In an attempt to practice inclusive planning, this research project explores whether Broadway Avenue functions as an ethnic commercial strip and identifies social, physical, and economic components that contribute to the Latino neighborhood/ barrio. Using pilot studies Loukaitou-Sideris (2000), Loukaitou-Sideris (2002), Rojas (1993), Manzumdar et al. (2000), Main (2007), and Fernando (2007) as a foundation, this research uses a single case study in addition to several research methods: 42 random surveys, literature review and analysis, site observations/pictures, and land use survey. Various scholars write that barrios have unique physical, social, economic, and political attributes. A new aesthetic, art, symbols, type of businesses, music, community events, and vendors all add to social ambiance and physical design of the neighborhood (Rojas,1993). The findings reported in this case study highlight that the majority of the people who are present at any given time on Broadway Avenue are Latino immigrants from a lower socio-economic background. They visit Broadway’s Latino commercial strip from across Los Angeles County to shop, work, and for leisure purposes. Broadway Avenue is a festive, popular, spiritual, and political public space for many Latino immigrants. Many of the study participants are attracted to Broadway’s diversity, architecture, aesthetics, culturally themed stores and restaurants; showing that this Latino commercial strip possesses deep social, physical and economic significance. Contributions of this study include a detailed description about Broadway Avenue beyond the existing literature review. Survey results provide valuable information about what study participants would like to be preserved for Broadway’s future. This information provides user-driven recommendations for preservation and change on Broadway Avenue. Broadway Avenue between Second Street and Olympic Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles is the focused area of this thesis project to provide a qualitative description of the environment of a Latino commercial strip. This thesis provides recommendations to urban planners as they attempt to preserve cultural elements of Broadway’s Latino commercial strip.

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[pt] Esta dissertação de mestrado analisa a obra Todas as famílias felizes (2009), do escritor mexicano Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012), dentro da perspectiva micropolítica dos afetos circulantes. O livro é composto por dezesseis histórias, que narram acontecimentos em diferentes famílias, intercaladas por igual número de coros, todos independentes entre si. Não encontramos personagens repetidos, nem um desfecho onde finalmente tudo se articule e ganhe uma conclusão. Também não existem capítulos, nem partes. As histórias familiares são narradas de forma tradicional - com início, meio e fim - enquanto os coros são textos mais curtos e narrados livremente. O maior deles toma seis páginas e o mais curto, apenas uma linha. A partir de um ponto de vista literário, esta dissertação buscará refletir sobre as relações em jogo no ambiente íntimo e familiar como também no espaço comunitário dos coros. A gramática dos afetos, bem como sua materialização na distribuição dos corpos no espaço social, se tornou oportuna para a reflexão sobre as zonas de contato entre os diferentes corpos: individuais e coletivos. Em particular, aponto a relevância da violência, do medo e do rancor nos processos afetivos presentes na obra, assim como proponho a leitura dos coros como elemento trágico e, ao mesmo tempo, estranho e distante. Sendo Fuentes um escritor marcado pelo boom literário das décadas de 1960 e 1970, reviso as principais características e argumentações críticas acerca do período. Por se tratar de uma obra da fase final e menos prestigiada, observo como a aposta dos autores do boom na recriação de uma comunidade parece não mais possível para Carlos Fuentes. / [en] This research analyzes Happy Families (2009) by the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012), prioritizing the micropolitical perspective of circulating affections. The book consists of sixteen stories, which narrate events in different families, interspersed with an equal number of choirs, all independent of each other. We find no repeating characters, nor an outcome where everything finally articulates and gains a conclusion. There are no chapters or parts either. Family stories are narrated in a traditional way - beginning, middle and end - while choirs are shorter texts and narrated freely. The largest of them takes six pages and the shortest, just one line. From a literary point of view, this dissertation will seek to reflect on the relationships at stake in the intimate and family environment as well as in the community space of choirs, prioritizing the micropolitical perspective of circulating affections. The grammar of affections, as well as their materialization in the distribution of bodies in the social space, became opportune for reflection on the zones of contact among different bodies: individual and collective. Furthermore, it examines the relevance of violence, fear and resentment in the affective processes found in the book, as well as the role of the choirs as a tragic and, at the same time, as a strange and distant element. Knowing that Fuentes is a writer marked by the literary boom of the 1960s and 1970s, it reviews the main characteristics and critical arguments about the period. Because it is a work of his final and less prestigious phase, I observe how the bet of the authors of the boom in the recreation of a community seems no longer possible for Carlos Fuentes.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Kenneth F. Hughey / Kay A. Taylor / This qualitative multiple case study explored the campus climate and sense of belonging of Latino/a undergraduate student participants at a predominately White university. Guided by the work of Hurtado and Carter (1997), relationships among several aspects of the college environment and sense of belonging were examined. In depth interviews regarding participants’ perceptions of their experience identified how they perceived their campus climate in and outside of the academic classroom. The findings revealed how the participants’ perceptions influenced their desire to graduate, commitment to, and sense of belonging. Prominent themes that emerged were: student identity, mi casa es su casa, and class size matters. The results indicated that the participants had mixed feelings regarding their experiences in and out of class, which affected their perceptions of the campus climate and their commitment to the university. Additional prominent findings were: mostly positive academic advising experiences; student organizations and advisors are an important part of the campus climate; the importance of familial support in the participants’ sense of belonging; and the relationships between mothers and their sons/daughters. Participants identified offices and programs on campus that provide a positive campus climate, sense of belonging, and best serve Latino/a undergraduate students. The participants’ perceptions of the campus climate were related to their sense of belonging. The results contribute to the research addressing campus climate and sense of belonging for Latino/a undergraduate students overall, including strategies for their retention. Implications for practice and future research are identified.

