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Beyond Me: Class, Sexuality, And The Work Of The Autobiographical Fragments Of Audre Lorde, Dorothy Allison, And Eileen Myles, Erin E. Heiser

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation looks at what I am calling the “autobiographical fragments” of three working-class, lesbian (or queer) authors: Audre Lorde, Dorothy Allison, and Eileen Myles whose writing is stylistically quite different from one another’s, but who nonetheless have all produced bodies of work that represent bits of their lives over and over and in different ways, sometimes overlapping in time and narrative detail. While there are certainly other writers whose work shares many of the same characteristics, I argue that the autobiographical fragment has special significance for marginalized subjects. Woven throughout the dissertation are many of my own autobiographical fragments …

“The Way To Dusty Death”: The Feminist Revision Of The Western In Nomadland (2021), Lucas Cicarelli Vieira

FIU Undergraduate Research Journal

The Western film genre is founded upon patriarchal and capitalist conditions embedded deeply within structuralist analyses. The portrayal of the solitary, white male cowboy—with its themes of rugged individualism and phallocentric mannerisms—has affected the depiction of women, people of color, and other marginalized groups across media. These prejudicial structures, though applied throughout the genre, has seen revision in recent productions, most notably by feminist directors of the modern era. In Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, Western narrative elements and cinematic techniques have been amended to favor genuine testimonials from affected individuals of economic collapse caused by the hubris of industrialists and the …

Hidden In Humor: Redefining Abjection Through Implication, Maddy Kish

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

Abjection can whisper. It lies beneath the joke; you will find it there if you spend the time. Look at me. Come closer. Are you willing to discover? If you listen, I will confess, I will air out my dirty laundry, I will show you the inside of my body and its evidence.

My thesis is a consideration of my waste, an analysis of the bodily trail I leave behind. I explore indecency as a persistent feature of my art practice and a tactic I use to stimulate interest. My overarching unladylike sensibility is broken down into three categories – …

How Design Depicted In Film Contributes To The Evolution Of Cultural Narratives, Catherine Vanhoose

Interior Design Undergraduate Honors Theses

Interior Design and its trends have had significant influence on pop culture and the general public through the course of human history. Acting as a universal language, design is a tool often used to help communicate ideas. The different interpretations of these ideas are what help to create cultural narratives. This capstone explores the relationships between film and design as creative arts, how they are affected by the current times and trends throughout the history of women, and as a result how women throughout history are influenced by these relationships. Findings provide insight on how interior design is used to …

Makeher, Maeve R. Wallace

Student Projects

Makeher is a multi-media work that grapples with the existential dilemma of creation within the context of our increasingly unreliable world. Anchored by a concern for the implications of childbirth, my art studies themes of life's genesis and the world we leave behind.

My subject matter, an amalgamation of mirrors, planets, silver, body parts, hair, and tights, are tools with which I explore these themes. Using silver fabric, I abstract the human form. By integrating disassembled body parts with mirrors, I reflect on the fragmented and multifaceted nature of the human existence. This process is not just about the creation …

A Rhetorical Criticism Of "Fleabag": Tragicomedy And What It Means To Be A Feminist, Morgan Ashley White

Communication Studies

This essay conducts a rhetorical criticism of the television series Fleabag, analyzing how creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge uses tragicomedy to dismantle the notion that there is one right way to be a feminist. After providing background on Waller-Bridge, the history of feminism, and the creation of Fleabag, the essay closely examines several key scenes from the show. It demonstrates how Waller-Bridge employs humor intertwined with serious subject matter to highlight the complexities and contradictions women face in navigating conflicting societal expectations around gender. Through the flawed yet honest portrayal of Fleabag herself and her interactions with other nuanced female …