Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Black Girl Magic: History, Identity, And Spirituality In Contemporary Fantasy And Science-Fiction, Taylore Fox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 2013, activist and social media influencer CaShawn Thompson composed a Tweet claiming, “Black Girls Are Magic,” which shortened to the hashtag “#BlackGirlMagic.” As the hashtag began to circulate social media, the phrase birthed a digital movement that celebrated the beauty, accomplishments, and mere presence of Black women and girls. This project argues that Black Girl Magic, operating as a social and literary framework, combats the injustice, inequality, and lack of respect and representation that Black women and girls faced in the past and continue to face today. In Black Girl Magic literature, Black women characters perform literal and figurative …

The Model Minority Myth And The Mental Well-Being Of Academically Struggling Asian Americans, Jan Michael Roa Ballesteros

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates relationships between pressures Asian Americans experience to be academically successful and their feelings of depression and stress. The model minority myth (MMM) stereotype characterizes Asian Americans as industrious, intellectually-gifted, assimilating to U.S. values of meritocracy, and achieving higher academic and employment success levels compared to other racial groups in the general population. While many consider MMM a positive stereotype, it also comes with a cost. Prior research demonstrates the tensions that exist among Asian Americans who do not uphold the MMM stereotype and its corollary, the Asian Academic Success Frame. Those unable to meet academic success standards …

Selfless Selfishness: The Me And We Of Individuality, Jacob Bennett

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

In this provocation, I argue against contributors to the global publication The Economist that the biggest threat to western liberalism is not equity but rather an incomplete and misplaced definition of individualism. Such a definition does not take the history of racism in the context of the United States (U.S.) into consideration. Through lessons taught by a heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people, Black Elk, a refined conceptualization of individuality could center both the personal and communal to set the stage for truly equitable policy development within the U.S.

Jazz Sampling Hip Hop: A View Of The Expanded Rhythm Section And The Musical Interactions Between Musicians And Machines, Molly Kaylynn Redfield

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This document presents a study on a musical fusion that I term “jazz/hip hop.” The study presents a historical overview of jazz/hip hop origins beginning with 1960s beat poets to jazz/hip hop artists emerging in the early 2000s. Modeled after Phillip Tagg’s and John Fiske’s semiotic methodology and William C. Banfield’s African American Cultural Theory and Heritage Model, the methodology defines the musical and cultural aesthetics of jazz/hip hop. Interviews from jazz/hip hop artists are presented; justifying the use of hip-hop aesthetics and countering the argument that commercial elements are added for mainstream recognition. I examine that samples musically interact …

Portrayals Of Characters Of Color In Teen Media, Janelle Ferraris, Lindsay Denecker, Kristin Vierra

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Some teen television shows are actively addressing race and racism.

Teen television shows are highlighting the development of ethnic-racial identity. This is promising considering scholars label the development of ethnic-racial identity to be an essential product of the development of older children and adolescents (Syed & Azmitia, 2008, Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014).

Teen television shows are emphasizing factors in a person of colors' community or interactions with peers that may influence their overall well-being. This is encouraging considering research suggests that hearing stories from individuals of various backgrounds can help individuals better recognize systems of oppression and discrimination (Freire, 1995). …

Still We Rise: A Black Feminist Qualitative Inquiry Exploring Black Women’S Experiences On Twitter, Yvonne C. Morris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

#WOCAffirmation was a hashtag created by April Reign in October 2017 in response to how Black women do not have the same supports of solidarity from populations who are non-Black women. Serving as a counterpublic, #WOCAffirmation embodied how Black women created space to affirm and amplify each other while also highlighting the harassment and abuse they experience in form of misogynoir on Twitter. As Black women are already under-researched in academia and fields within digital humanities, this study centered Black women while also highlighting oppressive systems of power in both physical and digital spaces. Using Black feminist thought as the …

Stress And Coping In Food-Insecure African Americans In Clark County, Nevada, Johanna Andrews

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

African Americans have the highest rates of food insecurity than any other racial/ethnic group in the nation as a result of poverty, low household income, unemployment, food injustice, food mirages, and racial segregation. This consistent uncertainty in food access demonstrably results in poor mental health outcomes for food-insecure African Americans. Thus, the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping provides a theoretical framework to investigate how African Americans cope with food insecurity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate processes of coping with food insecurity and determine their impact on emotional well-being for African Americans in Clark County, Nevada. A …

