Latin American Studies Commons^™

Latina Faculty In Academia : Support Factors And Socio-Environmental Challenges In Their Path To Achieving Promotion And Tenure, Karen Raquel Ferrer Muniz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Economic Policy And Equality : Neoliberalism And Gender Equity In Latin America Since The 1970s, Donnett Annmarie Lee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Neoliberalism has been a persistent concern for policymakers, scholars, and the general public in Latin America due to its negative effects on women. This paper examines the relationship between neoliberal economic policies and gender equality from the 1970s to 2003 in the region. I use a mixed-methods approach to test the two major competing theories from the literature that discuss women’s status under neoliberal reform. I find that neoliberal economic policies did not improve the status of women but reduced gender disparity. Neoliberalism led to the worsening of men’s status, which caused the status of women to seem better. Overall, …

A Moderated Mediation Model : The Interplay Between Discrimination, Marianismo, Alcohol Use, And Culturative Stress Among Latina College Students, Yajaira A. Cabrera Tineo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although alcohol use is on the rise among young Latina college students, little is known about drinking behaviors among this population. The present study sought to expand the current literature by examining (a) the mediating role of alcohol use in the relationship between perceived discrimination and acculturative stress, in addition to (b) competing models of conditional moderated mediation between perceived discrimination, alcohol use, marianismo beliefs, and acculturative stress, while accounting for nativity. Path analyses were conducted with data from 1243 Latina students between the ages of 18 and 25 from college campuses across the U.S. Mediation analyses indicated that alcohol …

A Cultural Political Economy Of Corporate Social Responsibility : The Case Of C.I. Uniban S.A. And The Colombian Banana Industry, 1987-2017, David H. Uzzell Jr

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation concentrates on the banana sector in Urabá, Colombia from 1987 to 2017, paying particular attention to C.I. Uniban S.A., the largest and oldest banana marketing and export company in the country, its social foundation, Fundauniban, its marketing subsidiary Turbana Corporation, Agricola Sara Palma S.A. banana producers, and local communities in the region. Through an in-depth, qualitative case-study supported with insights from cultural political economy (CPE), it documents the local and global pressures that forced these actors to adopt and deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) to upgrade to compete in the global banana market. It makes the case that …

El Cyborg En El Papel : Virtualidad Digital En La Novela Hispanoamericana Contemporánea (2000-2018), Jaime Mundo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

El propósito de esta disertación es explorar cómo la narrativa contemporánea hispanoamericana representa la virtualidad digital. La noción de virtualidad está influenciada por la teoría de la crítica cultural y literaria Katherine Hayles que argumenta que la virtualidad es la percepción cultural de que los objetos materiales están interpenetrados por patrones de información. La noción de virtualidad digital en esta tesis no apunta a un mundo alternativo, sino que está ligada a lo que sucede en el espacio de interacción entre el individuo y el dispositivo tecnológico. Las novelas analizadas en esta disertación crean una visión de sistemas y dispositivos …

The Capital Insurrection And The Puerto Rican Summer Uprising, Pedro Caban

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship

The Capital insurrection in Washington DC was not an anomaly in American Politics. It was the latest instance of a history of violence by white supremacists to preserve their power and status at the cost of democracy. The uprising in Puerto Rico in Summer 2019 was a massive social movement to restore democracy by removing a corrupt government that was unaccountable to the people,

The Rise Of The New Left: Amlo’S Mexico In The 21st Century, Gina Andrade

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Honors Program

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, commonly known by his initials as AMLO, was voted to be the next Presidente de Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos in the country’s general election on July, 1 2018. On July 1, 2018, AMLO won a landslide electoral victory and he assumed presidential office on December 1, 2018. This was AMLO’s third time running for president and many like to think he should have won the first time he ran but Mexico’s corruption problem is big and that 2000 presidential election is often believed to have been rigged. AMLO’s win is significant because of how unexpected it …

Understanding Latinas' Responses To Coercive Control : Marianismo Beliefs, Relationship Satisfaction, And Commitment, Nicole Da Silva

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although substantial evidence indicates that Latinas are at high risk for experiencing negative consequences from intimate partner violence (IPV; Alvarez & Fedock, 2016), few studies have tested the applicability of theories of IPV in this population. The present study, which was based on the investment model of IPV (Rusbult, 1995), was designed to investigate how specific gender role beliefs (i.e., marianismo) for Latinas contribute to their responses to coercive control (a core aspect of IPV; Dutton & Goodman, 2009) by their male partners.

