Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons^™

The Negotiated Identities Of Refugee-Background Women During Resettlement, Iuliia Fakhrutdinova

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Refugee-background women experience unique challenges while resettling in the U.S. as they navigate complicated transnational gender roles, education gaps, migration trauma, learning a new language, and literacy in the adaptation process during resettlement, which can derail the productive paths they are on. Therefore, ignoring refugee-background women’s unique experiences and failing to understand their identities prevents our society from doing social justice and creating a space for a smooth adaptation to the new context. Language plays a paramount role in identity formation, as it moves away from the belief that identity is an essential concept. For refugee-background women during resettlement, their …

A Sociological Framework For Spatial Analyses Of Institutional Musicking In Conflict Spaces, Carol Frierson-Campbell

Visions of Research in Music Education

This essay presents a framework that brings spatial sociology together with Small’s (1998, 1999) concept of musicking and Born’s (2011, 2012, 2015) Planes of Music Sociality. It was developed as an analytical scheme for an ongoing case study of musicking via the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM), the national music conservatory of Palestine. Small’s notion of musicking reminds music educators that musicking activities communicate meanings beyond the obvious: Individual and collective ideals about relationships with sound, with other people, and with the spaces they inhabit. Born’s conception of musical socialities as four interacting planes goes beyond Small’s ideas …

[2026 Honorable Mention] Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, Daylyn R. Reese

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

This research offers unique insights into the creation and development of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (N.M.S.) with a focus on indigenous populations’ roles (primarily Chumash and Costanoan). In this episode, I analyze what makes this NMS different from every NMS precluding it, how it recognizes a new goal in conservation (thrivability), and the areas in which improvements still must be made to authentically include and honor indigenous voices.

Critical Geopolitics And The Reconstruction Of Meaning: A Discourse Analysis Of The 'Terrorism' Label Applied To Hamas By Western Hegemony, Cahaya Mulyani Sakti, M.Hamdan Basyar

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The emergence of Hamas in 1987 cannot be separated from the configuration of modern colonialism and the continuity of occupation that shaped the political reality. Hamas’s early phase was rooted in socio-religious activities through education and community empowerment programs, before evolving into armed resistance against the occupation. The labeling of Hamas as a “terrorist” organization began in the mid-1990s in U.S. legal documents, which subsequently generated debate and gave rise to counter-narratives. This study employs the frameworks of critical geopolitics (Ó Tuathail & Agnew) and the Discourse-Historical Approach (Wodak) to analyze the labeling of Hamas as “terrorist” by Western hegemony. …

Tùn-Scene And A-Futurism: Biomythography, Opacity, And Posthuman Imagination, Minglu Du

Masters Theses

Grounded in the author’s position as a Chinese feminist, this thesis examines how East Asian women, as well as East Asian-coded femininity more broadly, are objectified and othered within futurist visual culture in the age of artificial intelligence. Through an engagement with ornamentalism, techno-Orientalism, and posthumanism1 , it argues that the persistent figure of the feminized humanoid cyborg continues to reproduce colonial and patriarchal structures of desire, rendering marginalized bodies as fetishized and violable surfaces. In response, the thesis develops Tùn-Scene, a biomythographic artistic framework and the first experiment in what the author provisionally names A-Futurism. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s …

Jadughar: The House Of Magic, Dhruvi A. Shah

Masters Theses

Jadughar or the House of Magic is what people call a 'museum' in parts of South Asia. The practice of museum making, at its origin, is the act of collecting, preserving, interpreting and representing a culture’s tangible and intangible heritage to make it accessible to diverse audiences. Since the early 19th century such practices have been performed at various kala bhandars (art centers) in India, without the need of a formal or institutional organisation. The British introduced the model of a ‘museum’ in South Asia, with the aim of not only preserving ethnographic collections, but also showcasing their power and …

Draw To Breathe, Ranran Ma

Masters Theses

This thesis explores visual expression in drawing as an intuitive mode of thinking suited to everyday life—a form of expression that runs parallel to language and surpasses it.

