Ethnic Studies Commons^™

A Canvas Decolonized: An Exploration Of Haiti’S Colonial History Through Haitian Artists Philemon Obin, Jean Appolon, Sheilby Mecena, Flex Morisseau–Leroy, And Claes Gabriel, Dominique Dempsey

Graduate Research Conference (GSIS)

A Canvas Decolonized examines the complex realities faced by Haiti through the lens of its vibrant artistic heritage, highlighting the role of art in interpreting, preserving, and challenging narratives about the nation's history and identity. By exploring the works of Haitian muralists, photographers, painters, and poets including Jean Appolon, Flex Morisseau Leroy, Claes Gabriel, and Edwidge Danticat this study illuminates how these artists engage with themes of colonization, immigration, generational trauma, and cultural displacement. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Frantz Fanon and Benedict Anderson, the paper argues that Haitian art provides a powerful medium to analyze and contextualize the …

Choosing To Bear Arms: Resistance And Identity Formation Through Louisiana’S Free Afro Creole Militia, Victoria Mcfarlane

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines how African and Afro Creole men utilized the availability of and demand for forced and voluntary militia service under French, Spanish, and American governance as a mode of resistance to discrimination and repression within the social structures of the region. The influence and connections built through militia service were engaged to protect and preserve rights, customs, and opportunities for the Afro Creole community. From the establishment of the Louisiana colony until the Civil War, African and Afro Creole men utilized the service required in defense of their new home to gain freedoms, expand their personal and community …

“Koláče In The Blogosphere: Cultivating Food Expertise Through Domesticity, Femininity, And Ethnicity”, Cathryn Janka

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

Koláče in the Blogosphere is an analysis of food blogs to determine how female food bloggers cultivate food expertise through domesticity, femininity, and ethnicity. Their readership are predominately the adult children and grandchildren of immigrants seeking rediscovery of lost recipes or the completion of partial recipes of loved ones that have passed on. The bloggers are typically recent immigrants themselves or native writers in their home countries sharing recipes with those seeking rediscovery. Gender and food studies scholars have studied women as guardians of domesticity, ethnicity, the world of ethnic cuisine, and food authenticity along with the matrilineal transmission of …

The Years Of Embers In Mauritania: Ethnicity And Narratives, Hawa Saidou Barane Ba

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The borders in Africa were drawn according to the interests of colonial powers and without consideration of the continent’s ethnic, cultural, and linguistic realities. Thus, roughly 80% of African countries borders were drawn without considering the crucial and pre-existing realities of pre-colonial African societies, splitting ethnically and culturally homogenous groups and grouping diverse others under the same political unit. (Beck, 1993; Lefebvre, 2011). Consequently, many African countries end up with an ethnically diverse population that faces the challenge of living harmoniously together in social cohesion, creating an environment prone to ethnic conflicts, political instabilities, and weak national identities. Mauritania, for …

Racial Differences In Tobacco Use And Risk Factors Among Young Adults: Roles Of Expectancies And Emotion Regulation, Laurel Brockenberry

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

African Americans experience higher mortality from lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases than Caucasian Americans (Kochanek et al., 2016) despite engaging in cigarette and e-cigarette use significantly less or at comparable rates to other racial groups (CDC, 2015; Schoeborn, 2013). During adolescence, smoking prevalence is lower among African Americans than Caucasian Americans, but there is a “cross-over effect” whereby smoking rates become similar later in adulthood (Belgrave et al, 2010). The mechanisms driving this effect are poorly understood. Thus, examining motivating factors for tobacco use, such as outcome expectancies and emotion regulation, may be especially illuminating for young adult African …

Blood Lead Levels In Minority Children: A Case Of Environmental Racism, Erick Rivera

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Racial minorities in the United States have suffered from being disadvantaged. Among these disadvantages is environmental racism. This includes minority communities being ‘sacrifice zones’ for toxic waste and being exposed to lead poisoning. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in blood levels between white children and children of color. This research will follow a bivariate model for the first research question, “Do youth of color (under the age of 18) have higher BLLs than white children?” The bivariate model will look at the relationship between ethno-racial group and BLLs. Specifically, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be …

Exploring The Workplace Climate At Police Agencies During Civil Unrest And The Factors Influencing Officers' Participation In Black Lives Matter Protesting, Joshua R. Ruffin

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Scholars have long documented the negative relationship between police and communities of color. While these findings are of great importance, research remains limited on how connected police officers are to social justice movements (e.g., Black Lives Matter, or BLM for short) and the purposes behind why they exist. Furthermore, many studies focusing on police officer experiences tend to examine officer experiences with protesters, with limited studies focusing on their experiences with other officers during civil unrest and on the factors that influence their participation in protest movements when off duty. To help fill this gap, this study utilized semi-structured interviews …

