Reclamancipation: A Story Of Brilliance, Resilience, And Transilience, Nia A. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

The experiences of African American women are composed of more than the maltreatment that often exclusively defines them. Oppression and celebration intermingle to define the identities of African American women, and this thesis proposes a method to understand this reality through an exchange of stories in the form of a customizable board game. The game educates those inside and outside the African American women’s community by encouraging the emancipation of self, decolonization of society, and formation of empathy. This thesis embraces intersectional feminism, womanism, and linguistic descriptivism. The research is informed by personal narratives of African American women ages 23-71 …

Theorizing #Girlboss Culture: Mediated Neoliberal Feminisms From Influencers To Multi-Level Marketing Schemes, Frankie Mastrangelo

Theses and Dissertations

I define girlboss feminism as emergent, mediated formations of neoliberal feminism that equate feminist empowerment with financial success, market competition, individualized work-life balance, and curated digital and physical presences driven by self-monetization. I look toward how the mediation of girlboss feminism utilizes branded and affective engagements with representational politics, discourses of authenticity and rebellion, as well as meritocratic aspiration to promote cultural interest in conceptualizing feminism in ways that are divorced from collective, intersectional struggle. I question the stakes involved in reducing feminist interrogations and commitments to discourses of representation, visibility, and meritocracy. I argue that while girlboss feminism may …

"With The Commodity In The Hand": A Practical Investigation Of The Intersection Of Material Culture With Performance Theory, Katharine M. Given

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the intersection of performance theory and material culture through the practices of garment reconstruction. In chapter 1, I examine key theorists in the fields of material culture and performance studies and articulate the connections between the two fields. In chapter 2, Using practice as research, I recount the experience of building reproduction garments from the eighteenth century using historically appropriate tools and methods, as well as the experience of wearing those garments. Finally, in Chapter 3, I walk through a possible historical examination of my encounter with these reconstructed garments, and consider the way in which feminine …

The Space Between “Seen” And “Unseen:” Queer People And The 1915-1945 New Negro Renaissance, Claudia R. Campanella

Dissertations and Theses

In November 1926, a group of Black artists, writers, and activists created the first and only edition of Fire!!, edited by novelist Wallace Thurman. Fire!! was created by a younger generation of New Negroes and “devoted to the younger Negro artists” who dissented from the mainstream ideas of the New Negro Movement and used the magazine to spread their own views on the 1915-1945 New Negro Renaissance. Fire!! and other texts speaking to this dissent against a Black intellectual middle class image of the movement will be studied in reference to showcasing the multi-faceted elements of the movement touching …

Correctional Education As Therapeutic Change: Exploring The Use Of Animal-Assisted Therapy Programs With Incarcerated Women, Terrie Ciez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Throughout history and in every culture and country, animals and humans have formed special bonds often as pets. Well trained pets have often been used in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) programs in hospitals and nursing homes to help patients cope with illnesses and recovery while away from home. Pet visits to these facilities have documented reductions in medications, stress, and loneliness when a simple wet nose reaches on to a patient’s bed for attention. A variety of animals have been incorporated into various facilities ranging from birds, fish tanks, and puppies and kittens to relieve the stress of residents. A …

Sociodemographic Influence On Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls In Nigeria, Christian Otado Mbulu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescent pregnancy is a phenomenon that affects the entire world. The effect can be apparent at the individual, family, and societal levels. In 2013, the rate of adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria was 149 per 1,000 aged 10 to 19 years. In this cross-sectional quantitative study, the association between adolescent pregnancies, type of place of residence, household head age, and household head gender was examined for Nigerian adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years who participated in the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. The framework for this study was the Socioecological Model (SEM). Three research questions were analyzed using univariate, …

Issues Facing Community-Based Social Workers When Providing Female Offenders With Reunification Services, Karen N. Vertti

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe goal with this action research project was to understand how community-based social workers (CBSWs) could address female offenders’ and their children’s needs while striving to reintegrate them into the community of Central Los Angeles County, California. Postrelease female offenders with children suffer from a variety of issues related to housing, employment, and personal childhood trauma. The trauma exacerbates the risk of revictimization and recidivism. CBSWs play a pivotal role in helping female offenders overcome barriers to successful reentry and reunify with their children. This study incorporated Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory which provided a systems lens to this project. The …

