Migration Studies Commons^™

A Qualitative Study Of Immigration Trauma, Posttraumatic Growth, And The College Experience Among Mena Immigrant Students, Braa A. Elkhidir

Dissertations

Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) immigrant students who are seeking to earn a higher education in the United States have to navigate acculturative stressors and systemic barriers. Prior research has focused primarily on the challenges MENA immigrant students experience without deeply exploring how these students adapt and grow. The focus in this qualitative study was to understand how MENA immigrant college students experience and make meaning of their academic journeys. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the academic experiences of seven MENA immigrant college students in the United States and assess how acculturative stressors, personal strengths, coping strategies, and …

Religious Practice And Attitudes Toward Immigration And Racial Justice In America, Amya Douglas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This study aims to understand how Christians’ knowledge of Scripture and involvement in the church have an impact on their social-political views, specifically, racial justice and immigration. By using the survey responses from the 6th wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, more frequent church attendance and reading Scripture were correlated with a greater recognition of racism in terms of being against white supremacy and white nationalism, supporting racial justice when asked about racial gaps, and possessing greater support for immigrants. This study highlights the distinction between religious affiliation and religious practice, and it suggests that certain policy sentiments can be …

The Irrepressible/Irresponsible Trap: Justifying Migrant Deaths At The México-U.S. Border From “Prevention Through Deterrence” To “Operation Lone Star”, Álvaro José Corral, Melissa Adams Corral

School of Political Science, Public Affairs, Legal and Security Studies Faculty Publications

Operation Lone Star (OLS), a state-level effort to fortify the México-U.S. border in Texas, marked an escalation in the U.S. “Prevention Through Deterrence” (PTD) policy. How have politicians and government officials justified the escalation of immigration enforcement tactics despite the futility and lethality of these tools? Our theoretical approach relies on Beltrán’s (2020) critical exploration of migrant cruelty to understand how migrant deaths are embedded in practices of Latinx racialization and the productive quality of punishment (Valdez, 2016). This study offers a critical analysis of government documents, news coverage, and official statements concerning migrant deaths to trace the evolution of …

La Maquiladora De Sueños Is Where The “American Dream” Ends: The Socio-Cultural Impact Of Hai(T)Ijuanenses In The United States-México Borderlands, Pedro Aleman Perfecto

Master's Theses

Historically, Tijuana has been the destination for migrants who have been left out from the United States, Mexico, and the rest of the world. The city is at the epicenter of globalization where many transit, leave, and arrive. Sometimes considered a “third country” due to its binational and bicultural identity with its sister city, San Diego, California. The growing number of Haitian refugees that arrived in Tijuana in the mid 2010s to seek asylum in the United States overwhelmed the city’s infrastructure and left the Haitian community vulnerable, yet it created new opportunities and reshaped new identities in the region. …

Splitting Shores: Comparative Analysis Of Italy’S And Spain’S Reactions To Immigration, William E. Montgomery V

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

The divergence in public immigration sentiment between Italy and Spain, two countries with striking historical, geographic, and demographic similarities, is seen as a mystery for popular theoretical frameworks. Although both nations transitioned from net emigration to net immigration beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, Italy has consistently exhibited more negative attitudes toward immigration relative to the European average, while Spain has seen sustained improvement in immigration sentiment despite receiving immigrants at historically unprecedented levels. Employing a Most Similar Systems Design and drawing on quantitative demographic and survey data, primary legislative texts, and secondary scholarly literature, this thesis tests Group Threat …

The Geography Of Race: A Spatial Analysis Of Free People Of Color In The City Of Charleston (1790-1861), Alexandra Ullman

All Theses

In Charleston, South Carolina, for all but one year from 1790 to 1860, the enslaved and free Black population outnumbered that of the white. Through manumission, the process of an enslaved person gaining their freedom, the free Black population grew substantially and reached a peak in South Carolina during the nineteenth century. This large community of free people of color (FPOC), shifted the social climate by upsetting the balance of white power, thus increasing racial conflict, tension, and legislation that aimed to control the movement of FPOC.