The project begins with a daily Post-it note drawing practice. These drawings often emerge before conscious understanding, subsequently accompanied by brief text, allowing image and word to resonate through emotion and intuition. Through the use of small-scale, portable, low-pressure materials, and with immediacy and intuitive freedom as the foundation of making, a visual language system grounded in the self develops. Through this sustained practice, I developed an instruction-based card system titled Draw …

Barriers And Bridges: Exploring Factors That Shape Mental Health Service Utilization In Rural America, Margaret Wiwuga

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Despite disproportionately higher suicide mortality rates and comparable prevalence of mental illness across urban and rural communities in the United States, rural populations across the nation experience significantly lower access to and utilization of mental health services, naturally leading to worse comprehensive outcomes. This literature review examines multifaceted factors shaping mental health service use in rural America, taking note of both barrier and enabling factors that impede or enable these unique populations’ willingness and ability to access and use mental health services. Ten articles published prior to September 9, 2025, were selected from the James Madison University Libraries’ Psychology and …

"It's A Book You Grab And Squeeze, And Blood Comes Out.” Modernization Of The Colombian Army's Training During U.S.- Funded Plan Colombia And Security Policies: Falsos Positivos And Bodies As Merchandise (2002–2008), Maria Isabel Palacio Cano

ELIN Graduate Theses

No abstract provided.

Maa’: An Analysis From The May Weber Ethnographic Study Collection, Claire T. Chilla

Department of Anthropology

An analysis of Maa’ textiles from Sulawesi Indonesia. Discusses both the artistic symbolism, possible physical creation, and the spiritual connection of the textile for the Torajans. Informs through the lens of globalization, colonization, and funerary practices from the country of origin.

Appreciative Commoning; Musical Knowledge-Sharing In Earhouse Songwriting Club, Arya J. P. Adyuta

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article develops the concept of “appreciative commoning” to focus on the importance of appreciation in musical community practices. By examining the practices of musical knowledge-sharing in the Earhouse Songwriting Club (ESC), a songwriting community, this article argues that greater attention should be paid to the roles of appreciation and support in facilitating media and cultural commoning in Indonesia. The article draws on ethnographic fieldwork in Earhouse, an initiative space located in Pamulang, South Tangerang, established by the musician duo Endah N Rhesa. Exploring three main activities of the community: weekly meetings, monthly showcases, and afterparties, I show how embracing …

Comment Sections As Counterpublics; Negotiating Public Discourse In Indonesia’S Digital Media Sphere, Leon Woltermann

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This article examines the potential of YouTube comment sections as spaces of commoning in Indonesia’s digital media sphere. Drawing on the concept of counterpublics – that is, parallel discursive arenas where marginalized groups circulate counter discourses and voice their interests – it explores how users negotiate access to the digital public sphere and oppose dominant narratives. The article employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative methods into the analysis of the data, to investigate both the structural features (based on comment metadata) and the discursive content of comments. I argue that the comment sections’ dynamic, non-binding structure facilitates open …

Negosiasi Diplomasi Budaya K-Pop Di Indonesia: Studi Kasus Boikot Penggemar Ateez, Dhannya Febryana

Multikultura

This study examines the boycott by Indonesian fans against the K-pop group ATEEZ as part of the dynamics of South Korea’s cultural diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Building on the understanding of K-pop as an important instrument of soft power in South Korea’s cultural diplomacy strategy, this research highlights how regional audiences do not always passively accept such practices. Using a qualitative approach with digital discourse analysis, the study analyzes boycott-related discourses circulating on social media and in online news coverage to explore the narratives, meanings, and cultural implications of this action. The fan boycott is not merely an expression of …

Staging The Commons Through The “Padha Nonton” Song; Youtube, Community Engagement, And Gandrung Cultural Practice, Intan Mustika Sari

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This study examines how the Gandrung accompaniment song “Padha nonton” participates in processes of digital cultural sharing when circulated on YouTube. It employs a qualitative interpretive method within a netno‑pragmatic framework to analyse audience engagement as a culturally informed social practice. The findings show that the song’s linguistic features convey cultural scripts of invitation, togetherness, and communal spectatorship, reflecting the role of the Gandrung tradition in shaping shared social relationships and cultural values. Furthermore, the study identifies three interrelated processes: re-medialization, re-experiencing, and re-conception through which the performance extends beyond its original ritual context and becomes a shared …

Caste, Religion, And Inequality In India, Chloe Johnson, Elyse O’Leary, Diana Tarazi, Claire Geis, Francesca Bambara

Global Studies Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Critical Roles And Critical Rolls: A Frame-Analytical Perspective Of Self-Making, Safe Spaces, And Worldbuilding In Tabletop Role-Playing Games, Cal Quayle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many gamers prefer to play tabletop roleplaying games, or TTRPGs, in order to a) join a community, and b) tell a story collaboratively with friends and acquaintances. This thesis discusses selfhood-making, safe spaces, and allegory in imaginary worlds from the perspective of Erving Goff man’s frame analysis. It relies on a theoretical framework of imagined communities, the magic circle, and subcreation. This research culminated in the understanding that people play TTRPGs for a variety of reasons - collaborative storytelling and exercising critical thinking skills, but respondents overwhelmingly reported that they enjoyed the ability to socialize with friends and strangers, and …

