Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Syrian Perspectives On The U.S. Intervention Against Isis: Analysis Of Youtube Videos, Nelson Cleveland

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates Syrian public opinion surrounding the 2014 U.S.-led military intervention against ISIS through critical discourse analysis of Arabic-language YouTube videos. In light of the renewed interest and continued presence of U.S. troops in Syria following the Assad regime’s collapse in 2024, the study examines how Syrians originally responded to the coalition strikes and political context in which they occurred. Drawing on four primary videos including street interviews, protest recordings, and discussions from expert panelists, the analysis uncovers recurring themes of distrust towards the U.S. and other states who engaged in intervention, condemnation of perceived collusion and exploitation, and …

Breaking The Ice: China And Lawfare In The Arctic, Sophia Toner

Honors Theses

This thesis examines China's engagement with international legal frameworks in the Arctic through a lawfare lens, using a structured analytical framework to assess whether Chinese activities constitute lawfare. Focusing on two key cases—China's involvement in submarine cable infrastructure and its navigation of the Northern Sea Route—the research applies Andrea Beck's three-part definition of lawfare: "(1) the misuse of the law in order to, (2) achieve a military objective, and (3) undermine the legal framework." The analysis reveals that China's Arctic engagement does not fully constitute lawfare according to this definition. Rather than misusing legal frameworks, China operates within existing structures …

Extracting Renewables: A Capabilities Approach To A Just Transition Crisis, Mateos Lozano

Honors Theses

Extraction of cobalt and lithium is often regarded as necessary to facilitate a successful transition to renewable energy so that global warming can be limited to 2°C. At the same time, many current cobalt and lithium extraction practices contribute to environmental destruction, expose workers to toxic contaminants, and sometimes involve child labor. This thesis argues that cobalt and lithium extraction, if permissible, must be conducted in a manner compatible with the normative obligations of justice and fairness. I first explain notable differences between prominent types of cobalt and lithium extraction and note how each impacts people and the environment. Then, …

“The School Pretty Much Doesn’T Care . . . But I Do” Syllabus, Leconte J. Dill, Shavaun S. Sutton

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Our “The School Pretty Much Doesn ’t Care . . . But I Do ” Syllabus frames school pushout as a structural determinant of health and one that disproportionately impacts Black girls. Therefore, we are calling in scholars, practitioners, and policymakers who do not operate solely in the field of education to recognize school pushout as a health inequity. Created through Black feminist and Black girlhood studies lenses and popular education approaches, our syllabus includes relevant transdisciplinary and cross-genre concepts, source material, and engaging activities. Overall, our syllabus seeks to guide those who educate, support, nurture, and love Black girls …

The Rapsody Syllabus: Rescripting The Erasure Of Black Women And Black Women Educators Through Rapsody’S Album Eve, Eghosa Obaizamomwan-Hamilton

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This syllabus explores the connections between Rapsody’s album and the experiences of Black women, with an emphasis on education. Much like Black women in education, Rapsody 's talents are often obscured and minimized. Her album “Eve ” is a love letter to Black women and serves as a mirror for Black women educators. This syllabus centers on Black women and highlights the beauty and magic of our presence within oppressive institutions. It works to amplify and extend the nonfungible existence of Black women, the humanization of our voices and words as sacred texts, and illuminate our ever-evolving contributions. Black women’s …

Spare Change, Giavanna Deperio

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

No abstract provided.

Cal High’S March Towards Equity: A Documentation Of Strength And Empowerment At California High, Hailey Godin, Mehr Goel, Isabella Grima, Emma Black, Brooke Johnson, Amane Lee, Yukta Chutturi

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This first edition, composed by nine co-authors and one talented illustrator, is not the first, nor the last, to seek something more from our community. We hope this book will be expanded by passionate students who come long after us, as they record, examine, and lend their voices to the social issues of their age. It’s hard work changing a system, whether it be a mechanical wonder or our society as a whole, but such work is never meant to be done alone and must be tackled with the utmost determination. For this, our book also aims to show the …

Why Would An Employee Quiet Quit?, Donika Gibson

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

As an African American woman with a career in a white-male-dominated environment, I experience quiet quitting daily. I am forced to feel as if I were hired to satisfy diversity, equity, and inclusion needs. To study organizational culture, work–life balance, and employee happiness, I synthesized, critically appraised, and examined 15 scholarly articles through the lens of Maslow’s 1943 hierarchy of needs, a psychology-based motivational theory. This study’s results may persuade leadership to self-examine leadership style, which can influence organizational culture, communication with project teams, prioritizing time and tasks, employee health, and ultimately, turnover rate. In addition, I interviewed an African …

