Rates of black-white intermarriage in the United States have increased over the last sixty years, yet they remain at levels below other types of interracial/interethnic unions. Prior research has centered largely on individual-level factors associated with the formation of such unions, culminating in three not entirely consistent micro-level theories: status-caste exchange, status homogamy, and educational/economic success. Most of this literature does not consider contextual-level characteristics, which I argue should have an independent effect on the incidence of these unions. My dissertation explores these issues with microlevel and multilevel models using data from the 2006 American Community Survey. I examine both micro and macro level predictors of the odds of white women marrying black men, and black women marrying white men in the metropolitan areas of the U.S. in 2006. In my level one analyses, six logistic regression equations are estimated to test the efficacy of the abovementioned microlevel theories of interracial marriage for black and white women. Status-caste exchange theory is accorded no support from my investigation, and status homogamy theory receives inconsistent support for white women. The results clearly convey that educational/economic success theory is applicable for predicting intermarriage among white and black metropolitan women in the United States. Among white women, those with high occupational status and high annual income are more likely to be intermarried than those with low occupational status and lower income. Among black metropolitan women, those with high occupational status and high levels of education are more likely to be intermarried than those with low occupational status and low levels of education. In my multilevel analyses, four hierarchical generalized linear models are estimated to evaluate the likelihood of intermarriage for white and black women living in metropolitan areas in the United States. My results show that context matters in predicting and understanding intermarriage for both groups of women. Both the individual-level characteristics of the women, as well as the contextual-level characteristics of their metropolitan areas, were shown in my equations to impact their likelihood of being intermarried. Future research would benefit from the inclusion of social context in any consideration of intermarriage, particularly through the use of multilevel modeling, which until now, has not been utilized by researchers in this area.

Some scholars argue that organized sport is a viable context for different ethnic and racial groups to learn about one another and experience positive intergroup contact. Other scholars insist that hierarchical arrangements and competitive natures may actually exacerbate existing tensions among ethnic and racial groups. Less is known about whether or not recreational sport settings can facilitate positive intergroup contact. These contexts are often free of hierarchical arrangement and competition among participants, which potentially secure the equality of participants and facilitate positive interracial contact. The purpose of this study was to gain richer insights into the phenomenon of interracial contact that Korean Americans experience in recreational sport settings. This study was guided by three research questions: (1) Do Korean Americans perceive the presence of contact hypothesis' optimal conditions in recreational sport settings? (2) What factors influence Korean Americans' perception toward the presence or absence of optimal conditions? (3) Can participating in serious leisure activity with different racial groups contribute to interracial harmony? This study adopted qualitative research methods with a phenomenological approach. Face-to-face, in-depth, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 Korean American males who participated or have been participating in recreational sports with racially mixed teams. The interviews were conducted in August and September, 2008, in two southern cities. Four findings are articulated. First, informants held variable perceptions toward the presence of contact hypothesis' optimal conditions. Second, informants supported the existence of friendship opportunities. This study identified six key factors that play a critical role in formulation of informants' perceptions toward the existence of each optimal condition. They were: (1) skill level, (2) racial stereotypes, (3) physical attributes of recreational sport participants, (4) language proficiency, (5) atmosphere or culture within different recreational sport contexts, and (6) longevity of contact. Finally, informants felt that participating in recreational sports with different racial groups contributes to harmonious interracial relations. The findings showed that it is problematic to a priori assume that recreational sports satisfy the optimal conditions of contact situations. Moreover, findings suggest that satisfaction of optimal conditions in recreational sport contexts may not be necessary for positive interracial contact to occur.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The central objective of this project is to chart the relationship between early-modern notions of race that developed in the Iberian-Atlantic world and systems of colonial racialization that emerged in the Americas in relation to mestizaje. By analyzing three case-studies from Latin American's early-colonial period, I show that as anxieties about racial mixture got intertwined with the Iberian notion of purity of blood, spatial segregation and the curtailment of interracial sex became two of the main issues around which early-colonial discourses on mestizaje were articulated. In chapter one, I justify the use of the term race for analyzing this period by drawing from current scholarship whose aim is to historicize this notion as a means to better theorize it. Moreover, I explain the specific elements that inform the theory of race that I develop throughout this project, including Bernasconi's formulation of race as a border concept, JanMohamed's notion of racialized sexuality, and Foucault's account of how biopower can help us theorize the interconnections between race and reproductive sex. In the second chapter, I examine Vasco de Quiroga's decisive influence in the formation of the Dual Republic model of spatial segregation in Mexico, and I show how the racialization of space during this period led to a dualistic conception of society that by definition left no place for the liminal figure of the mestizo. In chapter three, I examine a policy adapted by the Portuguese Crown during the sixteenth century whereby white Portuguese women were taken to Brazil in an effort to reduce interracial sex and miscegenation. Lastly, in chapter four I analyze Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's abject characterization of mestizos in Peru, and I demonstrate that two of the key issues around which he organized his demand for colonial reforms were spatial segregation and the curtailment of interracial sex. By examining these three cases-studies comparatively, and further incorporating a transatlantic perspective that situates them within broader developments that were taking place during the early-modern period, I emphasize the importance that the study of colonial Latin America has for current efforts to historicize the notion of race.

