Digital Commons Network^™

Cultural Fidelity: An Exploration Of Oral Tradition And Its Role In Preserving Cultural Identity In Nigerians Of The Diaspora, Veronica L. Graham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Oral tradition is a dynamic communicative practice through which diasporic individuals construct meaning, transmit memory, and sustain intergenerational belonging. Against the backdrop of cultural displacement, linguistic adaptation, and identity negotiation, this study examined the role of oral tradition in preserving cultural identity amongst Nigerians of the diaspora. It also interrogated how oral practices—often considered antiquated or informal within Western paradigms—function as enduring technologies of cultural continuity. Guided by multi-generational voices that reflect the evolving nature of oral expression across diasporic contexts, the findings of this study indicate that oral tradition remains a powerful mechanism through which diasporic Nigerians preserve cultural …

Narrating The New Cold War: Investigating Chinese Cyber Propaganda And Sino-American Tensions On Bilibili, William G. Highfill

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform originally known for its anime, comics, and gaming (ACG) content, as a critical site for the formation and circulation of nationalist discourse in the context of a “New Cold War” between the United States and China. As ideological rivalry increasingly shifts from traditional state media and military posturing to decentralized digital platforms, Bilibili offers a unique case study in how propaganda evolves in participatory online spaces. Through a combination of digital ethnography and discourse analysis, this research explores how Bilibili’s algorithmic infrastructure, comment culture (弹幕), and remix-oriented design allow users to not …

The Algorithm Of Inclusion: Homonationalism, Queer Advocacy, And Digital Marketing Of Un Ecosoc Ingos And Indian Ngos, Dewansh Chauhan

Master's Theses

Advocacy organizations have increasingly turned to social media as digital platforms become integral to contemporary activism, shaping public discourse and securing institutional legitimacy. This thesis examines the organizational communication of organizations that support marginalized sexualities within a neoliberal and homonationalist context. Employing Critical Content Analysis (CCA), the study analyzes a representative sample of 200 Instagram posts from 2024, comparing two international NGOs with ECOSOC status at the UN (Outright International and ILGA) and two national NGOs in India (Humsafar Trust and Naz Foundation). The findings reveal how homonationalist tendencies may manifest at the intersection of engagement metrics, identity-centric rhetoric, brand …

Political Communication In A Multicultural Metropolis: Chinese Ethnic Media And The 2023 Toronto Mayoral By-Election, Dongwei Lin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Chinese are the second largest visible minority group in Canada and the most frequently reported ethnic or cultural origin in Toronto. Mandarin and Cantonese are, respectively, the largest and third largest non-official languages in Toronto. However, little research exists on the role of the Chinese ethnic community in Toronto municipal politics, especially the role of Chinese ethnic media in Toronto municipal elections.

The key argument of this thesis is that “Chinese ethnic media represent complementary public sphere(s) for informing and engaging Chinese Canadians in local political participation and discussion.” Through the 2023 Toronto Mayoral By-Election case study, this thesis examines …

Diaspora Politics And A Rising China: Ambivalent Ties Amid Geopolitical Changes, Jiaqi M. Liu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Over the past decade, the rise of China on the global stage has witnessed the emergence of members of the Chinese diaspora as new meso-level actors in mediating Sino-Western relations. As part of China’s burgeoning “public diplomacy” around the globe, Chinese migrants organize cultural events to establish grassroots and semi-official exchanges between China and the West. This chapter provides a state-of-the-art examination of so-called “diasporic public diplomacy” whereby the Chinese diaspora plays an increasingly important role in promoting China’s soft power abroad. Based on long-term fieldwork in a prominent emigrant community, I analyse how Chinese national policies envision two specific …

Spartan Daily, November 2, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 32

Social Media's Impact On The Puerto Rican Diaspora After Hurricane Maria, Heidi Lynn Steidel Ii Camacho

Theses and Dissertations

Puerto Rico has belonged to the United States for more than a century. In 1898, more than two decades after the Spanish American War, Spain formally ceded the island to the United States. Just over 20 years later, islanders officially became American citizens. Since then, the 100-mile-long by 35-mile-wide island has experienced economic and political crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and life-threatening natural disasters. These events provoked a vast fluctuation in its population. After Hurricane Maria unfolded in September 2017, more than 200,000 Puerto Ricans moved to the continental United States to start new lives (Schwartz, 2018). This qualitative study sheds …

Complete Issue, Volume 39, Issue 1

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 39, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Chimes: December 5, 2022, Calvin University

