Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Mixed-Methods Approach To Social Media Uses In Health Communication: A Case Study Of Infertility Among Cancer Patients, Alter Chemotherapy Radiation Treatments, Margaret Githua

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Health communication is one of the fastest developing areas of communication and health communication researchers have maintained an abiding and persistent interest in examining the intersections of people's uses of media and the resulting influences on their behaviors. In this new age of widespread uses of social media, particularly Facebook, considerable attention has been directed to how the new media platforms are used for heath communication purposes, especially weight loss management. Our presentation is based on a mixed methods research aimed at using a multiplicity of research methods to examine how cancer patients who are conscious of the health implications …

Whatsapp And Mobile Money Towards Successful Crowdfunding And Social Change: A Kenyan Case., Frankline Bradly Matanji

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Use of WhatsApp as a social media technology and M-pesa, a mobile money service for crowdfunding in Kenya are proliferating at an incredible pace. Crowdfunding helps communities organize for effective participation in social and economic development and empowerment by making sure that members of the community get to benefit from services such as access to social amenities and better infrastructure which would not have been available if the community members were to wait for the government to provide the services. This method is popularly being used at Kisii University for students’ retention and providing social welfare to students, their parents …

Neocolonialism And Globalization: The Dual Phenomena Of Exploitation And Underdevelopment In Modern Africa, Jack Riegert

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Since the 1960s till date, African independence has been a mirage. Real freedom for African countries had been redefined by the impact of neo-colonialism and globalization. While neo-colonialism simply means indirect hegemonic control of former colonies or developing countries by former European colonizers and Western powers, globalization is the integration of global economy marked by free trade, free flow of capital, and the exploitation of cheaper foreign labor and raw material markets. Under neo-colonialism and the globalized world, though presumed independent, Africa is still dominated and exploited. Kwame Nkrumah, perhaps one of the most influential African leaders of history, aptly …

The African American Political Party Flip, Shanna Riley

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

My paper discusses the African American political party flip during the 1930s-1960s. Throughout my research, I found that there were many factors in the African American political party flip which began in the 1930s and continued into the 1960s. After analyzing the origin of the Democratic and Republican parties, I found that the latter supported freeing slaves during the 1800s. I will discuss how presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson each handled Civil Rights during their times in office, and how this impacted the African American vote. Each president saw the power of African American voters, and knew that …

A Study Of Precolonial Urban Africa, Molly Cooper

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Africa’s precolonial era of urban development lasted from approximately 3000 BC until the colonial era began in the sixteenth century AD. During this period, urban centers were built in regions of high ecological and economic potential, such as the Mediterranean coast, the Nile towns of Nubia, West Africa, and the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. Studying key cities in each of these areas demonstrates the rich history of precolonial Africa as well as the continued influence of these sophisticated cultures. Using historical records, archeological findings, and analysis of urban trends of cities such as Carthage, Meroe, Djenne, and the Great Zimbabwe, …

Gdr Involvement In South Africa: When Does Solidarity Become Engagement?, Edward Vaughan

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was one of the most influential forces during the Cold War in Southern Africa. Thanks to their assistance, revolutionary groups such as the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) and the African National Congress (ANC) were able to stand up against the Apartheid government in South Africa aided by the United States. This project examines the GDR support and solidarity measures during the Cold War and if the GDR‘s involvement in this area constitutes active engagement with the conflict. Since the German reunification, research into the specific policies of the GDR and its connection to …

A Passage To Bowling Green: A Chronological Exploration Of James Baldwin’S Connection To Bgsu’S Ethnic Studies Department, Blaze Campbell

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

James Baldwin became connected to Bowling Green State University’s (BGSU) Ethnic Studies Department starting in the late 1970s, making four visits to campus, once as a guest speaker, once as a Write-in-Residence, and twice as a Distinguished Visiting Professor. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the relationship between BGSU and Baldwin developed. I constructed a historical, chronological narrative utilizing primary sources including various documents from BGSU’s archival collection to understand Baldwin’s affiliation with the university.

