Latin American Studies Commons^™

“If They Can Help, They Will”: A Community Cultural Wealth Approach On Parent Support And Its Influence On The College Success Of First-Generation Latinas, Fabiola Rosiles

Dissertations

This study explores the parental support first-generation Latinas have received, and recognizes the skills, knowledge, and various forms of support that Latinx parents can and have provided their daughters when they seek a college education. Through a community cultural wealth framework, this study adds to the current literature on Latina and first-generation college students and specifically challenges the deficit approach that is often used when studying these student and parent populations. Furthermore, this study aids in better understanding the experiences of first-generation Latinas who receive parental support in ways that are outside of the traditional in-school presence and support. Through …

Missed Exits: Causal Mechanisms Influencing Militarized Interstate Dispute Escalation In Latin America, Colton Arciniaga

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Research on militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) and the reasons for their escalation to interstate war is sparse at the global level and the regional level in Latin America. This thesis contributes new research on militarized interstate dispute escalation in Latin America. In this project, I ask: how do differences in conflict escalation indicators between states affect whether a Latin American country will participate in a Militarized Interstate Dispute that escalates to the use of force? To answer this question, I conduct a case study utilizing the most similar cases analysis approach to compare the cases of the 1995 MID between …

“I Tell Them Generics, But Not The Specifics”: Exploring Tensions Underlying Familial Support For First-Generation Latinx Undergraduate Students, Stephany Cuevas

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Families continue to play an essential role in the experiences of first-generation Latinx undergraduate students and can serve as powerful partners to support student retention and socioemotional wellbeing. This qualitative phenomenological study uses the notion of emerging adulthood to explore how first-generation Latinx undergraduate students (n = 16) conceptualize their families’ role in their college education. Specifically, this study shows that while students describe feeling supported by their families, they also experience distinct and unique tensions tied to this support, which students associate with their first-generation student status. These tensions include (1) the family’s unfamiliarity with college culture; (2) bidirectional …

"We Lived The River Through Our Bodies": Environmental Care, Intergenerational Relations, And Sustainable Peacebuilding In Colombia, Angela J. Lederach

Peace Studies Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"This chapter offers an ethnographic account3 of youth peacebuilding practices in Montes de María. I place Jose’s pressing question, 'who am I?' as a central starting point to examine the foundational role that identity work plays in youth processes of 'provoking' peace in Montes de María, Colombia. I center Jose’s critique of the harm enacted when analytic attention focuses solely on youth who have migrated to urban cities. Instead, I turn my attention to the lives of youth who, against all odds, have stayed. I argue that the struggle to reclaim a sense of self, place, and belonging is at …

Women’S Routes: Gender, Mobility, And Knowledge Among The Makushi Of Southern Guyana, Lisa Katharina Grund

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Exploring the journeys of some Makushi women, this article highlights the relevance of gender in the question of (im)mobility and female engagements with the world as central to contemporary Makushi life. Departing from the understanding that the category of space has proven crucial in the theoretical groundwork of the Guiana ethnographic area and drawing on the region’s classical ethnographies, it explores everyday practices of movement of the Makushi people who live along the triple frontier of southern Guyana. Rather than disruptive, these in and out journeys—collective or individual—prove to be crucial to the weaving of community. They are also central …

Replication And Growth In Cassava Cultivation And Uxorilocal Women’S Relations Among The Waiwai: A Mother's Reckoning With Death And Social Change, Laura H. Mentore

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Through an ethnographic examination of the shared capacities of cassava and womanhood for what I term growth and replication, I argue that Waiwai sociality seeks to curtail the trajectory of life towards finite death through the intervening act of cutting and replanting or replicating life in a vegetatively inspired form of the “episodic present” (Strathern 2021). An extended vignette demonstrates how these features of Waiwai sociality take shape in mother-daughter and sister relations at the core of uxorilocal residential living, and in a senior woman’s reckonings with illness, death, and social change.

