First Advisor

Sharon Carstens

Date of Publication

1990

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Anthropology

Department

Anthropology

Language

English

Subjects

Mormon women -- Social networks -- Montana -- Pinesdale, Polygamy -- Montana -- Pinesdale, Pinesdale (Mont.) -- Social life and customs

DOI

10.15760/etd.5909

Physical Description

1 online resource (218 p.)

Abstract

The present study is comprised of two parts: 1) an exploratory ethnography of a contemporary polygynous community governed by a strong patriarchal ideology in Pinesdale Montana with emphasis on social relationships, and 2) an analysis of the factors which have allowed women's groups to develop in Mormon fundamentalism. The ethnographic account of the community contextualizes the occurrence of female groups in Pinesdale. A model of the formation of female groups designed by Nancy Leis (1974) in her study of the West African Ijaw is used to provide a better understanding of how female groups are formed, and is applied to the Pinesdale community. This model suggests that the combination of features relevant to the occurrence of female groups are virilocality, patrilineality, polygyny, and economic independence. In spite of the kin-based nature of her African study, which limits its applicability to Western society, Leis suggests that her model "would predict the presence or absence of women's groups elsewhere," and encourages a cross-cultural study to prove her hypothesis. My thesis investigates the strengths and limitations of Leis' model within an ethnographic framework.

Rights

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Comments

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Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/22966

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