Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Facing Two Fronts: Asian Americans Grappling With Covid-19 And Xenophobic Tensions, Matthew Soos

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the impact of COVID-19-induced discrimination against Asian Americans (AsAms) and its effects on the mental health of college-aged individuals within this demographic. The study specifically targets East and Southeast Asians due to their heightened connection with the pandemic. Data was gathered via a survey disseminated among undergraduate AsAm students at the University of South Carolina. The survey sought information on the occurrence and forms of discrimination encountered pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, alongside the mental health condition and coping mechanisms of the respondents. Moreover, participants were prompted to assess the efficacy of suggested approaches in addressing discrimination. …

A Historical Analysis Of Health Institutions, Professionals, And Advocates In The Civil Rights Movement In Columbia, South Carolina, Anusha Ghosh

Senior Theses

From 1900 to 1970, widespread racism severely restricted healthcare access for Black citizens in the South, leading them to establish and staff alternative healthcare institutions to support their community.

Such institutions faced debilitating issues such as chronic financial shortages and patient overflow. Despite these problems, oral histories, media, and primary written sources show that Black healthcare workers in alternative healthcare institutions demonstrated a greater ability to meet the health needs of Black patients due to cultural understanding and external community involvement.

Dr. Matilda Evans was an African-American woman physician who became a leader in medicine, public health, and education in …

‘Kazakh Means Freedom’ - Kazakh Language Policy And National Identity Before And During The Ukraine War, Mclean T. Brown

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the link between language policy and national identity in Kazakhstan, tracing the relationship between the two across history and describing how they have been affected by the Ukraine War. The Kazakh government has put considerable effort into developing a national identity for contemporary Kazakhstan, but conflicting standards of production make it difficult for a cohesive, well-defined Kazakh national identity to be put forth. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses, phenomenological critical discourse analysis, and ethnographic research, this thesis strives to alleviate existing gaps in Central Asian studies research while arguing that language policy is a lens through which …

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy And Vaccination Rate Among The Latino Population In South Carolina, Brynn E. Lynagh

Senior Theses

It is common knowledge that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Furthermore, these sects of the population exhibit increased vaccine hesitancy and lower vaccination rates as compared to the aggregated population of the United States, furthering the risk posed by COVID-19 to these communities. In particular, this study focuses on the Latino population in South Carolina, the vaccination rate among this community, and the perspectives which contributed to their vaccination decision. Two hundred Spanish and Portuguese speaking residents of South Carolina were interviewed using a paper survey conducted by pre-trained interviewers. The survey gathered data …

Western Corporations And Colombian Labor: Cycles Of Transhistorical Colonial And Economic Oppression In Colombia, Isabella Lazzarino-Buendia

Senior Theses

The relationship between colonial and colonized nations is entrenched in modern politics and history; remaining a transhistorical site of economic, social, and political imbalance. The United States and Colombia have a trans-colonial relationship that is shadowed by colonial gains at the expense of colonized livelihood. Western corporations mimic the patterns of the governments that preside over them, using the land and labor of the colonized “Other” to maximize profit. I investigate postcolonial Colombia through the lens of the transhistorical United Fruit Company and the mass corporation Coca-Cola. The accountability of these corporations and the systems that have allowed them to …

An Anatomy Of Disbelief: Discussions Of Slavery Before And After Rebellion And The Ways Power Reinforces Narratives Of Impossibility, Sarah Parker

Senior Theses

This paper is a historiographical exploration of freedom and the notion of thinkability through the lens of the Stono Revolt and Haitian Revolution. This paper builds upon extension scholarship of the thinkability of the Haitian Revolution and adds a transnational comparative element by looking for similarities with the earlier Stono Revolt. By exploring two historical events that are often ignored or misrepresented, this paper aims to analyze the ways in which slavery and enslaved individuals were viewed before and after such events. Such changes in perspective and rhetoric can aid in ascertaining the various ways these isolated moments of resistance …

The Integration Of Foreign-Born Dominicans In Spain And The United States 1990-2011: Historical, Spatial, & Racial Considerations, Petros Akosta Gkalinto

Senior Theses

Dramatically shifting immigration patterns, incentives, and origins in the Atlantic have diminished opportunities for Dominican immigrant communities to integrate into traditional host nations like the United States, but created opportunities in emerging host nations such as Spain. Yet, the lingering impacts of the Great Recession and racial segregation have sustained or aggravated inequities in both nations. An immigrant generation cohort method analysis of integration trends between native populations and foreign-born Dominicans in the United States and Spain from 1990 to 2011 confirm persistent or increasingly segregated experiences in education, employment, and urban areas. However, as a result of greater cultural …

