Browsing by Author "Velasco, Marcela, committee member"
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Item Open Access A right to north: considering territory in the 21st century(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Hildebrandt, Lorena, author; McIvor, David, advisor; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; Sagás, Ernesto, committee memberHumanity has a profound migratory past, incited and shaped substantially by climate change over time, spanning from the earliest humans to the current day. As greenhouse gas emissions rise to levels unprecedented for human history, climatic changes are certainly never more relevant to human movement and settlement. Yet even while greenhouse gas emissions and climatic changes move freely across global space, the movement of people in the 21st century is deeply restricted and, in some cases, prohibited by state territory. Territory's rights, and its associated technologies and practices, confine and restrict, even as the world warms. This project writes against state territory in its current political form utilized by democracies in the global North. It considers territory's history, definition and defenses, the paradox it creates for democratic consent, and its power and subjects. The final chapter of the project imagines resistance to territory and spaces of creolized alterity, articulating a right to both movement and North.Item Open Access Construcción de la identidad sexual en la novela y película "El Beso de la Mujer Araña"(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Mayora Soldevilla, Milia, author; Valerio-Holguín, Fernando, advisor; López-Cabrales, María del Mar, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberKiss of the Spider is one of the most studied novels of Latin American literature since its publication. Its wide acceptance among readers and critics encouraged Héctor Babenco to adapt the novel into a film that would win many international awards. Despite these awards, the adaptation has not been studied as thoroughly as the novel, which is why in this work I will try to study which elements from the novel Babenco deleted when adapting it into the movie and what he chose to replace them with. It is intended, first, to study the construction of Molina's sexual identity in the novel and discuss the oppositions of male/female, masculinity/femininity, etc., and, then, to see how Babenco does it in the film, because it deletes one of the main elements of the novel that allows the construction of sexual identity: the bolero. Second, I will discuss the possible double meaning of one of the elements that Babenco chooses to replace. Considering that the political situation in which both the novel and the movie were created was similar, he makes a political statement and complaint.Item Open Access Hacia una poética emancipadora: la creación del future nuevo en la obra poética de Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo y Miguel Hernández(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Devlin, Colin, author; Leal, Francisco, advisor; Pedrós-Gascón, Antonio, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberThis work has as its goal the investigation of the intersection where literature and politics crosses. This space is thought provoking because it represents a new function for art, an art that instead of concerning itself with the representation of beauty and what can be considered "good", it arms itself with a political end. This is to say, this literature tries to perturb the reality that defines the lives of the marginalized populations. Using the political philosophy of Jacques Rancière, a politics that can be defined by its activity instead of its passivity, as well as an introduction to the relationships within being, doing and saying, I argue that the political poems about the Spanish Civil War found in the work of Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo and Miguel Hernández succeed in being called political poetry. I advance that these poems, for having portrayed reality through a new language and for being militarized poetry, introduce a new relationship in what is implied by being a political poet.Item Open Access Institutionalizing ethnic demands: framing processes, resource mobilization, and indicators of party formation in Colombian ethnic movements(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Crissien, Jean P., author; Mumme, Stephen, advisor; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; Sagás, Ernesto, committee memberThis thesis examines framing and mobilization processes in Colombian ethnic social movements. I employ systematic process analysis to analyze the question of why indigenous social movement organizations have created viable ethnic party vehicles in electoral politics while black social movement organizations have failed in this endeavor. I find that fragmented framing in the black movement led to disunity and inhibited mobilization processes culminating in the inability to mobilize a loyal electorate. This fragmentation was observed less in the indigenous case, resulting in a more unified movement with broader appeal to the indigenous electorate. My research makes key contribution to the Latin American social movement literature by performing an analysis that compares the respective ethnic social movements in the region while also addressing ethnic party formation. Much of the extant literature highlights one of these groups while paying only cursory attention to the other. The systemic process analysis performed here seeks to help fill this gap in the literature.Item Restricted Island time and other stories(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Furman, Lauren, author; Ausubel, Ramona, advisor; Altschul, Andrew, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberIn fulfillment of the requirements of the Colorado State University Department of English, this Master's thesis is a collection of ten works of short fiction linked