Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Material Encounters: Making Memory Beyond The Mind, Ariel Wills Jun 2021

Material Encounters: Making Memory Beyond The Mind, Ariel Wills

Masters Theses

Can acts of making carry the memories of our embeddedness within the world? This thesis explores how making things can nurture a sense of kinship that cuts across the organic and inorganic, erasing the distinction between living and dead, material and spiritual. Through handwork such as art-making, sewing, knitting, cooking, woodworking, and beyond, the burden of remembering and of archiving is shared across human and non-human bodies, cultivated through practices of making, and through the materials themselves. By recounting the stories of my family’s experience as Jewish immigrants in the United States, I aim to reveal how their domestic practices …


Queer Spaces, Religious Places: Sharing Risk And Making Kin Within A Queer Church Amidst A Pandemic, Sadie V. Counts May 2021

Queer Spaces, Religious Places: Sharing Risk And Making Kin Within A Queer Church Amidst A Pandemic, Sadie V. Counts

Masters Theses

This thesis aims to explore the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic on a queer, Christian congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church in Knoxville, TN and the impacts of the pandemic queer kinship and intimacy within the church setting. The thesis explores the ways in which queer kinship manifests within the church and how those relationships have been disrupted and altered by COVID. It also compares the long-term effects of the AIDS epidemic on the church congregation and they ways in which they may be experiencing COVID in a similar manner. Finally, the project explores the ways that intimacy has …


Listening To Their Voices: A Narrative On Campus Climate For Trans* Students, Cloe Bourdages Jan 2021

Listening To Their Voices: A Narrative On Campus Climate For Trans* Students, Cloe Bourdages

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that campus climate has on trans* student academic and personal success. This qualitative study was explored through individual interviews by four participants. Participants discussed practices which enabled and inhibited their success; which lead to the finding of four themes: identity and validation, academic climate, climate outside of the classroom, and resources and services. Overall, a positive correlation in trans* student success was found when institutions use inclusive practices within their work. Lastly, the study provided implications for higher education recommended by both the participants and the researcher.


The Impact Of The Therapeutic Relationship On Transgender Clients’ Perceptions Of Their Therapist, Aaron Brockie Jan 2021

The Impact Of The Therapeutic Relationship On Transgender Clients’ Perceptions Of Their Therapist, Aaron Brockie

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between therapist practices, the therapeutic relationship and their impact on how transgender clients feel about their therapist. Previous research on therapist practices and the therapeutic relationship has looked into how these variables influence lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients’ feelings about their therapist, but as of yet, the dynamic has not been analyzed for transgender clients. Given the disproportionate prevalence for severe mental health issues in the transgender community, it is urgent that barriers to adequate and meaningful therapy outcomes be identified and addressed. Seventy eight participants were recruited from social …


“Yes, My Career Would End”: How The Existence Of Illicit Digital Media May Inhibit Women From Participating In Politics, Esther Afrakoma Appiah Dwaah Jan 2021

“Yes, My Career Would End”: How The Existence Of Illicit Digital Media May Inhibit Women From Participating In Politics, Esther Afrakoma Appiah Dwaah

Masters Theses

The challenges faced by women in their quest to be equal participants with men in politics is not hidden. This study set out to examine how women may be restrained from rising to the highest offices in politics amidst fear of their existing nude contents that exist digitally. The body and sexuality of women have countlessly been employed as a tool to keep them out of political participation. Relying on data gathered through interviews with twenty four respondents, the study confirmed that women who have their illicit digital media in existence are less likely to take lead roles in politics …