title: Colour in the lines: The racial politics and possibilities of US skateboarding culture

authors: Williams, Neftalie

subjects: race

abstract: This thesis examines the informal sporting culture of skateboarding as a contested site of racial politics in the United States of America (US). Action sports scholars have long identified the ‘whiteness’ of this sport but rarely created space for the voices of people of colour (POC) within skateboarding. Underpinned by Critical Race Theory (CRT), this project centralizes the previously unheard voices of POC and reveals the unique challenges, strategies, and successes of POC within the elite skateboarding culture across particular historical contexts of skateboarding and within US society.

With the aim of understanding the complex and nuanced experiences of race within the skateboarding culture, sport, and industry, I conducted semi-structured interviews with forty male and seven female skateboarders of colour who have played critical roles in the culture as athletes, company owners, managers and media producers. Participants in the study are from a spectrum of racial backgrounds (African American, Asian American, Latinx/Hispanic) with their skateboarding participation ranging from the mid-1970s to the present day. Interviews were supplemented by a quantitative and qualitative examination of skateboarding magazines over this same time frame. 

Engaging the empirical material in dialogue with CRT, the key themes are organized into four chapters. The first explores the importance of family and community in forming the participants’ earliest understandings of race, racism, and politics. It then examines their initial participation in skateboarding, including the challenges of facing racial stereotypes from their communities and society in general. The next chapter outlines the path into professional skateboarding and the racial politics of gaining ‘visibility’ from those in power positions within the industry. It also examines the formation of elite skateboarding teams and the critical role of mentorship and interpersonal relationships with other POC as well as with non-POC allies. The third chapter focuses on the critical role of niche media, and particularly the politics of visibility within skateboarding magazines. The fourth and final chapter focuses on SOC as agents of change within the skateboarding industry as designers of skateboarding artifacts (i.e., shoes, boards) and company owners. In this chapter, we see the power dynamics shifting with POC skaters holding key roles, and with their creative entrepreneurship and unique strategies impacting the iconography of global skateboarding.

Ultimately, adopting a CRT approach, this project is supported by the politics of the researcher—an African American skateboarder, photographer, and critical scholar—who recognized the need to create a forum for the long-overlooked voices and experiences of racial minorities within skateboarding. In so doing, both narratives of the positioning of POC within skateboarding, as well as the politics of researching action sports communities, are challenged. Chronicling the endeavours of pioneering cultural intermediaries within the unique sporting culture of skateboarding, this thesis reveals how individual and collective actions have gained momentum over the past four decades and changed the racial possibilities for future generations.

text: Colour in the lines: The racial politics and possibilities of US skateboarding culture This thesis examines the informal sporting culture of skateboarding as a contested site of racial politics in the United States of America (US). Action sports scholars have long identified the ‘whiteness’ of this sport but rarely created space for the voices of people of colour (POC) within skateboarding. Underpinned by Critical Race Theory (CRT), this project centralizes the previously unheard voices of POC and reveals the unique challenges, strategies, and successes of POC within the elite skateboarding culture across particular historical contexts of skateboarding and within US society.

With the aim of understanding the complex and nuanced experiences of race within the skateboarding culture, sport, and industry, I conducted semi-structured interviews with forty male and seven female skateboarders of colour who have played critical roles in the culture as athletes, company owners, managers and media producers. Participants in the study are from a spectrum of racial backgrounds (African American, Asian American, Latinx/Hispanic) with their skateboarding participation ranging from the mid-1970s to the present day. Interviews were supplemented by a quantitative and qualitative examination of skateboarding magazines over this same time frame. 

Engaging the empirical material in dialogue with CRT, the key themes are organized into four chapters. The first explores the importance of family and community in forming the participants’ earliest understandings of race, racism, and politics. It then examines their initial participation in skateboarding, including the challenges of facing racial stereotypes from their communities and society in general. The next chapter outlines the path into professional skateboarding and the racial politics of gaining ‘visibility’ from those in power positions within the industry. It also examines the formation of elite skateboarding teams and the critical role of mentorship and interpersonal relationships with other POC as well as with non-POC allies. The third chapter focuses on the critical role of niche media, and particularly the politics of visibility within skateboarding magazines. The fourth and final chapter focuses on SOC as agents of change within the skateboarding industry as designers of skateboarding artifacts (i.e., shoes, boards) and company owners. In this chapter, we see the power dynamics shifting with POC skaters holding key roles, and with their creative entrepreneurship and unique strategies impacting the iconography of global skateboarding.