through their setting in the Cayman Islands. The stories explore a diverse set of viewpoints and experiences present on the island, spanning across genders, races, socioeconomic statuses, time periods, nationalities, industries, and opinions about island life. Working through the genres of literary fiction and magical realism, the project seeks to interrogate themes of ecology and climate change, industrialization, feminism, and interpersonal relationships.Item Open Access Nationalizing same-sex marriage: assessing the effect of Baehr v. Lewin on the Federal Defense of Marriage Act(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Perez, Melissa L., author; Daum, Courtenay, advisor; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; DeMirjyn, Maricela, committee memberSince the Defense of Marriage Act, the issue of same-sex marriage has dominated the political discourse of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender politics. Scholars claim that the litigation in Hawaii that took place in the 1990s was responsible for the subsequent political activity surrounding same-sex marriage in the United States, including the Defense of Marriage Act, but none has empirically tested this claim. This paper seeks to understand whether or not the litigation in Hawaii prompted congressional action that resulted in the introduction of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and if so, why. By using Kingdon's multiple streams framework as a guiding tool, this research evaluated different political participants and factors to understand how the litigation in Baehr v. Lewin (74 Haw. 530; 852 P.2d 44; 1993) connects to the federal Defense of Marriage Act. This paper finds that the litigation in Hawaii is the catalyst that prompted the subsequent activity that resulted in the Defense of Marriage Act by energizing a well organized coalition opposed to same-sex marriage to expand the political debate and move the issue of same-sex marriage from the state courts in Hawaii to Congress.Item Open Access Poder de la influencia, El: relaciones artísticas desde España a México(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Lombardi, Melissa J., author; Leal, Francisco, advisor; Suárez-García, José Luis, advisor; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberMy research discusses the concept of "artistic partnership" through the pairing of various artists, ranging from Spain to Mexico. I propose that the power of influence present in each relationship is directly reflected in their work and that without such influence, they would have produced very different outcomes. Beginning with the Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca and his controversial "friendship" with the famous surrealist painter, Salvador Dalí, I expose the presence of one another in both poetry and painting. I continue on to research two lesser-known artists, Remedios Varo of Spain and Leonora Carrington of England who created a world of fantasy, magic and alchemy through a shared sense of whimsicality and lust for life. Their artwork is nearly identical both in theme and in style due to a profound understanding and appreciation for one another's uniqueness. My work ends with a radical proposal of a very different kind of relationship. Although Frida Kahlo is best known through her marriage to the Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera, her talent and passion for painting was never determined by him. I do not attempt to negate the presence of one another in their artwork but rather propose that this is not the type of influence that is fed by love and encouragement but rather that of a muse and her obsession. In conclusion, my research proposes that through these artistic partnerships, we are able to understand the difference between "interactions" and "bonds." I believe that the presence of each artist significantly modified the work of their partner and most importantly, allowed them to reach a level, both personally and artistically, that they would not have otherwise been able to reach on their own.Item Open Access Professionalization, factionalism, and social movement success: a case study on nonhuman animal rights mobilization(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Wrenn, Corey Lee, author; Carolan, Michael, advisor; Hempel, Lynn, committee member; Lacy, Michael, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberThis project explores the intra-movement interactions between professionalized and radical factions in the social movement arena using a content analysis of movement literature produced by the Nonhuman Animal rights movement between 1980 and 2013. Professionalized factions with greater symbolic capital are positioned to monopolize claimsmaking, disempower competing factions, and replicate their privilege and legitimacy. Radical factions, argued to be important variables in a movement’s health, are thus marginalized, potentially to the detriment of movement success and the constituency for whom they advocate. Specifically, this study explores the role of professionalization in manipulating the tactics and goals of social movement organizations and how the impacts of professionalization may be aggravating factional boundaries. Boundary maintenance may prevent critical discourse within the movement, and it may also provoke the “mining” of radical claimsmaking for symbols that have begun to resonate within the movement and the public. Analysis demonstrates a number of important consequences to professionalization that appear to influence the direction of factional disputes, and ultimately, the shape of the movement. Results indicate some degree of factional fluidity, but professionalization does appear to be a dominant force on movement trajectories by concentrating power in the social change space. Professionalization appears to provoke the mobilization of radical factions, but it also provides organizations that professionalize the mechanisms for controlling and