Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Draw Us Something: Ekphrasis In Reverse, A Meeting Of Minds, Cara Makuh

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

This creative Master’s Thesis is a collaborative effort between my writings and various visual artistic responses. I submitted my writings to volunteers who agreed to send me a visual or illustrative response to what they read. There were no rules or formatting requirements. The response could be any kind of visual artwork, from a painting, line drawing, or even a photograph. Posting the call for volunteers on Facebook and using simple digital platforms for sharing writing and artwork proved instrumental in enabling this project to reach a global audience.

While this experiment had no expectations or intention at the outset, …

Unangan Orthodox Christianity: Conversion Through Similarity, Robert Daley

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

Between 1741, when Russians first entered the Aleutian archipelago, to 1867, when Russia sold Alaska to the United States, virtually the entire Aleutian indigenous population, the Unangan peoples, having been minimally missionized and influenced only by traders, had subsumed their ancient religious beliefs and practices into a new framework and converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity. This, despite the fact that by 1800, murder, disease and forced labor at the hands of the Russian traders were major causes of a near-extinction-level Unangan population decline of eighty percent.

This thesis will argue that, despite the injustices suffered by the Unangax at Russian …

Cultivating An Ecospiritual Imagination, Brighid Fitzgibbon

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

Ecospirituality synthesizes aspects of ecology, spirituality, and feminism, emphasizing reciprocity and relationship. It can be seen as a spiritual expression of environmentalism, offering hope and ways to cope during the Anthropocene. During this era of heightened uncertainty and grief related to ecological collapse, one key capacity, imagination, will serve humanity as it recalibrates and restructures in response to the climate crisis. This textual analysis, creative research, and reflection will explore the process of cultivating anecospiritual imagination, a relational mindset supported by embodied experiences such as rituals and contemplative practices that honor a reciprocal relationship between humans and the …

Asian-American Visibility: Movement Toward Authenticity And Exposing The White Gaze, Nora Tsou

Senior Theses

Asian-Americans have a historical legacy and a multiplicity of narratives that are often rendered absent in American culture. Our oppression is not commonly spoken about, but it is relevant. By decentering Eurocentric thought as the only valid philosophy, herein this study I perform Asian-American philosophy through an analysis of philosophical and sociological texts on race. I continuously echo George Yancy and Gloria Anzaldua, philosophers of race, respectively, on the African-American and Latin-American experience, for their philosophy has greatly lead me to understanding my own. In order to conceptualize what oppressive struggles Asian-Americans face, I delve into research that exposes these …

The Nineteenth Century British Workhouse: Mission Not Accomplished, Brenda Derin

Senior Theses

How to correct poverty in a society is extremely complex. In the nineteenth century, the British struggled to house, feed and care for the unemployed and destitute men, women and children created by the Industrial Revolution. Many in the upper classes considered poverty a moral failure, yet they had little impetus to end it. Poverty, as defined by an inability to provide for one’s needs due to a variety of factors, was seen as necessary, for without it there would be no motivation for the lower classes to work and provide a luxurious life for the wealthy.

Although some in …

Sex At Any Cost: How Gender Inequality, Capitalism, And Pornography Are Driving A $99 Billion Industry, Gina Vucci

Senior Theses

There are more slaves today than at any other time in human history. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are more than 40 million slaves worldwide. This paper accompanies a 6-part webinar series of the same title that explores how gender inequality, capitalism, and pornography are driving a $99 billion illegal industry. The paper begins by defining what human trafficking is and includes both forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Six primary forms of human trafficking are explored, including domestic servitude, bonded labor, child slavery, sex trafficking, and forced marriage. Next, the paper explores who the victims of …

Idiosyncratic: The Formation Of Artistic Voice Through Movement Research And Choreographic Processes, Kerry Healy

Honors Theses

This project seeks to answer how individual voices are formed through dance and choreography. The answer to this question was discovered through physicalized research and embodying concepts and tasks during my Senior Project choreography process. My dancers and I experimented with the idea of self versus society: how do we differentiate our own artistic voices from the voices of those around us? How do we remain ourselves when we are so greatly influenced by society? Artistic voice greatly influences and forms our identities as humans. The answers to these questions lie within personal aesthetics, the philosophical study of beauty and …

