Support for far-right ideas and parties continues to be widespread despite significant efforts to curb it. Even in Germany, a country that underwent unusually far-reaching reforms after the Holocaust and the defeat of the Nazi regime, and that is often used as an example for how to deal with a fraught past, the threat of the far right gaining power is looming large and attitudes associated with far-right support continue to be widespread. This dissertation examines sources of persistence and change with respect to far-right support, using post-WWII Germany as a case. I used a mixed-methods approach, combining statistical analysis of observational data with in-depth qualitative analysis of archival data and an experiment. The three studies highlight the potentials and limits of three avenues for change: the political incorporation of right-leaning voters into mainstream center-right parties, education reforms to overcome far-right ideology, and interventions that inform people about past atrocities and injustices. Chapter 1 provides an overview of three pathways identified across the social sciences through which the past shapes social and political outcomes in the present: institutional path dependence, political socialization, and collective memory. I explain how these three pathways relate to the issue of far-right support. Chapter 2 draws on historical and contemporary election data and social statistics as well as secondary sources by historians to examine sources of regional variation in the support for far-right parties in Germany over time. I show how differences in the political incorporation of right-leaning displaced Germans resulted in different regional trajectories of far-right support. Where the center-right party was firmly embedded in the local social milieu and focused on its pre-existing voter base, it remained closed to right-leaning displaced voters, and far-right support persisted. Where the party could not build on a pre-existing voter base and collaborated with other parties on the right, it broadly incorporated conservative constituencies across social differences, resulting in a decline in far-right support. Chapter 3 is based on the qualitative analysis of 125 school student essays from 1950s West Germany about the German nation and the idea of an integrated Europe. I investigate ideas about belonging and supremacy among the first generation that grew up after WWII and the Holocaust and that was educated following the Allies’ comprehensive re-education efforts. I show how school students defined German-ness and European-ness based on ideas of shared culture, criticizing nationalism and largely embracing a joint European identity. At the same time, this move to cultural, as opposed to racial, conceptions of belonging, as well as the emphasis on Europe as a meaningful, shared category of belonging, did not preclude claims of superiority both within Europe as well as vis-à-vis other parts of the world. Chapter 4, a co-authored study, uses an original survey experiment to test the effectiveness of confronting people with different forms of factual information about a past atrocity that the national majority group was implicated in, for improving their attitudes towards minoritized groups and mobilizing them for symbolic justice and action against discrimination today. We randomly assigned German participants one of three prototypical representations of the Holocaust or a neutral control condition text. Results indicate that all three conditions are overall effective and that the personal story condition is especially effective for far-right supporters. Chapter 5 concludes with a discussion of implications and limitations, and suggests directions for future research.

The aim of this study is to examine how Swedish social services work withspecifically international adopted children and their sense of belonging. We alsowant to examine how social services take the child's best interest into consideration regarding international adopted children. We chose a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews with four social workers within units for child and family support and four social workers within family law in different municipalities aroundSweden. We have studied the results using belonging as a theory and identity andethnical identity as theoretical concepts. The results show that social workersbelieve that internationally adopted children may have more difficulties to formbelonging to their family and surroundings. It also shows that the Swedishmunicipalities do not really offer specific support for adoptees. The informants havestated that they cannot guarantee the child's best interest in every situation, since itis constantly changing, individually defined and adapted to needs. We did find thatthe support that is provided for adoptees and their families is mainly preventivemeasures. This includes parental education before adoption to equip the parents withall the knowledge they may need to adhere to the child's best interest. Manyinformants also state that many of the adoptive children have special needs in formof cleft palate, mental health issues as well as cognitive delays. They also state thatmany of these children have been institutionalised in orphan care and that it cancause trauma to these children later in life, which also can be considered a specialneed. The result also shows that the social workers believe that therapy can beeffective for these children and that the municipalities state that they would buythese services if needed. The municipalities work to prevent these health issuesamong adoptees by strengthening the parents to get the same knowledge as thesocial services to be able deal with the children. The informants say that theadoptees and their families should be able to feel like a “ordinary” family withoutthe state watching them if not needed which causes a dilemma.