marginalizing radical competitors.Item Open Access Reading Ché Guevara’s "new man" through the praxis of misfitting: towards a revolution for "people like us"(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Putnam, Bryan Rodrigues, author; Cespedes, Karina, advisor; Souza, Caridad, committee member; Sagás, Ernesto, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; Aragon, Antonette, committee memberThis study incorporates reflections from five Cuban participants about the contemporary status of Ernesto Ché Guevara’s “new man” in Cuba. Grounded in the Marxist tradition of praxis as philosophy, the thesis integrates Pan American articulations on the theme of Latin American liberation alongside interview data. In light of research findings pertaining to the “new man,” I evoke Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s feminist materialist disability concepts of “fitting” and “misfitting” alongside Tobin Siebers’ assertion that by way of “misfitting” one produces critical knowledge revealing the “blueprints of power” that have constructed exclusionary reality for some and a contingent fit for others. I argue that the state imposed ideal of the “new man” failed to create the proper channels within which everyday misfit knowledge could be elevated to the level of social theory. However, the “new man” as a set of embodied values and mechanisms for social integration did succeed at various levels, which are explored throughout the chapters.Item Open Access Relative deprivation, globalization, and reflexivity: a cross-community comparative analysis of tourists as a salient reference group in the Mexican Yucatán peninsula(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Sydoriak, Stacia, author; Hempel, Lynn, advisor; Raynolds, Laura, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; Taylor, Pete, committee memberAs developing countries are becoming more globally engaged, inequality continues to persist. As a result, there has been an increased interest in relative deprivation and its implications for societal health and wellbeing (i.e. Wilkinson and Pickett 2007, Ravallion 2008, Mangyo and Park 2010). To advance the current literature of relative deprivation, I will explore the impact that increased interactions with tourists have on participants' perceptions of relative deprivation and inequality in six different communities in the Mexican Yucatán peninsula. A principle tenant of relativity in the context of deprivation is the existence of a comparative component, known as reference groups. A central question in the relative deprivation literature poses is: When we speak of the relative deprivation of a population, just who is it that we are comparing them to? In this study, I conduct 64 semi-structured interviews to addresses what type of differences in reference group formation exist at the community and individual level in a globalizing world. Specifically, I explore the way the constant flow of international tourists through the communities in the Yucatán Peninsula might create a type of "global-local" reference group that extends beyond the literature's traditional understandings of reference groups. An important methodological contribution to reference group theory is also made, as opposed to previous research, participants' in this study self-selected salient reference groups for themselves. Findings suggest that the way in which an individual defines inequality impacts their perceptions of its existence and persistence within their own communities, as well as the basis for how their reference group(s) for self-comparison form. In addition, salient reference groups extend beyond the traditional types of reference groups, and, in this case, include foreign tourists. Drawing on these findings, I posit that in this study, participants' daily interactions, with whom they frequently interact, and at what level of depth these interactions take place influences the way in which they perceive themselves in comparison to others, and with whom they tend to compare themselves to. Essentially, the salience of tourists as a reference group represent one of a multitude of ways increased global interactions under the umbrella of globalization influence reference group formation. This suggests that there are likely a variety of ways that a developing nation's move toward a more globalized society impact individuals perceptions of inequality, and that there are a plethora of individuals and groups that can emerge as salient reference groups as a result of the globalization process. In the future, it appears that as countries continue to develop, relative deprivation will become an increasingly important way to conceptualize and address poverty and social problems as a whole. Moving forward, qualitatively building on relative deprivation and reference group theory advancements may prove to be integral to enhancing both individual and societal wellbeing, and so must continue to be examined carefully as part of the solution to decreasing inequality and relative poverty around the globe.Item Open Access State narratives on war and peace in Colombia, 2002-2016(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Sánchez Ramírez, Ana Mercedes, author; Sagás, Ernesto, advisor; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; Swensen, Thomas Michael, committee memberThis research considers state narratives of war and peace in Colombia from 2002 to 2016 as broadcasted in mass media through institutional campaigns, and it seeks to describe these campaigns as part of historicist practices that promote an ideal of the nation. The research follows the shifts in policies and discourses during the 21st century from promoting war to announcing peace by analyzing a visual archive made up of TV commercials produced by the Colombian state in this period. In doing so, the research considers the tensions between nationalism, war, peace and memory in a political setting marked by the proclamation of a transitional