"Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide", and you can read it now

[texas_indy]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8642.html

Someone was earlier making a big deal about not being able to read her thesis. Well, here it is.


GOBAMA! Texas is Obama country!

[Johnny__Motown]

1. great, thanks

[MADem]

2. That was PRINCETON that withheld it, for whatever reason.

Interesting article:

The 1985 thesis provides a trove of Michelle Obama's thoughts as a young woman, with many of the paper's statements describing the student's world as seen through a race-based prism.

"In defining the concept of identification or the ability to identify with the black community," the Princeton student wrote, "I based my definition on the premise that there is a distinctive black culture very different from white culture." Other thesis statements specifically pointed to what was seen by the future Mrs. Obama as racially insensitive practices in a university system populated with mostly Caucasian educators and students: "Predominately white universities like Princeton are socially and academically designed to cater to the needs of the white students comprising the bulk of their enrollments."

To illustrate the latter statement, she pointed out that Princeton (at the time) had only five black tenured professors on its faculty, and its "Afro-American studies" program "is one of the smallest and most understaffed departments in the university." In addition, she said only one major university-recognized group on campus was "designed specifically for the intellectual and social interests of blacks and other third world students." (Her findings also stressed that Princeton was "infamous for being racially the most conservative of the Ivy League universities.")

Perhaps one of the most germane subjects approached in the thesis is a section in which she conveyed views about political relations between black and white communities. She quotes the work of sociologists James Conyers and Walter Wallace, who discussed "integration of black official(s) into various aspects of politics" and notes "problems which face these black officials who must persuade the white community that they are above issues of race and that they are representing all people and not just black people," as opposed to creating "two separate social structures."

To research her thesis, the future Mrs. Obama sent an 18-question survey to a sampling of 400 black Princeton graduates, requesting the respondents define the amount of time and "comfort" level spent interacting with blacks and whites before they attended the school, as well as during and after their University years. Other questions dealt with their individual religious beliefs, living arrangements, careers, role models, economic status, and thoughts about lower class blacks. In addition, those surveyed were asked to choose whether they were more in line with a "separationist and/or pluralist" viewpoint or an "integrationist and/or assimilationist" ideology.

Just under 90 alums responded to the questionnaires (for a response rate of approximately 22 percent) and the conclusions were not what she expected. "I hoped that these findings would help me conclude that despite the high degree of identification with whites as a result of the educational and occupational path that black Princeton alumni follow, the alumni would still maintain a certain level of identification with the black community. However, these findings do not support this possibility."

[monomach]

3. That was awfully anticlimactic

All of those Hillbots who were all "OMG WHY IS THE THESIS BEING HIDDEN FROM US; I'M REALLY REALLY CONCERNED YOU GUYS" are in for a big let-down.

It's awfully ho-hum.

[Window]

4. Thank you for sharing.

Peace:thumbsup:

[Political Heretic]

5. I'm suprised at myself for having such a genuine crush on this woman. :)

[XemaSab]

6. She's unfit to be First Lady

She refers to herself as a future "alumnus" of Princeton. :P

[Guava Jelly]

7. Doesn't she hate America?

It was a silly dead horse that was fun to beat.
There will be about 5-10 more non-issues about her before it's over with.:eyes: