<p>This dissertation examines Charles Darwin’s major texts together with literary works by turn-of the-century American women writers—Nella Larsen, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Kate Chopin—in order to trace how evolutionary theory shaped transatlantic cultural ideas of race, particularly black identity, and gender. I focus on the concept of “descent” as the overarching theme organizing categories of the human in evolutionary terms. My perspective and methods—examining race and gender from a black feminist perspective that draws on biopolitics theory, as well as using close reading, affect theory, and attention to narrative in my textual analysis—comprise my argument’s framework. By bringing these perspectives and methods together in my attention to the interplay between Darwinian discourse and American literature, I shed new light on the turn-of-the-century transatlantic exchange between science and culture. Throughout this dissertation, I argue that descent constitutes a central concept and point of tension in evolutionary theory’s inscription of life’s development. I also show how themes of human-animal kinship, the Western binary of rationality and materiality, and reproduction and maternity circulated within this discourse. I contribute to scholarly work relating evolutionist discourse to literature by focusing on American literature: in the context of turn-of-the-century American anxieties about racial and gender hierarchies, the evolutionist paradigm’s configurations of human difference were especially consequential. Moreover, Larsen, Gilman, and Chopin offer responses that reveal this hierarchy’s varied effects on racialized and gendered bodies. I thus demonstrate the significance of examining Darwinian discourse alongside American literature by women writers, an association in need of deeper scholarly attention, especially from a feminist, theoretical perspective. </p><p>This dissertation begins with my application of literary analysis and close reading to Darwin’s major texts in order to uncover how they formed a suggestive foundation for late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century ideologies of race and gender. I use this analysis as the background for my investigation of Larsen’s, Gilman’s, and Chopin’s literary texts. In Chapter 1, I conduct a close reading of Darwin’s articulation of natural selection in <i>The Origin of Species</i>and focus on how Darwin’s syntactical and narrative structure imply evolution as an agential force aimed at linear progress. In Chapter 2, I analyze Darwin’s articulation of the development of race and gender differences in <i>The Descent of Man</i>, as well as Thomas Henry Huxley’s <i>Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature</i>, and argue that Darwin’s and Huxley’s accounts suggest how anxiety over animal-human kinship was alleviated through structuring nonwhite races and women as less developed and hence inferior. In Chapter 3, I argue that Larsen’s novel <i>Quicksand </i>interrogates and complicates aesthetic primitivism and biopolitical racism and sexism, both rooted in evolutionist discourses. Finally, in Chapter 4, I focus on Gilman’s utopian novel <i>Herland</i>and select short stories by Chopin. While Gilman unambiguously advocates for a desexualized white matriarchy, Chopin’s stories waver between support for, and critique of, racial hierarchy. Reading these authors together against the backdrop of white masculine evolutionist theory reveals how this theory roots women as materially bound reproducers of racial hierarchy.</p>

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Racial Contract fait partie de ces livres pionniers qui ont permis aux théories critiques de la race de faire leur entrée en philosophie politique. Dans cette analyse libérale des inégalités raciales, Charles W. Mills propose de prendre la suprématie blanche comme outil conceptuel pour décrire et expliquer les problèmes liés à la race aux États-Unis. Le potentiel émancipatoire de cette approche subversive chez les personnes racisées noires n’a pas été étudié. Dans ce mémoire, après avoir comparé diverses conceptions de la notion de « race », nous examinons la façon dont Mills articule les concepts de « suprématie blanche » et d’« épistémologie de l’ignorance » afin d’expliquer les injustices raciales. Finalement, nous explorons la théorie de la résistance de Shannon Sullivan afin d’évaluer sa compatibilité avec la théorie descriptive de Mills. En fin d’analyse, nous estimons qu’une philosophie de la résistance aurait avantage à se tourner vers des théories critiques de la race autres que celle de Mills, telles que celle de W.E.B. Du Bois afin d’avoir un concept de l’individu racisé noir qui rend compte de son agentivité et donc de sa capacité à résister. Nous soutenons aussi que le concept de « suprématie blanche », tel que développé par Mills, est un outil théorique cohérent, valide et potentiellement utile à l’élaboration d’une philosophie de la résistance noire. Enfin, même si sa portée est plutôt restreinte, nous considérons que l’apport des « traîtres de la race » tel que Shannon Sullivan dans une philosophie de la résistance peut potentiellement être positif. / Racial Contract is one of the pioneering books that brought critical race theories into political philosophy. In this liberal analysis of racial inequalities, Charles W. Mills proposes to use white supremacy as a conceptual tool to describe and explain race-related problems in the United States. However, the emancipatory potential of this subversive approach among "black" people has not been studied. In this master thesis, after comparing various conceptions of "race", we examine how Mills articulates the concepts of "white supremacy" and "epistemology of ignorance" to explain racial injustices. Finally, we explore Shannon Sullivan's theory of resistance to assess its compatibility with Mills' descriptive theory. In the end, we believe that a philosophy of resistance would benefit from turning to critical theories of race other than that of Mills, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, in order to have a concept of the "black" individual that accounts for his or her agentivity and thus his or her capacity to resist. We also argue that the concept of "white supremacy", as developed by Mills, is a coherent, valid and potentially useful theoretical tool for the development of a philosophy of black resistance. Finally, even if its scope is rather limited, we consider that the contribution of "race traitors" such as Shannon Sullivan to a philosophy of resistance can potentially be positive.

