Latin American Languages and Societies Commons^™

Arizona’S Senate Bill 1070: A Case Study On State-Sponsored Immigration Policy, Ryan Murphy

Master's Theses

This study assesses the origins of Arizona’s state-sponsored immigration policy. It attempts to identify the social dynamics within Arizona that contributed to the overwhelming public support for SB 1070. Since it has been two years after the law was passed, this analysis determines what impact the law has had thus far within the state. Finally, it postulates the future of Arizona’s immigration policy.

Utilization Of Lithic Resources At Huerequeque, An Initial Period (2150–1000 B.C.) Site, Casma Valley, Peru, Daniel Wilson Nicholson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Casma Valley on the north coast of Peru contains a high concentration of Initial Period (2150-1000 B.C.) sites. One of these sites, Huerequeque, is located approximately 25 km inland in the Sechin branch of the river on a hillside. The site contains a mound and plaza complex, intermediate architecture, and residential architecture. My project considers the resources needed for constructions and tools. I identify what was utilized and discuss trends in construction material, collection methods and argue a “convenient construction” model. Included in my discussion of architecture, I consider the amount of human power necessary for these efforts. Regarding …

The Journey Home From Ecuador: A Reentry Guide For Tandana Foundation Volunteers, Heidi Bohn

Capstone Collection

The Tandana Foundation is a small, non-profit organization that works with communities nestled in the Andes of northern Ecuador, providing service-learning opportunities for students and professionals in the Otavalo region. The Journey Home from Ecuador: A Reentry Guide for Tandana Foundation Volunteers (The Journey Home) is a self-directed guide that serves to prepare interns and volunteers with the Tandana Foundation (Tandana) in Ecuador for reentry after their work abroad with the organization. In addition, it introduces the concept of reverse culture shock and provides tools and resources for a successful transition home. Living in rural Ecuador generally between …

Enhancing Road Scholar Cuba Programs Through Group Leader Training, Desiree N. Shrode

Capstone Collection

In response to the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the United States imposed several embargos and restrictions against Cuba. The stipulations of these embargos have included prohibitions on not only the importation and trade of cigars, rum, and coffee, but also travel between the U.S. and Cuba. However, in 2011, President Barack Obama decided to ease these travel restrictions for educational travel that is not related in pursuant to an academic degree, also known as a People-to-People license. Due to Obama’s change in policy, many organizations have been sponsoring travel to Cuba on these People-to-People licenses, granted by the Office of …

Authenticity And Identity-Making In A Globalized World: Capoeira In Boston And New York, Madeline L. Bishop

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Antropofagia And Constructive Universalism: A Diptych, Aarnoud Rommens

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study proposes a rethinking of the word-image relation through an examination of Joaquin Torres-García’s Constructive Universalism (ca.1934-1949) and the Brazilian Modernist movement of Antropofagia (1928-ca.1934). By placing both in the close relation of a ‘diptych,’ I argue for a new reading of Torres-García’s visual work as well as a different understanding of Antropofagia.

In the first part of this work, I argue, through a close reading and viewing of Torres-García’s work, that the constitutive instability between word/image has been overlooked in favour of, on the one hand, an appropriation in terms of a ‘deviation’ from the canon of Geometric …

Crise Do Natural: Percepções E Representações Da Natureza E Suas Relações Com A Esfera Social Na Novíssima Prosa Latino-Americana., Danielle Murta De Laborde Affonso

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This thesis approaches the fictional works of three contemporary Latin American authors: the Brazilian writers Regina Rheda, Letícia Wierzchowski and the Argentine author Gustavo Nielsen. In selected works by these writers Humana Festa (2008); Os Aparados (2009) and El Corazón de Doli (2010), respectively, I analyze the literary representation of nature in relation to neoliberalism and globalization in Latin America. My study considers the explicit and implicit values attached to the ecological in contemporary society, how the environment is represented in contemporary literature and how it dialogues with current political, social and cultural trends. The thesis explores how the fictional …

Interlanguage Pragmatic Development In Native Speaker/Nonnative Speaker Participatory Online Environments, Adrienne Gonzales

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This dissertation seeks to discover the ways in which participation in an online social networking site affects interlanguage pragmatic development. Livemocha is an online social network centered around language learning that emphasizes the collaboration required in constructing language. This social networking site encourages learners to establish an identity through their user profiles and to reach out to other members through email, text-based chat, video chat, or peer-reviewed lessons. This study examines interaction in text-based chat between native speakers (NSs) and language learners of Spanish in this environment. Conversations were collected from seven participants over the course of one academic year …

