Intersections Of Environmentalism, Chemistry, And Racism: An Experimental Study Of Halobenzene Hydrogenolysis And Critical Communication Studies Of Equitable Learning Practices Rooted In Black Feminism, Lauren O. Babb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing concentrations of fluorinated aromatic compounds in surface water, groundwater, and soil pose threats to the environment. Fundamental studies that elucidate mechanisms of dehalogenation for C-X compounds (where X represents a halide) are required to develop effective remediation strategies. For halogenated benzenes, previously published research has suggested that the strength of the C-X bond is not rate-determining in the overall rate of dehalogenation. Instead, the rate-determining step has been hypothesized to be adsorption of the C-X compound onto the surface of a catalyst. Building on this hypothesis, in this work, we examine the reaction kinetics of fluorobenzene conversion to benzene, …

The Evolution Of Antiracist Pedagogical Work: Pushing Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion To Undermine Oppressive Structures In Our Communication Classrooms, Kristen P. Treinen

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

In this paper, I explore the evolution of antiracist pedagogy. This paper helps to answer for communication educators: How did antiracist pedagogy emerge? Why did antiracist pedagogy emerge? Who does antiracist pedagogy serve? Exploring the historical context of multiculturalism, critical pedagogy, critical multiculturalism, antiracist pedagogy, and Whiteness studies provides a broad range of theoretical perspectives on multiculturalism as well as the how and why antiracist pedagogy emerged as a site for study. After reading this essay, educators should understand the need to push DEI to include antiracist work in our research, classrooms, and educational initiatives with our future educators, graduate …

Jeopardy! In Crisis: What Is Corporate Culture Issues Affecting The Entertainment Industry?, Evan Nemeroff

Student Theses and Dissertations

Cultural issues like sexism, racism, and social movements have impacted the entertainment industry, specifically the game show sector. This research identified how these prevalent matters in our society have affected celebrities by looking into the type of people who lead game shows, revealing if certain demographics such as race and gender influenced whether particular individuals were chosen to host a program. Included within this research are studies that portray how the game show industry has been biased explicitly towards one gender for several decades. Further research looks into a scandal that Sony faced when it had to name a successor …

Cycles Of Domination And Resistance: A Performance Autoethnography Of A Black Woman At A Pwi, Savannah Brown

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis is a performance autoethnography that examines and unpacks my experiences as a Black woman who attends a predominantly white institution. Through narratives, letters, and photos, I reveal and analyze the ways in which I navigate both systems of domination and resistance between my interactions with spaces, people, discourses, and objects. As I use Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, and performance studies as my theoretical underpinnings, I can understand how my Black, female body is situated and contested within the institution that I refer to as Everywhere University. While this project shows my experiences with concepts such as racism, whiteness, …

Mindfully White: An Anti-Racist Affinity Podcast Inspired By The Buddha’S Teaching Of The Four Noble Truths, Christine Eaton

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The Buddha’s foundational teaching of the Four Noble Truths offers a direct seeing into how suffering arises, its causes, and a pathway to liberation. This thesis focuses on racism as a specific form of suffering for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and offers a way for White people to consider how they contribute to its manifestation and what they can do to help end it. This re-formulation of the Four Noble Truths is; First, the truth of racism; Second, the truth of the cause of racism; Third, the truth of the end of racism; and Fourth, the truth of …

Healing Racial Injustice With Mindfulness Research, Training, & Practice, Danielle "Danae" Laura

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This thesis offers a collection of authors and studies in support of improved research, training, and practice connecting mindfulness with racial justice through intergroup applications. The paper identifies barriers at work (e.g., colorblindness, spiritual bypass, white fragility, and implicit bias) in contemplative science, Western Buddhist communities, and secular mindfulness centers, which block the sizeable contributions possible in studying the intergroup application of mindfulness practice—specifically Lovingkindness Meditation, among others—when used as an intervention with anti-racist aims. Through secondary qualitative research, I reviewed six key works from Black authors on mindfulness and race, as well as six sample studies on the prosocial …

Afroam: A Virtual Film Production Group, Bill Taylor Jr.

