Browsing by Author "Sbicca, Joshua, advisor"

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Open Access
Hunger strikes and carceral resistance: embodied struggle, discourse, and the political meaning-making of hunger
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Clark-Hargreaves, Becca, author; Sbicca, Joshua, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Cox-York, Kimberly, committee member
Since 2014, there have been a series of hunger strikes at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA. Hunger strikes have been utilized globally and throughout history, and, among other tactics, have been one of the primary tactics utilized by prisoners to protest their conditions and make broader political demands. In this study, I analyze the specific discursive repertoires created and deployed my media, detention officials, detainees, and one community activist organization surrounding the NWDC hunger strikes, in order to discover how hunger strikes operate as a mode of symbolic contestation. By delineating the specific frames constructed and deployed by each group, I construct an analysis of the dynamic and relational processes of discursive resistance and the ways that dominant and subaltern actors structure and contest the symbolic field surrounding immigration, detention, and carcerality. Overall, I find that detained hunger strikers and members of one grassroots solidarity organization draw upon a few primary discursive repertoires, including legalistic and rights-based discourses, and a discourse of family to contest hegemonic narratives of the hunger strikes. Finally, I draw upon the notion of differential consciousness to argue that subaltern actors engage in impure tactics of discursive resistance, deploying hegemonic languages only to subvert them, and in this way, challenging dominant narratives and the symbolic power of the state.
Open Access
"If you're on good terms with those people, you'll always have a place to eat": a Bourdieusian approach to food justice in a pay-what-you-can café
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Shreeve, Kelly, author; Sbicca, Joshua, advisor; Carolan, Michael, committee member; Jablonski, Becca, committee member
Alternative food initiatives (AFIs) are widespread, leading to questions from food justice scholars about whether these initiatives are doing justice. One common question is the degree to which initiatives are inclusive of race and class differences. This thesis undertook a four-month qualitative study of a unique, but less commonly studied initiative, a pay-what-you-can (PWC) cafe in a Mountain West state. The organizational structure lacks financial barriers to entry, allowing for people from all economic statuses to participate. Through a Bourdieusian analytical framework, and a multifaceted notion of justice, the thesis finds that the organizational rhetoric that values community, providing 'good food' to those without money, and recognizing the abilities of different individuals, explains which groups participate, how they are recognized, and the distribution of resources within the cafe. This matters because it shows how values and broader organizational rules affect how AFIs are able to do justice. These findings contribute to the literature on AFIs by focusing on newly emerging PWCs and expands debates about how such initiatives do food justice.
Open Access
The male dominated field: a study on the gendered experiences of female farmers in northern Colorado
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Shisler, Rebecca C., author; Sbicca, Joshua, advisor; Opsal, Tara, committee member; Thilmany, Dawn, committee member
This research seeks to understand the gendered experiences of female farm operators in Northern Colorado. Specifically, how do female farmers perceive their experiences through a gendered lens? Semi-structured interviews with sixteen women from Boulder, Larimer, and Weld Counties in the state of Colorado were conducted to explore these experiences. Additionally, a supplementary observation at an agriculture conference was completed to reinforce themes. Analysis revealed that female farmers face many of the challenges faced by women in other male-dominated industries. The data collected through over a dozen interviews revealed that women in agriculture cope with pressures inherent to other male-dominated workspaces, such as coping with tokenism, navigating the double bind, and balancing motherhood with their farmer roles. Additionally, women’s work in agriculture often reflects an ethic of care through engagement with education, feeding others healthful food, and taking care of farmland and the environment.
Open Access
Transforming food politics: community to community's intersectional ecofeminism and food sovereignty
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Coopwood, Shelby L., author; Sbicca, Joshua, advisor; Raynolds, Laura, committee member; Kent, Suzanne, committee member
This thesis illustrates the advantages of utilizing an intersectional approach to analyzing problems in the food system and the activism of the food movement. This research undertakes the case of Community to Community, a grassroots organization that employs an intersectional analysis in their activism to center the voices and perspectives of women, to support and fight alongside farmworkers, and to take care of the environment. Their work is grounded in ecofeminism, and ultimately strives for food sovereignty. Semi-structured interviews with members of Community to Community were conducted to explore perceptions of their guiding frameworks. Additionally, content analysis and supplemental participant observation was completed to triangulate an understanding of how the organization approaches social justice and social change. Findings reveal that while ecofeminism provides a comprehensive analysis of food system problems, when combined with the transformative politics at the heart of food sovereignty, these frameworks offer a radical intersectional praxis that focuses on transforming social relations in the food system and beyond.