Ethnic Studies Commons^™

The Experiences Of International Graduate Students From Latin America In Their Transition Of Graduating And Finding A Job In The United States, Natalia Hernandez

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis project is to conduct a qualitative phenomenological study to understand the lived experiences of international graduate students from Latin America in the United States as they transition from their studies to finding a full-time job in the United States. The most common themes mentioned in the different sections of the interviews were: the different dynamics in their identity, the benefits, and limitations of their status in the American context, and how their professional development and economy are impacted while being international graduate students from Latin America. Student service departments such as the Career Service department, …

Decolonizing And Enriching Opera: A Nigerian Folktale One Act Opera, Miracle O. Amah

Dissertations, 2020-current

Aligned with the decolonial aims of this project, this English and Yoruba language opera promotes an international understanding of African operatic styles which reflect literary, musical, instrumental and dance cultural traditions. This paper addresses some of the issues faced by people of color in the opera world, ways that people of color have been resilient in this genre and ways to enrich the opera world with the aim of decolonizing and deframing the white racial structure. This opera was first performed on March 29th, 2022 and was created as a workshop for performances in high schools, colleges, music institutions, and …

Forgotten Immigrant Voices: West Indian Immigrant Experiences And Attitudes Towards Contemporary Immigration, Danielle Cross

Honors Scholar Theses

Scholarly work and media coverage both point to the negative effect that the rhetoric and policy of former US President Donald Trump had on the lived experience and wellbeing of immigrant groups explicitly targeted by it (i.e., the “Trump effect”). Typically, the focus has been on Muslim and Latino immigrants as well as those less-explicitly targeted but still affected by Trump-era policies, such as temporary workers. This thesis explores whether Black immigrants from the English-speaking Caribbean, a group notably missing from the literature of “Trump effects” on immigrant experiences, experienced similar attitudinal or practical effects as a result of contemporary …

Students' Perceived Value Of Women's And Gender Studies And Chicana/O Studies At A Hispanic Serving Institution: A Quantitative Analysis Of "The Studies" In Higher Education, Hilda Na Ontiveros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous research indicates that “The Studies” are helpful to students at both K-12 and higher education levels. Most of these studies focus on K-12 schools, fewer are at the higher education level, and few use quantitative methods to examine students’ perceptions of “The Studies.” The purpose of this study is to research students’ perceived value of Women’s & Gender Studies and Chicana/o Studies at a Hispanic Serving Institution. This quantitative study employed a feminist framework and methodology to develop a survey instrument and to analyze the survey responses from students who took courses in Women’s & Gender Studies and Chicana/o …

Innately American, Black America’S Inheritance: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Black Death & Identity, Montéz Jennings

English (MA) Theses

In 2015, Baltimore city erupted after the death of Freddie Carlos Gray. He was a 25-year-old who was forcibly placed into the back of a police van and after riding in the van, sustained several injuries that resulted in his death. After the video footage was shown to the public, a tension bubbled in the air that cause what seemed like weeklong protests and riots. The event is now referred to as the “Baltimore Uprising.” When he died, it was like a portion of each of us died. It was another narrative added to the cultural collective of Black faces …

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 …

Benefits Of Co-Constructing Latinx Consciousness Within Schools, Elizabeth Cruz Reyes

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Within the Latinx community, there are arguments about identity labels, who can speak better Spanish, who is a better Latinx, and how Latinx culture should be maintained. Latinx consciousness originates from Gloria Anzaldúa’s (1987) concept of mestiza consciousness and the respective work that Gloria Anzaldúa has inspired. Latinx consciousness involves the complex: spiritual, personal, social, political, economic, and historic factors that influence the lives of Latinx students. This senior capstone defines Latinx consciousness and examines the benefits of co-constructing Latinx consciousness. The benefits are framed within the context of education, Latinx attitudes, language use, language loss, and cultural longevity. The …

The Shaping Of Ethnic Mexican Identity In The Segregated Schools Of Presidio, County, Texas, 1867-1947, Aurelio Saldana

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The work conducts a sociological analysis of the historical record documenting segregated school settings in a rural area from 1867 to 1947 using socialization theory. The sociological theory of schemas will provide a lens from the Americanization process students in the U.S., specifically ethnic Mexican students, underwent to shape "American" identity. The analysis ventures into the intersectionality created by the social constructs of gender, sex, race, and class and how these factors combined as part of the Americanized socialization of ethnic Mexican students. Gender inequality, or patriarchy, was a leading factor in shaping the contested U.S.-Mexico borderlands and U.S. society. …

