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Changing The Channel: A Study Of Agenda, Immersion And Social Commentary In Art, Nicholas Kalemba May 2019

Changing The Channel: A Study Of Agenda, Immersion And Social Commentary In Art, Nicholas Kalemba

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the concepts and ideas that pervade my body of work in painting. These concepts include immersion and scale, interactions in space, harmony and disunity, flat and dimensional space and perhaps most importantly, ambiguity. I intentionally use these formal devices to create immersive environments that appear as a familiar but skewed version of reality. By forcing together disparate languages of visual representation into the theoretical space of a painting, I strive to expose some of the humor and decay of our social institutions. In using the format of collage, my paintings have the opportunity to incorporate a wide …


The Suburban Nightmare: A Study Of Atmosphere, Mood And Emotion, Ericka Sobrack May 2019

The Suburban Nightmare: A Study Of Atmosphere, Mood And Emotion, Ericka Sobrack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis body of work, I focus on the implied human presence through the lack of actual human figures. I believe there is more to say in a landscape with the absence of the figure, allowing the dialogue to be read and interpreted by a larger audience. I am particularly satisfied with White Knuckles, shown in figure 3, because I collide reason with imagination, thus contradicting the context and interpretation of the subject matter. In White Knuckles, I deal with formal elements such as composition, atmosphere, lightness and darkness as well as nuances of color. I have also considered …


Designosaurs: Technological Evolution And De-Extinction Through An Advancing Medium, Sean Vanzyl May 2019

Designosaurs: Technological Evolution And De-Extinction Through An Advancing Medium, Sean Vanzyl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of my imperative need to understand dinosaurs and their role in science and art, acting as prehistoric symbols for science and imagination. Like our understanding of dinosaurs, my body of work is evolving simultaneously with the technology of our time. Through the synthesis of artistic language with science and technology, I create dynamic experiences allowing a viewer to witness an extinct living being in its entirety, an otherwise lost experience. By utilizing digital modeling, animation techniques, and interactive video games, my work speaks to the power and diversity of digital media's role in visualizing artifacts …


Exploration Of Life And Decay In Technological Civilization, Mauro Wieser May 2019

Exploration Of Life And Decay In Technological Civilization, Mauro Wieser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reflecting upon humanity's obligatory use of technology and its place in our collective evolution has become my endeavor. These reflections happen in a studio and through a process that influences the fine art objects produced. In turn the objects both celebrate and warn us of the dynamic and immanent enhanced human. I balance the use of modern machining processes with dark humor to comment and raise questions about the coexistence of man and machine in an increasingly absurd environment.


From The Temple To The Synagogue: Exploring Changes In Judaism After The Fall Of The Second Temple, Adam Cohen May 2019

From The Temple To The Synagogue: Exploring Changes In Judaism After The Fall Of The Second Temple, Adam Cohen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"From the Temple to the Synagogue" is an analysis on the influence of external cultures, predominantly the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism on the early rabbis following their failed revolt against Rome and the destruction of the Second Temple in the first century CE. How did the Jewish people react to the upheaval of their center of worship? What can we attribute to the major changes in their religious literature and centers of worship following the demise of their rebellion? Is it possible that what has traditionally been seen as an isolated and uniform group of people did in fact borrow …


Expanding And Shedding The Self: Processing Selfdom Through Painting, Theresa Lucey May 2019

Expanding And Shedding The Self: Processing Selfdom Through Painting, Theresa Lucey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The absurd perpetual struggle, although entirely without hope of resolution, is the key to life's meaning, or perhaps, meaninglessness. The artist must work to live and live to work and find their place in an absurd world. Find joy in the questioning act of art making, make no attempt to escape the meaninglessness through pacifism, and face the chaos with awareness. I employ self-portraiture as a means to dig deeply into my experience and response to living. Self-portraiture morphs along with my experiences and keeps a record of my thought patterns. My body of work is the harvest of my …


Concerning The Perceptive Gaze: The Impact Of Vision Theories On Late Nineteenth-Century Victorian Literature, Lindsay Rushworth May 2019