Strategic Resistance In An African Owned Hair Salon: Intersections Of Race, Gender, And Nationality In U.S. America, Nicole Jenkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As social constructions of race and nationality continue to transform in the U.S. and anti-Blackness, and anti-immigrant sentiments grow in popularity and visibility, it becomes increasingly necessary to document, analyze and center the experience of these marginalized groups in the U.S. Using two years of ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, and unstructured interviews, this research project aims to understand the perspectives and experiences of Black American and Black Immigrant women as they navigate the above-mentioned sentiments within various institutions. I center Black women’s lived experiences in urban cities through sharing their perspectives on Black identity and Black motherhood and analyzing unique …

Ethnic Power Dominance In A Resource-Rich Sub Saharan African State: An Analysis Of Violent Conflict Accelerators And The Mitigating Influence Of Civil Society In Nigeria, Victor O. Fakoya

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

My dissertation research explores the impacts of ethno-regional power dominance, trust, and violent conflict in a resources-rich multiethnic, sub-Saharan African state. This dissertation examines the impact that ethnic power dominance has on the relationship between conflict and civil society in a resource rich sub-Saharan African (SSA) nation examined. Relying upon intra-state case study analysis of the socio-political climate in Nigeria, I argue that distrust in the national government, when motivated by ethno-regional cleavages has an accelerating influence on the incidence of conflict. Using cross-national survey data in conjunction with field interview data, this research finds that in the regions where …

Words As Weapons And Wisdom, Barbara Paige

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement were two seminal eras in American history. The Renaissance also referred to as the New Negro Movement was a literary artistic, and cultural movement, centered in Harlem in which writers produced large bastions of literary works. African descended people began to identify with their African past and intellectuals adopted Black Nationalist and Pan-Africanist methodologies to overcome oppression. Their efforts laid a foundation for the Civil Rights movement. The Black Arts Movement, an era of intense literary artistic activism begun with the assassination of Malcolm X. Artist/intellectuals responded to a more hostile environment …

Case Study: Armenian And Cuban Ethnic Interest Groups In American Foreign Policy, Harry H. Terzian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Current academic research has moved away from comparative models as a mechanism by which to assess and understand socio-political as well as historical phenomena. In addition, comparative analysis when it comes to addressing ethnic lobbies is almost nonexistent within contemporary research. This work implements a comparative framework and as a result has unlocked a new approach when addressing ethnic advocacy organizations. The purpose of this research is to assess and document the history and impact of both Armenian and Cuban ethnic interest groups within the United States. Specifically, focusing upon the Armenian National Committee of America and the Cuban American …

Is It Still Impossible To Be Black And American?, Darrian Carroll

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis engages Bill Clinton’s presidential rhetoric to investigate how liberal rhetorical practices can be used to extend and sustain the oppression of Black Americans. By adopting Du Bois’ concepts of the color-line and double-consciousness this thesis examines how Bill Clinton was able to recreate the color-line in the Mason Temple speech and benefit from and recreate a world devoid of consciousness in other selected speeches from his corpus. This project takes up three separate speeches by Bill Clinton as texts. The second chapter focuses on Bill Clinton’s “Remarks to the Rainbow Coalition” and “Remarks announcing the initiative” to make …

The Relationship Between African- American Male Education And Employment Opportunities Through The Lenses Of Critical Race Theory And Stereotype Threat In The Historical Context Of The 1965 Moynihan Report, Robert Paul Walker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to examine the connection between education and employment outcomes for African American males through the dual lenses of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Stereotype Threat (ST) in the historical context of the 1965 Moynihan Report. A qualitative case study design allowed for the collection of rich data through in-depth interviews designed to elicit the Black male participants’ perspectives and lived experience of education and employment. For more than fifty years, the trajectory of African American male education and employment has been a negative one. This study documented, in their own voice, the African American …

A Historical Case Study Of Title Ix In Nevada: An Excellent Investment In Our Youth, Jason Clark

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine and document the history of Title IX in the American West, specifically at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and at Clark County School District (CCSD) in Las Vegas, Nevada. This thesis contends that since the late nineteenth-century, women have utilized sports as a method to shed discriminatory stereotypes, fight for inclusion, and promote gender equality. In addition, the progressive actions of educational administrators and community leaders regarding Title IX make both UNR and CCSD exceptional institutions for gender equality. This thesis contains six chapters including the introduction and conclusion. Chapter 1 …

Race, Resilience, And Resistance: A Culturally Relevant Examination Of How Black Women School Leaders Advance Racial Equity And Social Justice In U.S. Schools, Tonya Evette Walls