Despite FPOC comprising a significant portion of the total population of Charleston, there …

Finding Luis: A Creative Nonfiction Account Of Law & Society, Jason M. Leggett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This essay explores the contradictions in legal theory and human experience through creative nonfiction. Its main purpose is to argue that a truly just society requires acknowledging the profound influence of individual narratives on the law. This is supported by blending personal narratives, critical analysis, and philosophical inquiry to reveal the gap between codified law and lived realities for marginalized individuals. This unique Legal Poetics methodology employs a series of six vignettes, such as the author's and Luis's shared experiences with traumatic brain injury and the denial of justice, as data. By integrating autoethnography, law as narrative, and performativity theories, …

Corrigendum To “Decolonizing Knowledge As Epistemic Justice: Key Conceptual Tendencies From The Global South” [Tanzania Journal Of Sociology, Vol. 11, Issue No.2, December 2025: 113 - 128], Richard Sambaiga

Tanzania Journal of Sociology

This article registers corrections done to a reference section of "Decolonizing Knowledge as Epistemic Justice: Key Conceptual Tendencies from the Global South” [Tanzania Journal of Sociology, Vol. 11, Issue No.2, December 2025: 113 - 128]

The Vagabond Way: A Qualitative Study Of Intentional Non-Participation In Structured Society, Lorena E. Black

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study analyzes intentional vagabondage as both a philosophical position and a lived critique of structured society. Using qualitative fieldwork conducted at Fairlawn Family Church in Fort Pierce, Florida—including ten semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and grounded theory analysis—the study examines how individuals who voluntarily disengage from formal systems of housing, labor, and legality construct meaning, identity, and stability beyond institutional boundaries. The analysis identifies three central themes: rhythm, referring to the patterned routines that sustain mobility; reciprocity, which characterizes social exchange and support networks; and refusal, expressed as a deliberate rejection of societal expectations. While many participants describe their paths …

Enduring The American Dream, Edward Grattan

Capstones

Martha and Rene - both Colombian nationals – have made the difficult decision to self-deport from the United States in the midst of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented immigration crackdown and deportation campaign. After working as day laborers in The Hamptons, New York for nearly eight years, the couple shares their experience of leaving their current life behind as anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy escalates across the country.

The Trump administration has transformed the landscape for immigrants living in the United States, regardless of documentation status, by eliminating paths for legal residency, charging The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency with …

Book Review: Ecologies Of Inequity. How Disaster Response Reconstitutes Race And Class Inequality, Abel Traslaviña-Arias

Critical Disaster Studies

In Ecologies of Inequity: How Disaster Response Reconstitutes Race and Class Inequality, Sancha Doxilly Medwinter gathered diverse stories about how various migrant communities had to overcome not only disaster but also the overlapping networks established by those who were supposed to support them in 2012 in New York City. Medwinter portrays this contested post-disaster landscape through a thorough data recording of 120 individuals affiliated with various groups: racialized migrants or locals, tenants or property owners, local or external helpers, and those from wealthy or impoverished backgrounds. Ecologies of Inequity refer to the spatialized networks of organizational and interpersonal relations …

Undergraduate Awareness Of Sexual Harassment Law In Tanzania's Higher Learning Institutions: Case Studies Of Two Universities, Salma Ramadhan Fundi Phd Candidate

Tanzania Journal of Sociology

This study examines undergraduate students' awareness of legal provisions and guidelines concerning sexual harassment in Tanzanian higher education, focusing on the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and the Open University of Tanzania (OUT) as case studies. Sexual harassment significantly impacts students’ well-being, safety, and academic success. Despite the existence of legal frameworks, students' knowledge of these provisions is often limited. The study employed a qualitative approach with a phenomenological research design to explore students’ experiences and perceptions of harassment policies. This design allowed participants to share the meanings they attach to their experiences and how such policies are understood …

Mountain Communities During A Time Of War: A Case Study Of The Hutsul Region In The Carpathian Mountains Of Ukraine, Pavlo Rybaruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the ethno-ecological technologies employed by the Hutsul people within the highland agrarian economy of the Carpathian Mountains. Over centuries, the Hutsuls have developed ethno-ecological technologies that maintain ecological integrity while supporting community livelihoods.