Late-Victorian Novels, Microsociology, And Bad Dialogue, Amy Wong

Literature, Languages, and the Humanities | Faculty Scholarship

This essay argues that a separation between dialogue and talk has been enforced since the rejection of mimetic realism in the late nineteenth-century art of fiction debates. Both the institutionalization of formalist methods and poststructuralism since Derrida have resulted, moreover, in continued suspicion about ontological claims made about any category of "orality." Yet what has been lost in the name of poststructuralist sophistication is an appreciation of talk as an embodied, relational, and sociologically mediated form. This essay contends that revisiting dialogue with a view toward such elements—from gestures and other physiological productions to "invisible" social dynamics—unfolds ethical dimensions of …

16:9 - A Study Of Manipulating Perceptions Through Movement, Samantha Weeks

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the concepts of editing and manipulating through the deconstruction and rebuilding of ideas. Inspiration sprung through researching the job of a film editor, and noting how an editing action takes place in everyday life. Using Thelma Schoonmaker’s body of work, which includes her film editing on a number of Martin Scorcese's films, I examined this idea of manipulation through choreographing my Senior Dance Project. Titled 16:9, the dance also shows the power of deconstruction through a thoughtfully constructed short film, which is presented halfway through. A film editor can take documentary footage and make the end result …

The Iconography Of The Honey Bee In Western Art, Maura Wilson

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

This master’s thesis studies the ways in which the honey bee is used as a symbol in Western art, specifically between the 1^st century AD and the 17^th century. Artists have had a close relationship with honey bees since they first drew scenes of life on cave walls; since then, honey bees have been a recurring image featured in artworks spanning centuries, cultures, and religions. During the Renaissance in Europe, the honey bee was adapted from a symbol associated with fertility and polytheistic cult rituals to become a symbol of eloquence in Christianity. The community-based, diligent nature of …

Revisioning The Devī Māhātmya: A Creative Approach To Ecofeminism, Meret A. Luthi

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

This creative project consists of two parts and revisions the 6^th century puranic Goddess myth Devī Māhātmya through a critical ecofeminist lens. The first part serves as an introduction into mythology, ecofeminism, and the historical and contextual aspects of the Devī Māhātmya. This academic essay investigates how myths provide humanity with a sense of meaning and belonging. The second part of this project is a creative writing piece and a contemporary revision of the Devī Māhātmya. The aim of this approach is to demonstrate the extent to which myths continue to inform and shape us, with particular regard to …

Big History And Sustainability, Duncan Blake Ross

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical examination of Big History at Dominican and offer some retrospective suggestions for any possible future first year experience programs.

I reflect on Big History texts, critical papers and books as well as my own experiences and interviews with others. My research and reflections suggest that big history pedagogy failed to convey sufficient meaning and purpose to students. The actual value of the big history pedagogy was compromised by confusing and unnecessary elements of the main text. I conclude that big history pedagogy should culminate in sustainability studies. It is there …

Retribution Vs. Restoration: Tendencies Of The Criminal Justice System, Brenda De Oliveira Morsch

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

Most modern systems of criminal justice tend to be heavily invested in retribution while placing very little emphasis on restoration. This thesis seeks to understand why this tends to be the case, and argues for the benefits of restorative approaches. The analysis is grounded in two fundamental philosophical perspectives, namely, a neo-Marxist view that attends to the effects of basic economic class divisions, and a Foucauldian view that understands power as an expression of hidden strategies of normalization and control as opposed to explicit forms of oppression. Both views help us to arrive at a more critical understanding of the …

Locating Meaning In The Art-Making Process, Jesse Bodony

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

Examining the ways that humans derive, cultivate, and encode a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives has always been a concern at the heart of humanities scholarship. In my own journey as an undergraduate and graduate humanities student, this sentiment held true. Through the cross-pollination of my humanities scholarship and my passion for dance led me to the question that guides and structures the project at hand. Specifically I ask: Where is meaning located in the art-making process? To explore this question, I hone in on the processes that guided my own dance-based practice, which exists within the …

