African American Studies Commons^™

'Odd Secrets Of The Line': Emily Dickinson And The Uses Of Folk, Wendy Tronrud

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Emily Dickinson and her poetry have famously been used as a defining example of American lyric poetry. The traditional scholarly perspective maintains that the lyric poem and its speaker exist in isolation and at a remove from social and political contexts. Recent scholarship on American poetry of the long nineteenth century, however, has taken a more historical and cultural turn, reconsidering how poetic and vernacular forms and genres circulated both privately and publicly. “Odd Secrets of the Line”: Emily Dickinson and the Uses of Folk joins this conversation by theorizing how Dickinson’s poetry, written during the 1859-1865 period, registers the …

Black Girls Matter: The Impact Of Historical Representation On Contemporary Education, Carolyn Strong

Dissertations

A long history of misogynoir and negative stereotypes about Black
girls and women can be found throughout the literature and popular
culture of the United States. These stereotypes inform the lived
experience of Black girls and women, and in particular interfere with
African American girls’ ability to thrive in a school environment. An
autoethnographic research approach shows that various strategies, in
particular, Black girl-centric spaces, have proven to be helpful in
supporting Black girls who have to negotiate varying degrees of
hostility in general environments. These could be applied more broadly
to improve Black girls’ mental, psychological, physical, and
educational …

(Re)Humanizing: A Culturally Informed Approach To Coping With The Manifestation Of Super Woman Schema In Black Women With Trauma Exposure, Jasmine Dowery

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Using the Community Engagement option, this Capstone Thesis was used to create a method to explore a culturally informed approach to coping with the manifestation of Super Woman Schema in Black Women with trauma exposure. In this thesis the researcher discusses Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS) in as it relates to the formation of maladaptive techniques such as Super Woman Schema. Additionally, this Capstone Thesis provides a historical context on the cultural significance of Rhythm and Blues music and Dance/Movement Therapy and ties it to the importance of healing for the community at-large. This researcher utilized self as instrument to explore …

Commodification Of Black Bodies, Emmanuel Yeboah

Womanist Ethics

No abstract provided.

The Gothic Other: A Critique Of Race, Gender, Slavery, And Systemic Oppression Found In Nathaniel Hawthorne, Toni Morrison, And Hannah Crafts, Kelly Franklin

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines three novels all communicating ideas about race, gender, and slavery under the conventions of Gothic literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables (1851) show how patriarchy oppressed and haunted women while keeping slavery at the margins. Beloved (1987), by Toni Morrison, fictionalizes the account of a female slave who murdered her child to assert her power and reject slavery. However, Morrison rewrites and defies aspects of the Gothic mode by bringing the ghost of the murdered child back to life, and later showing steps the community can take to heal from their collective trauma. The …

An Actor's Process In Bridging The Gap Between First-Generation And Multi-Generational African-American Identities., Mutiyat Ade-Salu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reflects my process assimilating into the role of Chelle in the production of Detroit '67 at the University of Louisville. Although there have been instances of actors crossing lines of gender, nationality, race, and even sexuality, to perform roles in contemporary theatre, discussion about generational differences is almost non-existent. Through historical research, first-hand interviews, and conventional acting methods, I explore the world of my role, searching for spirituality, authenticity, and identity. Additionally, I explain my use of The WAY Method ®, a process I began creating in 2014 to help actors be clear with who they are before …

The Black Woman's Burden: A Discussion Of Race, Rape Culture, And Feminism, Rawabi Hamid

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Current feminist and anti-rape movements in the United States seek to amplify the voices of women regarding sexual assault. Unfortunately, within this amplification, the voices of Black women are often excluded, which is a direct effect of historically ignoring the abuses of Black women and rarely ever bringing their abusers to justice. These injustices, often committed by white men and perpetuated by white women, create a destructive rhetoric in stereotyping Black women while also silencing them throughout modern movements, especially those of feminist and anti-rape causes. This essay will examine the consequences of three problematic aspects of US history and …

Night Of The Witch: Alternative Spirituality, Identity And Media, Andreana Tarleton

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis works to understand the relationships witches and conjurors have with the film and television depictions of them. Employing the method of film critique, I argue that the witch stands as a cultural symbol in the US of women and femmes with power, and that their stories serve as lessons to these populations about what it means to be an acceptable woman or femme, while simultaneously creating and perpetuating stereotypes of magic practitioners. Then, using the combination of hashtag ethnography, in-person and video interviewing and internet surveys, I argue that #witchblr and #witchesofcolor, as well as the space of …

Shyla Driver

Barrio Writers

No abstract provided.

Ua94/6/1 My Story: Wku Women's Basketball's Sandra Skinner, Sandra Skinner

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

My Story is a series of first-person feature articles written by WKU student-athletes. The student-athletes will be telling their own stories in their own words. This article written by women’s basketball redshirt senior Sandra Skinner, whose final season was cut short because of the cancellation of the Conference USA Tournament earlier this month.