Concerning The Perceptive Gaze: The Impact Of Vision Theories On Late Nineteenth-Century Victorian Literature, Lindsay Rushworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines two specific interventions in vision theory—namely, Herbert Spencer's theory of organic memory, which he developed by way of Lamarckian genetics and Darwinian evolution in A System of Synthetic Philosophy (1864), and the Aesthetic Movement (1870s–1890s), famously articulated by Walter Pater in The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (1873 and 1893). I explore the impact of these theories on late nineteenth-century fiction, focusing on two novels: Thomas Hardy's Two on a Tower (1882) and Edith Johnstone's A Sunless Heart (1894). These two authors' texts engage with scientific and aesthetic visual theories to demonstrate their anxieties concerning the …


Performing Feminism: Boy Gets Girl During The #Metoo Movement, Amanda Dayton May 2019

Performing Feminism: Boy Gets Girl During The #Metoo Movement, Amanda Dayton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual misconduct is currently a very hot topic in the media. Not only has the #MeToo Movement encouraged many women to come out with their stories of sexual assault, but it has also given women of many different backgrounds an opportunity to band together in support. I will be exploring the role of Theresa Bedell in Boy Gets Girl, by Rebecca Gilman. I will use the given character relationships to build an honest portrayal of the struggles Theresa faces as a woman in the world. I will touch on the mindset behind as well as the effects of victim blaming, …


Performing Bernarda: Activating Power And Identity, Ana Martinez Medina May 2019

Performing Bernarda: Activating Power And Identity, Ana Martinez Medina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The musical Bernarda Alba tells the story of a woman who is confined within the heavily patriarchal and Catholic society that was 1930s Spain. Because of this, I thought it the perfect arena to explore power dynamics on stage. My thesis will explore status, hierarchies, relationships, and identity via the stolid matriarchal character Bernarda Alba. Through analyzing the playwright's words, fleshing out the character, and exploring the character's relationships with others in rehearsal, I have studied how to activate status on stage. There are many sociology theories and psychological studies that can be applied to theatre-making in order to create …


Measuring Player Perceptions Of Freedom And Control In Modded And Unmodded Versions Of Bethesda's Skyrim: A Qualitative Play Study, Mark Kretzschmar May 2019

Measuring Player Perceptions Of Freedom And Control In Modded And Unmodded Versions Of Bethesda's Skyrim: A Qualitative Play Study, Mark Kretzschmar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This interdisciplinary dissertation explores perceptions of control in modded and unmodded versions of Bethesda's sandbox video game Skyrim. Sandbox games are known for greater choice options that suggest greater perceptions of control for gamers. Sandbox games also generally encourage the use of user-generated creations called modifications (mods) that users can download to personalize their games. While we need philosophy to understand and define control as a concept, we also need psychology to understand how users perceive control in media studies. At present, qualitative academic research that measures gamer perceptions of control is non-existent as is research on how users articulate …


The Rhetoric Of Camp: Adam Lambert's Identification And Division Strategies In His American Idol Performances, Isabelle Lanthier May 2019

The Rhetoric Of Camp: Adam Lambert's Identification And Division Strategies In His American Idol Performances, Isabelle Lanthier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes camp style as a rhetorical strategy for Burkean rhetorical identification. Through a case study of Adam Lambert's use of this style on American Idol in 2009, this study produced a rhetorical theory of camp that challenges the typically dialectical relationship between identification and its opposite: division. This study responds both to Susan Sontag's seminal essay on camp style and to other conversations surrounding identification, which revolve around how rhetors avoid division (Borrowman and Kmetz; Jones and Rowland), how rhetors appeal to conflicting audiences (DeGenaro; Helmbrecht and Love), how rhetors create new narratives as a means of identification …


Gamification: Badges And Feedback, Brian Macon May 2019

Gamification: Badges And Feedback, Brian Macon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gamification, the implementation of game elements in a non-game context, is a rapidly growing field of research. One element of gamification that has experienced a rapid growth in popularity is the use of digital badges. Despite widespread adoption in educational settings, there are still gaps in the understanding of their effects on motivation, engagement, learning, and other factors. Furthermore, feedback delivered through badges can include a symbolic reward for successful completion of a task, providing a credential for gaining a skill, or acknowledging mastery of a particular piece of knowledge. This study implemented digital badges in online courses at a …


