The cultural and historical construction of African American identity in the United States has been closely tied to the dialectical relationship formed between sound and silence. This thesis examines the modernist and postmodernist representation of sound and silence in the African American novels Passing (1929), by Nella Larsen, and Jazz (1992), by Toni Morrison, as indicators of African American identity and racial oppression during the Harlem Renaissance. I analyze the soundscapes of both texts to expose the mobility of language, power, and space, especially as these soundscapes relate to the production of sound (both musical and non-musical) by African Americans, and the surveillance of these sounds by white audiences. Through my analysis of repetitive sound-images and embodied silence in Passing and Jazz, as well as textual representations of oral performance, I argue that there is harm in restricting African American voices to approved modes of audibility and/or limiting African American voices to one a singular narrative. This thesis introduces critics and theories from the disciplines of sound studies and African American studies, and applies the widely known theory of double consciousness, established by critic and author W.E.B. Du Bois, as the foundation for my literary and cultural analysis of sound in print. / Graduation date: 2013

This dissertation reviewed extant literature about McGuire’s distinctiveness theory, the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion, in-group bias theory, racial identity, race source effects, and cultural cues pertaining to targeting African American and Latino consumer markets. Mexican and African American informants were interviewed after viewing magazine advertisements targeted to the other group to determine if distinctiveness to the other’s images and cultural cues occurred. Observations were also reported from ethnographic excursions across Des Moines, Iowa, a city and state where African Americans and Mexicans are numerical rarities or minorities. Results revealed that the majority of informants spontaneously delivered responses that reflected salience with the other group. In fact, both groups saw themselves as a part of a greater people of color community--extending their ethnic identities. Furthermore, informants exhibited a provisional ethnic backlash against viewing Anglos in product advertisements in their ethnic magazines. However, when ads presented a message about diversity, informants thought Anglo images should be included. Both groups said they valued the use of people of color and socially responsible messages in ads for high involvement and low involvement products, however, these images and cultural cues would not lead to purchases of new brands because informants were weary about wasting money on unfamiliar brands in a stressed economy. Consumers also scanned ads for models’ races, and paid attention to how their ethnic group and other people of color were treated in ads. Also, informants reported discussing racial issues often in social circles. A black-brown racial divide was expressed when there was a perceived scarcity of resources and when one group discussed how they felt the other group perceived their race. Finally, class and having on-going personal relationships with members of the other group affected responses. This study offers many academic, managerial, practitioner, social and political implications and recommendations. / text

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This study focuses on dark-skinned, Black women's representation in Black sitcoms. Through a mixed-methods use of a comparative textual analysis and focus group, the content and context of episodes from A Different World and Dear White People are explored to illustrate portrayals of dark-skinned, Black women and how these portrayals affect dark-skinned, Black women's self-esteem. Its findings contribute to colorism research by exploring colorism in Black sitcoms. Because this topic is largely unexplored, this study seeks to begin a conversation about dark skinned, Black women's representation in Black sitcoms. The main objective is to ultimately improve their depictions and roles in Black sitcoms and hold Black creatives responsible for the role they play in promoting colorism and its ultimate effect on Black women's self esteem.

Why is black partisan identification so one-sidedly Democratic forty years past the Civil Rights movement? A black/non-black political dichotomy manifests itself through one-sided African-American partisanship. Racial consciousness and Republican hostility is the basis of the black/non-black political dichotomy, which manifests through African-American partisanship. Racial consciousness forced blacks to take a unique and somewhat jaundiced approach to politics and Republican hostility to black inclusion in the political process in the 1960s followed by antagonism toward public policy contribute to overwhelming black Democratic partisanship. Results shown in this dissertation demonstrate that variables representing economic issues, socioeconomic status and religiosity fail to explain partisan identification to the extent that Hostility-Consciousness explains party identification.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)