This dissertation focuses on dominant contemporary depictions of women in order to investigate the related processes of producing and policing physical attractiveness and privilege in mainstream cultural productions. I examine how certain US Latina, Colombian, and Dominican female portrayals fit definite paradigms of ideal beauty and contribute to patterns of power within magazines, films and television, music, and literary novels. I explore the ways in which the majority of dominant representations in all three countries favor specific beauty ideals linked with an Anglo or Northern European archetype, thus limiting the acceptable model and excluding a great part of the racially mixed female population which fails to match this criterion. By studying the relationship between body image and messages that inspire anxiety for those women who fall outside of ideal beauty patterns, my analysis bridges sociological and anthropological studies within literary theories and visual culture and contributes to new perspectives on Latinidad and Tropicalism by including a trans-nationalistic approach. While much work has been done on the connection between the body and identity within the United States, scholarship within this area has been more limited within Hispanic literature and Latin American popular culture in terms of the role of power structures. While one perception of beauty is that it is merely physical, in reality racial classification and the recognition of “legitimate” beauty have tangible impacts on social matters such as access to employment, marriageability, perceptions of education, civilization, decency, and purity.

The EL (English learner) population is rapidly growing in the United States. ELs most often are finding themselves placed in classrooms without ESOL trained teachers. In the social studies curriculum, United States History often is regarded as one of the hardest courses for newly arrived immigrants due to the unfamiliarity of the content (Dunne & Martell, 2013). The absence of culturally relevant instruction also contributes to the potentially overwhelming nature of the social studies curriculum for ELs. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent teachers’ and tutors’ use of culturally relevant biographies during social studies instruction fosters engagement in social studies instruction among Latino English language learners. The research study was inspired by the work of Margaret Peters, retired Dayton, Ohio United States History teacher and author. In 1969 Peters wrote a book entitled, Striving to Overcome, Negro Achievers. The book featured twenty-one short biographies and pictures of African Americans who had impacted the history of the United States. Peters’ purpose for creating the book was to “free” young Americans from prejudice (Watras, 2012). In significance to this study, eight culturally relevant biographies were available to the participants. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the value of incorporating culturally and linguistically relevant biographies into ESOL social studies instruction. The study answered two questions: (1) How do ESOL teachers and tutors perceive culturally relevant biography integration during United States History instruction? and (2) How does the use of culturally relevant biographies impact teacher and tutor reported student engagement with EL Latino students? The following research methods were employed: participant interviews, field notes, observations, and participant reported student engagement questionnaires. The findings of this study showed benefit for student engagement among Latino ELs. The participant base largely echoed that studying historical individuals relatable to students was better than studying historical events. Participants all said they would use culturally relevant biographies in future instruction.

