In an attempt to close the gaps between diaspora and regional studies an Afro-Asian comparative perspective on African and Indian identity will be explored in the countries of Guyana and South Africa. The overlying aim of the ethnographic research will be to see whether blackness can be used as a unifier to those belonging to enslaved and indentured diasporas. Comparisons will be made between the two race models of the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean worlds. A substantial portion will be set aside for a critique of the concept of Coolitude including commentary on V.S. Naipaul. Further, mixing, creolization, spirituality and the cultural politics of Black Consciousness, multiculturalism, and dreadlocks will be exemplified as AfroAsian encounters.

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ix, 226 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation argues that American women writers have revised sacred texts to challenge patriarchy, racism, and colonialism and rewritten American history to reveal how biblical scripture has been implicated in these processes. I focus on the literary strategies of Toni Morrison, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Lucille Clifton to rewrite sacred texts and create myths for a new society. In different ways, these writers redefine Christianity, often by countering the erasures of women in biblical scripture, recovering suppressed texts such as those from the gnostic tradition, and creating new sacred texts. Chapter I traces the history of feminist scriptural revision from the early feminist movement to its resurgence in the late-twentieth century. In this period, a number of authors rewrote religious scripture from a pre-Christian tradition; Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels played a critical role in the attention given to scripture suppressed by Christianity and the potential it holds for writers interested in recovering alternative epistemologies. Chapter II focuses on Morrison's Beloved and Jazz , which are concerned with the way biblical theology is proliferated through apocalyptic narrative strategies and omniscient narration. This chapter investigates the shift Morrison makes between biblical and gnostic concerns in the first two books of her trilogy. Chapter III analyzes the final book in Morrison's trilogy, Paradise , and compares it to Silko's Gardens in the Dunes . Here, Morrison relies on gnostic sources to scrutinize the effects of biblical notions of utopia on literature and its implications for social relations. Gardens uses the same sources but puts them to different uses, subverting their authority in a rewriting that supports Native survival through a program of cultural syncretism. Chapter IV examines the poetry of Lucille Clifton, who, although initially revising Christianity through her refiguring of the Lucifer character, rejects that tradition following the events of 9/11. Clifton's work in Mercy marks a juncture in women's revisions of sacred texts in its departure from Christianity and its introduction of a new sacred text and moral code not predicated upon hierarchy. In conclusion, I consider how these writers extend feminist and anti-racist traditions of scriptural revision explored in the introduction. / Adviser: Shari Huhndorf

viii, 233 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation argues that certain iconic poems have shaped the canon of American poetry. Not merely "canonical" in the usual sense, iconic poems enjoy a special cultural sanction and influence; they have become discourses themselves, generating our notions about American poetry. By "iconic" I mean extraordinarily famous works like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride," Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself," and Claude McKay's "If We Must Die," that do not merely reside in the national memory but that have determined each poet's reception and thus have shaped the history of American poetry. Through case studies, I examine longstanding assumptions about these poets and the literary histories and myths surrounding their legendary texts. In carefully historicized readings of these and other iconic poems, I elucidate the pressure a single poem can exert on a poet's reputation and on American poetry broadly. I study the iconic poem in the context of the poet's corpus to demonstrate its role within the poet's oeuvre and the role assigned to it by canon makers. By tracing a poem's reception, I aim to identify the national, periodic, political, and formal boundaries these poems enforce and the distortions they create. Because iconic poems often direct and justify our inclusions and exclusions, they are of particular use in clarifying persistent obstacles to the canon reformation work of the last thirty years. While anthologies have become more inclusive in their selections and self-conscious about their ideological motives, many of the practices regarding individual poets and poems have remained unchanged over the last fifty years. Even as we include more poets in the canon, we often ironically do so by isolating a particular portion of the career, impulse in the work, or even a single poem, narrowing rather than expanding the horizon of our national literature. Through close readings situated in historical and cultural contexts, I illustrate the varying effects of iconic poems on the poet, other poems, and literary history. / Committee in charge: Dr. Karen J. Ford, Chair; Dr. John T. Gage, Member; Dr. Ernesto J. Martinez, Member; Dr. Leah W. Middlebrook, Outside Member

