International and Area Studies Commons^™

Sacred Seeds: The Transmission Of Knowledge Seen Through Aztec Religionand Agriculture, Ian S. Hohsfield

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The integration of religion and agriculture was a cornerstone of Aztec civilization, deeply influencing societal practices and knowledge systems. Scholars have long recognized the importance of religious rituals in ensuring agricultural success; however, the specific methods by which agricultural knowledge was transmitted within religious contexts—and how these methods may have contributed to knowledge gaps—remain underexplored. This thesis investigates the relationship between Aztec religious practices and the transmission of agricultural knowledge, focusing on how the methods of knowledge transmission influenced agricultural expertise and led to potential gaps. It does so by analyzing primary sources such as the Florentine Codex and the …

Gis And The 1944 U.S.–Mexico Treaty: Rethinking Transboundary Governance Under Climate And Demographic Stress, Pedro L. Sarabia

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the structural limitations of the 1944 U.S.–Mexico Water Treaty in the context of intensifying climate stress and growing population demand. Using GIS-based raster analysis of precipitation from 1981 to 2024, it maps hydrological trends in treaty-bound basins—particularly the Rio Grande and Lower Colorado—which exhibit persistently low and variable precipitation. These conditions, coupled with institutional rigidity, threaten the sustainability of binational water management. In addition to quantitative analysis, the study includes a qualitative assessment of transboundary governance dynamics, highlighting how institutional fragmentation and policy contention impede adaptive responses. The Treaty’s current surface-water-only framework excludes groundwater management, real-time data …

The Algorithm Of Inclusion: Homonationalism, Queer Advocacy, And Digital Marketing Of Un Ecosoc Ingos And Indian Ngos, Dewansh Chauhan

Master's Theses

Advocacy organizations have increasingly turned to social media as digital platforms become integral to contemporary activism, shaping public discourse and securing institutional legitimacy. This thesis examines the organizational communication of organizations that support marginalized sexualities within a neoliberal and homonationalist context. Employing Critical Content Analysis (CCA), the study analyzes a representative sample of 200 Instagram posts from 2024, comparing two international NGOs with ECOSOC status at the UN (Outright International and ILGA) and two national NGOs in India (Humsafar Trust and Naz Foundation). The findings reveal how homonationalist tendencies may manifest at the intersection of engagement metrics, identity-centric rhetoric, brand …

Sustainability In Professional Sports: A New Nexus Of Profit And Social Responsibility, Matthew Teplitz

Master's Theses

The world is facing a climate crisis – corrective action that will improve our collective situation is needed, now. Those with the power to do so, in the capitalist structure under which we live, are largely the individuals, corporations, and governments with financial resources and the platform to inspire others to act. Two such entities, complete with the financial heft to make a difference and inspiration to spare, are North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and Spain’s La Liga. This thesis seeks to understand what distinguishes the NBA’s approach to sustainability from La Liga, and by employing each league as …

Negotiating Migration In The Mediterranean: A Comparative Study Of Morocco And Italy’S Border Policies And Their Humanitarian Impact On Irregular Migrants, Shennel Ep Henries

Master's Theses

Serving as both a barrier and a bridge that connects Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean is today the focal point of global controversies around migration, where humanitarian interests balance against border policing and meet securitization policies. This thesis examines the questions: How do irregular migrants adapt, interpret, and maneuver around securitized Moroccan and Italian migration policies, and what do their strategies tell us about the relationship between humanitarianism and securitization in Mediterranean bordering processes? Drawing on qualitative evidence, including expert interviews with organization employees and volunteers in Morocco and Italy (Fondazione Solidarietà Caritas, Nosotras Onlus, and Caritas Maroc), field observation, …

A Tale Of Two Organizations: San Francisco & Tokyo, An Analysis Of Urban Youth Poverty In The Developed World, Arturo Paredes

Master's Projects and Capstones

This study analyzes the experiences of low-income youth in terms of their access to educational opportunities in connection to their social mobility, the study focuses on two highly prosperous cities: San Francisco and Tokyo specifically dwelling into some affected population groups and overall neighborhoods where low-income populations are clustered in. The study delves into youth poverty as a complex phenomenon facing communities and its direct implications for the lives of youth in the context of educational experiences and its connection to socio-economic outcomes. By focusing on two organizations addressing this issue in each of the contexts, the study highlights interventions, …

Alternative Worlds: John Maddox Iv’S Fractal Families In New Millennium Narratives Of Afro-Puerto Rican Women, Roberta Hurtado

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Interlude 3: Untitled By Wifredo Lam, Mey-Yen Moriuchi

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

“El Chino Se Considera Blanco Y Basta”: Racialización, Negritud Y Agencia En Apuntes Históricos De Los Chinos En Cuba De Antonio Chuffat Latour, Sebastián Díaz Martínez