The Influence Of Ethnic Identity Commitment, Discrimination, And Sexism On Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Latina College Students, Melissa M. Ertl

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

According to intersectionality theory, exposure to experiences of oppression predispose individuals from disadvantaged groups to experience disparities in health. Such disparities are evident in the sexual health outcomes among college student-age Latina women living in the US, who tend to report significantly worse sexual health outcomes than their peers. Guided by intersectionality frameworks, the present study examined Latina college students’ sexual risk behaviors in relation to ethnic identity and experiences of discrimination and sexism. Commitment to ethnic identity was expected to negatively relate with sexual risk, and experiences of discrimination and sexism were hypothesized to moderate the association between commitment …

What Does "Caliban's Woman" Sound Like? : A Study Of Indo-Guyanese Women's Emergent Voice In The Us, Caitlin Irene Janiszewski

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Real Men Don't Get Lipos : Gender, Political Economy, And Biomedicine In Colombia's Male Beauty Industry, Jose Alejandro Arango-Londono

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The last few years in Colombia have seen the rise and expansion of male beauty industry. Such growth seems to suggest a shift from entrenched gendered ideas as well as new markets and economic opportunities to pursue. This dissertation is the result of eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Cali, Colombia focusing on how the development of male beauty has emerged in a context that is profoundly shaped by the legacy of armed conflict and drug-trafficking. The expansion of male beauty industry flourishes in a political and economic moment in Colombia where neoliberal policies are prevalent in the state’s agenda.

Venezuelan Refugee Crisis: A Consequence Of U.S. Economic Sanctions, Joel Alexander Lopez

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Honors Program

Significant trends of outward migration from Venezuela date back to the 1998 election of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. These migratory trends may be attributed to a number of reasons such as political corruption, economic mismanagement and hyper-dependency on oil. Venezuelans have since fled from the political turmoil and extreme economic recession that continues to ravage their country and impoverish their families at an alarming rate. However, it was not until the year 2017 that migration in Venezuela skyrocketed into the state of crisis it is in today.

Dynamic Duos: Interrogating Latin American Curricula Through Faculty-Librarian Partnerships, Jesús Alonso-Regalado, Daniel Arbino, Pamela Espinosa De Los Monteros, Marisol Ramos, Christine Vassallo-Oby, Charles Venator-Santiago, Lisa Voigt

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The ever-changing education and information landscape has brought with it an increased focus on teaching pedagogy and curriculum design. In response, Latin American Studies faculty are pursuing creative pedagogical directions and approaches in areas such as digital scholarship and information literacy in partnership with librarians and archivists. This roundtable will explore faculty-librarians practice-based initiatives focusing on issues related to the Global North and South. The uniqueness of this roundtable is that both the teaching faculty and the librarian representing each academic institution will be present. The University at Albany will discuss the redesign of a Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. …

Hurricane Maria's Aftermath: Redefining Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Pedro Caban

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship

The devastation wrought by a historic storm posed the damage already inflicted by decades of economic policies that have treated the island like a second-class territory.

Integration Of Cultural Competency In Delivery Of Mental Health Services To Latinos :, Jacqueline V. Richardson-Melecio

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

The Everyday Sacred : A Symbolic Analysis Of Contemporary Yucatec Maya Women's Daily Realities, Crystal Sheedy

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As a collaborative effort between myself and the Maya women with whom I worked, who live in Xocén, this dissertation seeks to illuminate the sacred world of Maya women, as well as dismantle the insidious narrative that younger generations of Mayas are losing their culture. Instrumental to this process is the use of decolonial methods (Lawless 1993) and descriptive theoretical premises (Geertz 1973; Turner 1967, 1969) that allowed me to analyze Maya women’s discursive speech, referred to as both chismes and heridos in Spanish, which can be translated as gossip, as well as the speech genre of u t’àan nukuč …

Promesa, Puerto Rico And The American Empire, Pedro Caban

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship

As the United States ascended to hyper-power status during the late 1970s, it changed colonial policy in Puerto Rico. The change, which included the elimination of favorable tax legislation and demilitarization, devastated Puerto Rico’s economy. Puerto Rico borrowed heavily in a failed effort to offset the dramatic decline in capital inflows. The federal government enacted PROMESA after Puerto Rico announced it could not repay the debt. The law was designed to restore Puerto Rico to financial solvency by imposing oppressive austerity measures. PROMESA was a watershed event because it stripped Puerto Rico of the limited sovereignty the federal government had …

The Salvadoran Struggle: A Transnational Resistance Against Imperialism, Erik Villalobos

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Honors Program

No abstract provided.

Guatemalan Youth And Education: Family, Environment, And Dropping Out, Katie Grasso

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Honors Program

Guatemalan education, in rural and urban areas throughout the 21^st century, has gone through various fluctuations and has been studied by numerous scholars including Adelman Ainsworth, Bassi et. al, Behrman, Crane, Davis, Rogers, Tumen, and Yount who all study different aspects of education including parental investment, neighborhood life, family life, parental migration, poverty and class issues, and other interdisciplinary aspects of these issues. This project focuses on how sociocultural aspects, like family and environment, effect middle and secondary school dropout rates in both rural and urban Guatemala throughout the 21^st century for children ages 13 to 18. In …

Free Trade Does Not Free People, Ernesto Porcari

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Honors Program

The following paper is in attempt reveal, analyze and explain the effects the North American Free Trade Agreement specifically along the US-Mexican border region. Starting with the agreement itself, the ratification, and the elements surrounding its implementation, this paper will then move through analyzing the quantitative and qualitative effects NAFTA has had along the border region of the United States and Mexico. Taking those effects, the comparison enshrined in the title: whether free trade frees people (free as in a better life) will be tested and analyzed for a possible grading the results of NAFTA has had. Finally, the future …

Marianismo Beliefs, Ethnic Identity Commitment, And Acculturative Stress Among Recent Latina Young Adult Immigrants, Lauren E. Dasen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Because young adult, Latina/o immigrants encompass a rapidly growing minority group in the U.S., there is need for empirical literature focusing on their mental health and the ways in which it relates with identity and culture. The primary aim of the present study was to examine the relations among dimensions of marianismo beliefs and indices of acculturative stress as moderated by ethnic identity commitment among recent Latina young adult immigrants.

Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research, Jeffrey Napierala

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines topics related to racial and ethnic diversity through three essays. Each essay takes a new perspective on a current issue in the literature and utilizes a unique statistical methodology to address that issue. The first essay uses the Monte Carlo Simulation Method to develop a measure of segregation for the ACS and uses it to assess whether the ACS is useful for measuring segregation in places with different sizes. The second essay considers whether a relatively unexplored factor, genetics, is correlated with migration. This perspective broadens our understanding of why migration occurs and is perpetuated over time. …

Artistic Film Interpretation Of Literary Piece: Yo Fumo Puros Como Mi Abuela, Katrina Abad

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Symposium

The 10-minute short film described below is narrated in Spanish but will also be available with English subtitles by the end of production.

Yo fumo puros como mi abuela

Inspirado por “Mi abuela fumaba puros” de Sabine Ulibarrí

or

I Smoke Cigars Like My Grandmother

Inspired by Sabine Ulibarrí’s “My Grandmother Smoked Cigars”

Written and produced by Katrina B. Abad and Inés García-Rojas

The moving short story “Mi abuela fumaba puros” (1992) by Mexican-American author Sabine Ulibarrí depicts the fortitude of a matriarchal grandmother from the eyes of her grandson at different stages of tragedy in their life. In this …

The Gospel Of Colonization: The U.S. Colonization Of Puerto Rico As A Protestant Missionary Projec, Jorge Juan Rodriguez V

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Symposium

One year after the Spanish-American War, representatives from nine major Protestant denominations* met in New York City to discuss the “new mission field” of Puerto Rico. While they were eager to “evangelize” these “un-churched” Puerto Ricans, Protestant leaders shared concern about “stepping on each-others toes” in this new religious marketplace. As a result, representatives established a Committee Agreement that carved the island and set parameters on where each particular denomination could evangelize and establish institutions. Presbyterians took the West, Disciples the Mid-North, Baptists parts of the island’s center, etc. Their mission was clear: “to inaugurate a work that assures the …

Constructing Spaces Of Queer Latinidad In Peru Through Artivism And Testimonio, Cynthia Melendez

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Symposium

In this work, I look at the construction of queer space and identity in a LGBTQAI organization in Peru. This activist collective – which I call Voces Libres – is based out of the capital city of Lima and, over time, has become an important representation for LGBTQAI communities across the country. Since Peru is an incredibly diverse nation that lacks both laws to protect LGBTQ communities and education in understanding these issues at the governmental level, activists are playing a fundamental role to create spaces of knowledge and resistance to state violence. Voces Libres illustrates the intersections of this …

Law 348: The Struggle To End Violence Against Women In Bolivia, Emma Mackey

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Symposium

No abstract provided.

Resolver, Bregar, Resistir: The Manichean World In The Relations Of Cuba And The U.S, Ildefonso Correas Apelanz

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Symposium

No abstract provided.

Puerto Ricans As Contingent Citizens: Shifting Mandated Identities And Imperial Disjunctures, Pedro Caban

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship

In 1917 the United States Congress imposed citizenship on the inhabitants of Puerto Rico. It was a contingent citizenship subject to legal redefi nition and tailored to Puerto Rico’s colonial status within the U.S. empire. Many scholars have argued that racism was determinative in the decision to consign Puerto Ricans a diminished citizenship. But it is necessary to point out that the U.S. had crafted an adaptive racial narrative that distinguished among racialized people under its sovereignty in terms of their capacities for self-government and ability to comprehend Anglo-Saxon political and legal institutions. Moreover, in addition to racism, strategic considerations …

Maria Will Fundamentally Change Us Policy Toward Puerto Rico, Pedro Caban

Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship

An article titled "Maria will Fundamentally Change US Policy Toward Puerto Rico" by Pedro Caban.

Fighting For Protections : Challenging The 21st Century Sweatshop In New York State, Jacqueline Hayes

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines how neoliberalism and immigration enforcement between 1980 and 2010 changed the nature of ‘sweated’ work in the U.S. This dissertation focuses on the particular case of Latino undocumented workers in New York State and the organizations fighting to win them protections. In order to answer my research questions, I conducted 30 semi-structured interviews over the course of 2 years (2013-2015), examined immigration enforcement data, and analyzed U.S. immigration and welfare policies between 1980 and the present. Research interviews made clear that both the lack of social and legal protections alongside the threat of immigration enforcement have a …