Race and Ethnicity Commons^™

Torch (January/February 2012), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Study Guide For United In Anger: A History Of Act Up, Matt Brim

Open Educational Resources

The United in Anger Study Guide facilitates classroom and activist engagement with Jim Hubbard’s 2012 documentary, United in Anger: A History of ACT UP. The Study Guide contains discussion sections, projects and exercises, and resources for further research about the activism of the New York chapter of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). The Study Guide is a free, interactive, multimedia resource for understanding the legacy of ACT UP, the film’s role in preserving that legacy, and its meaning for viewers' lives.

Discursive Fault Lines: Reproducing White Habitus In A Racially Diverse Community, Meghan Burke

Scholarship

This is a qualitative study detailing the links between racial discourse and social action. Specifically, this article provides evidence for the ways in which a white habitus is reproduced in a racially diverse community, despite the best intentions of its community members. This is chiefly due to the influence of national color-blind ideologies and the diversity discourse that follows. Because this ideology and discourse are individual in nature and centered on a white norm, it chiefly produces consumption-driven actions for individuals and collective action that protects those with racial privilege. While prior studies have detailed the influence of this ideology …

How Porous Are The Walls That Separate Us?: Transformative Service-Learning, Women’S Incarceration, And The Unsettled Self, Coralynn V. Davis, Carol Wayne White

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article, we refine a politics of thinking from the margins by exploring a pedagogical model that advances transformative notions of service learning as social justice teaching. Drawing on a recent course we taught involving both incarcerated women and traditional college students, we contend that when communication among differentiated and stratified parties occurs, one possible result is not just a view of the other but also a transformation of the self and other. More specifically, we suggest that an engaged feminist praxis of teaching incarcerated women together with college students helps illuminate the porous nature of fixed markers that …

Attitudes Toward Marriage, Divorce, Cohabitation, And Casual Sex Among Working-Age Latinos: Does Religion Matter?, Christopher G. Ellison, Nicholas H. Wolfinger, Aida I. Ramos-Wada

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

The rapid growth of the Latino population in the United States has renewed interest in Latino family research. It has often been assumed that Catholicism is a key factor influencing Latinos’ attitudes toward the family, despite the fact that nearly one third of Latinos are not Catholic. This article uses data from the 2006 National Survey of Religion and Family Life, a survey of working-age adults (aged 18-59 years) in the lower 48 states, to explore the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity—denomination, church attendance, prayer, and beliefs about the Bible—and Latinos’ attitudes regarding marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and casual sex. …

Sociology By Any Other Name: Teaching The Sociological Perspective In Campus Diversity Programs, Meghan Burke, Kira Hudson Banks

Scholarship

This article suggests that the way in to sociology may not always be through the front door. The authors demonstrate how students in a three-day campus diversity program develop a sociological imagination despite not having a formal affiliation with the sociology department. In particular, students demonstrate a move from color blindness into racial consciousness and a shift from individual prejudice into institutional privilege when understanding both diversity issues and their own personal biographies. In short, despite not knowing the phrase, they develop a sociological imagination. While the goal is not to diminish the significance of traditional sociology classrooms, the authors …

"Spectacular Opacities": The Hyers Sisters' Performances Of Respectability And Resistance, Jocelyn Buckner

Theatre Faculty Articles and Research

This essay analyzes the Hyers Sisters, a Reconstruction-era African American sister act, and their radical efforts to transcend social limits of gender, class, and race in their early concert careers and three major productions, Out of Bondage and Peculiar Sam, or The Underground Railroad, two slavery-to-freedom epics, and Urlina, the African Princess, the first known African American play set in Africa. At a time when serious, realistic roles and romantic plotlines featuring black actors were nearly nonexistent due to the country’s appetite for stereotypical caricatures, the Hyers Sisters used gender passing to perform opposite one another as heterosexual lovers in …

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum, Volume One, Issue One, Shane Willson, Landon S. Bevier, Rachael E. Gabriel, Taylor Krcek, Alaina Elizabeth Smith

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

It is with great pride that we present to you the inaugural issue of Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum. Here we have attempted to create an innovative, peer-reviewed space in which people from numerous disciplines, or even those claiming no discipline, can present research, multimedia, and art aimed at furthering the ideals of social justice, broadly defined. Social justice is not a concept owned by the academy, for attempts to create a more just world can come from many professions, or even from no profession at all. By applying the traditionally academic peer-review process to work done by activists, artists, …

