Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Accounting For The Gift: Theology And Ethics In Accounting, Daniel Sebastian

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Accounting is often assumed to be a neutral presentation of the facts of economic activities and actions. Its double-entry system means that it is always in balance and comports to the rigor of mathematical formulas, and it is taken to be a matter of empirical counting that lends it certainty as well. The dissertation argues that this description of accounting is inadequate. Accounting is better seen as a political tool and technology for producing trust that can help resolve social conflicts. As such, accounting is not value-neutral but carries within it a particular sociality that has moral implications. These moral …

Cross-Institutional Collaboration And Exhibit Making: “On The Gold Mountain: Chinese Mining History And Heritage Of Idaho” At The Idaho Museum Of Mining And Geology, Jordan Kathleen Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gold Rush, which brought many new immigrant communities to the American West, made a permanent impact on American culture by prompting the development of many Western towns. However, the Chinese immigrant mining population in the Boise, Idaho area has had little museum representation despite the more than 300,000 Chinese people who emigrated to the US between the 1840s and 1880. To rectify this, the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG), in collaboration with members of the Payette National Forest, the Asian American Comparative Collection, Boise State University/US Army Corps of Engineers, and the University of Denver, developed an …

The Unseen River And Infrastructural Silences: The Santa Ana River And The Ontology Of Floods, Cooper Lennon Crane

Pomona Senior Theses

This article discusses the history of land development and infrastructure along the Santa Ana River in Southern California. The river plays a significant role in the landscape of many of Southern California’s cities and urban geographies but has been relatively underdiscussed in literature. This article approaches the river using a combination of historic ethnography and sociocultural theory to unpack the meanings of the infrastructure of the river and its relation to Southern Californians. From these meanings, the article places the river in context with environmental politics, urban development, and water management issues in California today. The article argues that the …

Bolting The Landscape: An Ethnography Of Yosemite As A Significant Climbing Destination, Vanessa Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yosemite Valley is a transformative landscape that helps to shape climbers’ identities and fosters a unique sense of community, which continually reinforces its status as a renowned and evolving climbing destination. The historical influence of Yosemite Valley on rock climbing began in the 1950s and has since defined itself as a prominent destination for climbers worldwide. This ethnographic research analyzes how climbers forge a meaningful connection with the Valley by forming a deep sense of place that intertwines with their personal identities as climbers and investigates the intricate relationship between climbers’ identities and the Yosemite landscape. This research also explores …

Humanity's Fate: An Analysis Of Speculative Human Evolution In Literary Fiction, Celeste T. Johnson

Senior Theses

Speculative human evolution is a literature subgenre of science fiction that explores the potential future of humanity and descendant species. Little academic research has been done to evaluate the scientific accuracy of works of this genre or assess the relationship between the themes presented in the works and our current world. Future human species and their evolutionary journeys were assessed for scientific possibility through comparison with current research in fields such as anthropology, evolutionary biology, and sociology. It was found that the species depicted in works of speculative human evolution were largely based in scientific accuracy and could possibly exist …

The Perseverance Of Play: An Archaeological Analysis Of Residential Blocks With Preschools At The Amache National Historic Site, Megan Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to expand on the understanding of experiences of Japanese American children, specifically preschool-aged children, within the Amache National Historic Site, a WWII Japanese American internment facility located in Granada, Colorado. Through archaeological methods, GIS analysis, oral histories, and archival research, I analyzed the landscape and material culture of the five residential blocks within Amache that had designated preschools. I then compared these blocks with preschools to residential blocks without preschools to determine if there are any patterns and discernable differences between the two study areas. The findings of this research provide insight into how …

Queer Is Here, Hopefully To Stay: The Incorporation And Reception Of Lgbtq+ History At The History Colorado Center, Madeline Ohaus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the documentation of LGBTQ+ histories, struggles, and accomplishments has been absent from museum collections and exhibitions. Scholars argue that given the authoritative nature of museums and their influence on the public, exclusions of LGBTQ+ history can mount to institutional erasure of queer identities. However, in the past decade, there has been an increase in attempts to document and curate exhibitions highlighting and encouraging the public to engage with LGBTQ+ history. While this history is imperative to preserve and display, it can be met with controversy, leading some LGBTQ+ history exhibitions to be relocated or even removed. During the summer …

Critical Exhibition Methods In Museums, Jaimie Davis Ms

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Art and anthropology are intimately intertwined as art is an extension of culture which falls under the purview of anthropology. Utilizing interdisciplinary methodology that incorporates both anthropology's considerations for culture and art's consideration of aesthetic creates the best possible methodology for exhibition in museums. Art museums have enough aesthetic and could benefit from the considerations an anthropology's school of thought.

Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study, Craig W. Goodman

Dissertations

For the past two millennia, missionaries have crossed from one culture to another to bring the Christian message to all cultures of the world. Questions about the effectiveness of these mission efforts have been asked and researched by many; however, one key question remains unanswered: what personal attributes help a person to be more competent at crossing cultures as they interact with people from other cultures? Although cross-cultural competence has been studied in a variety of fields over the past 50 years, the models and assessments used have never been applied to Christian missionaries.

To address this deficiency, this parallel …

Crafting Up A Narrative: An Ethnographic Study Of Fair Trade Marketing Practices And The Representation Of Female Handicraft Producers, Jessica Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unlike the exploitative supply chains that exist under neoliberal globalization, where the social conditions of their supply chain are largely hidden; fair trade attempts to reveal the conditions of their supply chains through transparent marketing practices. Transparency is often presented in the form of storytelling wherein fair trade organizations (FTOs) reveal intimate details of the artisans they partner with to educate consumers on the interrelations of their product supply chains. I wanted to explore the implications of sharing artisan stories to further sales of the handicrafts they produced. How does sharing intimate stories of artisans formulate the perceptions Western consumers …

Traversing Paradigms: An Environmental Journey To Body And Mind, Martin Ceja Mejia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Traumatic life experiences altered the way I perceive the world. As a result, I embark on a journey to reshape my relationship to self, the built and natural world; to environment. In this thesis I ask: How do I want to relate to the environment? Considering I am a doubly colonized agent, I also aim to decolonize my relationship to environment along the process. Therefore, this work aims to formulate a new, personal, relationship to environment through academic literature, history, psychology, Indigenous knowledge and science, and literary studies, among other fields of knowledge. This work is interdisciplinary in nature; life …

How Racialization Shapes Work Conditions For H2a Migrant Farmworkers: Literature Review, Zoi Johns

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Scholars have argued that an existing gap between the idealization of American prosperity and actualization of American exploitation occurs on account of racialization. Racialization refers to the process in which subsets of people are reduced to a set of occupational practices, beliefs, or narratives that work to define their low position within societal hierarchy (Garcia 2014). This concept distinguishes itself from racism as it focuses on the conditions that exist in order for the reproduction of racism and oppression to occur (Gonzalez-Sobrino and Goss 2019). Thus, it will be argued that the reproduction of these tenants occurs capitalistically and perpetually. …

Sea-Level Rise And Settlement At Ta’Ab Nuk Na, Belize: Analyses Of Marine Sediment From The I-Line, 4m Transect, Conner B. Flynt

LSU Master's Theses

The ancient Maya of Mesoamerica created a culture with writing, religion, and vast trade networks. These trade networks are evident on the southern coast of Belize, where archaeologists have found sites dedicated to salt making. One of these sites, Ta’ab Nuk Na, was the subject of this thesis. Sediment and charcoal samples were collected from this site by the Underwater Maya Research Group led by Heather McKillop and E. Cory Sills. For my thesis research, I subjected these samples and components within them to loss-on ignition, radiometric dating, and microscopic analysis. Loss-on ignition was used to ascertain organic material percentage …

Ruptured Lives: Narrative Accounts Of Us American Adult Converts To Evangelical Christianity Over The Life Course, Nichole Baumer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the last few decades, there have been significant discussions regarding the rupturing effect that conversions to Christianity have in indigenous contexts. Individuals who have converted to Christianity from indigenous religions frequently speak of a disruption between their pre-conversion and post-conversion selves and social worlds. Anthropologists have yet, however, to study in-depth the narratives of people living within societies like the US, where Christianity is the hegemonic religion, to see whether or not the same phenomenon can be documented in contexts where individuals are often converting from one form of Christianity to another. Through the lens of narrative analysis, I …

Stories Of Return: A Collection Of Repatriation Narratives, Lydia Degn-Sutton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the museological phenomena of repatriation beyond NAGPRA and the incorporation of Indigenous curatorial methods into museum collections practices. The project explores repatriation and collections caretaking practices at ten settler institutions through narratives of experience collected from museum staff. The findings of this research suggest that repatriation beyond NAGPRA and the Indigenization of collections care are situated processes that should be understood contextually and historically. This thesis argues that, in some cases, repatriation beyond NAGPRA and the integration of Indigenous perspectives, practices, and protocols into museum collections stewardship demonstrates a willingness by institutions to go beyond the minimum …

