Sociology of Culture Commons^™

Letter From The Editor

New and Dangerous Ideas

A summary of the second issue of New and Dangerous Ideas.

Front Cover

New and Dangerous Ideas

Page Image of New and Dangerous Ideas Front Cover.

Two Cents, Sam Avila

New and Dangerous Ideas

I took a Literature class a couple of years ago where we read different poems and short stories that focused on the Civil Rights Movement as well as social justice as a broader theme. I remember reading the poem “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, which magnified the emotions of African-American families in a powerful piece of literature. When I read that piece, I fell in love with writing again and I wanted to share stories through literature.

I wrote this piece because it was a way for me to reflect on a society that can act so hateful towards …

That Is So Gay, Daniel Nemec

New and Dangerous Ideas

The piece I created shows the complex and varied subject that is identity, specifically pertaining to the queer community.

The United States Healthcare System Keeps Failing Black Women, Vanessa Malkia

New and Dangerous Ideas

Writing this piece, I was pushed by the anger I constantly feel anytime I am reminded of the state of black women’s health in our country. As a black woman in a world that constantly reminds black people that we do not matter, hearing about the negative experiences black women face at the hands of healthcare professionals is incredibly frightening. It begs this question to be asked: Where are we safe? Racism (racist beliefs and acts) has real repercussions that sometimes put minoritized groups in deadly situations.

Due to a combination of implicit bias and structural inequalities, black women have …

This Is Not A Woman's Body, Av Binns

New and Dangerous Ideas

I was inspired to create this drawing while learning about the AIDS crisis, and the use of human bodies in acts of civil disobedience calling for government recognition and medical support of people living with AIDS. The queer community, with limited financial and political support, used their bodies for tools of resistance and visibility. Queer bodies were not only tools for marching and blocking streets; they were evidence of the severity of the issue at hand. AIDS was hard to ignore when it was gathered in the streets. Decades later, queer bodies remain an essential tool of advocacy for the …

David Wojnarowicz By Peter Hujar (1981), Kieran Binney

New and Dangerous Ideas

The poem is an ekphrastic piece, meaning it was inspired by a work of art — in this case, a portrait of David Wojnarowicz, photographed by Peter Hujar in 1981. Both Wojnarowicz and Hujar were prominent artists and gay activists in the 1970s and 80s, during the height of the AIDS crisis, and both died of AIDS-related illnesses.

I originally picked this portrait to write about for a class assignment simply because it was a striking image, but as I looked into Wojnarowicz’s background I grew more interested in both his life and the time in which he lived, and …

Like Mother, Like Daughter, Savannah Fox-Tree Mcgrath

New and Dangerous Ideas

My motivation for this piece was to shed light on what it is like growing up with a heritage, knowing it from your experience and family, and yet, having people challenge you your whole life to prove it. No one questions my German, Irish, or Finnish ethnicity, but, since I don’t match the stereotype of a Native American, I am constantly challenged.The image on my painting depicts my twin sister, Indigo, the only one of us five kids to have blonde hair and blue eyes, from my mother’s mother and my father’s mother and father. Having a mother who was …

Would You Be Comfortable Living With Someone Who Identifies As Homophobic?

New and Dangerous Ideas

Entering college for the first time is a very exciting time. You are starting a new chapter of your life, meeting new people, and living independently. While I had the same anxieties that many have over making friends and adjusting to college life, I could not have been prepared for the experience of my freshman year. My first semester at Roger Williams was a very dark time. I cannot express how harmful it is to be excluded and disliked in your living space because of a part of yourself which you cannot change. I was fortunate that I was able …

Artist Statements

New and Dangerous Ideas

Statements of artistic creations and ideas.

What Is The Opportunity Cost And Burden Of Confronting Oppression In And Out Of Classroom?, Beza Tadess

New and Dangerous Ideas

I was inspired to write this piece because at many points in my college career, I have felt exploited by the hands of white patriarchy that deemed the issues that I faced in and out of the classroom as my own to solve. This piece is my heart and intellect in order for me to leave this institution feeling like someone with power will be forced to hear it. I did not write this piece with the intention of inciting pity but rather to start a conversation with the larger university and higher education community about the ways in which …

New And Dangerous Ideas Back Cover

New and Dangerous Ideas

Page Image of New and Dangerous Ideas Back Cover.

Zine Team Advisors And Members Of Faculty Selection Committee

New and Dangerous Ideas

Page image of Zine Team Advisors and Members of Faculty Selection Committee.

