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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2012

Theses and Dissertations

Arts and Humanities

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Institutional Quilombos? Black Studies In Brazil And The United States, Dalila Negreiros Dec 2012

Institutional Quilombos? Black Studies In Brazil And The United States, Dalila Negreiros

Theses and Dissertations

The literature on Black Studies, Afro-Brazilian Studies and Comparative Race Relations between Brazil and the United State has been dedicated to the study of Black activism and education. However, there is a gap in comparative studies focused on Black Studies units in the United States and Afro-Brazilian studies in Brazil. The dissertation “Institutional Quilombos? Black Studies in Brazil and the United States” investigates how Black Studies centers and departments in Brazil and the United States exist, survive and act politically as educational and anti-racist spaces in six different institutions: the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee; Harvard University; Temple University; the …

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Never Put Your Head Down Unless You Pray: The Stories Of African American Men In The Wisconsin Prison System, Julia Marie Kirchner Dec 2012

Never Put Your Head Down Unless You Pray: The Stories Of African American Men In The Wisconsin Prison System, Julia Marie Kirchner

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research on offender narratives has not examined culture as a factor in how prisoners explain their crimes. This qualitative ethnographic research project explores the self-constructions of African American male prisoners using both participant observation with active gang members on the street and discourse analysis of over 300 letters written by incarcerated men. Focusing primarily on six prisoner consultants, this study investigates the claims that offenders make about themselves in reference to their identity. These convicted felons justify their crimes as rational under the circumstances prevalent in segregated inner cities. In reference to economic crimes such as drug dealing and …

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Participatory Methods In Sociolinguistic Sign Language Survey: A Case Study In El Salvador, Julia Ciupek-Reed Dec 2012

Participatory Methods In Sociolinguistic Sign Language Survey: A Case Study In El Salvador, Julia Ciupek-Reed

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a three-week sociolinguistic survey of El Salvador's Deaf community that was carried out in June and July 2009. The survey utilized various traditional tools that have been used in previous sign language surveys, as well as some new tools derived from participatory research methodology. Results from the various tools were analyzed to form conclusions about the language community and its goals for language development. El Salvador's Deaf community uses Salvadoran Sign Language (LESSA) most commonly, but various subgroups also use American Sign Language (ASL), and Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO), as well as switching between language varieties …

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Material Expressions Of Social Change: Indigenous Sicilian Responses To External Influences In The First Millennium B.C., William Balco Dec 2012

Material Expressions Of Social Change: Indigenous Sicilian Responses To External Influences In The First Millennium B.C., William Balco

Theses and Dissertations

Following the arrival of Greek colonists and Phoenician traders in the seventh century BC, indigenous Iron Age Sicilian populations underwent an intensive process of social transformation. As a result, many new behaviors, including those associated with Greek-style feasting and commensality, were introduced to indigenous Sicilians, together with the associated material culture. This study explores Iron Age indigenous Sicilian social responses to these interactions, focusing on the feast as a conduit of change and the concomitant transformation of feasting accoutrements. Vessel form, manufacturing technique, and surface treatment impact the emblemic ceramic styles used to communicate ethnic affiliations in the various social …

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Articulating The "L" Word Online: A Study Of Chinese Slash Fandom Of Super Girl, Jing Zhao Dec 2012

Articulating The "L" Word Online: A Study Of Chinese Slash Fandom Of Super Girl, Jing Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a case study of one of the most popular online Chinese fandoms, Fei Se Chao Nv. This online Chinese fan forum is dedicated to slash writings and queer readings of androgynous female celebrities of a sensational Chinese reality TV show, Super Girl. The purpose of this study is to explicate the intricate negotiations between queer and normative cultures within this online, non-mainstream, fannish space. Through a discourse analysis of how the slash fans imagine lesbian relationships, narrate lesbian stories, and queerly gossip about the Super Girl androgynous celebrities in the forum, the study concludes that the fans' …

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Going International: The Development And Operations Of Al Qaãida In The Islamic Maghreb, Sarah Faye Mangrem May 2012

Going International: The Development And Operations Of Al Qaãida In The Islamic Maghreb, Sarah Faye Mangrem

Theses and Dissertations

Since 2006 there has been a uniquely independent and autonomous branch of al Qa’ida operating in the Sahel and Sahara region of North and West Africa. Relative to associated movements elsewhere, al Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb is geographically and financially isolated, dependent on its own members to mobilize both human and financial resources. Yet at this they have been particularly successful; smuggling contraband across African borders, kidnapping Europeans for ransom and playing middleman for Latin American cartels transporting huge amounts of drugs to Europe. The 2012 Tuareg rebellion and subsequent military coup in Mali has provided opportune timing as …

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