Untitled, Unmastered., Simple Ant

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

From one writer to another:

Writing is often a therapeutic release for me. Being able to encounter my own words, as well as the words of others, has helped form the contours of my thinking and my ability to name. When I write, I am able to describe my experiences and my truths, but these words alone cannot help me live my convictions. In this sense, as a writer, the act of writing fails me. When we write, we dis-embody our beliefs. That is, we must take our beliefs from our body and bind them to the page. No longer …

Data Rap Research: Using Hip Hop For Critical Inquiry, Jonathan Tunstall

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This track introduces a culturally relevant methodology that can aid qualitative researchers in analyzing hip-hop data while maintaining cultural integrity. The author employs a self-designed hip-hop methodology called Blackout Rap Transcription (BRT) to critically examine rap songs written by 300 middle school student participants. This methodology was designed by employing the hip-hop aesthetic of sampling and draws from: Poetic Transcription, Critical Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Grounded Theory, and Blackout Poetic Transcription. The track details how Blackout Rap Transcription is a culturally relevant way to conduct hip-hop-based research.

The Naked Soul Of A Dreamer, Abdou Kaba

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

No abstract provided.

Inferior To Who?, De’Jshon Maxwell-Garcia

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This poem confronts the enduring impact of systemic racism and the internalized notions of inferiority imposed on Black folks in education and beyond. It reflects the lived experience of navigating microaggressions, stereotypes, and assumptions in academic spaces where Black excellence is often questioned or undermined. The speaker challenges perceptions of worth and rejects biases cloaked in "white saviorism. " The poem critiques historical and contemporary narratives that equate intelligence or achievement with whiteness and calls for self-recognition and pride, urging Black youth to reject internalized oppression and societal constraints. The poem culminates in a powerful reclamation of agency, asking the …

Maroon Science: A Counterstory Of Apocalypse, Abolition, And Abandonment, Kenjus Watson

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This Critical Race Counterstory explores "Maroon Science," covert and adaptive knowledge systems rooted in African Sacred Sciences, as a means of navigating the dystopic polycrisis of anti-Blackness, Black youth suicide, and climate destruction. Framed through Apocalyptic Education, the work begins at the end, the inevitable collapse of western schooling and broader state systems it supports, to foreground fugitivity as essential to Black autonomy. The track maps connections between Black Indigeneity, ecological adaptation, and the concealment necessary for maroon communities to evade capture. The layered counterstory portrays Maroon Science as contingencies for African epistemologies of survival, flourishing in ungovernable pockets of …

A Place To Belong: Abolitionist Storywork Through The Experience Of An Unhoused Black Girl, Nichole Murray, Taryrn T.C. Brown, Deandra West

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Black females experiencing homelessness face significant barriers in transitioning from secondary to postsecondary education (Government Accountability Office, 2016). Previous scholarship has often overlooked the complexities of intersectional identities and the nonmaterial aspects of being unhoused, such as social exclusion, stigma, and social legitimacy issues exacerbated by neoliberal conditions. This track employs endarkened storywork (Toliver, 2021), abolitionist pedagogy (Love, 2019), and critical race feminism (Evans-Winters & Esposito, 2010) to uplift the voice and complexity of a Black girl negotiating with her experience of being unhoused during her postsecondary educational journey. From these frameworks and through her story, we posit elements of …

“I Have To Say That The Struggle Was On The Wrong Focus”: Examining Past Transgressions To Reposition Our Futures For Black Education, Noah Nelson

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) opened new possibilities for Black education, but what many perceived as a victory for racial equality led to increased violence against Black communities. In response, Black communities pushed to establish independent educational institutions and programs that better reflected their cultural values, needs, and aspirations. These efforts embodied the dreams of Black educators who envisioned an education system rooted in community empowerment, anticolonial values, and self-determination. Juanita Wade, a Boston teacher and community organizer, exemplifies this transformative shift. In this track, I analyze Wade ’ s archival materials to document her critical contributions to Black …

(Re)Storying Our Education: Black School Counselors Engaging And Cultivating Black Joy And Resistance In P–12 Schooling, Renae D. Mayes, Riley Drake, Adrianne C. Robertson, Carla B. Cheatham, Betsy M. Perez

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

With the rise of national anti-DEI and anti-CRT legislation, public school continues to be unsafe for Black youth, their families, and Black educators. Yet Black people still find themselves in P–12 schools working to create fugitive spaces that resist the carceral nature of schooling while promoting abolitionist principles of healing, community, and joy. Toward this end, the authors interviewed 10 Black school counselors to understand their role in creating these spaces of Black joy and resistance. Findings from this study will help to expand the approaches Black counselors take in creating Black joy and resistance across educational spaces.

