Ce projet de recherche a pour but d’étudier le processus créatif, l’apprentissage social, la rationalité, les conflits, les règles et les normes de trois groupes d’auteurs contemporains à New York et à Paris. Les méthodes de recherche incluent des entretiens avec des auteurs, la narration d’anecdotes sur le comportement des acteurs sociaux, la construction d’un tableau sociométrique des règles et des normes propres à chaque groupe d’après la théorie de Howard BECKER, et une analyse de texte qui mobilise la méthode d’étude structurale du sociologue de la littérature Lucien GOLDMANN. Ce projet de recherche a permis l’identification des niches sociales d’auteurs contemporains, dans lesquelles des échanges d’informations permettent un apprentissage social qui a de la valeur professionnelle et personnelle pour les acteurs sociaux en question. Enfin, ce projet de recherche permettra le placement des auteurs contemporains dans l’organigramme de la production culturelle de Pierre BOURDIEU, qui distingue « le sous-champ de l’avant-garde », « le sous-champ de la grande production » et « le champ du pouvoir » dans le monde littéraire. / The purpose of this research project is to explore the creative process, social learning, motivation, conflicts, rules and norms of three groups of contemporary writers in New York and Paris. Research methods include interviews with authors, the narration of anecdotes about the behavior of the social actors, and the construction of a sociometric table of rules and norms specific to each group according to the theory of Howard BECKER. This project also offers contains a literary analysis using Lucien GOLDMANN’s method of structural study. This research led to the identification of social networks of contemporary authors, in which the exchange of information allows social learning that has both professional and personal value for the social actors in question. Finally, this research will allow the placement of contemporary authors into Pierre BOURDIEU’s map of cultural production, which distinguishes “the sub-field of the avant-garde,” “the sub-field of large-scale production,” and “the field of power” in the literary world.

The study examined minority persons’ views and experiences with Child Protective Services (CPS) in the community. This study used a qualitative design with face‑to‑face interviews with 12 participants in the community. This study used the “Post‑Positivist” data analysis, which is qualitative in evaluation and explained each participant’s subjective reality. The study found that most participants were satisfied with the results and were dissatisfied with the process in and of itself. Overall the study found that most participants felt that there was some sort of a disconnect with social workers in reference to cultural competency. Miscommunication between the social workers at agencies and parents could have played a significant role in why participants had these experiences. However, most participants felt that the agency helped with services that ultimately left the participants feeling a sense of awareness about the purpose of the agency. The study suggests that implementing a program that would allow the community to be informed of all the programs that Child Protective Services can provide be critical in aiding and empowering the members of the community and in helping reduce CPS caseloads significantly.

Often pointed to as the region’s model secular state, Turkey provides an instructive case study in how nationalism, in the name of conjuring ‘unity’, often produces the opposite effect. Indeed, the production of nationalism can create fractures amongst, as well as politicize, certain segments of a population, such as minority groups and women. This dissertation examines the long-term and present-day impacts on nationalist unity of a largely understudied event, the annexation of the border-city of Antakya from Syria in 1939, and its implications on the Arab Alawite population. In doing so, it deconstructs the dominant Turkish narrative on the annexation, rewrites the narrative drawing on oral history from the ground, and it shows how nation-building is a masculinist project that relies on powerfully gendered language through studying the national archives. The heart of the project, however, remains the investigation of the political, social, and religious subjectivity of Arab Alawite women, with an emphasis on resistance to the structures and practices sustained by the state and patriarchy. The Arab Alawites, once numerically dominant in the Antakya region, are now an ethno-religious minority group within the Turkish/Sunni-dominated state structure. Although Antakya was the last territory to join Turkey in 1939, ever since that time many of its Alawites have resisted assimilation through covert, yet peaceful, methods. Through this research, I show that a multiplicity of forces have increased the politicization of the Antiochian Alawite community and broadened their demands upon the Turkish state. My research highlights Alawite women’s leadership as a key driver of this process, thanks to the large-scale out migration of Alawite men, the increased socio-economic independence of Alawite women, and the perception of more progressive gender ideals being held by the members of this Muslim sect, when compared to those of nearby Sunni Turkish women. This dissertation relies on a postcolonial and feminist geopolitical analysis of the Turkish nationalist project to examine how the Turkish state has historically viewed Antakya and the Arab Alawites and how, in return, the experience and collective social and political memory of Alawites was formed. By utilizing innovative methodologies, this research shows how Alawite women are resisting/rewriting/reconfiguring political and social structures through everyday actions that shift the discourse on minorities and women on local and national scales.