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Because of the gatekeeping practices of the Hollywood film industry, and the high cost of both filmmaking and distribution in general, Afro-American filmmakers have struggled to produce films with “global reach.” This study visits the possibility of Afro-American filmmakers using alternative technologies and infrastructures to produce high-quality films, thereby bypassing the high cost and exclusionary practices of Hollywood studios. Using new 21st-century digital technology, this study involved the creation of a small geographically dispersed virtual film production team. The study’s foundational framework was a constructivist qualitative research paradigm, using Action Research, and supported by 24 months of triangulated data from …

An Unspoken Story Of Education: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Racism In Education, Elisa A. Perez-Garcia

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Privilege is when one voice is the norm, but some children’s voices are underheard within research. Extensive research has demonstrated that Hispanic face multiple barriers within the education system. This study examines how whiteness within the education system can impact a Hispanic student’s perspective of the world. An autoethnographic approach is used to analyze five stories. A grounded theory approach identified emergent themes from the stories shared. The four themes that emerged among the stories were intersectionality, privilege, social construct, and microaggression. It demonstrated minority students’ experiences and interactions could profoundly affect how they view their identity. There are measures …

Operating The Digital Space In The Age Of Protest Participation, Kyle Stanley

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines young African American adults’ usage of social media and other digital spaces as tools to build community given the rise in protest participation in North American (U. S.) society while at the height of a global health pandemic. Since early adulthood is a time where African Americans are most active online, this study will examine how and why those African Americans are turning to digital spaces to find social connections. Racism and racial injustice are two of the most pressing issues in the African American community, and it is clear that it can be an emotionally laborious …

The Uncanny Swipe Drive: The Return Of A Racist Mode Of Algorithmic Thought On Dating Apps, Gregory Narr

Publications and Research

As algorithmic media amplify longstanding social oppression, they also seek to colonize every last bit of sociality where that oppression could be resisted. Swipe apps constitute prototypical examples of this dynamic. By employing protocols that foster absent-minded engagement, they allow unconscious racial preferences to be expressed without troubling users’ perceptions of themselves as non-racist. These preferences are then measured by recommender systems that treat “attractiveness” as a zero-sum game, allocate affective flows according to the winners and losers of those games, and ultimately amplify the salience of race as a factor of success for finding intimacy. In thus priming users …

Transformative Education As The Key To Dismantling Racism: How Colleges And Universities Are The Path To An Equitable Future, Rachel Whitt

Black History at UNM

Jamal Martin, professor of Africana Studies at The University of New Mexico, proposes critical thinking in education and the scholarship of teaching and learning are the keys to unlocking racism in our country and around the world. This article is part of Racism: An Educational Series produced by the UNM Newsroom.

Addressing New Forms Of Racism Part Ii: Preventing Microaggressions, Victoria Peña-Parr

Black History at UNM

Sonia Gipson Rankin, Assistant Professor at The University of New Mexico’s School of Law, offers advice on preventing and handling microagressions. This article is the second of two parts. The first article: Addressing New Forms of Racism: Part I: Defining Microagressions, can be found in The Black Lives Matter Collection. Both articles are a part of Racism: An Educational Series, produced by the UNM Newsroom.

Addressing New Forms Of Racism Part I: Defining Microaggressions, Victoria Peña-Parr

Black History at UNM

Sonia Gipson Rankin, Assistant Professor at The University of New Mexico’s School of Law, defines microagressions, explains how they are normalized in society, and their impact on individuals. This article is the first of two.The second article: Addressing New Forms of Racism Part II: Preventing Microagressions, can be found in the Black Lives Matter Collection. Both articles are a part of the Racism: An Educational Series, produced by the UNM Newsroom.

Not So Minor Feelings, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

This creative nonfiction essay by Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt about race, silencing, and families originally appeared in Entropy.

