Abstract
This thesis examines the development of educational and occupational aspirations and expectations among African American youths in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The investigation begins with a review of previous research on educational and occupational aspirations and expectations among African American youth; the review is followed by a discussion of theoretical explanations of these research findings, which includes perspectives on inequality, symbolic interactionism, and individual and cultural causes of leveled aspirations and expectations. I then present the methodological description of my qualitative study and film project on 19 youths from Benton Harbor as well as a critical statement that explores the various modes of documentary representation, placing my own documentary within the larger body of non-fiction film texts. Finally, I submit To Get a Voice Heard (2005), a documentary I filmed and produced in response to my research in Benton Harbor.
Advisor
Nurse, Anne M.
Second Advisor
Havholm, Peter L.
Department
English; Sociology and Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Keath, Jessica, "To Get a Voice Heard: The Development and Production of a Documentary Film As An Application of a Qualitative Study" (2005). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 4430.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/4430
Publication Date
2005
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2005 Jessica Keath