03. Bachelor's Thesis

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Browsing 03. Bachelor's Thesis by Subject "activism"

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    CHAMPIONS OF MARGINALITY: KAZAKHSTANI LGBTQ+ RIGHTS ACTIVISTS’ IDENTITY AND EXPERIENCE AS CONTENTIOUS CONTRIBUTORS TO THE WELFARE OF SOCIETY
    (School of Sciences and Humanities, 2023) Mukhamejanova, Liliya
    This study explores the experience of Kazakh LGBTQ+ activists with a focus on their activist and intersectional identities, as well as their navigation of their work within a hegemonic state confronting non-cis-heteronormative people and expressions using the theories of intersectionality by Patricia Hill Collins and cultural hegemony by Antonio Gramsci. The study has a qualitative design, including seven personal interviews with adult self-identified LGBTQ+ activists, and uses inductive thematic analysis for data analysis. According to the results, Kazakhstani LGBTQ+ activists construct their identity based on a totality of intersectional social markers, the central basis of which is their non-cisheterosexuality, and internalize it as a special perspective of more privileged representatives of their group whose duty is to help less lucky ones. They manifest this identity for the most part through resistance to symbolic hegemonic norms, focusing on helping LGBTQ+ people on the ground and changing the narrative about them, either without interacting or experiencing negative interactions with agents of hegemony – the systemic structures of Kazakhstan and its public majority. The study recommends a replication of this study with some revisions for greater representativeness, as well as an additional quantitative project on the same topic and in-depth studies on some of the trends revealed here.
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    QUEER IS THE NEW ECO: HOW THE LOCAL QUEER (LGBTQIA+) COMMUNITY ENCOURAGES ECO-ACTIVISM IN QAZAQSTAN
    (Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2024-04-22) Kakim, Zhaniya
    This research explores how the local LGBTQIA+ community encourages the development of eco-activism with the help and navigation of their marginalized queer and eco-activist identities. Studies about activism and activist research have seemingly become an integral part of the Central Asian academia, especially when it comes to politicized and taboo topics. It has been pointed out by several scholars that civil society activism movement has attracted a good deal of international fundings and has contributed to the consolidation of the non- governmental sector. Among the sub-movements, queer (LGBTQIA+) activism has drawn a lot of attention and financial resources and has managed to become more organized and influential in the broader social and political context of Qazaqstan. Scholars from the countries of the Global North evidently demonstrate how queer activism is also utilized as a tool for promoting other types of activism, including feminism, eco-activism, and decolonial activism. However, when the geography turns to Central Asia, specifically Qazaqstan, it is clear that there is a gap in understanding the relationships between the different types of activism. Qazaqstan serves as an interesting case study because of its unique geopolitical landscape, colonial history, and modern-day economic dominance in the region. In addition, existing data suggests that local eco-activism, a marginalized type of activism, has been mediated by the international agents and narratives, with the limited involvement of the local agency. This study suggests that there is a deep correlation between Qazaqstani queer and eco types of activism, and that due to its influence, local queer activism promotes environmental sentiments especially through the lens of intersectionality and postcoloniality. Although, to an extent, biased by the authors personal history of being an activist, this study, first of its kind, also serves as a collaborative work between the researcher and activist networks, and, as a list of recommendations of applied research for both queer and eco-activists to improve the everyday activist strategies that they employ.