Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Principles Of Islamic Moral Philosophy And The Possibility Of Re-Conceptualizing Classical Islamic Aesthetics Of Architecture, Muhammad Feteha

Theses and Dissertations

This study is primarily concerned with the intersection of the moral and aesthetic theories of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 1111). Al-Ghazālī’s theory of aesthetics has been the subject of thorough scholarly investigations and diverse interpretations in the field of Islamic art history since the 1940s. This thesis critiques the premises upon which the use of al-Ghazālī’s writings in studies of Islamic art and architecture were built. It suggests that they lead to what could be described as “the contradiction of unethical beauty.” To overcome this contradiction, it offers a comprehensive interpretation of al-Ghazālī’s aesthetics through analyzing the concept ḥusn in …

The Hidden Forms Of Violence In The Lives Of Professional Women In Tagamoa, New Cairo, Nouran Elhariry

Theses and Dissertations

The desire to craft new lifestyles is the main drive for the relocation to New Cairo among Egypt’s upper middle classes. This research is focusing on the upper middle class--people who still rely on their incomes from working to maintain their status—as opposed to the elite upper class, who rely on incomes from property, investments, inheritance, and other forms of intergenerational wealth. These communities were enmeshed in high degrees of domestic violence. The power-relations reconfigured in the domestic sphere, with increasing numbers of upper middle class women embarking on professional careers while navigating households and family relations, have opened the …

Equipmentality As A Pharmakon, Sherif Khalil

Theses and Dissertations

One must lose the world to know himself, if in his attempt to know the world he lost himself.

In this thesis, I argue that equipment is a pharmakon in that its harm lies in the service it is supposed to provide. Through equipment one gets to have a practical sense of the world. But, the world in this sense is a world for everyone and for no one in particular, that is, it is made to the measure of the average person who has no aspirations to realize his authenticity. That is how equipment helps us practically make sense …

From Crypto-Muslim To Muslim Polemicist: The Self-Writing Of Aḥmad Ibn Qāsim Al-Ḥajarī, Paige Gibson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the self-writing of the Morisco writer Aḥmad ibn Qāsim al-Ḥajarī (b. 1569–1570) who fled his homeland in Spain for the Maghreb where he could live safely as a Muslim. While it may seem that the Moriscos were one static, monocultural group, studying them as individuals reveals the group’s diversity and complexity. Al-Ḥajarī is an excellent example of one Morisco writer who identifies more with the greater Muslim community than with the Iberian Moriscos. His most well-known work, Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn, combines Arabic literary genres in order to create this self-portrait. Other Moriscos fought for their right to …

Anxious Futures: Capital, Nation And Advertising In Beirut, Lebanon, Caitlin Alais Callahan

Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary billboard advertising in Beirut fuels anxiety in Beirut’s citizens. In a city suffering from daily uncertainties caused by a devastating financial collapse in 2019, and mourning victims of the worst non-nuclear explosion to ever occur in the Port of Beirut in 2020, Beirutis are also faced with advertising which constantly reinforces uneasiness. Visual advertisements market visas to leave the country, purchasing second passports and money counting machines, forming quotidian reminders of the current state of the country. Using interviews and visual ethnographic material collected during the summer of 2023, this thesis discusses how billboards help to foster dialogue around …

Wayward Utopias: Time In Wilde And Goethe, Kafi Moghrabi Mr

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I study the dialectical relation between the Utopian imagination and a reality perceived in every way as antagonistic to hope. In the first chapter, I present Ernst Bloch’s Utopian vision, as presented in The Principle of Hope, which offers an exposition of the author’s Romantic Marxism. The second chapter engages Oscar Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, demonstrating how a life devoted to self-gratification only results in the constant deferral of Utopian longing, and how, undone, Dorian’s demise opens up Utopian possibilities as anticipated by Bloch. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s version of the …

Which Tools Can Aid The Management Of Intangible Cultural Heritage In Community Based Heritage Organizations In Cairo? A Case Study Of Shubra’S Archive, Mienke Zwemstra

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a comprehensive overview of cultural heritage management in Cairo, focusing particularly on intangible heritage and the potential benefits of digital tools in this field. It highlights the marginalization of community-based organizations in the broader narrative of heritage management in Cairo, along with the limited alignment and collaboration between local, national and international heritage institutions. Drawing from ethnographic research conducted at the Shubra’s Archive (SARD), this study identifies the challenges faced by such organizations, including the reliance on volunteers and international funding for mission implementation. It emphasizes the importance of strategic planning and collaboration with municipal and national …

Crafting Lives: Experiences Of Ethiopian Refugees In Cairo, Nayrose S. Abd El-Megid

