After the Mexican Revolution fought from 1910-1920, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which dominated Mexican politics onwards, openly embraced mestizaje, an ideology rooted in the assimilation of Mexican citizens to produce a national identity. This marginalized Indigenous subjects while valorizing Mexico’s unique pre-hispanic heritage, a process that proved to be unsustainable in the wake of the 1994 Zapatista Uprising in Chiapas, which brought attention across Latin America to the struggle. Scholars have written on how the neighboring state of Oaxaca became divided on the struggle for Indigenous rights throughout the 1990s, while others have focused on the history of Oaxacan radicalism and resurgence in dissent politics present during the 2006 Oaxacan social movement to argue against narratives of defeat. My research examines Teotitlan del Valle, a Zapotec community in the central valleys of Oaxaca, throughout the twentieth century into the 2000s, in order to explore the roles played by Indigenous communities not explicitly involved in dissident politics. My work builds on cultural studies conducted in Indigenous Oaxaca which examine the unique versions of ethnicity and their purposes. I focus on translations of press coverage and Spanish-language advertisements from the period, along with an oral history interview I conducted with a citizen from Teotitlán del Valle to reexamine the definition and redefinition of the local identity, connecting it to the history of Oaxacan radicalism. I argue that, while Teotitlan’s elite took advantage of mestizaje and commodified the community’s local identity, regular citizens of Teotitlan have pushed against this process to different degrees with varying effects. In doing so, this research proposes that the Zapotec villages in the central valleys of Oaxaca, who are often left out in the history of Oaxacan radicalism and it’s resurgence in 2006, are a central component to understanding the strengths and limitations of Oaxacan radicalism.

This project aims to challenge the traditional way we teach about difficult and violent history throughout K-12 education by using 9/11 and the War on Terror as a case study. I ultimately argue that by presenting multiple competing narratives, children’s literature provides a potential solution for introducing nuanced conversation into children’s history education. The research question guiding this project is how does children’s literature complicate mainstream narratives about 9/11 in K-12 education? As part of this project, I conducted a qualitative survey of UW undergraduate students to explore their experiences of learning about 9/11 and the War on Terror as children. I compared the results of this survey to existing research describing what K-12 educators are claim to be teaching in their classrooms today. As part of this project I also analyzed different historical narratives about the 9/11 era, both outside of and within children’s literature. I find that across mediums and experiences, the dominant narrative of 9/11 indoctrinates young Americans into a War on Terror attitude which casts America as a blameless victim in the lead-up and aftermath of 9/11 and quiets dissent against state action in response to national security threats. 

Under India's military occupation, Kashmir has become one of the world's most militarized zones, where systematic human rights violations including enforced disappearances, torture, and sexual violence have been documented. Through analyzing documentary films, visual art, and protest movements, I investigate how Kashmiri women transform individual trauma into collective political action. I focus on two key case studies: the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and documentary filmmaker Iffat Fatima's "Khoon Diy Baarav." Using ethnographic analysis of films, photographs, testimonies and protest documentation, I demonstrate how these women use memory work and creative documentation to challenge both military occupation and patriarchal structures. The APDP turns monthly protests into spaces for collective mourning while maintaining detailed records that counter official denial. My findings reveal that women's networks employ multiple strategies: preserving memories of the disappeared, creating visual evidence of state violence, building international solidarity through art and film, and establishing alternative archives that document human rights violations. This research contributes to our understanding of how marginalized groups use creative resistance to preserve collective memory and build transnational networks of solidarity under conditions of repression. The implications extend beyond Kashmir to other conflict zones, showing how women's creative activism can effectively challenge dominant narratives while creating powerful spaces for resistance and healing.

Objective. I asses the increased Latino support for Donald Trump and the GOP since 2016, and how the Democratic party was less successful in 2024 with Latinos than in previous elections. Methods. By using a mixed-methods approach that includes an in-depth bilingual content analysis and polling data I can evaluate increased GOP support from Latino voters even under increased threat. Findings. In 2024, Trump demonstrated increased Latino outreach efforts but still failed to capture a majority of Latino voters due to his continued anti-Latino and anti-immigrant rhetoric. However, perceptions of GOP hostility decreased, likely due to rising economic concerns. In comparison, Harris' Latino outreach was much better, however, her policies failed to resonate with Latinos largely due too little to no discussion of comprehensive immigration reform - which typically heightens group identity and thus mobilizes Latino voters. Conclusion. While the media and the campaigns like to discuss the importance of the Latino vote, as they seek their support, the two-party system has left Latino voters behind, effectively ignoring their substantive political wants and needs, increasing the likelihood of a shift of Latinos to the right.

In the spring of 2024, student protesters nationwide established non-violent encampments on college campuses, demanding university divestment from military and weapons manufacturers linked to the war on Gaza. At the University of Washington (UW), the Liberated Zone (LZ), organized by a coalition of student activist groups known as the United Front (UF), occupied the Quad from May 1st to May 17th. Muslim students were highly visible in the encampment, yet often stereotyped as a monolithic group, obscuring the internal discourse on identity, activism, and civic engagement within Muslim American communities. This project documents the LZ through oral histories of five Muslim students—Palestinian and non-Palestinian—supplemented with an analysis of student news coverage and digital artifacts from Instagram pages managed by groups such as the UF and the Muslim Student Association. By examining intragroup discourse among Muslim students and intergroup conversations with non-Muslim peers, family members, and the broader Muslim community, my research explores how students navigated solidarity, intergenerational perspectives on activism, and shifting perceptions of the university as a political space. Findings will contribute to the historical memory of student activism, highlight the role of intergenerational influences in shaping political engagement, and preserve narratives often marginalized in institutional and media portrayals of campus protests.

This study examines the extensive destruction of Gaza’s key sectors—including healthcare, education, economy, agriculture, and cultural heritage—and assesses the long-term implications for Palestinian society. First, it provides a detailed analysis of the damage, highlighting immediate humanitarian consequences and broader impacts on Gaza’s future stability. Next, it contextualizes this destruction within the history of failed peace processes, emphasizing recurring obstacles to Palestinian sovereignty. Additionally, it explores competing visions for postwar Gaza from Palestinian, Israeli, and American perspectives, analyzing their viability and implications for future governance. By assessing both the devastation and the political trajectories shaping Gaza’s fate, this study underscores the urgent need for a sustainable resolution to prevent the repetition of past failures.