Thesis advisor: Margaret Eletta Guider / Thesis advisor: O. Ernesto Valiente / Beginning in 1990 and lasting for one decade, in Rwanda and the subregion of Africa where Rwanda is located, violence, wars, genocide, and migrations caused various expressions of suffering. It is said that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared at Kibeho in a sorrowful state almost ten years before and foretold such atrocities and suggested a way out. Failing to pay heed to her prophetic voice, the consequences are devastating and challenging. In the effort to confront such challenges, the Church looks for ways in which she can channel the healing graces needed in the aftermath. Can we talk of the God who heals the broken-hearted in the context of bitter sufferings subsequent to Genocide against the Tutsi? The answer is ‘yes’ and in Rwanda, particularly the Sorrowful Mother and Jesus Christ, give a hint for that possibility. The solidarity shown by them to the suffering people of Rwanda is key to receiving God’s healing and hope in the promises of his Kingdom despite the bitterness of the suffering. Assured of the solidarity of both the Sorrowful Mother and of Jesus Christ, Rwandans can embark on the long yet necessary journey of healing and reconciliation. The Church in Rwanda ought to lead this urgent imperative with an innovative pastoral approach and at the same time propose a preventative endeavor to deter violence and instill harmonious relationships. This process of healing and reconciliation is informed by God’s example who reconciled humanity through the passion, death, and resurrection of his Son. Practices of solidarity, especially wherever sufferings are still felt, should be a priority. Moreover, a peacebuilding project should be an ecclesial initiative and priority for the sake of generations to come. / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

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<p>In February 2011, a wave of creative direct action swept across postal depots in the city of Edmonton which saw rank-and-file workers organizing outside of the channels of formal-legal unionism. Fighting against management’s imposition of compulsory overtime as a staffing measure, Letter Carriers and other “outside” postal workers relied on solidarity and resistance at the point of production in a successful campaign to put an end to this practice. The relevance of this particular struggle to the Canadian labour movement is twofold. First, the intensified workloads of Edmonton postal workers reflect a wider shift in the nature of employment relationships away from the existence of employer support as part of the rise of neoliberal capitalism. Second, the choice of workers to organize at a distance from the historically militant Canadian Union of Postal Workers reveals both the predicament facing labour of a highly restrictive formal labour relations system as well as an alternative path of resistance. For Edmonton postal workers, this path was forged in large part as a result of the influence of IWW dual-carder organizers and, more specifically, their introduction of a mode of union praxis known as solidarity unionism</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

This dissertation is a sociological exploration of Korean Protestant immigrant churches in the United States and the influence of Confucian traditions on them. Neo-Confucianism was accepted as the state ideology in Korea in the late fourteenth century, and its influences are still strong in Koreans' expressions of thought and worldviews, and Korean immigrants in the United States are no exception. Confucian elements are observed not only in Korean Protestant churches in Korea but also Korean immigrant churches in the United States. Thus, it can be said that Korean immigrant churches have the characteristics of a transnational religious institution. Transnationally, Confucian characteristics affect Korean churches. Further, Confucian traditions are integral to a collective consciousness for Korean immigrants, and thus their relationships and manners, based on Confucian traditions and teachings, enable them to maintain and reinforce their social solidarity. Moreover, such Confucian teachings and cultural mores are inculcated in most Koreans' habitus. As social agents, church members use symbolic capital, such as age and Confucian manners, to gain higher status in the church. In particular, age can be considered generational capital that determines and legitimizes church members' positions. Indeed, Korean Protestant churches across the Pacific can be called Confucian Protestant churches, namely, Protestant churches imbued with Confucian traditions. Korean immigrant churches are transnational and socially cohesive religious institutions that are shaped profoundly by Confucian traditions inculcated in their adherents' habitus across seas and generations. / Religion

In this thesis, I explore the topic of migration and specifically the case of Calais. Approaching it from a non-state perspective, I focus on the practices of civil society organizations that support people on the move and ask if and how these practices challenge state policies and practices. With the conscious decision to focus on this type of actor, coupled with a reflexivist methodology, I seek to disrupt the dominant narrative constructed by France, the United Kingdom and European Union, and avoid reproducing state- and Eurocentric knowledge in academia. In order to gain an in-depth understanding, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork in form of participant observation and semi-structured interviews in Calais between the beginning of April and May 2022. Drawing on additional textual data and engaging with scholarly debates on the concept of solidarity, I adapt the concept of “de-bordering solidarity” to analyse the practices of CSOs embedded within the border zone's local and regional context. I conclude by arguing that they do challenge the state while also highlighting the nuances and contradictions of solidarity practices.

