Digital Commons Network^™

Diasporic Strangers In The Mirror: Ever-Evolving Identity And The Immigrant Experience, Meriam Metoui

Theses and Dissertations

This text explores the disparity between immigrant parents and their American born or raised children and show the chasm of misunderstanding between generations navigating different national and cultural contexts found in novels such as The Joy Luck Club, The Namesake, Americanah, and Everything I Never Told You.

Race, Sense Of Belonging, And The African American Student Experience At Predominantly White Institutions, Anthony Kane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study utilized a critical race theoretical framework and methodology to explore the lived experiences of African American students at a predominantly White institution. The purpose of this study was to identify how race impacts the sense of belonging of African American students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). This study highlighted the racialized experiences of African American students at a predominantly White institution and how these experiences impacted their sense of belonging. Additionally, this study sought to understand the type of support African Americans students preferred and needed in order to develop a positive sense of belonging.

Six African …

Reimagining Multilingualism From The Heritage Speaker Perspective: A View Of Language Brokering Through The Lens Of Translanguaging And Resemiotization, Jessica Lian

Applied Linguistics and English as a Second Language Dissertations

This study examines the experiences and ideologies of heritage language speakers in the United States who have shouldered the responsibility of interpreting and translating for their families since childhood. These “language brokers” (Tse, 1995) are often “circumstantial bilinguals” (Valdés & Figueroa, 1994) who have maintained their heritage language out of necessity in order to interpret and translate for their parents. Many of these heritage speakers continue their roles as language brokers as adults (Del Torto, 2008), interpreting and translating for their families in increasingly complex situations as their parents age. However, despite the complexities of these language brokering (LB) interactions …

Living On The Move: The Digital Nomad Mobile Phenomenon Identity And Practice, Virginia Rachele Smercina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The following exploratory project used a qualitative mixed method approach by means of a preliminary blog analysis of thirty-seven blogs and twenty-five semi-structured interviews for data collection on individuals known as digital nomads. The theoretical foundations of this study are centered on practice theory, structuration theory, as well as discussions surrounding cultural identity. The project’s aim is to increase our understanding of the digital nomad phenomenon by asking four research questions: Who are the digital nomads? How is digital nomadism practiced? Why choose to live on the move? Is digital nomadism sustainable? The discussion includes how the digital nomad identity …

Homeland Insecurity, Amy Chen

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

Homeland Insecurity is a project born out of a life’s worth of marginalization, internalized racism, and forced assimilation. It presents common experiences and emotions that are located between cultures, questioning what it means to inhabit a homeland that exists as a hybrid mental space. As I progress through life, my parents’ culture—my heritage—becomes more and more distant, yet like many non-white children of immigrants, I will continue to carry it in my face as a physical reminder of a life I do not know. Influenced by acculturation theory, my work explores this culture that never quite belonged to me to …

The Rise Of Cultural Appropriation In Fashion, Henna Choudhary

Capstones

A first-person narrative exploring the growing rise in cultural appropriation accusations within the fashion industry, along with its ties to historical colonialism and mercantilism.

Link to capstone project: http://hennachoudharycapstone.tilda.ws

Haole Like Me: Identity Construction And Politics In Hawaii, Savanah Janssen

English (MA) Theses

Haole is a contested, multi-faceted word in Hawaii. It generally means “foreigner,” or “white person.” It is used to refer to both tourists, and haoles like me, or those who are born and raised in Hawaii. In either case, it is always negative, referring to something “other” and really, colonial. Paraphrasing rhetorician Kenneth Burke, this thesis analyzes how this word “works in the world,” and from there, explores how identity, culture, and belonging are constructed through language. The essential questions become: are culture and identity constructed and performed, through language, tradition, and cultural engagement? Or is some blood content or …

Purely Scientific Terms, Breanne Nicole Hager

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purely Scientific Terms is a collection of personal and memoir essays that explore themes of identity, place, and important relationships.