The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of Jamaican Expatriate Female C-suite executives in the diaspora of working in Multi-national Companies (MNCs). A further question to be answered was the meaning they derived from their experiences. With little research emerging from the Caribbean about this elite class of professionals, the research intended to expose the challenges faced as an outsider in unfamiliar spaces. Research on other groups have exposed limiting factors to women’s progress in MNCs. Critical Race Theory with a brief mention of Critical Human Geography and Intersectionality are lens applied to critique the experiences of the eight participants. This research mined the extant literature that looked at navigating barriers, disrupting stereotypes and gender diversity in international careers. The method of inquiry applied to this research was existential phenomenology and its utility in getting to the essence of the women’s lived experiences highlighted the glass-border phenomenon. In reflecting on the outcome, this research opens the door for scholars and practitioners alike, to critically assess the expatriate literature and to probe further the complex relationship between international business, the movement of black talent across geographic and culturally diverse boundaries and the challenges encountered. The results of this study illuminated several themes from the participants textural descriptions: (1) Moving from Invisible to Visible – Disrupting Bias; (2) Who am I? – Identity, Gender and Heritage; (3) Renegotiating the Rules of Engagement paired with Re-branding the Role and Authority of Women in Business; (4) Male Sponsorship Leads to Acceptance; (5) Improving Skill and Competency Capital for New Roles; (6) Building and Maintaining Bridges – Network Management.

Dans le cadre du jumelage d’une famille d’accueil Banque mixte et d’un enfant en situation de compromission, cette famille peut exprimer certaines restrictions, notamment quant aux facteurs ayant une incidence sur l’intensité de la prise en charge (déficiences physiques, mentales, troubles graves du comportement, etc.). Cependant, elle peut aussi émettre une réserve sur la « race » ou couleur de l’enfant, caractéristique sans implication fonctionnelle. Les enfants de couleur sont de ce fait considérés « plus difficiles à placer ». Mon mémoire questionne cette pratique où l’État – en avalisant les restrictions de « race » ou couleur posées par les familles d’accueil Banque mixte qu’il rémunère – crée, dans l’allocation des ressources de santé et de services sociaux, une disparité préjudiciable aux enfants racisés, et ce, sur la base, précisément, de leur « race » ou couleur. / As part of the current pairing process for a foster (potentially adoptive) family and a vulnerable child from the “Banque mixte”, whose security and development are on the line – this foster family may set certain restrictions, notably in relation to factors influencing the intensity of care (physical or mental limitations, behavioural disorders, etc.). However, the adoptive parent(s) can also restrict the offering of their service to « Whites only », limiting their potential care to children who fit their racial requirements, a criterion without any functional impact. Children of colour are therefore considered « more difficult to place ». Our master thesis questions this practice in which the State – by endorsing the racial restrictions issued by the Banque mixte foster family through placement and remuneration – creates in the resource allocation of health and social services a detrimental disparity on the mere basis of “race”.

The majority of the Lao American population arrived in the United States after the end of the “American War in Southeast Asia” in 1975 as political refugees. Nevertheless, as Asian Americans, Lao Americans are also stereotyped to be the “model minority” and therefore do not face the same educational and socioeconomical challenges like other communities of color. However, Lao Americans are not the model minority and face numerous obstacles as the community is overlooked and history is forgotten by mainstream America. The lack of scholarly literature on Lao Americans highlights not only the general misunderstanding of the community, but also the community’s struggles in social upward mobility in addition to low higher educational attainment levels. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to learn from the experiences of Lao American college graduates in order to support younger Lao Americans pursue their higher educational goals. This basic qualitative study provided participants the opportunity to interpret their experiences as Lao American college graduates and make sense out of their lives. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, participants reflected upon their educational journeys as Lao American students. Based upon the data analysis of the interview notes and transcripts, five major themes were identified. The first two themes highlight the Lao American students’ stories in K-12 and higher education respectively. Lao American Counternarratives provides an alternate understanding of the Asian and Lao American experience. Lao American Pathways to Degree Completion details the roadmap utilized by participants to complete their degrees. Finally, in Words of Wisdom, participants offer guidance to younger Lao Americans interested in pursuing higher education. Stemming from the findings and literature, there are four implications for action. First, Lao American Awareness, to differentiate between the experiences of Asian and Lao Americans. Secondly, the proliferation of Lao American Support Networks, to Lao American support students and family successfully pursue higher education. Thirdly, Economic Development, to provide Lao American students more equitable educational opportunities. Finally, Beyond the Model Minority Myth, to uplift all marginalized minority communities while highlighting the need to disaggregate data. By focusing on Lao Americans who have been able to successfully earn higher educational degrees, the researcher learned from their experiences to better support future Lao Americans pursue their academic and educational goals to uplift the entire Lao American community.

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