According to the 2011 Citizens’ Report Card on Washington State Education, 18 out of 100 Washington State kindergarteners continue with their education and eventually graduate from college. Within those numbers, there exists an achievement gap that divides along racial, ethnic, geographic and socio-economic fault lines. Despite decades of raised awareness on the issue and despite enormous efforts and billions of dollars in investments towards proposed “solutions”, this gap is actually widening in Washington State. Privileging an Applied Anthropological perspective, this research will investigate some of the roles that Community Based Organizations (CBO) play in addressing this pressing issue. With the intent to provide deliverable recommendation to the CBO for improvements and tangible steps towards holistic solutions, this project will examine ways in which the South Seattle Neighborhood is addressing the education deficit outside of the classroom. This project will employ Participant Action Research methods (such as peer-led focus groups, participant observation, photo-voice, and discourse analysis) within a a non-profit organization in the Jackson neighborhood that offers college planning advising and financial aid assistance. As a participant in their Mentor2College year long program, I will experience the program first hand as a mentor and will be able to lay that experience into the macro picture in an effort to provide recommendations to help the CBO provide more effective, culturally competent and more relevant services with quantifiable outcomes. 

I am interested in the affect deforestation and globalization has on indigenous cultures, like that of the Wehea Dayak in Borneo, Indonesia. The deforestation that is a result of palm oil plantation production creates significant challenges for the indigenous community adjacent to the plantations, such as the Wehea Dayak. The Wehea Dayak experience cultural degradation, forced migration and monthly flooding linked to deforestation.  My research will explore the ripple effects of deforestation. Through participant observation and interviewing, I will research links between environmental degradation, poverty, and illness. By having lived there previously, I have a strong, trusting report with the community. This research is imperative for the global community because indigenous communities possess deep ecological knowledge as a result of centuries of living in a specific area. I want to participate in this research because it exemplifies applied work and by helping record and provide cultural documentation the community can then advocate for themselves. The Wehea Dayak voiced their wanting for help in preserving their unique culture and lifestyle, and by applying the research I have obtained through the means of helping a targeted community is an imperative goal of anthropological work.

I feel that agenda setting and social identity theories are important elements to consider when studying assumptions and impressions created by consumer media, especially when looking at the effect on youth populations. In my current class we are looking at many critical analysis’s regarding imagery surrounding sports and athletes. I am interested in identifying topics being expressed in community/individual sports related art that are not expressed in mainstream sports media. I would like to address, specifically, effects of media representations on children. I have used the photovoice, social mapping and participant observation methods to study forms of art from both parties and assessed effects on the general public and myself. I will also use discourse analysis, focus groups and interviewing techniques in the coming weeks. Significant data that I have collected includes: identification of art forms that use sports to express issues, including graffiti, athlete art, corporate ads, pecha kucha sessions, Olympic art, photovioce projects, individual art and community art projects. I have identified fabricated realities and over articulated topics by media representations such as: norms regarding sexuality, criminality and leadership. I have also identified experienced realities by community members and individuals such as: disempowerment, empowerment, rejection of fabricated norms, and oppression. This research will contribute to the identification of issues inherent to youth populations that are exposed to large quantities of sports media. With my work I aim to reinforce efforts by communities and individuals to raise awareness for affected parties. Successful completion of this work will raise awareness about existing negative mainstream media, norms forming issues and provide positive substitutes for the youth population.

I am interested in exploring the culture of gymnastics and the linkages between the social norms and the pressure for female gymnasts to have a certain body image. I will be looking at the insider and outsider perspectives of the gymnastics culture. Do insiders and outsiders of the gymnastics culture see the social problems and the emphasis on the body of a gymnast differently? This connects to the current research by Melford S. Weiss who did a research project and wrote an article called Culture, Context and Content Analysis: An Exploration of Elite Women Gymnasts in the High School World. There has also been research done by Trent A. Petrie and Eva M. Krentz, who both wrote articles about eating disorders in gymnastics. I will use the methods of interviews, positionality, and participant observation to analyze my question. This research matters to society because the culture of gymnastics is largely hidden to outsiders, but it is a culture that teaches these young women how to face adversity. Sometimes the gymnastics culture gets pushed under the rug because people do not understand it, but if more people could learn about it maybe more people would understand why gymnasts have such a struggle with social norms and body image. 