Hearing The Voices Of The Deserters: Activist Critical Making In Electronic Literature, Laura Okkema May 2019

Hearing The Voices Of The Deserters: Activist Critical Making In Electronic Literature, Laura Okkema

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Critical making is an approach to scholarship which combines discursive methods with creative practices. The concept has recently gained traction in the digital humanities, where scholars are looking for ways of integrating making into their research in ways that are inclusive and empowering to marginalized populations. This dissertation explores how digital humanists can engage critical making as a form of activism in electronic literature, specifically in the interactive fiction platform Twine. The author analyzes the making process of her own activist Twine game The Deserters and embeds the project within digital humanities discourses on activism and social justice, hypertext, electronic …


The Migration Of Indians To Eastern Africa: A Case Study Of The Ismaili Community, 1866-1966, Azizeddin Tejpar May 2019

The Migration Of Indians To Eastern Africa: A Case Study Of The Ismaili Community, 1866-1966, Azizeddin Tejpar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of the Ismaili settlement in Eastern Africa, together with several other immigrant communities of Indian origin, took place in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. This thesis argues that the primary mover of the migration were the edicts, or Farmans, of the Ismaili spiritual leader. They were instrumental in motivating Ismailis to go to East Africa. Although there were other Indian groups from the general geographical area of Western Indian and Gujarat who also migrated to East Africa, the crucial factor in the migration of Ismailis were the edicts or Farmans of the Imams. My thesis argues …


Local Community Influences On Interpretation At Historical Sites And Museums, Jason Fitzgerald May 2019

Local Community Influences On Interpretation At Historical Sites And Museums, Jason Fitzgerald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Local Community Influences on Interpretation at Historical Sites and Museums" is an analysis in how interpretations of historical content are chosen for visitors and to what degree local communities contribute to this decision process. What determines which stories and historical narratives are presented at historical sites and museums? Is the process of determining how to interpret historical events as simple as relating the event to the time and place that corresponds with that particular site? Is it possible that public historical sites and museums reflect the social values and points of interests of the local communities rather than accepted and …


Gender Performance In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Amanda Lee May 2019

Gender Performance In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Amanda Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cross-dressing is a recurrent theme in Shakespeare's comedies, and the theatrical trend of gender bending casting has added an extra layer of complexity to performing his work. How does the gender of the actor affect the performance of a role in Shakespeare? How does it affect the perception of the role, and how can an actor utilize that perception to connect more fully with the audience? How does the female perspective illuminate hitherto unexplored elements of Shakespeare's text and characters? I was inspired by Orlando Shakes' all male production of Twelfth Night to research gender theory in relation to classical …


Fanfiction Reviews And Academic Literacy: Potential Impacts And Implications, Regina Weiler May 2019

Fanfiction Reviews And Academic Literacy: Potential Impacts And Implications, Regina Weiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is meant to elucidate how fanfiction-related activities can incorporate many types of critical review, to call attention to what has been overlooked as significant forms of learning, and to understand and take advantage of the opportunities fanfiction's unconventional writing affords in lieu of more deliberate learning environments. This thesis was undertaken due to the significant gap in work done by aca-fan — a portmanteau of academic and fan— scholars who have strong links to the fanfiction community and culture. The aspects explored are the technical writing skills and techniques demonstrated in fanfiction reviews, the influence of the nontraditional …


The Heralds Of The Dawn: A History Of The Motion Picture Industry In The State Of Florida, 1908-2019, David Morton May 2019

The Heralds Of The Dawn: A History Of The Motion Picture Industry In The State Of Florida, 1908-2019, David Morton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Often overlooked in its contribution to cinema history, the State of Florida has the distinction of being among just a handful of regions in the United States to have a continuous connection with the American motion picture industry. This relationship in turn has produced iconic entertainment that has shaped the state's image to the outside world, while production spending has served as an important booster for local economies across Florida. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how the sometimes cooperative and often contentious dynamics between film and television producers and state politicians have influenced this history of film …


Cme Church In The Memory Of The Civil Rights Movement, Brandon Nightingale Jan 2019

