Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item “LABOR HAS A LONG MEMORY”: TRANSFORMATIONS IN CAPITALISM AND LABOR ORGANIZING IN CENTRAL APPALACHIA, 1977-2019(2019) Heim, David; Freund, David; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In 1989 the UMWA went on strike against Pittston Coal. In response to declining union power and corporate anti-unionism, the UMWA embraced community members and women as participants in its striking strategy. Although sometimes reluctant to do so, the union accepted the involvement of non-miners in non-violent demonstrations and civil disobedience, and was successful because of the strategic shift. The victory against Pittston Coal in 1989 suggests that scholars cannot rule industrial unions as sites of resistance to capitalism after 1982. The union’s acceptance of community organizing in 1989 also suggests a link between the strategies and success of the Pittston Strike and more recent organizing victories in West Virginia—the West Virginia Teachers’ Strikes. More recent labor militancy in Appalachia has also built off of legacies of resistance dating back to events like the Paint Creek Mine War and the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1912 and 1921.Item "Unique By Nature, Traditional By Choice": Music Initiatives and Social Change in a Rural Appalachian Community(2014) Terman, Jennie; Rios, Fernando; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In Pocahontas County, West Virginia, a cherished musical heritage exists alongside a continuously changing population, and music initiatives demonstrate the tension between preserving local traditions and embracing diversity. Employing practice theory, concepts of globalization, and an applied ethnomusicological approach, three music initiatives--a historical performance hall, public school music education, and the local community radio station--are investigated in terms of their history, current role in the community, and programming and curricula. These initiatives serve as tools for exploring how the music programming and education in this community reflect outside interests and social changes during the past century and help frame suggestions of how public music initiatives, both in this community and elsewhere, might better respond to social change. With collaboration and an in-depth understanding of the complexities of a population, music initiatives can make positive and effective contributions to communities.Item THE COLLEGE CHOICE PROCESS OF FOUR STUDENTS FROM RURAL APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY(2013) Harris, Kristen L.; Monte-Sano, Chauncey B; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined the extent to which the college choice process of four students from one high school in rural Appalachian Kentucky aligned with Perna's (2006; 2010) nested process model of college choice. I used qualitative case study methodology and inductive analysis to describe how four high-academic achieving students of varying family income backgrounds in the particular context of one community in rural Appalachian Kentucky decided to enroll in an institution of higher education. In brief, three of the four students enrolled in the closest, most familiar institution after relying on an adult other than their parents for guidance in selecting a college. The remaining student, despite her low socioeconomic status and family income, enrolled in a selective private university in Kentucky after an expanded college search. School practices that supported students' access to higher education are highlighted. This research adds to the theoretical knowledge in the field of college access and choice, which indicates that different student populations experience the college choice process differently, but has yet to fully include research on rural students. My analysis revealed a number of influential factors for these four students' college choice decisions that were in Perna's (2006; 2010) model, such as guidance counseling, college costs, and financial aid. The analysis also showed the meaning of identified factors for students given the context of their community in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Additional influential factors that were found for these students, such as the role of athletics in increasing demand for higher education, and factors that were not present, such as parental support during the college choice process, added nuance to the model. By learning how and why some students from rural Appalachian Kentucky are able to go to college, we can begin to understand how to increase the low level of educational attainment of individuals in the region.