scenario. Finally it reflects on the ways the historicist practices of the state fix victimhood between the duty to forgive and the permission to forget.Item Open Access The impacts of national security and sustainable development: comparative study of shared protected areas(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Harwell, Janeane, author; Mumme, Steve, advisor; Stevis, Dimitris, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; Kneller, Jane, committee memberNational security and sustainable development paradigms shape national goals, priorities and policy in shared protected areas. The two paradigms define the physical, economic, social, and political infrastructure of shared protected areas through competing frameworks of national interests and environmental protections. This comparative study builds on international thinking about the relationship between sustainable development to answer the hypothesis that national security impacts most the environmental pillar of sustainable development. The research methodology is a triangulation of comparative document analysis with qualitative and quantitative interviews for a rich description of the two paradigms in two shared protected areas. Sustainable development is assessed in the four park conservation management plans using the Lockwood and Kothari traditional versus emergent sustainable development indicators as independent variables and the organizing framework. The impacts of national security doctrine, policy and projects are systematically assessed on sustainable development in the parks. This research formalizes one step toward the study of national security and sustainable development and the challenges of developing environmental protections in a national security environment.Item Open Access Three essays on informalization(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Gálvez García, Jose Rolando, author; Braunstein, Elissa, advisor; Tavani, Daniele, advisor; Vasudevan, Ramaa, committee member; Zaharan, Sammy, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberThis dissertation uses informalization as a way to identify workers and enterprises that engage in low-productivity, or contingent economic activities, and are systemically excluded from the costs and benefits of social welfare. Informalization represents a serious challenge for inclusive development in many economies around the world, particularly those in Latin America. The first chapter uses a political economy perspective to argue for adopting institutional approaches to conceptualize and understand informalization in order to account for the structural, exclusionary, and discriminatory dimensions of this development challenge. Adopting a macroeconomic perspective, chapter two analyzes the association between real exchange rates and the extent of urban informal employment in multiple Latin American economies in recent decades. Results indicate that real exchange rate competitiveness is associated with lower levels of urban informal employment in the region. The third chapter, taking a microeconomic approach, explores differences between formal and informal enterprises in Guatemala, and how these differences impact output and labor productivity.Item Open Access Three projects in arithmetic geometry: torsion points and curves of low genus(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Camacho-Navarro, Catalina, author; Pries, Rachel, advisor; Achter, Jeffrey, committee member; Cavalieri, Renzo, committee member; Peterson, Chris, committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberThis paper is an exposition of three different projects in arithmetic geometry. All of them consider problems related to smooth curves with low genus and the torsion points of their Jacobians. The first project studies curves over finite fields and two invariants of the p-torsion part of their Jacobians: the a-number (a) and p-rank (f). There are many open questions in the literature about the existence of curves with a certain genus g and given values of a and f. In particular, not much is known when g = 4 and the curve is non-hyperelliptic. This is the case that we focus on here; we collect and analyze statistical data of curves over Fp for p = 3, 5, 7, 11 and their invariants. Then, we study the existence of Cartier points, which are also related to the structure of J[p]. For curves with 0 ≤ a < g, the number of Cartier points is bounded, and it depends on a and f. The second project addresses the problem of computing the endomorphism ring of a supersingular elliptic curve. This question has gained recent interest as the basis of alternative cryptosystems that hope to be resistant to quantum attacks. Our strategy is to generate these endomorphism rings by finding cycles in the l-isogeny graph which correspond to generators of the ring. We were able to find a condition for cycles to be linearly independent and an obstruction for two of them to be generators. Finally, the last chapter considers the Galois representations associated to the n-torsion points of elliptic curves over Q. In concrete, we construct models for the modular curves associated to applicable subgroups of GL₂(Z/nZ) and find the rational points on all of those which result in genus 0 or 1 curves, or prove that they have infinitely many. We also analyze the curves with a hyperelliptic genus 2 model and provably find the rational points on all but seven of them.Item Open Access Weighted aspirations: becoming a teenage dropout in El Salvador(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Mordy, Meghan Katherine, author; Peek, Lori, advisor; Hempel, Lynn, committee member; Taylor, Peter L., committee member; Velasco, Marcela, committee memberThe vast majority of poor and low-income students in El Salvador drop out during middle school or early high school. This dissertation is dedicated to describing their experiences and understanding the reasons why so many of them abandon their education as teenagers. Because