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Freedom of Choice or Reproductive Responsibility? Neoliberal Feminism and the Biopolitics of Abortion Rights Narratives in American Mainstream Media
Get PDFThis thesis examines the contemporary governance of reproductive choices in the United States, where women’s liberation and reproductive rights are centered on access to abortion in mainstream political discourse. I provide a theoretical framework, primarily drawn from Michel Foucault’s theories of discipline, normalization, and biopower, to guide my qualitative analysis of American left-leaning news narratives produced in the aftermath of the 2022 Dobbs v Jackson decision, which stripped women of the constitutionally protected right to access an abortion. I discuss the emergence of contemporary neoliberal feminism and show how, in popular abortion rights discourses, it is a rationality that constructs an ideal feminist subject and governs reproductive responsibility. Drawing on insights from reproductive justice scholars, I argue that the mainstream feminist idea of ‘a woman’s right to choose’ is inadequate for the cause it attempts to advance, and the people it purports to protect
Spacecraft Obstacle Avoidance and Rendezvous using Gradient Vector Fields
Get PDFAutonomous obstacle avoidance and rendezvous with tumbling targets are critical for on-orbit assembly, servicing, and debris removal. To achieve these objectives, spacecraft must employ onboard guidance algorithms that generate paths for the spacecraft to follow. This thesis presents a real-time, analytical autonomous guidance control algorithm based on the Gradient Vector Field (GVF) framework. The algorithm is designed to facilitate both obstacle avoidance and rendezvous with a tumbling target. The GVF framework is developed through a two-phase approach: Phase 1 involves the chaser spacecraft navigating to a specified radius around the target while avoiding obstacles, and Phase 2 focuses on the spacecraft maneuvering toward the docking port of the target. The effectiveness of the framework is validated through numerical simulations in both two- and three-dimensional models. Additionally, experimental validation confirms the framework’s ability to handle time-varying obstacles and perform spacecraft rendezvous. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this represents the first demonstration of such capabilities using the GVF method
Beyond defeat and victory: A political-phenomenology of activist youth capacities under neoliberalism in Europe in the 2010s and 2020s
Get PDFThis dissertation explores the lived experiences, embodied subjectivities and political imaginaries of 60 activist youth (aged 21 to 34) who have engaged in movements contesting neoliberal and authoritarian visions in the European cities of Athens, Istanbul, Paris, and Berlin since 2008. These cities appear as some of the hot spots of left-leaning, anti-capitalist urban youth activism struggling against neoliberalism’s attacks on democracy, the social state, and political activism in Europe in the 2010s and 2020s. Each city represents a shared picture of intersecting compartments of anti-capitalist, anti-neoliberal, anti-authoritarian youth-led activisms opposing economic, political, democratic, and environmental crises (e.g., the student movement, the anti-austerity movement, the anti-fascist movement, refugee and immigrant rights activism, feminist struggle, and climate justice activism). These young people have directly experienced and witnessed the most demoralizing facets and repercussions of neoliberalism, including the financial crisis of 2008, the erosion of public space, democracy, and human rights, and the rising urgency of climate and environmental challenges, which have dampened the everyday lives and activist capabilities of youth. In this context, the dissertation aims to respond to the question of how the interplay between the field of experience and the horizon of expectation of youth activism shapes and is shaped by the historical conditions of youth political action, agency, and subjectivity. The study develops a political phenomenology of possibilities and barriers for activist youth capacity amidst an era marked by the youth-led historical resistances and neoliberalism’s persisting ascendance entwined with growing authoritarian tendencies. To understand and explain the political worlds of young activists through a closer investigation of temporal, affective, and relational domains of social movements, this ethnographic study integrates Ricoeur’s hermeneutic investigation of self, subjectivity, and temporality, and an Arendtian phenomenology of democratic politics. It also incorporates Sara Ahmed’s and Achille Mbembe’s phenomenological perspectives to analyze the roles of emotionality and otherness in the development of youth political subjectivities in dark times
Making B Movies and an Uncertain Ethnographic Subject: Encountering Madness and Multimodality along the Quest for the Musicality of Reality
