Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies
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Item Teaching digital-multimodal composition for digital-born students: Exploring pedagogical applications of interactive narrative media(Aug-23) Won, Daehyun; Busl, Gretchen; Lackey, Dundee; Fehler, BrianDigital-immigrant rhetoric and composition instructors bear a heavy burden of teaching digital-born students who have an intrinsic potential to be fluent in digital-multimodal texts but require philosophical and technology-driven pedagogical interventions to build digital literacy skills and rhetorical proficiency with multimodal texts. In today’s educational landscape, which is constantly changing due to digital technology, applying all-inclusive and interdisciplinary narrative theories – which have invariable communicative and pedagogical value – is the most suitable solution for digital-immigrant instructors. But despite narrative’s immense educational potential, in the English discipline, there is a long-standing devaluation of narrative, exemplified by the dominant utilitarian tendency found in both literature and rhetoric and composition courses. In this complex educational environment, interactive narrative – a descendant of traditional narrative – is a tool that can be applied 1) to teach students how to navigate new media technology with creative and critical thinking skills and understand how rhetorical meaning can be created and delivered, 2) to give digital-born students a wider perception of the physically explorable or even unexplorable world through interactive and immersive participation, and 3) to enlighten both digital-immigrant instructors as well as digital-born students about using their voices effectively in public rhetorical spheres by exercising the maximized agency that interactive narrative provides. Validating the educational value of interactive narrative, this dissertation argues interactive narrative needs to be integrated into current multimodal composition courses, acting as a convergent “lens” to shed light on the pedagogical value of a unified liberal arts education in the lightning-fast digital revolution and to build a narratological bridge between multimodal media technology, digital immigrant teachers, and digital-born students.Item Afro dialogues: Unearthing the meanings and significance in what women of African descent say about their hair(Aug-23) Akinbode, Foluso A. Oluade; Keating, AnaLouise; Smith, Gabrielle; West, GenevieveHair can be a factor in liberation and oppression. There are Black women that have used their hair to subvert societal standards that center the straight, smooth, or silky hair associated with whiteness. Also, some Black women continue to grapple with a desire to fulfill white supremacist hair expectations. There is current research that delves into ways that Black women are navigating white supremacist characterizations of their hair, but there is a need for research that holistically captures Black women’s hair perspectives during the burgeoning of global online Black hair communities and conversations. Thus, the purpose of this study is to analyze and historicize Black women’s nuanced hair perspectives. The research questions guiding this study are what are some ways Black women perceive or make meaning of their hair, and how are their perceptions shaped by the current boom in online Black hair information? I employed phenomenology and intersectionality to guide 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 participants. Participants (Black women currently living in the United States) shared their perceptions of how white supremacist hair expectations are enforced through understandings of hair maintenance, categorizations of “good” and “bad” hair, the Andre Walker hair-typing system, and hair trauma or discomfort. Participants also shared perspectives about their identities, cultures, hair education, and empowerment that work against the use of Black hair in oppression. This study brings attention to the ways that Black women currently navigate and overcome white supremacist hair ideals and encourages further research on ways to recognize and undo oppressive hair ideals.Item A critical discourse analysis of Mexican cooking devoted to American homes by Josefina Velazquez de Leon and my Mexico by Diana Kennedy(Aug-23) Haynes, Jacqui Denise 1981-; Lackey, Dundee; Busl, Gretchen; Fehler, BrianThis Ph.D. dissertation employs a critical discourse analysis approach, backed by cultural rhetorics, to evaluate the significance of Mexico's Indigenous people speaking for themselves in discussions surrounding cultural survivance through Indigenous foods and cookbooks. I apply Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional model to My Mexico: A Culinary Odyssey of More Than 300 Recipes by Diana Kennedy and Mexican Cookbook Devoted to American Homes by Josefina Velazquez de Leon, to identify instances of language that demonstrate resistance and survivance, as well as appropriation, in the recovery and representation of Indigenous people's works. This dissertation challenges the widely held belief that Diana Kennedy is the foremost expert on Mexican