Propagating Conviviality: Waiwai Cultural Transformation Of Moral Depravity, George F. Mentore

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

This essay considers the problematics of anthropological translations when its responsibility to the codes of its modernist subjectivity persuades us to defer judgment on interpretations made of indigenous semiotics of life. It begins with this full disclosure before attempting to describe, from a translation of a Waiwai myth, how one can produce a guilty reading about their privileging of concern for conviviality. The Waiwai bodily feeling of well-being must be in place before relations of trust can be enacted. Transforming the vial aggressive feelings of strangers becomes a priority for hosting them. Maintaining feelings of conviviality within the community is …

Kita Vai À Kwamalasamutu, Fabio Ribeiro

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No contexto de uma série de encontros entre pessoas zo'é e tiriyó na região da fronteira Brasil-Suriname, o presente artigo aborda a experiência de Kita, jovem zo’é que em 2010 viajou com alguns chefes e pastores tiriyó e permaneceu na aldeia Kwamalasamutu, no sul do Suriname, por alguns meses. A partir de dois relatos de Kita, procuro seguir as múltiplas conexões por ele mobilizadas e articulá-las a problemas relevantes da etnologia das Guianas. Seguindo a proposta metodológica de S. Oakdale (2007) no sentido de ancorar a “economia simbólica da alteridade” em autobiografias ameríndias, o objetivo é imbricar a crônica de …

Povos Indígenas Nas Guianas: Etnografias Contemporâneas, Luísa G. Girardi, Leonor Valentino, Virgínia Amaral

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Na introdução a este número especial da Tipití, dedicado a etnografias recentes realizadas junto a povos indígenas na Amazônia guianense, sobrevoamos as principais tradições antropológicas que posicionaram a região no centro dos debates da etnologia amazonista. Alternativamente definida como “área linguística”, “área cultural” ou “área etnográfica”, a região das Guianas é compartilhada por coletivos indígenas falantes de idiomas da família Caribe e, em menor medida, de línguas Aruaque, Tupi, Yanomami, Sáliva e Warao, e está associada a algumas das monografias que inauguraram o período moderno da reflexão etnológica sobre o parentesco na Amazônia, além de influentes sínteses comparativas a …

Don’T Come Crying To My Funeral, Charlotte Hoskins

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

In this article, I describe a Makushi wake in Guyana, where an opposition was drawn between people in mourning and their perception of others who appeared to them to be much more like partygoers. This opposition in affective states was made evident through the enactment of associated oppositions in bodily practices: feeding and eating, speaking and singing, and forms of social availability. Rather than consider the divergence in affective states as a form of moral disorder, I argue that an affective divide allows grief to be expressed by the mourners and safely circumscribed by their still-living community, who continue to …

Food, Memory, And Cuban Society: Unraveling Trauma, Traditions, And Future Imaginaries In Havana, Mallory Cerkleski

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium

This paper delves into the intricate interplay of food scarcity and memory in contemporary Havana, Cuba, drawing on a period of immersive fieldwork conducted in the summer of 2022. Situating itself amidst the lived experiences of diverse Cubans, the study examines the enduring impact of historical challenges, particularly the Special Period, on present-day perceptions and experiences. Employing an oral history methodology rooted in collective memory theory, the research explores how food serves as a potent medium for encapsulating past experiences and shaping future imaginaries. Through oral narratives spanning from 1941 to 2022, the paper uncovers diverse memories and emotions associated …

Latin American Participation In The Current Process Of Economic Globalization, Sullivan D. Padgett

Journal of Global Awareness

From World War II to the present, Latin America has participated in the current process of economic globalization to varying degrees. The Washington Consensus of the late twentieth century supplanted the region’s earlier model of state-led development and increased its participation in the global capitalist regime. However, Latin America has shown minimal participation in the current process of economic globalization since the late 2000s and, instead, espouses regionalization. Nevertheless, regionalization has proven to be an arduous undertaking in Latin America, especially with China’s increasing regional influence. Variations of benefits are discussed, and recommendations are offered. While the future of Latin …

