Ethnic Studies Commons^™

Cotheorizing Healing With Undergraduate Queer And Trans Latina Survivors Of Power-Based Violence, Kimberly Correa

Dissertations

Current research on healing from power-based violence highlights the importance of integrating victim-survivors’ personal culture and identities into healing approaches, yet few studies actually focus on the culturally distinct healing processes of victim-survivors (O’Brien & Macy, 2016; Sinko et al., 2023). Grounded in Jotería theory (Alvarez, 2023) and Latina/Chicana feminist frameworks (Garcia, 1989), this qualitative study employs queer pláticas as both a methodology and method to center culturally rooted dialogue, reciprocity, and cariño as a political praxis. This study explores how six queer and trans Latina undergraduate victim-survivors conceptualize healing from power-based violence and how their identities, cultural values, and …

Famílias Indigenas Entre Mundos: Standing In Pachakuti, Living In Chi’Xi Within The Constellation Of Their Comunidad De Saberes, Ymasumac Marañón Davis

Dissertations

To be Indigenous is to be la luz del mundo, to stand in your light and spread your sunrays, no matter winds or clouds of colonization that strive to dim you. This qualitative study explored ways Indigenous Latine families negotiate a sense of place within onto-epistemological realities and their home culture of learning and Western education. This research is desire-based (Eve Tuck, 2009), creating our own project of modernity, grounded in one Indigenous family’s experience within their Andean community. Drawing from Critical Latine Indigeneities Framework (Blackwell et al., 2017) and Chicana Feminist Epistemologies (Bernal, 1998), using an Entre Mundos methodology, …

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

Representation And Equity Gaps In Higher Education: Conceptualizing Minority Representation In Graduate Programs At An Msi, Phylecia Love

Dissertations

Racially minority students and faculty are disproportionately underrepresented nationally, particularly at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), which are meant to serve minority populations (Hurtado et al., 2008). As the number of minority students grows, the gap for representation grows wider, which has added to the high departure of minority students. Additionally, the lack of faculty representation has minority faculty experiencing racial fatigue and tokenism. This qualitative research used the counter-storytelling tenet of Critical Race Theory as a theoretical framework to explore how students and faculty conceptualize representation in their graduate program at an MSI.

By employing co-constructed interviewing in the data …

Softening Corners: How A Carefully Considered Hospitality Operation Impacted An Educational Institution, Jennie Moran

Dissertations

Enter quickly, as I am afraid of my happiness!

(Derrida, 2000, p.131)

This research project is an attempt to bridge the gap between the philosophical ideals of hospitality and the hospitality industry, by examining how a carefully considered hospitality operation impacted an educational institution over the course of eight years. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the application of the philosophical ideals to a commercial hospitality setting yielded profoundly positive results. The primary research was compiled by the author conducting a case study of her own food business, Luncheonette which was located in the National College of …

Post-Racism As Ideology: Character Construction And Placement, & Narrative Structure In Dear White People, Mphatso Kaufulu

Dissertations

My project looks at post-racism as ideology. Through my chosen text – the Netflix streamed television series called Dear White People – I examine the ways in which post-racism is persists through representational abstractions which reformulate race as largely sets of interpersonal and intercultural, person-to-person social problems rather that a more general condition rooted in institutional or structural social, political and economic arrangements which organize society and produce its cultural dispensation.

To do this, I applied some of Stuart Hall’s ideas – on identity, ideology and commodification – and Bonilla-Silva – specifically in the area of obfuscations or abstractions of …

Haramed And Dangerous: A Thematic Examination Of Muslim Women’S Representation In We Are Lady Parts, Reham Bohamad

Dissertations

Since the early days of Western media, Muslim women have been portrayed in a negative way. From belly dancers to oil-rich horny sheikhs to voiceless passive wives of terrorists. This image has led the Western spectator to associate Islam and the Muslim women’s headscarf (Hijab) with backwardness, extremism, and oppression. In recent years, there has been a positive shift towards a more inclusive and authentic representation of Muslim women. This shift is the result of the post-network era which provides on-demand media outlets that challenge the dominant hegemonic production system and provide diverse and inclusive images that cater to niche …

The Forgotten Minority—The Experiences Of Somali-Jareer Bantu Students In Higher Education: “I Don’T Even Exist At This Institution. I’M Barely Recognized As A Human Being”., Arli Mohamed