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This culturally relevant qualitative examination of the leadership of Black women educational leaders (BWEL) committed to advancing a social justice leadership agenda within the contested spaces (Stovall, 2004) comprising United States (U.S.) P-12 schools, employs an African centered emancipatory methodology (Kershaw, 1990, 1992; Tillman, 2002), situated in a conceptual framework grounded in the research on applied critical leadership (Santamaria, 2013). It examines, highlights, celebrates, and makes transparent, the unique leadership of BWEL. Engaged to rebuke the silencing and marginalization of women educational leaders of color in the educational leadership discourse, this study bridges engages a multiple case study approach, phenomenological …

Jornaleros Engaged In A Multidimensional Struggle: A Critical Ethnography With Day Laborers In Las Vegas, Jorge Adrian Castrejon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Day labor work has spread across the entire Unite States as part of the secondary labor market, or as Cherrie Moraga describes it- survival work. Day laborers in Las Vegas, Nevada have become a significant part of this trend in the Southwest, where the highest rate of day laborers work, and for which little community and scholarly work has been produced. The National Day Labor Survey, the most comprehensive study with day laborers, reports that the day labor market is rife with abuse and violations of worker rights. But, the exploitation of this predominantly migrant workforce would not be possible …

A Performance Analysis Of Dorothy Rudd Moore's Sonnets On Love, Rosebuds, And Death, Cordelia Elizabeth Anderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this document is to evaluate Dorothy Rudd Moore’s Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds, and Death through a performance analysis, and to discuss the significance of the Harlem Renaissance in relation to the song cycle. Moore used seven reputable poets from the Harlem Renaissance to compile this song cycle. The poets are Alice Dunbar Nelson, Clarissa Scott Delany, Gwendolyn Bennett, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Helene Johnson. A few of them were a part of the core group that spurred this powerful movement. The Harlem Renaissance was a flourishing time in American history when African Americans felt …

Image, Narrative, & Concept Of Time In Valerie Capers's Song Cycle Song Of The Seasons, Lillian Channelle Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Once I was a classical pianist, then I was a jazz pianist, but now I’m a pianist – No label. And in my writing, I’m not concerned with any particular style. I’ve found that if you have musical groundwork and some idea of the emotional impact the music should have, the musical style will hang together.

—Valerie Capers

Primarily known as a renowned jazz pianist, Valerie Capers is a blind, African-American woman composer who defied all odds by becoming the first blind graduate of The Juilliard School. Dr. Capers also became valedictorian of the New York Institute for the Education …

The Role Of Adaptive Capacity On The Subjective Career Success Of Former D-I African-American Male Athletes: A Mixed-Method Study, Leon Antonio Jackson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

African-American male student-athletes who played a revenue-generating sport enter the labor market having relatively poor social networks, low grade point averages, few marketable skills outside of sports, restricted work experiences, and marginal subject matter knowledge; most of which are the result of their participation in sports (Singer, 2008). Therefore making the transition more difficult than even the average African-American male (Edwards, 1980). The purpose of this study was to: (1) Determine the factors that predict subjective career success for former D-I African-American male athletes who played a revenue-generating sport, and (2) Explore how former D-I African-American male athletes, who played …

Creating The Black California Dream: Virna Canson And The Black Freedom Struggle In The Golden State’S Capital, 1940-1988, Kendra M. Gage

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines the black struggle for racial equality in the Golden State’s capital from 1940-1988 and an integral leader of the movement, Virna Canson. Canson fought for nearly fifty years to dismantle discriminatory practices in housing, education, employment and worked to protect consumers. Her lifetime of activism reveals a different set of key issues people focused on at the grassroots level and shows how the fight for freedom in California differed from the South because the state’s discriminatory practices were harder to pinpoint. Her work and the larger black community’s activism in Sacramento also reveals how the black freedom …

No Prejudice Here: Racism, Resistance, And The Struggle For Equality In Denver, 1947-1994, Summer Marie Cherland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study chronicles a story of civil rights that has been left untold until now. Recent scholarship contributing to the history of the "long civil rights movement" has reframed our understanding of civil rights beyond the years of the late 1950s and early 1960s. In addition, it has also demonstrated that civil rights activity occurred in regions other than the South. However, most work on the long civil rights movement demonstrates that activism among blacks began much earlier than the Brown v. Board Supreme Court case and instead, was a part of a longer freedom struggle that, in many ways, …

Physical Child Abuse And Cultural Differences In Reporting, Emily Frances Reed

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Previous research using both National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data and other sources has found that biases do exist with regard to racial differences. The current study will build on past research of biases in the Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and reporting. This study uses a secondary data set, the 2009 NCANDS dataset; which consists of child specific data of all investigated reports of maltreatment to state CPS agencies. This research seeks to determine if there are disparities in cases reported to and substantiated by CPS as reflected by race (Black, White, & Hispanic children) and …

