Digital Commons Network^™

Nice Girls, Wild Women: The Call Of The American Wilderness And Feminine Rejection Of The American Dream, Alice Paige Dillard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reflecting the inherently patriarchal nature of the colonization that birthed America as a nation, the American landscape English settlers sought to subjugate became connotated with the female gender through English colonial writing. American westward expansion gained greater allure than the overt appeal of conquest and agrarian industry when her untamed western landscape was likened to images of an unspent virginal bride or the breast of a nurturing mother. Thomas Morton likens the colonies of Maryland and Virginia to the Biblical figures of Leah and Rachel in his poem “New English Canaan” to demonstrate their equal worth as English colonies, though …

Inequality In Renaissance Art; A Study Into The Lack Of Female Representation, Kaitlyn Anderson

Honors College Theses

This paper explores how female biblical figures were under-represented during the Renaissance period. It explores possible reasonings, consequences, and then takes a physical exploration into the renaissance style through newly created artworks. It also explores in greater detail, two specific female biblical figures, their multifaceted stories, and their previous portrayals. Lastly homage is paid to the female artists throughout history who have been working to level the playing field in the art-world.

Why So Few Women? A Case Study Of Female Superintendents In P-12 Public Education Systems, Alfreda M. Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the pathways, barriers, and advancement strategies of female superintendents in Georgia. The problem that the study addressed was examining the gender disparity in the superintendency. The purpose of this study was to explore the leadership journey of female superintendents who served in P-12 public education systems in Georgia for the 2021-2022 school year. The researcher created and pilot-tested a semi-structured interview protocol to collect data for the study. Study participants included five current female superintendents in Georgia.

Findings revealed that female leaders are grossly underrepresented in the superintendent role. Graduate degrees and terminal degrees in …

Femininity Reclaiming Chivalry In The Harry Potter Series, Ashley M. Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper focuses on the reclaiming of chivalric values by female characters in the Harry Potter series by comparing them to Arthurian characters. Scholars have extensively compared the narrative of the Knights of the Round Table to the global phenomenon of the Harry Potter series, but in this paper I explore, through a feminist lens, a character comparison of the Harry Potter novels and Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. I will show how female characters in modern literature reclaim chivalry. This is important because it exemplifies a shift in the position of women into a more active role. I …

Abenomics’ Effect On Gender Inequality In Japanese Society And The Workplace, Arianna C. Johnson

Honors College Theses

In this study, I determine the extent to which Japan’s shrinking workforce population has been affected by gender roles. Many Asian countries are experiencing a prominent decline in birth rate and population, which has increased global interest in these issues. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japanese government officials have eagerly responded, pushing Japanese women into the labor force as a possible solution. However, this decision has unanticipated drawbacks, which require officials to address Japanese women’s concerns in and outside of the workplace. I argue that the Japanese government will have more success by addressing these needs, creating a more gender-equal …

Rey-Ifying A New Heroine: Interrogating The Curriculum Of Femininity In Star Wars Films, Rebekah S. Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Star Wars film trilogies are a cross-generational phenomenon. Due to its powerful and pervasive nature, the messages within Star War’s films must be problematized. As a cultural artifact, Star Wars was used to explore the representations of women across time and three generations. Using a conceptual framework based on cultural curriculum studies and feminist theory, this study explored the significance of Star Wars as gender text by interrogating the representations of women in the Star Wars film saga and what these representations teach about gender and femininity. By focusing on the themes of agency, empowerment, and identity, this work …

Redefining “Normal:” Textual And Visual Rhetoric Of Women With Disabilities, Hannah Sincavage

Honors College Theses

The field of disability studies holds that disability is a political and cultural identity, not just a medical condition. The rhetoric attached to disabled bodies makes them seem negative, while the rhetoric attached to abled bodies is positive. This negative rhetoric applies to visual rhetoric as well, resulting in disabilities being largely ignored in the fields of advertisement. As they are now finally being incorporated, this brings up certain questions about the issues regarding the exploitation and representation of people with disabilities. The representation of bodies in advertising affects and alters how society considers and perceives the actual bodies that …

The Exertion Of A Choice: An Ecofeminist Vision ~ Aesthetic, Embodied, And Connected Learning, Sharon M. Eswine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I build upon Darwin’s (1859/1964) metaphor of the complex biological tangle of a river bank - plants, birds, insects, and earth - to paint a picture of transformative learning as aesthetic (Dewey, 1934/2005; Eisner, 1998, 2002b; Greene, 1995, 2001; Liston, 2001), and embodied (Dewey, 1958; Johnson, 2007; Shusterman, 2006), and thereby connected to the learner’s life experience, including his/her/their ecological, cultural, and historic situatedness. I call this complication of Darwin’s metaphor the ecofeminist tangled bank. For my purposes, an ecofeminist theoretical framework provides a means of analyzing oppressive conceptual frameworks that perpetuate hierarchy and domination, and which …

