Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Art Education

The purpose of my research is to offer insight into the life and work of Thomas E. Wolfe, who exhibits self-determination both as an artist and as an art educator in an Appalachian region of Southeastern Ohio. By presenting Wolfe's life story, I make connections to the influences of culture, social experiences, regional identity, and family traditions that play to his development as an artist and art educator. My research questions focused on how he perceives himself, how others perceive his presence in the community, how his artwork is valued by his community and how his teaching practices helped develop a greater sense of community. Specifically, I was interested in which historical moments and events in his life that were important to him in recollecting his life story. In my narrative analysis of Wolfe's life stories collected through oral history from Wolfe and 26 of his friends, family members, former students and community members, I considered selectivity, slippage, silence, intertextuality, and subjectivity to analyze his life story (Casey, 1993; Casey 1995-1996). Thomas Eugene Wolfe began making art as a child and evolved into an accomplished artist. As an art educator he had a prolific teaching career that spanned forty plus years. During this time, Wolfe developed his artistic style as a Regionalist watercolor artist, one whose work reflected a rural Appalachian landscape, architecture, and culture of the Perry County, Ohio community in which he lives and taught. The primary objective of this study is to document Wolfe's life and art depicting the Perry County, Ohio region; and consider how his work might have influenced his community. Wolfe's background and life stories are explored across both the similarities and differences from other Regionalist artists in order to situate a broader understanding of the many ways in which he, as an Appalachian Regionalist artist interacts with his community. The literature review for this study involved chronicli (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Sanders III (Advisor); Christine Ballengee Morris (Committee Member); Sydney Walker (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education; Art History

MFA, Kent State University, 2023, College of the Arts / School of Art

The transactional interplay between “Blackness” and “whiteness” is a dysfunctional melody that sets the tone for America's inner workings. This is particularly true for those who fit the description of a Magical Body. A Magical Body as defined by sociologist; Tressie Mcmillian Cottom are "bodies that society does not mind holding up to take the shots for other people. Magical bodies are bodies that have negative things done to them so other people can be conformable. Magical bodies are seen as self-generating, and as not requiring any investment from the state or from other people.” It is in the mundane that the members of my family represented in this body of work are consistently confronted with the reality of what it means to be a Magical Body. More importantly, it is in the mundane that my family has continued to live, love, and celebrate our existence. The body of work titled Magical bodies is an exploration of the lack of representation of Black people figures in art historical canon. This work focuses on making space for Black figures to counter act the notion of erasure in the canon.

Committee: Janice Garcia (Advisor); Eli Kessler (Committee Member); Davin Banks (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; African History; African Studies; American History; Art Criticism; Art History; Black History; Ethics; Fine Arts; Personality; Spirituality

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Leadership and Change

Reframing Leadership Narratives Through the African American Lens explores the context-rich experiences of Black Museum executives to challenge dominant cultural perspectives of what constitutes a leader. Using critical narrative discourse analysis, this research foregrounds under-told narratives and reveals the leadership practices used to proliferate Black Museums to contrast the lack of racially diverse perspectives in the pedagogy of leadership studies. This was accomplished by investigating the origin stories of African American executives using organizational leadership and social movement theories as analytical lenses for making sense of leaders' tactics and strategies. Commentary from Black Museum leaders were interspersed with sentiments of “Sankofa” which signify the importance of preserving the wisdom of the past in an effort to empower current and future generations. This study contributes to closing the gap between race and leadership through a multidimensional lens, while amplifying lesser-known histories, increasing unexplored narrative exemplars, and providing greater empirical evidence from the point of view of African American leaders. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Committee: Donna Ladkin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Lemuel Watson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Damion L. Thomas Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; American History; Arts Management; Black History; Black Studies; History; Museum Studies; Museums; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, History

