Planetary/Peripheral Appalachia,
2025
Georgia Tech
Planetary/Peripheral Appalachia, Matthew Halm
Critical Humanities
One of the characters in William Gibson’s science fiction novel The Peripheral describes the timeline-manipulating technology around which the story turns as a way of “third-worlding” the past. By sending information back and forth across time, the users of the technology, in our future, outsource work to inhabitants of their past (our near-present). An entire world becomes the “third world” for another world, home to cheap labor and expendable resources. The characters this happens to in the novel live in Appalachia, a choice that works in part to ground the otherwise cosmic scale of timeline manipulation and global catastrophe while …
The Extraction Unconscious: Solar-Powered Utopias In Catching The Sun (2015) And In The Name Of Lithium (2021),
2025
University of Toronto
The Extraction Unconscious: Solar-Powered Utopias In Catching The Sun (2015) And In The Name Of Lithium (2021), Isidora Cortés-Monroy
Critical Humanities
By comparing the depictions of future energy regimes in the two ecodocumentaries, Catching the Sun (2015) and In the Name of Lithium (2021), this article explores representations of post-carbon futures from the US and Argentina. Read closely alongside Frederic Jameson’s notions of utopias, the article delineates the extent to which a solar powered future challenges and reiterates current neocolonial extractivist structures. Basing myself on Patricia Yaeger’s concept of an “energy unconscious,” I argue that these solar utopias maintain an “extraction unconscious” that continues to produce sacrifice zones where primary commodities needed for the energy transition can be found. By analysing …
Kimball Hall, 1970: Collective Organizing Through Print Production,
2025
CUNY New York City College of Technology
Kimball Hall, 1970: Collective Organizing Through Print Production, Jen Hoyer
Publications and Research
This article examines the May 1970 occupation of Kimball Hall, a university administrative building at New York University, and specifically of its basement printshop. The group that came together in this space referred to itself as the Kimball Commune; they used university equipment and resources to print material in support of the strike and related movements, and they invited students, activists, and the general public to come into the printshop and produce material with them. I demonstrate how the Kimball Commune provides a concrete example of how a collaborative radical printing project isn’t just about creating alternative media. It also …
Queer Ga(Y)Ze And Desire In Flesh And Pink Narcissus,
2025
CUNY New York City College of Technology
Queer Ga(Y)Ze And Desire In Flesh And Pink Narcissus, Kel R. Karpinski
Publications and Research
Through their portrayals of gay-for-pay hustlers, the films Flesh and Pink Narcissus, offer an expansive view of queerness and illuminate the queer history of Times Square.
Unveiling Injustices In Theodore Dreiser's “An American Tragedy” And Susan Glaspell's “A Jury Of Her Peers”,
2025
University of South Carolina
Unveiling Injustices In Theodore Dreiser's “An American Tragedy” And Susan Glaspell's “A Jury Of Her Peers”, Athena Maria Dotsikas
Theses and Dissertations
Crime and its representation in new age media is seeping into every avenue of discussion nowadays. The influence of crime is most notably evident in literature, where real cases inspired fictional novels and short stories that explore social issues and injustices. Since the 16th century, true crime has captivated human curiosity while also shedding light on the United States legal and justice system. Ultimately, true crime narratives provide a deeper understanding of human psychology and the reasons behind a number of gruesome and horrific incidents. This thesis investigates how Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy and Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of …
Acting Religion: Analyzing The Aids Crisis Through A Religious Lens,
2025
Chapman University
Acting Religion: Analyzing The Aids Crisis Through A Religious Lens, Anya Thaovan Nguyenkhoa
Voces Novae
No abstract provided.
United States Governmental Assessments Of The Rise Of Communism In And Around The Republic Of South Africa,
2025
Chapman University
United States Governmental Assessments Of The Rise Of Communism In And Around The Republic Of South Africa, Stuart Ledbetter
Voces Novae
No abstract provided.