This research study specifically addressed; how vocational preparedness programs effect the career aspirations of Black youth, within the context of the Middle Tennessee Council Boy Scouts of America’s Exploring program. The goal of this research is to represent Black youth participating in a vocational preparedness program. Interviews, journals, and rich, thick descriptions are utilized in this work. Using the lens of narrative inquiry and cultural studies, I hoped to further the field of career development through the experiences of some of its key players, African American youth. Within the context of their stories five major themes surfaced around the ideas: (1) Advancement via Individual Determination. (AVID), (2) Career Self-efficacy, (3) Roles of significant others in career development, (4) Perceptions of the Exploring program, and (5) what would you like to see happen in the Exploring program? Beyond themes expressed by the research participants, the following underlying factors also came to light; (1) giving voice to Black youth which are part of the marginalized minority population and restoring a sense of narrative power and authority to the youths telling the stories, (2) The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program as a significant influencer, (3) structure and organization of the Learning for Life program, (4) the role of Black women as significant others in the career decisions of participants, and (5) career choice – trade vs. careers.

In eastern Kentucky, as in much of central Appalachia, current local storylines narrate the frictions and contradictions involved in the structural transition from a post-WWII Fordist industrial economy and a Keynesian welfare state to a Post-Fordist service economy and Neoliberal hollow state, starving for energy to sustain consumer indulgence (Jessop, 1993; Harvey, 2003; 2005). Neoliberalism is the ideological force redefining the “societal infrastructure of language” that legitimates this transition, in part by redefining the key terms of democracy and citizenship, as well as valorizing the market, the individual, and technocratic innovation (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999; Harvey, 2005). This project develops a perspective that understands cancer prevention and control in Appalachiaas part of the structural transition that is realigning community social ties in relation to ideological forces deployed as “commonsense” storylines that “lubricate” frictions that complicates the transition.

This dissertation focuses on the living arrangements of multi-generational households among ten biggest immigrant groups in the United States. Specifically, it examines whether the husband's or the wife's older parents were more likely to be present. Co-residence patterns were taken as a proxy that reflected relative decision-making power in the family. A number of factors hypothesized to be associated with the outcome were examined to explore the effect of immigration on gender role ideology and gender relations in the post-1965 immigrant family. More than 102,000 multi-generational households from the 2000 U.S. Census were included in the analyses. Results suggested that while there were positive signs for women's increasing status and relative decision-making power, the influence of original sending culture where immigrants have come from proved to be strong and persistent. Those from more patriarchal sending cultures, represented by India, Korea, and China, were more likely to have the husband's parents co-residing; while those from less patriarchal sending cultures, represented by Jamaica, Cuba, and El Salvador, were more likely to have the wife's parents present in the household. These findings illustrate the complex nature of gender relations in the immigrant family whereby the effect of assimilation is found in some domains, while the influence of sending culture is enduring or even reinforced in other domains. Results of this research contribute to the better understanding of the diversity of changes in gender relations that accompany immigration.