Chimes

Solar project moving towards 2023 installation by David Ogboro

SPAUD program expanding to meet demand by Grace Buller

Calvin connections win major elections by Katie Rosendale

Betsy DeVos visit spurs engagement, dialogue by Savannah Shustack & Maya Oeverman

Learning in the messy middle: Student experiences of Calvin's political climate by Adelaide Mei & Hadassa Ribeiro

Men's and women's basketball off to strong starts by Lauren Nyong

MLK today: Former Calvin professor's new book on U.S. societal issues by Gabriel Choi

Students arts orgs make space for rest and expression despite challenges by Kipp De Man

Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Complete Volume 6, 2022

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

A Pedagogy Of Consilience And Renewal, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This essay calls for a pedagogy of consilience and renewal as a dynamic fusion of research and practices in order to provide a more coherent way of examining some of the keen, interlaced variables that trouble the academy and society. The project challenges scholars to study five key scholarship of learning variables that should help transform the way we look at pedagogy for the betterment of North American society and beyond. The variables—a quintile—are knowledge, geography, critical thinking, civic engagement, and empathy.

All Together Now

DePaul Magazine

New initiatives across campus, such as the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, Social Impact Incubator program and College of Law curricular changes, amplify DePaul’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

2022 Iggad Conference Program, Charles Joyner Institute For Gullah And African Diaspora Studies

IGGAD Conference Programs

Program of the 2022 IGGAD Conference: Who Owns This? Communities, Heritage, and Preservation.

Afroam: A Virtual Film Production Group, Bill Taylor Jr.

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Because of the gatekeeping practices of the Hollywood film industry, and the high cost of both filmmaking and distribution in general, Afro-American filmmakers have struggled to produce films with “global reach.” This study visits the possibility of Afro-American filmmakers using alternative technologies and infrastructures to produce high-quality films, thereby bypassing the high cost and exclusionary practices of Hollywood studios. Using new 21st-century digital technology, this study involved the creation of a small geographically dispersed virtual film production team. The study’s foundational framework was a constructivist qualitative research paradigm, using Action Research, and supported by 24 months of triangulated data from …

Chimes: November 8, 2021, Calvin University

Chimes

What have we lost? by Timothy Lin

JV soccer makes the most of five-game season by Jamison Van Andel

Calvin Prison Initiative reconnects after season of remote learning by Grace Toma

Christians, climate change and the church: Calvin staff reflect on environmental stewardship by Kipp De Man

Labor and supply chain challenges cause catering limitations by Isaiah Tenhuisen

Calvin alum founds non-profit for transracial foster care adoptees, global partnership by Hadassa Ribeiro

Non-traditional STEM students bring life experience to class by Sarah Gibes

Artist Collaborative gets an update by Ezra Craker

Chimes: September 20, 2021, Calvin University

Chimes

Concerts are back on campus. Proof of vaccination required by Ezra Craker

Facilities contactors struggle to resume recycling by Lauren Vanden Bosch

Changes to enrollment strategy a step in the right direction; efforts continue by Harm Venhuizen

January Series 2022 speakers revealed; N.T. Wright to make record-breaking sixth appearance by Katherine Benedict

Political science and economics departments unite as one by Grace Toma

Project Neighborhood combines service, community and learning by Michaela Giovannelli

Calvin alumni and former professor enter ArtPrize amid big changes by Isaiah Tenhuisen & Ezra Craker

Volleyball beats Chicago in latest ranked showdown by Jamison Van Andel …

A Work Of Heart

DePaul Magazine

This article looks at the internship opportunities that DePaul students have available to kickstart their career through such programs as DePaul WORKS and INSuRE. Alumni in the museum, education and counseling, cybersecurity, law and public relations fields are interviewed.

Chimes: November 6, 2020, Calvin University

Chimes

Consulate closures keep international first-years stuck in home countries by Alex Raycroft

University to 'strongly encourage' vaccine once available by Sarah Gibes

Trump holds his final-ever campaign event in Grand Rapids by Katherine Benedict

COVID-19 cases rise as the end of the semester approaches by Lauren Vanden Bosch

Athletes gain an additional year of eligibility by Jamison Van Andel

Performing with restrictions has Improv team thinking on their feet by Susannah Epp

Princeton Review recognizes Calvin as green campus by Sarah Gibes

Dorm atmosphere tense, impatient while awaiting election results by Alex Raycroft

Spartan Daily, October 1, 2020, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2020

Volume 155, Issue 18

2020 Iggad Conference Program, Charles Joyner Institute For Gullah And African Diaspora Studies

IGGAD Conference Programs

Program of the 2020 IGGAD Conference: Without Borders: Tracing the Cultural, Archival, and Political African Diaspora.