The Construction Of Salvadoran Identity In A Houston Barrio: Lengua, Identidad Y Transnacionalismo, Stephanie Brock

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The present study examines Salvadoran identity construction in Segundo Barrio, Houston, Texas by utilizing a multi-disciplinary methodology. Linguistically, this is investigated by comparing two distinct Salvadoran corpora in order to not only obtain a more critical understanding of the role of language within Salvadoran identity construction but also to legitimize the lived experiences of this community through linguistic counternarratives. The internal factors employed during the semi-directed sociolinguistics interviews include self-identification, time spent in Houston and El Salvador, music and gastronomical choices, experiences with other Salvadorans and non-Salvadorans, and language use. All informants varied in external factors. Anthropologically, this work explores …

Palabras Bajo El Mar, Silvia Mar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

En la presente colección de poemas, la cual se encuentra situada en el contexto de la poesía amorosa, tendrá el objetivo primeramente de llevar al lector al origen de esta colección, explicando asimismo su función dentro del contexto contemporáneo. Se explicará cómo y por qué fue gestándose este conjunto, mencionando la influencia de la estética de grandes poetas contemporáneos, así como la influencia de estímulos exteriores para la inspiración de un trabajo creativo. Se explicará también como se fue elaborando a través de la escritura, una visión propia del mundo y de la poesía.

Forging Alliances Across Fronteras: Transnational Narratives Of Female Migration And The Family, Vanessa De Veritch Woodside

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This dissertation examines the effects of transnational migration on women with particular attention to the (re-)negotiation of personal and cultural identity resulting from the adoption of novel roles within Chicana narratives of Mexican migration. Chapter One offers a historical background regarding the U.S.-Mexico border, (im)migration, and more specifically, women and migration, as well as an overview of pertinent Chicano migrant literature that serves as an appropriate point of departure for discussion of Chicana re-writings of such texts. This discussion offers border feminism as a framework for analyzing the representation of evolving feminine roles and familial configurations in the context of …

The Legal And Social Repercussions Of The Media On The Sleepy Lagoon Trial And The Zoot Suit Riots, Lori Romero

Scripps Senior Theses

People v. Zamora was a case that was decided on January 12, 1943, which led to the conviction and sentencing of five defendants guilty of assault, nine guilty of second degree murder, and three of first degree murder. This equals a total of seventeen convictions for the murder of one man, out of twenty two who were arrested. Along with those convictions, five women were arrested and, due mainly to their refusal to cooperate were sent to a woman’s reformatory (Barajas, 36). Yet there emerged many different problems that were relevant in this trial, which were brought about by both …

"La Venus Se Fue De Juerga Por Los Barrios Bajos": Nacho López, Mass Culture, And Modernity, Jenifer L. Caneschi

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Re-Imaginando La Literatura Chicana En El Siglo Veintiuno: La Conciencia Mestiza Y “The People Of Paper” De Salvador Plascencia, Jose R. Flores

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

La literatura chicana ha evolucionado significativamente en narrativa y forma desde mediados del siglo veinte. Esta evolución problematizó el concepto de lo que se consideraba como “literatura chicana”. De modo que a raíz de la compleja problemática de catalogar un texto como “chicano”, este estudio pretende analizar algunos parámetros empleados para definir el canon literario chicano e indagar sobre el posicionamiento del texto The People of Paper de Salvador Plascencia dentro de dicha literatura. Asimismo, se analizará el texto The People of Paper desde un marco teórico chicano. Así pues, se opta por el acercamiento crítico de Gloria Anzaldúa y …

Film, Fashion And Fotografía: The Exoticism And Eroticism Of Female Victims In Juárez, Julia T. Scheibmeir

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the phenomenon of feminicide in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and the representation of female victims in U.S. and Mexican mainstream media and performance activism. Specifically analyzing representations of maquiladora workers and feminicide victims in film, fashion and photography, this thesis explores the simultaneous fetishization and devaluation of border women in patriarchal society. By broadening the base of pressure for justice, via performance and internet activism, misogynist governments and policies can and will change.

