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This project addresses problems of political disengagement, social exclusion, multi-generational poverty, and social injustice in communities left behind by an incomplete democracy, now in acute crisis. Using jazz improvisation as a metaphor for Dewey’s ideals for a thriving and creative American democracy, this normative critical theory and pedagogy is part of a multi-pronged approach to radical democratic reform. Building on theories of humanistic prophetic pragmatism, critical pedagogy, and democratic theory, and suffused with critical race feminism, this critical approach begins with individual transformation, critical consciousness, and agency of marginalized citizens, through critical improvisational pedagogy. The approach seeks to prepare more diverse voices for active democratic deliberation and effective participation in democratic public spaces of input, negotiation, and challenge for the issues that affect marginalized people. The project creates an architecture, a basic template, and an operationalization strategy for the development of centers of critical improvisational pedagogy for the transmission of critical knowledge, mentoring, community support, and apprenticeships through culturally appropriate arts and cultural programming in accessible local community sites. Key Words: critical improvisational pedagogy, prophetic pragmatism, critical feminist theory, radical democratic reform, jazz imaginary, critical consciousness / Political Science

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<p>The Duluth Model of intervention for those charged with domestic violence offences has for the past thirty years been instrumental in conceptualizing violence, abuse, power and control, how to hold offenders accountable and keep victims safe, and is reflective of a collaborative, feminist approach to violence intervention. The model’s design assumes that violence is perpetrated by men against their female partners as a mechanism to maintain/gain power and control. However, increasing numbers of women are now being charged with violence against their male partners and being referred for service. Problematically, there has been little development of policies or formal practices that recognize the different meanings of women’s violence or the particularity of their programming needs so that service providers in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) treatment programs find themselves working with female offenders under a male model of violence.</p> <p>The purpose of this project was to engage in a critical feminist analysis of the resulting tensions, specifically to ask how conceptualizations of gender and violence undergird policy development and how, in Duluth-dominated programming approaches, service providers understand and respond to women’s needs. To explore these questions, I took a two-fold methodological approach: an analysis of the extensive literature on Partner Assault Response (PAR) programs and female offenders, using the concept of policy framing; and an online survey of service providers that explored dimensions of their work and that included questions incorporating the policy frame distinctions that emerged from the literature analysis.</p> <p>The policy frame analysis underscored the power of problem construction and shed conceptual light on the challenges of working under the Duluth model with women. Survey participants described those challenges in the, as yet, dimly lit front-lines of practice, as well as their engagements at times in creative, subversive program delivery to meet women’s needs. Future research drawing forward the seldom heard voices of women charged with violence will be critical, as will continued endeavours to fashion gender-specific, need-driven policy.</p> / Master of Social Work (MSW)

The purpose of this study was to expand on the current research pertaining to women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, better understand the experiences of undergraduate women in the sciences, identify barriers to female persistence in their intended STEM majors, and understand the impact of the STEM co-educational Living Learning Community (LLC) model on female persistence. This study employed a mixed-methods approach that was grounded in standpoint methodology. The qualitative data were collected through focus groups and one-on-one interviews with the female participants and was analyzed through a critical feminist lens utilizing standpoint methodology and coded utilizing inductive analysis. The quantitative data were collected and analyzed utilizing a simple statistical analysis of key academic variables indicative of student success: cumulative high school GPAs, SAT scores, first year cumulative GPAs, freshman persistence patterns in the intended major, and freshman retention patterns at the university. The findings of this study illustrated that the co-educational LLC model created an inclusive academic and social environment that positively impacted the female participants‟ experiences and persistence in STEM. The findings also found the inclusion of men in the community aided in the demystification of male superiority in the sciences for the female participants. This study also highlighted the significance of social identity in the decision making process to join a science LLC.

This qualitative study explored the experiences and insights of four alumnae from a girls’ after-school writing program and the program’s transformative impact on development of their literacy, their voice, and their confidence. The writing program, InkGirls (a pseudonym), was for girls of color ages 13 to 18 who lived in metropolitan Los Angeles. Participants attended high-density public schools located in low-income neighborhoods. Curriculum and instructional practices in such public schools have been critiqued as substandard, rote, and lacking opportunities for critical thinking and student voice (Darder, 2015). Gender bias in the classroom, and the lack of representation of women of color in instructional materials also have been legitimate concerns in U.S. public schooling (Sadker, Sadker, & Zittleman, 2009). Using a theoretical framework of critical pedagogy (Freire, 2000) and critical feminist pedagogy (Weiler, 1988), this qualitative study investigated practices of critical literacy (Christensen, 2009) in the writing program that promoted development of literacy and voice and elevated the critical consciousness and social agency of the participants. The program’s elements of critical literacy included studying relatable texts, reading from critical perspectives, writing personal narratives, and completing social action projects in public readings for a live audience. The findings from the program’s curriculum and public readings, and the perceptions of the former participants pointed to critical literacy as an effective approach to literacy instruction and development of voice and agency.

