Communication ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-11-2022

Abstract

Vernacular (personal) discourses surrounding Nicaraguan immigration to Costa Rica were investigated through the lens of coloniality – a theoretical and conceptual process of understanding how the Eurocentered matrix of power and knowledge produces the subjectivity of peoples through exploitation (Mignolo & Walsh, 2019). Compared to national discourses, this study asked how vernacular discourses may challenge colonial social structures of power as well as support those same structures of power. To elicit these discourses, oral histories were conducted with nine Nicaraguans who have fled their country because of political violence. Oral histories allow for a complete account of the past by shedding light on historically hidden voices and collaborating with narrators to share their stories (Perks, et al., 1998). In doing so, the study creates a co-collaborative storytelling space and a mutual plan for the future of the archive through trusted networks and relationship development.

Keywords

Coloniality, Decoloniality, Nicaraguan immigration, Costa Rica, Vernacular Discourses, Oral History

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Communication

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Communication and Journalism

First Committee Member (Chair)

Michael Lechuga

Second Committee Member

David Weiss

Third Committee Member

Jaelyn DeMaria

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