Cme Church In The Memory Of The Civil Rights Movement, Brandon Nightingale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church is a historically black church rooted in the South that was established in 1870. The church had been viewed historically as an "old slavery" church, due to its close relationship to the White Methodist Episcopal Church (formerly Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS). The history of the denomination encouraged the view that CME churches and schools had not been active in the Civil Rights Movement. Closer research into the denomination's archives from 1954, when the church changed its name from "Colored" to "Christian" up to the 1970s, when the movement transitioned, challenges that interpretation. From …


Building Unity Through State Narratives: The Evolving British Media Discourse During World War Ii, 1939-1941, Colin Cook Jan 2019

Building Unity Through State Narratives: The Evolving British Media Discourse During World War Ii, 1939-1941, Colin Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The British media discourse evolved during the first two years of World War II, as state narratives and censorship began taking a more prominent role. I trace this shift through an examination of newspapers from three British regions during this period, including London, the Southwest, and the North. My research demonstrates that at the start of the war, the press featured early unity in support of the British war effort, with some regional variation. As the war progressed, old political and geographical divergences came to the forefront in coverage of events such as Prime Minister Chamberlain's resignation. The government became …


The Ideal King: Brian Boru And The Medieval European Concept Of Kingship, Kody Whittington Jan 2019

The Ideal King: Brian Boru And The Medieval European Concept Of Kingship, Kody Whittington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When one thinks of great kings, and more specifically of great kings of the early medieval period, there are a few names that almost immediately come to mind. Charlemagne is perhaps the first great medieval ruler one may mention. Alfred the Great would likely not be far behind. Both these men represented, for their respective peoples, what a great king should be. The early medieval period was a time of development in thought and in practice for the office of kingship, and the writings and actions of the men of this period would have a profound influence in the following …


I Have Questions, Lorena Matejowsky Jan 2019

I Have Questions, Lorena Matejowsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The poems in this thesis explore mid-life feminism, family, mental illness via anxiety and panic, identities of southern girlhood/womanhood, and the challenges of a social media saturated life. Mothering plays a large part in many of these poems, both embracing it and confronting gendered expectations about it. Telling the truth is explored through poems about white women's complicity in racist systems in the southern United States and how being quiet about it benefits us. Fear and the myriad ways it has manifested in my life is a common thread in this work, especially the fears that accompanied white girls growing …


Legends Of The Fabricated Wild: An Experimental Representation Of Natural Landscapes Through The Utilization Of Analog Film Techniques, Nicholas Twardus Jan 2019

Legends Of The Fabricated Wild: An Experimental Representation Of Natural Landscapes Through The Utilization Of Analog Film Techniques, Nicholas Twardus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Legends of the Fabricated Wild is a feature-length body of work of landscape films. Voice-Destroy, Self-Portrait: Impermanence and the titular Legends of the Fabricated Wild are the experimental films that comprise my body of work. Keep your Distance, a single-channel installation, is a supplemental piece. Legends of the Fabricated Wild frames the complex interaction between a filmmaker and the collective unconsciousness of the natural environment, a theory outlined by Carl Jung, considering the implications and discoveries along the way. Subtle movement and precise compositions provide a transcendental perspective on the natural Florida landscape. Images of landscapes devoid of human figures …


Latinx Student Success In Higher Education: Genres, Racialization, And Generic-Racial Interactions., Delia Garcia Jan 2019

Latinx Student Success In Higher Education: Genres, Racialization, And Generic-Racial Interactions., Delia Garcia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using a transformative mixed methods approach, I explored the ways in which genres and racial projects are constitutive of each other and contribute to the racialization of Latinx students in higher education and result in disparate outcomes for Latinx students. Latinx research participants revealed the myriad ways in which they are racialized throughout the education system and the numerous ways they encounter whiteness on a daily basis. I focused on two genres in particular: the federally mandated race and ethnicity categories and their intersections with Big Data/Predictive Analytics (BDPA) projects at the university. Rhetorical Genre Studies (RGS) and Racial Formation …


The Natural Exile: A Study Of Twenty-First Century Cuban-American Narratives Focusing On The Elderly's Plight, Jasmine Parson Jan 2019

