Browsing by Author "Mowatt, Rasul"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

A Comparative Analysis of Race and Mattering in Leisure Literature
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2020-05) Rubinstein, Cassandra Faye; Mowatt, Rasul
The purpose of this thesis was to examine the progression of discourse on race within leisure studies scholarship through the lens of racecraft and the construct of mattering. The Journal of Leisure Research as well as Schole were examined within the periods of the 1990s (1989 – 2000) and the 2010s (2009 – 2019). Articles were chosen based upon their employment of the keywords of community recreation, youth development, and race within both time periods, yielding a total of 99 articles that were examined. A discourse historical approach (DHA) was utilized in assessment of the impact of the socio-political context on leisure research as well as the development of discourse on race. Through DHA techniques and the concept of racecraft, this project classified articles under five overarching themes: Faint mentions of race, racialization in the negative, improper terminology use, intentionality of race, and inadequate lens of problem/solution. Based upon the findings of this thesis, leisure literature has displayed minimal progression in its conceptualizations of race. Leisure studies scholarship reflects the dominant discourse through its latent ideology of racism that maintains marginalization of various racialized ethnic groups. It is posited that, without institutional examination and targeted mitigation efforts, the field of leisure will continue to uphold a detrimental racial order with an underdeveloped political and historical stance on race.
Ethnographic Assessment of Camp Mueller, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH
(Indiana University Bloomington in cooperation with National Park Service, 2022-07-08) Mowatt, Rasul; Wolter, Stephen; Rubenstein, Cassie; Elliott, Layne
The project was undertaken to address a perception of inadequate interpretation of African American history in and near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio (CUVA). The Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands (Eppley) was tasked by the National Park Service with examining historical records around this matter focusing on Camp Mueller, an African American camp held in and around CUVA including archived material in local, regional, and national collections as well as conduct oral interviews with knowledgeable community experts to further document this history in an ethnographic study. The findings from the study acknowledge that no effort is currently working exclusively toward preserving the history of Camp Mueller, one of the first African American outdoor focused camps in the nation and in Ohio, and that solely focusing on Camp Mueller as a site would restrict important connections to the African American natural and built environments, and environmental experiences in Cleveland and Ohio. Further efforts documented in the report strongly suggest that Camp Mueller appears to be one of the oldest outdoor recreation residential camps (if not the oldest) and the sole running camp in association with the Phillis Wheatley-named organization. The resulting review analyzes the need for a partnership between the NPS and other organizations such as the Phillis Wheatley Association and the Emeritus House focusing on the past history of Camp Mueller and activities related to the CUVA.
Graffiti with a Purpose: Sexual Violence & Social Justice Conversations in University Bathroom Stalls
(2018) Green, Rachel E.; Northcutt Bohmert, Miriam; Gesselman, Amanda N.; Mowatt, Rasul; Maher, Jennifer; Garcia, Justin R.
In 2014, our university began posting educational fliers in bathroom stalls across campus in order to share resources and policies on sexual violence, which spurred numerous forms of graffiti commentary about sexual violence prevention and response. Since some scholars have argued that bathroom graffiti can be a unique form of social commentary and even resistance facilitated by the tension of doing semi-private things in semi-public spaces, we examined 429 bathroom stall fliers across 11 heavily trafficked campus buildings, and a total of 177 graffiti comments/images. We then analyzed the relationships between comments in order to answer research questions about the content of messages, if symbolic support was provided therein, and whether these messages about sexual violence suggested a need for further structural change at the university level.