cuisine by examining introductions, recipes, and interviews by and about both women and documenting language use which counters the preservation and representation of Mexico's Indigenous culture. In doing so, I reiterate that it is Josefina Velazquez de Leon who extensively researched and documented Mexican food before Kennedy and deserves recognition as the pioneer who preserved and represented Mexico and Mexico's Indigenous foods through cookbooks. Despite her significant contributions, Velazquez de Leon remains relatively unknown outside of Mexico, and the lack of visibility and acknowledgment of her work contributes to the erasure of Indigenous people's voices from the conversations about Indigenous foods. By examining the difference between Indigenous people speaking for themselves through their food and cookbooks, compared to an outsider sharing observations of Indigenous people's storied recipes, this research seeks to contribute to ongoing debates about cultural preservation, representation, and agency in Mexico's diverse cultural landscape. The findings of this study will help to shed light on the importance of amplifying the voices of Mexico Indigenous people in discussions surrounding their cultural heritage and reveal how the latter's contributions to the field of Mexican cuisine have been largely overlooked by the mainstream media and food industry.Item “Were you silent or were you silenced?”: Interrogating contemporary representations of black women in the British monarchy and royal court(Dec-23) Oyee-Willingham, Rikki 1995-; West, Genevieve; Sahlin, Claire L.; Abunasser, Rima; Smith, GabrielleThis study investigates the representation of Black British women of the royal institution historically and in the present and the effects of these representations on the ways Black women are perceived. It also explores the ways Black women royals have responded to these representations. The study analyzes the mediated messages crafted by the British press as they focus on three royal women: Queen Charlotte (1761-1818), Marchioness Emma Thynn (2013- 2019), and Duchess Meghan Markle (2018-present). Using an intersectional media analysis, historical artifacts, modern retellings of history, and various articles published in the UK in both mainstream and tabloid press during the years listed, this dissertation scrutinizes coded messaging and language that frames and categorizes these women as tropes and schemas. The research includes reviews of the history of stereotypes and schemas used as an erasure strategy against Black women, as well as the impact that media has on perceptions of Black women. The findings of this analysis indicate that the misogynoir tactics of whitewashing and overshadowing the experiences of these women shed light on the ways that the British monarchy has transformed their racist ideologies to meet modern expectations. Due to these tactics, Thynn and Markle have adapted strategies of Black feminist activism and resistance to reclaim their stories and reshape how Black women are represented.Item Jawaharlal Nehru's rhetoric of diversity and inclusion(Dec-23) Joshi, Giribala 1965-; Dr. Brian Fehler; Dr. Dundee Lackey; Dr. Ashley BenderJawaharlal Nehru was a leading figure in India’s freedom struggle, who subsequently served as the first prime minister of independent India. Besides being a popular leader and a statesman, he was also a philosopher and a historian. Through his rhetoric and actions, Nehru strengthened the unity of India when the British left it as a collection of several principalities. He strongly advocated for scientific advancement while staying rooted in the progressive values of ancient Indian civilization. He laid the foundation of a secular democracy where all people had equal rights and freedom of worship. In the following study, I analyze Nehru’s writings and selected speeches through rhetorical criticism. Rhetorical criticism of public address as a discipline has a long history in the US and Europe. While it is an established field in the West, there are only a few rhetorical studies on Indian texts. The analysis of Nehru’s texts fulfills a gap in the field of world rhetorics, throwing light on the history of India’s culture, philosophy, language, and rhetoric. The methods in the field of rhetorical criticism have evolved from strictly following Aristotle’s theories to critical pluralism. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell writes that “any critical procedure applied rigidly as a method becomes… reductive and formulary (101). While traditionally rhetoric is defined as an art of persuasion, in the context of comparative rhetoric, Keith Lloyd defines it as the “shaping of What and How” (ch. 1). Following this definition, my research questions are: What are important messages in Nehru’s speeches and how they are formulated? How can Nehru be read as both an eminently Indian and cosmopolitan rhetor and thinker? Besides these questions, I also explore Nehru’s influence in India and around the world, and why Nehru is still relevant. While highlighting Nehru’s messages and rhetorical strategies, this criticism also sheds light on why Nehru attracted the masses as opposed to