My dissertation examines the role of women doctors in the creation and extension of development initiatives in India from 1919-1970. I argue that women doctors became crucial to debates around development, progress, and modernity in twentieth century India. From the nineteenth century, British rule in India was justified by a rhetoric of Europeans bringing social and economic progress to the colony. These goals for the progress of the nation continued into the twentieth century, accompanied by increasing centralization of power, knowledge, and developmental initiatives. My work adds to the scholarship on state power in developing nations like India by focusing on the role of everyday practitioners who were instrumental in the implementation of initiatives aimed at national progress. By centering the activities of women doctors, my dissertation reveals the daily negotiations which underlay the implementation of policies aimed at national progress, as access to healthcare for all Indians was seen as an important indicator of modernity. In this way, my work also brings to light the gendered nature of these daily negotiations in public healthcare, and implementation of state policy more broadly. Based on the assumption that Indian women (fettered by purdah restrictions) would refuse to consult male doctors, women were singled out as having the most difficulty in accessing healthcare. The state concluded that the only solution was to increase the number of women doctors. As improving the health and quality of life of a massive population became inextricably linked with reducing the vast numbers of people, women doctors were tasked with disseminating information about birth control to women and encouraging them to use contraception. Using a combination of archival research and oral history data, my project examines the processes of bureaucratization involved in the expansion of the development-driven state in India.

Committee: Mytheli Sreenivas PhD (Advisor); Birgitte Soland PhD (Committee Member); Thomas McDow PhD (Committee Member); Wendy Singer PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education History; Gender; Gender Studies; Health Care; History; Modern History; South Asian Studies; Womens Studies; World History

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2015, History

My exhibit is fundamentally different than a scholarly paper because I have created a physical learning environment where a wider audience actively moves and intellectually engages with the material. My primary concern is to address historical gaps and educate and engage an audience and answer their potential questions. The exhibit's audience requires a different set of questions and choices I have to resolve than if I were writing an essay. At its core my project is a dialogic exhibit whose narrative builds around the memories of the people who lived it. It places the real memories in direct conversation with secondary historical research and a general audience. As a result, its argument and evidence depends upon the participation of individuals who are willing to share their memories and loan their private possessions. Based on my research, I argue that World War II war propaganda subconsciously influenced American children to take personal action and join the national war effort. The values and ideas reinforced by a steady stream of propaganda became central to American children's moral perspective because the war came at an essential time in their development.

Committee: Helen Sheumaker (Advisor); Allan Winkler (Committee Member); Norris Stephen (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History

MA, Kent State University, 2015, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

Utilizing methodologies laid out by Kitch in Pennsylvania in Public Memory: Reclaiming the Industrial Past (2012), Linkon and Russo in Steeltown U.S.A.: Work and Memory in Youngstown (2002), and Stanton in The Lowell Experiment: Public History in a Postindustrial City (2006), this thesis examines how community memory affects the identity of a typical American Midwestern small town. Located in Western Pennsylvania, Greenville emerged as an industrial crossroads in the late nineteenth century linking Pittsburgh, Erie, and Cleveland via three railroad lines. After the relocation of several industries during the 1980s and `90s the community fell into decline and has since struggled. The Greenville Historical Society portrays the identity of Greenville as a transportation town, based on its history along an Erie Canal route and later as a hub for railroads. Yet for the modern community, this `transportation town' identity is but a shell of the past and a bitter reminder of what once was. Since the late twentieth century deindustrialization, there is a disconnect between the modern reality lived by the community and the historical identity reflected via local public history. Employing oral histories in comparison to primary and secondary sources, such as newspapers and town and county histories, this thesis examines several elements centered on community memory and small town history by focusing on how the community makes sense of its past and the importance of the town's history to the community's identity. Taking a `bottom-up' approach and focusing on the community as central to the story by drawing from social histories like Russo's Families and Communities: A New View of American History (1974), where he suggests that until the twentieth century, the “local community exerted the most profound and comprehensive influence on the lives of Americans,” Crucifix of Memory will examine three pivotal points within the history of Greenville. Chapter one will discuss the ea (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kenneth Bindas Ph.D. (Advisor); Leslie Heaphy Ph.D. (Committee Member); Donna Deblasio Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: History; Urban Planning

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2005, Environmental Studies (Arts and Sciences)

This thesis presents a research paper and videotaped production of Ora E. Anderson, a former journalist from the Appalachian Ohio region, about the beginning of the Wayne National Forest in Appalachian Ohio. Anderson offers a significant and authoritative contribution to local knowledge about landscape change and the dynamic processes involved and provides a compelling argument that the management of natural resources in Appalachian Ohio were largely subsumed under the national economic development policies established to deal with the overriding issue of unemployment. This research demonstrates how oral history can be used as a methodological approach to landscape history. Anderson's seasoned perspective regarding 20th century environmental alteration together with his own 1930s newspaper reports augmented by documented archival photographs provide the raw material for a vivid portrayal of environmental degradation and economic conditions experienced during the 1930s in Appalachian Ohio.

