Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Diasporic Strangers In The Mirror: Ever-Evolving Identity And The Immigrant Experience, Meriam Metoui

Theses and Dissertations

This text explores the disparity between immigrant parents and their American born or raised children and show the chasm of misunderstanding between generations navigating different national and cultural contexts found in novels such as The Joy Luck Club, The Namesake, Americanah, and Everything I Never Told You.

African Heritage And The Caribbean-Brazilian Experience, Michelle D. Thompson

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus reflects having students do self-guided research over a semester that doesn't require textbooks.

Tomb Of The Unknown Marxist, Anna Ozbek

Theses and Dissertations

Tomb of the Unknown Marxist tracks a journey of uncovering an individual’s past as a leftist revolutionary in late 1970s Turkey. In doing so, the project explores the political movements of that turbulent period and asks what remains of the revolution in the revolutionary once these moments are well in the past.

Shared Resources (Contractual Obligations), Jordan Lord

Theses and Dissertations

Shared Resources (Contractual Obligations) is a feature-length documentary that seeks to understand how various kinds of debt––emotional, historical, moral, social and financial––are entangled in my family. After my dad was fired from his job as a debt collector, my parents declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy––a 5-year debt repayment plan. The film follows my parents over the course of their bankruptcy, joining observational footage of their day-to-day lives with essayistic voiceover narration, my parents’ reactions to an early edit of the film, my family members’ and my own audio descriptions of what is visible in the film, and open captions of the …

The Heritage Of The Spanish Antilles, Daniel Nieves

Open Educational Resources

This course seeks to explore the heritage of the Spanish Caribbean—primarily Cuba, Dominican Republic/Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. We will place particular emphasis on the historical, cultural and ethnic forces that have shaped the character of the people of these islands. As well we will explore the variety of societies and cultures of the Spanish Caribbean in their historical and contemporary setting up to and including the (im)migration experience of Spanish Caribbean people to urban North America.

Hero Baby, Elizabeth J. Harney

Theses and Dissertations

With fiction and theory, the following pages give context to my most recent body of work called Hero Baby. The work in Hero Baby embodies an aesthetic of cuteness, as highlights the relationship between: aggression and protection, power and submission, war and commodity, nationalism and desire for love.

^A Weather Of Her Wake—Should Something Be Missing?, Chip Chapin

Theses and Dissertations

Conciliating an economics of care, support, and desire through the languages of state control, commodity, and shared resources ^A Weather of Her Wake confronts unspoken exchanges endemic to relationships in capitalist society, choreographing relationships that invites both performer and audience to negotiate architectures charged with intimate memory.

One Salvadoran Mother Was Determined To Bring Her Son To The U.S. Legally— It Took 24 Years, Maggie Veatch

Capstones

Desperate for a better life, Daysi Perla fled violence in El Salvador to provide a better life for her ten-year-old son. She immediately received temporary legal status. But by the time the paperwork for her son was processed, he was 34 years old with a 5-year-old child of his own. This is a story of a broken immigration system, and shows why Salvadorans are now risking their children's lives by bringing them to the U.S.

Link: http://maggieveatch.com/Capstone/

Putting A Face To Cancer, Lenn Robbins

Capstones

About one month after I began my studies at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH). Three years and three relapses later, I have my MA, I defiant will to fight this disease and the hope that by chronicling my experience I might help others. If this project helps just one person, it's been worth the ride.

https://lennrobbins.wixsite.com/facetocancer

Aging Intimately, Niamh Mcdonnell, Giulia Hjort

Capstones

We’re both familiar with grief after the loss of family members over 75. This project is our way of giving back in a small way by listening, but also as a way of remembering the people we unexpectedly lost. Each person we’ve met on this journey has inspired us in their own way, with their stories of resilience through grief and aging. All of our collaborators on this project are constantly learning, taking risks, and moving forward through loss and pain. They aren’t defined by their age. Rather, they embrace it with a willingness to reinvent their approach to romance …

The Body. The Art. The Psyche, Anushtha Agrawal

Capstones

The Body. The Art. The Psyche is a series that delves into the psyche behind doing body art. What drives an artist to manipulate another's body whether permanently or impermanently. What drives them? What they gain out of it? What are they seeking? The series has two artists; A tattoo artist who is driven by the demons of the human mind and macabre things around him; another is a henna artist who is driven by the mystical properties of henna and is inspired by the celebration of life. I have tried to draw a contrast between permanence and impermanence in …

South Bronx Waterfront, Noah Lewis

Capstones

The waterfronts of New York City have seen dramatic transformation and development over the past several decades. Developers have taken advantage of the coveted real estate space and constructed glass monoliths along Manhattan’s shores on the East and Hudson Rivers.