Investigating The Role Of Denial In Interpersonal Formulations Of Binge Eating Among Black And White College Women: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study, Lindsay Marie Howard

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Binge eating is a prominent concern with 2.8 million Americans meeting criteria for binge eating disorder and an additional 10-15% reporting loss of control and overeating behaviors that fail to meet diagnostic criteria. Despite the risk associated with binge eating in emerging adulthood, studies exploring differences in binge eating between Black and White college women have been limited. Black women may be more likely than White women to deny disordered eating behaviors, such as binge eating, due to pressure to reflect historical body positive ideals and heightened stigma regarding mental health issues in Black communities. Denial is worthy of attention …

Incivility Of Coworker Behaviors And Minority Firefighters’ Belongingness In The Workplace, Alyssa Reiter

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Research with firefighters continues to indicate that this population is particularly vulnerable to development of mental health conditions as a result of their professional roles (International Association of Firefighters [IAFF], 2019; Stanley et al., 2017; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2018) and minority firefighters may be at heightened risk as a result of their experiences within the fire service. An answer to this concern may lie in the exploration of belonging and uncivil behaviors, as research has demonstrated that belonging in the workplace serves to reduce mental health symptoms and enhance an individual’s ability to cope with …

Minority Counselor Multicultural Competence In The Current Sociopolitical Climate, Kathleen Brown

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

A key component of professional orientation in the field of mental health is the ability to provide counseling that is culturally competent. Counselor preparatory education, ethical codes, professional organizations and regulating bodies recognize cultural competence as a cornerstone of clinical practice. It is especially important during a time in which cultural and racial minorities combat a tumultuous sociopolitical climate. American society has seen an exponential rise in anxiety, depression, and helplessness secondary to the 2016 Presidential Election. For minority counselors, providing multiculturally competent counseling in the face of extreme oppression, and during a period of apparent resurgence in overt systemic …

Around Her Table: A Digital Community Archive Featuring Azorean-American Women In New England, Suzanne Lyn Parenti Sink

English Theses & Dissertations

Around Her Table is a born-digital dissertation dedicated to collecting, preserving, and validating the Azorean-American woman’s immigrant experience and cultural identity through the transformative power of participatory archives. The site address is www.aroundhertable.org. The digital exhibit features the oral histories and artifacts related to the domestic sphere of six Azorean-American families, with particular emphasis on artifacts related to the kitchen, hand-worked textiles, and religious practices. Driving the urgency for the creation of new archival records for this community is that fact that despite the nearly one million North Americans who trace their ancestry to the Azores, traditional institutional and civic …

Race, Rejection Sensitivity, And Identity Centrality Among Young Sexual Minority Women, Denise M. Calhoun

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined to what extent the centrality of sexual and racial/ethnic identities were associated with rejection sensitivity in young adult sexual minority women. The relationships between sexual identity centrality and current alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and sexual minority stress outcomes were also examined with race as a potential moderator. African American/Black and Non-Hispanic White sexual minority women 18-25 years old (N = 676) were recruited through online social media platforms, community organizations, and email advertisements. Participants completed an online survey that included measures of three types of rejection sensitivity (interpersonal, race-based, and sexual orientation-based), sexual minority stress, alcohol use …

Risk And Resiliency Factors Affecting The College Adjustment Of Students With Intersectional Ethnocultural Minority And Lgbtq Identities, Stacey Christina Fernandes

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Adjustment to college has been demonstrated to be a multifaceted process with several developmental challenges for young adults entering higher education. As colleges and universities in the United States increase in racial and ethnocultural diversity and as LGBTQ students become more visible on campus, it has become crucial to cater support services and interventions to their specific needs. This study used archival data to examine the relationships between gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, risk and resilience factors, and college adjustment in a sample of treatment-seeking students at four-year institutions nationwide. The data were analyzed using three three-way multivariate analyses of …

The Impact Of The Number Of Dual Enrollment Credits On Racial Minority Students’ Completion Time At Five Virginia Community Colleges, Elizabeth Gardiner Dingess

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The five-year college completion rate for students of color can be 15-20% lower than it is for White students (Fink, Jenkins, & Yanaglura, 2017). Dual enrollment courses have been researched as a predictor of college completion (Taylor, 2015), but fewer racial minority students enroll in dual enrollment courses; this enrollment disparity affects their college preparedness skills and may lead to lower college persistence and graduation rates (Evenbeck & Johnson, 2012). Despite the benefits dual enrollment courses could provide to racial minority students, few studies have examined the differences in college completion outcomes between racial minority and majority dual enrollment students …