Al llarg d'aquest treball, he intentat defensar la idea de que els judicis de valor que elabora la crítica de cinema espanyola estàn inscrits en tradicions culturals que deriven, la major part d'elles, de categories històrica i socialment construïdes. En aquest cas, la cinefília, en qualsevol de les seves accepcions, seria l'origen sociocultural de les tradicions cinematogràfiques de gran part de la crítica. D'ella sorgirien les idees i conceptes que fa servir la crítica sobre el que és art, cultura i cinema. D'altra banda, he desenvolupat la idea de que aquestes tradicions cinèfiles, per molt diverses que puguin ser des d'un punt de vista històric, cultural i social, es converteixen en una pràctica institucionalitzada des del moment en què es formulen a través de la crítica de cinema. Pel que fa institució, per tant, la crítica treballa per mantenir la seva posició social privilegiada com estament regulador dels discursos cinematogràfics que circulen en la societat en un moment històric determinat. La proposta d'analitzar la crítica de cinema en els anys 90 és perquè en aquesta dècada es formalitza un canvi generacional llargament incubat durant els 80. En aquest aspecte, es produeix un xoc generacional en el qual cada formació crítica, més enllà de les seves tradicions culturals i cinèfiles, treballarà per legitimar uns gustos cinematogràfics i consolidar-los com a part de la institució. En el procés, els mateixos crítics s'erigeixen en representants d'aquests gustos emetent discursos públics sobre el cinema i la cultura, jerarquitzant, fent judicis de valor i discriminant models estètics cinematogràfics i culturals. En aquest sentit, la crítica de cinema funciona com un espai de confrontació dels gustos culturals de les diferents tradicions cinèfiles, gustos que es van institucionalitzant a mesura que els discursos es legitimen social i culturalment. Aquests discursos cinematogràfics i aquests processos d'institucionalització estan sotmesos a múltiples variables socials, culturals, històriques, econòmiques, nacionals, generacionals i de gènere que els situa més enllà del camp cinematogràfic. Al llarg d'aquest treball, he intentat aprofundir en cadascun d'aquests paràmetres per a establir els orígens i significats dels discursos i pràctiques culturals que circulen al voltant del cinema. El mètode d'anàlisi que m'ha permès un acostament interdisciplinari a la cinefília i la crítica de cinema és la branca dels estudis culturals que ve de la teoria cultural i la sociologia de la cultura. / A lo largo de este trabajo, he intentado defender la idea de que los juicios de valor que elabora la crítica de cine española están inscritos en tradiciones culturales que derivan, la mayor parte de las veces, de categorías histórica y socialmente construidas. En este caso, la cinefilia, en cualquiera de sus acepciones, sería el origen sociocultural de las tradiciones cinematográficas de gran parte de la crítica. De ella surgirían las ideas y conceptos que maneja la crítica acerca de lo que es arte, cultura y cine. Por otro lado, he desarrollado la idea de que estas tradiciones cinéfilas, por muy diversas que puedan ser desde un punto de vista histórico, cultural y social, se convierten en una práctica institucionalizada desde el momento en que se formulan a través de la crítica de cine. En cuanto institución, por tanto, la crítica trabaja para mantener su posición social privilegiada como estamento regulador de los discursos cinematográficos que circulan en la sociedad en un momento histórico determinado. La propuesta de analizar la crítica de cine en los años 90 es porque en esa década se formaliza un cambio generacional largamente incubado durante los 80. En este aspecto, se produce un choque generacional en el que cada formación crítica, más allá de sus tradiciones culturales y cinéfilas, trabajará para legitimar unos gustos cinematográficos y consolidarlos como parte de la institución. En el proceso, los mismos críticos se erigen en representantes de esos gustos emitiendo discursos públicos acerca del cine y la cultura, jerarquizando, haciendo juicios de valor y discriminando modelos estéticos cinematográficos y culturales. En este sentido, la crítica de cine funciona como un espacio de confrontación de los gustos culturales de las diferentes tradiciones cinéfilas, gustos que se van institucionalizando a medida que los discursos se legitiman social y culturalmente. Estos discursos cinematográficos y estos procesos de institucionalización están sometidos a múltiples variables sociales, culturales, históricas, económicas, nacionales, generacionales y de género que los sitúa más allá del campo cinematográfico. A lo largo de este trabajo, he intentado profundizar en cada uno de estos parámetros para establecer los orígenes y significados de los discursos y prácticas culturales que circulan en torno al cine. El método de análisis que me ha permitido un acercamiento interdisciplinar a la cinefilia y la crítica de cine es la rama de los estudios culturales que viene de la teoría cultural y la sociología de la cultura. / Throughout this work I have attempted to defend the idea that value judgments produced by the Spanish film criticism are enrolled in cultural traditions that derive, most of the times, from historically and socially constructed categories. In this case, cinephilia, in any of its forms, would be the sociocultural background of the cinematic traditions of much of contemporary Spanish film critics. From it arises the ideas and concepts to handle criticism about what art, culture and film should be. Furthermore, I developed the idea that these cinéphiles traditions, however different that may be from an historical, cultural and social perspective, become an institutionalized practice from the time they are made through film criticism. As an institution, therefore, film criticism works to maintain its privileged status as a regulator estate of those cinematic discourses circulating in a society at a particular historical moment. The proposal to analyze Spanish film criticism in the 90s, is because in that decade formalizes a long-incubated generational change since 80s. In this aspect, there is a generational clash in which each critical training, beyond cultural and cinéphiles traditions, will work to legitimize and consolidate some cinematic tastes as part of the institution. In this process, critics are put forward as representatives of those tastes by issuing public statements about cinema and culture, a hierarchy, making discriminating judgments, and aesthetic models and cultural films. In this sense, film criticism works as a confrontation of cultural tastes of the different cinéphile traditions, and tastes are becoming institutionalized as legitimate social and cultural statements. These cinematographic discourses and institutionalizing processes are subject to multiple social, cultural, historical, economic, national, generational and gender variables, which puts them beyond the cinematographic field. Throughout this work I have attempted to delve into each one of these parameters in order to establish the origins and meanings of discourses and cultural practices that circulate around the cinema. The method of analysis that has allowed me to an interdisciplinary approach to cinephilia and film criticism is the branch of cultural studies that comes from cultural theory and sociology of culture.

