Artium Baccalaureus (AB), Ohio University, 2020, Political Science

Populist politics has been on the rise for the last decade across the world. In Poland, the far-right populist party, Law and Justice (PiS), has taken power using a blend of nationalism and memory politics. PiS' memory politics focuses on Polish victimhood during the Second World War, the Communist era, and the present day as a member of the European Union. As a result, PiS has taken aggressive measures to institutionalized its memory regime, which has drawn international attention, notably with the 2018 Holocaust Law. This thesis examines PiS' methods compared to previous governments' use of memory politics and how memory and populism intersect.

Committee: Myra Waterbury (Advisor) Subjects: East European Studies; Political Science

Bachelor of Arts, Ohio University, 2018, Political Science

How does heightened masculinity in United States prisons and jails affect the vulnerability of inmates? With this question, I discuss what it is about the prison environment that produces expressions of hyper-masculinity and what impact that heightened masculinity has on the vulnerability of inmates who are perceived to be less masculine. This includes research into what vulnerability means to those who understand themselves as less masculine as a consequence of their physical identity, sexuality, gender orientation, or other aspects of self-hood. My research explores the relationship between masculinity and vulnerability in the prison context, as well as a case study of the K6G unit of the Los Angeles County Jail.

Committee: Julie White (Advisor); Maria Fanis (Committee Chair) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Criminology; Gender; Gender Studies; Law; Legal Studies; Political Science; Social Research; Social Structure; Sociology; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Like much of Subsaharan Africa, development has been an ever-present aspect to postcolonial life for the Halpulaar populations of the Fuuta Tooro region of southern Mauritania. With the collapse of locally historical modes of production by which the population formerly sustained itself, Fuuta communities recognize the need for change and adaptation to the different political, economic, social, and ecological circumstances in which they find themselves. Development has taken on a particular urgency as people look for effective strategies to adjust to new realities while maintaining their sense of cultural identity. Unfortunately, the initiatives, projects, and partnerships that have come to fruition through development have not been enough to bring improvements to the quality of life in the region. Fuuta communities find their capacity to develop hindered by three macro challenges: climate change, their marginalized status within the Mauritanian national community, and the region's unfavorable integration into the global economy by which the local markets act as backwaters that accumulate the detritus of global trade. Any headway that communities can make against any of these challenges tends to be swallowed up by the forces associated with the other challenges. The upshot is that Fuuta residents feel that life is getting worse instead of better, and there is a sense that their communities do not have a viable future. While they feel frustrated and abandoned by their own government and the international community, they cannot give up trying to survive and improve the quality of their lives. Fuuta communities remain ready to engage in partnerships through development, with the hope that partners be more willing to listen to the perspectives and expertise that local communities have accumulated through a half-century of development efforts. From their point of view, the institutional infrastructure of development needs to integrate itself with the grassroots to pro (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sabra Webber (Advisor); Morgan Liu (Committee Member); Katey Borland (Committee Member) Subjects: Cultural Anthropology; Near Eastern Studies; North African Studies; Sub Saharan Africa Studies