The identities of mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal descendents in British Columbia is as varied as it is complex. In this paper I examine what caused some people of mixed Native and non-Native ancestry not to identify as Aboriginal while others did. The point of fracture for those who identify with their Aboriginal origins and those who do not can be traced to a specific time in our history. More importantly, specific variables were instrumental in causing that divergence of identity, spurred by a pervasive social stigma in colonial society. For many of mixed ancestry, the disassociation from their Aboriginal identity led to generations of silence and denial and eventually to a 'complete disappearance of race'. It was a deliberate breeding out of cultural identity through assimilative ideology and actions in order to conform to European norms. Determining what factors caused this divergence of identity for mixed-descendents entails considering why many Aboriginal women married non-Native partners in B.C. during the mid-19th century, how intermarriage affected identity formation for offspring, and what the multi-generational effects have been on the identities of mixed descendents. Today, this leaves a dilemma for those in-between who are eligible for status, and for those who are not but who choose to reconnect with, acknowledge and learn more of their ancestry. Both assertions of First Nations identity and choices to reconnect with a First Nations heritage while maintaining a non-Native identity, challenge the assumed inevitability of assimilation, and the federal government's continuing reluctance to understand the cultural significance of identification as 'Indian'.

Transracial adoption occurs when a child of one race is adopted by parents of another race. Transracial adoption increased in the 1960s as racial integration policies developed. In the 1970s, however, transracial adoption became a controversial issue. The National Association of Black Social Workers posed several problems with this practice such as institutional racism, cultural genocide, and providing inadequate coping skills to combat racism.This study examines the racial identity of White parents who adopt transracially or inracially. It provides a racial identity profile to determine if White parents who adopt a Black or Biracial child encourage the transracially adopted child to experience Black culture. Currently, adoption agencies utilize some selection process for parents who adopt transracially. This study will further examine the White parents' racial identity and the level of commitment they have to exposing the transracially adopted child to Black culture in an effort to instill a positive Black racial identity in the adopted child. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The identities of mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal descendents in British Columbia is as varied as it is complex. In this paper I examine what caused some people of mixed Native and non-Native ancestry not to identify as Aboriginal while others did. The point of fracture for those who identify with their Aboriginal origins and those who do not can be traced to a specific time in our history. More importantly, specific variables were instrumental in causing that divergence of identity, spurred by a pervasive social stigma in colonial society. For many of mixed ancestry, the disassociation from their Aboriginal identity led to generations of silence and denial and eventually to a 'complete disappearance of race'. It was a deliberate breeding out of cultural identity through assimilative ideology and actions in order to conform to European norms. Determining what factors caused this divergence of identity for mixed-descendents entails considering why many Aboriginal women married non-Native partners in B.C. during the mid-19th century, how intermarriage affected identity formation for offspring, and what the multi-generational effects have been on the identities of mixed descendents. Today, this leaves a dilemma for those in-between who are eligible for status, and for those who are not but who choose to reconnect with, acknowledge and learn more of their ancestry. Both assertions of First Nations identity and choices to reconnect with a First Nations heritage while maintaining a non-Native identity, challenge the assumed inevitability of assimilation, and the federal government's continuing reluctance to understand the cultural significance of identification as 'Indian'.

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-72).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Notre Dame, 2009. / Thesis directed by Christian Smith for the Department of Sociology. "January 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 25-29).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 2, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-167).