Beginning in the 1850s, California became a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society where many cultures met and engaged in a struggle for wealth and cultural dominance. This study documents such an encounter between two of those groups, Anglo Americans and Indians, in the Northern California county of Mendocino. It argues that race was the most crucial element underlying the development of the society in Mendocino County from the frontier era to the Great Depression. Anglo American settlers brought with them to California clearly defined ideas about race that helped them justify conquest of the Indians. Greed for land combined with the racial ideology of the era to create a frontier society where race largely determined the control of land, resources, and power. Indians and other people Anglos defined as nonwhite became a cheap workforce with limited access to the promise of California. Geographically isolated rural counties like Mendocino tended to be narrow and provincial. In such regions race was an even more potent force than in more cosmopolitan parts of the state. In spite of racial divisions, some white reformers and employees of the federal government worked on behalf of the Indians. Although well meaning, they often acted as agents of assimilation policies that undermined and disrupted native cultures. At times, however, some of them became agents of change, helping the Indians find ways to resist and survive attacks on them. And against all odds, Indian people did find ways to survive, most often from their own efforts, not those of reformers. Using complex strategies of accommodation and resistance, they adapted to a changed world by drawing on traditions of community and spirituality inherent in California Indian village life. New leaders emerged and in concert with white reformers, some Indians began to actively organize, first around issues of education and land, and later for an end to segregation and the right to vote. But in spite of many gains, racial divisions on the local level remained strong, indicating that in a region with such a history, reform without attention to the importance of race is unlikely to create fundamental change.

For the first time in recent history, Somali society has experienced the plight of a mass exodus. Millions have been displaced by civil war and have sought refuge in places thousands of miles away from their homelands. There are tens of thousands of Somali refugees in Canada; the majority settled in Metropolitan Toronto. Upon arrival, Somalis, still suffering from the trauma of war and uprooting, face the challenges of adapting to life in the post-modern Canadian society. Adaptation implies bridging the cultural differences between Somalia and Canada. This study, using ethnographic methods such as in-depth interviewing and participant observations, explores the socio-cultural experiences of Somali refugees in Toronto during the process of adaptation. The research questions focus on challenges Somalis face during the adaptation process, and the coping mechanisms they employ in response to the challenges they face. The study finds that, as recent migrants, Somali refugees have not achieved significant structural integration into the social, economic, and political structures of Canadian society. Dependence on social welfare assistance, a high rate of unemployment, limited educational pursuits, and social and residential segregation are features common among Somali refugees in Toronto. Factors that hinder their effective integration include lack of access to critical initial resettlement services; limited length of residence; limited proficiency in official languages of Canada; and prejudice, discrimination, and racism directed against them as Blacks and as Muslims. Internally, Somalis are making significant cultural adaptations by synthesizing elements of the two cultures. Younger Somalis are acquiring the values of their peers, which create intergenerational conflicts within the family. Religiosity among the adults and some youngsters is also on the rise. Somalis have created their own ethnic institutions such as businesses and community organizations to provide critical services. However, considering the salience of racism in Canada and the exclusion of Black ethnic groups from the economic, social, and political structures, it is unlikely that the experience of the Somalis in Canada would be significantly different than that of other Blacks. Most Somalis identify themselves first as Muslims, and second as Somalis, but others see them just as Blacks.

Identity and specifically American Indian identity is frequently established by tribal enrollment base on blood quantum or percentage of Indian blood from a specific Indian nation. Here I demonstrate how American Indian identity of individuals from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin has been formed by experiences rooted in a historical context shaped by contemporary issues. From the treaty period in the 19th Century through Termination and Restoration in the 20th Century, pressure to assimilate into the non-Indian community failed and instead fostered a strong Menominee identity. Blood quantum plays a political and social role determining who is accepted on the tribal roll. Language and cultural expressions and traditional ceremony reinforce identity. However, Menominee connection to their land and the interaction of the land and people provides the foundation for their identity and creates an unbroken bond to their ancestors and a responsibility to the Menominee of the future.

This dissertation introduces four studies targeting a central question in discrimination research: What is the relationship between ethnic identification and perceived discrimination? The studies support conclusions that, among minority populations, the same, ambiguous, discrimination-relevant feedback will tend to be interpreted by the highly identified as more biased than it is by the weakly identified, since identification makes ethnic self-schemas chronically accessible—and hence, central guides in the interpretation of discrimination-relevant feedback. Moreover, manipulations that make ethnic self-schemas temporarily accessible can increase attributions of ambiguous feedback to bias. Study 1 establishes some predicted links among ethnic identification, perceived discrimination, and self-schema accessibility; Study 2 demonstrates that manipulating schema accessibility can influence estimates of past, present, and future discrimination. Study 3, focusing on Asian Americans, suggests that ethnic self-schemas, when accessible, bias online information-processing. Conclusions regarding how ethnic identification operates in Whites remain less clear. Although Studies 1 and 2 suggest that the accessibility of ethnic self-schemas influences perceived bias among Whites, Study 4 produces only weak evidence that priming ethnic self-schemas in Whites increases their tendency to perceive ambiguous feedback from an Asian experimenter as biased. Ethnic self-schemas may motivate information-processing in Whites, but it is not yet clear how.