Committee: David Mould (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Sciences

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2009, History

Using the example of the Orma and the Pokomo women in the Tana River District, Kenya, this thesis explores the roles of women in peace-making and conflict resolution. Oral histories and semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen women from different backgrounds. The study identified six major themes. Each of these themes had impact not only on the women's sense of identity, and of their roles in peace-making, but also revealed changes and continuity across generations. The study revealed that women were significant social actors generally and in particular in peace-making. Although their stories were consistent with the theories on war and peace, it challenges feminist critique by painting a picture of how they were able to create a place for themselves in their community through their role in peace-making, a role not necessarily defined through men. In conclusion, the study offers suggestions for further research in women's roles in peace-making.

Committee: Judith Zinsser PhD (Advisor); Saine Abdoulaye PhD (Committee Member); Frederickson Mary PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: History

MA, Kent State University, 2010, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

This study investigates the Shenango China company of New Castle, Pennsylvania in its years of decline prior to its 1991 shutdown. Shenango China began operations in 1901 and enjoyed steady success until a lawsuit brought the plant out of family hands into a series of outside corporate owners which led to its closure. Through historical investigation of the meanings of failure, both physical and psychological, this thesis outlines Shenango's efforts to avoid their own demise in three ways. The first attempts are seen in the work of Shenango's management within the plant. The company's leadership actively promoted new products and designs to improve sales as well as renovations of the production facility and incentive promotions for salesmen, workers, and customers to keep up with a growing market of domestic and foreign competition. The dissemination and promotion of its public image through advertising make up another crucial aspect of Shenango's efforts to avoid failure. Through examination of advertisements for its subsidiary Castleton China, Shenango's overall failure is seen as a parallel to the decline in its public image as subsequent owners of the company reduced its outward appearance along with its autonomy. Finally, the viewpoints of Shenango's workforce are explored to see the effects of failure on workforce morale in the plant's declining years and how memory serves to create a narrative about the plant's success and failure. In conclusion, the attempts of Shenango China to avoid failure are compared with the overall decline in industry in the region known as the Rust Belt and the social effects of deindustrialization on the population and quality of life in areas such as New Castle that have lost their industrial base since the 1970s and face uncertain futures going through the twenty-first century.

Committee: Kenneth Bindas PhD (Advisor); John Jameson PhD (Committee Member); Donna DeBlasio PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Economic History; History; Modern History; Social Research

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, English (Rhetoric and Writing) PhD

In 2019, The Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) was voted onto the city charter of Toledo, Ohio. The charter amendment made it possible for citizens of the city of Toledo to sue polluters on behalf of the Lake, effectively giving Lake Erie more standing in court closer to that of legal personhood. A year later, LEBOR was deemed unenforceable by Judge Jack Zouhary, who critiqued it as vague and reaching too far beyond the jurisdiction of Toledo. This dissertation starts from those two critiques, analyzing how LEBOR fell short in 1. specifically connecting to the thousands of years of landscape practices and relations Indigenous residents had developed in the time before the region was colonized and 2. understanding the Lake as a place with a dynamic set of naturecultural relations with deep ties to the watershed and landscape within the jurisdiction of Toledo. This analysis uses theories from spatial rhetoric, placemaking, naturecultural critique, Indigenous scholarship, and postcolonial studies focused on the U.S. to understand why these shortcomings occurred and how future activist composers can possibly benefit from avoiding them. At the center of the analysis is an oral history composed using only the words of the activists in order to ground the work in their more immediate context. The dissertation concludes by evaluating how my analysis of LEBOR can be applied to teaching writing in and outside of the classroom and to scientific research projects that may otherwise be falling short in their connection with the public connected to the knowledge they gather and the organisms and entities they research.

