Browsing by Subject "multiculturalism"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Biracial Students on Campus: The Question of Identity
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2015-04-17) Smith, Derrian A.; Aponte, Robert
    Although the growing emphasis on celebrating diversity and multiculturalism has brought forth positive recognition to many varying identities, all have not benefitted equally. Lacking a solitary racial anchor, bi- and multi-racial individuals may have difficulty ‘choosing’ a preferred racial identity or ‘conforming’ to others’ preferences. Accordingly, this project examines how and why biracial IUPUI students come to embrace, reject, or alternate among the generally prescribed racial identities. By conducting penetrating interviews of biracial students while immersed in their immediate environment, I will explore their choices, the factors influencing such choices, their satisfaction with their choices, and the choices’ stability. I am especially concerned with whether students feel pressured to embrace one or another identity, and whether the prescribed goes against the students’ instincts or preferences, and to what extent they may alternate among various identities in varying contexts. The ongoing work has begun to provide hints to the ultimate findings ahead. Preliminary results show that 1) subjects feel pressured by the rigidity of historically established racial categories, especially since such pressures are often reinforced by peers, and 2) the context provided by IUPUI’s diverse student body engenders increased confidence in their embracing a “multiracial” identity, despite an abundance of contrary prescriptions. Anticipated conclusions include disconfirmation of the original hypothesis that most biracial IUPUI students maintain a fluid racial identity. Uncertainty and frustration, rather than the confidence to switch identities across varying contexts, appears to characterize student reactions to varying pressures to identify as either black or white. In addition, the more likely identity response, embracing the biracial persona, does seem to work for some, but others may require still more inclusive milieus for truly engaging in more thorough explorations of their identity.
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    Understanding Needs, Barriers to Care, and Use of Art and Imagery with Spanish-speaking Latinos in Bereavement Therapy
    (2022) Rubiano Madrid, July; Misluk, Eileen; Boring, Elizabeth
    This study used a mixed-methods survey research design for bereavement counselors to identify the unique needs, barriers to care, and the use of art and imagery with Spanish-speaking Latino clients in therapy. The hypothesis was that art therapy helps address situations with language barriers between counselors and Spanish-speaking Latino clients. Furthermore, it was theorized that the results of this study could be used to help implement new programs for Spanish speakers or as a resource to inform those who are already working with Spanish-speaking clients. The survey results supported the findings of the literature review regarding needs, barriers to care, and usefulness of images and art in therapy with Spanish-speaking Latinos. They also validated the need to increase culturally compatible programs and further multiculturalism training for counselors.
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    Women Like and Unlike Us: A Literary Analysis of the Relationships Between Immigrant Mothers and Their Bicultural Daughters
    (2010-08-31T18:29:19Z) Yalimaiwai, Davinia; Kovacik, Karen, 1959-; Fox, Stephen L.; Rebein, Robert, 1964-
    The analytical and creative chapters of my thesis display the best and the worst of bicultural daughters and their mothers as writers represent this relationship in short stories. Throughout the analytical chapters, I show that the through their fiction these writers help us understand that the bicultural daughter/immigrant mother relationship not only is affected by general feelings of matrophobia – as Adrienne Rich points out – but also by different pressures and paradigms that can only be experienced if the daughter belongs to and/or associates herself with a different culture than that of her mother. I hypothesize that the stories reflect these paradigms as usually negative because the pressures from both “American” society and the immigrant mother are often so great that the bicultural daughter cannot embrace either one fully. However, with the adverse feelings from both mother and daughter, comes a realization from both that neither will succeed in dominating the other. Once this is established, both mother and daughter will either reach a consensual agreement to disagree, or will continue having a hostile relationship. By including my own short stories in context with the analyses done for the stories by Kingston, Tan, Pietrzyk and Danticat, I hope to bring interest to this genre for further analysis on the bicultural daughter and immigrant mother relationship as depicted in short stories.