Du Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, August Alexander, Kevin Summers, E. Paige Lloyd, Alyssa Aragon, Lauren Wols, Erica Larson, Colton Arciniaga, Lily Baeza, Ellie Barnett-Cashman, Sidney Barbier, Maverick Bartholomew, Ryan Bell, Trevor Briggs, Amanda Brown, Cory Marchi, Maddy Pontius, Jennifer Gallagher, Claire Kwok, Channing Bullock, Alex Mccollister, Kim Gorgens, Daniela Chavez, Yamilet Espinoza Nuñez, Giovanni Valladares Giron, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Daniel Cierasynski, Brandon Cohen, Spenser Dobbs, Lindsay Goolsby, Noah Craver, Nyah Cubbison, Liam Doherty, Nicole Doris, Yan Qin, Alexander Nguyen, Lily Harmon, Shubh Todi, Naichen Zhao, Noah Fagello, Stacia Fritz, Paola Gascot-Chinea, Alex Volkova, Janelyn Geronimo, Elsie Harrington, Shane Simmons, Clarice Hise, Laura Moreno Palmer, Henry Xu, Yesu Leela Pasupula, Emily Fisher, Zachary Hogan, Colin Kleckner, Alyssa Knaus, Erin Kubat, Sam Werkema, Katie Lamberton, Lilliya Larson, Allie Leary, Vanessa Leon-Gamez, James H. Gallagher, E. Dale Broder, Robin M. Tinghitella, Emma Loeber, Alina Mali, Ixchel Marquez, Lauren Mcgrath, Ella Matthews, Grace Naegelen, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Rachel Brough, Alexandra Norman, Joe Ontiveros Rodriguez, Ben Dossett, Ori Miller, Janamejay Sharma, Christopher Reardon, Vincent Pandey, Regan Parish, Ren Pratt, Alisha Pravasi, Sanchari Das, Cari Reichel, Emma Robson, Victoria Rockwell, Jayce Rumsey, Steven Said, Norah Schroder, Alaina Smith, Shannon Murphy, Shujan A. Sharafeldeen, Stanley M. Kanai, James T. Nichols, David E. Clouthier, Macalia R. Augustus, Daniel Silva Rios, Scott Simpson, Anna Sparling, Chase Spurbeck, Kimberly Chiew, Christine Stadnik-Poteroba, Jacqueline Stephenson, Evelyn Stovin, Mia Supan, Lauren Tapper, Will Thrush, Anna Vogt, Michaela Walheim, Jon Weber, Hunter Whitehouse, Kansas Wood, Hayley Sayre, Lydia Mccann, Maread Mclaughlin, Kelly Krumrie, Olivia Wuttke

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Abstracts from the DU Undergraduate Research Showcase.

Attitudes Around Circulatory Migration In Puerto Rico, 2017-2023: Puerto Rico Without Puerto Ricans, Alondra Sostre Gotay

Senior Theses

Puerto Rican migration to the United States has historically been circulatory, as is characteristic of Caribbean migration and migration from territories. After the mass exodus from Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017, newspapers are reporting that Puerto Ricans are returning to the island. This study used posts from social media to obtain people’s perspective on return migration, and understood these through a framework of push and pull factors. The study created an informal database in order to break down close readings of social media. From that, a table was created that quantified recurrences of common patterns. The study determined …

Labors Of Love And Loss: Exploring Relationships In Remitting Latine-American Families, Sequoyah Sv Hilton

Master's Theses

This paper examines the impact remittances have in Latin-American families across borders through qualitative interviews. Remittances, or international transfers of money, are a common support strategy of global migrant communities. There are divergent opinions on remittances, either positioning them as a great potential for developing lower and middle-income countries, or critiquing them as too heavily depended on by states and created as a survival support mechanism by communities to compensate for state neglect. While they are a massive cash flow at the international level, there is a greater need to blend analyses of remittances at the international level at the …

Taking The Bang Out Of The Gang: The Impact Of Catholic Schools On Gang Homicides In El Salvador, Ann Jillian Villanueva Adona

Master's Theses

This study explores the impact of Catholic presence on homicide rates in El Salvador, specifically focusing on the role of Catholic schools in reducing violence in gang-afflicted municipalities. Analyzing municipality-level data from various years, I used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Instrumental Variable (IV) regressions to study the association between school enrollment and homicide rates. Results show that higher enrollment in Catholic schools is linked to a reduction in homicide rates in gang-affected areas, contrasting with an increase in homicides for non-religious schools. This research sheds light on the importance of investing in Catholic education as a strategy for violence …

Deforestation In Brazil’S Amazon And The Effects On Its Position In International Politics, Jeb Hinkle

