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I Don’T Know How To Talk About These Wor(L)Ds, But I Do Walk, I Shoot, And I Write: Autoethnographic Written And Visual Cures For A Fragmented Identity, Ursula-Helen Kassaveti

The Qualitative Report

In this article, I examine how my unprogrammatized and spontaneous informal fieldwork in Athens, undertaken in a rather unconsciously autoethnographic vein, has helped me while on the process of investigating my personal identity. My temporary change of academic direction and my delving into the ocean of fieldwork have shaped and answered my endless quest for important answers about a researcher’s own self. Through the use of written text, photography and other visual indexes, “thin” and “thick” description, I argue that autoethnography as a method could be a healing process, providing therapy for a researcher’s “fragmented” heart and identity.

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.

A Book Of Possibilities – Ethnographically Speaking: Autoethnography, Literature, And Aesthetics, Kelsey Railsback

The Qualitative Report

I would say this book is successful in reference to the authors’ intention to showcase ethnographic projects that “blur the boundaries between social science and literature,” but I would also caution those researchers looking for a how-to book for their dissertation or other qualitative research project. This is a book of possibilities of what (auto)ethnographies can be—inspiring authors and fostering creativity, and I am sure a lot of readers will connect with it.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

The Sanctuary Of Acceptance: Love And Identity Through The Letters And Poetry Of John Keats, Amanda Caridad Estevez Ms.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I propose to explain how it is that the life and work of John Keats assists us in answering the question of how we create ourselves through the presence of others. I aim to do this through an analysis of the work that his relationship with Fanny Brawne inspired. In doing so, I hope to prove that romantic love creates a sort of metaphysical sanctuary for us to inhabit as we shift through the various incarnations of our identity throughout our lives. By synthesizing the theories of phenomenology and transgression, I hope to demonstrate how Keats’ rapid …

Womxn: An Evolution Of Identity, Ash D. Kunz

Summit to Salish Sea: Inquiries and Essays

Environmental Education is situated firmly in the hegemony of White, settler-colonial, capitalistic, able-bodied and –minded, heteronormative, patriarchal society. Individuals whose identity does not conform to this dominant metanarrative are excluded from and marginalized by “othering”. Trauma and violence are commonplace in society against Indigenous peoples, Black and Latinx folx and People of Color, womxn, people with disabilities, people in the LGBTQIA+ community, and all minoritized identities. That history of trauma, coupled with social and physical isolation can lead to mental and emotional struggles that negatively impact personal wellbeing. A lack of wellbeing, in turn can lead to or further depression. …

He Said, She Said: The Impact Of Language In Advertising On The Development Of A Feminist Identity, Alicia Fletcher

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

Little kids are often told they can be anything they want to be. Firefighter, princess, football player, and dragon are among the more popular answers. One of the less popular answers is “Feminist.” Very rarely, if ever, do young children declare that when they grow up, they want to be Feminists. So, how did so many people grow up to be Feminists? At what point do people realize that they can be both firefighter and Feminist, orthodontist and Feminist, or seamstress and Feminist? Though there is no set timeline, it begins when people start to develop identities and fundamental beliefs …

Law Library Blog (November 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Life Between Two Zions: The Beta Israel And Their Experience Of Multiple Diasporas, Alexander Peeples

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

There are several communities at the intersection of both the African and Jewish Diasporas, but the largest is a community of Ethiopian Jews known as the Beta Israel who have primarily resided in Israel since the 1980s. As a group that is defined by multiple homelands and overlapping oppressions, their experience provides a unique demonstration of the limits and possibilities of diasporic identities in explaining and defining the modern world. In particular, the recent experiences of the Beta Israel draw attention to the limits of essentializing identity, collective notions of shared oppression, and inert understandings of place. The work of …

Missional Metamorphosis: How Identity, Presence, And Praxis Are Reshaping Disciple Making Within Post-Christian Contexts, Justin Thomas Wester

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The American Church’s current disciple-making paradigm is struggling to engage post-Christian contexts with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Despite American society’s steady trending away from a biblical worldview, dwindling church attendance, and declining religious affiliation, the American Church is still operating under a disciple-making paradigm conducive for the Christendom era. What changes must occur to help churches break away from an antiquated paradigm and embrace a more contextually appropriate expression? This project helps to answer that question by capturing and expressing how changes in ecclesial identity, contextual presence, and corporate praxis are altering disciple-making paradigms within post-Christian contexts. Utilizing quantitative …

Muslim Diasporic Identities In Kamila Shamsie’S Home Fire (2017), Padel Muhamad Rallie Rivaldy, Manneke Budiman, Shuri M. Gietty Tambunan

International Review of Humanities Studies

Beside accepted with surprise across the world, the winning of Brexit referendum also brings up the tangled web into the United Kingdom’s political and cultural realms. Recent studies mention there is correlation between the voting behavior and issues of identity, immigration, and Islamophobia. Kamila Shamsie alludes these issues in her latest novel, Home Fire (2017). By focusing on three main protagonists, this close-textual analysis examines how Pakistani diasporic community construct their identities within the novel. To support the analysis, this article draws upon Hall’s identity theory (1990) and Bhabha’s Unhomely (1992). Research findings show how Shamsie’s novel represents heterogeneity within …

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 …