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This thesis tries to shed light on the visual portrayal of refugees within German and the British newspapers during the European refugee crisis in 2016. Furthermore, a visual autoethnography of my own refugee photography complemented this study.Through the analysis of 80 newspaper photographs from Germany and Britain (quality press & tabloids), as well as nine of my own pictures, the following research questions had to be answered:Q1: How were refugees photographically represented in German newspapers (quality press & tabloids) during 2016?Q.2 How were refugees photographically represented in British newspapers (quality press & tabloids) during 2016?Q.3 How was I, as an amateur photographer, indirectly influenced in my own photographic portrayal of refugees by contemporary media.The analysis was conducted by coding all images into different visual categories, while observing reoccurring patterns and visual styles. Furthermore, the icnonographic-iconologic image framework was used for an in-depth review of certain newspaper images (each representing a different newspaper) and for two pictures of my own photography in an autoethnographic manner.The findings suggested that women and children were predominantly featured in both, German and British newspapers. German quality press focused on the representations of state control and on the integration of refugees. Furthermore, German tabloids did not refrain from very graphic imagery.British press featured a high number of pictures with women and children, while no representation of refugee integration could be found. Furthermore, the most notorious British tabloid seemed to portray a rather negative and partially criminal image of refugees.My own photography indicated a strong influence of commonly usedrefugee motifs. Thus, a subconscious reflection of international newspaper photography could be identified.

<p>Indigenous populations have experienced vast travesties due to the impacts of colonialism. Colonialism continues to be perpetuated through the services, programs and policies that Indigenous people encounter. This research thesis tackles the question of how non-Indigenous social workers, professionals and interested parties can work with Indigenous people in appropriate and respectful ways. It also reviews how non-Indigenous people can work and think across difference. This research represents my journey towards decolonizing myself to find new ways of being White that are compatible with Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing. Autoethnography, relevant literature and interviews were used to explore ways of working with Indigenous populations. Three participants who had been identified by an Indigenous academic as people who had worked with Indigenous populations in appropriate and respectful ways were interviewed in Canada. An analysis of the three semi in-depth interviews produced several recommendations for non-Indigenous people in working with Indigenous populations. Results acknowledge the complexity of working and thinking across difference. Suggestions for working with Indigenous populations are highlighted and include such themes as acknowledging tensions and privilege, understanding that there is a large diversity within Indigenous populations, recognizing that there are aspects of dominant ways of knowing that are compatible with Indigenous ways of knowing, the importance of not being afraid to take risks and of trying not to make assumptions. Decolonization is an uneasy pursuit that is fraught with tension and this research hopes to encourage other social workers, professionals and interested parties to engage in similar processes.</p> / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Inaugurated by Kariamu Welsh in 1970, Umfundalai is an evolving contemporary African dance technique that draws movements from African and Diasporan dances. As one of the first of thirteen men to study and perform the technique, Umfundalai reified a North American African male identity, empowering me to navigate American and African American social scripts that posit dancing as a non-masculine activity. This study employs an autoethnographic lens to illuminate men's constructions of gender in Umfundalai. Specifically, the research explores maleness, an experienced gendered agency, among eight male practitioners, including the researcher. Brothers of the Bah Yáh is framed as a multi-layered inquiry that applies phenomenological values and procedures to forward an auto-ethnographic intention. The study's qualitative methodology draws on Max van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology and Anselm Strauss's applied grounded theory, as well as historical description and dance analysis. Sources of data include interviews with seven Umfundalai men, Umfundalai's progenitor and first dance master; an in-depth research journal recording my own lived experience descriptions and memories of dancing Umfundalai; and videos of selected Umfundalai repertory. The study is informed by the literature of masculine studies, highlighting the social function of masculinities as scripted and learned ideals. There is a dearth of resources theorizing the African American presence in African dance on the American concert stage. Drawing on primary sources, the empirical findings of the study are framed in a historical analysis of the emergence of a male presence in Umfundalai since 1993, including male-inspired developments in the technique. Analysis of in-depth interviews reveal that performing Umfundalai choreography affords men an opportunity to dance a self-determined construction of gender performance and that Umfundalai studio practice can be a site for men's affirmation of their `dancer' identities as well as friction with gender performance. Further, while Kariamu Welsh's approach to developing Umfundalai's movement system may be described as gender-neutral, the continuance of Umfundalai by its dance masters substantiated a gendered Umfundalai in which movement and performance were aligned with scripted conventional masculine tropes. The Brothers of the Bah Yáh: The Pursuit of Maleness in the Umfundalai Tradition of African Dance reveals that `the pursuit of maleness' was a unique construction experienced only by the researcher. Contradicting my initial presumption, the other men in this study found their gendered agency outside of Umfundalai. Moreover, a large majority of men in this study draw significantly on conventional masculinities, namely strength and power, to feel their maleness. Further, a spirituality of solidarity was uncovered - an embodied masculinity that can arise while dancing Umfundalai choreography and observing other men dancing at the same time. The dissertation concludes that expressions of maleness as described by Umfundalai's dancing men have currency in sports and in the larger American and African American communities out of which Umfundalai's dance culture emerges. Strength, power, and spiritual transformation situated in similitude represent commonalities of male experiences. At the same time, Umfundalai choreography can house multiple masculinities. Dances like Kariamu Welsh's Raaahmonaaah! (1989) and my Genesis: The Royal Dance of Kings (1996) serve as portals for masculinities that dismantle the hegemony that erodes the community in which it exists. Further research is needed to understand how dancing men can be a force that dismantles racism, sexism, and homophobia. / Dance