Black Queer Youths’ Dreams Of Safer And Equitable Schools, Lashanda Harbin

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This track centers the concept of freedom dreaming to uplift the voices of Black queer youth to (1) explore what they think safe schooling should look like in the future, and (2) understand how they think those visions can come true. In focus groups, participants dreamed of futures where all Black queer youth are protected if harm occurs, feel well-represented in K–12 schools, and have adequate access to resources like mental health support and creative outlets. Participants believed these dreams could come true partly through collaboration between schools and Black and Black queer community organizations. Participants ’ dreams of safer …

Pioneering Pedagogy And Curriculum For A Global Black Consciousness: An Interview With Dr. Kassie Freeman, D. Caleb Smith

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

In 2020, the College Board introduced the AP African Diaspora seminar, the first advanced placement high school curriculum to feature an Africa topic or theme. The seminar proved to be groundbreaking and attractive as it has spread to more than 500 schools within the United States and ten institutions abroad. Much of the curriculum ’ s early success is indebted to the leadership from Dr. Kassie Freeman of Columbia University ’ s Teachers College. A nationally recognized leader in the fields of comparative and international education, Freeman began developing the idea for the AP African Diaspora seminar shortly after founding …

The Community University Of Social Work: The Creation Of An Alternative Educational Space In Kenya, Daniel Mango

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Colonization has scarred African social work, especially in Nairobi, Kenya, where neoliberal politics has turned a profession dedicated to advancing social justice into an arm of the state. State education for social work is highly restrictive; new social workers do not learn about the impact of racism and capitalism on mental health. Instead, they are trained to serve the government’ s interests. Thus, I conceived an alternative fugitive higher education community to educate and train social workers through an antiracist and decolonized curriculum. Grounded in African education theory, this community-based collaboration of future social workers is a revolutionary act of …

Huggins High School: Dreaming Of Black Educational Futures, Renée Wilmot

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Two parallel arcs tell the story of Ericka Huggins High School’s present and history. In present-day 2030, the reader follows a day in the life of Daisia, an 11th grader at Huggins, as she negotiates themes around love and community. The story flashes back to 2026, when six Gen-Zers start a coalition. They dream up a high school for the Black youth in their midsize city, Lafayette. Over the course of eight months, they collaborate to apply for a new seed grant, funded by the Harris administration, that supports educators of color to create innovative high school equivalency programs in …

Prison Education And Abolitionist Praxis: Insights And Reflections From Inside-Out Participants, Ninah J. Jackson, Nyako Pippen, Vanessa Massaro

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This track draws on our experience in an Inside-Out course taught at a state correctional institution in Pennsylvania. As an outside student, inside student, and instructor in our learning community, we consider the abolitionist potential of classes taught behind prison walls. Does it necessarily perpetuate the prison industrial complex, or can it render boundaries porous? We take an autoethnographic approach to our experiences, frustrations, challenges, and triumphs, considering if, and under what conditions, such a program can promote abolition. Based on our reflection, we see the potential to intentionally create liberatory classroom spaces on a small scale. We offer some …

Sweat The Technique: Revelations On Navigating Hostile Streets Of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Charles E. Becknell Jr.

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Navigating the challenges of Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) as a Black professor with Latinx roots, I critique the systemic anti-Blackness embedded within these spaces. Despite their mission to serve marginalized communities, HSIs often privilege white and non-Black Latinx interests, perpetuating exclusionary dynamics. Using frameworks like David Stovall’s abolitionist agenda and Robin D. G. Kelley’s Freedom Dreams, I employ rescripting—a radical reimagining of academic norms—through Africana studies, hip-hop culture, and counterstorytelling. This approach challenges oppressive structures, advocating for liberation-centered education that amplifies Black voices. Strategies such as rest as resistance, collective care, and re-membering ancestral knowledge are explored as tools to transform …

We Have Fifty-Eleven Problems, Of Course, Racism Is One: Exploring The Navigation Of A Pwi, Aminah Crawford, Virginia Redwine Johnson, Micayla Gooden

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This study explored the experiences of three Black women navigating dual roles as graduate students and instructors at a predominantly white institution (PWI). Their narratives revealed persistent challenges like implicit bias, racism, microaggressions, and limited opportunities, reflecting broader systemic issues that impact Black students in similar environments. Despite these adversities, the women demonstrated notable resilience. The findings emphasize the importance of creating policies and practices that foster inclusivity and support for marginalized communities within academic settings. By highlighting both personal and systemic barriers, this research contributes to understanding the complexities of Black women’s experiences at PWIs.