In the tradition of the Birmingham School of cultural studies, this thesis focuses on Miami’s graffiti subculture and the conflicts between market economies and economies of social meaning. As a reference point, I consider Miami’s “Penits”: the name given to the seemingly abandoned buildings where graffiti is performed. Short for penitentiary, the term derives from the 1980s after a large building rumored to be a prison was defunded midway through its construction. After this first reclamation, every other graffiti heterotopia in Miami has been similarly recoded as spaces that mock structures of discipline and industry. Through Michel Foucault’s biopolitical framework I argue that the sovereign state and marketplace conspire to dually criminalize and commoditize the subculture’s performative defiance. I conclude by illustrating how the market itself reinforces the carceral archipelago by framing the subculture’s vandal aesthetic through the normalized, self-interested boundaries of conduct that the market itself deems il/legal.

The study theorizes that a nation-state can manifest a condition similar to that of personality commonly associated with humans. Through the identification of consistent behaviors, a personality like condition is recognizable, and the underlining motivations dictate national policy independent of any current social/political influence. The research examines Russia during two historical periods examining the conflict events and social/political transitions of the period, to identify common behavioral characteristics, which indicate the existence of any independent personality like trait. The study focuses on two historical periods: the Monarch Period of Peter I (The Great), and the Post-Soviet Union period of Vladimir Putin, periods selected as historical eras in which Russia experienced major political or social transition. Using a comparative qualitative historical analysis with a behaviorist focus, the research examines these periods by profiling each era’s elements of society and the events of domestic and international conflict that Russia experienced, while evaluating the actions taken in response to each. The research discovers that Russia exhibits personality like traits, similar to those associated with humans and are likewise developed from experience, and once imbedded into Russian psychology, regardless of the current social/political elements or situational conditions, remain prime motivators to Russian behavior. The personality like characteristic identified was similar to inferiority, which leads to behavior characteristics comparable to narcissism, as the definition of narcissism relates to the need for admiration and or acceptance. The study identified the origins of the inferiority like complex and the narcissistic like behavior pattern exhibited by Russia in both periods.

This dissertation study was conducted in order to examine and gain an insight on two topics that are considered to be highly under researched: American historically black fraternities and sororities and colorism within the back American community. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact that colorism has had on black American collegiate Greek letter organizations. Using the qualitative phenomenological approach, 18 graduate or alumni members, two from each of the nine historically black Greek letter organizations that make up the National Pan-Hellanic Council were interviewed using open ended questions to see what impact (if any) colorism has had on historically black fraternities and sororities. During the interviews the following five major themes emerged: discriminatory practices between black Americans, stereotyping black Greek letter organizations, stereotyping skin tones, colorism as a part of American history, and colorism as being permanently a part of the black American community. The following theories were also explored during the study: Social Identity Theory, Double Consciousness, Primary Identification Theory, and Conflict Caused by Colorism, to further see what impact colorism had on historically black fraternities and sororities. Through these five themes and theories, it was found that colorism has had and continues to have a significant impact on not only members of historically black fraternities and sororities, but also that of members of the black American community as a whole.