La Sociolinguistique Postcoloniale En Amérique Hispanophone Et En Afrique Francophone : Un Drame Linguistique En Deux Actes, Eva Valenti

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the sociolinguistic situations in postcolonial Latin America and francophone North Africa (the Maghreb) through a comparative lens. Specifically, it examines the ways in which Spain and France’s differing colonial agendas and language ideologies affected the relationships between colonizer and colonized, and, by extension, the role that Spanish and French play(ed) in these regions after decolonization. Finally, it explores how Spain and France’s contemporary discourses frame colonial participation in the two languages’ development, and the psychological effects these ideologies have had on the formerly colonized.

La Comercialización Del Turismo Étnico En Guatemala Y Marruecos, Michelle Diana Gloster

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the commercialization of ethnic tourism in Guatemala and Morocco in a postcolonial world. Addressing notions of authenticity, Western expectations of the ethnic tourism experience, and colonial portrayals of the Mayas and the Berbers, the thesis argues that the Guatemalan and Moroccan governments reduce their indigenous populations to ‘authentic’ living museums in their touristic promotions targeting Western tourists. Catering to Western tourists’ expectations, the Guatemalan and Moroccan governments perpetuate the stereotypes of their indigenous populations that were established during colonialism. Despite Guatemalan and Moroccan cultural repression of the Maya and the Berber populations, respectively, the governments exploit their …

Estudio Sociolinguistico De La Marca Diferencial De Objeto Directo (Dom) En Dos Variedades Del Espanol Contemporaneo, Sonia Balasch Rodriguez

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This sociolinguistic-variationist investigation sheds light on two little-studied issues concerning Spanish DOM, or variable use of a before animate direct objects (DOs), in vernacular language: the complex interaction of co-occurring linguistic (type of verb; definiteness, specificity, grammatical number, topicality, type and syntactic position of DO) and social (speakers age, gender and occupation) features. The statistical analysis of over 1000 tokens of oral Spanish of Mérida, Venezuela, and Madrid, Spain, indicates that although a+OD is used more in Madrid (61% vs. 46%), both varieties show markedly parallel linguistic conditioning: the lexical effect of certain verbs (tener, ver, conocer, among others), as …

The Representation Of Traumatic Realism In The Early Novels Of Martín Caparrós, Paul Alexander Roggendorff

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

The Spanish expression haciendo memoria is almost always translated as "remembering." I chose the literal translation "making memory" because it more adequately describes the task of mourning that takes place when dealing with trauma. Psychology tells us that when a traumatic event occurs, only a non-narrative imprint of an event is recorded--seared--in the mind, and the narrative form must be created. Only then can it be mentally manipulated and even communicated and --in both a literal and literary sense-- made history.

The trauma explored in this study is centered on the dirty war in Argentina of the 1970’s and 1980’s. …

The Rhetoric Of Construction: A Comparative Case Study Of The Language Of The U.S. - Mexico And Israel - Palestine Border Walls, Jesse Adam Kapenga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research examines the language and rhetoric of fear used to justify the walls and fences built by the American government along the U.S. - Mexico border, and by the Israeli government around the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It focuses specifically on the rhetoric used by the head of government of each country (the American president and the Israeli prime minister) during the years 2001-2011 to explain and justify the construction of a physical barrier as a measure of national defense and self-preservation.

Sexual Racism In A Gay Community On The U.S.-Mexico Border: Revisiting The Latin Americanization Thesis Online, Jesus Gregorio Smith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this investigation is to examine racism in a sexual context or as it shall be defined here, sexual racism, along the border town of El Paso, TX by expanding upon Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's (2002) Latin Americanization Thesis of tri-racial stratification that posits that the U.S. will reflect a three tier racial structure with the White race on top, then an intermediary group of Honorary Whites and a Collective Black category at the bottom. This study will expand upon the Latin Americanization Thesis by examining the intersection of race/ethnicity with sexuality. Specifically, I will add to this thesis by …

El Movimiento: A Brief Analysis Of The Role Of Core Activists In The Development Of A Unified Social Movement In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Luis Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis attempts to solve the question of why, despite the efforts of many social activists, there is not a unified social movement in Ciudad Juárez, México. My hypothesis is that social activists who are able to distinguish between a collective project and a personal project are more likely to create a successful social movement than those who tie their public identity with their personal identity. The reason seems to be that individuals who do not make this distinction are not able or willing to create networks beyond their ideologies, as well as beyond their personal direct influence and control, …