Committee: Neil Baird Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ellen Gorsevski Ph.D. (Committee Member); Chad Iwertz-Duffy Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lee Nickoson Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Environmental Justice; Geography; Rhetoric

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

The 1961 Campana de la Alfabetizacion (CLC) [Cuban Literacy Campaign] looms large in the Cuban historical imagination as a moment of transformation, sacrifice, and triumph. Yet, until recently, the unique aspects of the CLC that made it a national success were in danger of being forgotten, thus losing its potential as a model for future ways to mobilize a nation toward an important social goal. The primary objectives of this project were to: (1) expand the scope of the discourse to include a much larger range of lived experiences; (2) collect and preserve lived experiences as shared by the teachers themselves; (3) create a bilingual, digital, community archive, composed of oral interviews, participant ephemera, and survey data; and (4) facilitate access to this data for both public and private scholars. This research examined public history by applying a decolonizing lens to research tools that integrated oral interviews, surveys, short responses, artifact collection, and archival research. Prior research focused on a narrow segment of CLC participants, the urban youth who traveled into impoverished rural areas without running water, electricity, or beds to teach illiterate adults how to read. My approach builds on previous research to include a wider array of teachers who were equally effective in eradicating illiteracy in Cuba. I analyzed conflicting statistics regarding the CLC and provided an explanation of the discrepancies. This research employs decolonizing research methodologies by implementing a culturally responsive, reflexive approach to the research collection and collaboration. Alfabetizadores (teachers) helped shape the interview and survey questions and interviewed each other. Participants continue to assist in curating a digital collection of ephemera, survey data, and oral interviews that will be accessible to the public.

Committee: Alesia Maltz PhD (Committee Chair); Elizabeth McCann PhD (Committee Member); Catherine Murphy MS (Committee Member); Malinda Wade PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Caribbean Studies; Education; Environmental Studies; History; Latin American History; Latin American Studies; Literacy

BA, Oberlin College, 2021, Comparative American Studies

This thesis draws on interviews with voters and organizers to disrupt preconceived popularized notions of the Deep South, arguing for a reimagining of the region's value through the lens of electoral politics and the Democratic Party's campaign efforts. There is plenty of room for revision in the apathetic approach that national Democrats and progressives treat the South with. This historic and contemporary disdain, paired with common guilt in the promotion of a limited and exclusionary idea of what the South is, contributes to the marginalization of Southern communities of color, queer and trans people, working class folks, and more. However, through attention to voter access, revised organizing tactics, and more, the Democratic Party can be a part of the solution.

Committee: Shelley Sang-Hee Lee (Advisor); Wendy Kozol (Other); Caroline Jackson-Smith (Committee Member); Charles E. Peterson (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; American History; American Studies; Black History; Black Studies; Communication; Demographics; Economic History; Environmental Justice; Ethnic Studies; Gender; Glbt Studies; History; Journalism; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Political Science; Regional Studies

MFA, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Art

This body of work stems from my interest in drag culture, gender, and how we visually present ourselves to others. Based on vintage silk screens depicting drag queens and gay bars from the 1970's Cleveland this work is created to celebrate pioneering drag queens as well as preserve a forgotten history. To do this, the gallery space is transformed to reflect the atmosphere of one of the clubs where individuals convened to recognize beauty, glamour, and an individual's sense of femininity. Soft sculptures reminiscent of elaborate drag gowns are illuminated to emit a soft glow. These symbolic sculptures shed light on photographic images of prominent drag queens digitally printed on layers of silk organza.

Committee: Janice Lessman-Moss (Advisor); Linda Ohrn-McDaniel (Committee Member); Andrew Kuebeck (Committee Member) Subjects: Aesthetics; Fine Arts; Gender; Performing Arts; Textile Research

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Journalism (Communication)

This biographical thesis examines the journalistic work of Australian war correspondent Kate Webb during the Vietnam War. In addition, this thesis explores her role as a visiting professional at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Through the lens of feminist standpoint theory, an in-depth qualitative historical ideological textual analysis of Webb's journalistic work underscores her role as a trailblazing female reporter covering an American war from an international perspective. Webb asserted herself and was accepted into the male-dominated field of war correspondence. As a female covering the war, she provided readers with the often-forgotten aspects of war: the human-interest angle. Through an assessment of a broad scale of primary documents, including the articles that she wrote from 1967 to 1975, and oral history interviews with former students and colleagues in academia and war correspondence, this thesis seeks to illustrate that Webb challenged the traditional role of war correspondents by reporting on human-interest stories and occupying spaces normally dominated by men. As a visiting professional, she brought her lived experiences as a reporter into the classroom.