2020 Iggad Conference Program, Charles Joyner Institute For Gullah And African Diaspora Studies

IGGAD Conference Programs

Program of the 2020 IGGAD Conference: Without Borders: Tracing the Cultural, Archival, and Political African Diaspora.

Beyoncé Making Lemonade Out Of The Colonial System, Caitlin Wheeler

Womanist Ethics

A discussion on Beyoncé's Lemonade and how its imagery and undertones relate to the ever-present colonial system found in relationships and religion. Highlighting connections and ideas found in Albert Memmi's The Colonizer and the Colonized.

Beyoncé Making Lemonade Out Of The Colonial System, Caitlin Wheeler

Race, Ethnicity, & Religion

A discussion on Beyoncé's Lemonade and how its imagery and undertones relate to the ever-present colonial system found in relationships and religion. Highlighting connections and ideas found in Albert Memmi's The Colonizer and the Colonized.

Ua19/16/1 Wku Lady Topper Basketball Media Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

2020-21 women's basketball media guide produced by WKU Athletic Media Relations, includes athletic records and statistics, photographs, schedule and information regarding opponents.

Ua1c11/107 Roger Loewen Negative Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Negatives and transparencies taken by Roger Loewen photojournalism professor and Talisman advisor from 1970-1977.

“Dialogical Offense:” A Postcolonial Womanist Deconstruction Of The Colonial Experience Of African American Women Through U.S. Institutional Apparatus Known As Criminal Justice Policy, April Michelle Woodson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Black female experience in the United States is a colonized existence. This project’s analysis is specific to the North American U.S. geographic space and is not a diasporic project. Black women suffered from the greatest increase in the percentage of inmates incarcerated for drug offenses in the 1980’s and 1990’s which is the period of criminal justice policy formation and implementation on which this project is focused.

This project is uniquely situated in the overlap between womanist ethics and postcolonial feminist imagination and extends scholarship in both discourses by showing that there is an interwoven line between the colonial-to-contemporary …

Ua19/16/1 Hilltopper Volleyball Media Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Athletic media guide for volleyball team.

Critical Black Feminist Mentorship: A Review Of A Middle School And University-Sponsored Program For Adolescent Black Girls, Dyann C. Logwood

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation study aims to illuminate the creation of safe spaces for marginalized youth through mentorship initiatives. Likewise, the study examines the roles of mentorship programs in transforming the lives of Black adolescent girls by providing them with tools to change the narratives depicted by society. A qualitative design was employed that used phenomenological interviewing techniques and ethnographic observations to explore the experiences of the Black adolescent girls in one university-sponsored mentorship program. The findings illustrate what is coined through this research—a critical Black feminist mentorship model that emphasizes an intersectional identity development, the actualization of voice, the creation and …

A Black Feminist Quare Interrogation Of Stud Misogyny In Black Queer Web Series, Taisha Mcmickens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this Black feminist-quare study is to analyze the relationship between misogyny and queer masculinity performed by “studs” in Black queer web series located on YouTube.com: Women of Atlanta TV, New York Girls TV, Choiices The Series, and The Best Friend. Studs are masculine-identified Black lesbians. Stud misogyny is tethered to histories of the patriarchal gaze on Black women’s bodies. This gaze exposes stud and femme queers to layers of violence challenging us to rethink masculinities outside of the colonial imagination. I employ a Black Feminist Quare theoretical framework to attend to stud’s embodied experiences, challenge …

Trajectory Of Trauma: The Experiences Of Black Girls In The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Heather Nicholson-Bester

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This critical ethnographic research utilizes participatory action research (PAR) and case studies to explore the impacts that zero-tolerance policies have had on the lives of Black girls and women. This work contributes to a small but growing body of work on the intersectional struggles faced by Black girls within the School-to-Prison Pipeline. An aim of this research was to work with the participants to amplify their voices and center them as experts on their own lives. Working with a small sample of three girls and women enabled the creation of detailed narratives of their experiences. These narratives point to the …

S.I.S. (Suffering In Silence): The Influence Of Educational Attainment On Black Women’S Health, Quiana Chakeena Jones

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, narrative inquiry study was to explore the influence of educational attainment on Black women’s perceptions of their health. Empirical research indicates the causes of stress and other health concerns pertaining to Black women are often rooted in racism and discrimination. Within the literature, the barriers that many African American women face within the educational system on all levels are discussed. However, there are few studies that have specifically researched the connection between educational attainment regarding receiving bachelorette degrees or higher and how or if that has an influence on Black women’s health. As such, the …