The Red Swimsuit: Essays, Jacqueline Knirnschild

Honors Theses

This thesis is a collection of creative non-fiction essays that offers a collage of ethnography, reportage and memoir. The Red Swimsuit blurs the lines between what is considered social science, journalism and art. These essays will become part of a book- length work of creative non-fiction that will explore what it’s like to grow up as a woman in a globalized world wrought with social media, hookup culture and cross-cultural interactions. The Red Swimsuit provides first-hand experience, reflexive narration, and reflection on life as a member of Generation Z, also known as iGen.

Night Of The Witch: Alternative Spirituality, Identity And Media, Andreana Tarleton

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis works to understand the relationships witches and conjurors have with the film and television depictions of them. Employing the method of film critique, I argue that the witch stands as a cultural symbol in the US of women and femmes with power, and that their stories serve as lessons to these populations about what it means to be an acceptable woman or femme, while simultaneously creating and perpetuating stereotypes of magic practitioners. Then, using the combination of hashtag ethnography, in-person and video interviewing and internet surveys, I argue that #witchblr and #witchesofcolor, as well as the space of …

The Veilmakers, Emily Nicole Giangiulio

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Joint Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature and The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

People And Place: A Journey Through Film, Tourism, And Heritage, Sarah Beals

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Old Tucson Studios is a theme park where film, tourism, and heritage all converge through the American Western genre. During national social change, Westerns increase in number to reflect national values and identity. Westerns that ally with landscapes and people are potentially the most powerful storytelling tool in mainstream media. My research shows that this paring of people and place creates a prevailing image in the audience’s memory. The results suggest that the current image of the West comes from films made between 1951-1970, despite there being newer Westerns. John Wayne and saguaro cactus are enduring images with historic, cultural, …

When Repatriation Doesn’T Happen: Relationships Created Through Cultural Property Negotiations, Ellyn Demuynck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the discourse of repatriation in connection to the Encounters exhibition held by the National Museum of Australia in 2015. Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander artifacts were loaned to the Australian museum by the British Museum. At the close of the exhibition, one item, the Gweagal shield, was claimed for repatriation. The repatriation request had not been approved at the time of this research. The Gweagal shield is a historically significant artifact for Indigenous and non- Indigenous Australians. Analysis takes into account the political economy of the two museums and situates the exhibition within the relevant museum …

Behind The Exhibit: Exploring The Processes Of Indigenous Rights Representation At The Canadian Museum For Human Rights, Madison Caroline Dillard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Focusing on the representation of Indigenous human rights at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, this study examines how museums can represent, educate, and advocate for Indigenous human rights. The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out at the museum in July 2019 and the literature on anthropology and human rights, decolonizing museum practices, and museums as spaces for human rights dialogue. The study shows how museums can change their history of racist and inaccurate representation of Indigenous people. Through extensive and “deep collaboration” between Indigenous partners and museum staff, Indigenous culture, history, and rights …

Beyond Interventions: A Case Study Of The Denver Art Museum’S Native Arts Artist-In-Residency Program, Madison Sussmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Denver Art Museum’s Native Arts Artist-in-Residency Program is an inter-departmental project dedicated to the collaboration between the museum, artists, and visitors. The residency and the physical studio were established to formalize artist involvement in the museum. There is no written mission statement for the program, but visitor engagement is central to the organization of the program and experience of the artist. This thesis explores the question: What can the experiences of the artists and museum professionals involved in the Native Arts Artist-in-Residency program tell about the residency’s contribution to critical museology and decolonization? Through exploring the definitions of critical …

Children During The American Steamboat Era - A Museum Exhibit, Emily Ruoff

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

“Children During the American Steamboat Era” is a portion of the submitted Alternative Paper Plan (A.P.P.) in partial fulfillment Emily Ruoff’s Master of Science in Applied Anthropology at Minnesota State University, Mankato in Mankato, MN in 2019. Discussions in this paper include a summary of the new exhibit, “Children During the Steamboat Era” at the Arabia Steamboat Museum (Kansas City, MO) and the reasons as to why this topic was chosen as the theme for this display. Goals and reasons for topic choice are: to create a sense of connectivity and inclusion for the thousands of children that visit the …