Shakespeare’S The Merchant Of Venice, Qanon And Blood Libel, Georga Hackworth

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, QAnon, and Blood Libel explores the contemporary relevance of the work of Shakespeare. The Jewish blood libel was first mentioned by Socrates. Whether Socrates was literal or using an allegory is unknown. What is known, is the story was repeated and used as the basis for a conspiracy theory targeting Jews stating they kill Christian Children to make unleavened Passover bread. This idea has resulted in stereotypes and Jews being the scapegoats for all the ills of the world. William Shakespeare played on this idea in The Merchant of Venice, using a blood libel to …

An Oer / Coil Project On "Society And Cross-Cultural Interaction: Verbal And Non-Verbal Communication Across Cultures", Oluremi "Remi" Alapo

Publications and Research

The presenter’s goal is to discuss the research she has developed: an OER [open educational resources] course content and how she co-designed a COIL [collaborative online international learning] partnership course that was used by students in diversity and multicultural education courses which focused on race and ethnicity, how we see things based on several factors, how it influences the choices and decisions we make; how to deal positively with conflicts that inevitably arise in working /living situations with people of diverse cultures.

This course was structured to raise multicultural awareness and fortify students’ social skills in dealing with racial and …

Las Voces Desde La Liminalidad Sino-Peruana: –Una Lectura Comparativa De Mongolia Y La Vida No Es Una Tómbola–, Jing Tan

LSU Master's Theses

Chinese immigrants first arrived in Peru in the mid-19th Century. Since then, the Sino-Peruvian community has lived through myriad vicissitudes. Today, despite its indisputable influence in Peru’s history, it is still largely invisible in society, just as the concept of an Asian Latin American identity remains elusive in the national consciousness. In the literary and academic world, the scarcity of a voice highlighting Chinese legacies in Peruvian literature is echoed by the dearth of such a voice in the criticism regarding works by Sino-Peruvian writers about Sino-Peruvian experiences.

This comparative analysis engages with two novels that evince deep parallelism with …

Life Beyond Bars: Nine Prisoners And Their Families, And Faith-Based Efforts To Recognize And Avoid-Cross-Generational Criminal Habits., Alfreda Reese

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The aim of this study is to examine prisoners’ firsthand experiences and their underlying family issues to bring awareness and delete current cross-generational criminal habits. Through analyzing a series of individual experiences and exploring underlying family issues, the study intends to bring awareness and exposure to the implications of the criminal justice system on prisoners and their families. This study will analyze personal stories of prisoners and their families to identify, interact, and intervene in best practices to avoid criminal habits. The research gathered aims to empower prisoners and their families in suggested ways to delete repeated criminal patterns and …

Ethnic Studies: 2021-2022, Department Of Ethnic Studies

Ethnic Studies Department Newsletters

Message from the Chair, Ethnic Studies via Multiple Generations: Their Stories, Three generations of Ethnic Studies Scholars making connections, Yanet López (Class of 2011), Ashley Valentin Gonzalez (Class of 2023), More Than Enough, THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY CONTINUES FOR RACHEL FREEMAN, Ethnic Studies Alum '09, USD Women of Impact 2021, Congratulations to Dr. May C. Fu!, Ethnic Studies Faculty Congratulations to Dr. Josen Masangkay Diaz, Critical Race Theory Presentations: Fall 2021 / Spring 2022, Demystifying Critical Race Theory, Reclaiming Our Past, Reimagining Our Future, Congratulations to the Class of 2022! Words from our Ethnic Studies Seniors: Sarah Babar, Mia Godoy, Sydney …

Cuteness And Curanderismo, Mylan T. Nguyen

Art Theses and Dissertations

Abstract:

In this paper I analyze the trajectory of concepts and explorations in my art practice during my graduate studies from 2019-2022. I examine how an interest in magic, healing and interconnectedness has led me to create illustration, ceramic, and risograph art that interprets the stories and practices I have encountered around Curanderismo, and Nahuales. I examine how these stories are shaped and also celebrate the wealth of healing knowledge they can provide.