Examining The Measurement Invariance Of The Mmpi-A-Rf Externalizing Scales Across Korean And American Adolescent Normative Samples, Kristoffer Yong Park

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – Adolescents – Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF; Archer, Handel, Ben-Porath, & Tellegen, 2016) is a newly developed instrument in personality and psychopathology and has been translated into many different languages, including the Korean language (University of Minnesota Press, 2016). Due to the cultural differences between Korean and American populations, it is important that constructs measured in the MMPI-A-RF are interpretable across cultures. Focusing on the Externalizing Scales, the present study used multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) to examine the measurement invariance in Korean and American adolescent normative samples. Partially supporting the hypothesis, the results showed that …

The Relationship Between Childhood Adversity And Adult Relationship Health For Economically Marginalized, Racially And Ethnically Diverse Individuals, Sandy-Ann M. Griffith

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Childhood adversity is prevalent and significantly influences an individual’s life. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are linked to chronic physical and mental health issues, as well as maladaptive and abusive patterns of behavior in adult relationships such as unhealthy problem-solving strategies, poor ability at conflict resolution, and intimate partner violence (IPV). The current study explored the relationship between ACEs and adult relationship health outcomes. Controlling for the effect of average individual yearly income on adult relationship health, the extent to which demographic factors (i.e., gender, race and ethnicity, and children status) moderate the relationship between ACEs and adult relationship health and …

“El Negro Sin La Oreja”: A Dialectical Approach To The Blackness In Dominican Identity, Kevin E. Nicholes

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This master’s thesis examines ideologies of whiteness through the erasure and denial of blackness in the Dominican Republic and explores the manner in which racial identity has been reinforced and contested. A dialectical approach is utilized to analyze the discourse around the history of the Dominican Republic and a textual analysis is also employed to assist in supporting the findings. The rationale for this study is to access how whiteness became synonymous with Dominicanness and to resuscitate the blackness of Dominican identity which has been relegated to the classification of the “other”. Therefore, drawing conclusions as to how Dominicans

negotiate …

People Of Color In The United States: Contemporary Issues In Education, Work, Communities, Health, And Immigration, Rob Tench

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

Review of People of Color in the United States: Contemporary Issues in Education, Work, Communities, Health, and Immigration by Kofi Lomotely.

Street-Level Bureaucratic Discretion: An Investigation Of Disproportionality In The Child Welfare And Juvenile Justice Systems, Nina Frola Joyner

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

This study seeks to provide a structural explanation for a poorly understood administrative and policy phenomenon: the problem of minority overrepresentation or disproportionality in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Disproportionality is a pressing policy and practice concern regarding how to halt the continual over representation of African American and other minority youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. It has social and policy implications at the national, state and local level. Disporportionality affects the lives of youth who are unnecessarily removed from their families or adjudicated and detained as well as state and local budgets when …

Factors That Influence Minority Student Enrollment At Various Levels Of Postsecondary Education, Lashauna Mychal's Dean

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Research indicates disparities in the enrollment of minorities in postsecondary education. However, the reasons for the lower enrollment rates of minorities are less clear. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between sex, income, GPA, racial/ethnic identity, academic self-concept, and sense of school belonging for African American and Latino/Latina students with level of enrollment at postsecondary schools (two-year community college or four-year university). Participants included 256 African American and Latino/Latina students at two-year community colleges and four-year universities in Virginia. GPA and academic self-concept were found to be predictors of enrollment. Specifically, students with higher GPAs are …

Intercultural Accommodation Of Ethnic Minority Consumers: An Empirical Examination Of The Moderating Effects In Service Encounters, Sarah Mady

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The current study proposed a model of intercultural accommodation and nine emergent hypotheses grounded in three theories: Accommodation Theory, Distinctiveness Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The study expected that the offering of a service in the minority consumer's language and by an ethnically-similar service provider will lead to favorable service quality perceptions, in the absence of any intervening variables. Ethnic minority consumers were also expected to differ in their perceptions of service quality when intercultural accommodation efforts were or were not offered given a number of intervening variables. The proposed model and the nine hypotheses were assessed via a …

Whitewash: Nationhood, Empire, And The Formation Of Portuguese Racial Identity, Manuela Mourao

English Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the origins and development of Portuguese racial identity as reflected in chronicles of the Portuguese first contacts with Africa and the East and in the context of the nation's cultural history. Starting in the late 1400s with the arrival of Vasco da Gama's ships in India, and continuing well into the sixteenth century with the establishment of commercial outposts along a number of coastal areas in the Indian Ocean, the interaction between the Portuguese and the non-Western world had a significant impact on the cultures of all nations involved and, this article contends, on the formation of …

The Factors That Are Related To Native American Community College Students' Intent To Persist, Garnet Laureen Williams

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

More than half of Native American higher education students choose community colleges as their institution of choice. However, when compared with other ethnic groups, Native American/Alaska Natives (NA/AN) students earn the second-lowest number of associate degrees and the lowest number of bachelor's degrees. Despite this substantive gap, few studies have explored the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist. With the projected population surge of NA/AN residents over the next 15 years, more research on the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist in college is warranted.

