwide observance of Independence Day, the excitement and sweets consumption of Halloween and the religious undertones of Christmas.Multiply the insanity by five, and that was my experience with Diwali.Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, celebrates the victory of good over evil.There are several narratives associated with Diwali in Hinduism. One significant chronicle celebrates Lord Rama’s return after 14 years of exile, or vanvas.According to the “Ramayana,” Rama leaves his kingdom in order to preserve his father’s honor. While Rama’s serving his exile in the forest, his wife Sita is captured by the demon Ravana.After a long and arduous journey, Rama fights and defeats Ravana. This battle is commemorated during Dussehra, another Hindu festival.Twenty days later, Hindus celebrate Diwali. The date fluctuates from year to year because Hindu festivals are based on the lunisolar calendar. This year, Diwali was Nov. 3.At my homestay, the celebrations began Nov. 2 with a full day of cleaning.People traditionally clean their homes to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.On Diwali, I helped my host mom string marigold flowers together to make a festive garland.She decorated the entryway to our flat with a rangoli drawn with white chalk and filled in with petals from marigold flowers. Clay diyas, or small oil lamps, were placed around the rangoli.Once the sun set, the lamps were lit, and it was time for fireworks.It looked and sounded as if everyone in Hyderabad decided to set off fireworks at the same time.Our colony was filled with explosions of color. White lights burst out and showered down from “flower pots,” or small, cylindrical firecrackers.Children ran around outside our apartment complex with sparklers as their fathers managed the firecrackers.I would have been more nervous about safety if it hadn’t been so much fun. Rumor has it a building near my friend’s homestay caught fire during the celebrations. The blaze was quickly put out by firefighters, and no one was hurt.I’ve never seen or heard of firefighters in Hyderabad, so I suppose it was comforting to know they exist.Fire hazards aside, everyone I asked said Diwali was their favorite festival. It’s easy to see why.The energy surrounding Diwali celebrations is contagious. American holidays pale in comparison.People give sweets and small gifts to their friends and family, but the rampant commercialism of Western holidays like Christmas hasn’t seeped into Diwali in Hyderabad.Diwali is the height of festival season, and it lit up the city.Seeing as the United States Congress celebrated Diwali for the first time this year, maybe it will become a more popular holiday nationwide.I can only hope this happens, because Diwali is my new favorite holiday.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @KatelynThacker.
Traditional clay diyas filled with oil burn brightly on a ledge outside our neighbor's flat.
My host mom, affectionately known as Lathaji, strings marigold flowers onto thread to create a garland for our door.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Many University of Hyderabad professors are canceling class today.This time, it’s not because of a festival or religious holiday. It’s for student union elections.From 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., students will vote for their next president, vice-president, general secretary, joint secretary, sports secretary and culture secretary.Unlike IU Student Association elections, where general student apathy can result in a single ticket running for office, students here take electing their representatives seriously.Huge banners and posters displaying the names of candidates are plastered around campus, urging students to vote for their party.Most of the parties are running social media campaigns for the first time this year, which includes an incessant amount of self-promotional postings to the university’s Facebook page.Even without campaigning, students would recognize the names of almost all the candidate’s parties.In India, student organizations are registered and regulated at a national level. Party platforms might vary slightly depending on the university, but values and ideology do not.Some of the biggest student organizations are affiliated with national political parties and associations as well.The National Students Union of India is the student branch of the Indian National Congress party, one of two major political parties in India.Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an Indian right-wing nationalist organization.Previously allied with the Ambedkar Students’ Association, the Student Front of India will run on an independent ticket this year.In its place, multiple student groups joined together to form a singular ticket called the United Democratic Alliance. The alliance includes the ASA, Bahujan Students’ Front, Dalit Students’ Union, Tribal Students Front, Madiga Students Front and the Telangana Students Association, according to the Times of India. There are enough acronyms to make one’s head spin.Luckily, there are less student names to remember than organizations. In total, five students are running for president for the 2013-14 student union board.Three to four candidates are competing for each of the remaining positions.Polling stations are set up in most major academic buildings. Very specific instructions on how to fill out ballots are posted on the university website.A main campaign issue in this election — and nearly every election, according to my peer tutor — is the quality of dormitories and other amenities on campus. SFI promised to continue opposing the university administration’s decision to sell off campus land to private contractors.Of course, the issue of Telangana statehood plays out on a campus level, too.The Hindu reports students are most likely to vote based on social issues. If UDA wins, it might indicate students are more considered with statehood than rising tuition costs.Regardless of the results, it’s refreshing to see students participating in campus elections.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @katelynthacker.
