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The Body and Violence in Guatemala: Impacts of Colonial Violence on Mayan Women and Their Access to Maternal Care
No full textThe Guatemalan Civil War was three-decades of genocide defined by terror and violence inflicted onto the Indigenous Maya of the country through murder, sexual violence, displacement, and cultural massacre. The impact and aftermath of this period is particularly apparent within the reproductive and maternal care of Indigenous Maya women and the effort to control their ability to reproduce and build community. This thesis examines the aftermath of the war on women’s reproduction choice. Even with the restructuring of healthcare systems coming with the signing of the peace accords, neoliberal health policies have lacked cultural regard for Mayan birth practices and the continued trauma rooted in years of genocidal violence. The result has been care which has become neither accessible nor beneficial for Indigenous communities. Reproductive justice and access to reproductive and maternal care must be understood from a culturally aware and interdisciplinary lens that examines not only what western health practices are actually accessible to Mayan women, but the cultural, political, and social implications embedded in reproduction and medicine. Better care will require medical personnel and global health programming with an understanding of the historical violence perpetrated against Mayan bodies, the ways in which that violence continues today, the importance of cultural practices, midwifery, and community in Mayan birth practices, and the impact of the movement of Mayan bodies through internal and external migration all whilst centering the voices of Indigenous peoples
A Feast For The Eyes: Convergences Of Labor, Food, And Art Across The U.S.-Mexico Border
No full textThis thesis investigates how artistic representations of food serve as a medium for reclaiming cultural identity and rendering visible the often-invisible labor behind food production within Latinx and Chicanx communities. Drawing from the work of contemporary artist Narsiso Martinez and the Royal Chicano Air Force’s Calendario de Comida (1976), this project explores the full cycle of food—from cultivation to consumption. Inspired by borderlands theorist Gloria Anzaldúa’s articulation of art and food as vehicles for cultural continuity and resistance, the analysis centers on figural representation as a tool for confronting systemic erasure and oppression.
Using an interdisciplinary methodology that includes art historical research, cultural theory, and oral testimony, the thesis situates the work of Martinez and the RCAF within broader narratives of migration, labor, and community organizing. Martinez’s multimedia portraits highlight the humanity and vulnerability of farmworkers—often marginalized in dominant discourse—while RCAF’s depictions of traditional dishes celebrate the histories and identities embedded in food preparation. Together, these artworks challenge hegemonic representations of the U.S.-Mexico border and offer a powerful visual pedagogy of resistance.
By framing the thesis around the food cycle, the study underscores the persistent exploitation and racialized invisibility within the agricultural industry, even as Latinx cuisine gains cultural recognition. This project connects conversations in Chicanx studies, borderlands theory, and art history by emphasizing food as a potent channel of cultural expression, memory, and social justice through the artistic creations it inspires
RELIEF, ALIENATION, IDENTITY FORMATION: Heterogeneous Narratives of Lower-Support-Needs Autistic Adults in Christian and Jewish Religious Contexts
No full textThis thesis attempts to broaden the range of literature about how sociocultural environments influence autistic behavior through an assessment of autistic adults’ religious narratives concerning different varieties of Christian and Jewish religious space in the United States. I conclude that low-support needs autistic individuals in the United States represented by my interviewees actively seek to enter, leave, and assess their participation in Christian and Jewish space through reasonings and stories arguably as diverse as their non-autistic counterparts, despite frequent generalizations from cognitive science and religion scholars alike. Like many non-autistics, they are often drawn to religious beliefs and communities as a means of relief from the daily pressures of the secular world. In the autistic-specific context my interviewees relayed, this primarily includes relief from confusing and restrictive social interaction rules, comfort amidst frequent sensory and emotional overload, and - for members of politicized ethnic groups - relief from the multiple burdens of assimilation into a white, culturally Protestant and neurotypical-dominant society. However, autistic hypersensitivity also means that they may more quickly leave religious communities when these relief needs are not met
Black Femmes Online!
No full textBlack Femmes Online!
Adobe Premiere, Illustrator, Photoshop
Inspired by Qualesha Woods, Manic Pixie Magical Negro, and Dara Birnbaum\u27s piece Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978-79), this two-channel video art piece uses Adobe Premiere, Illustrator, and Photoshop to discuss the historic hypersexualization of Black Femmes and how these beliefs translate into digital spaces. Through my use of found footage and research on this deeply prejudiced history, my piece highlights how prevalent this hypersexualization is in seemingly neutral online spaces.