contemporary liberal leaders who turn away a significant number of people from reason and logic into a world of conspiracy theories and propaganda of reactionary and divisive forces.Item Up next: The epistemic power of spoken word poetry(1/1/2013) Granados De La Rosa, Erica; Keating, AnaLouise, 1961-; Beins, Agatha, 1976-In this thesis I propose that "collective vulnerability" created through the culture of spoken word performance poetry in local communities creates and embodies relevant spiritual and libratory frameworks for connectional epistemologies. The methodological approach employed in this thesis draws from autoethnographic analysis as well as textual interpretation and analysis. Using these two particular methods allows me to reconceptualize and build on valuable theories and frameworks that explore concepts beyond intellectual and written word, by connecting them with knowledge and theory learned and created through lived experience.Item Body image, figure preference, and social comparison among female athletes in sex-integrated and single-sex athletic programs(1/1/2013) Howarth, Aimee Marie; Sahlin, Claire L. (Claire Lynn), 1961-; Harris, Jeff E.; Asbury, TreyThe purpose of the study was to further understand the increased risk of eating disorders among female athletes by exploring differences in three established eating disorder risk factors: body image, figure preference, and social comparison. The present study compared female athletes to female non-athletes and female athletes who compete in sports in a sex-integrated athletic program compared to those in a single-sex athletic program. Although research on eating disorders among female athletes is abundant, environmental influences such as sex-integration and single-sex environments have rarely been studied as risk or prevention factors. Participants were 228 college women ranging between 18 and 27 years (M= 19.36, SD= 1.71) recruited from students currently enrolled at Texas Woman's University (single-sex group) and The University of North Texas (sex-integrated group). 66 of the participants were athletes. Upon consent, the participants were instructed to complete a demographic form and four questionnaires with 77 items assessing body image, figure preference, and frequency of social and body comparison. The results showed that athletes in the single-sex athletic program prefer larger body types and report less comparison behaviors than those in the sex-integrated athletic program. In addition, female swimmers prefer smaller body types than soccer players. Correlations on risk factors found that as participants' body satisfaction decreases and drive for thinness increases, their reports of comparison behaviors increase. Overall, athletes rated their current figures smaller than non-athletes and have a smaller difference between their current and ideal figure ratings than non-athletes. Eating disorder risk factors vary by race and ethnicity, with White and Asian individuals at higher risk. Understanding the risk and protective factors in college athletes and college non-athletes is essential for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.Item "You Make Me Feel Like My Life Is Over!": Tele/visions of Contemporary Postmaternal Women(1/1/2013) Maurer, Diann R.; Sahlin, Claire; Beins, AgathaThe purpose of this thesis is to promote a more holistic understanding of motherhood that acknowledges the temporary and shifting nature of maternal roles and practices longitudinally by including greater analysis of the experiences and perceptions of mothers of adult children in scholarship. While feminist scholars who study motherhood generally only confront mainstream U.S. cultural ideologies of sexism that seek to cast all women into mothering roles, this thesis seeks to also confront how this ideology of essential motherhood carries certain ageist underpinnings that interfere with women's abilities to adjust their maternal practices as their children age into adulthood. This thesis illustrates this point through an analysis of how mothers of adult children are depicted in the television shows Brothers and Sisters, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Loves Raymond, and George Lopez. It argues that mothers of adult children in these television shows continue to be affected, if not constrained, by the ideology of essential motherhood, even after their children are grown.Item Fracking freedom: A comparitive analysis of gas drilling in Hurst, Texas(Texas Woman s University, 1/1/2014) Hall, Jennifer L.; Sahlin, Claire L. (Claire Lynn), 1961-; Marshall, Linda; Gullion, Jessica Smartt, 1972-The purpose of this thesis is to educate people about the natural gas drilling industry and the process used to harvest natural gas, hydro-fracturing, also known as fracking. Many natural gas drilling sites are being sited in close proximity to homes, schools, and agriculture, sometimes within 300-1500 feet. This thesis offers information about how natural gas is located, how natural gas wells are sited, and the types of chemicals are used during the drilling and production process. This thesis also defines environmental justice, explores past instances of environmental injustices, and