Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2021, American Culture Studies

The migration flows that peaked during the 2015-2016 “refugee crisis” have had long-lasting effects to the countries of the European South. The latter have been deemed as border wardens of the European Union, filtering the “undesirables” who pose a threat to the European North, and by extension a proclaimed “Western way of life.” This project examines the living conditions of displaced persons and the systems of support in place for them in the European borderlands of Greece, with a case study of Crete. Starting from an archival ethnography and textual analysis of the “crisis” in an institutional archive, the ethnographic research focuses on the experiences of humanitarian workers and displaced persons on the island of Crete, where reception programs for asylum seekers and refugees run since 2017. Through in-depth ethnographic interviews with six (6) displaced persons and (24) humanitarian workers, the project analyzes the views, experiences, and strategies employed by humanitarian workers in protection and assistance programs for asylum seekers and refugees that dominate the Greek borderlands. Moreover, the focus on the constant categorization of beneficiaries by Greek and European authorities affects State policies and fieldwork daily, shaping the views of the displaced persons about themselves, their relationship to authorities, and the local community. The present research finds that in Greece the nature of services offered is temporary, without any policies for the future, even though participants acknowledge that migration flows towards Europe through Greece will only increase in the future.The lack of integration policies results in further reinforcing the role of Greece as a country-intermediary stop for displaced persons coming to Europe, offering few incentives for displaced persons to stay; in successful cases of integration, neighborhood communities have been critical in covering systemic deficiencies.

Committee: Susana Peña Dr. (Advisor); Erin Felicia Labbie Dr. (Other); Yiorgos Anagnostou Dr. (Committee Member); Radhika Gajjala Dr. (Committee Member); Michaela Walsh Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Ethnic Studies; European Studies; Social Research; Social Work

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, History

This dissertation examines the dynamics of political violence in the Revolutionary South from 1774 to 1776 as manifested in the rebels' strategy to overthrow the royal provincial governments in that region. It connects the failure of the British to recapture the southern provinces beginning in 1779 to this strategy implemented early in the war. It also offers a logic to the violence of the war in the South, which is often depicted as random and lacking any broader purpose but annihilation of the American Loyalists. British strategy for the southern colonies throughout the war was heavily reliant on the support of Loyalists, a reality that the rebels understood even before the war began. Most historians who have written on the British southern strategy have argued that the British failure was due to exaggerated reports of Loyalist strength in the South, usually the result of misleading reports from self-interested Loyalist officials or officials in London who had no better solution and grasped desperately for any proposal that looked promising. These historians have often drawn their evidence from the letters of General Charles, Lord Cornwallis, who had similar complaints about the Loyalists, who he believed were to blame for his lack of success. Recently historians have started to question this historiographical argument, suggesting that those of Loyalist sentiment were more numerous and willing to act than previously assumed. As with their earlier counterparts, however, these historians suggest the rebels undertook an indiscriminate and brutal campaign of violence aimed at simply eradicating Loyalists in a process reminiscent of The Terror to come in the French Revolution. The rebels' strategy instead emphasized control more than indiscriminate destruction. They were not attempting to eradicate an irreconcilable population or “purify” their society, the actions typically associated with revolutionary violence. The real threat for the rebels was the British (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Peter Mansoor (Advisor); John Brooke (Committee Member); Mark Grimsley (Committee Member); Andrew O'Shaughnessy (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History; Military History

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Womens Studies

Throughout the 1990s in the United States, a series of suburban school shootings perpetrated by young, white males disrupted contemporary perceptions of American youth, often a population configured in terms of ideal whiteness. In conjunction with sensationalized media coverage of school shootings, various fictional portrayals of suburban youth violence also emerged throughout this period as what Henry Giroux has called “public pedagogy” that served to further influence national perceptions of youth. In this body of film, television and literary narratives, school violence is often related to other national concerns surrounding American youth identity such as deviant sexuality and teen pregnancy. While a good deal of scholarly attention has focused on popular representations of education and youth generally, little has been written about these specific fictionalizations of school shootings and what they signify. This dissertation offers a feminist, discursive analysis of these fictional narratives of suburban school violence and argues that rampage violence narratives are intricately connected to national anxieties regarding youth, citizenship, threats to white masculinity, and American identity. In order to illustrate the complexities of themes present across popular culture mediums, my research delves into the purpose of the narratives and what they signify about contemporary American youth identity. Thus, my dissertation will explore representations of youth violence from a variety of angles that prioritize intertextual connections. Specifically, I offer a comparative analysis of portrayals of urban versus suburban school violence, explore the creation of gay male shooters as protagonists, and analyze fictional female shooter characters and teen pregnancy storylines. As well, my dissertation examines the genre phenomenon of young adult novels portraying school violence in order to place these novels in dialogue with other “adult” narratives. Throughout my dissert (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Linda Mizejewski PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Valerie Kinloch PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Rebecca Wanzo PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Education; Film Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; Literature; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2013, Counseling Psychology

This study explored resilient outcomes among 11 Cape Verdean men who have been exposed to violence in their community since their youth. To date, researchers have not studied resilience among this population. Therefore, the study used a grounded theory methodology to study their experiences from the “ground up” and “give a voice” to Cape Verdean men's lived experiences. The main purpose for the study was to establish a contextually and culturally sensitive theoretical framework for understanding resilience among Cape Verdean men who have been exposed to violence in their communities.The study aimed to answer three questions: (a) How do Cape Verdean men define resiliency in the context of exposure to violence?; (b) How have Cape Verdean men displayed resilient outcomes?; and (c) What factors promote resilient outcomes among Cape Verdean men? The analysis showed participants'described resilience as a) non-perpetration of violence, b)positive adaptation and advancement in the face of adversity and c) collective adaptation and advancement. In general, the participants defined resilience as a contextually and culturally specific positive adaptation that occurs across various areas of functioning. The grounded theory analysis yielded a core category, Survival, Empowerment, and Collective Advancement, that captured the participants' overall experiences with resilience. The core category was divided into 3 subcategories used to create a theoretical framework for explaining their experiences with resilience: a) displays of resilient outcomes, b) strategies of resistance, and c) psychosocial and cultural factors. , The theoretical framework will be helpful for informing initiatives that promote the well-being of Cape Verdean men who are exposed to violence in their communities.

Committee: John Queener Dr. (Advisor); Suzette Speight Dr. (Committee Member); Francis Broadway Dr. (Committee Member); Kuldhir Bhati Dr. (Committee Member); Ingrid Weigold Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Psychology; Mental Health; Psychology; Public Health