Ce mémoire défend la thèse selon laquelle la nation constitue une source légitime de solidarité politique. Afin d’y arriver, je m’inspirerai de concepts issus de la conception ethnosymbolique de la nation ainsi que de la phénoménologie de la communauté. Je proposerai que l’identité nationale s’appuie sur des mythes et récits partagés permettant aux co-nationaux de s’imaginer comme membre d’une communauté. L’identification à ce « nous » donne un sens affectif à notre vie politique ainsi qu’à nos aspirations collectives. Ensuite, j’examinerai les arguments critiques dirigés contre le nationalisme afin de démontrer que le nationalisme est compatible avec la célébration de la diversité culturelle ainsi qu’avec le cosmopolitisme. En répondant aux critiques les plus menaçantes formulées à l’endroit du nationalisme, nous serons en mesure de clarifier les conditions sous lesquelles le nationalisme peut incarner une forme inspirante de solidarité. / This thesis argues that nations constitute legitimate sources of political solidarity. To achieve this, I will take inspiration from concepts derived from the ethnosymbolic conception of nations as well as from phenomenological analyses of community. I will defend that national identity is rooted in shared myths and narratives which allow co-nationals to imagine themselves as members of community. This identification to a “we” endows emotional meaning to our political life as well as to our collective aspirations. Then, I will examine critical arguments addressed against nationalism, and proceed to demonstrate that nationalism is compatible with the celebration of cultural diversity and cosmopolitanism. Answering to the most menacing critiques formulated against nationalism will allow us to clarify under which conditions may nationalism embody an inspiring form of solidarity.

This dissertation examines the historical race and class tensions across the United States, and particularly focuses on Appalachia as a potential place of resistance against racial and class injustice. Arguing for a thick cross-racial solidarity movement, I examine the history of Black oppression from slavery to current modes of oppression such as mass incarceration and colorblind constitutionalism. The presence of anti-Black racism and under acknowledgement of whiteness hinders any form of cross-racial solidarity. To combat this, I ask, are the genres of hip hop, bluegrass, and country able to provide a reckoning of the continual racial oppression of Black people and an acknowledgement of whiteness, in Appalachia and the U.S.? I examine the historical progression of bluegrass and country, and hip hop, through the history of the banjo and music industry. The banjo, an African instrument, links Appalachia with histories of both Black expression and racial oppression. From here, I argue that the history of the music industry provides a further understanding of racial injustice that is parallel to the instances of institutional racial injustice in the U.S. This history provides evidence that Black artists used their music to enable social movements and resistance against systemic racial injustice in the U.S. Throughout several chapters, I analyze the many untold, forgotten, and hidden histories of Black racial violence that exists in the U.S. and Appalachia, and how music operates as a tool of resistance that can enable Black liberation against racial injustice. Through an examination of racial injustice in my hometown of Martinsville, Virginia, and using music as a tool, I suggest that, a thick cross-racial solidarity can exist with a recognition of historical racial injustice against Blacks, both locally and nationally, an acknowledgment of whiteness, an anti-racist framework for community activism, and a centering of Black voice, narrative, and Black liberation. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation examines the historical race and class tensions across the United States, and particularly focuses on Appalachia as a potential place of resistance against racial and class injustice. Arguing for a thick cross-racial solidarity movement, I examine the history of Black oppression from slavery to current modes of oppression such as mass incarceration and colorblind constitutionalism. The presence of anti-Black racism and under acknowledgement of whiteness hinders any form of cross-racial solidarity. To combat this, I ask, are the genres of hip hop, bluegrass, and country able to provide a reckoning of the continual racial oppression of Black people and an acknowledgement of whiteness, in Appalachia and the U.S.? I examine the historical progression of bluegrass and country, and hip hop, through the history of the banjo and music industry. The banjo, an African instrument, links Appalachia with histories of both Black expression and racial oppression. From here, I argue that the history of the music industry provides a further understanding of racial injustice that is parallel to the instances of institutional racial injustice in the U.S. This history provides evidence that Black artists used their music to enable social movements and resistance against systemic racial injustice in the U.S. Throughout several chapters, I analyze the many untold, forgotten, and hidden histories of Black racial violence that exists in the U.S. and Appalachia, and how music operates as a tool of resistance that can enable Black liberation against racial injustice. Through an examination of racial injustice in my hometown of Martinsville, Virginia, and using music as a tool, I suggest that, a thick cross-racial solidarity can exist with a recognition of historical racial injustice against Blacks, both locally and nationally, an acknowledgment of whiteness, an anti-racist framework for community activism, and a centering of Black voice, narrative, and Black liberation.