Theses (2021)

As settlement on the other side of the Atlantic became practicable, other European nations began to explore the continent for themselves. These nations viewed the New World as an economic opportunity, as it would greatly profit their nations and increase their range of power. This economic wealth was made through the planting and selling of cash crops that were in high demand on the other side of the Atlantic. The introduction of tobacco and sugar had greatly changed the economy of the Atlantic world. This growing demand led to a need for labor, as other sources of labor dried up due to the grueling and laborious work. Many colonists were often discouraged as they did not yield enough raw materials to quickly make large profits. Europeans were determined to make a profit and contribute to their country's growing wealth. Leaders looked to forced labor as a solution to this issue, due to its advantageous lead to profits in previous colonies in the West Indies. They began to look to West Africa as an answer to their labor problems.

The United States has a long history of racism, originating with the institution of slavery and the exploitation of black individuals. Americans, especially white Americans, seem to have differing beliefs about the legacy of slavery and how it continues to impact black Americans (Horowitz, Brown, and Cox, 2019). To understand why these differences occur, we must examine how slavery is being taught to American students. Through content analysis, this study examines how the social studies curriculum standards of Massachusetts and South Carolina compare in how they represent the institution of slavery and the racist policies that emerged during the Reconstruction Era, and whether the standards connect slavery and its aftermath to racial injustice in the present day. Analysis found that Massachusetts describes slavery in broader terms than South Carolina by connecting more institutions and industries to slave labor, though neither state explains the role of race in the institution of slavery. Massachusetts and South Carolina largely ignore or obfuscate the violence and exploitation experienced by enslaved people, and both states fail to connect slavery to modern-day racial injustice. This paper will discuss the implications of my findings and recommendations for future research on the American education system.

In the wake of the latest wave of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, Black Americans have noticed an oversaturation of Black trauma films being circulated for outgroup members to better understand the movement. Black people have taken to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with racial trauma being the only form of representation in film. A textual analysis was done of 76 tweets and analyzed in conjunction with the responses from four interviews to theorize the overall aversion to this type of content and what Twitter as a platform does for this conversation. The grounded theory method produced 107 idea units, 8 codes, and 3 broader themes. Twitter affords Black users visibility and the ability to discuss film representation in a cultural forum. There was a prominent concern from the ingroup that white/outgroup perception of Black Americans are being influenced by these types of films. Black people wish to dismantle the idea of a Black monolith, and by resisting these depictions of racial trauma ultimately reform the stories being told about Black people by a predominantly white film industry.

When the emigration pattern from Ireland to America began it was almost exclusive amongst the single Irish male. It was difficult to be Irish in America, as Americans viewed the ethnicity negatively. They did not like the Irish man, they found their mannerisms and hobbies insulting and their religion, Catholicism, offensive. For this reason, few single Irish women emigrated to America in the years prior to the Irish Famine. The women were satisfied with their lives in Ireland and did not feel the need to subject themselves to a lifetime of prejudice in a foreign land. Disapproval of the ethnic group, combined with slow migration patterns, meant that there were very few support networks available in America for a single immigrant Irish woman. The opportunities available for the women in Ireland, combined with the lack of opportunities in America discouraged female migration in the years before the Irish famine. However, once the potato famine struck, life for women was disrupted which forced them to explore greater and different opportunities than those available to them in Ireland. This exploration of something greater resulted in mass female emigration beginning during the famine years and exploding in the century succeeding it. Through American letters, chain migration, a promise of greater employment opportunities, and the formation of a community of Irish Catholic immigrants in America Irish women sailed across the Atlantic in pursuit of liberty, love, and social mobility.

Current literature indicates that there are generational differences in career/work values (Twenge et aI., 2010). The present study investigated the career/work values of emerging and established adults and whether there were significant differences between their values. We aimed to understand if emerging adults had career/work values that were intrinsically motivated and promoted change more than established adults. We also aimed to understand if established adults had career/work values that were extrinsically motivated and promoted growth more than emerging adults. Participants (N~526) were collected via an online survey where they used the Munster Work Value Measure (MWVM) to rate different career/work values on a scale from 1 to 5. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in the career/work values of emerging and established adults. Overall emerging and established adults reported having balance between their career/work values.