More recent developments in Long Island City and Williamsburg’s waterfront have seen waterfronts transform, and neighborhoods are unrecognizable from where they used to be. But as development continues in those areas, many developers are being priced out, and the Bronx is the logical next step in the process.

This project includes photos, videos, and animations of the South Bronx Waterfront. …

The Unsung History Of Prince Hall Freemasonry, Ann Seymour

Capstones

Historical review of the history of Prince Hall Freemasonry examined through the experiences of a modern-day member. Prince Hall Freemasonry, the African American branch of the organization, has faced marginalization from the mainstream version of the organization since its inception in the late 18^th century. Despite these struggles, members have remained committed to both the fraternal organization and to fighting for the rights of African Americans in the United States. However, this history has been largely overshadowed by the attention given to mainstream Freemasonry. By speaking with contemporary members of both Prince Hall and mainstream Freemasonry, I created a …

Minimizing The Dangers Of Air Pollution Using Alternative Facts: A Science Museum Case Study, David H. Lee

Publications and Research

A science museum exhibition about human health contains an exhibit that minimizes health impacts of air pollution. Relevant details, such as the full range of health risks; fossil fuel combustion; air quality statutes (and the local electrical utility’s violations of these statues), are omitted, while end users of electricity are blamed. The exhibit accomplishes this, not through outright falsification, but through selected “alternative facts” that change the focus and imply misleading alternate explanations. Using two classical rhetorical concepts (the practical syllogism and the enthymeme) allows for the surfacing of missing evidence and unstated directives underlying multimodal rhetoric. By stating multimedia …

Trump Asks A Feminist Extraterrestrial For A Favor, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

This is a feminist science fiction satire about impeachment.

Whatever Happened To The Movie Theme Song?, Luka Vasic

Capstones

Film music is as important as it’s ever been and a good theme song can absorb you into the world of a movie. Despite this, our idea of the theme song has changed a lot, and the kinds of themes that have traditionally been memorable parts of classic cinema have now lost their importance and role in modern filmmaking.

http://lukavasic.com/capstone/

Maternidad, Denise Cervantes

Capstones

It was a hot summer day in 1985 when my mother, Ada Reyes, left El Salvador and crossed the border into the United States. Behind her, she left her one-year-old son and a war-stricken country. I sat down with her and she told me the story of how she built a life in the United States and raised my brother and me alone as a single mother.

Link: https://denisecervantes.com/capstone

The Miss America Pageant Should Restore Prioritizing The Evening Gown Segment, Keishel Williams

Capstones

Evening gown in pageants, as in society, has always represented a woman's way of expressing her personality and femininity through fashion. Miss America's attempt to stop requiring evening gowns implies that wearing formal gowns does not equate to being a modern, empowered woman.

Instead of attempting to erase the evening gown as an outdated part of a modern woman’s wardrobe, the Miss America pageant should restore the original gown segment and use this opportunity to reshape America’s perspective on how modern women can choose to wear gowns and still be empowered.

https://keishelawilliams.wordpress.com/

Boys Will Be, Victoria Hoffman

Capstones

SocialJ Presentation

SocialJ Report

W()Men, Natalia M. Keogan

Capstones

W()MEN is a short documentary that examines the horror movie genre and the way that it focuses on women’s bodies. It integrates talking head interviews, clips from over 50 horror films, and narration in order to critically examine how women’s bodies have been portrayed as monstrous within the genre.

nataliakeogan.com/thesis-film

Gay Social Networking Apps Are Fueling Crystal Meth Use, Moises A. Mendez Ii

Capstones

Selling crystal meth on gay social networks is a problem nobody is talking about; two men tell their stories. The LGBT+ community has a long standing relationship with the use of drugs. From the 70s to present day, there has been a popular drug used – currently, it's crystal meth. Adam and Christopher have dealt with their addiction to crystal meth for many years and the introduction of gay dating apps like Grindr, Scruff and Jack'd posed new problems for them when they were trying to stay sober.

