The aim of this study has been to examine representations of Latino boys and young men in Latino American coming of age novels. Two concepts have been central to the study: positions of (in)betweenness and the ability to "fall in line" with norms and expectations. Three overarching themes are been explored in relation to masculinity. These are sexualities, ethnicities, and the representation of women. First, representations of queer sexualities are explored, focusing on the protagonists' "coming out" process and the varying reactions to this. The second part of this theme explores representations of disciplining strategies between boys and men as a means to regulating homosocial bonding and maintain the dominant masculinity ideal. The second theme, ethnicity, examines representations of "authentic" Latino identities in relation to language and bilingualism, and the link between location and identity. Disciplining measures aimed towards the protagonists, such as criminalization and dehumanization, are also explored. The final theme deals with the lacking representation of women in literature and research focused on men and masculinity. In the novels, women are depicted as confidants, present in the boys' lives mainly in order to provoke and facilitate their renegotiations of ideas regarding the previously discussed themes. The boys are represented as inhabiting positions of (in)betweenness throughout the novels, whether in relation to ethnicity, sexuality or gender. While (in)betweenness holds a potential to challenge and "worry" fixed categories, these positions are also characterized by unease, precariousness and the risk of being disciplined by other men.

DISSERTATION ABSTRACT María Vania V. Díaz Romero Paz Title: La Revolución de 1952 en la Novela Boliviana Contemporánea Escrita por Mujeres This dissertation studies the different discourses of nation that underlie contemporary novels written by women authors in Bolivia during the period between 1977 and 2007. My primary corpus is comprised of three novels: Gaby Vallejo’s Hijo de opa (1977), Giancarla Zabalaga’s La Flor de "La Candelaria" (1990) and Verónica Ormachea’s Los ingenuos (2007). These novels allude to the Revolution of 1952 at its different stages, either explicitly or implicitly. Written during different time periods, these novels are a product of their respective historical periods and therefore reveal diverse ways of reading the nationalist discourse and the revolution. My objective is to analyze and discuss the concept of nation and how this concept varies among the different novels by focusing on the Revolution of 1952. The Revolution of 1952 is one of the most important moments in the history of Bolivia, when the conditions for socio-political change converge in order to make possible an “imagined community,” of proposing and implementing a nation-building project based on state capitalism. The mestizo is called upon to serve as a vanguard of this revolution. These novels explore how social, economic, and cultural contradictions make the construction of the nation difficult, and transmit a critique of this process of nation-building, and its nationalist discourse. The main purpose of my dissertation is to examine the recurrence of retellings of the revolution from a feminine perspective in which the domestic space is privileged and the house and family work as a metaphor of the country. The three novels I analyze prioritize female protagonists and the female perspective, embracing a feminist critique of the traditionally patriarchal representation of the revolution. Each of them makes the presence of women visible, prioritizes domestic space as a place of enunciation of national imaginaries and portrays the home as a metaphor for the nation. These authors develop their own political agenda in order to become effective political actors, challenge the patriarchal order and claim their space and their right to participate in nation building. This dissertation is written in Spanish.

The EL (English learner) population is rapidly growing in the United States. ELs most often are finding themselves placed in classrooms without ESOL trained teachers. In the social studies curriculum, United States History often is regarded as one of the hardest courses for newly arrived immigrants due to the unfamiliarity of the content (Dunne & Martell, 2013). The absence of culturally relevant instruction also contributes to the potentially overwhelming nature of the social studies curriculum for ELs. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent teachers’ and tutors’ use of culturally relevant biographies during social studies instruction fosters engagement in social studies instruction among Latino English language learners. The research study was inspired by the work of Margaret Peters, retired Dayton, Ohio United States History teacher and author. In 1969 Peters wrote a book entitled, Striving to Overcome, Negro Achievers. The book featured twenty-one short biographies and pictures of African Americans who had impacted the history of the United States. Peters’ purpose for creating the book was to “free” young Americans from prejudice (Watras, 2012). In significance to this study, eight culturally relevant biographies were available to the participants. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the value of incorporating culturally and linguistically relevant biographies into ESOL social studies instruction. The study answered two questions: (1) How do ESOL teachers and tutors perceive culturally relevant biography integration during United States History instruction? and (2) How does the use of culturally relevant biographies impact teacher and tutor reported student engagement with EL Latino students? The following research methods were employed: participant interviews, field notes, observations, and participant reported student engagement questionnaires. The findings of this study showed benefit for student engagement among Latino ELs. The participant base largely echoed that studying historical individuals relatable to students was better than studying historical events. Participants all said they would use culturally relevant biographies in future instruction.

