This study explores the centrality of W. E. B. Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk to a philosophy of African-American Rhetoric. The major consideration is a question of metaphorical depictions of a race ideology vs. dialectic juxtapositions of Du Boisian notions of the race problem. The primary methodological approach was rhetorical criticism of the text, The Souls of Black Folk to explicate the African-American uniqueness and delineate specific cultural and socio-rhetorical exigencies. The Afrocentric paradigm was also used. Created by language and African culture scholar, Dr. Molefi Asante, the paradigm enabled us to test the parameters of a Du Boisian vocabulary of race. Implementing the paradigm along with traditional methods of criticism, such as a topics analysis of Du Bois' key arguments broadened, yet focused the critique.

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Regular Wild Irish: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in Irish American Fiction examines the ways in which Irish American writers construct "Irishness" in fictional texts which borrow from and respond to literary and cultural discourses in the United States and Ireland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It analyzes the short fiction and novels of Irish immigrant and Irish American authors writing from the antebellum period through the early twentieth century and particularly focuses on those figures who were publishing in the 1890s. Regular Wild Irish considers the links between the representational strategies used by Irish American writers and broader domestic and international discourses of race and ethnicity in the period. It argues that, while participating in various U.S. literary traditions such as sentimentalism, regionalism, and realism, Irish American writers complicated standard literary and visual representations of Irishness. Regular Wild Irish establishes that Irish American writers mobilized key, if sometimes competing, cultural discourses to shape an image of the American Irish that both engaged with national and transatlantic popular and literary discourses and theorized emergent forms of ethnic and racial identification in the late nineteenth century. Ultimately, Regular Wild Irish demonstrates that if, at the turn into the twenty-first century, Irishness is a "politically insulated" form of ethnic identity fashionable at a moment when white identity seems to be "losing its social purchase," then it is worth thinking seriously about how Irishness was represented at the turn into the twentieth century, when the terms "white" and "Irish" bore a different, if related, set of anxieties than they do today. / English

Recently, many college administrators have attempted to create a climate on their campuses which emphasizes the importance of valuing all members of the campus community, encouraging diversity of the student population, and educating those who are intolerant of diversity. As a result, many students on our college campuses are resentful and angered by attempts to "force feed" them information regarding issues of diversity. Such resistance must be considered when planning a curriculum that emphasizes diversity education. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of an educational game lessens student resistance toward diversity education while increasing content, behavioral, and attitudinal change. Eighteen participants, a selected group of college students and facilitators, played the game for a 90-minute period, exploring racism and heterosexism during the playing of the game. Pre- and postgame interviews and two follow-up interviews (one week and four to six weeks later) were conducted with each participant. Participants were asked two broad questions: How did participants experience playing the game? This was based on participants' perceptions, my observations during the playing of the game, interviews, and participants' journals. Did playing the game influence the participants' knowledge, awareness, or actions regarding racism and heterosexism, and if so, how?

This study examines the effect of student peer interactions on students' educational outcomes. It presents African-heritage students' perceptions of their interactions at a predominantly White institution of higher education (PWI) and how these interactions affect their academic persistence. The study focuses on intraethnic and interethnic student-peer interactions in the university environment. Concern about attrition rates and retention of students of African descent requires that educators and administrators take actions to facilitate the development and academic success of these students. Traditional student development models, often based on a Eurocentric world view, have often failed to adequately address the needs of this student population. Social functioning and social adjustment are critical to African-heritage students' development. Sociocultural involvement is an inherent aspect of African-heritage characteristics, which include music and dance and collective cooperation. In this study, these relevant sociocultural issues, including a common experience of oppression, are examined as they relate to African-heritage students' interpersonal interactions, social adjustment, academic persistence and development. The social functioning of African-heritage students is identified and represented in five proposed modes of social adjustment, (1) alienation/isolation, (2) assimilation/acculturation, (3) biculturality, (4) Africentricity and (5) cultural relativism/pluralism, These modes of adjustment may also be considered ways in which Black students cope with and respond to various situations while interacting in the PWI environment. This study utilizes a triangulation research design that includes qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Focus group interviews are the primary data collection method. The focus group interview process included spoken dialogue and written responses to focused questions and is complemented with additional individual written responses. This process is triangulated with quantitative methods of demographic survey and a Likert scale questionnaire. Participants are students of African descent at a four-year public university in New England. These Black students relate important behavioral strategies used to interact in, adjust to and persist at the PWI.

In this study, seven rap songs by hip hop icon Tupac Shakur were examined to determine if the ideology of the Black Panther Party exists within the song lyrics of his politically oriented music. The study used content analysis as its methodology. Key among the Ten Point Program tenets reflected in Tupac’s song lyrics were for self-determination, full employment, ending exploitation of Blacks by Whites (or Capitalists), decent housing, police brutality, education, liberation of Black prisoners, and the demand for land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace, and a United Nations plebiscite.

A disproportionate number of African American (AA) women are overweight, obese, and more likely to have weight related health concerns compared with Caucasian (C) women. Previous research indicates perception about health-enhancing behaviors influences AA females' health behavior. A gap exists in the current literature regarding AA women's perception of eating and exercise behavior and the impact social support has on AA women's adherence to USDA recommendations. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine AA women's weight locus of control, perceived susceptibility to weight related diseases, and perceived barriers to healthy eating and exercise relative to C women; and (2) to assess the impact of social support on adherence to USDA recommendations in AA women utilizing the extended health belief model. Participants were a convenience sample of 76 AA and C women ages 20-75 from churches in northeast Texas. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed. ANOVA and linear regression were used to determine if there was a relationship between race and weight locus of control, perceived susceptibility to weight related diseases, and amount of perceived barriers to exercising/healthy eating as well as between perceived social support for exercising/healthy eating and adherence to USDA recommendations in African American women. Results indicated no signficant difference between AA and C participants in weight locus of control, susceptibility to weight-related diseases, or barriers to exercising/healthy eating. Social support predicted adherence to USDA recommendations in AA women. This enhances social change by providing a basis for future studies aimed towards designing and implementing interventions and strategies to help AA and C women improve their health.

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Hispanic students are enrolling in community colleges at an increasing rate, and they do not succeed in community college online courses at a rate comparable to Caucasian students. Increasing Hispanic success in online education could potentially enhance their socioeconomic status. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of andragogy and constructivism, the purpose of this case study was to examine differences between Hispanic and Caucasian students in online learning and identify factors that might contribute to the reported differences in success across Hispanic and Caucasian online students. Research questions contrasted the impact of course design, Internet access, learning preferences, and motivation on successful online learning across Hispanic and Caucasian students. A proportional stratified sample of 324 community college students completed a researcher-developed survey, and 20 participated in semistructured interviews. Data analyses sequentially addressed each research question by integrating tabular and frequency analyses of survey data with themes that emerged from interviews. Regarding course design, Hispanic students, more than Caucasians, preferred group work and visual design elements; whereas, both groups felt that a logical course design was a key factor in accessing information and that regular instructor contact was important. Internet-use comfort levels were similar and positively affected performance for both groups. Reported motivation to enroll in online courses was also similar across groups and included scheduling, convenience, and pace of learning. This study can contribute to social change by clarifying an understanding of specific online learning factors that are critical for academic success among Hispanic students, which can in turn provide a foundation for improved socioeconomic success and equity.