Complete Issue, Volume 39, Issue 2

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 39, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

The Anonymous Web In Adichie’S Americanah, Michelle Jude Gibeault

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adichie’s Americanah is a novel that elevates anonymous blogging into black cultural performance. The novel follows a young Nigerian, Ifemelu, who arrives in the United States on a student visa and depicts her stressful confrontation with racism in post-slavery America. Through beginning a blog, Ifemelu voices her experiences as a black woman and immigrant in ways that renew the concerns of James Baldwin, an author whom she studies closely. Like Baldwin, her style blends humor and techniques of persuasion that trace to traditional oral folklore. Ifemelu’s success rests partly on Adichie’s construction of her as a character of good ethos, …

Moving Forward, Living Backward, Or Just Standing Still?: Newspaper Theatre, Critical Race Theory, And Commemorating The Wade-Braden Trial In Louisville, Kentucky, Amy Steiger

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This essay, with a link to the full group-devised script of "Moving Forward, Living Backward, or Just Standing Still?" describes how graduate students entering an MFA acting program devised a performance inspired by the WPA’s Living Newspapers and Boal’s Newspaper Theatre to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Wade-Braden housing case in Louisville, KY. Drawing on critical race theory, I argue that the process, together with the script itself, offers an example of several ways performance can be used to remember and re-imagine a community’s racial history and future. It commemorated the trial itself, creating a public reminder of Louisville’s …

Where Blackness And Cape Verdeanness Intersect: Reflections On A Monoracial And Multiethnic Reality In The United States, Callie Watkins Liu

Journal of Cape Verdean Studies

As a Black American and fourth generation Cape Verdean American growing up in the United States, I’ve found that race and ethnicity are frequently conflated in ways that obscure my social reality and identity or put two integrated parts of myself into opposition with each other. In examining my own ethno-racial experience, I use critical race studies and identity construction to disentangle the structural concepts of race and ethnicity and build a frame work for understanding my own integrated existence within the United States. My personal trajectory is situated within the current and historical sociostructural context of Diaspora, White Supremacy …

2019 Iggad Conference Program, Charles Joyner Institute For Gullah And African Diaspora Studies

IGGAD Conference Programs

Program of the 2019 IGGAD Conference: Tracing the African Diaspora: Places of Suffering, Resilience, and Reinvention.

Engaging The Verbs Of Social Justice As We Trace Our Legacies And Our Relevance 2017 National Communication Association Annual Convention Opening Session, Amber L. Johnson, Javon Johnson

Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies Faculty Research

This essay introduces the collected performances and responses presented during the Opening Session of the 2017 National Communication Association annual convention held in Dallas, TX.

How To Read The Black Atlantic, Brian J. Klarman

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

n/a

Back To Africa In The 21st Century: The Cultural Reconnection Experiences Of African American Women, Marcia Tate Arunga

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the lived experiences of 18 African American women who went to Kenya, East Africa as part of a Cultural Reconnection delegation. A qualitative narrative inquiry method was used for data collection. This was an optimal approach to honoring the authentic voices of African American women. Eighteen African American women shared their stories, revelations, feelings and thoughts on reconnecting in their ancestral homeland of Africa. The literature discussed includes diasporic returns as a subject of study, barriers to the return including the causes of historic trauma, and how Black women as culture bearers …

The Jjie Virtual World Journalism Project: Experimenting With Virtual Worlds As An Emerging Journalism Platform, Claire M. Bohrer

Symposium of Student Scholars

Although immersive journalism in the virtual world was pioneered by journalist and documentary filmmaker Nonny de la Peña years ago, traditional journalists are just now discovering its potential as an alternative platform to report the news. This study explores the singularities of immersive journalism in virtual worlds using the "Marginalized Youth Voices Amplified on Virtual Worlds" project, which a journalism professor at a southern public university received a grant to develop. The grant came from an Online News Association Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education, and has been involved in efforts to produce 3D-scenario machinimas (action videos inside virtual …

Chimes: September 18, 2015, Calvin College

Chimes

SE dynasty delivers, wins by a tug by Maddie Hughey

Art exhibition premieres on campus by Jon Gorter

Student organization raises awareness about human trafficking by Maddie Hughey

Women's soccer wins fourth straight, two in conference by Mark Peless

Inside Out a huge return success for Pixar by Nate Hunt

Study observes whale social networks by Natasha Strydhorst

Syrian refugees need us by James Li

Cultural Awareness on Chaos Night by Kelsey Powers