Both channels solely possess found video and audio clips. The first channel investigates how this sexualization appears in modern-day internet spaces. My second video addresses the foundations of this objectification and its ties to the transatlantic slave trade. Within this piece, I also investigate the intentional and historic practice of reclaiming Black bodies
Unearthing Historical Memory: Parallel Mothers and the Politics of Remembrance
No full textThis thesis will situate Pedro Almodóvar\u27s 2021 film Parallel Mothers within the broader context of Spanish history and cinema while drawing on theory from memory studies, media studies, and sociology to provide an analysis of the ways that Parallel Mothers engages and generates audience engagement with historical memory. I will examine the unique visual and narrative strategies that the film deploys in its engagement with memory, reflect on the film’s contributions to the (re)construction of historical memory, and consider the political potential that this film holds in a contemporary context. I argue that the film is a radical departure from any prior film dealing with the Spanish Civil War and that—through its narrative structure, invocation of postmemory, and usage of spectral realism—it serves as a site to reconstitute historical memory and inspire political action towards restorative justice
TOUCH SCREEN USE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD: AN EXAMINATION OF COGNITIVE IMPLICATIONS
No full textGiven the prevalence of touch screen use in early childhood, the purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between touch screen use during ages one to three on cognitive ability and reading comprehension in children aged six. Previous research has explored the cognitive implications of increased television watching in early childhood; however, less is known about the role of touch screen use on cognitive performance at age six. Reading integrates the cognitive skills of maintaining attention and working memory. In the proposed study, parents will complete a questionnaire regarding demographic information as well as their child’s touch screen usage from ages one to three, a pivotal time for cognitive development. This study hypothesizes that time on a touch screen device will be negatively associated with cognitive performance and reading skills. The findings from this study will inform parental guidelines and educational practices concerning technology as well as validate pediatrician recommendations of limiting touch screen time for infants
La Diglossie et l’enseignement de la langue amazighe au Maroc
Get PDFL\u27école joue un rôle essentiel dans la formation de la personnalité et le développement cognitif de l\u27enfant, en complément de la famille. Ces deux institutions forment la base principale de la socialisation, à travers les interactions familiales d\u27une part et le milieu scolaire d\u27autre part. Cet article examine l’enseignement de l’amazighe standard (AS) dans les écoles marocaines, perçu comme une langue artificielle avec un métalangage souvent méconnu des locutrices et locuteurs amazighophones. Les supports pédagogiques sont présentés non seulement dans une variante autre que Tamazight, mais aussi dans une langue standardisée comportant un nouveau lexique, créant ainsi une situation de diglossie où la langue maternelle est progressivement supplantée. Nous analyserons l’impact de cette métalangue sur les dynamiques linguistiques au Maroc, en particulier sur le statut de l\u27amazighe. De plus, nous étudierons les problématiques liées à cette standardisation et son influence sur le lexique scolaire ainsi que sur l’usage linguistique des élèves
The Dirt Underneath My Fingernails: The American Pastoral and 21st-Century Food System Reform
Get PDFThe following is an amalgamation of my experiences personally and vested interests academically, and is meant to be read as just that. As a thesis that combines Environmental Analysis and Writing & Rhetoric degrees, this project challenges traditional academic forms by integrating creative nonfiction and poetry with academic writing and analysis. This thesis attempts to fuse the academic and personal essay into one cohesive piece. The inconclusive nature of the narratives and explorations that follow are intended to represent my process in grappling with the histories and significance of American pastoral literature through the ways in which this genre has shown up in my life both rhetorically and physically. I examine pastoral nostalgia, acknowledging its significance and tight grip, while also attempting to push past it through my own writings. However, by way of its format as semi-fragmented narratives, I also hope to illuminate the impossibility inherent in presenting my work and my current, inconclusive thoughts as a neatly wrapped parcel. I intend for this work to be read as a creative exploration of farmland as a contested and crucial landscape, ultimately underscoring the act of writing as a way to renegotiate and steward these environments that, in one way or another, are tangled up in all of us
In It for the Long Haul: Long-Haul Trucking and the American Myth
Get PDFIn It for the Long Haul: Long-Haul Trucking and the American Myth explores the intersection of culture, economics, and politics in the world of trucking, using the freight industry as a case study to interrogate the promises and failures of the American Dream. This thesis examines how the myth of trucking—framed as a pathway to freedom, prosperity, and autonomy—collides with the lived realities of truck drivers, who face economic precarity, corporate exploitation, and intense personal sacrifice.
Through an analysis of deregulation, industry practices, and the persistence of the myth in public consciousness, this work exposes how the romanticized ideals of the American Dream obscure the structural inequalities embedded in the industry. By juxtaposing the myth of trucking with its realities, this thesis reveals the broader implications of a national narrative that promises success through hard work while ignoring the systemic barriers to achieving it
Thanks a Million ... Doctor Salk : Public Reception of Jonas Salk as a Cold War Scientist
No full textIn 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk became the most famous scientist in the United States when he developed a successful vaccine against polio, a devastating disease which had terrified the American public since the turn of the century. Using contemporary reports as well as fan mail received by Dr. Salk from within five years of the vaccine\u27s invention, this study explores the public reception of Salk and how the public used Salk as a framework for reinterpreting the ideal scientist, the role of science in society, and science in the Cold War moment