A Poem For A Small Town Queer Kid, Indigo Martin

New and Dangerous Ideas

I wrote this piece originally for myself. It was a healing piece about coming to terms with my past and embracing it. Embracing my past is important to me because being discriminated against, being put in violent situations, experiencing microaggressions, and being made to feel like less than a human being has made me stronger. Minoritized people who do social justice work have often experienced some deep trauma. It is important to focus on healing and take care of one’s mental health in order to be able to be activists for social justice.

This piece opens with my experiences being …

Navigating Colorism And Racial Identity In Dominican Women, Christine Hernandez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Colorism has been perpetuated in Dominican culture across generations. That along with a colonial mentality has shaped the racial identity and ideologies of their people. I explore what historical and societal factors play into identity in Dominican women. Additionally, I delve into the history of blackness on the island of Hispañola and how it has led to the perpetuation of colorism. I show how this perpetuation influences the racial self-identity of Dominican women through different forms of media and culture.

Culture Without Borders: Intercultural Awareness Through Interviews And Images From International Asian Students, Zhi Xin Wee

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand and raise awareness of international Asian students’ culture and experiences at Western Michigan University. As an immigrant, I am interested in listening to personal stories about people’s culture and upbringing. I want to give students an opportunity to share their narratives and a chance to help contribute to a better understanding of culture and inclusion on campus.

Through this study, I will explore the unique stories from international Asian students at Western Michigan University to encourage and bring awareness of the many dimensions of diversity. At the end of this research, I …

Ancestry, Indigo Martin

New and Dangerous Ideas

Ancestry websites like 23 and Me or Ancestry.com remove the culture and the meaning behind the concept of ancestry. Ancestry as a concept means looking back at the culture we come from and the ways of life that shaped our ancestors. With queerness, ancestry cannot be traced through bloodlines. It is a passing down of culture through word of mouth. This culture has not been preserved over time but rather erased. This piece is a social commentary on the erased culture of queerness and showing the culture and what has kept it hidden. As someone who identifies as both queer …

Radical Moves: Negotiating Community And Transformation With (Some Of) Sit/South Africa’S Students Of Color, Kavita Sundaram

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Finding its foundations in inquiries of community, knowledge(s), relational truths, and radical transformation, this project wonders specifically how students of color from the School of International Training (SIT)/South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights Spring 2019 semester abroad in Cape Town experience, negotiate with, and envision the potential futures of community/ies in and around the program. My research operates within a socioprogrammatic context which is highly racialized, seeking to listen to, document, and place in conversation the perspectives of our students of color. My meditations ground themselves in the individual and collective narrative(s) of our students of color, explored primarily in …

Social Identity And The Mexican Community, Francesca N. Rizzi

Student Publications

The election of President Trump can be shown to negatively impact the Mexican community through social identity theory. Since his election, President Trump has passed policies controlling immigration and uses harmful language to describe Mexicans, such as rapists and criminals. To investigate the impact that the presidency has had on the Mexican Community the author choose to analyze this influence with social identity theory. Social identity theory proposes that individuals’ self-concept is based on their identification to their ingroup, and when this ingroup (Mexican) is viewed unfavorably by the outgroup (Anglo-American), negative social identity occurs. The author interviewed 16 participants …

Multicultural Narratives: Language As A Site Of Struggle For Amazigh Rights Activism In Morocco, Joyce Lee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Moroccan constitutional monarchy’s officialization of the Amazigh language in 2011 was its response to a building coalition for Amazigh rights, which simultaneously narrowed and broadened the scope of the Amazigh Rights movement. This study’s purpose was to analyze Tamazight as it has currently manifested in the urban space of Rabat as a site of struggle for Amazigh people. The questions the study attempts to answer are: a) Has the Moroccan government found success in its chosen goal of standardization of the Tamazight language in schools? b) Do Amazigh activists share this same goal? c) Whose needs do the goals …

Grime And Spirit: On A Hype!, Monique Charles

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Grime is a genre of Black British music originating from London at the turn of the twenty-first century. In this article, I explore responses to moments of Grime music making and engagement in live performance settings. I make connections between Grime, Black music streams (Lena), Black Atlantic (Gilroy) practices, the Black Public Sphere (Baker) AND how engagements at these intersections are connected to spiritual practice in the context of live performance. The power in Grime live performance settings; where the spiritual is found, connects to the sonic characteristics deployed, embodied and emotive responses and cultural practice. Spirituality, through cultural practice, …

Nationalism And Attitudes Towards Immigration: A Comparison On Ethnic And Civic Nationalism And The Impact On Attitudes Towards Immigrants., Maryta L. Kaber Lewis