Colorful depictions of Jesus decorate the outside of Sacred Heart Basilica in Pondicherry, India.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I am endlessly fascinated by the diversity of religion in India.India and the United States are both secular, but attitudes about religion differ dramatically between the two nations. It’s hard to imagine getting off work or school in America for any religious holiday that doesn’t coincide with Christian tradition.About 80 percent of Indians identify as Hindu.But in Hyderabad, we’ve had days off for holidays ranging from Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim breaking of fast at the end of Ramadan, to Dussehra, the Hindu holiday celebrating Rama’s victory over Ravana.Like most things I’ve experienced in India, religious traditions are complex, nuanced and influenced by history.Traditionally, Hindu beliefs and practices vary by region. For years, Indian philosophical traditions grew and transformed out of religious texts like the Vedas.A more broad, singular interpretation of Hinduism became useful in creating a national identity during India’s quest for independence.Unlike other major world religions, there is not central text that all Hindus follow. There are many important texts, from the Bhagavad Gita to the Ramayana to the Yoga Sutra, but no singular text holds the same weight as the Bible or Koran does for their respective faiths.Perhaps it’s this inherent multiplicity that shapes the way people view religion in India.I’ve heard Hindus, Christians and Buddhists say all religions are simply different means to the same end.In some regions of India, Jesus and Mary are included as manifestations of gods traditionally associated with Hinduism.Hinduism has an impact on Christianity in India, too.I spent last weekend in Pondicherry, a former French port located in the state of Tamil Nadu.Brightly-colored churches with equally vibrant representations of Christian saints are found throughout the city.I suppose the cathedrals need to compete with the bold, Chola architecture of South Indian temples.People remove their shoes before entering churches, a practice I always associate with visiting Hindu temples.Inside Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Pondicherry, people can pray in pews or at separate alters featuring statues of important figures in Catholicism.Sri Aurobindo Ashram is an integral part of the city’s religious diversity.Founded by the Indian philosopher Aurobindo Ghosh and Mirra Alfassa, a French woman known simply as “The Mother,” the ashram attracts devotees and tourists alike.The ashram promotes integral yoga, a philosophy rooted in Hinduism that advocates a higher state of consciousness to liberate oneself from ignorance.In 1968, 18 years after Aurobindo’s death, The Mother decided to create a community where people could live without politics, religion or national boundaries.Auroville, described as a “project in human unity,” lies just 10 miles outside Pondicherry. Around 2,000 people live in Auroville, most of whom are not Indian.Before taking a trip out to visit and see the Mantrimandir, the central, spherical structure of Auroville where residents meditate, I thought it sounded like a cult.The community tries to dispel this preconception by promoting statements of support from the Indian government, UNESCO and the Dalai Lama.Ultimately, Auroville’s existence is another testament to the religious tolerance I’ve experienced while in India.Whether one chooses to worship a Shiva linga at a 500-year-old temple or meditate on the Divine Consciousness of the universe in a giant golden sphere is a matter of personal preference.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow travel columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @katelynthacker.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>People are quick to cast aside fashion as frivolous or shallow.But in a new place, clothing choices are an interesting way to study culture.In a collectivist society like India, style is less about self-expression and more about status symbols.The more affluent a person is, the more likely he or she is to wear Western-style clothing. Some women choose to wear salwar kameez, or coordinating sets consisting of a long top, loose salwar pants and a dupatta, or scarf.Manual laborers and servant-class women wear ready-made cotton saris, usually brightly patterned but devoid of expensive embroidery.Men from lower classes also wear more traditional Indian clothing. Most don dhotis, an unstitched piece of cloth wrapped around the waist and knotted in place.I’ve noticed people treat me differently based on what I wear.Aunties are more likely to strike up a conversation when I’m wearing a kurta, a standard top for Indian women of all ages and classes. This is especially true if I’m wearing a