I examined the use of prosthetics in mainstream sports with an emphasis on track and field. I researched the development of prosthetics over time and how the view of them has changed in our society. There was a time when a disabled athlete competing alongside an able-bodied athlete was seen as purely inspirational. However, now athletes using prosthetics are getting penalized. Aimee Mullins was the first amputee to compete in Division I track. She broke barriers for disabled athletes in the mid-1990s, and now with astonishment those barriers are being restored (Angel 2008). This connects to current research that was done by Ian Brittain in “Perceptions of Disability and their Impact Upon Involvement in Sport for People with Disabilities at all Levels”. I will used the methods of photovoice and media analysis to analyze my question. I believe that this is a timely topic in not only the world of sports, but in an anthropological view of our culture as a whole. More and more young men are returning from war with missing limbs, and their use of prosthetics is viewed differently from the usage of disabled athletes. This research matters because of the increasing controversy surrounding the idea of an unfair advantage. Oscar Pistorius is a South African sprinter who is a double amputee. He uses a type of prosthetic called Cheetah-Flex-Foot Legs, and because of these prosthetics the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has been banned him from competing in the Olympics. With the advance of technology rising, prosthetic limbs are being engineered more efficiently than they were in the past. This technology should not be a set back that restores the barriers disabled athletes have overcome.

I am examining the issue of overfocus on the body of athletes in sports and how the media perpetuates societal norms of hyper masculinity and hyper femininity in the culture of sports. This topic connects to a number of current research. I am utilizing research by Hardin and Whiteside from their article “Homophobia and Heterosexism in Women’s Sports Coverage”, which discusses how homophobia in sports has reinforced the images of hyper masculinity and hyper femininity that is constantly being circulated by the media as the norm. I am also utilizing research by Wenner, specifically issues raised in his article “Gendered Sports Dirt”, which discusses themes of masculinity, femininity and specifically the annihilation of women in media versus commercials that highlight women with the idea that “sex sells”. To analyze this issue, I use the methods of photovoice, interviews, and analysis of social media like twitter profiles of athletes and brands they endorse. This research is important because it challenges the societal norms and the gender stereotypes that the media constantly creates and perpetuates in the culture of sports. It is essential to question these norms that the media is propagating since whereas some of the male athletes are constantly being portrayed as these strong, buff and physically built individuals, some of the women athletes on the other hand, regardless of their achievements, are being portrayed as sex symbols. The impact this representation has on the society has detrimental effects as it continues to push gender inequality as the social norm. 

I am interested in examining how masculinity is portrayed in a male dominant sport such as hockey and how females position themselves in this sport, specifically focusing on female players, fans and females in hockey media. This connects to current research by Marie Hardin about cultural norms and hype masculinity, as well as Christine Baker’s case study about women’s basketball and Bill Buford’s work regarding hyper masculinity and soccer. As hyper masculinity is a large part of Hockey, it is important to acknowledge and accept women hockey players on the N.C.A.A level. According to Klein in the New York Times he states, “(t)he concussion rate in N.C.A.A. women’s ice hockey is 2.72 per 1,000 player hours. For men’s ice hockey it’s 1.47 per 1,000. Even for N.C.A.A. football, the rate is 2.34 per 1,000 which is lower than it is for the women on the ice.” By examining these statistics as well as many others such as the number of women’s hockey teams in the US and the number of professional women hockey players, I will be able to conclude how females place themselves in the hockey world. I will use the methods of photovoice, twitter, videogames, media and movies to further analyze my question. This research matters since gender equality should be present in every sport especially in the twenty-first century. In a continuously changing society women should have a strong influence on the masculine sport Hockey and not only break the social norms and barriers that exist but also break the geographical and regional opinions on the sport.

