Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

Memory Bread, Nisiqi

Art + Design Masters Theses

Memory Bread, constituting a daily performance ritual and the post-action objects, seeks to address the generational decline of mother language use in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a post-colonized province of China. I chose to eat sliced white bread in the performance and later casted concrete sculptures as the extension of the action for both substances’ capitalistic nature. Being an invasive material that took over the traditional architectural lifestyle, the use of concrete mirrors the pervasive cultural and ethnic assimilation in China. Meanwhile, the materiality of concrete being a mixture of various substances also metaphors the mixed culture that Chinese-Mongolians …

Beyond A Mapping Exercise: Inclusion Of Aboriginal Traditional Ecological Knowledge In Parks And Protected Areas Management, David Cook

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper examines current approaches for Parks and Protected Areas (PPA) managers in incorporating Aboriginal Traditional and Ecological Knowledge (ATEK) into their management plans. This paper focuses on two case-studies. They are Nahanni National Park and Reserve in the Dehcho region of the Northwest Territories, and the Whitefeather Forest Protected Area in the Pikangikum First Nations Traditional Territory in Ontario. They were chosen because of their unique approaches to include Aboriginal communities in the planning process and their designation as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The broader indigenous involvement policies of both Parks Canada and Ontario Parks are examined using academic …

Domestic Violence In Culturally And Linguistically Diverse (Cald) Communities: Perceptions, Therapeutic Approaches And Responses Of Frontline Workers In New South Wales (Nsw), Oluwatoyin A. Dedeigbo

Theses

Domestic violence is a universal public health concern (VicHealth, 2011; World Health Organisation [WHO], 2013). Domestic violence cuts across all countries, regardless of economic, social, cultural or religious differences (Ali et al., 2020; VicHealth, 2011; WHO 2013). Men are often responsible for perpetrating domestic violence against women (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2019; Australia Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2018).

The effects of domestic violence on victims can be serious and long-term; affecting their physical and mental wellbeing, and lingering even after the exposure to violence has ended (Mitchell, 2011). That is, the effect on victims’ mental health is …

The Dark Underbellies Of The Littles: A History Of The Indo-Guyanese Diaspora, Race And Identity, Kiran J. Baldeo

Dissertations and Theses

This historical analysis explores Guyanese immigration to the United States as well as the development of the Indo-Guyanese ethnic enclave, “Little Guyana,” located in Queens, New York. This thesis moves beyond the romanticized image of ethnic enclaves in New York City and argues that while perhaps picturesque on the surface, Little Guyana is the result of the fraught history of British colonialism, slavery, and indentured servitude and the sociocultural resilience of the Indo-Guyanese people. Using Little Guyana as a window onto the Indo-Guyanese American experience this thesis explores the ways in which racial tensions in Guyana have taken shape in …

Increasing Latino Participation Rates In The 2020 Census In Chelsea, Ma, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Daniela Bravo, Franklin Ortiz

Gastón Institute Publications

Having an accurate count of the city of Chelsea’s Latino population will require strategic organizing by government officials and community leaders. If there is an undercount of the population, especially of immigrants who live in Chelsea, there will be long-term and potentially devastating effects on the city’s political power and less federal funding to address the needs of its Latino majority. We hope the results from this qualitative study will inform policies and recommendations to increase the participation of Chelsea residents in the upcoming 2020 Census. We hope the results will aid in developing culturally specific outreach strategies to inform …

Buffalo Renaissance: The Northern Plains Tribes' Path To Self-Determination, Elizabeth Louise Johns

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This long-form journalistic story and photo essay is about the Blackfoot Tribes in the United States and Canada and their efforts to restore bison to their land, their diet, and their culture. In 2014, ten tribes from the United States and Canada came together at Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana to sign the Buffalo Treaty, a commitment to bringing wild buffalo back to parts of their historical range. The Treaty signing marked the first time in more than 150 years that a diverse group of tribes, some historical enemies, came together in the name of restoring the animal they evolved …

Marielle Franco, Rhaissa Sanches

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Marielle Franco was a Black, Brazilian activist (1979-2018) who rose from the favelas (poor areas) of Rio de Janeiro to be elected as a councilwoman in Rio's election of 2016. Franco was known for exposing the violence waged in the favelas by Brazil's military and police under the "pretense of maintaining law and order," as well as how the militia wields power over those who live in the favelas. In addition to detailing Franco's life, activism and death, this paper also explains the history and development of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the negative attitudes held …

Representations Of Africa In Us Media: A Semiotic Analysis Of Ebola: The Doctor’S Story And Body Team 12, Olubusola Akinpelu

Masters Theses

The Western media has often been criticized for biased coverage of happenings in and around Africa. The 2014 Ebola outbreak created a lot of media attention for West Africa, and by extension, the entire continent. This study examined to what extent postcolonial discourses were infused in two films from the HBO Trilogy: Ebola: The Doctor’s Story (2015) and Body Team 12 (2015). To analyze these texts, I took a semiotic approach by identifying, describing and interpreting the signs in both films, to discuss the postcolonial discourses in three broad themes. Ebola: The Doctor’s Story (2015) was analyzed in the …

Rethinking Rewilding Through Multispecies Justice, Danielle Celermajer

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler’s argument that some humans, especially some Indigenous peoples, neither conceive of themselves as ontologically distinct from nature, nor do they organize their lives as such, is an important one. However, one needs to understand how colonialism and global capitalism have drawn Indigenous peoples and animals into new political economies. The new situation and the constrained opportunities available may have introduced a range of injustices or forms of violence that did not previously exist. This commentary proposes how a multispecies justice lens might assist in evaluating the most just arrangement for all parties, human and non-human.