The study addresses three primary research questions: What are the most important ethno-ecological technologies of the Hutsul highland economy? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be applied to economic, agricultural, and tourism development in the Hutsul region? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be combined with contemporary approaches to encourage sustainable development in the region?

The research explores the devastating impact of the Russian …

9th Gsep Research Symposium - 2025

GSEP Research Symposium

The Ninth Annual GSEP Research Symposium, themed "Building Bridges to Elevate Humanity: Innovations and Insights in Education and Psychology", was hosted by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) on June 19–20, 2025, at the historic Château d’Hauteville in Switzerland and virtually via Zoom.

This hybrid symposium convened a vibrant global community of students, alumni, faculty, and scholars to share research that addresses real-world challenges, advances scholarly inquiry, and builds pathways for inclusive collaboration and leadership. Spanning a wide array of topics—from artificial intelligence and mental health to trauma-informed practices, educational equity, social justice, and cross-cultural leadership—the …

Arts & Literature: The Destruction Of Smyrna In 1922: A Conversation With Petros Pourliakas, Author Of Salty Silk, Petros Pourliakas

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

In 1922, the once-cosmopolitan city of Smyrna—modern-day Izmir—was engulfed in flames, marking the end of a centuries-long Hellenic presence in Asia Minor. The catastrophe, which followed the Greco-Turkish War and occurred amidst the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of hundreds of thousands more. In his 2022 book Salty Silk, Greek author Petros Pourliakas recounts the tragedy, focusing on the humanitarian heroism that emerged in the midst of horror. I spoke with Pourliakas about his research, the moral complexities of recounting a national trauma, and the legacy of a …

Global Constructions Of Gender, Sexuality, And Migration: An Analysis Of Five Immigrant Memoirs, Grace Halvorson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone analyzes five memoirs by LGBTQ+ migrants—Jose Antonio Vargas, Edafe Okporo, Staceyann Chin, Danny Ramadan, and Samra Habib—to explore how governments weaponize gender and sexual orientation to construct national identity and exert control over both citizens and migrants. Their diverse migration experiences highlight how “gender border control” operates across families, communities, and national government systems, reinforcing heteronormative structures that regulate queer identities. My analysis of their memoirs reveals how both formal tools, such as immigration policies, and informal tools, such as social exclusion, make individuals outside heteronormative identity categories susceptible to state and societal violence. These personal narratives shed …

‘Casar Public Lecture: 100 Days Of Trump: America, The Middle East, And Beyond’, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

The entire world is literally getting new updates about Trump's internal & external policies almost everyday now....can you imagine that we are still yet to reach 100 days?? USAID cuts, Chinese and Canadian Tariffs, DEI revokes, Gaza War, Ukraine War, the case of Iran, National Economic Emergency in the US, ICE arrests in the US & so much more to discuss.....Trump's policies impact the US as well as everywhere in the world, but what are the repercussions so far?

Speakers: From AUC: Dr. Sean Lee, Assistant Professor, Political Science Department - Amb. Dr.Alaa El-Hadidi , CASAR Adjunct Professor.

The panel …

The Beautiful Game On A Muslim Pitch: How Football And Religion Are Shaping Identity And Society, Aaron W. Hughes, Leif Stenberg

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Examines how football and religion act together to shape both identity and society in Muslim contexts.

This book showcases how football and religion are becoming increasingly interlinked in Muslim contexts in order to interact with and influence both identity and society. The first part of the volume is devoted to issues of identity, showing how football aids in its construction, maintenance and subversion. The second part reveals the deep-rooted connections between football and political and religious establishments by demonstrating how these organisations frequently use the game to disseminate or propagate their larger messages.