Torch (November/December 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Everybody’S Doin’ It (Right?): Neighborhood Norms And Sexual Activity In Adolescence, Tara D. Warner, Peggy C. Giordano, Wendy D. Manning, Monica A. Longmore

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

A neighborhood’s normative climate is linked to, but conceptually distinct from, its structural characteristics such as poverty and racial/ethnic composition. Given the deleterious consequences of early sexual activity for adolescent health and well-being, it is important to assess normative influences on youth behaviors such as sexual debut, number of sex partners, and involvement in casual sexual experiences. The current study moves beyond prior research by constructing a measure of normative climate that more fully captures neighborhood norms, and analyzing the influence of normative climate on behavior in a longitudinal framework. Using recently geo-coded data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study …

White Thugs & Black Bodies: A Comparison Of The Portrayal Of African-American Women In Hip-Hop Videos, Ladel Lewis

The Hilltop Review

The continued appearance of African-American women as performers in rap and/or hip-hop videos has called attention to the male gaze1 and the ways in which young African-American women negotiate their sexuality. The most popular music videos of Caucasian and African-American hip-hop artists from 2003-2005 were analyzed and compared to determine the levels of sexism between the two cultures. With these videos, this study replicated a qualitative content analysis from another study that identified three prominent characteristics: (1) the level of sexism; (2) the presence of intimate touch and/the presence of alluring attire; and (3) which race portrayed women in a …

Torch (September/October 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

“An Ill-Bred Lady With A Great Big Chip On Her Shoulder”: Gender And Race In Mainstream And Black Press Coverage Of Eartha Kitt’S 1968 White House Dissent, Sarah Janel Jackson

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

An analysis of mainstream and black press coverage of Eartha Kitt’s January 1968 White House dissent on the Vietnam War is presented. Of particular interest is the way journalists constructed Kitt’s dissent for their audiences within intersecting discourses of gender and race. Findings reveal that mainstream journalists tended to undermine Kitt’s dissent by representing her within a gendered racial binary that denied her access to definitions of true womanhood. At the same time, despite presenting more explicit sexual objectification of the actress, journalists in the black press allowed her dissent legitimacy, challenging mainstream discourses.

A History Of Jewish Mothers On Television: Decoding The Tenacious Stereotype, Myrna Hant

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

Since the inception of television in the 1940’s the stereotype of the Jewish mother has persisted. This archetypal figure continues into the 21st. Century morphing from a purely ethnic figure to an icon depicting ambivalence about modern motherhood. In deconstructing the perpetuation of this portrait, two components are key: the historical significance of the shtetl mother and the writers and comedians who interpret the shtetl mentality. Most importantly, though, the inconsistencies towards mothers, so strongly birthed in the rise of Second Wave feminism, are still embedded in the Jewish mother stereotype.

Torch (June 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Race And Gender Differences And The Role Of Sexual Attitudes In Adolescent Sexual Behavior, Laura E. Simon

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Attitudes towards premarital sex have become more permissive in the past fifty years and adolescent sexual behavior reflects this attitudinal trend. The majority of adolescents are having sex prior to marriage and many adolescents are having sexual intercourse outside of committed relationships. Sexual behavioral trends vary by race and gender adding further intricacies in understanding adolescent sexuality. Past research examining adolescent sexual behavior has not examined the role of sexual attitudes in sexual behavior and the potential differences by race and gender. I draw on the Theory of Reasoned Action to further the understanding of the role of sexual attitudes …

Who Wants To Have A Career In Science Or Math? Exploring Adolescents’ Future Aspirations By Gender And Race/Ethnicity, Catherine Riegle-Crumb, Chelsea Moore, Aida Ramos-Wada

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Our study utilizes data from a national cohort of eighth-grade students to consider how different gender and racial/ethnic subgroups compare to White males in their likelihood to aspire toward a science or math occupation and examine the roles that self-concept, enjoyment, and achievement may play in shaping disparities at this early point in occupational trajectories. We find that the importance of enjoyment, self-concept, and achievement in explaining disparities in science career aspirations relative to White males varies according to the female subgroup considered, such that no singular story applies to females across different racial/ethnic backgrounds. For math, White and Hispanic …

Torch (April/May 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Pre-Dispositional Juvenile Detention: Race Gender And Intersectionality, Jennifer Lee Gebler