Theses and Dissertations

There has been an ongoing influx of refugees for years driven by political instability, famine, and prolonged conflicts in the region, leading many individuals to seek sanctuary in other countries. Egypt has become a host country for many years, whether for settlement or transit, for various populations from different nationalities hoping to find refuge. However, amidst this influx, Ethiopian refugees often find themselves overlooked or usually associated on the sidelines with other African nationalities; their stories and struggles are marginalized in broader narratives of displacement. The experience of Ethiopians is heterogeneous and multidimensional in terms of their intersectional identities of …

How Do They See Us?: Unhcr's Representations Of Syrian Refugees In “Every Second Counts” Campaign, Marah Khalid

Theses and Dissertations

Representation is not just an opinion; it is the recreation of realities, facts, and stories that encourage receivers, who are readers and viewers, to build perceptions of a certain topic, objects, events, and human beings. Studying the representation of refugees in the media, UN agencies, and International organizations' press releases, videos, and images has been the main focus for many scholars for decades. However, little is known about refugees' perspectives on visuals produced by UN agencies. This research tries to add to the few studies concerning the captured human object, refugees, perspective using Hall’s encoding/decoding model (Hall, 1997) to analyze …

Examining How Artistic Expression In The Classroom Can Increase Students' Academic Performance And Understanding Of Course Material, Jake Taylor Marrazzo

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study examined how artistic expression in the classroom can increase students’ academic performance and understanding of course material. This study consisted of graduate students in the Masters of Arts in Higher Education program at Rowan University, during the Fall/Spring 2023-2024 semesters, enrolled in at least one of the following courses: Crisis Management, Higher Education in America, and The College Student. The study utilized an artistic expression activity, painting, in connection with participants' course material and readings to understand the benefits of artistic expression on student success in the classroom. Some findings of this study show that artistic …

An Analysis Of The Friezes At Huaca Del Dragón, Morgan Moore

Theses and Dissertations

The archaeological site of Huaca del Dragón, located near modern Trujillo, Peru, was constructed by the Chimú civilization in the tenth or eleventh century CE. The site is named for the low-relief imagery that decorates its walls, the central motifs of which are interpreted as dragons and rainbows. These images diverge from much of the visual and material culture produced by the Chimú. Interpretations of the imagery at Huaca del Dragón have been debated by scholars for decades. While the relief decoration seems enigmatic, this analysis considers both iconography and style to argue that the friezes reflect on a visual …

Forest Schools, Ecofeminism, The Gender Binary, And Androcentrism, Jana Elizabeth Schwai

Theses and Dissertations

Gender in forest schools is a topic that should be at the forefront of discussion when creating a forest school, its pedagogy, curriculum, and principles. Gender is a large part of who we are as humans and having teachers aware of its complexities, presentation, and presence in the forest school setting is imperative. This study consists of interviews and focus group data collected at a midwest United States public forest preschool and an eastern United States private forest preschool. The teachers at these schools were cisgender, as were the students ages three through five who were observed. This paper analyzes …

Content Considerations In High School Musical Theater Show Selection, Mark David Lefeber

Theses and Dissertations

Many high schools present musical theater productions annually. In some cases, high school students present material that could be considered controversial or uncomfortable for performers, their directors, or audiences. The purpose of this study was to examine content issues of musicals that high school theater directors must consider when selecting a show for high school performance. Topics analyzed included: sexualization of characters and sexism, references to sexual activities including kissing and simulation of sexual acts; profanity, racially-defined Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) roles, racism, LGBTQ characters, gun violence, the use of alcohol and drugs, domestic violence, direct religious messaging …

Facing Catholic Antisemitism In Post-War France, The Finaly Affair: 1945-1953, Elizabeth Jane Spaide

Theses and Dissertations

In February 1944, Dr. Fritz and Anni Finaly, Jewish Austrians who had fled the Nazi regime for France in 1939, made a desperate decision. To protect their sons Robert and Gérald from persecution, they placed them in the care of others. The boys were eventually confined to a municipal nursery run by Antoinette Brun in Grenoble, France. After the war, Brun’s refusal to return the children to their relatives led to protracted court proceedings, rendering what came to be called the Finaly Affair, the most highly publicized post-war custody case in France. This thesis will analyze how the press coverage …

Richardson, Ridley, And Tatís Jr. Versus The Public: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Athlete Self-Defense Rhetoric And Public Response, Jillian Schemenauer

Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses issues brought forth by critical race theory through analysis of three marginalized athletes’ rhetorical response to accusations of wrongdoing on social media, as well as how members of the public receive the athletes’ self-defense rhetoric and identities. Through three case studies, I utilize apologia theory and tenets of image restoration theory to give meaning to how Sha’Carri Richardson, Calvin Ridley, and Fernando Tatís Jr. respond to accusation. In response, I analyze how members of the public attend to issues brought forth by critical race theory through their exhibition of color-blind racism and/or rhetorics of whiteness. In the …

Inside Out: Masculinity From Delinquent Cinema To New Queer Cinema, 1983-1991, Blue Aslan Philip Profitt