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Latin America is a land of potential for economic growth, the expansion of democracy, and international political influence. The United States has historically had political and economic influence in the region; however, Latin American nations have long seen the United States as imperialists, only serving their own interest at the expense of smaller Latin nations. As China’s global ambitions grow, many Latin American nations have turned towards the Chinese for investment and trade. The United States needs to combat China’s influence and the nations of Latin America wish to build a better future for themselves. The solution is strategic partnership …

As Bonecas Babadeiras: Drag Subculture And Global Media In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Logan Baggett

Honors Theses

21st century global queer culture is seeing a major boom. Drag queens are the most indicative symbols of this boom, traditional practitioners of gender-bending performances that blend music, dance, makeup, and fashion to create breathtaking performances. To this end, this thesis asks the following question: How is local drag performance culture generated in Rio de Janeiro in the context of this 21st century gay boom? In this global metropolis, drag queens confront challenges––racism, classism, sprawling urban geography, and scene competition––that color their interpersonal relationships and financial success. They also find community, creating family units in the absence of heteronormative power …

Latinx Revolutionary Horizons: Form And Futurity In The Americas, Renee Hudson

English Faculty Books and Book Chapters

In Latinx Revolutionary Horizons, Renee Hudson theorizes a liberatory latinidad that is not yet here and conceptualizes a hemispheric project in which contemporary Latinx authors return to earlier moments of revolution. Rather than viewing Latinx as solely a category of identification, she argues for an expansive, historicized sense of the term that illuminates its political potential.

Claiming the “x” in Latinx as marking the suspension and tension between how Latin American descended people identify and the future politics the “x” points us toward, Hudson contends that latinidad can signal a politics grounded in shared struggles and histories rather than …

“Haiti Is My Heart”: Exploring Return Migration Experiences Among The Haitian American Diaspora, Semline Singleton

Dissertations

The dissertation explored the return migration experiences among first- and second-generation Haitian diaspora members in the United States. The study aimed to fill gaps in the existing literature and provide a deeper understanding of the individual experience of return migration through a social and cultural lens. While previous research has focused on the political and economic aspects of return migration, this study examined the personal narratives of return migrants. It explored the causes, impacts, and individual experiences of return migration. To achieve the study's objectives, in-depth interviews were conducted with identified Haitian diaspora members who had returned to Haiti. The …

Peace, Power, And Precarity: Examining Brazil’S Potential As An Emerging Global And Regional Leader, Mackenzie A. Berwick

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Brazil is poised to emerge as a critical player in the Southern Hemisphere. The nation’s economic success has been accompanied by efforts to play a prominent role in international peace and security. This financial dynamism has offered the country a degree of legitimacy on issues of global trade and energy. However, a protracted social conflict in Rio De Janeiro’s favelas threatens that status. Brazil cannot access international esteem and influence without addressing its domestic situation. This paper applies Edward Azar’s protracted social conflict theory to reveal an internal state of disorder in Brazilian favelas that impairs the nation’s ability to …

Lived Experiences, Migration Journey, Religiosity, And Spirituality Depicted In Drawings By Latino Children And Youth Crossing The U.S. Mexican Border: A Qualitative Study., Doroty Magalhaes Sato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Widespread violence forces thousands of Central American children to endure a hazardous journey toward the U.S. Border seeking refuge. In the Latino community, faith serves as a social movement of resistance against oppression, playing a vital role in migration. There is a paucity of research documenting this experience and children's overall journey. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the lived experience of crossing international borders, religiosity, and spirituality depicted in Latino children's drawings used as coping methods to endure the journey toward the U.S. southern border. This investigation employed Art-based approaches to give voices to children's experiences by analyzing 63 …

The Sexual Trauma Of The Female Body: Violence Against Women In Contemporary Spanish And Latin American Cultures, Lara Armenteros Garrido

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation focuses on the idea that women’s bodies have a sexual stigma attached to them as a consequence of different forms of heteropatriarcal violence inflicted on them. From violence in public spaces, such as street harassment or the sexual exploitation of women, to the intimacy of the relationship, like intimate partner violence or the orgasm gap, it becomes increasingly difficult for women to escape violence. Through the analysis of films, documentaries, narratives, and the testimonies of women from Spain and Latin America, I argue there is still a lack of adequate sexual and emotional knowledge to help complete agency …

