Claiming The Right To Belong: Diversity And The Politics Of Inclusion In Queens, New York, Susan J. Tanenbaum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines social integration in a diverse civic and political mainstream. The social science research on intergroup contact in U.S. cities undergoing significant demographic change tends to focus on encounters between members of majority “in-groups” and minority “out-groups” in the context of workplaces, neighborhoods, and families. I contend that civic politics is another compelling strategic site for observing intergroup contact between emerging and established players. My study presents three cases of claims-making activity during the post-9/11 period in New York City’s borough of Queens, where close to 50% of the population is foreign-born and no single racial group predominates. …

“Bad Hombres”: Trump Era Politics And Media In Shaping The Perceptions Of The Mexican Diaspora In The United States, Angelica Soria

Master's Theses

My research delves into the anti-Mexican immigrant rhetoric spread throughout the United States under Donald Trump’s presidency by himself, mainstream media news outlet Fox News, and the U.S. government. Furthermore, examining the social identity of ethnic Mexicans in the United States in response to and as a consequence of the negative rhetoric. This thesis analyzes discourse including the harmful rhetoric and its impact on policy formulation, public perception, and the lived experiences of Mexican immigrants and ethnic Mexican communities. By looking at existing discourse, this research provides a critical discourse analysis of political speeches, media coverage, and ethnic Mexican testimonios. …

Labors Of Love And Loss: Exploring Relationships In Remitting Latine-American Families, Sequoyah Sv Hilton

Master's Theses

This paper examines the impact remittances have in Latin-American families across borders through qualitative interviews. Remittances, or international transfers of money, are a common support strategy of global migrant communities. There are divergent opinions on remittances, either positioning them as a great potential for developing lower and middle-income countries, or critiquing them as too heavily depended on by states and created as a survival support mechanism by communities to compensate for state neglect. While they are a massive cash flow at the international level, there is a greater need to blend analyses of remittances at the international level at the …

Book Review: The Shaming State: How The U.S. Treats Citizens In Need, Steve Matthewman

Critical Disaster Studies

Salman’s book centers two different constituencies, in two different locations, in the 2010s, who have been impacted by two different disasters. The first group are Iraqi refugees who have been resettled in Wayne County, Michigan. Trying to start again over half a world away, they are trapped in the transit lounge of life, never able to move on, never able to properly belong. They found a state in recession, the automobile industry collapsing, the city of Detroit bankrupt. Their particular county had higher unemployment than the state’s average and a poor median income as well. Economically speaking, ‘Michigan fared worse …

Shakamohtaa: Connecting And Coming Together To Support International Student Career Readiness, Sabreena Macelheron

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

In the evolving Canadian landscape, permanent residency acquisition has undergone a transformative shift from land sales to educational credential procurement. Canadian higher education markets post-secondary qualifications to international students (IS) seeking migration routes, posing nuanced challenges. IS, despite holding higher education credentials, often find themselves relegated to non-field specific jobs due to existing disparities in the Canadian job market. Amid this equation, IS grapple with the essential need for pre-and-post graduate career experiences to fulfill eligibility criteria for permanent residency application. This pursuit extends beyond merely aligning with their credentials, requiring conformity to approved national occupation codes aligned with …

3rd Place Contest Entry: Cultural Attitudes Towards Ethnic Cuisine In Italy, Rachel Berns

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Rachel Berns' submission for the 2024 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won third place. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a sample of their research project on cultural attitudes toward ethnic cuisine in Italy.

Rachel is a fourth-year student at Chapman University, majoring in Health Sciences. Their faculty mentors are Dr. Anuradha Prakash and Dr. Sara Mattavelli.

The Reconfiguration Of The Spanish-Moroccan Border Regime: The Impact Of The 2021 Diplomatic Border Crisis, Shayra Nunez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The paper focuses on the relationship between Morocco and Spain, particularly those affecting migration control at the border in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The research question is: how do the events of May 2021 (the unauthorized opening of the border by Morocco) impact migration control practices in Ceuta and Melilla, and what are the implications for Spanish-Moroccan operational cooperation? The unauthorized opening of the border is conceptualized as a “diplomatic border crisis,” which is also a main contribution of this paper. The study analyzes this incident, which has impacted the border regime and led to changes in …

Diaspora As A Cultural Hearth: A Case Study Of The Amazigh In Morocco, Maximo Ellis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Diaspora consists of a group of people who reside in a location different from their imagined homeland. Despite the growing prevalence and prominence of diasporas around the world as contact between cultures becomes more frequent, there is relatively little consensus regarding the nature of diaspora communities and their identity construction. This paper uses the case study of the Amazigh diaspora to reveal some of the nuances and aspects that affect both the creation and spread of identity within diasporas. The Amazigh diaspora differs from other diasporas because it is a historically marginalized and oppressed group within their countries of origin, …

Navigating Intersectional Identities: Mental Health Challenges And Accessibility To Mental Health Care Among Sub-Saharan Migrant Women In Morocco, Soraya Babahaji

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the beginning of the 21st century, as Morocco transitions from solely being a transit point to Europe to becoming a destination country for Sub-Saharan migrants, policies have been implemented to improve migrant integration. Morocco launched the National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum in 2015 which strives to ensure accessibility to essential services for migrants, such as education, healthcare, and integration into the workforce. In addition, through the 2013 New Migration Policy framework, King Mohammed VI aims to “include avenues for regularization” to help migrants integrate into Moroccan society.

This paper addresses how intersecting factors of identity can lead to …

Interviews And Perspectives Among Community Members Working With Undocumented Female Border Crossers In The States Along The United States-Mexico Border, Melissa M. Frasco

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In order to discuss immigration in the context of the United States, we must dispel the myth that immigration is monolithic. Therefore, when we discuss national identity, gender equality, policy, employment rates, and countless other ordinary topics, we are discussing immigration, as it is embedded in our history and our future. The goal of my research is to delineate the experiences of violence that female border crossers undergo in the process of crossing into the United States via the southernmost border. The data collection process involved four semi-structured interviews to collect oral histories from workers at community-based organizations. These organizations …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …