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A New Twist On The “Un-African” Script: Representing Gay And Lesbian African Weddings In Democratic South Africa, Michael W. Yarbrough Oct 2020

A New Twist On The “Un-African” Script: Representing Gay And Lesbian African Weddings In Democratic South Africa, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

This essay examines the media coverage surrounding two African weddings of lesbian and gay couples in South Africa, as a lens onto the evolving cultural politics of black queerness in that country. Two decades after South Africa launched a world-leading legal framework for LGBTI protections, I argue that these media representations depict the growing inclusion of black LGBTIQ people as a process of bridging the supposed “gap” between homosexuality and African culture. This new “bridging the gap” script seemingly rejects the older, dominant script portraying homosexuality as intrinsically “un-African.” But I argue that it instead reproduces the “un-African” script in …


The Culture Of Violent Talk: An Interpretive Approach, Peter Simi, Steven Windisch Jul 2020

The Culture Of Violent Talk: An Interpretive Approach, Peter Simi, Steven Windisch

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

One of the defining characteristics of extremist movements is the adherence to an ideology highly antagonistic to the status quo and one that permits or explicitly promotes the use of violence to achieve stated goals and to address grievances. For members of extremist groups, talk is one of the most concrete manifestations of how adherents communicate their ideas to each other and the general public. These discussions, however, do not necessarily involve a direct correspondence between words and future behavior. To better understand the culture of violent talk, we investigate how white supremacist extremists use these discussions as a rhetorical …


The Consequences And Correlates Of Racial Identity Discordance: An Explication Of The Social Construction Of Race, Eli X. Ornelas Jul 2020

The Consequences And Correlates Of Racial Identity Discordance: An Explication Of The Social Construction Of Race, Eli X. Ornelas

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study analyzes the rates at which different racial groups experience identity discordance, or the phenomenon of one’s self-ascribed racial identity not being commensurate with external perceptions of one’s race. While previous research has documented the possibility of discrepancy between self-ascribed and external classifications of racial identities, few empirical studies have sought to determine which racial groups are most susceptible to experiencing identity discordance or investigated specific mechanisms that may contribute to that discordance. Utilizing the 2006 wave of the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), the current study investigates the rate of identity discordance for Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, …


Inequality In Ethnic Representation In Secondary-School Literature Textbooks And National Examination In Vietnam, Anh Nguyen May 2020

Inequality In Ethnic Representation In Secondary-School Literature Textbooks And National Examination In Vietnam, Anh Nguyen

Honors Projects

This essay studies the dynamic between ethnic minorities and majority in the Vietnamese education system. By examining the appearance and representation of ethnic minorities in national literature curriculum, textbooks, and examinations, the analysis reflects the government's perspectives regarding the “appropriate” portrait of ethnic minorities' heritage and relationship with the majority. The study finds that Vietnamese education framework and content comply with the national construct of a Vietnamese identity across ethnicities. The state determines educational materials and selectively permits only aesthetic, politically benign, and Kinh-like narratives of ethnic minorities’ cultures, many written and/or chosen by Kinh authority rather than the ethnic …


Social Standards Of Imposition: Respectability And The Raj Through The Eyes Of Governess Marjorie Ussher, Erin A. Nelsen May 2020

Social Standards Of Imposition: Respectability And The Raj Through The Eyes Of Governess Marjorie Ussher, Erin A. Nelsen

Antonian Scholars Honors Program

The British Empire possesses a long history of imposing ways of thinking, political structures, economic structures, and social standards on their territories. From 1934 to 1940, during the final years of the Raj (British sovereignty in India), this imperialism extended to standards of beauty and respectability in Hyderabad, the capital of the Hyderabad state. These standards arise in the archived letters British governess Marjorie Ussher wrote to her family during this timeframe. Through a close reading of the letters, this thesis recognizes and reflects on Ussher’s aesthetics depictions of the people, objects, and the natural landscape around her. Within this …


Painted Nails: The Gender(Ed) Performance Of Queer Sexuality, Justin Rudnick Apr 2020

Painted Nails: The Gender(Ed) Performance Of Queer Sexuality, Justin Rudnick

Communication Studies Department Publications

In this essay, I interrogate my own experiences performing my queer identity through my painted nails. I attest to the ways queer bodies might performatively challenge and/or reinforce rigid norms of sexuality through mundane performances of (gendered) identity. To accomplish this, I engage in an autoethnographic exploration of queer performativity. I recount and analyze a series of anecdotes that illustrate how performances of queer identity in everyday life are accomplished—and policed—in mundane situations. In turn, I reflexively investigate the ways in which these performances situate me within a nexus of aesthetic, embodied, and ethical social interaction and performative resistance. I …


An Analysis Of Asexual Identity Clubs And Their Role On College Campuses, Ellen Yope Apr 2020

An Analysis Of Asexual Identity Clubs And Their Role On College Campuses, Ellen Yope

Honors Projects

Identifying the lack of college asexuality clubs and the positive influence they have on students. Advocating for the creation of asexuality clubs at colleges and universities and the benefits they provide for students, socially and academically.