Lived Experiences Of Young Adults Who Had A Sibling With Cancer In Childhood, Brittany Lawton

Child Development Theses

Childhood cancer affects not only the patient but also the family, including siblings. Often siblings are given less attention and must adapt to drastic life changes in isolation, potentially leading to long-term effects in adulthood. This study explores the influence of childhood cancer on identities of young adults who were children when their siblings were diagnosed with cancer. Ten participants completed semi-structured interviews that described their experiences with childhood cancer as well as their perspectives of the impact it has had on their current lives and identities. Two themes emerged with several subthemes from the 10 participants about the processing …

Structured Sensemaking Of Videographic Information Within Dataphoric Space, Michael J. Pritchard

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Attempts to create a structured sensemaking model have proven difficult. Much of the research today has evolved into a cacophony of conceptual models. Many of these sensemaking models have been proposed but not tested. Using structural equations, a unified model of sensemaking was developed and tested. This structured sensemaking model contains five sensemaking constructs: chaos, anchoring, articulation, retrospection, and identity. This model was tested using data collected from 224 educationally focused YouTube videos. The confirmatory factor model developed for this research has a measured Comparative Fit Index of 0.979, a measured Standardized Root Mean Square Residual of 0.078, and a …

Denkyem (Crocodile): Identity Development And Negotiation Among Ghanaian-American Millennials., Jakia Marie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ghanaian immigrants and second-generation Ghanaian-American Millennials are largely ignored in scholarship. Using qualitative methods, this study explored the experiences of Ghanaian-American Millennials who are first, 1.5, and second-generations with the purpose of understanding how they create, negotiate, and re-create identities. Twenty-one individuals were interviewed using a phenomenological approach. The main findings suggest that even though the sample populations were of different immigrant generations, they have some similar experiences, which demonstrates the value in exploring age instead of solely immigrant generation. The findings also suggest that there are a number of complex layers that are involved in identity development and negotiation …

Reconciling Hyphenated Identities: Muslim American Youth Reflect On College Life In The Midst Of Islamophobia, Diba Ataie

Doctoral Dissertations

Muslims make up more than 1.8 billion people of the world population and have been displaced globally in waves due to the political tension in their homeland. The tragedy of 9/11 forever changed the landscape of this nation for Muslim Americans and created hostility and fear. Islamophobia has been on the rise after the post 9/11 era, but due to the 2016 election cycle Muslim Americans have been placed under direct scrutiny. Muslim Americans were targeted and threatened with a Muslim registry and implemented a Muslim Ban to further ostracise them. The post 9/11 generation of Muslim American youth were …

Literacy 4 Brown Girls An Explorative Study Centered On The Identity And Literacy Of African-American Girls, Jendayi Mbalia

Theses and Dissertations

The academic needs of African-American girls too often are not linked to their intersecting identities. These interlocked identities often go unseen, thus are rarely addressed in K-12 schools. Specifically, their identities are neglected in some of their English Language Arts classrooms through the sole use of hegemonic literary practices. Literacy 4 Brown Girls was implemented at Midwest School for twelve weeks. The overall purpose of this case study was to explore the ways in which a literacy collaborative, designed with the identities of African-American girls in mind, could impact the identity construction and literacy skill growth of twelve, African-American girls …

Globalized Language Culture In The Localized Postsojourn Context: Returnee Brazilian English Language Learners’ Strategies And Processes For Forming And Negotiating L2 Identity, Madeline Wildeson

Culminating Projects in TESL

This qualitative study investigates the process of identity negotiation and formation of 10 Brazilian English language learners (ELLs). Participants were asked to share their experiences in formal as well as informal English language learning environments, and to discuss how these experiences potentially impacted their ability to create an imagined identity and join an imagined community of the target language. Data was generated through comprehensive semi-structured interviews with ten ELLs who have either attended university or professional-level English classes in Brazil and/or in an English-speaking country, but have also spent extensive time (at least 1 month) in an English-speaking country. Participants …

Chinese Transnational Adolescents’ Responses To Multicultural Children’S Literature In Culture Circles, Yuwen Chen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine how Chinese transnational adolescents (CTAs) negotiate their identity based on their cultural knowledge and experiences through book discussion in Freirean “culture circle” (Freire, 2000, p. 120). This study is an interpretivist qualitative study of community-based action research (Glesne, 2010). The participants were seven American-born Chinese, two current Chinese and Taiwanese, and one Chinese adopted adolescent. Within the culture circles, CTAs responded to seven selected multicultural children’s literature which represents Chinese immigrants’ stories in the United States. The topics of the books included (1) who am I, (2) relationships with extended family I, …

Escapando Las Trampas: Teacher Preparation For Mexicanas, Larissa Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Developing Maestras face and overcome linguistic, academic and cultural forms of gatekeeping while trying to navigate through our current education system. For this Capstone Project, the impact that gatekeeping has on developing Maestras and how it affects their academic and professional aspirations was investigated. This is an important issue for developing Maestras, the University of Gringolandia as well as for the education system of Nepantla county. The success of developing Maestras Mexicanas closes the racial gap and directly impacts the student success rate within Nepantla county. The literature and data results analysis indicate that the gatekeeping practices that keep Mexicanas …