Reading From Cutouts: The Aesthetics Of Alienation In The Photos Of Chinese Factory Workers, Heangjin Park

Asian and Asian American Studies Faculty Works

This essay explores the tensions, oppression, and alienation in factory workers’ relationship with their company and commodities registered in photographic aesthetics. Comparing product, portrait, and ID photos I took at a Chinese kimchi factory, I analyze how aesthetic dispositions in those photos were differentiated in the processes of preparation, review, editing, and publication. On the one hand, commodities are photographed to celebrate their virtues and value with the significant investment of time, resources, and attention to every detail. Their relationship with workers, who spend 14 hours a day making kimchi, is effectively effaced while the products are rendered appealing and …

The Rise Of An Eco-Spiritual Imaginary: Ecology And Spirituality As Decolonial Protest In Contemporary Multi-Ethnic American Literature, Andrew Michael Spencer

English Theses and Dissertations

The Rise of an Eco-Spiritual Imaginary reveals a shared ecological aesthetic among contemporary U.S. ethnic writers whose novels communicate a decolonial spiritual reverence for the earth. This shared narrative focus challenges white settler colonial mythologies of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism to instantiate new ways of imagining community across socially constructed boundaries of time, space, nation, race, and species. The eco-spiritual imaginary—by which I mean a shared reverence for the ecological interconnection between all living beings—articulates a common biological origin and sacredness of all life that transcends racial difference while remaining grounded in local ethnicities and bioregions. The novelists representing …

Alternative Chicanx Educational Activism In The U.S. Southwest, 1935–1975, Moises Santos

History ETDs

This project studies the use of independent newspapers, community theater, and independent Chicana/o colleges by activists to educate their community. Geographically, this study is placed in the Southwest states of New Mexico, Texas, and California. Using the theoretical frameworks of Southwest Borderlands Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education, this project contextualizes the historical racial power dynamics of U.S. takeover in the Southwest region that influence oppressive educational practices, and the challenge to those institutions by the alternative educational activism among Chicanx communities.

Activists employed ingenuity to provide educational materials to their communities when they needed them the most. These …

Making A Way: An Auto/Ethnographic Exploration Of Narratives Of Citizenship, Identity, (Un)Belonging And Home For Black Trinidadian[-]American Women, Anjuliet G. Woodruffe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research study is to gather, convey and explore the lived experience related to transnational identity construction for Black Trinidadian[-]American women. I adopt an interdisciplinary approach to better understand what it means to live as, and be, a Black Trinidadian[-]American. Using auto/ethnography and interviews, I seek to answer the following research questions: (1) How do Black Trinidadian[-]American women describe their negotiation of cultural identity in Trinidad and the United States? (2) How do Black Trinidadian[-]American women describe “in-between” homeplaces within the intersectional context of gender, race, class, and culture? (3) How do Black, Trinidadian[-]American women describe transnational, …

Perceived Discrimination, Coping Styles, And Internalizing Symptoms Among A Community Sample Of Hispanic And Somali Adolescents, Myriam Forster, Timothy Grigsby, Christopher Rogers, Jennifer Unger, Stephanie Alvarado, Bethany Rainisch, Eunice Areba

Social and Behavioral Health Faculty Research

Purpose: Perceived discrimination, perceptions of receiving differential treatment due to negative attitudes, and stereotypes about one's racial/ethnic group can increase vulnerability to depression and anxiety. Although ethnic minority youth now represent over half of the U.S. youth population, few studies have investigated potential protective factors in the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health across diverse ethnic minority immigrant youth from different cultural backgrounds. Methods: We examined the association between perceived discrimination and past week symptoms of depression and anxiety and whether patterns of problem and emotion-focused coping moderate these relationships among Somali and Hispanic immigrant youth (N = 353) …

All These Things We've Done Before: A Brief History Of Red-Power Inspired Projects, Programs, And Efforts At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln And What They Can Do For Us Today, Jake Borgmann

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Red Power Movement from 1969-1975 inspired both Indigenous and non- Indigenous students and faculty from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to work for the betterment of Indigenous peoples in areas of affirmation, education, leadership, and language preservation and revitalization. For a time, student efforts by the Council of American Indian Students, faculty sponsored Indigenous education-centered programs, educational outreach through television, and Lakota language courses helped carve out an Indigenous space on campus where Indigenous students could thrive and seek empowerment through education. This era of Red Power-inspired projects, programs, and efforts at UNL peaked from 1969 to the early …

Horchata: A Counterstory About A Mexican-Based Student Organization As A Counter-Space At A Predominantly White University, Martín Alberto Gonzalez

Chicano/Latino Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article utilizes critical race theory counterstorytelling to tell a story about ¡Poder Xicanx!, a Mexican-based student organization at a private, predominantly white university in the Northeast of the United States. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant observations, pláticas, and document analysis, I document the educational experiences of 20 Mexican/Mexican American/Xicanx (MMAX) undergraduate students who participated in ¡Poder Xicanx!. Specifically, I argue that ¡Poder Xicanx! functions as a counter-space, which is a site or space where MMAX students can challenge stereotypes, deal with racism, and empower one another. Moreover, I also highlight the fact that ¡Poder Xicanx! allows for members …

Diversity And Multiculturalism In The 21st Century, Oluremi "Remi" Alapo

Publications and Research

This is a presentation on Diversity and Multi-Culturalism in the 21st Century related to the individual and society based on responses from in-class assignments during various semester course sessions [from 2019 to 2021] taught by the presenter at the York College [CUNY]. In the course in addition to culture, students learned about norms, values, systems of beliefs, social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, race and ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation and gender, technology and culture, cultural universalism and relativism, and how these affect our shared or distinct day to day cultural practices and social interaction in our various communities.