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Walter Schumm / Farrell J. Webb / There is considerable research on concepts of Blackness in America. Much of this research is conducted within a Eurocentric as opposed to an Afrocentric perspective. Social research has established that ideals, social norms, and values about Black minority groups may be shaped by dominant culture premises and that the dominant culture of any society can influence the attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of minority group members coexisting within that culture. The White racial frame holds that over time a dominant cultural perspective in the U.S. has installed a positive orientation to “White” and whiteness and a strong negative orientation toward racial “others”, particularly toward Black Americans. The present research explores this phenomenon from an Afrocentric perspective, assessing propinquity preferences of non-native Immigrant and native-born American Blacks toward native-born Blacks. Utilizing data drawn from The National Survey on American Life 2001-2003 (Jackson, 2007) the study assessed the degree of Black propinquity (i.e., self-identified feelings of closeness and identity preferences with native-born Blacks) expressed within and between subsamples of native-born African American (n = 3,464) and non-native (chiefly Afro-Caribbean) Blacks (n = 1,118). More specifically, it hypothesized that native-born Blacks would display greater propinquity preferences than Immigrant Blacks for native-American Blacks depicted as more economically-challenged as well as socially affluent and elite; also, it expected they would report greater support for socially undesirable as well as socially desirable Blacks than would Immigrant Blacks. A series of hierarchical regression analyses modeled the unique and joint predictive variance of socio-demographic, socio-economic, and Black (derived) target characteristics within each Black subpopulation against the primary outcome variable (propinquity). Overall regression models for each Black group were highly similar in the proportion of explained variance (27% for native Blacks; 26% for Immigrant Blacks) and weighted contributions of three blocks of variables; derived variables for Black target characteristics contributed most of the total variance within each group. No statistically reliable differences for R score values were found between the two Black subpopulations on these derived variables. Findings are discussed in the context of the White racial frame perspective, secondary data methodology, and future research.

abstract: The purpose of my dissertation project is to understand how Same-Gender Loving (SGL) Black Christian men negotiate their sexuality and spirituality in spaces that are not always accepting of SGL people, by examining on how Black SGL men perform their sexual identities within hegemonic institutions that often deny their existence or outwardly seek to exclude them from their communities. I have identified three scripts that Black SGL men often follow within Black religious settings. The first script that SGL people often follow in the church is that of deliverance-- confessing their same-gender desires and maintaining that they have been delivered from those desires The second is "don't ask don't tell" performed by men who many believe and suspect of being SGL; so long as they do not publicly affirm these beliefs they are able to hold a variety of positions in their religious communities.. The last script involves accepting one's same-gender desires and also affirming one's Christian beliefs, proclaiming that the two are not at odds with one another. I examine how these scripts and/or others are performed by and on the bodies of Black SGL males in two distinct sites. The first is the career and music of former gospel star Anthony Charles Williams II (Tonex / B. Slade), who has utilized the three scripts at various times in his career. The next site is that of theatre, where I explore how these scripts have been employed in dramatic texts. By reading Christian Black SGL performance through its theological parameters, I aim to discern the avenues in which Black people in the United States are able to perform same-gender sexual identities in spaces that are constructed as "homophobic," and in so doing combat the narrative of hyper-homophobia in Black communities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Theatre 2013