Baldwin’s 1977 visit to BGSU was his first public lecture in the United Sates since his departure to France years prior. Additionally, …

Haitian Carnival: The Art Of Resistance, Kari Boroff

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

This paper explores the different characters that are represented during Haitian Carnival, where participants mask their identities in order to act out mythological and political tales, emphasizing the corruption, politics, and social issues of Haiti through costume and drama. These characters which can appear bizarre, comical, or terrifying, embody subjects such as Haiti’s successful slave revolt in 1791, elements of Vodou, satirical representations of political figures, and social issues such as AIDS. Moreover, this raw, powerful, expressive side of Haitian Carnival can be compared to the artwork of André Eugène, whose work is characterized by and embodies the haunting, provocative …

Solidarity Between Women In Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Michael Eniola Oshindoro

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Adichie presents a complex reality of the Nigerian society, with particular focus on the Igbo, a tribal majority in the country. The novel details a woman’s ordeal and how she breaks free from her husband’s abusive grip, which does not spare their two children either. Mr. Eugene Achike, mostly referred to as Papa in the novel, sets the rules in the house and makes Beatrice Achike, also known as Mama, and their teenage children, Kambili and Jaja, follow them; regularly he uses physical torture to enforce the rules. While in public he fights for human rights and freedom of speech …

Colorism: The Effect Of Interracial Racism, Hannah Mcdermott

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

It is clear that issues involving race have plagued the growth of the United States since the early stages of the land's development. However, through Wallace Thurman's novel The Blacker the Berry, he is able to illustrate the struggles of racism within the African American society, having detrimental effects on the psychological aspect of racism as well. My paper focuses on the main character, Emma Lou, who faces both public and personal racism throughout her upbringing. Focusing on the problems that discrimination brings forward, the novel hones in on African Americans in education, family, the work place, and even …

Reframing Aesthetic Theory In The Caribbean Through Derrida’S Theory Of Deconstruction, Micaela Deogracias

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

There has been an ongoing struggle to pinpoint the definition of Caribbean aesthetic. Although still framed through Western values of beauty and significance, the Caribbean has been making strides towards breaking out of the artistic definitions of the Eurocentric art history canon. A means of doing so is evident in the works of Livia Ortiz Ríos, a Puerto Rican abstract expressionist artist who frames her art through the Chaos Theory and Derrida's Theory of Deconstruction. The latter's discussion of binary comparisons beautifully mirrors the present binary comparison of Caribbean art to Western art. This work will focus on Derrida's Theory …

A Modern Mother: Harriet Powers, Alyssa Johnson

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

The proposed presentation, “A Modern Mother: Harriet Powers (1837-1911),” was inspired by Linda Nochlin’s provocative question, “Why have there been no great women artists?” While the question is simple and concise, it enlists a number of responses. The most common response to this question, as pointed out by the contemporary group of artists known as the Guerilla Girls, is to counter with the question: “Why haven’t more women been considered great artists throughout Western history?” The reframing of Nochlin’s question implies the presence of greatness among the female ranks of artists, and allows for discovery and celebration of those forgotten. …

"Unite Yourselves In The Name Of Anywaa": Music And Anywaa Ethnic Identity In Gambella, Ethiopia, Sarah Bishop

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Ethnicity is highly politicized in northeast Africa and has been implicated in conflicts, tensions, and protests in different countries throughout the region. Various, complex factors play a role in this: political marginalization and cultural denigration of certain ethno-linguistic groups within nation-states, unequal access to resources, increasingly ethnicized cycles of violence, and overall rise in identity politics around the globe are a few. This paper aims to expand our understanding of ethnicity by examining how ethnic phenomena are manifested in expressive culture and how expressive culture reflects, shapes, and informs ethnic consciousness. I do so by exploring local music-making amongst members …