https://medium.com/@moises.mendez/gay-social-networking-apps-are-fueling-crystal-meth-use-ac34f38fa636

They Dance To Bring Attention To A War. But Who’S Watching?, Fruhlein Chrys Econar

Capstones

Potri Ranka Manis Queano has been at the helm of Kinding Sindaw, the heritage dance troupe she founded, for the last 27 years. When a group of ISIS-affiliated local terrorists attacked Marawi City, the home of the Maranao people, it infused a sense of urgency into her group’s work.

http://www.fruhlein.com/kindingsindaw

Undocumented Survivors Of Domestic Violence Struggle To Get Resources In New York City, Florence Mafomemeh

Capstones

Many undocumented survivors of domestic violence in New York City struggle to gain access to resources they need to survive due to their undocumented status. City officials tell them that help is available at the Family Justice Centers located in all five boroughs. But some undocumented survivors say they don’t get all the help they need. These victims and survivors bring with them the scars of abuse from their exes, to seek help from the city.

Link to full project:

https://florence-mafomemeh.weebly.com/capstone.html

What If The Key To Climate Change Is Hiding Under The Sea?, Shira Feder

Capstones

“We know more about outer space than we do the ocean,” says Vicki Ferrini, a research scientist at Columbia University with over 20 ocean expeditions under her belt. And as the woman leading Seabed 2030, the charge to map the world’s oceans—which are 85% unexplored—she knows how vital this is to combat climate change and exactly how she’s going to do it. Read it here: https://medium.com/@shira.feder/what-if-the-key-to-climate-change-is-hiding-under-the-sea-4503565c33a2

Someday We'll Look Back On This And Laugh, Ben Masten

Capstones

The People's Improv Theater was an oasis for young New York comedians. Its own success-- and a volatile owner-- changed that. Project contains a narrative journalism piece and an an audio documentary.

Full Project here: https://medium.com/@benmasten/someday-well-look-back-on-this-and-laugh-e6b1dc8468db

The Barriers Of Reporting Wage Theft, Jose Cardoso

Capstones

Undocumented immigrants are often victims of wage theft. There are many owners who take advantage of this because they know they won't speak up out of the fear of retaliation. However, there have been moments when immigrants have spoken up and received justice. Unfortunately, that's not the case for many as the process to report wage theft can take time and sometimes for nothing. New York City is home to 3.2 million immigrants or 37.1 percent of the population and the undocumented community stands at 5.3 percent.

https://medium.com/@cardoso.jose17/the-barriers-of-reporting-wage-theft-for-undocumented-immigrants-38aafb937215

The Rise Of Cultural Appropriation In Fashion, Henna Choudhary

Capstones

A first-person narrative exploring the growing rise in cultural appropriation accusations within the fashion industry, along with its ties to historical colonialism and mercantilism.

Link to capstone project: http://hennachoudharycapstone.tilda.ws

Disability Artistry Is Not Outsider Art, Hiram A. Durán

Capstones

"Disability Artistry is Not Outsider Art" explores the obstacles artists with disabilities face in trying to go mainstream.

https://hiram-alejandro-duran.format.com/capstone

Rise, Fall And Renaissance Of Graffiti, Georgina S. Hallowell

Capstones

In a losing battle against street artists, “Make your mark in society, not on society” was the statement written in bold letters on Mayor Ed Koch’s 1982 anti-graffiti campaign. Graffiti writers decided why not? We’ll do both.

New York has witnessed the rise, fall, and renaissance of graffiti culture. There was a time when a “mark” on your property was considered vandalism. Today, those marks are used to drive profit, attract tourists, keep neighborhoods alive and are more than welcome through the doors of museums and galleries around the world. From scribbled tags to murals, graffiti writers have completely changed …

Woodhouse, Bianca M. Rosembert, Mankaprr Conteh, Netsanet Negussie

Capstones

The film WOODHOUSE, in production, profiles Julian Woodhouse, a gay, black, burgeoning fashion designer in New York, before, during and after the chance of a lifetime. In addition to designing, Woodhouse serves in the Army Reserve. His military career is the only aspect of his life that his religious, conservative black parents support. Julian has survived without the approval of his parents, who he says sent him to conversion therapy when he came out. After revealing a dark family secret in the context of this new opportunity in fashion, we’ll see Julian attempt to meaningfully reconnect with his parents for …