Ce travail vise à mieux comprendre les trajectoires et les conditions de vie de certains bénéficiaires de la politique des quotas, et également à connaître l’opinion de ces bénéficiaires sur l’efficacité du programme en tant qu’outil de lutte contre les inégalités raciales au Brésil. Pour cela, nous avons mené une étude de cas ayant comme but d’analyser l’expérience d’étudiants qui s’auto-identifient comme negros et qui ont eu accès à l’Université d’État de Rio de Janeiro, au Brésil, grâce à la politique de discrimination positive, et qui ont réussi à terminer leurs études universitaires et à obtenir leur diplôme. Nous avons mené des entretiens semi-structurés en soumettant des questionnaires contextuels à neuf anciens bénéficiaires de cette politique. Le guide d’entretien a été construit à partir de six domaines de recherche thématiques : la sélection de l’université et son intégration; l’identité raciale et le racisme; La permanence à l’université; l’intégration sur le marché du travail; la mobilité sociale et économique; et l’évaluation de la politique des quotas. Face aux résultats, nous pouvons dire que le système des quotas de l’UERJ, visant à garantir les droits historiquement niés à des groupes minoritaires tels que les Negros, par exemple, permet de changer de manière considérable les conditions de vie de ces bénéficiaires. Certes, il y a encore beaucoup à faire pour réduire les inégalités raciales et le racisme au Brésil, mais selon les résultats de la présente étude, la politique des quotas peut constituer l’une des étapes qui vont dans ce sens. / This research aims to better understand the trajectories and living conditions of certain beneficiaries of the quota policy and also to know the opinion of these beneficiaries on the effectiveness of the program as a tool to combat racial inequality in Brazil. To do so, a case study was conducted to learn about the experience of black self-declared alumni, who had access to the Rio de Janeiro State University, in Brazil, through affirmative action policy and have successfully completed their university studies and graduated. We conducted semistructured interviews and applied contextual questionnaires to nine former beneficiaries of the policy. The interview script was constructed from six thematic research areas: selection and integration of the University; racial identity and racism; permanence in the University; integration into the labor market; social and economic mobility; and evaluation of the quota policy. In view of the results, it can be said that the quota system in UERJ, which aims to guarantee rights historically denied to minority groups such as the blacks, for example, is helping to significantly change the living conditions of the beneficiaries. While there is still much to be done to reduce racial inequality and racism in Brazil, but from the results found here, apparently, the quota policy can be one of the steps in this direction.

« Il s’est converti à la « philosophie » chrétienne (et non pas à la « religion » chrétienne) », affirme Maurice Sachot (2007, p. 112) à l’égard de la conversion de Tertullien vers 197 après J.-C. Si cette conversion suscite beaucoup de suspicion en ce qui a trait aux rapprochements entre christianisme, philosophie et religion, que dire d'une autre conversion quinze siècles plus tard, celle des esclaves cette fois. Et pourtant, d'aucuns avancent que les esclaves noirs des Antilles se sont convertis à la religion catholique chrétienne. Or, par la Bible les Noirs africains avaient été mis en esclavage, et, cette même Bible les a ré-humanisés. Cependant, ils étaient considérés comme des hommes nés dans l’« ignorance » et vivaient dans un état de servitude. Aussi, à la lumière de la psychanalyse, notre recherche vise à analyser une « conversion » au christianisme des esclaves noirs. Cette révélation pourrait expliquer en partie cette situation mettant en scène deux perspectives contraires : assujettir et ré-humaniser. Décrire ce passage en termes d’une « conversion » au christianisme des esclaves noirs ne ferait que passer sous silence le tranchant des drames humains en cause. Dès lors, cette période des XVIIe et XVIIIe devient le témoin d'un paradoxe religieux qui montre une religion des maîtres et une religion des Évangiles. Il est important de comprendre que cette dernière a été l’objet de croyance et par voie de fait, de libération. Ce travail se veut être une analyse qui révèle des signifiants qui se rattachent à la conversion des esclaves noirs. / He converted to Christian «philosophy» - not to Christa in religion – once said Maurice Sachot, (2007, p.112) regarding Tertullien’s conversion, circa 197 CE. If establishing a relationship between Christianity, philosophy and religion as the foundation of the conversion raises doubts, then how about the slaves conversion fifteen centuries later ? No one has affirmed that Black slaves from the West Indies converted to the Roman Catholic Church. However, in the name of the Bible, Black Africans had been reduced to slavery and it is this same Bible that re-humanized them. Though they remained considered ignorant and were thought to live in servitude. Moreover, our research aims to analyse Black slaves «conversion », to Christianity in the light of the psychoanalysis. This revelation could explain to some extent the contradiction between the two seemingly paradoxical perspectives of submitting versus re-humanizing. By strictly describing this passage as a «conversion », we would be ignoring the human tragedy which exists at the core of it. As such, this scene reveals a religious paradox which demonstrates both a religion promoted by masters and a religion of the Gospels. We must understand that this religion was the object of a belief and de facto, that of emancipation. This work tends to be an analysis which reveals "signifiants" that refer to the conversion of Black slaves.

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