Digital Commons Network^™

Living In The Ruins Of Utopia: The Collapse Of The Soviet Union And The Formation Of Russia's Postcolonial Identity, Erik G. Livingston

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Inventing Christine De Pizan: Art And Authorship In Late Medieval France, Adria Leigh Woodruff

Senior Independent Study Theses

The Book of the Queen (Harley 4431) is one of the most exquisite and fascinating manuscripts of late medieval France. Compiled for Queen Isabeau of Bavaria between 1411 and 1415 by Christine de Pizan and her small workshop, the codex is one of the largest and most illuminated of Christine’s works. While the literature on the poems of the book is vast, the miniatures have received significantly less attention. I endeavor to contribute to the literature on Christine de Pizan’s illuminations, as they serve as important amplifications of her allegories. Therefore, it is necessary to examine her miniatures in order …

Subaltern Realities And Cultural Identities: The Emergence Of Creolization Through Analysis Of An Archaeological Assemblage At Betty's Hope Plantation, Katelyn Schoenike

Senior Independent Study Theses

Betty’s Hope Plantation, on the island of Antigua has been excavated by California State University, Chico, since 2007. The site incorporates a wide-range of diverse use-areas including the Great House, a Rum Distillery, and Slave Quarters. Excavations have revealed that every area of the plantation represents a unique community with distinct material culture. In the 2014 season, researchers discovered a midden that appears to have been utilized by two of these diverse plantation communities. The midden, located between the Great House and the Slave Village, was most likely employed by members from both areas. It therefore represents a context that …

Custom Framing: An Analysis Of Camille Pissarro's "Les Turpitudes Sociales" Within A Base-Superstructure Model, Robin S. Klaus

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Insurgency In The Late Bronze Age Levant: A World-Systems Analysis Of Three Egyptian Garrison Sites, Eric T. Hubbard

Senior Independent Study Theses

The wide-ranging research focused on the turbulence of the Late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean and the Levant has not yet yielded a unified narrative of how this period was experienced across the region. While some sites exhibit no sign of the infamous collapse or ‘crisis,’ many others exhibit rapid abandonment or destruction layers. The narrative surrounding these destructions tends to be viewed as relating to foreign powers such as the imperial Egyptian invasion, Israel’s rising kingdom, or all manner of so-named ‘Sea Peoples.’ This macro-causal approach leaves fewer considerations of micro-scale incidents of local resistance/agency. Recent evidence from a …

Armed With An Easel: Understanding Artistic Political Praxis Through The Works Of Theodor Adorno And Chantal Mouffe, Evelyn Yu Yu Swe

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study is divided into four chapters. The first chapter examines the role of capitalism in the formation of our culture. The argument presented here is that culture plays an important role in reinforcing modern neoliberal capitalism and that neoliberal capitalism has massive control over the dissemination of culture and the arts. The chapter concludes that it is necessary to utilize socio-cultural means in combating the influence of capitalism, and there does indeed exist emancipatory potential in artistic political praxis.

The second chapter focuses on Theodor Adorno’s aesthetic theory in articulating his conception of the emancipatory potential of art. …

The Domestication And Migration Of Zea Mays L. In Association With Holocene Climatic Variance, Kelsey L. Salmon Schreck

Senior Independent Study Theses

Maize is known to have originated in Mesoamerica from which it spread north and south, adapting to many varied climatic and environmental conditions. This study details the origin of the species Zea mays L. The teosinte hypothesis and the concepts of seasonality and scheduling are employed to discuss the domestication of maize by means of human selection. This information is used to highlight the basic circumstances necessary for maize agriculture to be adopted by a human population. Furthermore, climate is examined through the minimum and ideal environmental conditions needed for the successful growth of maize. Environmental cues play a profound …

The Eloquence Of Stone: Propagandistic Function Of Monumental And Funerary Art In Nineteenth Century Paris, Lauren Close

Senior Independent Study Theses

This I.S. concentrates on the role that various socio-economic groups played in the development of a new monumental and funerary art aesthetic in the aftermath of the French Revolution. In particular, this work focuses on the cultural influence of the French military elites, Grands Hommes and the bourgeoisie within the public spaces of nineteenth century Paris.