Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons^™

Refashioning Style From The Outside-In: A Pakistani Diasporic Response, Sidra Sohail Khawaja

Theses and Dissertations

Pakistan’s traditionalists and modernists hold opposing political, religious, social and nationalist views creating a constant tension within the culture. This tension creates a fashion industry with two extremes, one side reflecting traditional influences and the other reflecting western trends. I address the tension by analysing the craft and context of traditional Pakistani men’s clothing and incorporating traditional construction techniques into garments that reflect aspects of both points of view. In a series of five looks, I extract from influences like Persian, North Indian, Afghani, Colonial and Neo-Colonial, to generate hybridized garments that offer a new perspective, blending traditional elements with …

Driven By Personality: Exploring The Relationship Between Custom Cars And Self-Expression, Tharwa Dalansi

Theses and Dissertations

Custom Car Culture (CCC) is a form of creativity that emerges from personal identities and passions. It involves the restoration, modification and personal adornment of commercially manufactured cars. This process creates a journey, where the enthusiast goes through multiple phases of self-reflection. But due to a lack of local resources, Qatar-based CCC enthusiasts often have to send their cars abroad to Dubai or Japan in order to customize them, relinquishing creative control in the process.

In response to these challenges, based on observations and interviews conducted among actual CCC enthusiasts, I develop a platform for engagement between these enthusiasts and …

Waiting To Exhale, Abigail H. Ogle

Theses and Dissertations

We breathe as a measure of time, it keeps us alive, and fabricates the pattern of our lives. We are punctuated by “snarls,” “glitches,” or moments of irregularity – of trying to catch one's breath, having it taken away, or gasping for it. It is the punctuation of sighs, huffs, sniffs, scoffs, screams, and deep intakes that appear as glitches in the breathing system.

In our daily rhythm of breathing, the presence of the glitch, defined as potentiality, can create space for something unexpected or new to arise. Using the wind from fans and approximately 1,260 square feet of silk, …

Totem Impulse, Tendai T. Mupita

Theses and Dissertations

In this reading, I explore the performative and complexities of indigenous mythologies, cosmologies, and epistemologies, through totems, folklore, architecture, and games. This paper extracts references from indigenous philosophies in thinking about form and image. These forms and images are my sculptures, my installations, and my lines.

Nuff Love: From Me To You, Katherine S. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The thesis exhibition, Nuff Love: From Me to You, explores the profound impact of diasporic memory on identity within the family structure, particularly for those who were born after immigration. This unpacking of memories is achieved through photographs, collages, and installations that reveal the distant and absent attributes that reside within the home. As a second-generation American of Afro-Jamaican descent, this thesis navigates how the dual identity becomes too complex and is never allowed to exist in a binary state. The constant state of in-betweenness between both cultures led to further questioning of selfhood beyond the Caribbean identity maintained by …

Behind The Gate: Syrian Women In Soap Operas - Perception Vs. Reality, Tasnim J. Rahimah

Theses and Dissertations

Syria has witnessed what is known as al-fawra al-drameya, an eruption of drama since 2000. Every year, especially during Ramadan, dozens of Syrian soap operas are aired across the Arab world and beyond, depicting Syrians’ historical struggles as they fought for liberation from the French mandate at the beginning of the 20th century. Although women of those days were a vital part of that liberation movement and had prominent societal roles, these historical fiction soap operas chose to portray only the demure and dismissive female figures and not mention the women who were independent, courageous, and active members of the …

Breaking Bread & Boundaries : Finding Home In Every Bite, Steffi Ann Braganza

Theses and Dissertations

Raised outside of their “passport” countries, Third Culture Individuals (TCIs) often experience a lack of rootedness and belonging, and home is often everywhere and nowhere. Childhood food memories can provide the sense of connection and identity TCIs crave. Four Qatar-raised TCIs, from very different backgrounds share memories of their childhood comfort foods, now hybridized dishes, that reflect their unique third culture experiences. Each dish, in turn, inspired the creation of a bespoke set of cooking /dining ware designed to trigger a specific sensory memory: the sight, smell, touch, or sound associated with the original comfort dish. This specialized cooking/dining ware …

A Constructed Memoir: The History And Heritage Of The Baloch Community In Qatar, Somaia Nahang Dorzadeh

Theses and Dissertations

In the 1960s, when my father was only thirteen years old, he took a perilous journey on a boat alone from Sistan va Baluchestan, Iran, to Qatar, in the hopes of a better life. Like many long-term residents from Balochistan, my father has lived in Qatar for decades, predating the establishment of the modern state of Qatar itself in 1971. His legal position in the country today remains subject to the Kafala system, and his residency is subject to his employment status, which must be renewed each year. In other words, permanency is never guaranteed, nor is future planning.