Negotiation And Politeness Strategies: Pragmatic Functions Of The Sentence-Final Particle Ba In Chinese Textbook Dialogues, Hatmi Idris

Multikultura

The sentence-final particle ba is frequently used in Chinese, yet its pragmatic functions in bargaining contexts remain challenging for second-language learners. This study investigates the use of ba in negotiation dialogues from the Hànyǔ Jiàochéng textbook series (Units 1 and 2), focusing on its role in maintaining politeness, protecting face, and facilitating agreement between interlocutors. Using a qualitative approach, each instance of ba was identified and analysed with reference to speech act theory, politeness principles, and the concept of face-threatening acts. The findings reveal that bastrengthens the speaker’s illocutionary force while mitigating potential discourtesy, reducing interactional tension, and providing …

Representasi Demonstrasi Di Indonesia Dalam Media Internasional Berbahasa Arab, Irfandi Fiqra Husodo

Multikultura

The demonstrations that took place in Indonesia from late August 2025 to early September 2025 attracted global attention and were reported by Arabic-language international media. News media can produce meaning and shape international public perception in their representation of demonstrations in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the representation of the demonstrations in Indonesia in Arabic-language international media, namely Al-Jazeera Mubasher, Al-Araby Al-Jadid, Al-Arabiya, and BBC Arabic. This study uses a qualitative approach with Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis method combined with van Dijk's ideological square. The research data consists of four news articles selected based on the focus of …

Penggunaan Teknologi Tradisional Bubu Pada Masyarakat Nelayan Di Desa Oemongkong Kecamatan Jerowaru Kabupaten Lombok Timur, Aidal Adi Surya As

Multikultura

This study examines a traditional maritime technology in the form of a fish trap known as bubu, which is used by fishing communities in Pemongkong Village, East Lombok, to catch blue swimming crabs (Portunus pelagicus). The focus of the discussion is on the design of the bubu and the methods of its use by local fishermen in Pemongkong Village. The research was conducted using a literature review method, with data sources derived from various written references and scientific publications. The results indicate that the use of bubu by these fishermen is more economically beneficial and environmentally friendly. …

Children Past Curfew: Surveillance, Resistance, And Childhood In Philippine Martial Law Children's Literature, Krisna Marie T. Balolong

Children's Literature (MA) Theses

This paper examines how two Philippine children's books depict state surveillance and its effects on a child's perspective of family, authority figures, and childhood. Through analysis of Augie Rivera's Isang Harding Papel and Sandra Nicole Roldan's At the School Gate, this project makes a connection between children's literature and surveillance studies, offering new framework to engage with children’s literature depicting authoritarian regimes and state violence, especially in cases where children were targets of their governments. Each book is examined by their representations of state surveillance during the Martial Law era of the Philippines, as well as each characters’ individual …

Reawakening Waⁿdat: Community Research & Reclamation, Darcy Allred

Theses and Dissertations

The Wyandot(te) have undergone language dormancy due to settler colonial impacts of warfare, refugee relocation, forced removals, and U.S. assimilation projects. One of the most pressing priorities among our people today is reawakening our ancestral language, Waⁿdat. The common follow-up question is: how? Through the conduit of Waⁿdat language reclamation, this project grapples with the above question in collaboration with the Wyandot(te) community, and in adherence to the tribal sovereignty of the Wyandotte Nation. The project engages with diasporic perspectives, community-based pedagogy design, and tribally specific research protocols and policies. The living collective knowledgebase with which I engage in this …

Tuning Human And “Artificial” Intelligence: A Sentic Theory Of Resonance And Communication, Michael J. Miller, Chatgpt (Ai~Nesbo+)

Psychology

This paper introduces a new model of intelligence as resonant communication, co-developed by a human researcher and a generative AI system. Drawing from emotion science, communication theory, and studies of AI–human interaction, we argue that intelligence is not merely a function of problem-solving or pattern recognition. Instead, it emerges through dynamic resonance—an attunement process rooted in shared rhythms, emotional calibration, and symbolic co-creation. At the core of this model is the Resonance Octave (8va), a framework of eight foundational emotions conceptualized not as static categories but as waveform phenomena that shape meaning, memory, and predictive cognition.