The New Mexican Migration: Remembering Violence, Connecting, And Living In The Third Space, Uriel G. Posada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The concept of identity has become a topic of discussion in the last few decades, especially with the growing immigration across several countries. Countries such as the United States and Canada are receiving people who arrive from different parts of the world and who are changing the composition of these countries. In this thesis I explore how a group of Mexican journalists are adjusting their identity as they live in countries outside of Mexico. Five of the journalists are now living in the United States, and one of them is in Canada. They were forced to leave Mexico after they …

"Excellent Clay For Pots": An Archaeological And Microscopic Investigation Of Barbadian Redware During The Early Colonial Era, Erik Andre Siedow

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Ni La Tierra, Ni Las Mujeres Somos Territorio De La Conquista, Adrienne Beitcher

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis focuses on the effects of neoliberal economic and social policies in Bolivia and their role in the feminization of poor indigenous migration. The thesis argues that these neoliberal policies most deeply affect poor indigenous women in Bolivia forcing them to migrate in order to provide for their families. Through migration, women become transnational mothers ( mothers across national borders). Based on interviews conducted in both Bolivian and Argentina with migrant women, the thesis uses the experiences of these women in order to examine both the short and long-term effects of this on "culture" and mother-child relationships as well …

The Life And Work Of Gloria Anzaldúa: An Intellectual Biography, Elizabeth Anne Dahms

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

The writings and life of Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa (1942-2004) have had an immense impact in a variety of disciplines. Her oft-cited text Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987) is included in many university courses’ reading lists for its contributions to discourses of hybridity, linguistics, intersectionality and women of color feminism, among others. Unfortunately, most scholars content themselves with the intricacies of Borderlands to the neglect of her corpus of work, which includes essays, books, edited volumes, children’s literature and fiction/autohistorias. This analysis presented here wishes to expand our understandings of Anzaldúa’s work by engaging with her pre- and post-Borderlands …

Porfirismo During The Mexican Revolution: Exile And The Politics Of Representation, 1910-1920, Nancy Alexandra Aguirre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work broadens the narrative of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) by incorporating the perspective of the supporters of dictators Porfirio Dí­az and Victoriano Huerta. I focus specifically on urban professional "Porfiristas," examining the changes and continuities in their identity over the course of the revolution. Identity formation is the central theme of this study, and I rely on memoirs, newspapers, government documents, and oral history interviews in order to analyze the motivations of Porfiristas as they fought to sustain their worldview during a decade of global conflict.

My study draws upon the frameworks of post-colonialism, feminist theory, cultural studies, migration/diaspora …

La Mentira Como Una Estrategia De Cortesía Verbal: Estudio Pragmalinguístico De La Telenovela La Saga, Maria Carolina Torres

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Even though languages have many things in common they all differ in the way politeness is present in verbal interactions. What might be polite in certain cultures can be considered impolite in other cultures, and this is due to the relationships among the speaker and the hearer, their context, their social needs, desires, and expectations. In this thesis I will try to provide a contextual explanation for some Colombians' use of lies (as a means of politeness to deceive) in their daily life through conversations based on some of Colombia's history. Lies have become so internalized by many Colombian people …

A Postcolonial Comparative Study Of Secondary Education And Its Ideological Implications For West Indian Communities In Puerto Limon, Costa Rica ; Bluefields, Nicaragua ; And Old Providence Island, Colombia, Raquel Sanmiguel

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present study sets out to identify the ideological implications that the current national systems of secondary education have for West Indians who ended up living in the “"buffer zone"” between Latin American and Anglophone Caribbean histories: Raizales in Old Providence Island, Colombia; Afrolimonenses in Limón, Costa Rica, and Creoles in Bluefields, Nicaragua. The axis of examination is the school curriculum both as practice and as a set of pre-determined content and goals that teachers have to follow. It is a critical analysis of the ideologies that inform education, supported by an inquiry into the historical and cultural factors that …

The Impact Of Cross-Cultural Transition On Intercultural Relationships Using A Strengths-Based Approach, Kristen Naylor Calderon

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the ways in which intercultural relationships are affected by cross-cultural transition through the lens of the female experience. Specifically, this research examined (1) in what ways women felt that cross-cultural transition impacted their relationship, especially with regards to cultural values and male-female role taking; and (2) what kinds of benefits women experienced in their relationships as a result of moving across cultures with their partner. A total of 15 non-Chilean women in intercultural relationships with Chilean men were interviewed; all women had lived with their partners in her home country and then moved together to Chile.

Results …