This thesis adopts critical feminist theory, which is a combination of both critical theory and feminist theory, to explore the nature and experiences of Omani women involved in tourism entrepreneurship with particular regard to empowerment. Several studies have identified the potential role of tourism entrepreneurship to empower women due to the many benefits that it provides. However, this potential, and the extent that it empowers women, has been questioned. A review of the literature on women in tourism entrepreneurship reveals that there are several issues that have theoretical and practical implications for women's empowerment through this activity. Furthermore, a review of the development studies literature indicates that there are many prevailing issues and debates surrounding the concept of women's empowerment thatmerit further investigation. The fieldwork for this research took place in Oman during 2013-­‐2014 and included an examination of a hosting group, sewing group and a number of women tourism entrepreneurs. Participant observations and semi-structured/unstructured interviews were conducted to collect information about these women. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected information and to develop three ethnographic case studies. The findings of this research reveal that tourism entrepreneurship does not inevitably bring about empowerment for Omani women. It is far from being an activity for women's individual and collective empowerment, given that the scope for such remains dependent on the embedded environment and is influenced by the nature of tourism enterprise work. An empirically informed conceptual framework was developed from the data to present this phenomenon. A grounded conceptualization was also developed from the data to conceptualize the process of women's empowerment for Omani women in tourism entrepreneurship. Theoretical implications of the findings areidentified in relation to the appropriate use of the concept of women's empowerment in tourism research. Practical implications of the findings are also identified in relation to local and international tourism organisations that utilises tourism entrepreneurship opportunities for women's empowerment purposes.

Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 174-197).

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:20:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Isabel.pdf: 1956650 bytes, checksum: 8d7b7d7a6a0e33883eade6c4a0ea55aa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-05 / The main objective of this research is to investigate the socio-religious potential of the popular reading of the Bible in function of transformation. In this research, we will analyze the thought of Carlos Mesters and its interpretation developed by the Center for Biblical Studies - CEBI. To reach our goal, we will work, particularly with two popular biblical readings, namely, "The way to Emmaus and The Popular Reading of the Bible: Searching for the Lost Coin , both used as a methodology for biblical reading within CEBI. These approaches of interpretation intend to go beyond the study of the biblical texts and seek to contribute to the process of conscientization towards transformation of the reality of domination and oppression. It is in this context that we study the critical feminist hermeneutics of liberation articulated by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, as an important tool to examine and dialogue with these popular approaches of reading. We relate the methodology of Cebi to a feminist and emancipatory paradigm of biblical interpretation. In addition to pedagogical and methodological issues, this enterprise results in the problematisation of some theological themes intrinsic to biblical interpretation, namely, the subject of interpretation, the analysis of reality and the criteria to define revelation and authority. From this dialogue between "popular reading of the bible" and "critical feminist hermeneutics of liberation , we come to the conclusion that the first, despite being defined as an approach to a liberating biblical interpretation shows some gaps in relation to this goal. From the analysis of the different methodological steps of interpretation and the theological themes, we perceive within Mesters´s project and more specifically in the project of CEBI, the absence of analytical tools which could facilitate the transformation of the concrete socio-religious realities, the analysis of the experiences of the subjects of interpretation, and the reflection on criterias to define the place of revelation and authority. The thesis is not intended to replace the popular method of Biblical reading by the hermeneutical dance proposed by Schüssler. The thesis instead tries to rethink the possibilities and problems of the popular biblical reading in its attempt to transform reality. In this sense, the dialogue with political emancipatory theories articulated theologically and biblically by Schüssler may be important for political and methodological reassessment of CEBI. (AU) / O objetivo central desta pesquisa é investigar o potencial de transformação sócioreligiosa da leitura popular da bíblia. Dentro desta abordagem de interpretação, serão analisados o pensamento de Carlos Mesters e suas reelaborações desenvolvidas pelo Centro de Estudos Bíblicos CEBI. Para tanto, trabalhar-se-á, particularmente, com dois textos metodológicos da leitura popular da bíblia, a saber, A Caminho de Emaús. Leitura bíblica e educação popular e A Leitura Popular da Bíblia: à procura da moeda perdida . Essas abordagens de interpretação têm como objetivo ir além do estudo dos textos bíblicos, ao pretender contribuir para com o processo de conscientização em vista da transformação da realidade de dominação e opressão. É neste contexto que se aponta a hermenêutica feminista crítica de libertação articulada por Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, enquanto uma ferramenta importante no intuito de analisar e dialogar com tais abordagens de leitura popular, uma vez que parece articular mais seriamente um paradigma feminista emancipatório de interpretação bíblica. Este diálogo problematizará, para além da questão pedagógico-metodológica, alguns temas teológico-bíblicos que são intrínsecos à interpretação bíblica, a saber, os sujeitos da interpretação, a análise da realidade e os critérios para se definir a revelação e a autoridade. A partir deste diálogo entre leitura popular da bíblia e hermenêutica feminista crítica de libertação , chega-se a conclusão de que a primeira, apesar de se definir como uma abordagem de interpretação bíblica popular e libertadora, acaba por apresentar algumas lacunas em relação ao objetivo que se propõe concretizar. A partir da análise de todos os passos metodológicos de interpretação e de seus temas teológicos, constata-se, no interior do projeto de Mesters e, mais propriamente do CEBI, a ausência de uma ferramenta analítica que viabilize a transformação concreta das realidades sócio-religiosas, das experiências dos sujeitos da interpretação, bem como da escolha de critérios para se definir o lugar da revelação e da autoridade. A tese não visa substituir prontamente o método de leitura popular da bíblia pela dança hermenêutica proposta por Schüssler. A tese propõe, antes, repensar os encaminhamentos e ausências da leitura popular da bíblia em seus objetivos de transformação da realidade. Nesse sentido, a interlocução com novas teorias políticas emancipatórias articuladas teológico-biblicamente por Schüssler pode ser importante para uma reavaliação do projeto políticometodológico do CEBI(AU)