Altogether, the contributors reveal how football has …

Recollections Of A Tejana Life, Carolina Yáñez

Art Theses and Dissertations

This thesis encompasses the life of a young woman navigating life in Texas through various political and social barriers. My interdisciplinary practice analyzes the historical context of Mexicans in Texas from its Revolutionary period into current injustices. Through fiber, printmaking, and photography I create a visual diary to illustrate what the political has made personal. These works display the beauty of Tejano culture, but also the power struggles that threaten communities I care for, as well as my own existence that persists against far-right wing agendas.

Current politics and government leadership in Texas have inspired me to make artwork calling …

Dekonstruktion Der Afd: Eine Analyse Der Rechtspopulistischen Deutschen Partei Der„Alternative Für Deutschland”, Elizabeth A. Breckenridge, Elizabeth Breckenridge

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Die Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) ist eine rechtsextreme populistische Partei, die innerhalb eines Jahrzehnts rasch an Macht gewonnen hat, insbesondere in den ostdeutschen Bundesländern, aufgrund ihrer Betonung der Nationalisierung, ihrer populistischen Rhetorik und ihrer Anziehungskraft auf Wähler, die Ängste vor Einwanderung und kulturellem Wandel hegen. Die AfD hat es innerhalb von fünf Jahren geschafft, eine starke Wählerschaft zu mobilisieren, 2017 Sitze im Bundestag zu erringen und gilt nun als wichtigste Oppositionspartei zu den etablierten Parteien. Die AfD ist die erste rechte Partei seit 1945, die aufgrund des Aufstiegs rechtspolitischer Ideologien bedeutende Wahlerfolge erzielen konnte. Aufgrund des reaktionären Pendelschwungs nach dem …

Violent Infrastructure: Natural And Unnatural Barriers To Climate Migration, Walden Hicks

Global Tides

This paper attempts to compare and contrast the impact of immigration policy on climate migrants in three Global North countries, Italy, the United States, and New Zealand. Climate migration will continue to be one of the most significant international concerns as global temperatures increase and previously habitable areas of the globe become uninhabitable. Climate migrants are forced to migrate for a variety of reasons due to climate change, including sea level rise, famine, rising temperatures, drought, and natural disaster. Global North countries must begin to transform their immigration systems towards climate justice and acceptance for climate migrants or communities will …

Deconstructing The Afd: An Analysis Of The German Right-Wing Populist Political Party, The Alternative For Germany (Vchc Poster), Elizabeth A. Breckenridge

Research and Creativity Symposium

The Alternativ für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) (AfD) is a far-right populist party that has quickly grown in power within the past decade, particularly in Eastern German states, due to its emphasis on nationalization, populist rhetoric, and attraction to voters’ fears about immigration and cultural change. The AfD has managed to mobilize strong voting support within five years, gaining parliamentary seats in the Bundestag (Federal Parliament) in 2017, and is now considered the main opposition party to the established parties. The AfD is the first right-wing party to gain significant voting attention since 1945, capitalizing on the rise of right-wing …

A Study Of The Intra-Government Conflictual Approach In The Management Of The Herdsmen-Farmers Conflict-Induced Internal Displacement In Benue State, Nigeria, Rita Iorbo

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

Abstract

The management of the herdsmen-farmers conflict-induced internal displacement in Benue State, Nigeria was characterized by the conflictual approach of the Benue State government and disagreement over displacement data by humanitarian agencies. The study explored the inter-connected relationship among stakeholders within the humanitarian eco-system and its effects on protection measures and durable solutions for the conflict-induced displacement crisis. The qualitative study was conducted among twenty-three adult females and males comprising internally displaced persons (IDPs), and humanitarian workers in the government and non-governmental humanitarian sectors. The study findings show that though the herdsmen-farmers conflict accounts for mass population displacement, loss of …

Campesino World-Building: Stories Of Migration, Memory, And Care In The Tension Of The Colonial Frame, Chelsea Ríos Gómez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Campesinos, often reduced to the label of “farmworkers”, are too often seen only through the lens of their labor within profit-driven systems. This thesis disrupts that limited narrative by illuminating the rich, expansive nature of vivencias campesinas, ways of being that transcend capitalist measures of value. These vivencias are lived, embodied experiences rooted in campesino lifeways, encompassing cultural, spiritual, and relational practices that nurture and sustain life.