[pt] Com o início da consolidação do Estado Democrático de Direito, de orientação liberal e individualista, ficou claro que o ideário liberal da igualdade e da liberdade trouxe a garantia formal de direitos fundamentais que, na prática não eram assegurados a todos. Iniciou-se, então, um movimento de crítica a esse modelo de estado que seria individualista e voltado apenas ao estímulo dos interesses egoístas de seus cidadãos. Nesse contexto surgiu a idéia dos direitos coletivos cuja titularidade é atribuída a um grupo de pessoas. O presente trabalho pretende discutir o problema conceitual dos direitos coletivos diante da estrutura liberal do Estado Democrático de Direito. Serão analisados: a origem das críticas ao cunho individualista da teoria liberal, a retomada da idéia de identidades coletivas, a relação entre direitos individuais e direitos coletivos e os diferentes entendimentos sobre os direitos coletivos e sobre a teoria liberal do estado democrático de direito. Por fim, serão procuradas as formas de tornar os direitos coletivos compatíveis com o modelo de Estado Democrático de Direito, de forma que possam servir à auto-realização dos indivíduos, sem a necessidade de subversão de toda a teoria do direito, pensada com base em um modelo subjetivista e individualista. / [en] The consolidation of the democratic state of law, based on a liberal and individualist doctrine, had made clear that the liberal ideas about freedom and equality were not enough to really assure the fundamental rights for everybody. This perception has begun a critical moment. The democratic state standard was considered too individualistic and was seen as an encouragement to self-centered interests. At this point, the idea of collective rights has emerged. Though, I intend to discuss the concept of collective rights, considering the structure of the liberal democratic state of law. I will analyze: the origin of the criticism about the liberal theory´s individualistic basis; the idea of collective identities; the relation between individual rights and collective rights and the different comprehensions about the collective rights and the democratic state of law, in a liberalist view. Finally, I intend to look for means to make collective rights compatible with the democratic state of law, in a way that makes possible for people to achieve happiness and make also possible to keep valid the modern theory of rights, based on an individualistic and subjectivist model.

[pt] Se analisarmos a seção infantil de uma livraria não demoraremos a encontrar ali histórias que se repetem ou se relacionam entre si de maneira incontestável. Uma dessas estruturas típicas é a da personagem diferente que busca aceitação, sendo o Patinho Feio seu representante mais conhecido. O eixo temático da pesquisa está, portanto, nessas diferentes formas visuais que o arquétipo do diferente tem o potencial de inspirar, transformar e adquirir no contexto da literatura para crianças. Considerando a imagem do livro ilustrado como parte indissociável na formação de sentido da narrativa, ela nos servirá de caminho e de guia para analisar as diferentes maneiras como encaramos o tema. Essa personagem diferente, que busca sua identidade nos mais variados contos, reflete em suas imagens visões diversas sobre a questão latente do pertencimento. / [en] Just a glance at the childrens section of a bookstore will reveal a number of stories whose narrative elements are undoubtedly similar or related to one another. It is the case of a character perceived as different by its peers, and seeks approval by the group. The Ugly Duckling is, perhaps, the best-known model of this sort of story. The present research intends to show how this archetypical character has the potential to inspire, transform and acquire a variety of visual forms in childrens literature. Actually, images play an important part in the making of meaning in these plots. They will guide us in the analysis of the numerous ways of approaching the theme. We will examine how the visual representation of character seen as different, and looks for its own place and identity within a group, reflects diverse visions about the theme of belonging.

[pt] À luz das considerações de Heidegger em seu texto Sobre a Madona Sistina, pretendo defender que a singularidade da Madona Sistina como um sui generis essenciar do Bild está relacionada a um transparecer apropriativo (Ereignis) que emerge nesta pintura. Vou argumentar que é possível rastrear este transparecer apropriativo através da investigação da especificação que Heidegger faz de seu uso do termo Bild como significando Antlitz (semblante) e de sua caracterização deste Bild como sendo um Altar-Bild. De acordo com o filósofo, o trazer à emergência traz à emergência (das Bild bildet) ambos: uma janela e um sítio (Ort). No primeiro capítulo, vou relacionar o sentido de Antlitz como um Entgegenblick (um olhar voltado a um encontro) enquanto chegada ao caráter de janela enquanto um olhar para fora (Ausblick) na direção daquilo que chega. O objetivo é sugerir que aquilo que singulariza este Bild é sua referência a um transparecer apropriativo do mútuo pertencimento de velar e desvelar. No segundo capítulo, vou relacionar o caráter de altar do Bild ao trazer à emergência de um sítio. Meu propósito é associar o pertencimento da Madona Sistina a um sítio a um mútuo pertencimento de sítios, a saber: um mútuo pertencimento do altar e da igreja. Supondo que ambos estão relacionados à memória do sagrado, eles poderiam ser relacionados ao pensamento enquanto a salvaguarda do sagrado. Segundo Heidegger, o pensamento é pensamento do Ser. Isso significa que ele pertence ao Ser e que ele ausculta o Ser. Ele é um transparecer apropriativo (Ereignis). / [en] In the light of Heidegger s remarks in his text On the Sistine Madonna, I intend to defend that the singularity of the Sistine Madonna as a sui generis Bild essencing (Bildwesen) is related to an enowning (Ereignis) that is brought forth in this painting. I will argue that it is possible to trace this enowning through the investigation of Heidegger s specification of his use of the term Bild as meaning Antlitz (countenance), and of his characterization of this Bild as being an Altar-Bild. According to the philosopher, the bringing into emergence brings into emergence (das Bild bildet) both: a window and a site (Ort). In the first chapter, I will relate the meaning of Antlitz as an Entgegenblick (encountering glance) as arrival to the window character as an outlook (Ausblick) of arrival. The aim is to suggest that what singularizes this Bild is its reference to a disclosure of appropriation (Ereignis) of the mutual belonging of concealment and unconcealment. In the second chapter, I will relate the altar character of the Bild to the bringing into emergence of a site. My purpose is to link the Sistine s belonging to a site to a mutual belonging of sites, that is: a belonging together of the altar and the church. Supposing that they are both related to the memory of the sacred, they could be related to thinking as the safeguard of the sacred. According to Heidegger, the thinking is the thinking of being. This means that it belongs to being and that it listens to being. It is an enowning (Ereignis).