Black Teachers, White Schools: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study On Their Experiences Of Racial Tokenism And Development Of Professional Black Identities, Abigail Kathleen Hasberry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An emerging body of research shows that retention of minority independent school teachers creates a positive multicultural climate and increases the likelihood that minority families will enroll their children in the schools as well as preparing all students for a pluralistic society (Brosnan 2001b, AIMS 2010, Katz & Wishine 2001). However, retaining minority teachers in predominantly White and affluent independent schools has proved challenging (Brosnan 2001, 2001b, 2009). This qualitative multiple case study extends the current literature on Black private school teachers by not only examining the experiences, but also the coping strategies and professional identity development processes of nine …

African American Teachers And State Licensing Examinations In Metropolitan Atlanta: A Case Study, Michael Leroy Taylor

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act legislation has had a profound effect on teacher rolls, especially African-American teachers. More than any other racial or ethnic group, African-American teachers disproportionately fail state teacher licensure examinations. This results in removing them from the classroom, while simultaneously preventing new teachers from entering it. The problem shows no signs of relenting under the current mandates, so as the diversity of the nation's study body continues to increase, the diversity of the teaching staff continues to shrink. This combined, multi-case study addressed the unexplained reduction in the numbers of African-American teachers due to …

“The Mortar Of Assimilation—And The One Element That Won’T Mix”, Jenna Downs

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in Puck magazine on June 26, 1889, “The Mortar of Assimilation And The One Element That Just Won’t Mix” cartoon was a perfect exhibit of the Americans view on the Irish immigration to the United States. In the melting pot several different kinds of Americans can be spotted, but the one Irishman is standing on the edge of the pot holding a knife and a flag.

“Mongolian Octopus—Its Grip On Australia”, Ron Thornton

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in the Sydney based The Bulletin Magazine on August 21, 1886, “The Mongolian Octopus – His Grip on Australia” cartoon was pointedly used as a form of propaganda against Mongolian & Chinese immigration. The cartoon illustrates an octopus with a human head and eight outstretched arms. On each of these arms is a different term, such as typhoid or immorality. These terms, along with the octopus itself, all portrayed racist views of Chinese and Mongolian immigrants.

Building A Dream, Jenny Nestelberger

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

The August 28, 1963 March on Washington is often remembered primarily for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which serves as the pinnacle of civil rights movement oratory. This thesis, in contrast, examines speeches of the leaders of the “Big Six” organizations that preceded King’s well-known words in order to shed light on the complexities of the movement and the outcomes that can result from meaningful dissent. Occurring at a time of division, the March emerged as a symbol of hope for change in the nation. The addresses of the day reflected this hope and helped build …

An American Mess: How Colorblind Racism Prevents An Enlightened Conversation On Race In Television Media, Nathaniel Phillipps

McNair Poster Presentations

This project aims to demonstrate how the current racial ideology in America is portrayed through television media. It is primarily guided by the work of Eduardo Bonita-Silva and his masterful examination of post-civil rights racism in the United States in his book Racism Without Racists. From a firm understanding of the ideology of this new racism -- its frames, styles, and storylines -- the content of two televisions shows are analyzed to identify the racial ideology and the representations of people of color within.

Scandal (ABC) is progressive in the sense that it has a Black female lead, and two …

Smyrna's Ashes: Humanitarianism, Genocide And The Birth Of The Middle East, Michelle Tusan

History Faculty Research

Today the West tends to understand the Middle East primarily in terms of geopolitics: Islam, oil, and nuclear weapons. But in the nineteenth century it was imagined differently. The interplay of geography and politics found definition in a broader set of concerns that understood the region in terms of the moral, humanitarian, and religious commitments of the British empire. Smyrna’s Ashes reevaluates how this story of the “Eastern Question” shaped the cultural politics of geography, war, and genocide in the mapping of a larger Middle East after World War I.

Political And Civic Engagement Attitudes Among Asian American College Students, Matthew Vanada

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the attitudes of political and civic engagement among Asian American college students. Previous research suggests that young people are increasingly more inclined to participate in civic activities over traditional forms of political participation. The researcher considered this trend by examining the views of Asian American students, a group whose political behavior has not been largely investigated.

This study employed a qualitative research design. Students from public institutions of higher education in Las Vegas were interviewed using an in-depth and semi-structured format. Findings suggest that there is a general willingness to become involved in civic activity such as …