The Role Of Family And Peer Social Support Against Bullying Involvement Among Sexual Minority Latine Young Adults, Guadalupe Gutierrez

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Bullying is a significant risk factor for healthy youth development and functioning. Research on bullying has provided evidence that bullying involvement is linked to negative mental health outcomes for young adults; however, researchers have yet to fully explore the relationship between the different bullying statuses (victims, perpetrators, bully-victims) and internalized problems (anxiety and depression), and whether peer/friend and family support serves as a protective factor. In addition, a significant amount of research on bullying has been conducted in Europe and the United States but it remains limited in Latin American countries. The current research demonstrates that bullying is a significant …

The Role Of Soft Infrastructure In Developing Sustainable Volunteer-Based Healthcare For Transient Migrants In The El Paso-Ciudad Juárez Border Region, Daniel Avitia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Assessing Urban Tree Coverage Along The U.S.-Mexico Border: A Gis Analysis Of Paso Del Norte, Melanie Escobar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, researchers have extensively studied the spatial distribution of social demographics and urban tree canopy (UTC) in urban cities, but very few, to this date, address U.S.-Mexico border cities. To date, there is no research that assesses the distribution of urban tree canopy (UTC) in the city of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, along the U.S.- Mexico border. Leveraging advanced mapping techniques and GIS tools, the study performs comparisons between countries (Juárez vs. El Paso urbanized areas and intra-country (within each country). It compares land cover classifications, assesses variations in UTC distribution across census tracts and …

Working In The Shadows: The Impact Of Wage Theft Among Undocumented Workers In El Paso, Texas, Christe Cherie Lattimore-Staple

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The documentary film titled "Working in the Shadows: The Impact of Wage Theft Among Undocumented Workers in El Paso, Texas" sheds light on the pervasive issue of wage theft experienced by undocumented workers in the region. Through personal testimonies, interviews with workers, legal experts, and government officials, the film delves into the challenges faced by undocumented workers who are vulnerable to exploitation due to their legal status.Undocumented workers in El Paso face a host of challenges, including unpaid wages, unsafe working conditions, and fear of retaliation if they assert their rights. The film highlights the critical role of community organizations, …

My Little Poetic/Prose Book Of Words, Sayings, And Stories In Broken Spanish And A Little Bit Of German / Mi Libro Chiquito De Poética / Prosa De Palabras, Dichos, Y Historias Español Fracturado Y Un Poquetito Alemán, Sharon Ann Lucero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank Jonathan Taylor and Sarah Thompson for the wonderful job they did in providing me with feedback. I took into consideration all their comments. Their comments aligned with Dr. Powers, and I really took a deeper look into my Spanish/English translations on whether I should have them or not. I found a happy medium for all of it. I also went back and looked at the rest of the class’s comments and made sure that I did not miss any of the details that were pointed out to me the first time …

The Impact Of The 2002 Economic Crisis On Remittances & Emigration In Uruguay, Abigail Robeson

Honors Theses

Throughout 2002, the Uruguayan peso depreciated by 85 percent, causing an economic crisis and a rise in people searching outward for employment. This increased both the number of remittances received and emigration in an unprecedented way within Uruguay. Reports of remittances, and migration patterns of Uruguayans before 2002 are vastly different from those of the years following. Using quantitative analysis and a variety of data sources, this paper finds that the Uruguayan economic crisis undoubtedly spurred both remittance relevance and emigration in Uruguay. Emigration and remittances concerning Uruguay are seen to be permanently impacted by the crisis – though to …

A World Between: The Macro And Micro-Relationships That Shape The Borderlands, Teresa Digerolamo

Honors Theses

This thesis explores changing border policies, their effects on migrants, and the humanitarian community that has emerged to meet the needs of migrants. Border policy has sought to make the journey through the U.S.-Mexico border perilous and unattractive for travelers, pushing migrants into dangerous terrain known to reach life-threatening extremes in the summer and winter months. Over 8,000 migrants have died since 1998 along the U.S.-Mexico border, and aid groups have emerged to meet the need for life-saving care. The humanitarian community in southern Arizona is active and dynamic, adapting to ever-changing border policy and mobilizing resources year-round. Through reviewing …