Sociology electronic theses and dissertations (MU)
The items in this collection are the theses and dissertations written by students of the Department of Sociology. Some items may be viewed only by members of the University of Missouri System and/or University of Missouri-Columbia. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
Items in MOspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Recent Submissions
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Black women's narratives of resilience through vicarious incarceration and reintegration
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)Systemic racism has resulted in the disproportionate imprisonment of Black people. With Black men constituting a large percentage of incarcerated bodies, many Black women (44 [percent])--mothers, wives, sisters, etc.--will ... -
A child sentenced to serve life without a mother : the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program and incarcerated women's mothering strategies
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The purpose of this research is to understand the emotional and physical impacts a mother's incarceration has on her children and to closely examine ... -
Border threads : ethnographic tales of escape, agency, and violence in a shelter in Pakistan
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This study highlights the theoretical usefulness of viewing domestic violence shelters through the conceptual framework of border-crossing ... -
Woke : internet news and social media on recent attitudes towards police use of force
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] News media has long featured high-profile incidents of police use of force; however, exposure to these incidents may be increasing because of the ... -
Feminist or 'racist or whatever' : exploring mixed messages in (post)feminist 'women's comedy'
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This dissertation uses feminist critical discourse analysis of five popular "women's comedy" texts, interviews with eighty-nine viewers of those texts, ... -
"Learning the ropes : coaching and performing race, style, and identity in professional boxing"
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This dissertation is an urban ethnography that utilizes a critical race theory (CRT) approach into analyzing the culture and identity, race and/or ... -
"Marijuana Moms" : the collective work of negotiating individual and group identity in the age of cannabis legalization
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)This research is the result of a qualitative study that explored the ways in which marijuana using mothers come to identify as such and how they structure their relationships and parenting as a result. The experiences of ... -
Discourse structure as the scaffolding of stance structure : developments of a central concept in a central site of discursive interaction in bioethics
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)This study explored how a major concept and principle in the interdisciplinary area of bioethics, respect for autonomy, changed across the first and the seventh editions of the textbook Principles of Biomedical Ethics by ... -
Feeding the student body: Insecurity and inequality among college students
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In this study, I investigate the impact of food and food insecurity on the lives of college students. Broadly, this research is aimed at highlighting ... -
Gendered racism : the lived experiences of black undergraduate women at an HPWI : microaggressions, space and culture
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This current study examined how Black undergraduate women experience gendered racism at a historically, predominately white university in the South. ... -
Pregnant in prison the narrative intersection of motherhood and incarceration
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This research study explores the ways in which women who were pregnant and incarcerated discuss how their pregnancy experiences unfolded behind bars. ... -
The lost cause of Southern Country Club : an ethnographic study
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This ethnographic study features a non-profit member owned country club in the Southern United States, Southern Country Club (SCC). SCC is an old guard ... -
Structural foundations, triggering events, and facilitative contingency : the social origins of California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Currently in the United States there is a nationwide legislative movement to legalize marijuana for persons with certain diagnosable diseases. Despite ... -
The new imagined communities : the case of Hidroituango in Columbia
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The main objective of the dissertation was to understand the relationship between three different phenomena: extractive economy, governance and ... -
My year pooping in a bucket : lifestyle, cultural, and social movements in the "node" at Dancing Rabbit ecovillage
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)What happens between the most visible aspects of social movements? When protestors put down their signs, petitioners hang up their clipboards, and movement organizations contract, there are several theories about what ... -
Martial citizenship : firearms, identity, and masculinity in a public militia group
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)This project is a study of the ways in the participants in a public militia group organize and present positive identities in everyday talk and storytelling. This study situates their activities within a larger historical ... -
Resistance to the dominant economic discourses : making sense of the economy from a working-class neighborhood
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)This study explores the way that working-class people contest dominant economic discourses and how they develop alternative explanations for their economic situation. Based on qualitative interviews, participant observation, ... -
Living and dying Lakota : an ethnography of a tribal nursing home
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This ethnographic research looks at people who reside, visit, and work at a Native American tribal nursing home. Using grounded theory to sort through ... -
Retail work lives : precarity and belonging in Queens
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This dissertation is an ethnographic study of retail work in Queens, New York. Through 10 months of fieldwork and 52 interview with retail workers, I ... -
Parents' perspectives on sex education : nuanced accommodation in a bilaterally constructed world
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Research on sex education regularly presents a polarized depiction of debate, which often puts parents on the defensive and condenses their viewpoints ...