Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Social Construction Of Arab Identity In The U.S.: The Historical Complicity And The Modern Responsibility Of Social Work, Suhad Tabahi, Jacob Bucher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper presents the sociopolitical experiences of early Arab migrants in the United States (U.S.) and the process of contradictory and socially constructed racial categorizations favoring white supremacy. While there is much discourse of the racial formation of Arab immigrants since 9-11, the actual racial project started in the early twentieth century, through varies entities including the social work profession where the “othering” process of early Arabs Americans existed in social welfare practice. Examples of the pejorative attitudes towards Arab immigrants from the early social work discourse are examined through proceedings from the National Conference on Social Welfare (NCSW) in …

Life History And Narrative Analysis: Feminist Methodologies Contextualizing Black Women's Experiences With Severe Mental Illness, Marya R. Sosulski, Nicole T. Buchanan, Chandra M. Donnell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses a methodological approach to research that enhances critical analysis by contextualizing qualitative research findings within participants' individual experiences. We demonstrate the combined use of life history methods and feminist narrative analysis to explore Black women's everyday experiences with mental illness, from their perspectives. These interpretive methods reach beyond pathologized conceptions of identity and adjustment that often narrowly characterize mental illness among Black women. Instead, these methods holistically describe a participant's experiences and strategies she uses to pursue goals and enhance her life. The use of the methods is illustrated with examples from the life narrative of "Maria," …

Shifting Identity: Process And Change In Identity Of Aging Mexican-American Males, Gary L. Villereal, Alonzo Cavazos

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article addresses the shift in machismo identity that occurs in Mexican-American male identity and the developmental process and the change in one's role as an elderly Mexican-American man.

Socialization of male-ism in Mexican-American boys begins with the cultural expectation that a young boy is and will be a man. There are also explicit expectations that girls should be respected but that, in contrast to boys, girls should be submissive and obedient. This is the beginning of machismo and the separation of being a "man" versus being a "woman."

Aging results in a loss of machismo and this is evident …

What Mothers Want: Welfare Reform And Maternal Desire, Patricia K. Jennings

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this study I use participant observations,face-to-face interviews, and focus group interviews to examine how women on welfare read and negotiate culture-of-poverty discourse and the imagery that this discourse spawns. I spoke with two groups of young single mothers receiving welfare. The first group included young mothers between the ages of 18 and 23 who were attending high school in a community-based program that served women on welfare. The second group included mothers in their early to mid 20's who were attending either a local two-year college or research university. Education was a path of resistance for the women in …