Committee: Aimee Edmondson (Committee Chair); Michael Sweeney (Committee Member); Alexander Godulla (Committee Member) Subjects: Journalism; Mass Communications; Mass Media

BS, Kent State University, 2020, College of Public Health

Interviews contained in this thesis, conducted in 2019, served as a method to address community health and barriers faced by the transgender community. Interviews of transgender members of the Kent State community were gathered to provide feedback about experiences in healthcare. One of the most common challenges discussed by individuals who were interviewed were accessibility issues in healthcare. This research provided participants both the space and opportunity to openly share about there negative and positive experiences interacting with the healthcare system. An analysis of the interview data has found that there is a wide range of experiences, but the transgender community feels as though they are not being heard by professionals in healthcare. They struggle to access services and overcome discrimination. This research continues to provide insight on the challenges, triumphs, and perseverance of transgender community in healthcare.

Committee: Molly Merryman PhD (Advisor); Tina Bhargava PhD (Committee Member); Suzy D'Enbeau PhD (Committee Member); Lauren Vachon MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender Studies; Health Care; Public Health

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2020, Educational Theory and Social Foundations

The purpose of this oral history is to document the lived experience of the learning environment of African American students and culturally specific practices of African American teachers who taught in the legally segregated Louisvlle Central High School. Historically, segregated African American schools have been depicted as inferior educational institutions. By offering a counter-narrative of educational success within a segment of the African American community in the Jim Crow South the central thesis of this oral history is a counter-narrative to the suppositions of cultural deficit as the primary theory explaining the achievement gap between the majority population and minorites. By exploring the lived experience of the characteristics of the school culture and environment and the characteristics of those responsible for teaching, this oral history adds to the body of literature which shows that the achievement gap cannot be adequately explained by reference to cultural deficit. Moreover, the counter-narrative points toward significant issues pertaining to education and justice. As a legal, constitutional matter by legally denying free and equal access to public institutions and the public sphere de jure segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and was thereby unconstitutional. In striking down legal segregation Brown established an equal civil right to equal access and thus formal equality of opportunity. As an educational matter (as opposed to a strictly constitutional one), however, the findings of this oral history, that the educational environment of Louisville Central High School was not culturally and educationally deprived, suggests that the quality and effectiveness of education is a matter that is independent of the strictly legal matter of the right to formal equality of opportunity as equal access. While being of the greatest significance for a democratic and just society, the civil right to free and equal acces (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dale Snauwaert (Committee Chair); Edward Janak (Committee Member); Vicki Dagostino (Committee Member); Fuad Al-Daraweesh (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; American History; Education History; Educational Sociology; Teacher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Comparative Studies

As the number of forcibly displaced people increases globally, border crossing into Global North countries is often discussed as a crisis or emergency. Europe's recent "refugee crisis" illustrates the range of circumstances to which these discourses refer: humanitarian issues requiring urgent response; institutional crises, given the insufficiency of extant systems and structures to accommodate arriving migrants; or dangers for local and national communities who perceive the arrival of outsiders as a threat to their security and cultural identity. In Witnessing Emergency: Testimonial Narratives of Precarious Migration to Italy, I argue that in Italy, a key port of entry for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, the "emergency imaginary" that has shaped public and political responses to migrant arrivals perpetuates the idea that Africa-Europe migration via the Mediterranean Sea is sudden, unforeseen, and detached from historical mobilities. In fact, the recent crisis bears echoes of longer histories of transit, in particular between former African colonies and former European colonizing powers. To map the stakes and contours of "emergency," and to understand its limits and omissions, this dissertation examines how media and political framings of irregular Mediterranean migration as a crisis or emergency enable the racialization of migrants and obscure the colonial relations that continue to shape notions of identity and otherness in Italy and across Europe. I interrogate these framings through testimonial transactions that contextualize and challenge emergency discourses. The testimonies I put in conversation include published life writing (memoir and documentary film) that centers migrant experiences; oral history interviews I conducted with migrants, staff, and volunteers at multiple reception sites in Italy in 2017, 2018, and 2019; and a set of encounters in urban spaces and art installations. The transactions reflected in or mobilized through thes (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dana Renga (Advisor); Amy Shuman (Advisor); Ashley Pérez (Committee Member); Julia Watson (Committee Member) Subjects: Comparative Literature; Cultural Anthropology; Ethnic Studies; European Studies; Film Studies