In …

Frewayni's Garden: Preserving Tigrayan Culture During A Period Of Ethnocide, Gabrielle F. Tesfaye

Theses and Dissertations

The recent and ongoing genocidal war in Tigray, Ethiopia, has witnessed the destruction and looting of countless historical religious sites, ancient manuscripts, and artifacts, leaving Tigray’s remaining cultural heritage extremely vulnerable. Such cultural loss erases a shared understanding across generations, robbing them of their history and identity. My work contributes to the safeguarding of Tigray’s cultural heritage and collective memory, informed by literature on cultural preservation efforts in post-war societies, and a series of interviews with Tigrayans in the diaspora and in Ethiopia.

The outcome of this thesis is embodied in a series of distinct jebenas, traditional Tigrayan clay coffee …

The Living Legends Of Sholoukh – شلوخ الأساطير Facial Scarification In Sudan, Ayah S. Elnour

Theses and Dissertations

Sholoukh — ritual face scarring—is a dying art form in Sudan.

Used to distinguish members of one tribe from another,

Sholoukh reflects the tribal pride of an individual. In the past,

sholoukh was seen as important as having a passport for a tribe

member, however, it was not always applied by choice. Using

just a razor blade, the wisest, most senior tribal elder would scar

the face of a child, initiating them into the tribe for life.

As this tribal art form fades away, the dwindling Sholoukh-bearers

have become living legends in Sudan. To honor them, I create

a collage …

“This Ain’T Just A Rap Song”: 2pac, Sociopolitical Realities, And Hip Hop Nation Language, Leah Tonnette Gaines

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

2Pac’s music was not merely rap songs. His music was and continues to be a platform for communicating important messages and concerns with his audiences. To relay these messages, he often used Hip Hop Nation Language (HHNL). In this research, I will conduct a linguistic analysis to illustrate how 2Pac’s music communicated sociopolitical realities through his use of HHNL. To construct possible answers for the questions that guided this work, the researcher transcribed, coded, and analyzed a sample size of 2Pac’s music. From the sample of songs used, the researcher was able to detect three common themes throughout, namely relaying, …

Foreword, Travis Harris

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Foreword to volume 9 issue 1.

Funk What You Heard: Hip Hop Is A Field Of Study, Journal Of Hip Hop Studies

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

The complete general issue of volume 9 issue 1.

Funk What You Heard: Hip Hop Is A Field Of Study, Travis Harris, Scott "Lyfestile" Woods, Dana Horton, M. Nicole Horsley, Shayne Mcgregor

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

“Funk What You Heard” is a beaconing call to all scholars who engage with Hip Hop studies. This article lays out the ways in which Hip Hop studies should properly respond to the wave of oppressions currently pounding the world. With several key date markers in place for Hip Hop studies, Tricia Rose’s Black Noise in 1994 and Murray Foreman and Mark Anthony Neal’s That’s the Joint in 2004, “Funk What You Heard” charts the path forward for the future of Hip Hop studies. Black Noise provided the original blueprint for studying Hip Hop and That’s the Joint! stamped “hip-hop …

Hustle In H-Town: Hip Hop Entrepreneurialism In Houston, Brittany L. Long

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Imagine a sprawling, overheated American megalopolis that epitomizes diversity and segregation in one of the world’s youngest countries. Despite Houston’s history of structural racism and segregation, Houston Hip Hop entrepreneurs built communities and created storied businesses that culminate in a sense of local pride and Hip Hop identity that has not been replicated in the same manner in any other city. An examination of thought-provoking existing scholarship about the Hip Hop South and Hip Hop in Houston, as well as an examination of existing and collected primary sources (interviews) allow me to demonstrate two things: Hip Hop entrepreneurialism is a …