of the high rates of urban violence in the nation, it focuses specifically on urban youth. The findings are based on three years of qualitative fieldwork in two urban schools—La Laguna and Cerro Verde—in a densely populated city in the metropolitan region near San Salvador. I conducted over 200 days of ethnographic observations, student focus groups, teacher interviews, and a student survey at the schools. In addition, I interviewed in-depth 54 dropouts, 28 high school graduates, and 19 mothers or grandmothers. This dissertation has shown the roots of dropout as deeply entangled in family poverty, community instability, and school failure. The students at La Laguna and Cerro Verde came from very poor backgrounds, but, despite their daily hardships, they and their families had faith in education and very high aspirations to graduate high school. Most wanted to go to college and believed strongly they would achieve their dreams. The contexts of their lives, however, weighed heavily against these aspirations. The lack of living-wage jobs meant parents had very low or unstable incomes and few material resources to invest in their children's education. The informal or blue collar work that parents did was also so stressful, tiresome, and physically degrading that it took a toll on parent-child relationships, adults' relationships with one another, and health and wellbeing. Family economies were highly vulnerable to shocks. A parents' illness, a broken marriage, or a loan coming due could deeply disrupt their ability to put food on the table. When youth saw their parents showing signs of distress many felt compelled to help out by working. Youth knew the outsized value their poor families could derive from even meager earnings and dropped of school to become wage earners of last resort. Household and community violence intensified the insecurity in poor youth's lives. Children living in violent households suffered physically, emotionally, and educationally. Families living in violent neighborhoods limited their children's contact with neighbors and friends. But some families experienced violence directly. Homicide, assault, threats, and police brutality devastated them, causing significant emotional and economic harm. Youth left school behind to help their families cope through what were sometimes extended crises stemming from the violence swirling all around. Schools in El Salvador have been idealized as an ameliorative for these worst aspects of poverty and tasked with the mission of providing poor children the knowledge and skills they need for gainful employment. But the situation at La Laguna and Cerro Verde showed the faulty foundations of this ideal. These schools lacked critical infrastructure, textbooks, and learning materials. Their overworked and under-trained teachers relied on outdated teaching methods and had no support systems for addressing students' remedial issues or emotional and behavioral problems. As a result, students received very little quality instruction and learned much less than they should. A legacy of learning deficits trailed them as they passed from grade to grade. By middle school, many students lacked the basic skills they need to keep up with the curriculum. Low grades and frustration eroded their motivation to make an effort in the classroom. Some students became deeply disillusioned and frustrated with their lack of comprehension and dropped out of school to avoid these emotions. Others noted they could not pass and left before being flunked. A hostile school climate worsened conditions. Students could feel rebuffed and alienated by their teachers' harsh talk and authoritarian approaches to discipline. Classmates often treated each other aggressively and fights were common. A significant number of students were threatened, harassed, or bullied by peers. Some youth experienced conflicts with teachers or peers over extended periods and, perceiving the abuse would continue or more harm could come to them, opted to drop out. In the end, the students' and their families' commitment to schooling was undermined by the compounding hazards of poverty. Families, schools, and communities did not have the resources needed to sustain these young people's aspirations. This dissertation brings to life their voices and stories, displaying how a vicious circle of deeply structured inequalities batters against the dreams of poor and vulnerable children.Item Open Access Without pause but without haste: economic and political change in Cuba(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Birch, Brendan Patrick, author; Mumme, Stephen, advisor; Velasco, Marcela, committee member; Braunstein, Elissa, committee memberDevelopments in US-Cuba relations in December of 2014 impelled a renewed interest in Cuban affairs amongst academics, business professionals, and the general population in the United States. But very substantial reforms were taking place in Cuba since about 2007 -years before the US and Cuba decided to initialize a normalization of relations. This thesis provides an overview and analysis of these recent reforms. It also provides an overview and analysis of Cuba's past reform cycles, mainly through a theoretical lens developed by Carmelo Mesa-Lago, which characterizes Cuban reform cycles as either "pragmatist" (towards the market) or "idealist" (away from the market). Also contained in this thesis is an analysis of Cuba's monetary duality; Cuba's potential for further inserting into the Cuban economy; a history of US-Cuban relations, with particular emphasis on the United States embargo against the island. This thesis concludes that the Cuban economy has entered a permanent pragmatist period, characterized by a shift towards marketization and privatization on the island. Regarding US-Cuba relations, this thesis provides an explication of recent moves by the Obama administration, but stresses that the Embargo has not ended, as only Congress has the authority to fully abrogate the Embargo.