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine how students of Somali-Jareer Bantu descent experience education, particularly how they navigate higher education in the United States and how they make meaning of their experiences. Grounded in a descriptive phenomenological approach, the design method includes semi-structured individual and focus group interviews, with a holistic interpretative phenomenological analysis as a method of data analysis. This study utilizes descriptive phenomenology to investigate how Somali-Jareer Bantu students experience higher education in the U.S. and make meaning of their multiple identities as they navigate higher education environments. Using this methodological approach, the following questions guide …

You Are Resilient: Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Treatment For Low-Ses, Urban Youth, Courtney Molina

Dissertations

The focus in this review was to explore the benefits and optimal use of trauma-informed, strengths-based care for the therapeutic treatment of low-socioeconomic status (SES), urban youth. Specific focus was given to evidence-based research on the treatment of emotional and behavioral dysregulation among low-SES, urban youth. The review was guided by the following research questions: How can emotional and behavioral dysregulation be symptoms of trauma among low-SES, urban youth; What makes trauma-informed and strengths-based care optimal for the treatment of low-SES, urban youth with dysregulation; and What are clear guidelines for providing trauma-informed, strengths-based care to low-SES, urban youth with …

Unveiling Identities: A Cultural Study Of The Portrayal Of Leading Women In Zhang Yimou Films, Patrick Mcguire

Dissertations

It is imperative to recognize the ongoing collaborations of filmmakers from different countries. Film director Zhang Yimou, cited in this work, has reached out beyond his Chinese borders in recruiting both cast and crew on many of his latest features. But the field of film studies appears to have limited their investigations of such cross-cultural analyses, in particular the subjective analysis of the female lead character in film. Subjective and culturally wired as such, researchers bring forth conscious observations from their socialized unconscious minds.

This textual analysis begins with a comparison of two Chinese films, particularly observing their similar female …

Choral Theatre, Albert Joseph Wolfe Jr.

Dissertations

Jamaica gained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, after some 300 years of colonization. Prior to Independence, the standard arts education curriculum was decidedly British and Western European. That which was labeled Caribbean or Jamaican “folk” by the British was deemed inferior and was not taught, demonstrated, or performed in formal settings. Thus, generations of Jamaicans never observed or imagined a Caribbean aesthetic in the visual and performing arts. Instead, pre-Independence Jamaicans were taught British and Western European music and performed it the “British” way.

Today, Jamaicans boast a number of artistic developments that are instantly recognized across the …

The Multiple Meanings Of San Diego's Little Italy: A Study Of The Impact Of Real And Symbolic Space And Boundaries On The Ethnic Identities Of Eight Italian Americans, Thomas Joseph Cesarini

Dissertations

The literature suggests that identifying with a particular place can promote a sense of ethnic identity. This study focused on eight Italian American community members’ perceptions of San Diego’s Little Italy as both a container and creator of ethnic identity. The study addressed a) how the participants define and convey their Italian American ethnic identity and b) how the participants perceive the role of San Diego’s Little Italy pre-redevelopment and post-redevelopment in creating and shaping their sense of being Italian American.

The study employed a case-study design. Ethnohistoric accounts of life experiences were gathered from participants selected through convenience and …

The Secret Identity Of Race: Exploring Ethnic And Racial Portrayals In Superhero Comic Books, Lowery Anderson Woodall Iii

Dissertations

Does race exist in comics? And if so, what do those characters tell us about how one of the largest fiction producing industries in the country has explained minority relationships to its millions of readers? This study took a close look at three of the most successful comic book characters of all time (Batman, Superman, and The Black Panther) and examines how each exemplifies a position that the comic book industry has taken on race over the years. Using a counter-narrative analysis informed by the strategies of Critical Race Theory and post-modernist thought, the racial messages lying beneath the surface …

A Longitudinal Study On The Essence Of Success Development As Seen By Caribbean Canadian Women In The Storied Landscape Of Their Lived Experience, Glenda-Mae Greene

Dissertations

Problem. Caribbean Canadians are often susceptible to negative stereotyping because of issues of social class and length of residence in Canada. This study describes how three Caribbean Canadian young women avoided stereotype vulnerability and journeyed to their definition of success. This narrative study focuses on themes which acted as catalysts for success in their lives. The data collection began with interviews conducted during their high school years and concluded with another set of interviews in the post-college years. The study records their stories as they strive to develop and achieve their idea of success in the non-school world.

Method. Through …