Theses and Dissertations

With the rise of multiplexes, cable television, and video rental stores, the 1980s became a golden age for youth cinema in the U.S. While many scholars have researched this decade’s youth films, much of that attention is focused on the films of John Hughes and his collaborators, whose work mostly follows affluent teenagers enjoying high school traditions. This dissertation fills gaps in youth cinema scholarship by examining the period’s delinquent films. By studying six delinquent films released between 1983 and 1991, this project looks to the understudied connection between 1980s delinquent films and 1990s New Queer Cinema. In contrast to …

La Otra Humanizada Subversion In The Narrative Of Denise Phé-Funchal, Lucila Gamero De Medina, And Gabriela Damián Miravete, Michele Haeberlin

Theses and Dissertations

This analysis will focus on the impact of patriarchal ideals on gender expectations and roles in Central America and Mexico, through a sample of narrative texts by women authors. The experience of gender is always connected to national identity and the planning of social roles. Within the imagined community of a nation the valuation of female bodies creates a specific role for them in society. Why is there violence against the female body and what does this violence have to do with the concepts of social roles and subversive womanhood? With this information, this investigation will explore the creation of …

Love And Personal Style, Shu Wang

Theses and Dissertations

To love someone is partly to have a positive valuation of her. According to what I call the Vellemanian View, in loving valuation the lover (1) values the beloved for her character and (2) values her features of embodiment merely as expressions of her character. I challenge this view by arguing that in loving valuation the lover regards the beloved’s character and embodiment as much more intimately connected. I then develop the Stylistic View, which holds that in loving valuation the lover values the beloved for her personal style, understood as her unified way of finding herself in the world. …

Jews Of Indiscretion: American Jewish Screen Identity In The Age Of Streaming, Jordan Zachary Adler

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores televisual representations of Jewishness among the Millennial generation in the United States. During the 2010s, numerous television series embraced the specificities of Jewish culture and identity, including celebrations and spiritual beliefs. These programs played with dominant understandings of Judaism and Jewishness – confronting, deconstructing, and sometimes confirming some of these characterizations. In series such as Broad City, Difficult People, Russian Doll, and Transparent, Jewishness textured the characters’ sociopolitical consciousness and behavior. These programs also accentuated the distinctive concerns of a generation of American Jews, aligning with their economic anxieties and sociopolitical ideologies, which often veered left. Characters …

Natural Law And Radical Autonomy In Antebellum American Literature, Andrew Urban

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the tension and conflict between conceptions of the natural law and the ideal of radical autonomy in the work of the antebellum American writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville. This tension and conflict was brought to the fore by the modernization of American society in the antebellum period. Modernization is here understood as the social process through which increasing recognition is given to individual autonomy, elevating the individual self, as the creator of meaning and value, above the standard provided by nature, including human nature, according to which one ought to live. This …

Appropriating The Past: Looking At Visual Evidence In The Twenty-First Century Archival Documentary, Zachariah Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Film and documentary scholars have long debated links between images, history, and truth. The field recently began addressing epistemological questions emergent when visual sources are circulated as evidence in an age of rapid image appropriation, manipulation, and circulation. To contribute to debates about images’ digital-era evidentiary roles, I study twenty-first century archival documentaries. By archival documentary, I mean a film that primarily comprises extant images (from government archives, home movies, surveillance footage, Hollywood films, etc.), rather than footage shot for the documentary. Films scholars and critics have applied many labels to these kinds of films: compilation, found footage, remix, etc. …

Autoridad Y Poder En Tres Obras Del Siglo De Oro Español: "El Cerco De Numancia" (C. 1580), De Miguel De Cervantes, "Arauco Domado" (C. 1604), De Félix Lope De Vega, Y "Amar Después De La Muerte" (C. 1627), De Calderón De La Barca, Antonio Jesus Rubio Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

En el siguiente trabajo, pretendemos analizar la representación de la autoridad y el poder en tres obras del Siglo de Oro español que tristemente no han recibido toda la atención que desde luego ameritan: la "Numancia", de Miguel de Cervantes; "Arauco domado", de Lope de Vega; y "Amar después de la muerte", de Calderón de la Barca. Los tres textos se desarrollan en contextos bélicos y proponen diversos acercamientos a la cuestión, cuya relevancia se relaciona con el gran debate intelectual que se daba en la Monarquía hispánica del siglo XVII sobre la idea de Estado. Nos referimos a los …

Equally Subordinated? The Threat Of A Self-Subordinating Way Of Life On One's Moral Powers, Kendall Bowers