Role Of Culture In Cultivating A Sense Of Self With Responsibility Towards The Community, Jonathan T. Reyes-Carranza

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Given the fact that education has not moved beyond the factory models of the 19th century, building strong relationships between the classroom and the home environment is necessary for melding "home" values with "school" practices so that students could see how school builds upon their home culture. This senior capstone research project examines the role of culture in cultivating a sense of self and responsibility towards the community using relevant literature, surveys with CSUMB teaching and learning community, a survey with educators, and interviews with specific religious individuals. Results reveal that culture indeed influences the sense of self-identity, the sense …

#Queer: Community, Communication, And Identity In The Digital Age, Margaret Allen-Young

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The creation and facilitation of community among LGBTQ+ people has always been necessary as a means of support, protection, and affirmation in a discriminatory society. The common perception of this community imagines the migration of people from rural areas to urban meccas like San Francisco and New York in search of likeminded people. However, the advent of new technology has allowed for community building and organizing to occur more easily without face-to-face contact. In this paper I utilize existing literature, including a large study on queer rural populations, and real-world examples such as the platform Tumblr to explore the evolution …

Seventeenth-Century Spanish Colonial Identity In New Mexico: A Study Of Identity Practices Through Material Culture, Caroline M. Gabe

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation explores how seventeenth-century Spanish colonial households expressed their group identity at a regional level in New Mexico. Through the material remains of daily practice and repetitive actions, identity markers tied to adornment, technological traditions, and culinary practices are compared between 14 assemblages to test four identity models. Seventeenth-century colonists were eating a combination of Old World domesticates and wild game on colonoware and majolica serving vessels, cooking using Indigenous pottery, grinding with Puebloan style tools, and conducting household scale production and prospecting. While assemblages are consistent in basic composition, variations are present tied to socioeconomic status. This blending …

An Examined Life Of A Language Teacher Of Chinese: An Autoethnographic Investigation Into Agency, Ying Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

There is a paucity of research about and done by L2 Chinese educators regarding the theoretical construct of agency. It is also noted that the qualitative inquiry is marginalized in L2 Chinese research field, let alone the narrative study of the agency of experienced by L2 Chinese-teachers. In this dissertation research, I aim at filling in the gap by conducting a longitudinal autoethnography which captures over a decade (1997-2017) of my personal and professional development with an agency perspective. The highly personalized autoethnographic accounts open up my personal and professional life as an experienced, college-level, transnational, early 40’s female native …

“You Can Be A Good Romanian, But Not A Romanian”: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Romanian History Textbook Narrative, Razvan Sibii

Doctoral Dissertations

Employing a version of the Critical Discourse Analysis methodology that privileges close textual readings, I examine in this dissertation the manner in which contemporary Romanian history textbooks put forward an essentialist view of ethnonational identity by tracing through history the development of a putatively homogenous “proto-Romanian” entity. I seek to show how the “Getae-Dacian” and “Daco-Roman” identity categories acquired their thing-ness and their boundaries as a result of deliberate rhetorical work performed by Romanian historiographers with the help of such heuristics as “Romanization,” “ethnogenesis” and the nation-as-family metaphor. I also scrutinize how the textbooks treat the two ancient texts that …

Life As A Reluctant Immigrant: An Autoethnographic Inquiry, Dionel Cotanda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I draw on memories inspired and heightened by compassionate interviews in order to produce a unifying narrative of interactions with family and friends prior to and following my exile from Cuba in 1960. I use autoethnography and narrative inquiry to understand how I made the decision to leave Cuba and the life I have lived in exile for almost sixty years. My dissertation focuses on what it means to live as a reluctant immigrant and how historically constituted power relations define the identity of many Cuban exiles. I discuss and contrast the politics of passion and the …

Leading Change: A Phenomenological Study Of Collaboration For Mission At Marianist Universities, Jessica González Uhlig

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Using transformational leadership theory as a foundational framework, this qualitative phenomenological study explored the ways lay and religious leaders at three Catholic and Marianist universities in Hawaii, Ohio, and Texas, live out, strategize, and sustain mission and identity through intentional collaboration. The problem addressed was that due to membership declining within the religious congretion in these Catholic institutions of higher education, leadership roles for strategizing for mission have shifted from vowed religious members of the congregations to lay professionals. Semistructured interviews were conducted with professional lay staff and faculty, lay executive administrators, and members of the Marianist order. The research …