Get PDFMy project explores collaborative speculative fiction filmmaking with one person, D, in the gentrifying neighbourhood of Parkdale in west downtown Toronto. Our work together focused primarily on helping D share his singular philosophical and cosmological ideas around his concept of the “Musicality of Reality.” I was not a filmmaker and had no intention to make films but this is what the ethnography called for and D and I figured it out along the way. We came to define our filmic practice as the “ethnographic B movie” that celebrates low expectations, lack of professionalism and encourages playful absurdity for the sake of generating the conditions of imaginative expression. While originally interested in the intersection of place and precarity amidst urban change, my focus shifted when I met D and became implicated in his revolutionary world, seeking to understand his singularity and ideas as we manifested that world on film. D lives on and thinks from the margins, always reminded of his personal and academic failures. Yet despite his social position he strives to generate knowledge, gain recognition and grow his revolutionary movement. Though he acknowledges his approach keeps him and his thinking on the periphery, he refuses to compromise the integrity and spirit of his vision. By centering D’s thinking and creativity not his biography and social situation, my dissertation becomes an experimental site to explore the entanglements of fieldwork relationality and the politics of representation. As an experiment, I play with a variety of tensions in mine and the readers’ encounter with D including between film and text, fieldwork and writing and disclosure and silence. These tensions invite critical reflection upon how I render D as a certain kind of ethnographic subject between his own self-representation and the interpretive demands of communicating the value, context and meaning of student anthropology
Resilience and Persistence: Unveiling the Journey of Arabic-Speaking Female Muslim Teachers in Adult ESL Education
Get PDFTeacher attrition is a global challenge, particularly in English as a Second Language (ESL) education for adults in Ontario, Canada, where diverse educators face systemic barriers undermining retention. Arabic-speaking female Muslim (ASFM) ESL teachers represent a critical yet underexplored group confronting specific challenges linked to complex interrelationships among race, language, religion, and gender. This study examines how the intersectional identities of ASFM ESL teachers shape and are shaped by their professional experiences, career trajectories, and decisions to remain in or leave the profession. Using a qualitative narrative case-study methodology, the research explores the experiences of five ASFM ESL teachers, purposively selected based on several criteria, including their completion of a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program within the last seven years and age (30–50 years). Data collection included two semi-structured interviews and a checking-in session, addressing micro (personal experiences), meso (workplace interactions), and macro (sociopolitical contexts) levels. Analysis followed a four-phase process: transcription review, in vivo coding, thematic coding, and restorying and métissage. This study conceives teacher identity as multifaceted, dynamic, and socially constructed. Situating teacher identity within a critical hermeneutic framework provides nuanced insights into how intersecting identities and systemic barriers influence ASFM ESL teachers’ professional experiences, trajectories, and retention decisions. Emerging insights highlight four themes: persistent stereotypes and Islamophobia tied to visible markers like the veil; struggles for recognition and belonging; structural inequities perpetuated by native-speaker ideologies; and the burden of proving competency amidst accent and appearance-based discrimination. Despite systemic barriers, participants demonstrated resilience and agency, advocating for equity in their professional spaces. The findings of this study highlight the urgent need for institutional reforms to affirm ASFM ESL teachers’ identities, enhance retention, and foster inclusivity in educational spaces. In response, this study proposes the RRAAV model (Representation, Recognition, Acceptance, Acknowledgment, and Value) as a diagnostic framework for promoting equity in TESL programs and workplaces. Key recommendations include implementing structured mentorship, integrating cultural awareness training, and ensuring equitable hiring practices to better support marginalized educators. Looking ahead, future research should examine additional intersectional factors and assess the long-term impact of these interventions on teacher retention and professional growth
Optimization of Building Integrated Phase Change Materials Using Experiments and Simulation
Get PDFLHTES systems use PCMs to absorb and release thermal energy during solid-liquid transitions. When applied in buildings, PCMs enhance thermal inertia, reduce peak conditioning loads, and improve occupant comfort. This thesis aimed to optimize passive LHTES systems based on solar insolation profiles. An insolation analysis tool was developed, leading to the identification of the northern and southern portions of an in-situ chamber’s floor as areas of highest insolation exposure during heating and cooling seasons respectively. ESP-r modeling assessed the impact of various parameters on temperature profiles. To prevent overheating, a reduced window size and controlled ventilation system were added. Experimental testing compared the thermal performance of optimized PCM cement tiles, uniformly distributed PCM tiles, and pure cement tiles. Results between the optimized and uniform PCM tiles showed a 13.5% increase in cooling loads and a 3.6% decrease in heating loads, indicating optimization potential in cold climates