Saudade: An Exploration Of The Choreographic Process And The Power Of Dance, Audrey Erickson

Honors Theses

This paper serves as a reflection on my choreographic process as a LINES BFA senior and as an investigation into the innate power of human creative movement. I will document the challenges and joys of producing movement in the dancing arts, as well as illuminate the physical and psychological power of movement harbored within the practice of Dance Movement Therapy, an enduring form of psychotherapeutic movement used to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical well-being. The main goals of my personal choreographic experience, as well as those of my fellow Dance Majors were three-fold: 1) the cultivation of an encouraging …

Composite Bodies: Construction And Deconstruction Of Our Identities Through Movement, Pauline Mosley

Honors Theses

This thesis examines some of the roles artists take on as humans, separate from their lives as artists and how said roles impact in the forming of our identity. Applying the deconstructionist theory by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, phenomenology by Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau- Ponty, and the journals of students involved in the study, the idea that the body and mind must work as one in order to create movement is dissected and reconstructed. Beginning with investigating the roles artists are born into, create for themselves and think they have, dancers involved in the study use their own …

Moving Through, Moving On: Examining The Life Well Lived Through The Lense Of Impermanence, Aidan O'Leary

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the themes from Walking Each Other Home, the work I choreographed as part of my graduation requirements in the Alonzo King Lines BFA Program at Dominican University. I begin by making the case for the academic discussion of dance, including barriers to the development of the field and my place in it. Asserting that dance is a subject of religious merit, I place my piece within a broader context of dance pieces that deal with topic and themes of myth and spiritual truth. I then give a brief overview of Buddhism, centering around the Four Noble Truths …

Name Fluidity And Its Effect On Ashkenazi Genealogical Research, Meredith Dreyfuss

Senior Theses

It is commonly believed that genealogical research has become easier and more popular than ever before, and with more and more records being digitized and available over the internet, the ability to research family history can be done by anyone with an interest and a computer. Where one might have had to travel to the places that housed the records that trace family life, now many of those records are online, with the data store growing all the time. Similarly, relatively inexpensive DNA testing is bringing family background and history to the masses.

However, while science and technology have revolutionized …

Two Sides Of A Democratic Coin: President Johnson's International Approach To The Civil Rights Movement, Kayla Marie Robinson

Senior Theses

The Declaration of Independence famously states, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” These words quintessentially set the course for the American ideal of democracy; yet, debate as to who was and was not included in this ‘equality’ has clouded this American ideal. This debate sparked international concerns at the end of World War II; specifically the Soviet Union, which questioned the validity of democracy in the United States. As the United States entered the Cold War against the Soviet Union, both ideologically and physically across the globe, the Civil Rights Movement gained …

Oscar. Delta. Echo. A Study On The Physical Poetics Of Gratitude, Victoria Michalowsky

Honors Theses

This document chronicles my choreographic process during my final year at Dominican University of California. It explores how loss can be understood through the embodied experience and expression of gratitude. The arc of relationships, through the process of introductions, intimacy, and absence, is communicated as a tender ode, expressed both in words and in dance.

The primary source comes from the finished dance and the choreographic process itself. The themes also draw inspiration from the works of Oscar Wilde, John O’Donohue, and Kimerer LaMothe as well as the poetry of David Whyte, Mary Oliver, and Jane Hirschfield. Through this process, …

From Spacewar! To Twitch.Tv: The Influence Of Competition In Video Games And The Rise Of Esports, Robert Boyle

Senior Theses

Since their inception in the 1950s, video games have come a long way; with that advancement came more popularity, a growing demand, and an evolving culture. The first person shooter (FPS) video game genre and the competitive scene that was born out of it is an ideal case study to analyze this change over time. To understand how video games became so popular, one must examine their history: specifically, their development, impacts the games have had on society, and economic trajectories. Similar to traditional professional sports, video games experienced a cultural shift around their lucrative profit margins and unfolding professionalization …

Balance, Inject, React: How High School U.S. History Teachers Adapt Under National Curriculum Standards, Andriana Stenros