[pt] O que (também) se pode esperar de nossas favelas, se desrespeitadas em suas particularidades elas têm sido vistas sob um único prisma: território de aglomeração de camadas pobres? Esse modelo hegemonicamente construído de olhar a favela surge identificando seus moradores como classes perigosas, a por em risco nosso mundo ilusoriamente portador de uma realidade coerente. No universo acadêmico, nosso discurso especializado costuma remeter nossas ações mais para a situação de risco da comunidade assistida do que para suas capacidades e seu potencial. O objetivo deste trabalho é compreender o morador da favela como quem, ao olhar a cidade, pode se inserir na construção de uma proposta coletiva para o viver em sociedade e pode elaborar criativamente para si sua experiência de pertencimento. Metodologicamente, foi tomada por base a pesquisa-ação. A partir das categorias centrais evidenciadas na prévia leitura bibliográfica e das que emergiram do material empírico, procedeu-se um exame qualitativo dos discursos e das informações recolhidas através de diário de campo. Foi escolhido o Grupo Eco/adolescente, formado por jovens moradores da favela de Santa Marta, em Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro. A dissertação discute como esse espaço contribui na busca pele realização do ideal da cidade cerzida e no resgate da singularidade dos atores envolvidos. / [en] What can we (also) get from our slums, if they are not respected in their singularities? They had been contemplated under only one aspect: poor classes territory of agglomeration. This hegemonic approach about the slums emerges classifying their people as dangerous classes, which bring a risk to our world that is an illusory way to possess a coherent reality. In the academical universe, our specialized speeches use to focus our actions on the risk situation of the helped people instead of doing so on their capacities and their potential. The aim of this work is to understand - by the whole city point of view - the slum inhabitant as someone who can be part of the construction of a collective proposal of living in a single society and who can develop for himself, in a creative way, his own experience of taking part of it. The methodology applied here was the research-action approach (field trip). From the central categories that were taken as relevant in the previous bibliography reading material and from which the empirical material was collected, we proceeded into a qualitative examination of the speeches and information we got from a campfield diary work. The ECO/adolescents Group, composed of young inhabitants from Santa Marta slum, in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, was chosen as this field for our investigation. This work analyses how the mentioned group contributes to make real the ideal of the darned city and to rescue the identity of the actors involved on this.

Cities are co-constructed places shaped by interlocking systems of oppression. The cultural practices, socioeconomic systems, and bodily experiences born out of oppressive systems impact not only how cities are designed, but how people interact with the space. This dissertation examines how embodied experiences (habits, narratives, behaviors) of neighborhood change in Buffalo, New York affect residents’ sense of belonging. Drawing from scholarship on embodiment and place attachment this study examines how the urban form and personal identities inform a person’s sense of belonging. Participants (n=6) were asked to participate in five phases: 1) a life history interview; 2) a semi-structured interview; 3) the collection of audio-visual materials, and 4) a walking tour. Findings suggest embodied experiences of neighborhood change inform participants sense of belonging. Race and gender resulted in differing interactions with people and place. This study adds to existing literature on belonging by offering an understanding into how white residents experience neighborhood change, which is rarely attended to in the literature. This study has the potential to inform future interdisciplinary research as well as municipal efforts to engage residents in community development and urban policy design. / 2028-05-31T00:00:00Z