United Or Divided? The Politics Of Euro-Mediterranean Regional Identity And Migration Governance, Sarah Hall Apr 2020

United Or Divided? The Politics Of Euro-Mediterranean Regional Identity And Migration Governance, Sarah Hall

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration management has become one of the foremost global governance challenges facing states today, as the number of people seeking to move across borders continues to rise exponentially. As a result, states have begun to band together into regions to collectively manage the flow of refugees and migrants into their territories. Given that these regions are grounded in the articulation of a common identity among member states, the overall trend of regionalism as it pertains to migration governance represents an interesting point of entry from which to analyze three intersecting dynamics: migration management, regional cooperation among states, and identity politics. …


Found In The World: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of How Place Influences The Growing Formation Of One’S Identity, Sydney Atkins Apr 2020

Found In The World: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of How Place Influences The Growing Formation Of One’S Identity, Sydney Atkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper incorporates both background information on place, human identity, and the African term Ubuntu, as well as personal stories from interviewees, to attempt to understand how both the physical location as well as human relationships aid in the growing formation of one’s identity. The stories synthesized in this paper come from individuals living in Cato Manor, as well as my own personal experiences living in Colorado, Louisiana, and South Africa. I conducted six interviews with participants ranging in age and gender. I asked them to share their stories with me when answering questions about their personal relationship to Cato …


Uniquely Okinawan: Determining Identity During The U.S. Wartime Occupation, Courtney A. Short Mar 2020

Uniquely Okinawan: Determining Identity During The U.S. Wartime Occupation, Courtney A. Short

History

When the U.S. military landed on the shores of Okinawa in 1945, they faced not only a fierce and battle-tested Japanese force, but also 463,000 Okinawan inhabitants. Larger than any other civilian population encountered by the Americans during previous campaigns throughout the Pacific islands, the people of Okinawa also had a unique and complex historical and political relationship with Japan. Okinawa never experienced subjugation as a colony, yet its acceptance as a prefecture did not yield equal treatment for the people because of their Ryukyuan heritage. As the U.S. military prepared for the Battle of Okinawa, they faced dangerous uncertainty …


Safe Zone Allies Workbook, Multicultural & Diversity Education Feb 2020

Safe Zone Allies Workbook, Multicultural & Diversity Education

Safe Zone Allies

This workbook is used for Safe Zone Allies training.


Older Women Using Women's Magazines: The Construction Of Knowledgeable Selves, Dana Sawchuk, Mina Ly Jan 2020

Older Women Using Women's Magazines: The Construction Of Knowledgeable Selves, Dana Sawchuk, Mina Ly

Sociology Faculty Publications

Women’s magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant because critical gerontologists, primarily drawing on content analyses of the magazines, often argue that these publications convey problematic messages about ageing. This article broaches the subject of women’s magazines and ageing from a different vantage point, that of the older woman reader herself. This audience-centred research draws on 21 semi-structured interviews with Canadian women over the age of 55. The study examines what older women say about the ageing-related content of women’s magazines, along with what they say about how, when, and why they read these …


The Construction And Impact Of Power In Cross-Sector Partnerships: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study, Kimberly Allyn Walker Jan 2020

The Construction And Impact Of Power In Cross-Sector Partnerships: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study, Kimberly Allyn Walker

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

In the United States, cross-sector partnerships, a form of collaboration, are becoming increasingly common in practice (Gray & Purdy, 2018). However, questions remain regarding the effectiveness of these partnerships and if the many challenges of using them can be overcome. In particular, the intersection of cross-sector partnerships and power, which can deeply impact these partnerships, needs more attention. This study used interpretive phenomenology to understand, from the participant perspective, (a) the experience and construction of power, (b) the impact of power on participants, and (c) how power dynamics in these initiatives compare to dynamics in organizations. Seventeen participants from four …


Relationships Between Dress And Gender In A Context Of Cultural Change, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Diana Saiki, Kim K. P. Johnson Jan 2020

Relationships Between Dress And Gender In A Context Of Cultural Change, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Diana Saiki, Kim K. P. Johnson

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.