Breaking The Chains: Tracking Through The Lens Of Black Feminist Thought, Kristian Edosomwan, Aminah Crawford

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Academic tracking segregates students based on perceived ability. Because of the nation’s exclusionary history, Black students are often unfairly judged and disproportionately placed in lower tracks. By viewing academic tracking through Patricia Hill Collins’s concept of the “ matrix of domination, ” this study brings attention to normalized deep-seated biases and structural discriminatory practices. Yet amidst this complex web of oppression is the potential for education to be a political weapon that equips students to oppose and disrupt hegemonic state-sanctioned violence. This study makes the case that tracking Black girls is oppressive by drawing on Black feminist thought, research literature, …

Thinking Beyond The University: Toward A Black Abolitionist Pedagogy, Re’Nyqua Farrington

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

This track centers the spaces I co-create that attend to my overall well-being as a Black woman educator making demands for Black student well-being and educational justice. Situated within higher education, this study accounts for the current realities of anti-Blackness within academia while creating spaces that support Black students ’ well-being. It builds on literature that advances abolitionist and fugitive praxes and emphasizes radical self-care for Black women in academia. This research uses autoethnography and concepts from Black critical theory, school abolition, and engaged pedagogy. The findings highlight one model of a Black abolitionist pedagogy.

Toward A Black-Brilliance Praxis Of (Re)Centering And (Re)Imagining Blackness In Education, Kiese Vita

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

Missing within educational research on theory, pedagogy, and teaching are unifying frameworks created by Black people for Black people that cohesively combine applicable ways to explicitly (re)center Black people's historical, educational, ideological, cultural, and spiritual ways of being. Paralleling Dumas and ross’s (2016) theorized Black critical theory (BlackCrit) in education, I endarken (Dillard, 2006) and carry on the tradition to address the specificity of antiblackness and better understand the anti-Black schooling experiences of Black scholars by theorizing a Black-Brilliance Praxis framework. This framework serves as a pedagogical, methodological, and spiritual approach for how Black educators specifically, and …

Building On Uncle Louis’ Lessons: A Recovering Academic’S Reflections On Death[And Life], Tiffani Marie

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

In this ceremony (offering), I reflect on the life lessons of my uncle, Louis Williams, who taught me about labor, resilience, and the beauty of letting go. From the patience needed to build a home to the wisdom of choosing the right tools, his lessons reach beyond practicality—they offer a framework for life, learning, and especially, death. As a recovering academic and death doula, I examine how we can mourn dead structures and ways of being, like schooling, to truly honor our sacredness. Through these reflections, I explore what it means to build toward remembered futures.

Mycelium, Lotus Flowers, And The Future We Gon’ Create: The Cypher, David Stovall Ph.D., Simple Ant, Dre Carter, Eghosa Obaizamomwan-Hamilton, T. Gertrude Jenkins

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

In this track, we, the producers, cypher with Dr. David Stovall, connecting ecology to the current times through the lenses of abolition and fugitivity. We lay the groundwork for volume three and think through how to equip ourselves to disrupt old ways of thinking about education to collectively create futures in which Black communities can access liberation. By linking the historical impacts of desegregation, acts of subversion, and methods of refusal, Dr. David Stovall and the producers invite readers to commune with our stories, knowings, and musings.

A Mixtape In Times Of Trouble: Fighting, Building, And Piecing It All Together, David Stovall Ph.D.

Black Educology Mixtape "Journal"

No abstract provided.

Faculty Spotlight With Prof. Ferretti: Q&A On Critical Librarianship, Pearl Kim

School of Information Student Research Journal

In an interview with the Student Research Journal (SRJ), Prof. Jennifer Ferretti discusses the principles and impact of critical librarianship—an approach grounded in critical theory that interrogates power and inequity within libraries and archives. Drawing on her experience as a practitioner, educator, and student, she reflects on the role of critical theory in shaping library pedagogy, professional ethics, and institutional practices. Prof. Ferretti, an artist and information professional, formerly taught a course called “Building a Critical Culture: Information Ethics, Diverse Communities, and Critical Librarianship” at San Jose State University’s iSchool. She is currently the Documentation and Archives Director at the …