The Impact Of The American Civil War On Political Writing In Jamaica And Cuba, Jonathon J. Booth

Publications

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Study: Black Male College Students’ Perceptions Of Campus Law Enforcement Officers On A College Campus, Junelle M. Bennett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Black males are often the recipients of police brutality, criminal stereotyping, and inequitable treatment in higher education. This qualitative study examined the experiential narratives of 15 Black male college students’ perception towards law enforcement officers. The data was collected via one-on-one interviews, concluded with a focus group, and then presented in narrative forums. The participants’ feelings, attitudes, or beliefs about themselves as Black males significantly contributed to their inherent identification of the cultural challenges associated with law enforcement officers. The participants’ personal and vicarious life experiences prior to enrolling into higher education were significant to the authentic comprehension of the …

The Transnational Construction Of National Music (Kugak): Musicking In The Korean Diaspora, 1903-1945, Heeyoung Choi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the preservation and adaptation of Korean-ness through musical performances in the Korean peninsula and in Hawai‘i during the early twentieth century, when Korea was a Japanese colony. Hawai‘i deserves special attention because the first and largest Korean diasporic communities in America were established in Hawai‘i during this period. More importantly, cultural environments in early twentieth-century Hawai‘i and Korea were similar in that both featured diverse music cultures of different ethnic origins and new cultural infrastructures under the influence of imperialism. This study investigates the reactions of existing Korean performing arts to the influx of foreign culture affecting …

Social Change Leadership Development Associated With Black Greek Letter Organizations (Bglo): Determining How The Divine Nine Bglos Develop Social Change Leaders, Jason Reco Goode

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study sought to add literature to the topic of Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) that were part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) by exploring the benefits of BGLO membership related to social change leadership development. There were no studies that explained how BGLOs developed social change leaders. This qualitative study of BGLOs used two 90-minute interviews to gather data about BGLO member’s perceptions regarding their social change leadership development. The literature review provided history on the inception of Greek organizations, founding of BGLOs, the NPHC, non-NPHC Black Greek organizations, Masonic influence, student development, student leadership theories, activism, social …

S.I.S. (Suffering In Silence): The Influence Of Educational Attainment On Black Women’S Health, Quiana Chakeena Jones

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry study was to explore the influence of educational attainment on Black women’s perceptions of their health. Empirical research indicates the causes of stress and other health concerns pertaining to Black women are often rooted in racism and discrimination. Within the literature, the barriers that many African American women face within the educational system on all levels are discussed. However, there are few studies that have specifically researched the connection between educational attainment regarding receiving bachelorette degrees or higher and how or if that has an influence on Black women’s health. As such, the …

Issues Of Modernity In Russian And U.S. Southern Discourse: Literary And Cinematic Crosscurrents, Zachary John Killebrew

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation traces formulations of modernity, national and regional identity, and economy in the literature and film of Russia and the U.S. South from serfdom to the Second World War. Studying serf and slave narratives, Russian Realist and Southern Renaissance novels such as The Brothers Karamazov (1879), Demons (1872), The Sound and the Fury (1929), Tobacco Road (1932), and Wise Blood (1952), and American and Soviet films such as Volga, Volga (1938) and Cabin in the Sky (1943), this examination locates within Russo-Southern discourses a shared interest in striking out against Western or Northern epistemologies to assert a “peripheral” modernity …

First-Generation Black Males’ Challenges In Attending A Pwi: Understanding What Makes Them Persist, Shakeitra Simmons

Masters Theses

Using qualitative methodology, the researcher studied the challenges and persistence factors for undergraduate First-generation Black males to persist at a Predominantly White Institution. Through conducting six one-on-one semi-structured interviews, the researcher identified the challenges faced by this group of students as mental health, lack of support, and racism/microaggressions. The researcher also identified the factors for persistence at the PWI to be upward mobility, family and school personnel support, and campus involvement.

Untwining Threads: Second Wave Hmong Parents’ Conceptualizations Of Ways To Support Their Adolescent Children’S Education, Mao Sea Lee

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This research identifies the support systems for adolescents’ education within the second wave Hmong refugee family setting. The study examines the parents’ perspectives on their own support systems for their adolescents’ education. The work focuses on studying both the instrumental support and psychological care these parents provide their teenage children and interprets why these parents choose to provide these resources. Studying these parents’ ways of supporting their adolescents provided a more in-depth understanding of why these recent refugee parents choose to invest of their resources to their adolescents’ education and, subsequently, what education means to them. The research also brought …

Get Out (2017), Us (2019), And Jordan Peele's New Black Body Horror, Brady Simenson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis provides an analysis of Jordan Peele’s films, Get Out (2017) and Us (2019). The thesis contextualizes Get Out and Us as part of a protracted cultural conversation regarding monstrous images of the cinematic black body that began with Hollywood’s early monster films and continued into the culturally subversive era of blaxploitation horror films. While blaxploitation cinema reclaimed images of the racial Other that had been represented in the early creature feature subgenre, no such notable movement has subverted the more recent body horror subgenre. Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us shift this subgenre toward racially inverted body horror. …

If I Had A Dime, Franchesca Lopez

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

No abstract provided.

Drawing Identities: An Ethnography Of Indigenous Comic Book Creators, Melissa Ann Kocelko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the experiences of Indigenous comic creators when making comic books, and I aim to investigate the individual and communal motivations for creating comics. Representations of Indigenous characters and storylines have primarily been told through a white lens in mainstream comics. Within the past five years, this trend has shifted with increased academic and public attention on Indigenous comic books and the rise of comic conventions like Indigenous Pop X. I argue that these comics are acts of decolonization and self-determination where creators use comics as educational tools and as a form of cultural preservation by documenting Indigenous …