Au début des années soixante ont lieu les premiers essais pour créer une alliance des expériences de rénovation cinématographique menées dans divers pays d’Amérique latine. La tentative de révolutionner les formes autonomes du cinéma fut conçue comme une contribution à la révolution sociale et politique revendiquées par les mouvements de libération latino-américains de cette époque. Notre étude est consacrée à l’analyse de ce projet de développement cinématographique, qui sera connu comme Nouveau cinéma latino-américain dès la fin des années soixante. Nous examinerons les films et les réflexions théoriques de quelques-uns des cinéastes qui adhérèrent au projet, dont l’œuvre se caractérise par un positionnement subversif au sein du champ cinématographique, face à la position hégémonique du modèle hollywoodien. À travers l’analyse des apports théoriques de ces réalisateurs et l’étude des rencontres et échanges entre eux, nous chercherons à établir les caractéristiques du concept de Nouveau cinéma latino-américain, ainsi que ses contradictions et limites. / The first attempts to create an alliance of the cinematographic renewal experiences that were occurring in several Latin American countries, took place in the early sixties. The attempt to revolutionize the autonomous forms of the cinema was conceived as a contribution to the social and political revolution claimed by the Latin American liberation movements of the time. Our research is dedicated to the analysis of this cinematographic development project that would be known as the New Latin American Cinema since the late sixties. We will examine the films and the theoretical reflections of some of the filmmakers who adhered to the project, whose work is characterized by a subversive approach within the cinematographic field, in relation to the hegemonic position of the Hollywood model. Through the analysis of the theoretical assumptions of these filmmakers and by studying the meetings and exchanges occurred between them, we will seek to establish the characteristics of the concept of New Latin American Cinema, as well as its contradictions and limits.

In the following thesis, an analysis of the fundamental aspects of Lucumí phonology and word-formation will be presented with the aim of determining the extent to which this liturgical language is related to Standard Yoruba. Additionally, this thesis will provide an overview of selected socio-cultural and historical factors pertaining to the environment in which Lucumí developed. This overview aims to offer a general perspective on how interactions with other languages may have influenced certain innovations observed in Lucumí. However, it is important to note that the scope of this research is primarily confined to the comparison of sound correspondences between Lucumí and Yoruba, which is considered to be the ancestral language of Lucumí. The findings of this historical examination reveal that there is a minimum of 29% cognates in basic vocabulary between Lucumí and Standard Yoruba. This implies that, at a lexical level, Lucumí can be classified as a close relative of Yoruba. Nevertheless, the dynamic evolution of phonemes and allophones appears to be arbitrary, lacking clear and consistent correspondences. In the thesis this phenomenon is discussed as being effects of language death. From a phonological perspective, Lucumí demonstrates evident influences from various languages, most notably Spanish, as well as a substantial number of loanwords whose origins are not thoroughly addressed within the confines of this thesis.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate why many Latino America students at an urban community college in the state of Maryland who were enrolled at least part-time and were U.S. citizens or permanent residents did not continue their education into the second semester. Guided by Tinto's model of student integration and student persistence, this study explored the reasons these students dropped-out using the students' words to describe barriers to success, factors that influenced their decisions not to return for their second semester, and what they believed could have made a difference in their decisions. Five Latino American first-generation community college students were selected for interview. The life history calendar was used, emerging themes were coded, and a peer reviewer added perspective and stimulated further inquiry. The findings reflected the following key themes that influence persistence: family responsibility and influence, processing the college steps, lack of confidence, paying for college through family members, reliable resources, interacting with staff employees, and creating a friendly and nurturing environment. The findings allowed the development of a curriculum plan project study entitled PODER that may help college leaders devise plans to improve student persistence from the first to second semester. The potential for social change from this study could steer educators to create programs beyond the study setting to increase persistence rates of Latino American college students. This issue was important not only for the educational growth of Latino American students but also for the economic growth of the nation's workforce.

Au milieu des années 90, des changements de scénarios à la fois nationaux et internationaux ont conduit au développement d’un nouveau partenariat euro-latino-américain, fondé sur de nouveaux outils contractuels. Le Mexique et le Chili furent les premiers pays émergents de la région à bénéficier de cette rénovation contractuelle : cette rénovation est le sujet de cette thèse ; son but est de déterminer la nature juridique du point de vue du droit communautaire des accords Euro-Mexicain et Euro-Chilien, signés respectivement en 1997 et 2002, dans la mesure où ceux-ci ont cassé la tradition euro-latino-américaine de ne signer que des accords non préférentiels; ils inauguraient ainsi une nouvelle et ambitieuse étape dans ces relations. L’analyse du contenu de ces accords basés sur des valeurs et intérêts communs, démontre leur nature associative et révèle l’essence et la portée de ces relations qui sont devenues la base du nouveau modèle d’alliance stratégique au niveau international. / From the mid 90’s, changes in both internal and international scenarios led to a development of strategic Euro-Latino-American partnerships paving the way for new contractual tools. Mexico and Chile were the first emerging countries to benefit from this contractual renovation herewith the subject of this thesis which will seek to determine the juridical nature from the European Community Law point of view of the euro-Mexican and euro-Chilean agreements, signed respectively in 1997 and 2002 seeing as these broke the euro-Latino-American tradition of only signing non-preferential agreements, thus opening the way for a new and ambitious future for the relations between the parties. The content analysis of these agreements which are based on mutual values and interests demonstrates the associative nature as well as the essence and the scope of these relations which became the base of a new model of strategic alliances on the international level.