Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Trash, Fragments, And Breaking Things: Toward A Grotesque Cripistemology For Disabled Life Writing, Michelle Anne Lloyd

All Dissertations

Despite the boom of memoirs of mental health post-1997 and the first advertisements for Prozac, most of them follow the same formula and come from the same places of privilege. This privilege is evident in the author bios on the books themselves and the careers of the writers. The popularity of these books within both abled and disabled realms has therefore created a script that those with mental illnesses are expected to abide by. Following in the example of Margaret Price, Katie Rose Guest Pryal, Merri Lisa Johnson, and others, I resituate mental illness as mental disability and place it …

Force Displacement, Forced Perspective: The Rhetorics Of Refugee Experience, Jonathan Burgess

All Dissertations

This dissertation interrogates the intersection of digital media, displacement, and human rights within the contemporary geopolitical landscape, with a specific focus on the MENA region. From a perspective firmly rooted rhetoric, it dissects the complex relationship between technology and displaced populations, emphasizing the role of transmedia storytelling in shaping refugee experiences and narratives and the potential for transmedia storytelling to facilitate greater insights into needs and gaps for displaced people. Central to the analysis is the paradox of digital tools both as emancipatory devices and tools of surveillance and control, which are further elucidated through case studies.

Engaging with thinkers …

(Un)Seen: Reshaping Emotional Abuse, Emily Collins

All Theses

(Un)seen is a collection of sculptures, drawings, and video performance that reveals the unseen physiological and psychological effects stemming from emotional abuse. I use the human body, its anatomy, and contrived anomalies to reshape and give form to emotional abuse that typically remains unseen. The bulk of research in neuroscience and the related fields have focused primarily on the response to visible causes of trauma such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and combat trauma, leaving the trauma from emotional abuse less acknowledged. Studies of this type of abuse are sadly overlooked due to the lack of an outwardly visible appearance. …

Material World, Nicole Weldy

All Theses

My thesis, Material World, delves into the use of the crochet unit as a construction technique for building forms. Through this, I aim to organize different materials in a way that responds to the challenges posed by the physical world. My artistic process is centered around honoring the inherent qualities of thread and uses these qualities to create form, lightness, and linearity. At the same time, I remain receptive to transformative processes such as combining three-dimensional (3D) printed lines and lace stiffener to push the boundaries of what thread can do. By combining manual craftsmanship with technology materialized as …

Unveiling Linguistic Equity: Two Deaf Women Highlight Sign Language In Iran, Ardavan Guity

Society for American Sign Language Journal

The emergence of awareness of sign language and deaf culture in Iran has brought attention to the need for language rights within the deaf communities of Iran. Deaf Persian/Iranian women face a unique and challenging situation, experiencing oppression on two fronts: gender and being deaf. These women aspire to achieve their dreams but often encounter restrictions imposed by Iranian society. This study focuses on the narratives of two deaf women, highlighting their journeys, overcoming obstacles to advance themselves in society, and striving for equity, independence, and self-determination. The story of Katayoon Guity showcases her journey as a successful artist, while …

50th Anniversary Of “Ameslan Prohibited”: Celebrating Betty G. Miller’S Creativity, Pamela Conley

Society for American Sign Language Journal

The art piece known as “Ameslan Prohibited” may currently enjoy an excellent standing in the eyes of deaf people in the United States and abroad, but this was not the case in 1972 when it was first exhibited to the public. Fifty years have passed with the art piece shifting from being thought of as outrageous by many viewers to being highly acclaimed. “Ameslan Prohibited” refers to society’s historical and contemporary lack of support for the language of deaf people in the United States, American Sign Language (ASL). The now deceased Betty Gloria Miller was the creator of “Ameslan Prohibited”; …

A Tribute To Barbara Marie Kannapell, Mj Bienvenu, Kathy Jankowski

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

A Tribute To Nathie Lee Marbury, Niesha Washington-Shepard, Carolyn Mccaskill

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

A Tribute To Marie Jean Philip, Mj Bienvenu, Jessica Meehan

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Deaf Women: Agents Of Change, Arlene B. Kelly

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 6, Number 2, Full Issue

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Robert Frost Review

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Virginia Smith

The Robert Frost Review

No abstract provided.

