Thesis--Amsterdam. / Includes bibliographical references.

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) report decreased sense of belonging compared to White students (Hunn, 2014; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Museus et al., 2018; Strayhorn, 2019). The study aimed to answer, "What are the daily lived experiences of BIPOC students at a PWI?" and "How do BIPOC students at a PWI describe feelings of belonging (if at all)?" The study was conducted at a private, religiously affiliated, PWI, in the Western United States. The University Belonging Questionnaire (Slaten et al., 2018) was used to sort students' feelings of belonging. Female participants who endorsed high belonging and low belonging were invited to focus group interviews. A total of 10 participants comprised of graduate and undergraduate students of varying ethnicities and races participated. A focused multiperspective interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) design was employed for this study. In total, there are five context-related themes describing how students navigate their experiences: Cultural Worlds, Support System, Religion, Academics, and Classmates. Both focus groups felt similarly about the importance of friends/family as a support system. The high belonging versus low belonging focus groups felt differently about belonging, discrimination, being a spokesperson, being a chameleon, religion, professors, and their classmates. Those in the HBG reported feeling connected to peers and faculty. The LBG reported feelings of isolation related to feeling othered by peers and faculty. Based on this study's findings, several recommendations are offered. Educators should strive to create environments where mentor-student relationships are fostered, microaggressions are lessened, and the larger community campus values BIPOC students. These efforts will better support BIPOC female students as they navigate their experiences in higher education settings, particularly in PWIs.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The worldwide African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) is divided into 20 regional districts. These include thirteen districts in the United States of America (Episcopal Districts 1-13), six districts on the African continent, namely Episcopal Districts 14, 15 and 17-20 and one that comprises Suriname-Guyana, South America, the Caribbean, Windward Islands, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti Jamaica, London and the Netherlands (Episcopal District 16). Each of these districts is administered by a bishop assigned at the seat of the General Conference which is conducted every four year. The General Conference is the highest decision-making body of the AME Church. This research project focuses on the relationship between the American and the African districts of the African Methodist Episcopal Church during the period from 1896 to 2004. It investigates the factors which led to the tensions emerged in the relationship between the American districts and the African districts. It specifically investigates the reasons for the five secession movements that took place in the 15th and 19th Districts of the AME Church in 1899, 1904, 1908, 1980 and 1998. The research problem investigated in this thesis is therefore one of a historical reconstruction, namely to identify, describe and assess the configurations of factors which contributed to such tensions in relationship between the AME Church in America and Africa. The relationships between the American and the African districts of the AME Church have been characterised by various tensions around the sovereignty of the African districts. Such tensions surfaced, for example, in five protest movements, which eventually led to secessions from the AME Church in South Africa. The people of the African continent merged with the American based AME Church with the expectation that they would be assisted in their quest for self-determination. The quest for self-determination in the AME Church in Africa has a long history. The Ethiopian Movement was established by Mangena Maake Mokone in 1892 as a protest movement against white supremacy and domination in the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Communication / MA (Communication)

The overarching aim of this study was to explore the similarities and differences in communication and other cultural practices in encounters between black indigenous Zambians and white Western migrants living in Zambia and the implications of these similarities and differences. The research adopted a qualitative research design, and focus group discussions were used as a data collection tool, using a video recorder to capture the discussions. The focus group comprised of 6 black indigenous Zambians and 6 white Westerners. The collected data was then transcribed from the video records and analysed using thematic analysis. The conclusion to this study is that the culture of black indigenous Zambians and that of white Westerners have both similarities and differences as far as communication practices and other practices are concerned. These similarities and differences influence communication encounters between the people of the two cultures either positively or negatively rendering communication either effective or non-effective. / Communication / MA (Communication)

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