Passing Vs Non-Passing: Latina/O/X Experiences And Understandings Of Being Presumed White, Francisco Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Latinos do not associate with a specific race, yet we are often homogenized into groups and stereotypes far from representing our diverse and ever-changing cultures and communities. How does the growth of Latinos affect the already existing and upcoming Latina/o/x communities in the United States? Due to my own lived experiences, I have dived into the layers of whiteness and colorism that exists within Latino communities in the United States. The idea that Latinos have a specific appearance is false and many assumptions associated to our complexion derive from stereotypes that affect the way we treat those around us, simply …

Black Faculty Alliance Statement On The Criminal Act Of Anti-Black Racist Terrorism Against Dr. Charles Becknell, Jr. And The Program Of Africana Studies, Black Faculty Alliance Unm

Black History at UNM

Public statement from the University of New Mexico Black Faculty Alliance (BFA) condemning the criminal act of domestic anti-Black terrorism that includes the threat of a lynching directed toward Dr. Charles Becknell, Jr. and his family. Dr. Becknell, Jr. is the Director of the Africana Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Mexico. Among their suggested actions, the BFA calls for "the creation of a task force to develop a survivor-focused approach for an emergency response to hate-based threats against UNM Black faculty and a truth-telling commission to document systems and behaviors that …

#Dreamcrazy And #Boycottnike: A Content Analysis Of The Twitter Debate, Grace Voll

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

In 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt for the national anthem in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. A less than two-minute action galvanized a brand-new movement in the United States. Two years after losing his NFL contract, Nike endorsed Kaepernick and produced the controversial “Dream Crazy” advertising campaign. The initial advertisement launched on Twitter, shared first by Kaepernick with the #DreamCrazy hashtag. There was a substantial amount of discussion about this campaign through the hashtags #DreamCrazy and the counter-campaign #BoycottNike on Twitter. This paper presents a content analysis that examines the tone and support of the initial campaign …

Unm Staff Council: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Letter Condemning Racist Threats Against Faculty Member, Unm Staff Council

Black History at UNM

Open letter by UNM Staff Council Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, condemning racist attacks on a UNM faculty member with 439 signatories.

Racism In Media: How Media Shapes Our View Of People Of Color In Society, Semarial Wilder

Community Engagement Student Work

As a way to increase awareness about racism in the media, research was conducted to showcase the many ways racism is perpetuated against Black people through our everyday media consumption. A workshop was held and analysis of responses from pre-event surveys, activity post-it responses, and post-event surveys were completed by attendees. Using the cultivation theory, attendees increased their overall knowledge about how the media plays a huge part in how they see society. One attendee mentioned, “I learned how the media sets thoughts or images for you without you realizing it.” It is clear that the media does a wonderful …

In Our Own Words: Institutional Betrayals, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

When Dr. Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, professor of English at Linfield College, asked a large group of underrepresented faculty members why they left their higher education institutions, they told her the real reasons for their departures — those that climate surveys don't capture.

This essay originally appeared as part of Conditionally Accepted, a career advice blog for Inside Higher Ed providing news, information, personal stories, and resources for scholars who are, at best, conditionally accepted in academe. Conditionally Accepted is an anti-racist, pro-feminist, pro-queer, anti-transphobic, anti-fatphobic, anti-ableist, anti-ageist, anti-classist, and anti-xenophobic online community.

The New Debt Peonage In The Era Of Mass Incarceration, Timothy Black, Lacey Caporale

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

In 1867, Congress passed legislation that forbid the practices of debt peonage. However, the law was circumvented after the period of Reconstruction in the south and debt peonage became central to the expansion of southern agriculture through sharecropping and industrialization through convict leasing, practices that forced debtors into new forms of coerced labor. Debt peonage was presumable ended in the 1940s by the Justice Department. But was it? The era of mass incarceration has institutionalized a new form of debt peonage through which racialized poverty is governed, mechanisms of social control are reconstituted, and freedom is circumscribed. In this paper, …

Socially Constructing Marijuana Policy And Target Populations In The News Media, Jonathan Taylor Langner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on different aspects of the co-construction African Americans and marijuana in the news. First, the historical background of modern drug laws, including marijuana prohibition, and how this was dependent on racialized fears in the wake of the abolition of slavery. Next, the prevalence and variety of marijuana constructions in a national newspaper, with careful attention paid to associations with racial identifiers. Finally, how African American athletes and marijuana are co-constructed in an exemplary article.