Educational Strategies For Healthcare Providers Of Postpartum Women With Substance Use Disorder, Agnes Denise White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractProviding educational strategies to maternal-child staff members can improve their attitudes, perceptions, and stigma towards the childbearing age women who are substance users. In the United States, an increased number of pregnant women have substance abuse problems. It is important that the maternal child staff have the resources and are equipped to care for women who are substance users struggling with their addictions and motherhood. The purpose of this project was to determine whether an educational program provided to postpartum nurses increased knowledge on the special needs of the new mother with a substance abuse issue. The education of the …

Post-9/11 Women Veterans' Experiences Transitioning Into The Civilian Workforce, Qwynn Anna Galloway-Salazar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Post-9/11 veterans’ transitional challenges have become an important topic in veteran studies. However, there was a gap in the literature regarding post-9/11 women veterans’ transitions into the civilian workforce. This interpretative phenomenological analysis explored the lived experiences, challenges, and perceptions of eight post-9/11 women veterans (four enlisted and four commissioned officers) who had transitioned from the military into the civilian workforce within the last 5 years. The study was guided by Schlossberg’s transition theory. Data from transcribed participant interviews were coded and analyzed for emergent themes. The superordinate themes included navigating the career transition, exploring identity shifts, accessibility and use …

Gender Equality And Equity Narratives Amongst Women In Nongovernmental Organizations, Barbara Etta Austin-Lucas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gender equality and equity narratives of women members of registered nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been largely unexamined relative to their lived experiences in healthcare, education, socioeconomic status, and political participation. The purpose of this study was to explore the narratives of women members of registered NGOs located in the Northeastern United States. The gender equality and equity narratives of women in registered NGOs related to their experiences with healthcare, education, socioeconomic status, and political participation were explored. For this qualitative narrative research, the conceptual framework was the narrative policy framework theory, which explores how narratives influence public opinion, policy dialogue, …

A Narrative Policy Framework And Feminist Critical Policy Analysis Of The Welfare Reform Acts, And The Higher Education Of Single Welfare Mothers, Evelyn Jean Mangin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractScholars approached poverty through welfare reform by focusing on reductions in caseloads, timing out of benefits, and who was and not deserving of a four-year college degree. There is limited research regarding the power of narratives during the policy process and their influences on the language in welfare public laws. This qualitative study addressed the gap in the literature and policy analysis research by comparing and analyzing the welfare narratives and language used by policymakers and political actors from four presidential administrations: Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, between 1996-2018. This study employed the narrative policy framework (NPF), a theory …

Experience Of Gender Role Expectations And Negotiation In Second Generation Desi Couples, Deepa Patel

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Due to the lack of research on the Desi community, this qualitative study was the first of its kind to investigate the process of gender role expectation and negotiation style among second generation Desi couples. Previous research provided awareness of unequal treatment amongst the male and female genders within the patriarchal structure of the Desi community. However, this study provided a unique understanding on Desi couples’ perspective on gender dynamics. Six couples, ages 25- 35, who were married for at least 3 years and identified as second generation Desi were interviewed in order to gain a deeper understanding of gender …

Why Is Race A Risk Factor For Infants Born With Birth Defects?: Deconstructing The Biological Basis Of Race In Maternal-Fetal Medicine Through The Lens Of Reproductive Justice, Amrita Bhagia

Master's Theses

Several studies have shown that marginalized populations, especially those of non-white race/ethnicity, have an increased risk of having infants born with severe birth defects. Existing hypotheses from the scientific literature on the topic of birth defects have primarily suggested that these trends may be the result of differential genetic susceptibilities within certain racial groups, a theory that reifies the (currently disproven) biological basis of race. Through this thesis, I argue that the myth of the biological basis of race continues to exist within maternal-fetal medicine today, where it is used to further the narrative that the bodies of women of …

Rethinking Intimacy: Liberation Through Decolonial & Queer World-Making, Michelle Mae Mcguire