Victims of racial discrimination often experience negative consequences that extend into all aspects of well-being (e.g., psychological, subjective, social). Racial microaggressions describe a series of verbal and non-verbal behaviors that cause harm, perpetuate negative stereotypes, and negate the experience of racial/ethnic minorities. Research has found a negative relationship between experiencing racial discrimination and psychological well-being, as well as a potential buffering effect of racial/ethnic identity. However, less information is available about the existence of these relationships with social well-being. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill a gap in the literature in regard to racial microaggressions, racial/ethnic identity, and social well-being in 453 racially diverse undergraduate students. Quantitative results indicated that African Americans reported higher levels of racial microaggressions and racial/ethnic identity than other groups, racial microaggressions were negatively associated with sense of belonging, racial/ethnic identity was positively associated with sense of belonging, and the association between racial microaggressions and sense of belonging was not moderated by racial/ethnic identity. Qualitative analyses using the conventional content analysis revealed two clusters of facilitative behavioral expressions of university/community inclusion: (a) interpersonal expressions of inclusion and (b) systemic expression of inclusion. I conclude by discussing limitations, areas for future research, and implications for counseling.

Thesis advisor: Heather Rowan-Kenyon / The U.S. college sports system is a multibillion-dollar industry. For more than a century, higher education institutions and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have found ways to financially capitalize on the commercial appeal of college sports while preventing the student-athletes from sharing in the profits. Although the amateurism policies that restricted athletes from earning money have recently changed, the culture that prioritizes their athletic successes over academic goals has not. This pressure to win at all costs leads to exploitation of the Black student-athletes (BSAs) who comprise most of the revenue-producing teams at predominantly White schools (PWIs). Understanding BSAs’ academic and athletic experiences at PWIs requires a systems approach that examines how different systems influence their academic outcomes and sense of belonging.Using Bronfenbrenner and Morris’s (2007) Bioecological Model of Human Development as the overarching framework, this 3-paper qualitative dissertation explores how precollege experiences and intersecting identities shape interactions in BSAs’ microsystems and their sense of belonging at PWIs. The purpose of paper 1 is to understand how agency from precollege experiences influences Black football student-athletes’ (BFSAs) perception of the racial climate and sense of belonging at PWIs. Paper 2 explores how Black female basketball student-athletes’ (BFBSAs) intersectional identities impacts their academic experiences, self-efficacy and belonging. Paper 3 seeks to understand how current Division I (DI) policies influence football and women’s basketball coaches’ ability to provide holistic education to their student-athletes. Phenomenological interviews with Black former football players in paper 1 revealed that precollege experiences and attitudes influenced their decisions to attend PWIs over historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), shaped their perception of the racial climate at PWIs, and helped them develop agency to succeed, but finding belonging often depended on holistic experiences. In paper 2, phenomenological interviews with Black former women’s basketball players revealed how precollege academic identity, intersectionality, and coaching ethos impacted academic self-efficacy and belonging. In paper 3, in-depth interviews with football and women’s basketball coaches generated a theory of holistic coaching and revealed the challenges coaches face in providing a holistic education, including the changing student-athlete population and the transactional nature of college sports, and how they support the student-athletes of color on their teams. College athletics is a time-honored tradition that will continue to become more transactional as the financial stakes increase. Head coaches depend on the BSAs they recruit to elevate their athletic programs by delivering national championships to their institutions. The college sports system’s expectations that coaches prioritize athletic achievement over academic success are detrimental to BSAs’ academic experiences and belonging at PWIs. It is time for institutions to appreciate BSAs’ contributions beyond their athletic talents and provide the necessary resources to ensure their holistic development and successful outcomes. This 3-paper dissertation fills an essential gap in the literature on BSAs and makes recommendations to PWIs looking to improve their experiences. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This study aimed to take asset-based approach and identify Latino male students who were persisting in college, and to identify what strategies made them successful. This qualitative study consulted Tinto's revised student departure model, Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital, as well as Yosso's theory of community cultural wealth. A phenomenological design was utilized to identify the shared experience of first-generation Latino male college students who had persisted in college and maintained a 3.0 grade point average. Findings revealed that Latino students entered college with goals to provide better opportunities for the next generation. They encountered unfamiliarity, culture shock, and marginalization, all obstacles centered not on academic preparedness, but on unfamiliarity with the environment. They used their linguistic, navigational, and aspirational capital to navigate their two worlds. Their cultural upbringing stressed a strong commitment to family and community, i.e. familismo. They found community among in-group peers and college staff. This support network provided what Laura Rendon refers to as validating experiences. Once familismo was obtained they gained a sense of belonging and grew their cultural capital to become familiar with the college going culture. The learned the rules of the game which enabled students to focus on their goal of earning a college degree.