This study will analyze whether body composition norms within the sport of running are reproducing unhealthy eating habits that may lead to eating disorders, specifically among females. Current research shows that being skinnier does not directly correlate with running faster. It is common for female runners to reduce food intake to unhealthily low levels in an attempt to adhere to female perceptions of thinness. The method of photovoice will be used to display images of obsessive thinness within the sport. Negative norms are reproduced repetitively in running-related media without any significant opposition, the most common dealing with obsessive thinness and compulsive eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia. Analysis of the Nike Cross Nationals videogame, social media such as Twitter, and advertising within the sport of track and field will be used to determine why these norms are reproduced when it is detrimental to the current and future health of the athletes. In addition, I will draw on my positionality as a female collegiate runner to develop a greater understanding of the social pressure related to body weight. Research will analyze how advancements in technology and social media exacerbate the prevalence of unhealthy body weights in the sport of running. Contribution to this area of research is vital because it has the power to reach a community lost in the obsession of thinness and reestablish norms for healthier lifestyles among runners, both competitive and recreational.

Spreading equity in the public education system for the deaf community is essential as it decreases educational disparities. Recent studies have shown many African American deaf students share similar experiences in different communities as such they feel segregated from individuals from hearing culture (Clark, 2010). This is significant as many deaf students expressed concerns about communicating with hearing culture since ASL is not a common language found in our mainstream society. By using the participant observation method and from compiling surveys that acknowledges the services the deaf community would like to see in an education setting, we hope provide insight into a service that can be successful to the deaf community in a hearing academic environment. In other words, the goal of our project is to find ways students with such disabilities can receive the support necessary to be successful in the classroom. This can be achieved by creating a translating system into a laptop that inputs sounds projected from source, and then translates the speech sounds into ASL. We hope that it would increase interaction between hearing and Deaf culture as well as increase one of the many opportunities deaf individuals can use to communicate. It will also help them become academically successful within public schools that do not cater to the needs of deaf students. We hope that our idea would increase empathy for the deaf community as well as inspire ideas to spread equity to all minority groups in an academic environment.

My Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship has allowed me to examine ways in which Pacific Islander’s identify themselves by breaking stereotypes through sports and education. I want to know why society has stigmatized every Pacific Islander male to be associated with football, and how this ultimately affects how young Pacific Islanders identify themselves. This connects to current research [Billings 2007] by addressing the inequalities and discourse among minority athletes. I will be using the methods of participant observation, photovoice, and interviewing to analyze my question. I will mainly be working with the camp participants of a non-profit organization: The Taro Roots Foundation, which is an organization that targets Pacific Islander youth (ages 10-14) and emphasize the importance of higher education through cultural, academic, and health workshops as well as training in skills through football. Along with this group I will also be interviewing and observing some of the Pacific Islander football players at the University of Washington and compare and contrast outcomes. This research is important because it contributes information about the Pacific Islander community that is unspoken of and receives little no attention. The media has stigmatized the Pacific Islander community and created stereotypes that are very much prevalent in society today. My research and organizations such as Taro Roots are ways in which we are able to break these stereotypes and shed light on the true Pacific Islander culture. Our Pacific Islander youth are more than just athletes; they are scholars in the making.

We are interested in exploring the discourse of race in basketball. This connects to theories by Branch who discussed the commodification of male athletes of color, ideas by Goss who demonstrates that representations in the media of athletes ofcolor are often presented as hyper masculine and criminal. We specifically looked at Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NBA.com, Seattle Times and other popular sports magazines and seen how basketball players are portrayed. We’ve also research video games and analyzed interviews to explore our research project. This research makes an important contribution because it exposes how the bodies of male athletes of color are used for entertainment value, and how this limits the talents and abilities of these athletes.

I am interested in examining concepts of masculinity in male football fans as influenced by advertising. This is especially important to investigate as advertising is based on establishing a need in a consumer base, often through implications or assertions of worthlessness or incompleteness, and offers a product as a means of making the consumer whole while football in general is considered a masculine sport. I will use the methods I noted as effective in an article by Jabari Mahiri entitled; African American males and learning: what discourse in sports offers schooling (Mahiri1994), such as interviewing and participant observation. I will also conduct my research and observations of fans by observing directly the interactions of said persons and the language they use and the equipment they maintain such as sports clothing and footwear. Special interest will be taken in regards to brand loyalty and affiliation of equipment used by fans as this equipment is advertised aggressively at them and makes reference to masculinity. This research is significant because it showcases influence on fans of football by advertising and examines its effect on what it is to be masculine.

