Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

This thesis aims to analyze and discuss the issues regarding South African paleoanthropology and its relationship with systematic racism. This is done through a literature review of the book Darwin’s Hunch by Christa Kuljian as well as other articles by other academics. Two main themes are explored; theme one is racism and evolutionary essentialism and theme two is physical violence and theft. These themes and other issues continue into the discussion section, which features more of the influences that inspired this thesis including prior projects and a trip to South Africa.

The Academy Awards represent the uneasy tension between art and commerce in Hollywood. The façade of art that the Academy has worked so hard to cultivate is weakened in the face of “for your consideration” campaigning. These advertising efforts, led by the studios and teams employed by potential nominees, make claims to the virtues of a given film and advocate for their celebration. The awards business has grown into a multi-million dollar industry, directly contradicting the art-driven version of Hollywood that the Academy claims to represent.

In the United States, nearly every state has a state history museum, where the natural and cultural history of the state is researched and put on display through tangible objects and intangible stories. Despite the unique nature of its history, the state of Hawaii is one of the few states that does not have a proper state history museum. The closest thing the state has to a state history museum is the Bishop Museum, which focuses mostly on Native Hawaiian culture and history from ancient times up until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893. This thesis explores why there is no state museum to cover the modern history of the Hawaiian Islands, and lays out a general proposal for what a future Hawaii State History Museum could look like. In researching this project, inspiration was taken from the state history museums of Colorado and Texas, the History Colorado Center and the Bullock Texas State History Museum, respectively. The proposal covers the physical location and design of a potential museum building and how it would be laid out inside. It then provides a list of exhibit ideas while addressing questions of narrative perspective, with the overarching narrative of the museum being “Hawaii History for Hawaii locals.” Lastly, it discusses the importance of the connection between the community and the museum in order to be successful. With current Hawaii legislators showing an interest in actually establishing a state museum for modern Hawaii history, this thesis can serve as a framework from which the real museum can be built off of.

This project explores modern healthcare related disparities in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as the overarching historical structures that have influenced public health within the city. Historical and systemic racism, harmful housing policies, barriers preventing upwards economic mobility, and purposeful measures put in place by business leaders and city officials are all explored as factors impacting current disparities in access to care. In order to fully analyze the gaps in care, different areas, both high and low-income, are analyzed throughout history in order to understand shifting demographics and policies. The project concludes with an in-depth look at current public health efforts within Maricopa County, as well as with future policy recommendations.

Maryvale is the most densely populated neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona. Originally master-planned for white middle-class families, Maryvale has become a majority-minority neighborhood that is still impacted by socioeconomic problems left from the 1980's white flight, as well as a reputation for being dangerous. Residents share their experiences living in the community and their opinions about its problematic reputation and its impact and current development efforts. Oral history brings a personal perspective to the literal history of Maryvale to create a more accurate and comprehensive story.

Archiving is the art of memory keeping, but the majority of marginalized communities in Arizona are not familiar with archives or the role they can play in preserving BIPOC and Queer history. In Arizona and across the country, Queer, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are largely underrepresented in history and in archives. History has primarily been shared through a white-dominated lens, minimizing the impact these communities have had on our culture and our world. According to the 2012 Arizona Archives Matrix Project, Latinos, Blacks, Asian & Pacific Islanders, and the LGBTQ community make up over 42% of Arizona's population but are only represented in 0% to 2% of known archival collections in the state. This is why the podcast series; “Archives Glow” was created. Podcasting is a tool that can preserve the history of these communities and tell their stories in their own voices. Members of these communities refuse to be excluded from archiving and history any longer. That is why I interviewed, Todd Bailey, the special projects coordinator at the Arizona Historical Society, Jessica Salow, the assistant archivist of Black Collections at the Community-Driven Archives at Arizona State University Library, Nancy Godoy, Director of the Community-Driven Archives (CDA) Initiative, Pete Dimas, an archivist and educator, Alex Soto, the director of the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at Arizona State University Bridget Bravo, an educator and community archivist, and Christine Marin, historian, archivist, and founder of the Chicano/a Research Collection at ASU Library, for “Archives Glow.” Each person is an expert in their field of history because they come from Black, Indigenous, Latinx or Queer communities themselves. They have also dedicated their lives to spreading the stories of others in their communities through history exhibits, projects or community outreach events. In the United States 42% of Americans, 12 years of age or older, have listened to a podcast in the last month of 2023. This is a new record according to 2023 Edison Research compared to previous years. Sharing people’s stories through this platform is a useful tool because it encourages listeners to see life from a different perspective and through the lived experiences of someone else. People want to learn, and podcasting is a transformative platform that helps them do that in a fast-paced world. Instead of having to sit down and listen to a traditional lecture people can receive new information in a short amount of time and on the go as people’s attention spans also have become increasingly shorter, as research from the American Psychological Association has shown. With the support and guidance of Regina Revazova, a professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, and Jasmine Torrez, assistant archivist at ASU Library’s Community-Driven Archives (CDA) Initiative, I produced and hosted a five-episode podcast series that tells the stories and history of BIPOC and Queer communities in Arizona to preserve their stories and encourage change in history. This project was intended to spread awareness around story-keeping and memory for BIPOC and Queer Communities.