Racism, Prejudice, And Democratization: The Westernization Of Japan Under U.S. Occupation, 1945-52, Jasmine Mitchell

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Following the unconditional surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, the Allied forces set out to establish a military occupation in Japan to instill democratic ideals upon the nation and rid Japan of its militarist and fascist sentiments. In facilitating Japan’s transformation into a democratic nation with values of freedom, liberty, and equality, there was also an influx of cultural exchanges between the American occupation forces and Japanese citizens. In fact, the issue of race revealed itself as a major component of American democracy that created a strain on the interactions and relationships between African American GIs, white GIs and …

Giving A Voice To The Voiceless And Women's Education In Kenya, Lyndah Wasike

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Social stratification in any given capitalistic society leaves the poor voiceless. Moreover, children from well-off families attend prestigious schools, they are more informed and have resources to make meaningful life decisions. On the other hand, their poor counterparts attend low-cost schools and as if that is not enough, lots of problems claim a share of their lives. How can we make a safe learning environment for teenage girls from humble families? Meekers, Gage, & Zhan (1995) cites that in many cases, adolescents are insufficiently or incorrectly informed about their changing sexuality, and about the consequences and responsibilities associated with sexual …

Blended Styles Of African American Folk Music, Joseph Johnson

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

From childhood to the present, I have heard stories from my grandmother of growing up as an African American in rural North Carolina. As a young girl, she experienced a great deal of racial injustice, but she also told me of many of her most memorable experiences, mainly in relation to the church and old-time string band music. Through the musicological study of Rhiannon Giddens and The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Jake Blount, and Valerie June, I will show how these performing artists in the U.S. keep the tradition of African American old-time music alive while blending it with other contemporary …

Africana Studies Student Research Conference 2019 Call For Papers, Bowling Green State University

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Call for papers for the 2019 Africana Studies Student Research Conference & Luncheon.

Africana Studies Student Research Conference 2019 Flyer, Bowling Green State University

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Flyer for the 2019 Africana Studies Student Research Conference & Luncheon.

Africana Studies Student Research Conference: Uploading Your Paper, Bowling Green State University

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Instructions for students submitting proposals for the 2019 Africana Studies Student Research Conference & Luncheon.

Africana Studies Student Research Conference 2019 Program, Bowling Green State University

Africana Studies Student Research Conference

Program from the 21st Annual Africana Studies Student Research Conference & Luncheon.

Peace Has No Borders, Denis H. Mueller Ph.D., Deb Ellis

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Film Screening and Q/A with co-directors:

During the Iraq War, veterans from the United States crossed the border to Canada seeking refuge from serving in what they viewed as an unjust and immoral war. Peace Has No Borders follows three resisters and their supporters through a ten-year effort to remain in Canada.

Peace Has No Borders takes place within the backdrop of a previous migration to Canada. Between 1965-1973, over 50,000 Americans crossed the border seeking refuge from what is now widely recognized as a misguided war. Forty years later, Canada faces the same political dilemma – whether to give …

Purgatorio, Rosie Pineda

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Rodrigo Reyes’ provocative essay film re-imagines the Mexico/U.S. border as a mythical place comparable to Dante’s purgatory. Leaving politics aside, he takes a fresh look at the brutal beauty of the border and the people caught in its spell. By capturing a stunning mosaic of compelling characters and broken landscapes that live on the US/Mexico border, the filmmaker reflects on the flaws of human nature and the powerful absurdities of the modern world. An unusual border film, in the auteur tradition of camerastylo, Purgatorio ultimately becomes a fable of humanity, an epic and visceral experience with powerful and lingering images. …

Lupe Under The Sun, Rosie Pineda

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Lupe Under the Sun is a neorealist film following an aging migrant worker living in California, who longs to return to Mexico before it is too late. Featuring a cast of nonprofessional actors, real farmworkers and authentic locations, Lupe Under the Sun tackles issues of depression, homesickness and the immigrant myth of the American Dream.