It’S “Hip Hop,” Not “Hip-Hop”, Tasha Iglesias, Travis Harris

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

“It’s ‘Hip Hop,’ Not ‘hip-hop’” explains how two Hip Hop scholars, Tasha Iglesias and Travis Harris, collaborated to get the official academic spelling of Hip Hop changed from “hip-hop” to “Hip Hop.” While they were graduate students, they grew frustrated with reading numerous academic texts that did not represent Hip Hop in the same way the culture did outside of academia. Iglesias and Harris are Hip Hop and involved with the culture outside of the classroom. The clash between these two worlds led them to petition the American Psychological Association and eventually speak with Merriam Webster dictionary to change the …

Hip Hop And Spoken Word Therapy In School Counseling: Developing Culturally Responsive Approaches Book Review, Kalyn T. Coghill

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Hip Hop and Spoken Word Therapy in School Counseling: Developing Culturally Responsive Approaches by Ian Levy maps out the ways in which school counselors can incorporate Hip-Hop into their counseling practices in the K-12 school system. Levy provides examples of lessons they crafted specifically for this type of pedagogy and breaks down Hip Hop's contribution to education and counseling.

Chronicling Stankonia The Rise Of The Hip Hop South Book Review, Brittany L. Long Ms.

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Book review of Chronicling Stankonia The Rise of the Hip Hop South

Less Water, More Holy: Tools For Sustainable Ablution, Faheem Khan

Theses and Dissertations

Prayer is an important part of life for many people, whether it takes the form of meditation or talking to God. Muslims pray five times a day, and before each prayer, they first clean themselves by performing ritual ablution (wudu). The eight-step purification process of wudu cleanses the body from head to toe. The Hadiths of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim tell us the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ needed just one mudd of water (650ml) to complete wudu, but most people consume many times that amount—four-to-seven liters is more common today.

To visualize and better understand the nature …

Eadah: Tools For Celebrating Qatari Wellness Rituals, Abdulrahman Al Muftah

Theses and Dissertations

Friday prayer is an essential congregational practice in Muslim communities. To prepare for Friday prayer, worshippers groom and cleanse themselves ahead of time, according to Islamic ablution rituals, and dress in their best attire.

Eadah is a collection of contemporary tools designed to facilitate the pre-prayer cleansing ritual, inspired by traditional Qatari remedies and wellness practices. The tools reflect three balanced considerations: touch, meditative making, and cultural preservation. They are used to prepare natural ingredients through mindful making that produce remedies with stimulating scents and sensations through touch. An emphasis on cultural preservation differentiates Eadah from other tools offered by …

The Silent Rage Of Being Loved, Michelle R. Albertson

Theses and Dissertations

The Silent Rage of Being Loved is a multimedia installation working primarily with photography, video, and sculpture. It explores the nuanced ways in which memory, grief, and veneration manifest physically in my life through objects and my body. My proposed thesis installation is intended as a place of refuge for my audience amongst a shrine-like space and for us, collectively, to reexamine and widen the ways in which we experience mourning and grief.

Reclaiming The Appropriated Space Through Care, William P. Glaser

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis navigates the complex and (at times) frustrating experience of balancing caregiving and art making while attempting to converge both practices into one. The collaboration of caregiving and art making serves as a potential solution for those that struggle with the seemingly unreconcilable stratification of both activities.

Spectrum Of Shit, Hannah Hiaasen

Theses and Dissertations

Contending with the loss of a parent to a mass shooting in their workplace, a newsroom, I find myself suspended in time, in an office. Post-its, fans, button-ups, snow globes, clipboards, reporters notebooks, scrap paper, jot downs, keyboards hold me up. I crave the comfort of repetitive cumulative hand work. Quilting, weaving, and cutting away help me breathe, haptically process and memorialize these grieving objects, this grieving person. Weed-wacking towards intimacy, my work employs a range of materials to mourn the mundanity of a workday, fantasize transformative justice, and steward embodied grief to the surface. My only speed is slow-- …

Cadent Diffusion: Permeating The Membrane, Isabella M. Kubo

Theses and Dissertations

cadent diffusion: permeating the membrane explores and documents KUBO's journey of cultivating a sustainable and curious artistic practice during their Master’s program in Richmond, Virginia (Powhatan Land) from the Fall of 2020 to the Spring of 2022.