matching dupatta, or took the time to accessorize correctly.As laundry day approaches and I’m forced to revert to my Western clothing, auto drivers are more likely to stop to see if I need a ride. And, of course, they try to charge me three times the normal rate.I’ve noticed there has been a shift in recent years in young people in the United States wanting to buy less name-brand clothes and more secondhand items.I don’t see that happening anytime soon in India.The information technology boom has created a burgeoning middle class in Hyderabad and other cities around the country.Huge stores selling Western brands including Puma and Adidas can be found in Hi-Tech City and Banjara Hills.Inorbit Mall, celebrating its fourth birthday this week, houses the biggest clothing brands from India, America and the United Kingdom. During the weekends, it is filled with giggling teenagers and families on shopping excursions.If it wasn’t for the metal detectors and security guards waiting to frisk mall patrons at the entrance, it would almost be easy to forget Inorbit is in the middle of India.Even shopping at a Western-style complex can be a cultural negotiation.My love of neutrals clashes with the explosion of color found on most kurtas. I think I’ve managed to create the least-colorful Indian wardrobe possible, although it wasn’t entirely intentional.Yesterday, I emerged from my bedroom for breakfast wearing a black top covered in a gold peacock-feathered print with purple trim, paired with black leggings.“So much black,” my host mom teased upon seeing me.I suppose some things never change.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow travel columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @katelynthacker.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s incredible how close one can get to historically significant monuments and sites in India.Sure, the most popular sites like the Taj Mahal are well-protected and maintained. But there are exponentially more small places left behind to face the elements and human mischief on their own.As a tourist, it’s great to have the freedom to interact with different ruins for a minimum price and with minimum interference.Not all visitors are respectful of history, though. At the beginning of my time in Hyderabad, my program visited the Qutub Shahi Tombs. The tombs and nearby mosques were often covered with graffiti on the inside.During a trip to Varanasi this past weekend, there were many beautiful but crumbling structures to see during a guided walking tour.I assumed this was because it is both the oldest city in India and one of the oldest in the world.In reality, most buildings and temples in Varanasi are only a few hundred years old. Emperors ordered the destruction of Hindu temples and other important religious sites no less than three times.A walking tour of the city revealed the grave of a British officer nestled between urban buildings. The small, gated patch of grass was in good enough condition, but laundry from the surrounding residences hung on its fence to dry.Our tour guide said the problem is a lack of feeling of ownership for the monuments. I suppose it’s understandable. Why would an average citizen care about the final resting place of a foreign officer they never met who died 150 years earlier?Centuries before Portuguese and British colonization, Mughals, Muslims and Aryans, among others, invaded India.While they were sometimes a destructive force, as with Varanasi, many invaders left behind impressive architectural contributions.The forts and tombs in Delhi and Agra are a testament to beautiful Mughal architecture. One of the best-preserved sites we saw during the trip was Qutub Minar and its surrounding monuments in Delhi. Both the minar and mosques have been damaged and reconstructed several times. The entrance is gated, there is tight security and there is no graffiti to be found.It’s no coincidence that Qutub Minar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Yet another tour guide said UNESCO has jurisdiction over everything from ticket pricing to whether or not tourists can go inside the minar, or tower.Currently no one is allowed inside the minar, but he said it will be open next year — with a coinciding increase to the entry fee.The deteriorating state of many monuments is so different from what seems like a never-ending process that some European nations go through to restore cathedrals and castles.Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful but surreal feeling to explore historical relics without a guard yelling about keeping off the grass.— kmthacke@indiana.eduFollow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @katelynthacker.
An abandoned villa deteriorates next to the Ganges River.
Clothes hang to dry on a gate surrounding the grave of a British officer from the colonial era.