Dignity In Decision-Making: Modernity And Social Navigation Among Rural French Polynesian Youth, Laura Jarvis

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

This research examines critical questions about the experiences of youth through the lenses of modernity, subjectivity, and the lifecourse. Growing up in a (post)colonial context of shifting definitions of adulthood, youth from the rural island of Rurutu, French Polynesia must navigate various decisions and transformations with little information to base their future aspirations on. This dissertation identifies dignity as the main motivating factor in youth decision-making, one that is constantly redefined as youth navigate shifting social fields. Dignity, as used here, is a target youth strive for in order to contest feelings of social precarity stemming from unaccommodating education systems …

Gendered Reproductive Negotiation And Family Formation: Latino/A Parents And Voluntarily Childless Couples In Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, Jessica Lott

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation explores tensions between the empirical reality that Latino/a birth rates have been slowing in the United States since the Great Recession in 2007 and American discourse that presumes Latinos/as are a fairly homogenous group with “excessively” high fertility rates. This study is an intervention in the literature on Latino/a reproduction that assumes large family size as well as the literature on voluntarily childless couples, who are generally assumed to be Anglo in the American context. I explore these tensions with the case study of middle-class heterosexual Latino/a couples in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. I compare voluntarily childless Latinos/as with …

The Global Dance Network: Reykjaví­K, Iceland, Takes On New Moves, Emily Creek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is an exploration of the contemporary dance community in Reykjaví­­k, Iceland. The research questions guiding this thesis were founded in a desire to understand how the dance community in Reykjaví­k creates its own agency and meaning within the city of Reykjaví­­k, as well as how the dance community in Reykjaví­k takes imported dance knowledge, localizes it and creates local meaning. With this goal of understanding the ways the community navigates the wider global dance network from its location as a northern island, I utilize concepts from the anthropology of globalization as well as dance anthropology. I specifically employ …

Through The Yoruba Lens: A Postcolonial Discourse Of Female Circumcision, Jennifer Quichocho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the Western media attention and the critique of female circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa, few studies consider the local populations' traditions, values, and ideologies. Through the Yoruba Lens: A Postcolonial Discourse of Female Circumcision investigates female circumcision practices from a philosophical, Yoruba traditionalist perspective. African philosophy and religion provides an ideological foundation and helps reveal the postcolonial and feminist theoretical framework that continues the academic debate. Framed by LeCompte and Schensul's notion that "ethnography emphasized discovery; it does not assume answers" (2010: 33), my research draws from literature reviews, quantitative data, and interviews. I will present and investigate three hypotheses …

Who Are The Apistoi? Symbolic Boundaries And Anthropological Language In 2 Cor 6:14-7:1, Nii Addo Kobina Abrahams

MSU Graduate Theses

Joseph A. Fitzmyer’s “Qumran and the Interpolated Paragraph in 2 Cor 6:14-7:1,” originally published in 1961, argued that 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 was an interpolation from an undiscovered Qumran text. Fitzmyer’s thesis was the prevailing scholarly opinion for over a decade, and while several counter-arguments have convincingly challenged Fitzmyer’s theory, scholars are still hard-pressed to explain how the passage fits into its context. Not only does 6:14-7:1 seem to lack any organic connection to the verses immediately prior or following, but it also contains unique vocabulary and what seems to be uncharacteristic use of standard Pauline terms. However, all of these …

Investigating Alternative Subsistence Strategies Among The Homeless Near Tampa, Florida, Matthew Peter Rooney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern homelessness is one of the most pressing social and political problems of our time. Several hundred thousand people experience homelessness in the United States each year, and the U.S. Department of Housing, which attempts to count those people, has admitted that their statistics are conservative estimates at best. A recent archaeological study (Zimmerman et al 2010) examining material culture associated with homeless communities in Indianapolis has suggested that those who are considered chronically homeless have generally abandoned wage labor and are instead pursuing urban foraging as a subsistence strategy. In order to better understand the structures of homeless communities, …

Interpreting The Intangible: Challenges To The Display Of Dance Objects In Museums, Kathryn Louise Brundige Grossman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes Indigenous and non-Western dance objects in museums, examining the role of theory from material culture studies, critical museology and museum education on approaches to their interpretation and display. To explore this topic, I conducted a comparative analysis of Indigenous and non-Western dance object displays at four museums - Denver Art Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History in Norman, Oklahoma - investigating the use of Native voice, reflexive analysis and multisensory elements in the exhibits' organization, narrative …