The Parton Paradox: A History Of Race And Gender In The Career Of Dolly Parton, Lindsey L. Hammers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a career that has spanned over five decades, country music artist Dolly Parton has continually redefined her image and her music to remain relevant. By incorporating the musical and lyrical stylings of disco and other popular music genres into her songs, Parton moved beyond music’s color line to increase her popularity as an artist. This thesis shows how Parton established a distinct career that catered to different audiences as she traversed the musical color line and repackaged what feminism looked like to country music fans during the Women’s Movement of the 1960s. Placing Parton’s actions in conversation with music’s …

An Analysis And Examination Of College Undergraduates' Perceptions Of Women In Law Enforcement, William T. Stone ~

Honors College Theses

Throughout the course of history, various perceptions of gender and the roles that each gender should play have been observed. As Western society has progressed, so have the rights of women in many modern, developed nations. In America, women became an integral part of the workforce during World War II. When the war was over, however, they were expected to return to a more domestic role. Today, the number of women in the workplace continues to increase; however, many disparities continue to exist. Traditionally masculine careers, such as policing, have seen smaller increases in the number of women in these …

"That Flesh-Locked Sea Of Silence”: Language, Gender, And Sexuality In Beckett’S Short Fiction, Emily F. Oliver

Honors College Theses

This paper asserts the interconnectedness of language, gender, and sexuality in the short prose of Samuel Beckett. “Assumption,” “First Love,” and “Enough,” are used as specific examples of Beckett’s fiction, selected because they assist in understanding Beckett’s participation in, and inversion of, the hegemonic privileging of the masculine. This interpretation focuses on the use of gendered language, verbalization as a sexual expression, and the manipulation of the “male” and “female” voice. The analysis is both informed by, and seeks to nuance, the linguistic criticism established by second-wave French feminists Kristeva, Irigaray, and Cixous.

Islamist And Secularist Women In Egyptian Politics: Convergence Or Divergence?, Ahmed Bekhet Mr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Islam oppresses women and has many restrictions on women’s participation in politics. Women have fewer rights under the Islamic Shari‘a (law). Is this true or not? Does Islam really exclude women from political participation? Are Islamists, who have their political agenda, supporting or oppressing women? Are Islamist feminists, who are a contemporary phenomenon especially in the Middle East, politically active or inactive? Are liberal or secular women in Egypt more democratic than Islamist women or the opposite? Such questions will be addressed in the following research with emphasis on examining the role of women in Egyptian politics during Ikwhan’s - …

In Context, Kate Felzien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present thesis seeks to show the influences to my artwork and describe the body of work found in my thesis exhibition, In Context. The role of family and childhood are discussed and related to the work. The feminist writers bell hooks, Jane Tompkins, and Hélène Cixous are cited as influential to the initial exploration of my content. Artists discussed include Louise Bourgeois, Kiki Smith, Annette Messager, and Robert Rauschenberg. It is further shown how poetry and prose evolve as the catalyst for content for my work and how this enforces my belief that only through examining the personal can …

Critical Narrative Of Multiracial Women's Personal Journey: Negotiating The Intersectionallity Of Race And Gender Issues In A Monoracial Paradigm, Geralda Silva Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine how three women of color, mothers of Multiracial children, experience gender and racial identity issues in the context of United States; explore their choice of racial indicator for their children and the impact that raising multiracial children would have on their own racial identity. This study was informed by critical race feminist thought, framed by qualitative inquiry and oral history as research methodology. Throughout this study I have attempted to demonstrate that gender and race are significant factors in these three women's lived experiences. The participants' accounts revealed how different aspects of …

Women's Athletics And The Athletic Patriarchy, Cynthia Jane Lynes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is a qualitative, case study of five women who have successful careers in the male dominated field of athletics. An interview was done with each woman to determine whether her professional/personal life had been affected in any way by the athletic patriarchy and how their experiences were similar or different. The purpose of this research was to examine the influences of the athletic patriarchy on women's athletics and to explore issues of power and gender within these influences. Research questions asked were: How has the construction of gender identity by the athletic patriarchy affected women's athletics? What part …

What Happens To Girls When They Are The Only Female In A Male Dominated Setting?, Nancy Courtney Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the history of special education and particularly the induction of Public Law 94-142, special educational practices have placed a significantly greater number of boys than girls in classes for children with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders. As a result, there is often only one girl per class of modified self-contained students -- spending at least three periods per day in a setting set aside for their unique characteristics and needs. The marginalization of this group of females is a cause for concern, especially in times when gender equities are at the forefromt of much of the recent public discussions, …