Master's Theses

Relationships play an important role in both the private and public spheres of our lives. If we understand our bodies to be the vessels through which we interact with all other objects, we come to understand the process of world-making as a summation of our relationships. Intimacy is the prevailing structure that helps assign meaning to these relationships. Intimacy binds together unfixed spatial and social relations that stretch across time and space. This essay examines the three intersecting sets of relations involved in intimacy as a means to deconstruct heteropatriarchal order and highlight the multiplicity of attachments and relationships that …

Helen Of Troy? A Reexamination Of Helen's Speech In The Iliad, Erin A. Robichaud

Senior Independent Study Theses

In most interpretations, Helen of Troy’s beauty makes her a vain, promiscuous, and dangerous woman. This is the Helen that patriarchal societies have written into existence and passed on to later generations, but it is not the Helen that appears in the Iliad. This thesis argues that Helen’s voice makes her a perceptive and powerful strategist. On different occasions, Helen adopts the speech patterns of various social groups represented in Homeric society in order to assume their identity. She builds a Trojan and a Greek persona as a means to protect herself from the trauma she experiences during the …

Arab American Women In Engineering: How Did Their Culture Influence Their Achievement?, Iktimal Bia Hamed

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This body of research examined the Arab American culture and its impact on women who studied the male-dominated major of engineering. Through a qualitative approach, women born and raised in an Arab American home unpacked their experiences since childhood that made them who they are today. The 10 female Arab American participants shared how they made it through and successfully completed their major in engineering. This study focused on engineering, since there has been little to no growth in women who major in this male-dominated subject. This research examined how the participants’ parents, extended family, friends, community, and both K-12 …

Black Feminist Thought, Interrupted: Dissecting The Voice Of Black Feminists In The Blogosphere And Their Engagement With Platform Affordances, Dawn G. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

BLACK FEMINIST THOUGHT, INTERRUPTED

DISSECTING THE VOICE OF BLACK FEMINISTS IN THE BLOGOSPHERE AND THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITH PLATFORM AFFORDANCES

By Dawn G. Johnson, Ph.D

A dissertation submitted to the faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Media, Art, and Text Department in the College of Humanities and Sciences

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2021

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Archana Pathak, Associate Professor, Dept. of Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University

Black women that have long searched for spaces to be creative and have voice due to their …

The Great Upheaval: Women And Nation In Postwar Nigeria, Judith A. Byfield

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

This social and intellectual history of women’s political activism in postwar Nigeria reveals the importance of gender to the study of nationalism and poses new questions about Nigeria’s colonial past and independent future.

In the years following World War II, the women of Abeokuta, Nigeria, staged a successful tax revolt that led to the formation first of the Abeokuta Women’s Union and then of Nigeria’s first national women’s organization, the Nigerian Women’s Union, in 1949. These organizations became central to a new political vision, a way for women across Nigeria to define their interests, desires, and needs while fulfilling the …

Woman To Woman: Community And Belonging Among Lesbian And Queer Feminist Activists In Haifa, Israel, Lauren Copeland

Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies

This dissertation focuses on experiences of belonging among lesbian and queer feminist activist women in the women-only organization Isha L’Isha. As the oldest feminist organization in Israel, Isha L’Isha was established in 1983 and has roots dating back to the 1970s. I spent one year (2017-2018) engaging in participant observation and conducting 40 interviews with current and former members of the group. Using Isha L’Isha as a lens through which to examine the multilayered ways in which gendered activism shapes experiences of belonging, this project centers the experiences and narratives of four women: Talma, Sophie, Amira, and Maya.

This work …

Divine Narcissism: Raising A Secure Middle-Aged Adult, Rachel Sachs Riverwood

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Utilizing an arts-based feminist autoethnographic stance and method, this dissertation is an evocative exploration of the process and experience of attempting to develop a cohesive identity and build a secure attachment to the self. The author uses countercultural methods—prioritizing and centralizing her experience and uncovering and acting in defiance of oppressive norms—to identify and experience their impact on her identity and intra- and inter- personal relationships. Various tensions are explored, including the suppression of self and desire, self-objectification, fearful-avoidant attachment, and shame; and their influence on engaging in emotional and sexual intimacy is examined. Critique on the role of female …