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

Apuntes históricos de los chinos en Cuba (1927) del escritor afro-chino-cubano Antonio Chuffat Latour es un caso privilegiado para analizar los imaginarios asociados raciales entre poblaciones afrocubanas y sino-cubanas frente a las discursos sobre la nación en la Cuba republicana. Si bien en el caso puntual de Chuffat ha sido contextualizado como un activo integrante de movimientos afrocubanos (Yun, 2008), es bastante limitada la presencia o importancia acordada a lo negro dentro de su obra. Aunque esta tiene como objetivo la recopilación de distintas fuentes sobre la experiencia china en Cuba, las interacciones y relaciones de mestizaje cultural entre ambas …

Full Issue, Palara Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Author Bios, Palara Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

A Cultural Pluralistic Reading On The Afro- And Chinese-Cuban Communities In Memorias De Una Cubanita Que Nació Con El Siglo (1964), Francisco Chen-López

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

This article deploys the cultural pluralism theory, which focuses on how minoritized groups integrate while preserving their cultural identities instead of assimilating into the dominant culture. In her memoir, Renée Méndez Capote describes how Black and Chinese people coexisted in twentieth-century Cuba while maintaining their own cultural identities and were in the process of integrating into the definition of the cubanidad. Via this theoretical framework, this research provides a different approach to studying the literary representation of Afro-Asian relationships in Cuba, aiming to contribute to the constantly growing field of Afro-Asian studies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Interlude 1: The Eternal Presence By Wifredo Lam, Mey-Yen Moriuchi

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

The Chinese-Afro-Cuban Diaspora And Its Many Faces, Wiliam Luis

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

“Afro-Brazilian Nei Lopes’S Poetnics (2014)”, John Maddox Iv

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Debbie Lee-Distefano, Luisa Marcela Ossa

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Where Has Saudi Arabia Been? Reframing Power, Progress, And The Privilege Of A Region Misunderstood, Essraa Nawar

Library Articles and Research

"Everywhere—from policy circles to tech summits—people are asking: What is happening in Saudi Arabia? Why is everyone talking about it now? What changed?

And so I ask: Where has Saudi Arabia really been?

The answer is layered and long overdue. Saudi Arabia hasn’t been absent. It has been building—quietly, strategically, and deliberately. During my recent visit to Riyadh, I conducted extensive interviews, site visits, and both qualitative and quantitative data collection across public and private sectors. I engaged with professionals from ministries, startups, universities, and cultural institutions. This piece is not a mere reflection—it is grounded in data, dialogue, and …

The Hidden Logic Behind Migration And Success, Elsa Russom

Master's Projects and Capstones

This research paper explores the hidden drivers of financial success among Eritrean migrants navigating uncertainty, displacement, and limited institutional access. Drawing on original survey data collected from diaspora communities across East African host countries, I apply a mixed-methods framework combining ordinal and binary logistic regression, random forest classification, bootstrapping, and Bayesian causal mediation; to identify the structural and cultural variables most predictive of financial stability. The findings reveal that participation in Ekub, a traditional rotating savings association, and engagement in communal support systems are the strongest predictors of financial success, outperforming conventional factors such as age, education, or employment status. …

Front Matter, Palara Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Between Thirst And Hunger: Food And Afro- Chinese Entanglements In Monkey Hunting, Chloe Huh Prudente

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

Cristina García’s third novel, Monkey Hunting (2003), is a sweeping multigenerational family saga that surveys the history of Asian and African diasporas in the Americas and the impact of coerced, racialized labor and migrations. The scrumptious medley of foods in Monkey Hunting portrays its characters’ delight and dissatisfaction in their displacements. Food’s primary function remains as a vital source of nourishment, providing essential sustenance to the body. Food provides pleasure through sensory experiences that delight the palate and evoke emotions and memories associated with home and family. In many religions and spiritual systems, food takes a vital place in rituals …

Interlude 2: Tropic By Wifredo Lam, Mey-Yen Moriuchi

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Common Challenges Faced By Early-Career Researchers In Latin American And Small U.S. Universities, Daniela Cejas, Fatima Rodriguez Acosta, Juan Rivera-Correa

Publications and Research

Early-career researchers from Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and small U.S. universities are underrepresented in international scientific databases. They have geographical importance, infectious disease endemicity, and exceptional researchers in microbiology, but these factors do not translate to representation in high-impact scientific publications. Many reasons could be involved, including financial burdens such as the inability to pay article processing charges. Additional teaching, institutional, and service responsibilities also highly influence their research productivity. Despite this, they are expected to publish high-impact articles, and their career development highly depends on it. There is an opportunity for global peer collaboration to tackle this inequity and …

Amazigh Lexical Substrate In Tunisian Derja: An Outcome Of Linguistic Contact On Youtube And Facebook, Soubeika Bahri

Journal of Amazigh Studies

Despite the extensive discussion of the structural and lexical impact of Tamazight on North African spoken varieties in Morocco, Algeria, and Libya (Berkai 4-14; Souag 2018, 192-200; Faizi 29-39; Bensoukas and Boudlal 179-21; Zellou 1-13), little is known about the linguistic contact outcome between the Tunisian spoken variety (henceforth, Ettounsi or Tunisian Derja) and Tamazight. In this article, we present and analyze Amazigh linguistic substrate examples in the lexicon of Ettounsi. Contact-induced change (Lafkioui 51-93; Thomason 339-46; Heine and Kuteva, 529-72) and language contact on YouTube (Garley, 77-106), along with the method of computer-mediated discourse (Androutsopoulos, 419-438), offer …