"The Gordita's Guide to Body Positivity" is an autobiographical documentary reflecting on society's expectations of the female body image and how it affects Latinx women. Through personal recollections, media content, and archival material, the film explores beauty expectations, body discrimination, and body positivity. The document analyzes the documentary styles such as autoethnography and narration incorporated into the film and provides historical and theoretical context to body image in the Latinx culture and how the media has affected body image, beauty ideals, and eating disorders. In addition, the pre-production, production, and post-production process is detailed.

Catholic schools are in need of innovative change. The problem lies in how to construct the elements of change to create viability for a school in the face of rapid declining enrollment. Responding to this type of environment as an educational leader requires qualities and characteristics similar to those of first responders in a medical emergency, a term I coined as the triage principal. This autoethnographic research study was designed to answer three research questions: 1. As a new principal at Michael, the Archangel School (MAS), a Catholic school in danger of closing, what challenges did I experience? 2. As a new leader, how did I respond to the challenges to bring about change at MAS? 3. What did I learn from this first year leadership experience? This autoethnographic study is constructed from my voice as a first year, first time principal, using several data sources: my blog, my archival field notes, and three interviews from archdiocesan leaders. Each of the given data sources had contained a data collection procedure resulting in overarching thematic patterns that led to generalizations based on the past experiences at MAS and my review of the literature. The weaving of the past and present of my life’s leadership journey in combination with the culture and the people that surround me for this study, has made me realize that I do have a story worth sharing, a story that can potentially help others who might find themselves seemingly lost and alone.

Despite the expressed need for bicultural teachers, research on teacher attrition has demonstrated that a growing number of bicultural educators are leaving the classroom. Bicultural male teachers, in particular, experience high rates of teacher attrition. Schools, unfortunately, are contexts in which Latino male teachers are constantly experiencing dilemmas related specifically to both their gendered and racialized positionality as males of color. Grounded in Antonia Darder’s critical bicultural framework, this autoethnographic study explored the complex factors that drive Latino male teachers out of the classroom, through an in-depth and grounded examination of a Latino male teacher who left the classroom. The study contributes to the conversation on bicultural teacher attrition, gendered relations, and their relationship to both teacher preparation and the education of bicultural students. Furthermore, the study explored how racism, sexism, classism, trauma, and heteronormativity mitigate the experiences of Latino male teachers, and how these manifest themselves through the hidden curriculum, asymmetrical relations of power, gendered essentialism, policing of behavior, the culture of silence, conditions of isolation, and disabling cultural response patterns. The implications of such factors in the life of one Latino male teacher are carefully analyzed and discussed, in an effort to consider their significance in rethinking teacher preparation programs, with respect to the needs of Latino males. Moreover, the study offers an engagement with critical autoethnography as a significant tool of reflection in the educational process and emancipatory process of bicultural teachers.