The Natural Exile: A Study Of Twenty-First Century Cuban-American Narratives Focusing On The Elderly's Plight, Jasmine Parson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developed from the similarity between exile theory and age studies, the term "exile" is expanded to a natural form of exile because of the shocking temporal shift that reconstructs social interaction, familial dynamics, and the aging body. Using Heidegger's theoretical work Being in Time, Simon de Beauvoir's The Coming of Age, and Jean Améry's On Aging as insight, this literary analysis captures how the elderly protagonists Goyo from Cristina García's King of Cuba, Máximo from Ana Menéndez's "In Cuba I was a German Shepherd," and Soledad from Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés's "Abuela Marielita" experience a natural exile among society, their family …


Waking Up White: The Search For Black Happiness, Jason Gregory Jan 2019

Waking Up White: The Search For Black Happiness, Jason Gregory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Waking Up White (WUW) is a television pilot written, directed and co-produced by Jason D. Gregory serving as part of his thesis requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in the Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema program at the University of Central Florida. The project attempts to answer the question "what if" by placing the main characters in a "fish out of water" scenario. In WUW a Black family wakes up White and has 30 days to determine if they'd rather return to their cultural roots or stick with the "new skin" that they are in. Upon awakening to their new …


Standing Up Comedy: Analyzing Rhetorical Approaches To Identity In Stand-Up Comedy, Christopher Grabert Jan 2019

Standing Up Comedy: Analyzing Rhetorical Approaches To Identity In Stand-Up Comedy, Christopher Grabert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis addresses contemporary conversations about stand-up comedy and the art-form's capacity for facilitating complex rhetorical decision-making. I examine how stand-up comedians have positioned themselves on-stage through choices pertaining revealing personal behaviors, personas, and beliefs in public settings. Ultimately, I argue that the art of stand-up does not require truth-telling on-stage, and that there exists an implicit contract between performers and audiences which details comedians' license to share falsehoods, exaggerations, and embellishments on-stage without the repercussions that accompany these actions in other discourse settings. Finally, I evaluate how comics have handled this rhetorical "license," with some performers delivering easily identifiable …


The Feminine Margin: The Re-Imagining Of One Professor's Rhetorical Pedagogy--A Curriculum Project, Camila Alvarez Jan 2019

The Feminine Margin: The Re-Imagining Of One Professor's Rhetorical Pedagogy--A Curriculum Project, Camila Alvarez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Writing pedagogy uses techniques that institutionalize dichotomous thinking rather than work against it. Cartesian duality has helped to create the marginalization of people, environments, and animals inherent in Western thought. Writing pedagogy based in current-traditional rhetoric uses a writing process that reinforces the hierarchical structure of Self/Other, Author/Reader, and Teacher/Student. This structure, in conjunction with capitalism, prioritizes the self and financial gain while diminishing and objectifying the other. The thought process behind the objectification and monetization of the other created the unsustainable business and life practices behind global warming, racism, sexism, and environmental destruction. A reframing of pedagogical writing practices …


The Relationship Of English Language Scores On International Students' Academic Success, Rebekah Shbeeb Jan 2019

The Relationship Of English Language Scores On International Students' Academic Success, Rebekah Shbeeb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

International graduate students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are not completing graduate programs at the same rate as domestic graduate students. One of the main differences in the admissions process for international graduate students compared to domestic students is the English language test requirement. The purpose of this study was twofold: to test if the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the (International English Language Testing System) IELTS scores have any statistically significant linear relationships to international graduate students' academic success as defined by their cumulative grade point average (CGPA). Secondly, this study sought to …


'Let Me Lock It Up': A Rhetorical Exploration Of Identity And An Emergent Counterpublic Within The Youtube Beauty Community, Rachel Street Jan 2019

'Let Me Lock It Up': A Rhetorical Exploration Of Identity And An Emergent Counterpublic Within The Youtube Beauty Community, Rachel Street

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In light of calls to study digital composition outside of school-based domains (e.g. Yancey), this project specifically explores a counterpublic in the YouTube beauty community that has arisen in response to the encroachment of and attempts to institutionalize the space. Utilizing iconographic tracking and rhetorical analysis, this study illuminates a network of discourse geared toward a more responsible and educated consumption of makeup and participation within the beauty community. This study found that within the beauty community, a counterpublic has formed in response to a more commodified, product-centered public sphere that has dominated the space and is most associated with …