Empoderamiento De Mujeres Negras En Cuba: Descolonialidad En La Agencia De Sus Vidas. Encuentros Entre La Interseccionalidad Y La Perspectiva Epistemológica Compleja, Elvira Edwards Vázquez

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

En el presente trabajo se estudia el tema del empoderamiento de las mujeres negras en Cuba desde una perspectiva transdisciplinar. Para ello, se establece un diálogo de saberes diversos provenientes de la Psicología, la Sociología, la Filosofía, la Teoría de la comunicación, la Historia, los Estudios culturales y el Pensamiento complejo. Esto permite una mirada a la agencia de vida y al empoderamiento, desde un posicionamiento descolonial, en medio de las transformaciones que se suceden en el país. El resultado más importante es el intercambio entre las perspectivas epistemológicas interseccionalidad y complejidad. Este orienta nuevas prácticas para docentes, investigadores y …

Reckoning With An Icon: Exploring The Activism Of Mĩcere Githae Mũgo, Erica Charles Kiduko

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines the activism of Mĩcere Gīthae Mũgo, a distinguished Kenyan literary scholar, playwright, and feminist, whose works remain a vital part of twentieth and twenty-first century liberational struggles across Africa and the diaspora. Through a critical analysis of her literary projects, academic work, and political engagements, this study explores how Mũgo’s intellectual interventions challenged colonial, postcolonial, and patriarchal structures. It draws on feminist, Pan-Africanist, and decolonial theoretical frameworks, to situate career struggles for intellectual freedom, gender justice, and cultural reclamation. The thesis investigates foundational elements of Mugo activism, employing a multi-method qualitative approach: that includes textual analysis, oral …

Japan And Its Hesitation In Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage, Morgan R. Lewellen

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Japan is the only state in the G7 that has not legalized same-sex marriages despite increasing support of LGBTQ+ rights and norms for respecting human rights. While some local governments and constitutional courts have made progress with recognizing same-sex partnerships and deeming the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the Japanese national government has not enacted comprehensive pro-LGBTQ+ policy. Instead, the Diet (Japan’s legislative body) passed the “LGBT Understanding and Enhancement Bill” in 2023, which is a law that fails to legally recognize same-sex marriage or provide protections. This project aims to explore Japan’s hesitancy by examining politics, culture, history, and …

The Impact Of Sovereignty: Russian Foreign Military Interventions In De Facto States, Ella B. Chapman

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of sovereignty in foreign military interventions, utilizing a comparison of Russian foreign military interventions in de facto states to those in internationally recognized states. Through a qualitative approach combining English and Russian news sources, political documents, and statements from key political figures, the study identifies that the difference between these types of interventions is slight. The motivations were similar across the cases, while there were variations in conduct and effect. These findings suggest that sovereignty plays a minor role in foreign military interventions and that foreign military interventions increase the reliance of a de facto …

Breaking The Ice: China And Lawfare In The Arctic, Sophia Toner

Honors Theses

This thesis examines China's engagement with international legal frameworks in the Arctic through a lawfare lens, using a structured analytical framework to assess whether Chinese activities constitute lawfare. Focusing on two key cases—China's involvement in submarine cable infrastructure and its navigation of the Northern Sea Route—the research applies Andrea Beck's three-part definition of lawfare: "(1) the misuse of the law in order to, (2) achieve a military objective, and (3) undermine the legal framework." The analysis reveals that China's Arctic engagement does not fully constitute lawfare according to this definition. Rather than misusing legal frameworks, China operates within existing structures …

Breaking News And Broken Hopes: Inter-Korean Engagement And The Emotional Consequences Of Media Framing, Sophia Lizanne Trombley

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes two periods of pro-North Korean engagement regimes in South Korea during the presidencies of Kim Dae-jung (1998-2003), Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008), and Moon Jae-in (2017-2023). Through analysis of the three aforementioned presidents’ initiatives for engagement with the North, categorization of news headlines from two major South Korean sources, and public opinion polls, I argue that especially high and low emotional reactions among the South Korean public during these periods were exacerbated by news media’s overly dramatized portrayal of inter-Korean interactions, both big and small. This has led to desensitization and emotional exhaustion among the South Korean public, causing …

Syrian Perspectives On The U.S. Intervention Against Isis: Analysis Of Youtube Videos, Nelson Cleveland

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates Syrian public opinion surrounding the 2014 U.S.-led military intervention against ISIS through critical discourse analysis of Arabic-language YouTube videos. In light of the renewed interest and continued presence of U.S. troops in Syria following the Assad regime’s collapse in 2024, the study examines how Syrians originally responded to the coalition strikes and political context in which they occurred. Drawing on four primary videos including street interviews, protest recordings, and discussions from expert panelists, the analysis uncovers recurring themes of distrust towards the U.S. and other states who engaged in intervention, condemnation of perceived collusion and exploitation, and …