My research is guided by four central questions: (1) In what ways have campesinos in pixley resisted exploitative labor systems, and how can this resistance be understood as a form of care labor? …

Transnational Legal Violence: Undocumented Women V. U.S. Immigration Law, Luis A. Mendoza

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines how undocumented women, particularly Latinas, experience "transnational legal violence" within the U.S. immigration system. Transnational legal violence extends the framework of legal violence by identifying how immigration policies weaponize absence and distance across national boundaries, forcing women to choose between physical safety and legal recognition. The thesis is guided by a central question: What immigration system are migrant women, specifically Latinas, responding to?

The analysis rooted in the intersections of gender and citizenship reveals how immigration law remains rooted in coverture traditions that historically rendered immigrant women dependent on male U.S. citizens. For these women, deportation presents …

Unmasking Male Voices In Woman Hollering Creek: Contributions To Pedagogy And Masculinity Studies, Ramón Javier Guerra, Joan Latchaw

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

In teaching Sandra Cisneros’ Woman Hollering Creek to undergraduates, we have developed a sociocultural and historical framework, beginning with the theoretical work of Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands and the concept of transfrontera feminism. With incidents of seduction and sexual abuse of women, spousal abuse, and patriarchal family structures, the collection of stories strongly indicates the oppressive representation of machismo. Scholars and teachers have drawn important critiques of Cisneros’s work based on destructive sociocultural forces on women. However, in rereading the text with an intended focus on the representations of male characters, we have surmised that Cisneros structured the stories in the …

Claiming The Right To Belong: Diversity And The Politics Of Inclusion In Queens, New York, Susan J. Tanenbaum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines social integration in a diverse civic and political mainstream. The social science research on intergroup contact in U.S. cities undergoing significant demographic change tends to focus on encounters between members of majority “in-groups” and minority “out-groups” in the context of workplaces, neighborhoods, and families. I contend that civic politics is another compelling strategic site for observing intergroup contact between emerging and established players. My study presents three cases of claims-making activity during the post-9/11 period in New York City’s borough of Queens, where close to 50% of the population is foreign-born and no single racial group predominates. …

Human Trafficking Screening Tools Amongst Migrants And Refugees: Current Tools And Future Outlooks, Audra Fox

Student Theses

While various human trafficking screening tools exist to help stakeholders identify indicators and risk of trafficking, few tools are designed specifically for use amongst migrants and refugees. Via interviews with anti-trafficking stakeholders, the following qualitative study describes what tools stakeholders currently use to asses trafficking amongst migrants and refugee, and if stakeholders desire a new tool specific for migrant/refugee populations. Thematic results indicate that most stakeholders are not using validated tools for trafficking victims, let alone migrants and refugees (n=5, 38.5%). Of the total sample, 62% of participants (n=8) reported various screening discrepancies across stakeholders. Additionally, …

A Dream No Longer Deferred: The Power And Limits Of Conditional Integration On The Social Mobility Of Undocumented Young Adults, Hyein Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Who are undocumented college graduates and how do they transition into the workforce upon graduation? This dissertation examines the diverse trajectories and social mobility patterns of 1.5 generation, undocumented Latinos, Asians and blacks with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or the “truly undocumented” across the country. Although millions of undocumented young adults, closely resembling their 1.5 generation, documented peers are coming of age firmly rooted in American society, little is known about this population due to the lack of credible data. This project employs a mixed methods approach to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data …

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 …