Digital Commons Network^™

The Sea Ranch: Unforeseen Failures And Statewide Successes Of An Ecologically Conscious Coastal Community, Robert Daley

Senior Theses

The term “residential development” or “planned community” brings to mind images of a stereotypical suburbia. The planned community of The Sea Ranch, along the Sonoma County coast in Northern California is a direct challenge to the suburban ideal. Construction of the nearly 1500 homes began in the late 1960s and continues to present day. All of the homes must meet specific design requirements including being ecologically sound and they must fit within the landscape. The strict architectural elements is what provides the distinct look of the community. The construction of a housing development along a ten-mile strip of untouched and …

“After-Ozymandias”: The Colonization Of Symbols And The American Monument, H. R. Membreno-Canales

Theses and Dissertations

After-Ozymandias examines the visual rhetoric of American patriotism through its many symbols, including flags and monuments. My thesis project consists of photographs of empty plinths, objects, products and archival materials. Countless relics remain today memorializing leaders and empires that inevitably declined, from antiquity to modern times. Looking back at distant history feels like a luxury, though: the question for our time in America is whether we have the strength of mind as a society to scrutinize our history, warts and all.

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Using Digital Mapping Techniques To Rapidly Document Vulnerable Historical Landscapes In Coastal Louisiana: Holt Cemetery Case Study, Alahna Moore

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis outlines a technique for rapid documentation of historic sites in volatile cultural landscapes. Using Holt Cemetery as an exemplary case study, a workflow was developed incorporating RTK terrain survey, UAS aerial imagery, photogrammetry, GIS, and smartphone data collection in order to create a multifaceted database of the material and spatial conditions, as well as the patterns of use, that exist at the cemetery.

The purpose of this research is to create a framework for improving the speed of data creation and increasing the accessibility of information regarding threatened cultural resources. It is intended that these processes can be …

Hip-Hop's Influence On Stripper Culture: The Era Of Cardi B'S, Taylor Bell

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

Twenty years ago the terms 'stripper' or 'exotic dancer' would have made heads turn. However, today feminist politics traditional negative stimga on strip culture is being challenged by the presence of the jhip-hop industry within the strip club space. With the emergence of former stripper Cardi B as well as discussions in American politics around former port star Stormy Daniles, it's clear that the way society thinks and interacts with strip culture is evolving away from the stereotypical negative one. 39 pages.

Gongshi Meditation On The American Prairie, Brandon A. Henry

MSU Graduate Theses

The following collection deals largely with autobiographical work. Created primarily between 2007-2018, the following poems reflect the life experiences and reflections of a poet throughout his thirties. Largely tied to regionalism of the Ozarks, many poems in this collection highlight specific locales throughout southwest Missouri and/or northern Arkansas, and explore, thematically, feelings of loneliness, isolation, the struggle of faith, and the impact of displacement, both physical and metaphysical. Further, many of the poems feature a through-line, thematically, involving the bonds of family and the impact of death on relationships and the human psyche. Lastly, an appreciation for, and connection with, …

Consumption And Ceramics At The Rural Homestead Of The Raddin-Badgley Family, New Providence, Union County, New Jersey, Carissa A. Scarpa

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the expression of consumer behavior and choice through the ceramic assemblage from the Raddin-Badgley house site, a late-18th to mid-19th-century rural homestead located in Berkeley Heights, Union County, New Jersey. Emphasis is placed on the ceramic assemblage recovered from a 4- by 5-meter (13- by 16-foot) cellar hole, the primary feature remaining from the homestead. The analysis was focused on answering three questions. First, how does the ceramic assemblage reflect consumer behavior over time from the earliest period of occupation to the latest? Second, how does the ceramic assemblage reflect the consumption behaviors of specific individuals or …

“I Wanna Be Like Mike:” A Synthesis Of Sports Marketing From Babe Ruth To Michael Jordan, Michael John Duffy

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This project examines the rise and development of modern sports marketing, as well as its impact on the economy, society, culture, and professional sports. The project explores sports marketing through the lens of two legendary athletes – Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan. Ruth and Jordan are two pivotal figures that were major catalysts for elevating the role of sports and sports marketing to new levels in each of their time periods. Ruth was the first major athlete to sign lucrative endorsement deals as he opened the floodgates, fostering the rise of sports marketing and changing the sports economy. Moving to …

Xx Openings, Jackson Siegal

Senior Projects Spring 2018

XX Openings represents my dual sculpture and photography practice. The title comes from a 70’s domestic frame, with 20 openings of varying sizes for family pictures. Half of the slots were filled with stock pictures of smiling family scenes, while the others just had measurements for the openings themselves. The object struck me as alienating, and oppressive. I didn’t see any scene within those openings I felt connected to.

The frame came to symbolize varying perspectives, ways of seeing, and ways of being. As my sculpture practice has weighed more heavily on my work as a photographer, I feel tensions …

Good Game, Greyory Blake

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis and its corresponding art installation, Lessons from Ziggy, attempts to deconstruct the variables prevalent within several complex systems, analyze their transformations, and propose a methodology for reasserting the soap box within the display pedestal. In this text, there are several key and specific examples of the transformation of various signifiers (i.e. media-bred fear’s transformation into a political tactic of surveillance, contemporary freneticism’s transformation into complacency, and community’s transformation into nationalism as a state weapon). In this essay, all of these concepts are contextualized within the exponential growth of new technologies. That is to say, all of these semiotic …