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the experiences of North American Muslims (estimated at over 4 million) as their claims for religious tolerance and inclusion in a pluralistic society have emerged. It traces a historical shift in consciousness of a religious minority precipitated by interactions with the legal institutions of the dominant culture. As members of a minority faith living in a non-Islamic context, Muslims have been subject both to what Islam teaches about 'marginality' and what the North American civil tradition promises about religious liberty and racial equality. The focus of this work has been on the gradual transformation of North American Muslims' perceptions and self-identification coaxed by the often subtle ways civil law has penetrated and come to dominate their daily lives. It shows how the normative ordering of Muslim life in North America has replicated certain aspects of the legal order, and where legal mechanisms have been 'subverted' by those at the margins who wish to express their autonomy from the state, to assert and protect their religious freedom. North American Muslims' decisions whether and how to maintain a corporate life in a non-Muslim society have been viewed differently by Muslims over time and through different types of contacts with North American institutions. Chapters of this dissertation examine the erection of immigration and naturalization barriers at the end of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth in the United States and Canada, and the responses of immigrants from the Muslim world to the emerging standards for citizenship; the religious liberty claims under the First Amendment of Black Muslims in prisons in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s; federal 'hate crimes' legislation at the close of the 1980s and the inclusion of mosques as protected religious property; and municipal zoning practices negotiated by Muslims in two American cities where they built mosques in the 1980s and 1990s.

The number of women joining the work force is greater today than it has ever been in the history of the United States. Between 1960 and 1988, statistics have shown a 37% increase in the number of employed women who are married with children (U.S. Department of Labor, 1989). It is not uncommon for women to postpone marriage and/or childbearing in an effort to attain educational and professional goals (Katz, 1988). Jewish women are a unique ethnic group among the population of women in the United States. As a group, Jewish women are typically well educated, among the highest female wage earners, married or plan to marry, and have or plan to have children (Monson, 1987). The difficult and complex decisions which Jewish women face regarding marriage, motherhood, and career development often create conflicts between values, including education, marriage, childbearing, individual achievement, career development, and gender equality (Monson, 1987; Katz, 1988). Additionally, unclear values or conflicting values can lead to difficulty in decision-making, difficulty in coping, and difficulty in achieving self-actualization (Simon & Kirschenbaum, 1973; Simon et al., 1978). Through in-depth interviews, this dissertation qualitatively analyzed five case studies demonstrating links between ethnicity, career development, and multiple role lifestyle for selected Jewish women. Some of the most interesting findings included: life polarities expressed by the participants; identification with superwoman syndrome; power of career typing, ethnic and secular socialization and both positive and negative messages received from parents, role models, and mentors; and the ability of this research paradigm to link ethnicity, career development and values. The ability of academe to provide research which describes and analyzes women's lifestyle options is tantamount to women's successful integration of marriage, family, career, personal growth and development. This research has important implications for counselors, educators and policy makers who are concerned about appropriate counseling, education, and program development for women who are occupying or may occupy multiple roles. This research further served as a successful pilot study testing the applicability of this conceptualization for replication encompassing women of other ethnic and racial groups.

The subject of "women in development" has received some attention from both the African governments and donor agencies, but the focus needs to shift to African women in educational leadership. While some work has been done, most of it has concentrated on women in agriculture, health, and primary education. African women in higher education and girls in secondary schools have received little, if any, attention. Education at these levels is highly competitive and not many women and girls attain it. Hence, few women have made it to top- and middle-level administrative management positions, while the majority continue to fill teaching and support staff positions. This study was designed to investigate issues and factors that affect African women in educational leadership positions. To better understand the phenomenon, it was necessary to explore what happens to girls while in school up to employment stage. The study was guided by research questions centered around: factors and issues affecting African women educational leaders, the role of education in promoting and hindering women's advancement, the African woman's role in the public domain, and strategies for planned change. Qualitative methods of inquiry were used, and data gathering techniques included literature review, interviews, observation and photography. Kurt Lewin's Forcefield Analysis was utilized to organize recurrent issues and factors. The findings included: a high drop out rate for girls due to social problems; that girls receive marginalized attention when parents have financial constraints; girls' educational attainment is lower than that of boys; the education system contributes to low levels of girls' and women's education and training through curricula and sitting arrangements that segregate girls from boys, and policy that perpetuates the problem of underrepresentation of girls. The study also found that girls' and women's success is dependent on such factors as the girls' and women's perception of their own future, their willingness to break the traditional barriers that are detrimental to women's success, support from people around them, ambition, and perseverence. The study concludes with some pertinent recommendations and an action plan. They include changing women's attitudes toward their roles, educating society on the value of educating girls and women, creating opportunities to enable more women to get further education and training, encouraging and preparing women with potential for leadership positions, providing enabling services such as day-care facilities, workshops, forums, summer institutes, organizing task forces, opening a women's center where women in education can begin to critically discuss women's issues, creating a roster for women in educational management, encouraging continued analysis of educational policy, inclusion of more women in policy-making positions and training of educational policy makers.