Honors Projects

Immigration has been an important topic throughout America’s history. Studies have linked nationalism to attitudes towards immigrants, and literature has repeatedly distinguished different types of nationalism. This study looks at measures of two different types of nationalism (civic and ethnic nationalism) and tests the measures on the impact of attitudes towards immigrants. It was predicted civic and ethnic nationalism would both be predictive of negative attitudes towards immigrants, but that measures of ethnic nationalism would have greater predictive value than measures of civic nationalism. Data was used from the 2014 General Social Survey, with analysis being run using SPSS. Findings …

A Parade Of Identities: Negotiation Of Ethnic Identities In Three New York City Cultural Parades, Julia M. Herrera-Moreno

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“A Parade of Identities” is a digital project that applies social theories of international migration, psychology and cultural anthropology to ethnographic visual data in order to analyze ethnic identity and urban space appropriation found in three of New York City’s cultural parades. The project traces and analyzes the historical meaning and emerging directions in terms of ethnic identity construction, of NYC immigrant parades through the use of the author’s photography and video collections (2012-2018) of St. Patrick’s Day, Columbus Day and Chinese New Year parades, in association with a website and blog via digital humanities’ platform. Additionally, by activating the …

Rituals Of Remaindered Life In The Films Of Kidlat Tahimik, Alison R. Boldero

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Kidlat Tahimik, who achieved international renown during the Marcos regime for his film Perfumed Nightmare (Mababangong Bangungot, 1976), is relatively unknown outside of international film circles. Considered a pioneer of Third Cinema in the Philippines, a radical film movement from Latin America that has since inspired similar movements globally, Tahimik challenged cultural hegemony in a postcolonial, post-World War II Philippines through the production of imperfect films. This paper looks to three of Tahimik's films - Perfumed Nightmare, Turumba (1983), and Why is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow? (Bakit Dilaw Ang Kulay ng Bahaghari, 1994) …

The Perceptions And Effects Of Schools' Names On Black Professional Educators And Their Students, Gregg Suzanne Ferguson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

It is obvious that there is a variety of perspectives that the educational environment needs to sensitively reflect to serve a diverse society equitably. In Southern communities, in particular, distortions of heritage are conflated with local governance that control public money, public memory, public value, public health, and public landscape, including the public school environment and marginalizes further historically marginalized groups. This qualitative study was grounded in critical race and cultural geography theories that examined dominant paradigms in the educational environment which shape identity. This dissertation explored the effect(s) of race and racism in the educational environment from the perspective …

Kata Ostojic, Marija Maracic, Josipa Karaca

SICANJE

No abstract provided.

A Matter Of Life And Def: Poetic Knowledge And The Organic Intellectuals In Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, Anthony Blacksher

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation unpacks the poetry, performances, and the production of Def Poetry Jam to explore how a performative art embodied and confronted racial discourses, including stereotypes and also, addressed the racism, patriotism, and imperialist discourses that circulated after 9/11. Def Poetry Jam contributes to the intellectual capacity of spoken word and performance poetry, and poets as intellectuals, where poets produce and disseminate knowledge, ideas, and data, in the form of narratives, that contribute to critical consciousness. The effectiveness of the series lay in the consistent blurring of entertainment, knowledge, anti-capitalism, and capitalism. This research demonstrates how Def Poetry Jam provided …

Jagoda Duvnjak & Ana Komso, Marija Maracic, Josipa Karaca

SICANJE

No abstract provided.

Two Cultures, One Identity: Biculturalism Of Young Mexican Americans, Janela Aida Salazar

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

The purpose of this study was to explore the daily life of the younger generation of Mexican Americans through a phenomenology design. Specifically, in regard to how the culture-sharing pattern of biculturalism is reflected in their lives and the way they construct their bicultural identity. The study utilized rich qualitative data to paint a clear and descriptive picture of the internal process of biculturalism within eight Mexican American college students. Ultimately, the data analysis aimed to collect and reflect their voices and the stories. This was done through three distinct data methods that complemented each other: interviews (oral), photo elicitation …

Appalachian Diverse Populations, Rosemary Hathaway, Amber Li, Charlotte Hoelke, Tabitha Lowery, Crystal Good, Alyssa Hinton, Kiana Crosby, Majorie M. Fuller, West Virginia University Press

Exhibit Panels

Appalachia has an often hidden history of diverse populations from the late 19th century and beyond. The region has vibrant minority communities who enrich our culture and are imagining new and attainable futures for themselves and for Appalachia. This part of the exhibit showcases only four of many such groups: Indigenous Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and LGBTQ+ Appalachians.