Storytelling In Motion: Rhetorical Approaches To Autoethnography, Critical Pedagogy, And African Filmmaking, Sethunya Mokoko

All Dissertations

This dissertation exposes the marginalization in the education systems of my country Lesotho, South Africa, an injustice that still survives long after the plague of Apartheid. Drawing on the values in African epistemologies of storytelling, I describe and illustrate their principles, then show how storytelling can transform composition pedagogy and thus help eradicate the residue of colonization. The methodology draws from auto-ethnography, narrative, spoken word, traditional oral wisdom, and African filmmaking as counter-story and resistance to the ideologies plaguing the minds of colonized South Africans. The goal is to celebrate oral traditions while improving reading comprehension and writing. With an …

Buried Forensics: A Rhetorical/Material Analysis Of Gendered Death, Sarah Richardson

All Dissertations

My dissertation, titled Buried Forensics: A Rhetorical/Material Analysis of Gendered Death, illustrates how othered women who did not adhere to societal norms have been silenced, excluded, forgotten, and erased in public memory. I examine the rhetorical means through which historical women have been gendered in death. Death rhetorics, I argue, illuminate the relationship between past and present violence in conjunction with memory practices. Depending on the reasons specific women were othered, death rhetorics elucidates how these women became, and continue to be, marginalized. Specifically, my three body chapters examine the lives and deaths of women who participated in sex …

In This Skin, At This Institution, At This Time: Black Women University Administrators’ Stories Of Survival During The Pandemic And Racial Reckoning, Kyra Lobbins

All Dissertations

The underrepresentation of Black women in executive leadership positions at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) persists, despite their high-achieving credentials and degrees. However, crises such as the racial reckoning and the pandemic have revealed an increase in the number of Black women called upon to lead under risky circumstances, a phenomenon referred to as the glass cliff theory. In this study, I examine the leadership strategies and behaviors of Black women executives at PWIs during these critical periods. Specifically, I explore how these leaders make meaning of their adverse experiences and crucible leadership moments and whether these experiences equipped them for …

Social Distortion: Disinformation, Polarization, And The Politics Of Identity In An Online World, Jennifer Duck Brown

All Dissertations

This dissertation addresses three issues that intertwine: Disinformation, polarization, and the politics of identity. Social media currently dominates how we receive our news and information. This coincides with a disinformation pandemic full of false news and propaganda running rampant online. What often ensues is a social distortion that poses as reality. Seventy-two percent of all Americans use some type of social media according to Pew Research. Not all social media is nefarious, but the design of the social platforms further aggravate how people learn and communicate. Through original and peer-reviewed mixed methods research on topics including the conspiracy theories of …

Unruly Periods: Reproductive Futurities And The Rhetorics Of Menstruation, Hannah Taylor

All Dissertations

“Unruly Periods: Reproductive Temporalities and the Rhetorics of Menstruations” argues that dominant rhetorics of shame and regulation around menstruation work to maintain strict reproductive temporalities that uphold heteropatriarchal norms. Specifically, I draw upon scholarship in queer studies and disability rhetorics to assert that sexual health texts (such as puberty books), menstrual care products (pads and tampons), and technologies of menstruation (period-tracking apps) function as a form of chronobiolitics—a teleological force that seeks to reinforce bodily normalcy. In doing so, these rhetorics of menstruation deny or elide the embodied experiences of diverse, queer, and disabled menstruators, limiting reproductive possibilities. Reproductive justice …

Physical Accessibility And Historic Preservation In Historic House Museums Of The Southeast, Abby Milonas

All Theses

Museums are a public good, as they provide educational recreation and preserve cultural history, and so it is crucial that they are physically accessible to as many visitors as possible. The aim of this study was to understand what architectural features of historic house museums are the least accessible and what has been done to ameliorate these challenges. The survey used in the study was developed using the guidelines for making historic buildings accessible as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. It was distributed by email to representatives of 220 historic sites, of …

Book Review - Borderland Blacks: Two Cities In The Niagara Region During The Final Decades Of Slavery, Susanna Ashton

Publications

No abstract provided.