At the …

2022 Mlk Keynote Address: Eddie Glaude Jr. Presentation, Center For Social Equity & Inclusion, Eddie Glaude Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Series

One of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Eddie Glaude, Jr. is an author, political commentator, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. His writings, including his most recent—the New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own—take a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy.

In his writing and speaking, Glaude is an American critic in the tradition of James Baldwin and Ralph Waldo Emerson, confronting history and bringing our nation’s …

2022 Mlk Keynote Address: Eddie Glaude Jr. Pre-Event Presentation, Center For Social Equity & Inclusion, Eddie Glaude Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Series

One of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Eddie Glaude, Jr. is an author, political commentator, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. His writings, including his most recent—the New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own—take a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy.

In his writing and speaking, Glaude is an American critic in the tradition of James Baldwin and Ralph Waldo Emerson, confronting history and bringing our nation’s …

Italian Studies In Southern Africa, Vol. 35 No. 1 (2022): Diversity, Decolonisation, And Italian Studies, Simone Brioni Dr., Marie Orton, Graziella Parati, Gaoheng Zhang

Department of English Faculty Publications

This special issue explores the intersections of diversity and decolonisation within the field of Italian Studies. By engaging with postcolonial theory, migration, and critical race studies, the contributors reframe traditional narratives of Italian culture and history. The issue investigates the legacies of colonialism, the experiences of racialized communities in Italy, and the role of Italian Studies in fostering inclusive and equitable academic practices. Through interdisciplinary approaches, the essays call for a critical re-evaluation of the field, advocating for a more diverse, decolonial, and globally conscious understanding of Italy's past and present.

Legal Strategies Used By Black Men During The Antebellum Period, A. D. Banse

Digital Legal Research Lab

AD Banse, "Legal Strategies Used by Black Men During the Antebellum Period" [Research Poster]

Digital Legal Research Lab REU Site, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2022

The Missouri Statute of 1807 existed as the primary act that somewhat ensured the freedom of those enslaved and pursuing their freedom. The act refuted laws such as the Futgitive Slave Clause of 1793 and 1850, and the Missouri Compromise, which were evidence that slaveholders held decisive political influence and could cast the Constitution in proslave terms (Baker 2012). These clauses essentially gave enslavers the right to seize enslaved people who escaped to free states deepening …

Habeas Corpus: Breaking Reservation Boundaries, Samantha Byrd

Digital Legal Research Lab

Dr. Katrina Jagodinsky’s Petitioning for Freedom examines marginalized peoples’ use of habeas corpus in the American West from 1812 to 1924. This project has uncovered Indigenous manipulation of the American legal system to counter the challenges of colonialism. Indigenous peoples used habeas to protest, and sometimes successfully mitigate boarding school experiences, forced removal, and confinement on reservations. This study aims to show how Indigenous peoples and other minorities had a complex understanding of the law and used it to their advantage.

Advisor: Katrina Jagodinsky

El Laboratorio Cinegráfico De Pedro Pietri, Rojo Robles Mejias

Publications and Research

En su relato “Lost in the Museum of Natural History” Pedro Pietri se inserta en la narración como personaje y como fuente de historias inspiradas en la violencia de los géneros del western, los biker films y los melodramas. Esta aproximación a la experimentación literaria, la alteración sensorial y fílmica escenifica una crisis en la enunciación y la representación que hecha luces sobre las relaciones entre las desigualdades sociales, la violencia y la subjetividad.

A Home Shielded By Laws: Freedom Suits And Enslaved Mothers, Heidi Martin

Digital Legal Research Lab

This project collects, digitizes, and makes accessible the freedom suits brought by enslaved families in the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Maryland state courts, and the United States Supreme Court. This project places families in the foreground of our interpretive framework of slavery and national formation.

Using TEI encoding, we focused on outcomes, relationships between individuals and the claim for freedom made. Using these data sets, I focused specefically on mothers petitioning for their children. Of the 508 cases I utilized, 131 included children and a parental figure. I set out to distinguish the additional burden mothers had …