Ultimately, adopting a CRT approach, this project is supported by the politics of the researcher—an African American skateboarder, photographer, and critical scholar—who recognized the need to create a forum for the long-overlooked voices and experiences of racial minorities within skateboarding. In so doing, both narratives of the positioning of POC within skateboarding, as well as the politics of researching action sports communities, are challenged. Chronicling the endeavours of pioneering cultural intermediaries within the unique sporting culture of skateboarding, this thesis reveals how individual and collective actions have gained momentum over the past four decades and changed the racial possibilities for future generations.

year: 2020

title: Influences of soil properties on archaeal diversity and distribution in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

authors: Richter, Ingrid

abstract: The Antarctic Dry Valleys are characterized by extremely low temperatures, arid conditions, high salinity and virtual absence of plants. Therefore, food webs of these microbially dominated soils are among the simplest on earth making these mineral soils a perfect model to study microbial biogeography. This study aims to characterize the distribution and diversity of Archaea within the Dry Valleys as part of the New Zealand Terrestrial Antarctic Biocomplexity Survey (NZTABS). An international multidisciplinary organization focusing on biotic organisms, community structure and their functional linkage to determine what environmental factors drive biocomplexity. Archaea are so far the least known members of the microbial community with only a few successful attempts at detection indicating a patchy distribution and low diversity. A wide range of soil samples, collected from various sites within the Dry Valleys were analyzed using a suite of genetic approaches. DNA fingerprinting techniques (RFLP, T- RFLP) were applied to examine distribution and diversity of archaeal species living in soils of Miers Valley, Marshall Valley, Garwood Valley and Shangri- La. Detailed analysis of physicochemical differences between mineral soils was undertaken in hope to unveil environmental factors driving distribution and biodiversity of archaeal communities present in these soils. Multivariate statistical analysis and ordination of T- RFLP results and physicochemical data revealed a widespread distribution of Archaea across all three valleys, including Shangri- La. Overall, archaeal diversity was relatively low and most of the archaeal communities were composed in majority of one species affiliated with Crenarchaeota Marine Group 1.1b. Archaeal communities that sustain a relatively high diversity appear to be restricted to high elevation ridge areas and coastal moraines. This variation in diversity may be best explained by differences in moisture availability and availability of carbon and nitrogen in mineral soils that harbour these communities. Conversely, soils that harbour high bacterial diversity and primary producers revealed extremely low abundance of Archaea, possibly even total absence of Archaea in these organic rich soils.

text: Influences of soil properties on archaeal diversity and distribution in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica The Antarctic Dry Valleys are characterized by extremely low temperatures, arid conditions, high salinity and virtual absence of plants. Therefore, food webs of these microbially dominated soils are among the simplest on earth making these mineral soils a perfect model to study microbial biogeography. This study aims to characterize the distribution and diversity of Archaea within the Dry Valleys as part of the New Zealand Terrestrial Antarctic Biocomplexity Survey (NZTABS). An international multidisciplinary organization focusing on biotic organisms, community structure and their functional linkage to determine what environmental factors drive biocomplexity. Archaea are so far the least known members of the microbial community with only a few successful attempts at detection indicating a patchy distribution and low diversity. A wide range of soil samples, collected from various sites within the Dry Valleys were analyzed using a suite of genetic approaches. DNA fingerprinting techniques (RFLP, T- RFLP) were applied to examine distribution and diversity of archaeal species living in soils of Miers Valley, Marshall Valley, Garwood Valley and Shangri- La. Detailed analysis of physicochemical differences between mineral soils was undertaken in hope to unveil environmental factors driving distribution and biodiversity of archaeal communities present in these soils. Multivariate statistical analysis and ordination of T- RFLP results and physicochemical data revealed a widespread distribution of Archaea across all three valleys, including Shangri- La. Overall, archaeal diversity was relatively low and most of the archaeal communities were composed in majority of one species affiliated with Crenarchaeota Marine Group 1.1b. Archaeal communities that sustain a relatively high diversity appear to be restricted to high elevation ridge areas and coastal moraines. This variation in diversity may be best explained by differences in moisture availability and availability of carbon and nitrogen in mineral soils that harbour these communities. Conversely, soils that harbour high bacterial diversity and primary producers revealed extremely low abundance of Archaea, possibly even total absence of Archaea in these organic rich soils.

year: 2011

title: Still standing, still here, still dancing.

authors: Clendon-Tau, Iwa

subjects: first person narrative

abstract: A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experiences on teaching-learning process and her insights on language, culture and learning.

text: Still standing, still here, still dancing. A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experiences on teaching-learning process and her insights on language, culture and learning.

year: 2002