I concentrated on Haiti and how they have used sports to cope with the earthquake in 2010. They used sports as a way for mental and physical rebuilding. Sports allow leaders to emerge and provide positive influences to children and show the importance of media and power. By Haiti making sports teams that are constructed of people rising above their injuries, they are showing the world they can move forward. If media only shows the devastating events of the earthquake and not how people have overcome it, they are neglecting the whole truth. The methods I used are photovoice, data analysis and interviews. This research matters because if sports can be used to increase morale after a traumatic event then they should be incorporated into schools. By examining the impact of sports in rebuilding, I have observed how determined people can rise above the devastating events and continue life. This shows how sports can be used to direct and encourage people, especially in lower socio-economic status.

I am committed in examining the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) salaries for players in comparison to their position played on the court. I believe there is an unequal distribution of wealth in the NBA when differentiating between a point guard, shooting guard, center, power forward and small forward. Theses five positions add up to complete a team, which represent the offense and defense. It can be seen that positions on the court are associated with physical attributes acquired by players, for instance, their size. It is widely known that the position of centers are typically the tallest players in the game, which can have an influence on one's salary. I believe there is a strong positive correlation between the two. A website by the name, Draft Express, contains the statistics for each NBA team including player’s height, salary, position and years played. I have analyzed the data from this website to demonstrate the potential for skewed earnings. I applied research methods like social mapping, data and media analysis, as well as participant observations. These techniques contribute in probing player’s positions along side their earned salaries. The time period for this research will focus on figures from previous years, specifically the players on the NBA’s team roasters between the years of 2010 – 2012. Conducting this research will allow me to sort out the quantitative ranks of salary with the qualitative outcome it plays on teammate relationships and sports culture.

Through social media, images, and news stories, professional and collegiate athletes are shown to the public. This serves as a much larger platform for the younger generation to be heavily influenced positively and negatively. Unfortunately, the identities of male athletes of color in the major sports of football, basketball and track and field have been challenged through stereotypes that have developed over time by forms of media and social constructions. Observing and analyzing men of color within the world of collegiate athletics exposes the concerning stereotypes that belittle the talent and skill that these athletes possess. Features that will be focused on are masculinity, cultural representation and identity within the sports of football, basketball and track and field. Masculinity will be analyzed through the ways in which male athletes envision themselves through an outside perspective and the manner in which they present themselves during competition as well as off the field, court or track. Cultural representation, which may relate to masculinity, will be analyzed by how the athletes regard themselves both during competition and their social lives according to their specific ethnic background. In order to research the issue of identity, both cultural representation and masculinity will be considered through a series of interviews which will ask the athlete recognizes their identity and its relationship with his sport. Other features such as photo voice and social mapping within their respective sports will be thoroughly analyzed to determine how the stereotypes of the aforementioned three components are clearly present in magazine advertisements, websites and local newspapers. Since collegiate athletics is increasingly becoming popular in America, high school events such as recruiting, sports websites and national signing day will also be taken into consideration in order to fully grasp the concept of stereotypes amongst male athletes of color in collegiate sports.

This project is aimed to examine the ways gender stereotypes are reinforced in sports. Particularly I wanted to investigate the impact this has on transgendered, intersex or otherwise gender nonconforming student athletes. This connects to current research published in the National Transgender Discrimination Study, examples of homophobia in women’s college basketball, the impact of genetic testing on athletes competing in the Olympic Games, the publication of the NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes, and the recent critical analysis of transgender legislation politics by Spade. For this I implemented the following methods: Literature review, focused analysis of data collected by Grant et al., social media analysis of internet blogs and websites, photo voice, critical discourse analysis and review of documentary films. These different approaches were intended to help me in the investigation of my research question by approaching the subject from multiple angles. With my research I hope to constructively contribute to the ongoing dispute of lingering discrimination based upon sexual orientation, gender politics and human rights in the United States and around the globe. Furthermore I aim to show how the struggle for acceptance of gender nonconforming students is still complicated by barriers raised on the grounds of biases and unfounded stereotypes. This project therefore shows how, despite the claims of policies aimed to end discrimination on the basis of race, creed, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or ability, not all students are treated equally. Finally it also connects to my undergraduate honors research project where I examine the transgender experience and quality of life in connection to gender reassignment surgery in the United States and Germany.