argues that natural gas drilling is an environmental issue that may adversely affect the health and well-being of humans, non-human animals and nature. To illustrate my points, this thesis focuses on the Barnett Shale in North Texas and the City of Hurst, Texas, as the City Council considered approving gas drilling permits inside their city limits.Item The metaphysics of holistic transformation through spiritual-erotic narratives in Gloria E. Anzaldúa's "She Ate Horses"(1/1/2014) Dimas, Berenice; Keating, AnaLouise, 1961-; Beins, Agatha, 1976-; Sahlin, Claire L. (Claire Lynn), 1961-My thesis specifically interweaves spirituality with the erotic to analyze Gloria E. Anzaldúa's short fiction story "She Ate Horses." I argue that by analyzing "She Ate Horses" through a spiritual and erotic lens and with a spiritual-activist method, we can understand how Anzaldúa's vision of transformation was deeply rooted in an intimate awareness of the self where spiritual and erotic energies served as guides in our path. Through close analysis of the text, I also argue that Anzaldúa develops a holistic aesthetic in the story's structure, in order to convey how Prieta processes her emotions, reflections, and interactions.Item Towards a post-oppositional womanist pedagogy(10/25/2021) Martin, Jennifer V; Keating, AnaLouiseBuilding on the definitions and work of womanist scholars such as Alice Walker, Layli Maparyan, and AnaLouise Keating, this dissertation explores the possibility of a post-oppositional womanist pedagogy that can serve as a potential solution to the oppositional pedagogies and hyper individualistic cultures in Western education systems. This research discusses the following themes that emerged from interviews: (1) womanism draws people in/feels welcoming because of the spiritual component; (2) spirituality is an important aspect of personal choices, pedagogical choices, and worldviews; (3) self-care and community care are deeply connected; and (4) dialogue and an understanding of interconnectedness/interrelatedness are components of post-oppositional pedagogies. This dissertation offers a more expanded definitions of womanism and explores some possible ways of shifting teaching practices to a more post-oppositional approach.Item Gloria Anzaldúa's womanist idea(11/1/2018) Sadr, Jessica; Keating, AnaLouise, 1961-My dissertation, “Gloria Anzaldúa’s Womanist Idea,” is a womanist textual analysis of Chicana queer-feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa’s lesser-known scholarship. While Anzaldúa is heralded for her groundbreaking 1987 text, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, she continued to develop her ideas into the twenty-first century. Furthermore, The Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers (1942-2004) contain 128 linear feet of mostly unpublished materials, which scholars have yet to thoroughly examine. Combined, this archive and Anzaldúa’s twenty-first-century publications, offer new directions for women’s and gender studies—directions that could enhance the field’s understanding of Anzaldúa’s most complex thought and generate novel solutions to social injustices. A womanist analysis of Anzaldúa’s “beyond-Borderlands” scholarship is unique because Anzaldúa is typically read through a feminist lens. While feminism has made important contributions to transformational scholarship and activism, it is not the only liberatory mode of thought and action available to us. Womanism is a social change perspective developed and articulated by Black women and other women of colors. A social change praxis informed by the belief that all people—human and nonhuman—as well as nature/the environment, the cosmos, and spiritual realms are inextricably interrelated, womanism is invested in bridging communities across difference and enabling collaborative action toward universal wellness, which is characterized by enhanced agency, mobility, and stability for all groups. In this dissertation I put Anzaldúa’s theory of conocimiento and related theories including new tribalism, nepantleras, la naguala, and spiritual activism into conversation with womanism to demonstrate how Anzaldúan thought and womanism can enrich each other and how scholars and activists can implement Gloria Anzaldúa’s womanist idea to resist oppression and cultivate individual and collective transformation.Item Adult women with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Perspectives on the menarche/menstruation experience(12/19/2019) Perlow, Ellen; DeOrnellas, Kathy; Beins, Agatha, 1976-Framed in select MWGS feminist theories, this study’s 335 adult women/assigned-female-at-birth responded to the Autism Spectrum Quotient-10 (AQ-10, 2012) and Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire-2nd version (MAQ, 1980a, 1980b). Although without statistical significance (α = .05), 29/335 (8.7%) reported high AQ-10 scores (6+) suggesting further ASD testing. The high 8.7 percentage perhaps is a product of AQ-10’s screening purpose or underreporting/misdiagnosis due to the female ASD phenotype’s camouflaging abilities. Higher AQ-10 (6+) scores had somewhat higher mean MAQ scores for four (Debilitating/Bothersome/Natural/Predictable) and