The proposed work is grounded in research from two areas: (a) stress-resistant or resilient youth, and (b) victimology. These literatures have been combined to address the issue of resilience in Black college students, given their ethnic heritage of oppression. This cultural heritage is thought to produce assumptive world beliefs in Blacks similar to those of persons who have experienced individual incidents of victimization. Blacks as a group view the world as less benevolent than do Whites and report less felt control than do Whites over the distribution of good and bad events. The question arises then of characteristics of the individual or environment that allow a subset of young Blacks to maintain a high self-esteem and personal efficacy, particularly in the face of mainstream culture which continues to devalue Black status? The present research will attempt to explore Afrocentrism, presence of a close/confiding relationship, attributional style and family environ as variables which contribute to resilience in Black college students. Participants in the study will be Black undergraduate students. More versus less resilient subjects will be discerned on the basis of grade point average, leisure activities, social relationships, self-esteem and personal efficacy. Paper and pencil questionnaires will be utilized by this investigator in several group administrations. A group aggregate analysis will be used to report the results. It is predicted that Black students characterized as more resilient will manifest a more integrated personal (high self-esteem) and group (high racial esteem) identity, be more likely to have a close/confiding relationship with a significant adult figure, and have a more well defined sense of their own efficacy, than will Black students characterized as less resilient.

The dissertation is an exploration of the allure and limitations of success in America at the turn of the century (roughly between 1880-1920), and includes both canonical and non-canonical texts, with an emphasis on the non-canonical. The proliferation at the turn of the century of novels which feature a "rags to riches" theme highlights in fresh ways many familiar sociological and historical problems, concerns, and conditions. Looking at issues of race, class, and gender difference, as well as the impact of the industrial revolution, and the emergence of consumer culture, this study explores the reasons behind the desire for financial and social success in America, and exposes the contradictions and limitations at the center of the American ideal of success. The dissertation addresses the cultural and historical anxieties inherent in the success myth, which are especially clear in the stories of successful immigrants, African-Americans, Native Americans, and women.

This dissertation explores the many-faceted, and somewhat elusive question: "What is American Jewish feminine literary identity?" Working from the premise that no one set of writers, themes, or literary forms constitutes a centralized identity, I suggest that Jewish feminine "collective" identity is heterogeneous and involves multiply-voiced debate. Drawing on feminist criticisms that emphasize both form and social context, as well as on Bakhtinian dialogism and theories of Otherness, I approach the problem by focusing on three prominent, yet diverse writers--Cynthia Ozick, Grace Paley, and E. M. Broner--who construct multiple and mutable selves rather than fully-integrated personae. Rejecting rigid dichotomies, I probe the tensions both among and within their identities as Jews, women, and Americans. I first illustrate how Paley, resisting any firm or didactic explanation of her Jewishness, widens American Jewish identity by depicting diverse immigrant women's voices--all too often subsumed in a "world of our fathers." For Paley, Jewish identity is inextricably enmeshed in feminism, social activism, and empathy with the Other. Next, I explore how Ozick employs literary strategies rooted in what she terms forbidden, "pagan" magic in order to carve a place for herself in male-dominated Jewish literary and religious traditions. I argue that despite her resistance to the term "woman writer," Ozick's identity as a woman is a major driving force shaping her identity as an American Jewish writer. I then examine how Broner rebels vehemently against Jewish patriarchal frameworks and at the same time patterns her Jewish feminism after them. While the dissertation focuses on issues specific to Jewish women writers, the same problems of dual (or multiple) identities also bear upon the work of other women who identify both as feminists and members of ethnic groups. Thus, my last chapter offers a comparison between black and Jewish women's literary identities, showing that frameworks which attempt to essentialize race almost inevitably break down when viewed across borders of ethnicity. Seen in a broader perspective, the dissertation serves to integrate further the fields of Jewish, feminist, and ethnic studies.