Revolución De Identidad: An Autoethnography On Spanish Heritage Language & Identity, Cristina Velazquez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This autoethnography narrative examines my journey as a first-generation Mexican immigrant woman from birth, through completion of the doctorate degree at California State University, San Bernardino. The purpose in writing this autoethnography is to present a personalized account of my experiences growing up, in communicating between two languages, the structural and personal motivators behind maintaining a heritage language (Spanish), and to reflect, in my experience, how I have negotiated with multiple social identities, including ethnic, academic, and bilingual identities. In this self-study, I bring the reader closer to Mexican-American identity, language, and culture. Specifically, this qualitative analysis of Spanish Heritage …

Transforming Through Power: Teachers And The Negotiation Of Authority In Schools, Madhu Narayanan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Schools are unique institutions where structural and cultural dynamics shape the actions of humans. Teachers work within structures of power to establish themselves as legitimate figures of authority worthy of the right to command respect. Such efforts are complicated by the multi-faceted and swirling relationships of power that exist everywhere in schools, defining and guiding individuals. In this study, I interview and observe the practice of seven secondary teachers working in New York City public schools. All in their third year of teaching, they were at an interesting time in their development, not novice teachers and not quite veteran. Using …

‘Its Something You Do Bro’: Language And Identity On A Male Erotic Hypnosis Messageboard, Eric Chambers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Drawing on a seven-year corpus of data (total words N = 86,881) on a publicly-accessible messageboard on which self-identified gay men discuss their experiences undergoing erotic hypnosis, this study applies Critical Discourse Analysis methods to understand how posters understand their sexual identities and those of others. This study identifies the emergence of two main identity-types at-play on OnYourKnees: the jock and the coach. Jocks are generally characterized by a focus on sports and body-consciousness, a disinterest or inability to engage in scholarly/academic pursuits, and a desire to be submissive to others to achieve sexual pleasure. Coaches, on the other hand, …

Getting Located: Queer Semiotics In Dress, Callen Zimmerman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The body, a long contested site of identity construction, has been used by historically by queers to convey desire, build affinity and transgress norms. Looking at the fashioned queer body, this capstone takes the form of a proposal for an art exhibition at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. Seeking to engage with objects, performance and film which approximate, provide proxy for or depart from the body as a site, it explores the social and political quagmire of getting dressed. Comprised of contemporary art that looks at the rupture of legible bodily semiotics, this show wonders what …

Dios En Carne: Rastafari And The Embodiment Of Spiritual Blackness In Puerto Rico, Omar Ramadan-Santiago

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In my dissertation, I examine how the Rastafari community in Puerto Rico constructs, reshapes, imagines and embodies blackness as a personal, political, and ideological identity. I argue that my interlocutors refuse non-black privilege and choose blackness, an act that is understood as identification not with subjugation but with power. I consider their identification with blackness and enactment of this identity as a performance. My analysis, based on 22 months of ethnographic research, and utilizing ethnography, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews, explores how my interlocutors claim blackness as a spiritual identity. In doing so, they demonstrate the metaphysical nature of race …

Rui(N)Ation: Narratives Of Art And Urban Revitalization In Detroit, Jessica Ks Cappuccitti

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation considers the City of Detroit as a case study for analyzing the complex role that artists and art institutions are playing in the potential re-growth and revitalization of the city. I specifically look at artists and arts organizations who are working against the popular narrative of Detroit as “ruin city.” Their efforts create counter narratives that emphasize stories of survival and showcase vibrant communities. By focussing on artist-led and institutional initiatives, I emphasize the importance of art in both community and narrative-building.

This research has taken the form of a written dissertation and two adapted projects, and positions …

Retired Female Gymnasts' Reflections On Body Image And Sense Of Self, Briley Casanova

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers identify the early stages of retirement as a key developmental period when many female athletes struggle with both body image disturbances and changes to identity. Body image disturbances and changes to identity may be especially challenging for former female athletes participating in aesthetic focused sports such as gymnastics, because physical appearance plays an important role in elite performance. This study utilized semi-structured, in-depth interviews with five former NCAA Division I artistic gymnasts to learn about their experiences and perceptions of body image and athletic identity in the early stages of retirement. Three main themes emerged from the interviews: (a) …