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This research examines disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in a court service unit (CSU) in Virginia which has been implementing the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) program since 2005. Using three years of intake data, the study also explores the impact of race and gender on the likelihood of receiving pre-dispositional secure detention. Finally, using intersectionality theory, the study analyzes the joint impact of being non-white and female on the pre-dispositional detention outcome. In this CSU, non-whites were found to be overrepresented in secure detention indicating the presence of DMC. In the multivariate model, race was not found to be a …

Torch (March 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Torch (February 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Religion And Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage Among U.S. Latinos, Christopher G. Ellison, Gabriel A. Acevedo, Aida I. Ramos-Wada

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Objectives. This study examines links between multiple aspects of religious involvement and attitudes toward same-sex marriage among U.S. Latinos. The primary focus is on variations by affiliation and participation, but the possible mediating roles of biblical beliefs, clergy cues, and the role of religion in shaping political views are also considered.

Methods. We use binary logistic regression models to analyze data from a large nationwide sample of U.S. Latinos conducted by the Pew Hispanic Forum in late 2006.

Results. Findings highlight the strong opposition to same-sex marriage among Latino evangelical (or conservative) Protestants and members of sectarian groups (e.g., LDS), …

The Angel And The Imp: The Duncan Sisters’ Performances Of Race And Gender, Jocelyn Buckner

Theatre Faculty Articles and Research

From 1923 to 1959 Vivian and Rosetta Duncan performed the show Topsy and Eva in front of thousands of audiences in the United States and abroad. This essay examines how the Duncan Sisters’ appropriation of blackness through a yin and yang performance of black and white womanhood, their sexualized but ultimately infantilizing routine as young girls, and their take on anarchistic comedy resulted in a particular spin on age, gender, race, and sexuality that reinforced their privilege as white women even while it pushed the boundaries of acceptable femininity in the swiftly shifting American culture of the first half of …

Torch (January 2011), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Early Maladaptive Schemas And Negative Eating Attitudes: The Moderating Role Of Acculturation In Latina College Students, Stacey Cardoz Lopez

Theses Digitization Project

The current study focused on the prevalence of negative eating attitudes in one hundred and forty-five Latina college students and delineated the cognitive and cultural factors that may be responsible for the increase in negative eating attitudes (NEAT) in Latinas. Questionnaires were distributed to college students enrolled in various social science classes in undergraduate psychology courses at Cal State University, San Bernardino for extra course credit.

Brotherly Love: Homosociality And Black Masculinity In Gangsta Rap Music., Matthew Oware

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Hip hop, specifically gangsta rap music, reflects a stereotypical black masculine aesthetic. The notion of a strong black male--irreverent, angry, defiant and many times violent--is pervasive in gangsta rap music. This badman trope, as characterized by Robin Kelley (1996), oftentimes encompasses hypermasculinity, misogyny, and homophobia. It should come as no surprise that this genre of rap music is rife with sexist themes and lyrics. Yet, what has not been fully explored are the progressive ways that male rappers express themselves towards others considered comrades or "homies." Homosociality (Bird 1996; Sedgwick 1995), non-sexual positive social bonds, exists in gangsta …

Noticias De Naccs, Vol. 39, No. 4, December 2010, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

Noticias de NACCS Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Demographic Analysis Of Recovery Act Supported Jobs In Massachusetts, Quarters 1 And 2, 2010, David Sparks, Paige Ransford, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Christian Weller, Meryl Thomson, Robert Turner

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Massachusetts policy makers decided to go beyond existing ARRA federal reporting requirements and collect additional data in order to gauge the effectiveness of ARRA’s fiscal policy by counting the number of individuals who have received an ARRA-funded paycheck. In addition, policy makers wanted to look at some of the demographic characteristics of this population. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the data that the MA Recovery Office collected during the first and second quarters of 2010, with a particular focus on job creation and retention by race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, and geographic location.

Highlights of the report include: …

Torch (November/December 2010), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Facing Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Paige Ransford

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Since its launch in 2008, Commonwealth Compact has grown steadily, employing several strategies to promote diversity statewide. The Benchmarks initiative has collected data, analyzed in this report, on a significant portion of the state workforce. Guided by Stephen Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, Commonwealth Compact has conducted newsmaking surveys of public opinion and of boards of directors statewide. In addition, it has convened ongoing coalitions with its higher education partners, and established a collaborative of local business schools aimed specifically at increasing faculty diversity. The Compact has sponsored or co-sponsored …