The Legacy Of French Colonialism In The Francophone Caribbean: Migration, Anti-Haitianism, And Anti-Blackness In Guadeloupe And French Guiana, Jemina Carla Molines

Senior Theses

Haiti has a huge migration problem. Thousands flee the country every year due to its political and socioeconomic instability. The locations that Haitians prefer to settle in are the United States, Canada, and France. Haitian people have also migrated within neighboring islands in the Caribbean region. Because of Haiti’s current conditions, every country and the territory in the Caribbean Basin has misconstrued views of Haiti. They are very critical of Haitian people and project xenophobia onto those within their presence. The problem is that these are black-majority societies marginalizing another black-majority society. The question this problem raises is why are …

The Efficacy Of Political Apology Within A Settler-Colonial Framework, Hannah M. Bauer

Senior Theses

Government apologies issued for American settler-colonialism, instances of mis-racialization, and instances of misrepresentation of Native American peoples – such as the joint resolutions passed by President Clinton and the 103^rd Congress and President Obama and the 111^th Congress – reflect the strategies used to justify the United States’ removal and assimilation policies. These same strategies are evident in the ways which historic and modern media representations transform Native Americans into a monolithic racial ‘other.’ Trump’s evocation of “Pocahontas” as a racial slur and Warren’s participation in a DNA test during Donald Trump and Elizabeth Warren’s debate over Warren’s …

The Effects Of Racialization On Sikhs In America: An Intersectional Approach, Harsirjan K. Roopra

Senior Theses

Sikhs have been largely ignored in the literature surrounding social justice and religious tolerance. The many pressures Sikhs face, and the social assumptions that lead to them, must be brought into the broader conversation on these issues so that educators and politicians might help support the well-being of the Sikh community. Sikh identity has been misinterpreted and redefined in modern day American society. The lack of cultural and religious literacy of many Americans, coupled with Sikhs’ distinct visible identity, has led to xenophobic violence against Sikhs since their arrival in the U.S. more than a century ago. The root of …

Self · Ish: Examining And Reshaping Filipino & Filipinx Identities Within The Continental United States And Hawai’I Via Post-Colonial Literature, Kiana Anderson

Senior Theses

This thesis explores a conversation between the “self” and Filipino culture to examine the ways the Filipino diaspora exists in literature amongst colonization and trauma. Through literary texts spanning across time and geographical locations, like Elaine Castillo’s America Is Not the Heart and Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters, I interrogate the cultural and psychic meanings associated with the concept of home within the context of these hybrid histories. By examining the neo-canonical literature of some of these authors, I interrogate their sense of self, voices and visions via the languages, symbols, cultural frameworks and emotions that are prevalent within the literary …

An Intersectional Analysis Of Structural Racism And Police Violence Against Black Women, Ceylin H. Ucok

Senior Theses

Structural racism in the United States affects racial and ethnic minorities in many areas of life. The Black community, specifically, faces the highest risk of police violence and brutality. In particular, this paper explores the ways in which adverse police violence experiences affect Black women. Black women often face marginalization in movements for racial justice and gender equality, so this paper investigates the intersectionality of how Black women experience police violence. They often face overlapping forms of discrimination and racialized gender violence at the hands of police. The negative ways in which Black women are stereotyped are discussed to further …

Asian-American Visibility: Movement Toward Authenticity And Exposing The White Gaze, Nora Tsou

Senior Theses

Asian-Americans have a historical legacy and a multiplicity of narratives that are often rendered absent in American culture. Our oppression is not commonly spoken about, but it is relevant. By decentering Eurocentric thought as the only valid philosophy, herein this study I perform Asian-American philosophy through an analysis of philosophical and sociological texts on race. I continuously echo George Yancy and Gloria Anzaldua, philosophers of race, respectively, on the African-American and Latin-American experience, for their philosophy has greatly lead me to understanding my own. In order to conceptualize what oppressive struggles Asian-Americans face, I delve into research that exposes these …

"Death Stars, Death Breathes:" The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao And The Trauma Of Diaspora, Hannah Quire

Senior Theses

The following thesis aims to examine the interlocutions of diasporic trauma and genre in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. Centering the work of prominent theorists regarding diaspora, trauma, and literature, this project enacts a close reading of the novel in order to frame it as a text that is at once principally concerned with diasporic trauma while also defying thematic labels and genre categorization. This project begins by foregrounding the work of trauma and diaspora scholars to demonstrate the relationality between the two fields of study, while the second chapter examines those presences in Oscar …

Root Causes Of The Generational Cultural Disconnect Among Marin County Vietnamese-Americans, Sierra Najolia