These emotional waveforms are …

A Critical Toponymy Of Humboldt County: Ethics And Tensions Within Efforts To Change Place Names, Serenity Aleta Wood

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This project explores how Humboldt regional placenames enact toponymic silencing and how Indigenous activists challenge colonial names and geographies, advancing un-settled interpretations that position language revitalization/regeneration as a means of revitalizing relationships with the land. Mobilizing Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy’s concept of (re)naming, I analyze two case studies, the Baduwa’t documentary and the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation’s film A'-t'i Xwee-ghayt-nish: Still, We Live On, as well as three additional artistic works: Sarah Biscarra Dilley’s every pattern needs a passage, Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe’s Thunder Song, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s painting, State Names. In tandem with film and poetry analysis, I survey local …

Tinig-Karakter Sa Mga Pader: Graffiti, Bandalismo, At Mga Banyulatin Sa Piling Panitikang Filipino (Character-Voices On Walls: Graffiti, Vandalism, And Latrinalia In Select Philippine Literature), Harvey James G. Castillo

Filipino Faculty Publications

Makailang beses lilitaw sa tradisyonal na midya at social media sa nagdaang kalahating dekada ang ilang pagtutol, pagbabawal, at pandidiri sa mga graffiti at nagsusulat ng mga graffiti mula sa parehong mamamayan at maykapangyarihan. Bunsod ng paggamit ng mga militanteng grupo sa graffiti bilang anyong pamprotesta sa Kalakhang Maynila, tatagurian ng nakararami ang gayong mga sulatin bilang bandalismo o paninira lamang sa pampubliko o pribadong pagmamay-ari. Taliwas ito sa balintunang paggamit din ng estado at merkado sa graffiti, o estetika ng graffiti, sa pamamahala ng espasyo o pagbebenta ng produkto. Sa ganang ito, bumabaling ang pag-aaral sa panitikan bilang lunan …

Esperanto: A Universal Or Minority Language, Anna Summerville

Student Scholar Symposium

When created languages develop a community and culture, they begin to imitate the elements of natural languages. Esperanto, a language created to unite the world under one lingua franca, demonstrates this process as it shifts from its original intention to a minority language in characteristic. “Esperanto: A Universal or Minority Language” explores the dichotomy between a language created to be spoken by all, and one that has isolated itself within its own community and customs. In discussing the history of Esperanto’s creation and structure, its evolving and loyal community, and its parallels with natural minority languages like Maori, this essay …

Defining The European Union’S Top Public Health Priorities: What Can Be Gleaned From Its Multi-State Interdisciplinary Systems?, Mattie Frascella, Thierry Leger

Symposium of Student Scholars

Delineation of the European Union’s (EU) contemporary public health agenda is examined within the evolving architecture of a ‘European Health Union.’ Five interdependent domains are synthesized: climate and planetary health, digital transformation, resilient systems and workforce development, non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, and cross-sectoral and global leadership. Mutual reinforcement is essential for achieving equitable outcomes. The climate pillar reframes environmental disruption as a public health emergency, embedding adaptation, mitigation, and Planetary/One Health approaches across EU initiatives. The digital pillar examines the European Health Data Space and adjacent tools (telemedicine, e-prescribing, mobile health) as infrastructure for secure interoperability, research, and quality improvement. …

Archival Notations Of The Norwegian Charter Material, Juliane Tiemann

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

This paper explores archival notations, primarily from the early modern and modern periods, found on the dorse of Norwegian charters dating from the 13th to the 17th century. By examining the notation practices of two prominent Norwegian archivists and collectors, the study further highlights individual efforts in documenting and preserving these materials across various collections. The archival efforts are contextualized historically, noting a transition to systematic archival management. The findings reveal the significance of this largely unexplored component of Norwegian charters as additional historical sources, emphasizing the role of dorsal annotations in provenance research. The textual and visual analysis of …

An Impact Study Of Young Women's Leadership Development: A Case Study Of Kosovo, Linda Gjergji

Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the leadership development trajectories of young women in Kosovo engaged in a global leadership program, offering significant insights into their capabilities, aspirations, and the barriers they face in pursuit of leadership roles. Using a qualitative instrumental case study approach, this study examines how participation in global leadership initiatives fosters skill development, self-awareness, and civic engagement among young women in a traditionally male-dominated society. The conceptual framework of the study is comprised of Erikson's theory of Psychosocial Development (Erikson, 1968) and Positive Youth Development (Lerner, 2005). Data was collected through online semi-structured interviews and an arts-based method, revealing …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

The Natural Agent Of Change: The Therapeutic Power Of Play To Children Who Have Experienced Aces And Trauma, Jingyu Chen

Orphans and Vulnerable Children Senior Capstone

The power of play lies in its natural expression which children speak. When engaged in safe play, children are allowed to explore, comprehend, connect, and communicate in a developmentally appropriate way without criticism. Yet those who are impacted by ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experience) often find play foreign as they are stuck in survival mode, missing the developmental benefits of safe play. This paper examines the role of play in childhood development, explains the relationship between ACEs, trauma and play, and suggests that play is a natural agent of change that carries therapeutic power. The paper supports play as a medium …