KUBO's practice is the affirmation between life and change in an attempt to work along the forces of singularity; to free lines, scores, concepts, and events from structures that otherwise bind them.The cadent diffusion is the rhythm in this force. Or perhaps, it is the force itself.

Roots And Webs And Nets And Branches And Bulletin Boards And Banners And Newsletters And Mutual Aid Text Threads And Kin And Caretakers And Porches And Poems Of Today And Spaces Of Survival, Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo

Theses and Dissertations

As I welcome Richmond, VA into my family, I find myself needing to make roots and webs and nets and branches that ground me, that place myself as a Black, queer, mixed race, artist, activist, educator, storyteller, and cultural worker in this city. I am called to the streets before I am called to my studio. I question what it means to be a part of an institution that is slowly eating this city up. I become a story collector. I need to know where I am and whose land I now call home.

Metamosque – Envisioning The Mosque As A Virtual Public Space, Alaa Albarazy

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the mosque was not only a space for a communal prayer but also a place for building a community. Today, however, with conflicts and diseases fragmenting society, people are less able to gather physically in large spaces. Out of necessity, people rely on technology to get together and interact virtually. In this context, my research challenges the notion of the mosque as a physical space, proposing, instead, its extension into virtual space. Recent global events pose the question: Can the metaverse offer an opportunity for the mosque to reassert itself as a public space. I propose that a MetaMosque …

Again Black Again, Muthi Reed

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

AGAIN BLACK AGAIN

by muthi reed, M.F.A

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Program Director: Stephen Vitiello

Committee: Semi Ryu, Orla McHardy, MK Abadoo, Cara Benedetto

AGAIN BLACK AGAIN. ABA-BBABB is documentation of a reparations practice and articulations for a reparations manifesto devised by the artist. Reparations begins with the self. Singing truth to the self. Talking with the self. The thesis organizes around the problems of surveillance and myth making about Black people and the subsequent source of self-regard, conjure and social dreaming …

Clan In Da Front - Wu-Tang: An American Saga Review, Marcus Smalls

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

@MarcusSmalls is a Teaching Artist and writer who uses his lifelong love of Hip Hop to moderate creative environments around spirituality and identity. He has been a writer in residence at Teachers & Writers Collaborative and a WritersCorps fellow at Bronx Council on the Arts and is the recipient of the 2021 St. Luke’s Alumni Artistic Achievement Award. Marcus has workshopped with award winning authors, M. Evelina Galang at VONA/Voices in 2015 and A. Naomi Jackson in Catapult’s Master Class in 2017. Marcus is currently featured on The MixTape Museum website. Marcus is a Teaching Artist for the Brooklyn Academy …

Give Me Body! Race, Gender, And Corpulence Identity In The Artistry And Activism Of Queen Latifah, Shannon Cochran

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Celebrity Queen Latifah’s body is one of the most observable Black female bodies in contemporary United States culture. Using Black feminist theory, textual analysis, and Hip Hop theory, I examine Queen Latifah’s Hip Hop corpulence bodily and narrative performativity. That is, I identify her usage of her body in different and varied spaces. Even though Queen Latifah’s weight has fluctuated throughout her career, she has centered her body in spaces that have previously been hostile to corpulent, defined here as simply meaning larger and nonconforming, bodies; particularly, corpulent Black female bodies. I build on the work of Black feminist scholars, …

“A Different Type Of Time”: Hip Hop, Fugitivity, And Fractured Temporality, Pedro Lebrón Ortiz

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

In this article, I seek to explore Hip Hop as an expression of marronage. I identify marronage as an existential mode of being which restitutes human temporality. Slavery and flight from slavery constituted two inextricable historical processes, therefore logics of marronage must also constitute contemporary human experience. I argue that Hip Hop offers a distinct way of affirming and expressing one’s existence through what has been called a “maroon consciousness.” In the same way that maroons created new worlds free from the tyranny of slavery, Hip Hop offers the Hip Hoppa a space free from colonial logics.