|
2004 Conference Presentation Abstracts
CoDaC and the Graduate School provide 10 $1,000 summer
stipends for outstanding UO graduate student research projects on
issues relating directly to the Center's mission. Applications may
be for a portion of research projects already underway (such as
theses or dissertations), or to launch a new project. The following
projects received 2003 summer awards. Awardees will present their
results at the April 2004 conference.
- "Beyond Abu: the Myths and Realities
of the Arab American Demographic"
Kera Abraham, M.A. Candidate, Magazine
Professional Sequence, School of Journalism and Communication
Arab Americans are one of the least-understood ethnic groups
in the United States, yet theirs may be the voice most needed
to defuse post-9/11 hysteria. However, in an age of renewed
racial profiling, crackdowns on immigrants, and hostility
toward the Arab world, the Bush administration's policies
are disenfranchising even the most patriotic citizens of Arab
heritage.
- "Purity and Whiteness"
Dana Berthold, Ph.D. Candidate, Philosophy, College of
Arts and Sciences
The ideal of purity, as it is routinely employed in reference
to hygiene, food, and water, shares the same basic conceptual
structure with repressive concepts like racial purity, especially
whiteness. The identity of whiteness, defined through exclusion,
in fact embodies the American preoccupation with purity. Our
everyday valorization of purity reveals the extent to which,
at bottom, we have not really broken with certain racist and
sexist ways of thinking.
- "Living la Vida Loca: How Life Experiences
Impact Young Mexican Women's Decisions to Drop Out, Graduate and
Pursue Higher Education"
Holly Eckles, Ed.D. Candidate (A.B.D.), Educational Leadership,
College of Education
This presentation challenges the assumptions about students
who choose to drop out from high school, graduate or continue
on to receive a higher education. Using qualitative methodology,
I conducted in-depth interviews of seven young Mexican women
and their parents to gain an understanding about how their
life experiences impacted their decision about schooling.
The analysis explores the chaotic world these young women
come from, hence, La Vida Loca ("The Crazy Life"),
and how these young women resolve the craziness by dropping
out from school, graduating or continuing on with a higher
education.
- "Who is Hoochie Coochie Man?: Succession
of the Tradition of Black Badman Tales in Willie Dixon's Songs
for Muddy Waters"
Mitsutoshi Inaba, Ph D. Candidate, School of Music
The study explores how African American blues composer, arranger,
record producer and bass player Willie Dixon (1915-1992) captured
and capitalized on the performing persona of the singer Muddy
Waters through music and words, and how Dixon's creation of
performing persona is relevant to the synopsis of traditional
"black badman" tales that circulated in the American
South. The study also examines the social/cultural function
of the tales, which provided codes of life to African-American
community, and its succession to Dixon compositions for Muddy
Waters. Although Dixon is a highly important figure in the
history of blues and American popular music, discussion of
his distinctive and influential songwriting techniques have
occurred in a fragmented way.
- "Self-Perception of Asian American
Women: A Sociocultural Perspective"
Allison Lau and Sharilyn Lum, Ph.D. Candidates,
Counseling Psychology, College of Education
Current research has presented inconsistent evidence of whether
or not Asian American women report lower levels of self-esteem
and body satisfaction compared with Euro-American women. Thus,
investigators examined physical self-concept of Asian American
and European American women and the role of geographical context
(Hawai'i versus Oregon). While media images and demographics
in Oregon consist primarily of European American women, those
in the state of Hawai'i portray a far larger proportion of
Asian American women. Investigators also examined the effects
of acculturation and internalization of media images on the
etiology of body dissatisfaction in Asian American women.
- "Ambassador of Goodwill, Advocate
for Justice: Journalist Beatrice Morrow Cannady's Campaign for
Race Relations in Oregon"
Kimberley Mangun, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Journalism
and Communication
Beatrice Morrow Cannady (1889-1974) is considered by some
to be the "greatest interracial worker in our state."
As editor of The Advocate (Portland) and the first
African American woman to be licensed by the Oregon State
Bar, Cannady became a spokesperson for the state's small but
growing black population. For two decades, she used the white
and black press as well as the pulpit to promote improved
race relations in Oregon and to change discriminatory laws.
This presentation explores Cannady's use of alternative media
such as her newspaper and lectures to promote tolerance, diversity
and social justice in the state. Surprisingly, only one other
scholar has looked at Cannady's important work. This project
seeks to increase attention to Cannady's contributions to
women's history, communication history, and the history of
the Pacific Northwest in the early years of the 20th century.
- "Telefónica Española:
The Digital Neo-Colonization of Cuzco"
Gabriela Martinez, Ph.D. Candidate, Communication and Society
Concentration, School of Journalism and Communication
Based on participant observation the present work looks at
how is that new technologies and media are intended to construct
modern citizens and consumers who will participate in national
and supranational economies. This work focus on Telefónica
Española, company responsible for the expansion of
these technologies beyond urban areas, racial and class lines.
This paper addresses the Peruvian case, concentrating in the
region of Cuzco.
- "Steps Towards Improving Reading
Outcomes For Spanish-Speaking Students: Fluidez en la Identificación
de Aliteración as a Dynamic Indicator of Spanish Phonological
Awareness"
Jean Louise Mercier, Doctoral Candidate, School Psychology
Program, College of Education
The purpose of this project was to develop a brief, repeatable
measure of early phonological awareness in Spanish. Phonological
awareness (identifying sounds in words) is critical to reading
success in both Spanish and English. Participants included
fifty, Spanish-speaking kindergartners learning to read in
Spanish in El Paso, Texas. This assessment is designed to
improve reading outcomes for Spanish-speaking students by
promoting early intervention and informing literacy instruction.
- "Delocalized Knowledges: Medicalization
of Problem Gambling in an American Indian Community"
Daniela Penicková, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of
Anthropology
Through comparison of psychiatric definitions of what constitutes
"problem gambling," and definitions by members of
one of the Apache tribes, this presentation explores to what
extent the psychiatric view overlaps or diverges from the
Native perception. It further discusses how the two perspectives
are reflected in the local diagnostic practices. The goal
of this analysis is to contribute to development of culturally
sensitive tools and interventions in relation to gambling
problems among Native communities.
- "An Examination of Eating Behaviors,
Body Image, and Sexual Orientation"
Carolyn Swearingen and Maya O'Neil, Doctoral Students,
Counseling Psychology, College of Education
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether
the intersection of gender and sexual orientation was related
to eating problems and body esteem when such constructs are
examined as continuous (that is, along a continuum) rather
than dichotomous. The results of the study indicate no statistically
significant differences between male and female individuals
identifying with different sexual orientations in disordered
eating or body dissatisfaction. These findings are discussed
in relation to psychosocial theoretical models of gender and
sexual orientation as well as the relevant empirical literature
on the topic.
|
|
