Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

At The Crossroads: Ryan Coogler’S Metaphysical Meditation On Blues Music’S Power Of Salvation And The Terror Of Racial Predation In “Sinners”, Terri Bowles

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

In Sinners (2025), written and directed by Ryan Coogler, intercultural histories of music, religion and oral tradition inform a modern and complex horror tale confronting the terror of Jim Crow in the post–World War I Mississippi Delta. The film, starring frequent Coogler collaborator and muse Michael B. Jordan as twin war veterans out to reestablish their lives as juke joint owners, coalesces themes of economic repression, racial voyeurism, and secular and religious entanglements with cinematic horror allegories of objectification, consumption and possession. This review explores the film’s tense and violent examination of these themes and the lived and imagined spaces …

Pedagogical Escapism And Western Performativity: A Psycho-Aesthetic Critique Of Belly-Dance Adaption Symbolics, Maryam Farahani

Comparative Woman

This paper addresses positionality misreading in Western pedagogical adaptions of belly dancing. Raqs Sharqi, known in the West as belly dancing, is a predominantly West Asian and North African discipline and performance art with multimodal varieties, globally taught and practiced while crossing sport, narratology, and story-telling boundaries. As a unique performance activity, it portrays a dynamic entertainment space to connect one’s multiple identities. I argue that Raqs Sharqi, not only as an aesthetic-educational art form but also, perhaps unwittingly, reiterated as an Orientalist communication trope in belly dancing, has forged East-West performativity models. However, the historical education-literature for Western women …

The Game Of Chance, Alieth Caceres

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Through my first semester at college, I was faced with the capability of not coming back due to being from a low-income family. Being a first-gen, I didn’t have anyone to guide me and I went from place to place begging for something to hold on to. My biggest goal for my family and I is to graduate from college and it is unfair that this opportunity will come short only because of financial problems. In some moments I felt all was lost, some telling me that I couldn’t and should just give up. All the connections I had reached …

Breaking Barriers First-Gen Experiences, Fiorella Salazar, Alondra Hernandez, Alieth Caceres, Aolanni Jimenez-Gonzalez, Alberto Martinez, Karol Martinez, Jesus Arias, Julian Melendez Miranda, Gabby Flores, Isabell Lachinpour, Jefferson Ramos, Annette Gomez, Zahir Pineda, Alejandra Rodriguez, Carla Bueno

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

In Breaking Barriers: First-Gen Experiences, first-gen students showcased their stories through poems, art, research, and personal reflections. Every story reflects resilience and creativity as they navigate their educational and personal journeys with a first-gen identity. These are stories that we can connect to and learn from to further build bridges for future generations in The First to Go Program!

Volume 8 (2025) The Spanish Language, Language Variations, Cultures And Responsibility

International Journal on Responsibility

This issue reflects an intentional and profound commitment to linguistic inclusion, cultural diversity, and the shared responsibility of scholars to broaden the scope of academic dialogue beyond the boundaries of English. The essays collected here invite us to reimagine bilingualism not only as a communicative skill but also as a moral, social, and institutional responsibility.

Esta edición representa un compromiso intencional y profundo con la inclusión lingüística, la diversidad cultural y la responsabilidad compartida de ampliar los horizontes del diálogo académico más allá de los límites del inglés. Los ensayos aquí reunidos nos invitan a reimaginar el bilingüismo no solo …

El Maya Yucateco En El Paisaje Lingüístico De Cancún (México): Entre Invisibilidad Y Comodificación De Autenticidad, Jannis Harjus, Benjamin Peter, Linda Yoksulabakan-Harjus

Journal of Maya Heritage

The goal of this contribution is to analyze the presence of different languages in the linguistic landscape of Cancún, Quintana Roo. Cancún has a population of about 650,000 inhabitants. As a main tourist destination, the city also remains a top migration destination for Mexicans from other (rural) Mexican areas. Therefore, in addition to autochthonous speakers of maya yucateco, speakers of other indigenous languages, e.g., tzotzil and chontal, also migrate to the Cancún metropolitan area. In this paper, we analyze to which extent Cancún’s linguistic superdiversity is reflected in its urban landscape. In order to achieve that, we first created photo …

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 …

Nationalism And Anglo-American Neo-Colonialism In Southeast Asia, 1945-1965, Wen-Qing (Wei Wenqing) Ngoei

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

It is tempting to treat the United States’ ill-fated military intervention in Vietnam in the 1960s as the desperate final gasp of a moribund Western imperial system. Certainly, scholars have described Washington’s military debacle in Vietnam as the end of America’s “short-lived empire” in Southeast Asia, emblematic of the broader, decisive triumph of Southeast Asian nationalism over western colonialism. This reading of Southeast Asian countries attaining formal independence after 1945, with tacit assumptions that colonialism and nationalism exist in binary opposition, tends to ossify when the region’s history is viewed through the lens of U.S. defeat in Vietnam.