Chapter 2 describes how racial fears relate to the social construction of disadvantaged population in the media. We first describe the current situation …

Political Affiliation And White Privilege: The Effect Of Exposure To Symbols Of Political Affiliation And Race On Perceptions Of White Privilege And Anti-Black Discrimination, Hannah Knechel

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This thesis explored the effects of exposure to different political affiliations and races on participants’ perceptions of white privilege and anti-black discrimination. Current research has studied the effects of race, framing, and guilt on the acknowledgement of white privilege, but none have explored how political affiliation can affect these perceptions. If simple exposure to these symbols of political affiliation can alter the perceptions of those exposed, perhaps the results of this study could be used to bring about awareness and ease political tensions. Participants were placed in one of six groups consisting of either a white or black experimenter wearing …

"Can We Clean Their Guns For Em'?" Frame Analysis Of Media Coverage Surrounding The Killing Of African Americans By Police, A Comparison Of Four U.S. And International News Sources, Jeffrey Longhurst

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Instances of unarmed African Americans being killed when encountering police officers have come to the forefront of the discussion about race and race relations in the U.S. This study investigates media framing to determine if there are elements of racism in media frames surrounding these events. This study seeks to determine the extent that the tenets of Critical Race Theory apply in news when comparing stories Fox News and CNN online articles with articles by Al Jazeera and BBC. The two cases chosen were the killings of Micheal Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland. Using critical …

The Reflection And Reification Of Racialized Language In Popular Media, Kelly E. Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

This work highlights specific lexical items that have become racialized in specific contextual applications and tests how these words are cognitively processed. This work presents the results of a visual world (Huettig et al 2011) eye-tracking study designed to determine the perception and application of racialized (Coates 2011) adjectives. To objectively select the racialized adjectives used, I developed a corpus comprised of popular media sources, designed specifically to suit my research question. I collected publications from digital media sources such as Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and Fortune by scraping articles featuring specific search terms from their websites. This experiment seeks …

Commercial Content Moderation: Digital Laborers' Dirty Work, Sarah T. Roberts

Media Studies Publications

In this chapter from the forthcoming Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class and Culture Online (Noble and Tynes, Eds., 2016), I introduce both the concept of commercial content moderation (CCM) work and workers, as well as the ways in which this unseen work affects how users experience the Internet of social media and user-generated content (UGC). I tie it to issues of race and gender by describing specific cases of viral videos that transgressed norms and by providing examples from my interviews with CCM workers. The interventions of CCM workers on behalf of the platforms for which they labor directly contradict …

Strange Fruit: Race, Terror, And The War On Terror, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This poem examines drone warfare as a form of lynching. “Strange Fruit” links the deaths of Pakistani children Zeerak and Maria Khan to the murders of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, documented in the most infamous lynching photograph in U.S. history.

Of All Days: Critical Pedagogy Outside The Classroom, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A student at the author’s college pens a racist column on immigration for the school newspaper. Two departments, including the author’s, send campus-wide emails denouncing the rhetoric. A firestorm erupts, as much over the emails as over the op-ed. Years later, the student visits the author unannounced.

Can Films Speak The Truth? Mathieu Kassovitz’S La Haine (1995) And Philippe Faucon’S La Désintégration (2011), Annie Jouan-Westlund Ph.D.

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

La Haine, (Dir. Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995) and La Désintégration (Dir. Philippe Faucon, 2011), set in France’s urban periphery, depict the struggle of second and third-generation immigrants growing up in the housing projects and their desire to live like ‘other’ French young people. The analysis offers a comparative study of the films’ reception with a community of viewers made of American students in a Contemporary French Culture course. Following the three paradigms of exclusion (social, racial, and cultural); gender representation; and aestheticism and realism, this study demonstrates that, within certain limits, these cinematic propositions, of similar prophetic nature but different …

Commercial Content Moderation: Digital Laborers' Dirty Work, Sarah T. Roberts

Sarah T. Roberts

In this chapter from the forthcoming Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class and Culture Online (Noble and Tynes, Eds., 2016), I introduce both the concept of commercial content moderation (CCM) work and workers, as well as the ways in which this unseen work affects how users experience the Internet of social media and user-generated content (UGC). I tie it to issues of race and gender by describing specific cases of viral videos that transgressed norms and by providing examples from my interviews with CCM workers. The interventions of CCM workers on behalf of the platforms for which they labor directly contradict …