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Leadership and Change

There is a gap in the literature on generativity and the leadership philosophy and praxis of African American Female Foreign Service Officers (AAFFSOs). I addressed this deficit, in part, by engaging an individual of exceptional merit and distinction—Aurelia Erskine Brazeal—as an exemplar of AAFFSOs. Using qualitative research methods of portraiture and oral history, supplemented by collage, mind mapping and word clouds, this study examined Brazeal's formative years in the segregated South and the extraordinary steps her parents took to protect her from the toxic effects of racism and legal segregation. In addition, I explored the development of Brazeal's interest in international affairs and her trailblazing diplomatic career. In an effort to understand her leadership philosophy and praxis, the study engaged eight additional research respondents, ranging from proteges and colleagues to Brazeal's fictive daughter, Joan Ingati. Drawing from the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, this study employed the concept of generativity—concern for the welfare and well-being of future generations—as a focal lens. The research concluded that in order to be effective in the 21st century, leaders would do well to emulate Brazeal's example as a generative leader. This dissertation is accompanied by 11 audio files. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu.

Committee: Jon Wergin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Laurien Alexandre Ph.D. (Committee Member); Richard McGuigan Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; American History; American Studies; Black History; Black Studies; Gender Studies; History; International Relations; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2018, History (Arts and Sciences)

This dissertation challenges the widespread myth that black Americans make up the most homophobic communities in the United States. After outlining the myth and illustrating that many Americans of all backgrounds had subscribed to this belief by the early 1990s, the project challenges the narrative of black homophobia by highlighting black urban neighborhoods in the first half of the twentieth century that permitted and even occasionally celebrated open displays of queerness. By the 1960s, however, the black communities that had hosted overt queerness were no longer recognizable, as the public balls, private parties, and other spaces where same-sex contacts took place were driven underground. This shift resulted from the rise of the black Civil Rights Movement, whose middle-class leadership – often comprised of ministers from the black church – rigorously promoted the respectability of the race. This politics of respectability included the demand by religious and activist leaders that all members of the black community meet the outward expectations of an upstanding, heteronormative citizen. This shift is grounded in the deep history of mainline black Christian denominations as sites of resistance against slavery and white supremacy, institutions that presumed individual respectability was prerequisite for the struggle for full citizenship. Over time, this led to publicly preaching homophobic sermons even while tolerating private queerness in the pews and choirs. This dynamic of Sexual Plausible Deniability, where queerness was tolerated as long as it went unnamed, gave rise to the so-called Down Low phenomenon—referring to black men who have sex with other men without adopting a gay identity—that gained public notoriety during the worst years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The final chapter explores the oral histories of black queer men who describe their experiences after the Civil Rights Movement, illuminating that queer expressions in black spaces continued to exist b (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Katherine Jellison (Committee Chair); Steve Estes (Committee Member); Brian Schoen (Committee Member); Kevin Mattson (Committee Member); Barry Tadlock (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender Studies; History

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2018, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Narratives of Albanian women activists involved in different forms of local, national as well as regional activism have continuously been excluded from official historical accounts in Kosova. This thesis, by focusing on the oral histories of 10 women activists, contributes to a deeper understanding of women's subjectivities, who in one way or another were engaged in the social and political processes in Kosova. Drawing from memory studies, oral history, and local feminist research in Kosova, I analyze how the life stories of these women intersect with broader events that characterize the history of the second half of the 20th century in Kosova. I particularly trace the ways how these women construct their subjectivity and civic engagement as women's rights activists in relation to nationalist movements, civil as well as armed resistance against the regime of Milosevic, war-time experience, and post-war period in Kosova. In this regard, I pay attention to forms of counter-memories that their life stories enact, which oppose both male-dominated historical accounts in post-war Kosova and the pejorative Serbian media discourse about Albanian women in the former Yugoslavia.

Committee: JIll Bystydzienski Ph.D (Advisor) Subjects: Gender Studies; History; Sociology; Womens Studies