This ex post facto study …

Academic Engagement: The Impact Of Personal, Cultural, And School Factors On African American Student Academic Effort, Ruth Alisha Jenkins Hill

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Using the cultural-ecological and the personal perspective theory, this study examined the relationship of sociological and psychological factors on academic effort. This research used multiple linear regression analyses and data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine the extent to which personal, cultural, and school structural variables predict academic effort among a sample of 10th grade African American students.

African American students' personal perceptions characterizing their belief in the importance of education, their value of schooling, and their desire for higher learning were strongly correlated with academic effort. The results also indicated parental involvement and parental aspirations played …

Empire, Horses And Trade: An Examination Of Sixteenth Century Portuguese Efforts To Control Trade In Arab And Persian Horses Across The Arabian Sea, Chandra R. De Silva

History Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] Portuguese dominance over the trade in horses across the Arabian Sea from West Asia to the western littoral of India lasted approximately from the Portuguese capture of Goa in 1510 to their loss of Ormuz to the Persians in 1622. As will be evident from the subsequent discussion, Portuguese control was incomplete and its significance varied from area to area and also from time to time. Nevertheless, a study of their attempts to control this trade is useful for three major reasons.

A School Leadership Perspective On Cultural Competencies And Self-Regulation In A Government-Funded Preschool Setting, Anita B. James

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

At four years of age, young children in government-funded preschool programs are suspended or expelled from school more frequently than their school-aged counterparts. These students comprise a largely minority enrollment that does not reflect the demographic of the teachers and administrators implementing the preschool program. The purpose of this case study research was to investigate the trend of behavior-related expulsions in a government-funded preschool program and to examine the impact of culture on this phenomenon. The study examined the lack of cultural responsiveness as a potential barrier to student success. Research literature provides common strategies to address the dual concepts …

Graduate Art Therapy Experience Of Students Of Color, Keena Tarrant

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

This narrative inquiry explored the perspectives of three professional art therapists of color. This study explored the past experience of being a graduate art therapy student of color on several levels. It also explored the impact of cultural competency course in relation to the experience of being a student of color. This experience is important in terms of how being an ethnic minority can affect the learning environment in relation to graduate experience of students of color and how cultural competency is taught to all students. This study explored the art recommendations of therapy professionals of color for cultural competency …

Sibling Death In Childhood: An Evaluation Of The Literature Regarding Inclusion Of Minority Cultures, 1990–2002, Joyce Kay L. Cherry

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

This evaluation seeks to determine the extent to which the professional literature concerning bereaved children in the United States includes African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American children whose siblings have died in childhood.

A literature search identifies 58 articles, published between 1990 and 2002, concerning children under age 19 living in the United States whose siblings have died. Articles are sorted by time frame and classified by type. There are 31 descriptive articles consisting of five literature reviews, five commentaries, five case studies, and 16 narratives; there are 27 research articles. Analysis determines the extent to which race, culture, …

Antecedents And Consequences Of Consumer Ethnocentrism Across Russia's Three Sub-Cultures, Shawn Thelen

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

Shimp and Sharma (1987) extended the concept of ethnocentrism to commercial products with the development of a 17-item Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale [CETSCALE]. Consumer ethnocentrism is the belief that purchasing imported products harms the local economy, increases unemployment, and is morally wrong (Skimp and Sharma 1987). Shimp and Sharma (1987) called for studies to determine antecedents to consumer ethnocentrism and to apply the CETSCALE across geographic and regional segments. This dissertation addresses a void in the literature by examining antecedents; Inglehart's Materialism/Post Materialism (1977) and Holbrook's Nostalgia (1993), and outcome variables; product purchase preference, of consumer ethnocentrism across sub-cultures postulated to …

Portuguese-Americans And Mental Health Treatment Client-Therapist Ethnic Match, Ethnic Identity, And Satisfaction With Treatment, Katherine B. Gamble

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Multicultural issues in psychotherapy have increasingly been recognized as important in the provision of mental health services to our diverse population. Issues such as beliefs about mental health, attitudes toward authority, and even world view affect how clients access and make use of psychotherapy. Cultural views are essential to how one sees the world, and consequently there is much debate about whether clients would benefit from having therapists from the same cultural background. Ethnic identity, or the degree to which a person holds to the beliefs of their culture of origin, consequently plays an important role in psychotherapy. The Portuguese …