Senior Theses

After the fall of Saigon, Vietnam in 1975, 1.6 million Vietnamese fled the victorious communist regime. Many resettled in the United States, roughly half a million settled in California, creating large communities in Orange County and San Jose. Both larger communities express a deep cultural identity, appreciation and sense of preservation along with a strong tradition of passing down this culture to their children and grandchildren. However, a small group of Vietnamese immigrants in Marin County, CA don’t display the same pattern of passing on their culture, religion, and language to their children as other larger Vietnamese communities do. After …

Monstrous Dolls: The Abject Body In Rosario Ferré’S Works, Mackenzie Fraser

Senior Theses

In this Honors Thesis project, I examine two literary texts, “The Youngest Doll” (1991) and The House on the Lagoon (1995), by Puerto Rican author Rosario Ferré (1938-2016) with attention to her depiction of the abject female body as a figure analyzed by both theories of gender and the subaltern. Using these critical frameworks as well as my own textual analysis, I argue that Ferré offers a postcolonial feminist critique of the double oppression—patriarchal and colonial— operating upon her female Puerto Rican characters. Yet these women also turn this abjection into transgression, allowing Ferré to expose the paradoxes of female …

Humanity On The Verge Of Insanity: Maintaining Cultural Identity Against Oppressive Rule, Danica Katarina Skoric

Senior Theses

Ubuntu is a South African term in the Bantu language that translates to “human kindness.” This essay discusses the present-day impact of the South African philosophical concept of Ubuntu in light of the dehumanization, which Aboriginal Australians and Black South Africans faced, specifically during the period of 1960-1985. How has humanity been enslaved and degraded by assimilation and a cruel division of races, yet positively evolved and progressed due to the efforts of both female and male activists--in particular literary figure Oodgeroo Noonuccal and political leader Nelson Mandela? A lack of respect and tolerance as a result of colonialism has …

Afro-Mexicans And The Struggle For Recognition, Kimberly Medina

Senior Theses

In light of the Mexican government’s concession to include “Afro-descendant” as an ethnic category in the 2015 Intercensal Survey, this thesis project aims to: 1) understand the contributions and experience of Afro-Mexicans within Mexican society, 2) understand the importance of official recognition as an ethnic group, 3) understand why, relative to the rest of Latin America, Mexico took so long to officially recognize its Afro-descendant population, 4) analyze the Afro-Mexican movement towards recognition, paying particular attention to its composition and strategy and 5) determine what recognition in the intercensal survey means for the future of the movement, the Afro-Mexican population …

Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson

Senior Theses

This thesis is about Frank Johnson Sr. and the circumstances that led to his downfall as a farmer and father of six, to his tragic death in the isolation of a racially segregated mental institution 18 miles away from his home. Using his life and incarceration at the South Carolina State Park mental health facility, I argue that racial injustice contributed to his tragic death and the woefully inadequate treatment thousands of African Americans in South Carolina received during Jim Crow. Additionally, I argue that the tragic circumstances around my great grandfather’s institutionalization and death were part of an enduring …

Lullaby For The Burning Ear: How Intersectional Feminism Can Help Decolonize The Latino Consciousness, Donovan E. Hernandez Garcia

Senior Theses

People exist with their own religions, cultures, and practices, which illustrate the ingenuity of humanity. Yet, because of major events that altered the fate of the Americas, a certain societal structure was created to maintain power. Due to colonization, the prolonged exposure to numerous cultures, and the continuation of oppressive systems, people have been forced to band together based on similar characteristics, be it race, gender, or sexual orientation, creating divisions within society. It is because of such colonial mentality, subliminal and apparent, political and cultural movements, such as Feminism and intersectionality, have been created to combat the harmful effects …

I Preferred, Much Preferred, My Version: Exploring The Female Voice And Feminine Identity Within Memoirs Of The 20th And 21st Centuries, Alexandra Fradelizio

Senior Theses

Memoirs have long been a valuable way in which individuals share and reflect on their past experiences. The genre of memoir writing especially had a tremendous impact on a range of American female writers. This thesis explores memoirs written by women throughout the 20^th century. With the shift in women’s roles during the 1900s and early 2000s, the memoirs examined emphasize the importance of feminine identity. The analysis provided within this thesis centers on each memoirist’s unique path in determining her sense of self. Moreover, the memoirists each use the process of writing to relay the value of personal …

A Case Study In How French Teachers Understand Purpose In Educating Immigrant Students, Dana Doggett

Senior Theses

The purpose of the study was to comprehend how two French teachers understood their roles in teaching immigrant students. To achieve this goal, I observed classes at a middle school in Pau, France over the course of three months. I recorded extensive field notes and conducted two in-depth interviews with both of the teachers I observed. After returning to the United States, I coded my notes, identifying and analyzing patterns in the data. Among other conclusions, I discovered that these teachers emphasized students’ individual identities, including their diverse national and cultural backgrounds, while at the same time pushing the students …