one lower (Denial) MAQ subscales. Exploratory analysis of participants’ disclosure of co-occurring gynecological, medical, and mental health concerns highlighted potential impact of such conditions on women’s health across ethnicity, age at menarche, and age groups. This study sought to expand MWGS’s inclusion of women with disabilities/ASD, empowering all women utilizing a holistic womanist approach. Research on menstruation and autism should replicate this study and devise a female/assigned-female-at-birth-only AQ-10 version.Item Cultural identities and interconnections in secondary education(12/30/2011) Blas, Jessann Duenas; Keating, AnaLouise; Sahlin, Claire L.; Duquaine-Watson, JillianFor several decades now, scholars have deemed that multicultural education meets students' cultural learning needs and promotes positive attitudes and interactions towards cultural differences but have debated issues regarding the curricular approaches and strategies. In my thesis, I argue that in order to meet all students' needs, middle school educators must explore their cultural identities and interconnections with their students. In addition, they must conduct cross-cultural comparisons with their students and colleagues so that they can develop multicultural consciousness and transformations. When we perceive each other through our interconnections as similar beings with accepted differences, and we provide each other with civility, then we are guaranteed the rights that we naturally should have despite our historical and social past. It is through teaching and education that social change can take effect to provide for all identities, especially our youths' cultural identities, to flourish and live.Item Transforming paradigms: From bifurcation to interrelationality in HIV prevention discourse(12/30/2015) Crear, La Cisha A.; Sahlin, Claire L.; Parker, Kimberly A.Women of color, particularly Black women are disproportionately represented in the AIDS epidemic. While women of African descent constitute only 13 percent of the population of women in the United States, they account for 64 percent or nearly two-thirds of all newly acquired HIV among women. This thesis explores the reasons why women of color communities, particularly women of African descent, are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic. I argue that while prevention methods have been considerably effective, they are still limited because they do not address the multilayered impact of race, class, and gender oppression as well as larger structural inequities. My goal is to expand HIV discourse on women and explore ways in which the reproductive justice framework can be applied to HIV prevention and advocacy. HIV is a reproductive justice issue. I believe that the reproductive movement and framework, which entail grassroots women of color organizations and their allies fighting for reproductive rights and social justice guided by a human rights principles, advance a radical means of addressing the needs of women of color impacted by HIV and AIDS.Item The United States Supreme Court and affirmative action: A critical race, black feminist theoretical and textual analysis(12/30/2016) Henderson, Sharon Moore; Kessler, Mark; Phillips-Cunningham, DanielleFisher vs. University of Texas was heard before the United States Supreme Court twice: in the October 2012 term (Fisher I) and the October 2015 term (Fisher II). Abigail Noel Fisher and Rachel Multer Michalewicz filed suit against the University of Texas at Austin (UT) claiming that they were denied admission to the University based on their race. Both are white and female. Michalewicz dropped out of the suit after the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals ruling. Fisher continued participating in the litigation. Fisher sued for equal protection as stated in the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The question I immediately asked myself is whether there are racial considerations in the University’s admission process that would have caused Fisher’s application not to be selected? If so, did racial considerations result in her not gaining admission? My hypothesis was that the Supreme Court was on the cusp of ending affirmative action in education. The research reported on in this thesis suggests that the Court was not seeking to end affirmative action, but seeking to maintain it. This thesis also shows that the litigants in the bulk of the affirmative action suits that made it before the United States Supreme Court are white women. Fisher led me to review Bakke, Grutter, Gratz, and Hopwood, as they were cited as precedent- setting cases in the Fisher ruling. Thus, it’s not Fisher, alone, that raises a question about the role of gender in affirmative action litigation. It’s also Grutter, Gratz, and Hopwood, all of which include female plaintiffs. The only major case with a white male plaintiff is Bakke. The legal petition filed by Fisher leaves plenty of room for debate and analysis. Thus, I explored some of the arguments in the aforementioned legal cases using Critical Race and Black Feminist theories to understand Fisher generally, but affirmative action more specifically.Item