Long estranged from his family in Michoacán, migrant laborer Lupe finds relief from the backbreaking work of harvesting peaches in California’s Central Valley through camaraderie and a quiet love affair with fellow immigrant Gloria. Soon the stability of his daily routine begins to crack under …

Borderlands After Anzaldúa: Queer/Latinx Identity In Theory And Practice, Joshua Truett

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

The Latinx queer subjectivity complicates the racial and social discourses of the United States and Latin America, in both the academy and popular culture. The complex intersections of identity that marks the queer Latinx subject disrupts conventional narratives of race, ethnicity and culture, as well as gender and sexuality.

The Latinx identity breaks down the rigid construction of race as a biological “truth,” challenging the Black versus White racial binary that is the foundation of the United States racial mythology; the Latinx subject is constructed in the American racial imaginary as neither black nor white, but ¨brown.” This construction of …

It's Just A Toy, Lauren Strauss

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Each and every one of us experiences gender stereotyping, whether we realize it or not. It is such a simple concept and something people don't tend to think about. Although, from a young age, we are exposed to our parents' and societies' views on gender and the toys we should play with, which then stick around for generations. The color pink and dolls are for girls and trucks and the color blue are for boys, right? Well, not necessarily. Toys are also expressed through the idea that women have to be the stay at home mom and take care of …

“There Must Always Be A Thor”: Disruption Of Super Heroic Masculinities In Marvel’S Thor: The Goddess Of Thunder (2014), Kiera M. Gaswint

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

As the popularity of the superhero film genre continues to grow, more attention is being drawn towards the genre as a way to enter cultural conversations regarding representations in popular culture of gender, sexuality, race, and class, among other things. This popularity of the genre among differing age ranges and demographics calls for an investigation and analysis of the comic book genre, superheroes, and representation. Given the popularity of this genre, I plan to argue that Thor: The Goddess of Thunder (2014) offers a unique reading of gender constructs and masculinity.

Whereas characters come and go within their respective universes …

Inside The Mind Of Larry David: Navigating The Border Walls And Bizarre Social Customs Of "Curb Your Enthusiasm", Chris Mcvetta

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Whether real, imagined, or otherwise, there is no denying Larry David lives in a world with and without borders. Whether it is in one of his past (“Seinfeld”) or current (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) television lives, Larry David inhabits an alternative universe of his own making. From the coffee house to the country club, the world of Hollywood is his playground where he continually builds walls between himself and the rest of “normal” society. And while Larry David is a master of his domain and crossing the proverbial line, he is even more adept at tearing down the walls of traditional …

Border Crossing: The Female Body As Liminal Space, Cristina R. Rivera, Nicole Pizarro, Danielle Alexis Orozco, Jacinta Yanders, Arielle Irizarry

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

No abstract provided.

The Reflection Of Sub Continental Primitive Archetype Mother In The Films Of Ritwik Ghatak, Zuairijah Mou

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Ritwik Ghatak is one of the significant Indian filmmakers in the Indian subcontinent. The touch of the culture of Bengal is clearly evident in the films of Ritwik Ghatak. Before analyzing the role of the primitive mother archetype in the scenes or in the development of the characters in his films, it is necessary to understand the origin of the primitive mother archetype.

The primitive mother archetype or maternal form is the statements, figure, myth, pattern, form, use etc. which has been existing in any culture for a long time. For example, the form of 'Mother' in Bengal is worshiped …

Capes, Corsets, Carnivals, And Chronotopes, Nicole Drew

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Little scholarship exists on the topic of cosplay. In this paper, I propose an idea to begin crafting an academic space within which cosplay can exist to help start the conversation. As someone who cosplays at conventions (both comic and anime) frequently, I aim to examine the way I approach what it means to attend a convention in costume. Cosplay can only exist within convention spaces, which not only establishes a boundary around the convention itself but also creates a space allowing for the ritual and play inside of the event exclusively. Cosplay is a modern Carnival that exists within …