College, At What Cost? African American/Black Women Undergraduate Students’ Perception Of Institutional Policy Levers, Tamara D. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is exploring how institutional policy levers impact retention for African American/Black women undergraduate students at a private four-year predominantly white institution in a mid-western state of the United States. Retention of African American/Black women undergraduate students is not a widely researched area. In this exploratory case study, eight African American/Black undergraduate junior and senior women, ten administrators and one focus group of six African American/Black women were interviewed. Artifacts were collected from the administrators. The data collected was analyzed using the culturally engaging campus environment model. The experiences of the African American/Black undergraduate women were examined in academic …

How Feminist Beliefs Relate To Self-Objectification In African American Females, Ashton Shelby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual objectification has consistently been found to significantly influence self-objectification in women. Self-objectification has been linked to a number of adverse effects in women including depression, sexual dysfunction, and disordered eating. All females are vulnerable to sexually objectifying experiences and thus, developing self-objectifying behaviors and issues. Although extensive research explores both forms of objectification with Caucasian females, less is known about females in minority groups. In addition, little research has explored potential moderating variables. In other research related to investigating women's mental health, feminism is one variable that has been found to have a positive effect on women's issues. This …

Acculturative Experiences Of African American Military Wives In An Arctic Environment, Demetria Roshan White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

United States military wives typically relocate every few years with their active-duty husbands. But little is known about the acculturative stress and stressors associated with relocating and reestablishing a military home in an Arctic environment. This qualitative research focused on African American women who were also military wives and the acculturative stress they encountered in relocating to an Arctic environment. Face to face interviews provided a platform for 10 military wives to share their personal experiences. The acculturative stress that African American military wives’ acculturative stress and stressors encountered in relocating from a non-Arctic to an Arctic environment are not …

Black Women's Voluntary Use Of Mental Health Services, Dr. Natasha Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the American Psychiatric Association, Black women engage in formal mental health services at a lower rate than White men and women. In addition, the issues faced by Black women engaging in mental health services are multiplicative, major, and often divisive. Much of the research to date has centered on the barriers to, and negative experiences of, Black women in mental health. Grounded in critical race theory and Black womanist thought, this study investigated the lived experiences of Black women who voluntarily engaged in mental health services. The study included a purposive sample of 6 Black women from 2 …

Maternal Discrimination Stress And Negative Birth Outcomes Among Black Women, Quantrilla Y. Ard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black women are more than twice as likely as White women to experience losing their infants in the first year of life. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine relationships between maternal discriminatory stress and negative birth outcomes such as preterm delivery, low birth weight, very low birth weight, and infant death among Black women with varying levels of education. This study was grounded in critical race theory and Black feminist theory, positing that Black women are the sum of intersecting identities that shape their world view. A sample of 107 Black women were recruited by convenience and …

How Feminist Beliefs Relate To Self-Objectification In African American Females, Ashton Shelby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual objectification has consistently been found to significantly influence self-objectification in women. Self-objectification has been linked to a number of adverse effects in women including depression, sexual dysfunction, and disordered eating. All females are vulnerable to sexually objectifying experiences and thus, developing self-objectifying behaviors and issues. Although extensive research explores both forms of objectification with Caucasian females, less is known about females in minority groups. In addition, little research has explored potential moderating variables. In other research related to investigating women’s mental health, feminism is one variable that has been found to have a positive effect on women’s issues. This …

Generative Leadership And The Life Of Aurelia Erskine Brazeal, A Trailblazing African American Female Foreign Service Officer, Atim Eneida George

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is a gap in the literature on generativity and the leadership philosophy and praxis of African American Female Foreign Service Officers (AAFFSOs). I addressed this deficit, in part, by engaging an individual of exceptional merit and distinction—Aurelia Erskine Brazeal—as an exemplar of AAFFSOs. Using qualitative research methods of portraiture and oral history, supplemented by collage, mind mapping and word clouds, this study examined Brazeal’s formative years in the segregated South and the extraordinary steps her parents took to protect her from the toxic effects of racism and legal segregation. In addition, I explored the development of Brazeal’s interest in …

The Black Identity, Hair Product Use, And Breast Cancer Scale, Dede Teteh, Marissa Ericson, Sabine Monice, Lenna Dawkins-Moultin, Nasim Bahadorani, Phyllis Clark, Eudora Mitchell, Lindsey S. Treviño, Adana Llanos, Rick Kittles, Susanne Montgomery

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Introduction
Across the African Diaspora, hair is synonymous with identity. As such, Black women use a variety of hair products, which often contain more endocrine-disrupting chemicals than products used by women of other races. An emerging body of research is linking chemicals in hair products to breast cancer, but there is no validated instrument that measures constructs related to hair, identity, and breast health. The objective of this study was to develop and validate the Black Identity, Hair Product Use, and Breast Cancer Scale (BHBS) in a diverse sample of Black women to measure the social and cultural constructs associated …

Ua19/16/2 Womens' Basketball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics related to WKU womens' basketball team from July to December 2019.