In contrast, …

Femtoring Book Club: Turning Pages, Uplifting Latinas, Heather A. Hathaway Miranda

Gatherings

Amid the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, I initiated Learn, Laugh, Lead, and Self-Love, a virtual femtoring program designed for Latina women aged 19 to 25. This weekly space incorporated interactive elements such as icebreakers, creative responses to visual art, and intentional community-building practices to cultivate trust and solidarity. After one year, the virtual gatherings transitioned into a monthly femtoring book club for women of color, launching with The Four Agreements and centering themes of gratitude, affirmation, and the reflective practice of sharing tunas and espinas© (joys and challenges). Drawing on my prior participation and support of an in-person …

Women, Race, Recovery: How Some Of History’S Most Impactful Thinkers Reflect On Their Own Healing, Karol Cooper

Gatherings

With examples from influential women of color feminists, the essay points to some obstacles in the way to developing a true practice of recovery for women of color academics whose research brings them in continual contact with histories and enactments of harm against women and people of color. As women of color in higher education, articulating our health and healing needs in our own terms would help us clear a path to promoting ourselves as whole and healthy persons, in addition to promoting us along a career path. The essay collects reflections on health struggles from famous women of color …

A Little Piece Of Her Dies, Keturah L. Hancock

Gatherings

This poem explores the emotional labor of being authentic in spaces not built for women of color. This poem specifically addresses the experiences of Black women. Often, Black women find themselves torn between maintaining peace and being themselves. The poem addresses concepts such as tone policing, code-switching, and expression. It honors Black women in academia who feel they have to shrink themselves to be seen. There is a sense of safety that comes with fitting in and not making waves in a predominantly white space. However, this poem offers an alternative, calling Black women to stand up for those who …

"Breaking Barriers: First-Gen Experiences", Julian Melendez Miranda

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Journey to college as a first-generation student, navigating challenges and self-doubt.

First Gen Voices, Jesus Arias

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Looking back at my first semester, I’ve made some truly fond memories. Starting off with an amazing group of people in the program and going on our retreat helped me find a community I could rely on. This community has remained by my side, even during challenging times, and for that, I’ll always be grateful. Whether it was tackling escape rooms or being part of First Year Seminar, the first-gen community has shown itself to be incredibly strong and tightly connected.

The First Generation, Alberto Martinez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

My poem basically describes how I feel as a first-generation student is. Many of us including myself, felt as if we were alone, not knowing if we have someone by our side, but through our experience, we do share a common ground. First to go is a place where we all can share that and is a place where we do not have to be alone but have the support of those around us who can relate to how we feel.

Roots, Aolanni Jimenez-Gonzalez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This poem closely focuses on my experience and acceptance of my first-generation identity. Language is a symbol of my heritage from my family and how I carry hope and resilience as I navigate my everyday life. I want to depict my journey through language and how it serves as a powerful source to communicate with my loved ones and others. While appreciating the roots and strength of my family and striving to live out my dreams and be the first of many to come.

Balance, Alondra Hernandez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Through the poem, I wanted to explain my journey as a First Gen student who was struggling to balance school and work. I also wanted to represent the many students who are facing the same fight everyday. My hope was to show encouragement and motivation to keep going.Making sure to remind yourself to live each day knowing you're doing your best.

First Doubts, Carla Bueno

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

As first-gen students, we often struggle with the identity and responsibility of being the firsts to navigate through the unknown. With this, doubts of our ability to succeed come naturally and these can be consuming. My advice is to not be afraid of using resources available and asking questions as these are the first steps into finding our way in institutions not built for us.

Dreams To Reality, Annette Gomez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

Beneath the shade of the trees, I reflect on the weight of my family’s dreams and the determination it takes to pursue a degree. The clear blue skies and open spaces remind me that possibilities are just as boundless, even when the roads feel steep. Here, amidst the peace and beauty I find the strength to strive as a First-Generation Latina student.

A New Beginning, Jefferson Ramos

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

The purpose of my reflection is to demonstrate to other individuals, especially first-generation students, my experience with the college process, along with the obstacles I faced, the doubts, and everything that comes along with being the first person in your family to attend a higher education institution in the United States. In my reflection, I describe the process that I experienced, from the very beginning of high school to the start of my college journey. To finalize my reflection, I leave the reader with three important tips I have learned along the journey: being resilient, not being afraid of new …

My Experience, Gabby Flores

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This essay reflects personal experiences starting college and navigating new environments that are new to me.

Deceiving Angels Ii, Alejandra Rodriguez

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

I share a dream with my family. The dream of graduating from college, getting a good job, and living a better life. A life where we won’t be financially tied down. I am now attending Loyola Marymount University and pursuing a degree in Animation. I’m the first in my family to pursue a degree in Film & Television, and even though I can’t help the thoughts that I should be doing something more “impactful,” I know that it’s my passion and that it is the combined efforts of my family and those who have helped me, that led me here. …

Trailblazin, Zahir Pineda

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

My "trailblazin" collage is just a collage of me and my brother as we grew up. It was just us two for the majority of our childhood and we were always pushed to make the most of our education here in the US. Growing up I always relied on him, and he made sure to be there to guide me and help me learn from his mistakes. Fast forward to now and we're both at LMU together, and the same way he trailblazed the path for me, I hope to do for my two younger siblings. It symbolizes what has …

Introduction

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

No abstract provided.

Family Dynamics In Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Isabell Lachinpour

First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

This paper was originally a submission for my general psychology final. The prompt for it was to analyze any topic covered in class and connect to any form of fictional media. I chose to study the social psychology behind the relationships of immigrant parents and their children, connecting it to the movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan. I especially picked this movie because of how connected I felt to the characters in the movie as I have gone through some of the same experiences they have and know many immigrant children that have felt …

K'Iwinya'n-An:N (Acorn Eater), Sunsara C. Sutton

Rou Dalagurr Food Futures

No abstract provided.

Overfishing, Pluto Bowen

Rou Dalagurr Food Futures

No abstract provided.

Artist Statement, Annette Moulay

Rou Dalagurr Food Futures

No abstract provided.

The Day That Suspended Time And Space And Carceral Walls Smelled Like A Salmon Pit, Crane Conso

Rou Dalagurr Food Futures

Poem

Manifesto For Seeds, Tatiana Patino Madriaga

Rou Dalagurr Food Futures

Poem

Revival And Survival, Armando Peña

Rou Dalagurr Food Futures

Poem