Theses and Dissertations

Even in a politically just liberal state where citizens are ensured equality and certain basic liberties, citizens may still act in self-undermining ways that cause them to fail to exercise their liberties. I argue in this paper that because most conceptions of political liberalism only secure full freedom and equality within the basic structure, the background culture is left ripe with opportunities for identity-based self-subordination in associations and relationships. Freedom of association allows for citizens to adopt ways of life that may result in their own subordination (e.g., a woman adopting a sexist religion). I argue that when citizens adopt …

Saintly: Christian Women In Early Modern Europe, Nicole Leigh Ranney

Theses and Dissertations

Saintly: Christian Women in Early Modern Europe is a written companion for a physical exhibition of the same name held at the UWM Mathis Gallery in the spring of 2024. The exhibition and accompanying catalog explore the relationship between laywomen and holy women from the Christian canon by examining depictions of the Virgin Mary and women saints in works from the 16th through 18th centuries. Despite gender-related obstacles, women still found ways to meaningfully engage with religious imagery, including through the veneration of other holy women. These ‘saintly’ female role models functioned as a template for appropriate behavior in both …

Reassembled And Reimagined: A Study Of Princess Alexandra's Photocollage Album, Haley Steines

Theses and Dissertations

In the nineteenth century, album-making became a popular medium for Victorian women to experiment with due to its association with the domestic sphere and a growing art market aimed towards women. Once photography became an accessible and affordable medium, women began to include cartes-de-visite in their album pages resulting in a new form of album-making: the photocollage album. Princess Alexandra’s (1844-1925) photocollage album created in 1866 1869 contains several of the common themes and techniques seen amongst photocollage album creators. However, her status as the Princess of Wales and the preservation of photographs by the Royal Collection Trust allows for …

Max Arthur Cohn's Serigraphs And The Progressive Legacy Of The New Deal, Mirel Crumb

Theses and Dissertations

Max Arthur Cohn (American, b. England 1903-1998) was among the first artists to create “serigraphs,” a type of silkscreen print that gained popularity in the 1940s in New York City. Cohn was a founding member of the Silk Screen Group which later became the National Serigraph Society. This thesis contextualizes Cohn’s serigraphs within the history of the medium’s development and the broader history of mid-twentieth century American art. I analyze how Cohn’s serigraphs made for demonstration democratized access to the medium, Cohn’s experimentation in serigraphy expressed the diversity of style encouraged by Popular Front, and Cohn’s serigraph prints and greeting …

Pillars Of Youth Drug Abuse Prevention: Parents, Police, And Project Dare (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), Jonathon Stuever

Theses and Dissertations

In 1983 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials teamed with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) health curriculum specialist, Dr. Ruth Rich, to redesign an anti-tobacco curriculum, Project Self-Management and Resistance Training (SMART), into Project Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE). In the first four years of Project DARE, local, state, and, federal government branches endorsed the program as an efficient tool in the local and national fight against youth drug abuse. Early program evaluations, conducted by the Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI), demonstrated DARE’s ability to change attitudes of students, school faculty, and parents concerning social tolerance of underage drug …

Arthur Is Only Sleeping: A Reawakening Of John Steinbeck's The Acts Of King Arthur And His Noble Knights, Caroline J. Raines

Theses and Dissertations

John Steinbeck, known for his descriptions of the American West, maintained a fascination with the Arthurian legend throughout his life and literary career. Through comparative analysis of Cup of Gold, Tortilla Flat, and The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, we can see Steinbeck's recurring interest in the Arthurian legend which is often overlooked by scholars. Steinbeck's initial interest in strict translation which evolved into adaptation over the course of his work on The Acts shows his developing interest in Arthurian themes which he enhanced with his own creative abilities as a world-renowned author. By highlighting the gap …

A Corpus Study Of The Effects Of Information Packaging On The Position Of Siempre And Nunca In The Spanish Verb Phrase, Rebekah Geddes

Theses and Dissertations

In Spanish, time adverbs show variability in their position with respect to the modified verb. This thesis investigates the effect of information packaging on the position of VP time-adverbs of frequency. Data were drawn from the Davies WEB Dialects Corpus. Two high-frequency verbs (dar and decir), as well as some of their less frequent near-synonyms (expresar, declarar, mencionar vis-à-vis decir, and ofrecer, entregar, and regalar vis-à-vis dar) were examined in relation to the adverbs siempre and nunca. The data show that when VP adverbs are part of sentence focus and do not have any special emphasis, they are found in …

Perceptions Of Tesol Instruction From Varying Feedback Sources, Kylie J. Woffinden

Theses and Dissertations

Many studies in the field of preservice TESOL teacher education focus on expert teacher feedback to preservice teachers but neglect to address other sources of classroom feedback. This study explored how alternate sources of classroom feedback, including peer teachers and students, compare to expert feedback. A total of thirty participants from three different participant groups were featured. The three participant groups were composed of students studying at an intensive English lab school, preservice teachers who worked at the lab school, and the mentors and university instructors that guided those preservice teachers. Data collection took place through feedback sessions, during which …