Senior Theses

History teachers across the United States are constantly shaping the minds of their students, yet the historical content they teach is based on broad, national standards. Since the establishment of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) in 1994, a dynamic process of adaptation to standards has been credited to high school history teachers across the nation. Each teacher has a unique relationship with their class, which generate signature teaching objectives and prompt teachers to reexamine and adapt what parts of curriculum they choose to share with their students. Expectations, context, and experience all play into the relationship between …

A “Steph” In The Process: How The Golden State Warriors Have Hyper-Commercialized Professional Sports, Danielle Arena

Senior Theses

This research aims to highlight the significant impact the Golden State Warriors have had on the commercialization of sports. This is especially relevant and corresponds to the Warriors back-to-back championships and their rise from an overlooked team to one of the most popular teams in the National Basketball League (NBA). According to Forbes, the Warriors have gone from NBA obscurity to the third most valuable team in the NBA. The objective of this research is to prove the importance of both physical prowess and business savvy in the sports world to become truly successful as a professional franchise. As the …

Body Dissatisfaction Among Ballet Dancers, Isabelle Fatima Barlaan

Senior Theses

Athletes are required to maintain a healthy and strong physique, however they can experience pressure to look a specific way. Certain types of sports promote a thin body image which athletes are insisted to follow. As a result of this, there is a trend often seen in female athletes and body dissatisfaction because of the sociocultural and sports community pressure. Body dissatisfaction is the negative subjective evaluation of the weight and shape of one’s own body. The level of body dissatisfaction a female athlete can experience varies among the type of sport they participate in. Studies show that female athletes …

Ethical Problems With Plastic In The Ocean, Brennan Cotter

Senior Theses

In the year 2018 this paper argues that plastic use and waste is destroying our oceans and that we should address the problem by fully adopting the principle and practices of sustainability. The first section outlines the advent of our plastic disposable culture. The second section gives evidence of how plastic waste is negatively affecting marine life. The third section draws from literature in environmental philosophy to develop the concept of sustainability, and the concluding section outlines several steps we can take as individuals and nations to practice sustainability.

Shakespeare After Prison, Lesley Currier, Dameion Brown

Community Engagement Theme

No abstract provided.

A Damned Travel Through Hell, Allie Daniels

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

This is a creative project which examines the horrific mystery behind a real cursed poem. One poem was all it took to create a dent in American history. When a cursed poem is produced in the 1600’s during the time of the Salem Witch Trials, the poem travels through events of American trauma, allowing the curse to affect people in different time periods. The story focuses on moments in American History, stemming from the Salem Witch Trials, advancing forward into the era of the Civil War, World War 2, and 9/11. This piece that blends fiction and nonfiction to convey …

The Nineteenth Century British Workhouse: Mission Not Accomplished, Brenda Derin

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

ABSTRACT:

How to correct poverty in a society is extremely complex. In the nineteenth century, the British struggled to house, feed and care for the unemployed and destitute men, women and children created by the Industrial Revolution. Many in the upper classes considered poverty a moral failure, yet they had little impetus to end it. Poverty, as defined by an inability to provide for one’s needs due to a variety of factors, was seen as necessary, for without it there would be no motivation for the lower classes to work and provide a luxurious life for the wealthy.

Although some …

Sacred Lucidity: Embodied Identity Through The Lens Of Poetry, Abby Laporte

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Published poet, Abby Laporte, has created a 22 page poetry collection exploring femininity, radical politics, and spirituality. Her senior thesis creative component serves as a tool of identity exploration, and provides a framework for the reader to address questions of their own social location in relation to the text. Laporte's academic essay provides an examination of the true value, and possible concrete benefits, of self-expression through poetry - particularly in relation to personal or political identity. She takes on a close reading of "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath, and thus demonstrates the meta-experience of her own process as a reader. Laporte …

Cultural Arts Access For Children With Disabilities Via Sensory Friendly Theater, Caroline Umeda

Occupational Therapy | Faculty Conference Presentations

This qualitative study investigated parent and organization experiences of a sensory friendly theater program. I will report key findings including meaningful and capacity building experiences of parents of children with disabilities and theater staff. This research illustrated the potential of sensory friendly theater and organization-level occupational therapy consultation to promote community participation at population levels and build organizational capacity in the access realm.