In education today, Latino populations are growing, but Telles and Ortiz (2013) claim they account for the lowest academic levels and the highest levels of dropouts. Latino transfronterizo (literally border crossing) students and their parents in this study have high academic aspirations in spite of challenges of poverty, second language acquisition, and other difficulties which arise from U.S.-Mexico border contexts. Through dissecting the events of the 1990s and early 2000s, the progression of northern migration from Mexico and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 influenced anti-immigrant sentiment along the border and enactment of laws and policies to limit circumnavigating the international line. Misidentification as illegal immigrants creates borderland perceptions that Latinos are suspects and often results in discriminatory treatment from postcolonial dominant culture. This culture is reflected and perpetuated in schools where home language surveys identify native Spanish speakers to segregate them into Structured English Immersion programs for students with Limited English Proficiency. Ethnographic research from January of 2013 to August of 2015 included over 300 observations and 14 semi-structured interviews with seven transfronterizo students and nine parents revealed language disconnects between school and home. Relationships between teachers and students/parents did not exist and trust was lacking. Latino parents wanted to help students with school, but English only requirements limited their assistance. Through the use of Furman's ethic of community and Yosso's community cultural wealth, educational leaders could create communal process at schools to build the capacity of teachers and parents to create relationships and shared cultural competencies.

This thesis is an analytical case study of three music videos, "Pa'l Norte" by Calle 13, "Sueño Americano" by Los Rakas, and "Ice El Hielo" by La Santa Cecilia. It explores the visual and lyric narratives of these works and their role in critiquing anti-immigration rhetoric towards Latino immigrants in the United States in a post-9/11 context. Through critical analysis, this thesis argues that their work is vital in dismantling the dehumanizing and criminalizing language prevalent in legal and popular discourse, as well as challenging the manifestations of everyday "illegality."

Child language brokers frequently translate in adult-level situations. Research has suggested that through translating, brokers may develop advanced language, cognitive, and social skills (De Ment, Buriel, and Villanueva, 2005; McQuillan and Tse, 1995), and these may lead to greater academic achievement and self-efficacy (Buriel, Perez, De Ment, Chavez,and Moran, 1998). Additionally, language brokers have been found to increase in biculturalism as they translate for people of different cultures (Acoach and Webb, 2004; Buriel et al., 1998). Brokers might experience reduced acculturative stress, for which biculturalism has been found to be a protective factor (Bacallao and Smokowski, 2005). Despite its possible benefits, brokering has been associated with negative emotions and behavioral problems for some children (Chao, 2006; Weisskirch and Alva, 2002). The mixed results of language brokering studies may partially be related to the age of participants, with translating appearing to be a more positive experience for older adolescents (Orellana and Reynolds, 2008). The purpose of this study was to test relations among language brokering, academic achievement, academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and acculturative stress. I proposed and tested if language brokering was associated with more positive outcomes. In addition, I tested if older brokers had more positive outcomes than younger brokers. Participants included 207 Latino middle school students, aged 10 to 14 years, who completed self-report surveys. Measures included a background demographics questionnaire and scales for language brokering, academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and acculturative stress. Achievement was measured with grades from school records. Results were non-significant for the relation of language brokering with achievement and social self-efficacy when controlling for other predictor variables. In contrast to expectations, translating for more people was associated with decreased academic self-efficacy and greater acculturative stress. Further analysis revealed that language brokering for parents and grandparents was associated with greater acculturative stress, while translating for other people was not. Although translating was associated with more acculturative stress, and older children reported less acculturative stress, age was not found to moderate the relation of language brokering and acculturative stress. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future directions in language brokering research and clinical work are presented. / text