What does it mean to be "Afghan"? - I am deeply excited to be able to share the thesis paper I completed for my B.A. with the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. I would like to take a moment to thank my advisor, Dr. Harris Mylonas, for his invaluable support and mentorship in the process of writing this thesis. I would also like to thank Maida Withers and Dr. Ashley Thorndike-Youssef, my advisors and mentors, for all of their continue

Detroit is a city that receives an overwhelming amount of negative media attention with its high crime rate and its seemingly hopeless high unemployment rate. At the same time, Detroit is a city with an incredible history of determination, culture, and entrepreneurship. What is it that we are not seeing through our everyday media snapshots? Is Detroit actually as destitute as it sounds? As a dancer and person interested in understanding dance’s role in building up communities