While many Middle Eastern and North African states have implemented Arabization policies in their educational systems after independence from colonial rule, many Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) diverged from this pattern. English use in public discourse increased in the Gulf states because of the rapid economic growth following the oil discovery and an influx of foreign labor. Though many researchers have studied language in the United Arab Emirates in academic and social contexts, this ethnography looks at how these linguistic dynamics are viewed and balanced in people's everyday lives. I examine the dual language ideologies in the United Arab Emirates using anthropological data from participant observation of English classes and semi-structured interviews with English-language teachers and students. While participants considered Arabic to be a language with religious and cultural significance, English was seen as “the universal language” of modernity. The ways in which Arab participants justified their increased reliance on English exemplifies how the binary values these languages represent struggle to be reconciled. Overall, participants maintained their appreciation of Arabic in private contexts while characterizing the adoption of English as necessary for economic advancement.

Black communities in the United States have long relied on creativity, resilience, and collective strategies to carve out pathways toward socio-economic advancement in the face of systemic exclusion and racialized economic barriers. This research explores the historical and contemporary role of Black entrepreneurship as a critical tool for economic mobility, community empowerment, and resistance against structural oppression. Through an interdisciplinary analysis grounded in historical texts, sociological theory, and qualitative research, this paper examines how entrepreneurial efforts—from post-emancipation Freedmen communities to modern grassroots initiatives—have enabled Black individuals and communities to “do for ourselves” when denied access to mainstream economic institutions. Drawing on sources such as Black Moses by E. David Cronon, The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson, and We Are Each Other’s Business by LaShawnna R. Harris, this study highlights the enduring significance of Black-owned businesses in fostering self-determination and collective uplift. In a capitalist society where financial resources often determine access and opportunity, entrepreneurship emerges not only as a means of income generation, but also as a form of social resistance and political agency. This research underscores the importance of supporting Black businesses as a strategy for addressing enduring disparities in wealth, opportunity, and representation.

This study explores the association between pregnancy wantedness and maternal mental health outcomes, specifically postpartum depression and anxiety symptoms. Pregnancy wantedness, the degree to which pregnancy is desired, is a key psychosocial factor influencing maternal well-being. Yet, its direct impact on mental health outcomes in postpartum is understudied in Latina populations. Utilizing data from the Mother’s Cultural Experiences (MCE) Study, participant responses were gathered from the Pregnancy Wantedness scale (pw1, pw2, pw3), as well as validated psychosocial assessments including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-SF). We hypothesize that lower levels of pregnancy wantedness will be associated with more severe pregnancy and anxiety symptoms as reflected by higher EPDS and STAI-SF scores. Linear regression models will be used to evaluate this relationship, controlling for sociodemographic factors (ex: age, education, parity) and prior mental health diagnoses. This work builds on research linking unplanned pregnancies to adverse maternal outcomes, highlighting how life history and psychological readiness shape maternal mental health during this critical period. Findings may depict how cultural sensitivity and awareness are vital when supporting mental well-being in Latina mothers, regardless of whether a pregnancy is planned or unplanned, and could inform the development of programs and interventions focused on pregnancy planning.

This project examines how Queers & Latines in L.A.’s goth, punk, and alternative nightlife scenes navigate and transform subcultural spaces. Historically, these subcultures have been racialized as white, marginalizing Latinx and Black participation, while mainstream Latinidad reinforces heteronormativity and leaves Queers & Latines feeling unbelonging. Through music, self‐fashioning, and performance, they engage in disidentification—resisting both racial and gendered exclusions. Nightclubs become crucial sites where they assert presence, remix aesthetics, and produce alternative forms of Latinidad, effectively serving as spaces of queer world‐making that foster community amid systemic exclusion. By interrogating the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and subcultural participation, this project reveals how Queers & Latines disrupt dominant narratives of Latinidad and alternative cultures. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and cultural analysis, it explores how spaces for self‐expression emerge despite gentrification, economic precarity, and exclusion from mainstream nightlife. It further examines how Latinx and Queer creatives (DJs, performers, and club workers) navigate financial instability in nightlife industries. In challenging racial and gendered norms across contexts, these individuals transform LA’s goth, punk, and alternative nightlife into dynamic arenas of resistance, identity formation, community-building, and queer futurity—far surpassing the realm of mere leisure.

Baloot is a traditional Saudi card game with origins in France, India, and Turkey, and a staple game in Saudi male spaces for the longest time. This ethnographic research explores how this traditional card game challenges gender dynamics and nuances when played by both male and female students living in the United States, specifically in the UC area of UCLA and UCI. My study looks at trash talk as a mediator of challenging more new gender ideologies. My work pulls from person-centered interviews that are recorded alongside observations of baloot tournaments and casual play around me. My research examines how young Saudi women move through a field that is frequently thought of as being exclusive to one gender. One important indicator of when gendered language and trash talk are considered appropriate is the idea of mayana, a culturally particular sense of familiarity. The results show how broad social norms regarding gender, cultural identity, and performative masculinity are both challenged and reinforced through the lens of baloot. In competitive settings, female athletes are often positioned as representatives of their gender, subjecting them to increased scrutiny. The study emphasizes how diasporic contexts can redraw conventional lines, revealing ingrained prejudices and opening up fresh avenues for involvement. Ultimately, this study adds to the expanding body of anthropological research on games as locations for gender negotiation and cultural performance, highlighting the necessity of broadening the scope of academic

Amidst an aging population and declining birth rate, gendered labor systems in Japan have evolved to reflect shifting national priorities as seen through an increase in female workforce participation and the broadening of cultural norms for women beyond the domestic sphere. Although women have seen progress in defining a place for themselves outside the home, persistent cultural ideologies of motherhood clash with women’s increasing desire and need to work. Based on interviews with Japanese men and women in Tokyo, this research investigates how people navigate these deeply personal and emotional experiences in the context of state policy and cultural expectations, arguing that urban Japanese women grapple with understanding their identities in different ways. As women balance conceptions of motherhood and gendered labor systems, they confront tensions as they seek to understand themselves.

Transportation systems are crucial facilitators for ensuring mobility and fostering social inclusion among the population; however, inaccessible infrastructure of these systems results in physical barriers that impede disabled users’ journey experiences worldwide. While the physical documentation of these barriers has been well-noted, less attention has been paid to the person-centered impacts resulting from inaccessible transportation environments. This study examines how disabled users of the London transportation system navigate these inaccessible infrastructures and how doing so impacts them psychologically and socially. Drawing from the social model of disability, this research utilizes the concept of networks and visibility to explore the physical and social gaps created by lacking accessibility. Semi-structured interviews regarding transit experience were conducted with participants at a South London-based inclusive cycling charity. I argue that the physical infrastructures of the London transportation system impact disabled users’ perception of self, others, and society. Nonetheless, these individuals continue to forge space in an environment that does not consider them, demonstrating their resiliency and agency. Such narratives highlight the lived experience of disabled transportation users and illustrate the importance and need for structures and policies that account for all individuals.