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Joy In Nature, Rebecca Morgan Jul 2011

Joy In Nature, Rebecca Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

Artist Statement I am fascinated with colors in nature and how it affects our moods. The colors of a sunset and moonlit sky; the feeling of a brewing storm; the laziness of a cold, gray day; the roar of an ocean; and the feel of sand on your feet are elements that I want to capture in my drawings and paintings. In addition to the natural environment, animals are an integral part of nature that I incorporate in my work. Pets are the unspoken blessings that bring joy and laughter to my life. Pets, especially dogs, are proven to relieve …


Cross-Cultural Ecotheology In The Poetry Of Li-Young Lee, Sienna Miquel Palmer Dittmer Jun 2011

Cross-Cultural Ecotheology In The Poetry Of Li-Young Lee, Sienna Miquel Palmer Dittmer

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the cross-cultural ecotheology of contemporary American poet Li-Young Lee by looking at the intersection of the human, the natural, and the sacred in his poetry. Close readings of Lee's poetic encounters with roses, persimmons, trees, wind, and light through the lens of Christianity and Daoism illustrate the way Lee is able to merge the Eastern concepts of interconnection and mutual harmony with Western ideas of sacredness and divinity. This discussion places Lee in direct conversation with modern and contemporary ecopoets who use the creative energy of language to express our moral and ethical responsibility to the world …


Redefining Self In The Midst Of "Things": Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, Kristin Lowe Jun 2011

Redefining Self In The Midst Of "Things": Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping, Kristin Lowe

Theses and Dissertations

In this essay, I examine the role of material culture in Marilynne Robinson's novel Housekeeping (1980) to understand how the prominent presence of material culture introduces complex questions about the relationships among objects, reality, and the self. By recognizing objects' fluidity of meaning, Housekeeping offers its characters a way to see their individuality and conceptions of reality in a similar state of flux. Significantly, it is in the act of recognizing that the socially accepted uses of objects are not necessarily "natural" parts of existence, and, like elements of the natural world, the meanings and uses of these items are …


Outside Things, Jacob Sorenson May 2011

Outside Things, Jacob Sorenson

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis is a description of the issues encountered during the process of research and construction of the objects leading to, and consisting of, the work shown in Outside Things. The work is my attempt to gain personal insight into the complicated relationship between nature and culture. Through abstract furniture objects, floral patterns, and robots I explore the relationship between actual landscape and the constructed man-made bio-mimicry that convolutes the definition of Nature.