Pioneering The Field Of Deaf Women’S Studies, Genie Gertz, Arlene B. Kelly, Vicki Hurwitz

Society for American Sign Language Journal

This article is written by three Deaf women-scholars who pioneered Deaf Women’s Studies (DWS) about thirty plus years ago: the discipline arose from the need to explore the Deaf female experience (Kelly, 2016). Then, the 1990’s was when the DWS coursework was first developed and offered in American academia. To gain a greater understanding for DWS, the article begins by reviewing the emergence of both Black Studies and Women’s Studies as academic fields and how these were the impetus for DWS. A discussion about the Deaf women’s experiences during different periods of American history is given in detail. A brief …

Role Of Women According To The Indigenous Ways, Melanie Mckay-Cody

Society for American Sign Language Journal

Understanding the role of women according to the Indigenous Ways1 is a new topic that needs to be addressed as part of promoting diversity in the American and Canadian societies. The Deaf communities in particular will benefit from learning about the Indigenous Women. The article begins with the discussion on issues pertaining to Indigenous Deaf people. This is followed with three parts, the first covering the organization that Indigenous women created. The second covers a review of tribal signs with special attention to their cultural relevance. The third part pays tribute to Indigenous women who have done their part as …

Experiences With A Museum Exhibition On Deaf Women: Success And Room For Improvements, Meredith Peruzzi

Society for American Sign Language Journal

The creation of a permanent museum at Gallaudet University in 2007 constitutes a historic milestone in the Deaf community, showcasing Deaf people by understanding and embracing their diversity and differences. As with the larger society, the Deaf community has its share of people of color and those with additional disabilities. This article will show there are lessons to be learned on realizing and achieving a more inclusive exhibit. Subject to discussion is the exhibition on Deaf women that was found both impactful and challenging at the same time. It was in 2015 that an exhibition entitled Deaf HERstory was first …

Sticking Up For Sign Language: Historical Deaf Women In Action, Kathy Jankowski

Society for American Sign Language Journal

The attention to deaf women during an important part of United States history when oralism dominated the education of deaf children is sparse. This motivated the research undertaken for this paper questioning what role deaf women played and the strategies they adopted to promote deaf children’s sign language rights. A review of historical documents indicates that there are a number of deaf women who fought along with the rest of the deaf community against the oral only movement in the instruction of deaf children during the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. A number of recurring …

Herstory And Education Of Deaf Women, Arlene B. Kelly

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 6, Number 1

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Circumventing Ableism: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Caregiver Strategies To Promote A Positive Identity, June Furr

All Dissertations

This qualitative research study explores how caregivers and persons with disabilities navigate the rhetoric of disability and caregiving through the interviews of fifteen caregivers and fifteen persons with disabilities using the lens of grounded theory and Burke’s (1952) dramatistic pentad. Significant findings describe how focused disability description can circumvent ableism when rhetorical resources that assist caregivers and persons with disabilities to navigate the rhetoric in disability descriptions are provided. Disability description theory includes the three stages that define, collaborate and revise, and practice and apply a disability description. This qualitative research offers an introduction into the phenomenon of …

Economic Impact Assessment Of Nature-Based Coastal Resilience Solutions In Charleston. Estimating Local Economic Effects With Algorithm-Based Supporting Tool., Oksana Veselkova

All Theses

Coastal cities are at the forefront of the risks induced by climate change. Local communities are adversely affected, but the essential cultural assets and economies are also at risk of damage or destruction. In the efforts to limit hazard risk exposure, local governments are increasingly planning for long-term flood protection. One prospective flood risk mitigation measure is living shorelines or nature-based adaptation. The coastal ecosystems, such as beaches, wetlands, barrier islands, oyster reefs, and salt marshes, deliver multiple benefits to communities, including recreation, natural resources, freshwater, and carbon sequestration. Moreover, when combined with structural solutions, they can effectively reduce water …

Adapting Cultural Storytelling Styles To Modern Media, Julie Huang

All Theses

In the face of modern media, it is inevitable that certain cultural art forms will fade in popularity. Some may even fade out of existence altogether. However, there are continuous efforts to reframe these cultural gems in contemporary forms to preserve them for the younger generations. Digital media, such as animation and video games, provide the perfect vehicle to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary. This paper investigates how storytelling practices have been carried through time and the creative ways they have evolved in the face of an ever-changing mediascape.

To support this research, I present a narrative in …

Using Visual Effects As A Means Of Establishing Or Reinforcing Scale In 3d Visual Works, Eric Dinicolantonio

All Theses

In 3D animation, visual effects help to establish and reinforce the scale of different characters and objects that are otherwise unclear. In the Fall of 2022, I taught a class about visual effects to several students. At the time, I had difficulty explaining the importance of properly scaling your 3D effects in order to add realism. With physically based effects, we must respect the laws of physics to create a visually realistic and understandable visual effect. Going through several of my previous projects, I found that I had made mistakes with scaling several of my effects. With this paper, I …