Anger suppression as a vehicle for gender socialization in girls: A developmental study(1996-12) Cox, Deborah L.; Stabb, Sally D.; Nutt, Roberta Lynn, 1944-; Palomares, Ronald S.; Rubin, LindaA growing body of literature supports the link between anger suppression and depression, and females' greater likelihood of demonstrating both. Anger suppression has been asserted to be involved in gender socialization for girls. Differences between boys and girls in anger suppression and depression were investigated using anger stylistic and depression measures. Differences between two grade groupings in anger suppression and depression were analyzed. Results supported the hypothesis that girls suppress anger at higher rates than boys, but not the related hypothesis that such suppression relates to higher levels of depression in girls than in boys. There were no grade-group differences in either anger suppression or depression, and no significant relationship between suppressed anger and depression for either sex. However, qualitative interview data revealed girls' gender-specific behaviors and beliefs with regard to anger, including withdrawal and expectations of diminishment by significant adults.Item Changes in depression in pregnant and postpartum adolescents following participation in a comprehensive preventative intervention(2004-05) Mercado, Janyna M.; Rubin, Linda; Stabb, Sally D.; Hamilton, Basil; Amodei, NancyThe purpose of this study was to determine which group of participants, those in the school-based intervention program or those in the comparison group, was more prone to developing symptoms of depression. The participants' symptoms of depression were measured using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) at intake, 6 months postpartum, and 12 months postpartum. Pregnant and postpartum mothers in the treatment group and in the comparison group were compared to determine which group was more prone to developing symptoms of depression. A third relationship examined was to identify if the adolescent mothers who experienced an episode of abuse were more likely to exhibit symptoms of depression than the adolescent mothers who did not experience an episode of abuse. The first hypothesis stated that there would be a statistically significant difference between adolescent mothers in the treatment and comparison groups, with the treatment group less likely to exhibit symptoms of depression. Participants in each group were compared at all intervals in which data were collected. The second hypothesis stated that there would be a statistically significant difference between pregnant mothers in both groups (treatment and comparison) and postpartum mothers, with the pregnant mothers more prone to developing depression than the postpartum female adolescents. The differences in scores between pregnant and parenting groups was examined by using paired t-tests. The third hypothesis stated that there would be a statistically significant difference between adolescent mothers who experienced an episode of abuse and those who had not; mothers with an abuse history were more likely to experience symptoms of depression. A repeated measures MANOVA was used to examine the third hypothesis. The results of the study revealed that the treatment group was less depressed than the control group, that pregnant adolescents were more prone to depression than the postpartum adolescents, and that female adolescents who had experienced abuse were more likely to be depressed than the female adolescents who had not experienced abuse. The overall conclusion of this study supported the use of school-based intervention programs for pregnant and parenting female adolescents as a means of decreasing the likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms.Item Deconstructing, reclaiming, and transforming the discourse of fetal personhood: A pro-choice feminist imperative(2005-12) Ivy, Lea C.; Sahlin, Claire L. (Claire Lynn), 1961-; Keating, AnaLouise, 1961-Item The matter of sex and gender: A dialogue between trans bodies and feminist theory(2009-08) Stein, J.A.; Keating, AnaLouise, 1961-; Sahlin, Claire L. (Claire Lynn), 1961-Despite significant social and political gains derived from gender theory, feminist scholars, progressive thinkers, and those in the transgender community do not critically examine the pre-supposed meanings of sex in gender theory. Instead, they simply assume its significance, thus erasing its complexity and inadvertently reproducing its binary status. In this paper, I use close analysis of theoretical texts to expose the foundational assumptions prevalent in prominent gender theorists who sometimes fall into the trap of pre-supposed sex signifiers. I explain why this tendency erases the terminology's complexity and inadvertently silences diverse trans identities. Arguing that these unexamined/unintentional dualistic perceptions of sex reproduce existing binaries, I demonstrate how and why such a dualism harms trans-people and produces disjunction between our lived realities and academic theory. I conclude by presenting new and alternative ways or perceiving systems of sex that are fluidly inclusive of broader identity categories.