Shaping The Fabric Of Society: Middle Class Women As Imperial Consumers Of Calico In Pre-Revolutionary America,
2025
Swarthmore College
Shaping The Fabric Of Society: Middle Class Women As Imperial Consumers Of Calico In Pre-Revolutionary America, Elsa Cassell Toland
Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal
Through the Calico Acts of 1700 and 1721, Britain repositioned its Atlantic colonies as distinct imperial consumers of imported calico cloth from India. The resulting expansion of the cotton textile trade had profound impacts for class and society in pre-revolutionary America, as middle class consumers used calico to express their purchasing power, refined taste, and social identity. These patterns of class expression were especially relevant for middle class women. As the primary consumers of imported calico, women directed purchases of luxury textiles for their households in order to shape their families’ identities as members of the middle class. Ultimately, as …
The Current 'Ban-Demic': School Book Bans In The U.S.,
2025
Florida Atlantic University
The Current 'Ban-Demic': School Book Bans In The U.S., Barbara Perez, Jane Caputi
Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy
This essay examines the alarming rise of U.S book. Our stance is grounded in our experiences as educators and academics in Florida, the state with the highest number of book bans and legislation that has significantly impacted education. Book bans infringe on freedom of expression, right to access information, = students’ right to education, and real harm to targeted communities (i.e., LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities), as the bans contribute to the ongoing marginalization and stigmatization of these communities. Diverse representation is key in literature and education. Banning popular culture texts from the classroom stifles critical thinking, social dialogue, and, ultimately, …
The Islamic Orient In Antebellum America: The Influence Of Edgar Allan Poe In Contemporary Arabic Literature,
2025
University of Denver
The Islamic Orient In Antebellum America: The Influence Of Edgar Allan Poe In Contemporary Arabic Literature, Sohaib Alkamal
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation posits a comprehensive overview of the debate about Orientalism, particularly early American depictions of the Islamic Orient. The study investigates the antebellum American portrayal of the Islamic Orient, focusing on Edgar Allan Poe’s Orientalist readings. While Said’s Orientalism concentrates heavily on aspects of power in West-East relations throughout history, this study expands on several aspects of Said’s book. This study provides a new approach to exploring the field of Orientalism by giving a voice to Arabic sources that are absent in Said’s Orientalism and rarely known to Western audiences. Such sources are medieval Islamic sources, which include phantasies …
Black And Autistic In Neo-Nationalist America,
2025
The University of Illinois at Chicago
Black And Autistic In Neo-Nationalist America, Timotheus Gordon Jr
Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture
In "Black and Autistic in a Neo-Nationalist America," Timotheus “T.J.” Gordon, Jr. explores the intersectional challenges faced by Black autistic individuals in a socio-political climate marked by rising neo-nationalism. Drawing on personal experiences and historical contexts, Gordon navigates the metaphorical tightrope of double consciousness, as articulated by W.E.B. DuBois, to highlight the precarious existence of those who do not conform to monolithic identities. The essay critiques the melting pot analogy of American culture, advocating instead for a pluralistic society that recognizes and values diverse identities. Through a blend of autobiographical narrative and scholarly analysis, Gordon underscores the systemic marginalization of …
Midwestern Landscapes, Immigrant Hands: Swedish Artists And The Regionalist Movement,
2025
Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois
Midwestern Landscapes, Immigrant Hands: Swedish Artists And The Regionalist Movement, Grace Finney
Celebration of Learning
The Regionalist movement in American art attempted to define an authentic national identity through depictions of the American landscape, rural life, and working-class values and communities. From the mid-19th to early 20th century, over a million Swedes immigrated to the United States, many of whom settled in the Midwest, a region frequently depicted by Regionalist artists. Swedish immigrant artists captured the beauty of the same landscapes, portrayed similar rural values, and even created public art, all of which are defining elements of the Regionalist movement. Their artistic expressions align with the themes of Regionalism, yet they remain absent from the …
Spirometry: For The Winds In Us,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
Spirometry: For The Winds In Us, Kendall Allison
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Spirometers are devices used to measure lung capacity. This capstone is a creative study of what restores our breathing aptitude as a response to the suffocating and alienating consequences of whiteness for people racialized as white. The project is a sequence of lyric essays. The first lyric essay frames whiteness as a condition of exile and examines the cultural and emotional currents that shore it up. I use exile as a frame to emphasize the intensity of the spiritual and cultural alienation that people racialized as white experience. I also contextualize the dis-ease of suicide in my own lineage, and …
The Incubus: Bourgeois Social Control And The White Racial Identity
Theodore W. Allen’S Ontological Critique And Epistemological Breakthrough 1965-1975,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
The Incubus: Bourgeois Social Control And The White Racial Identity Theodore W. Allen’S Ontological Critique And Epistemological Breakthrough 1965-1975, Sean I. Ahern
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Theodore W. Allen (1919-2004) was a proletarian autodidact, former coal miner, and member of the Communist Party from 1939-1958. Deeply influenced by the Civil Rights and Black Liberation Movements and his reading of W. E. B. Du Bois’s Black Reconstruction in the early 1960s, Allen developed a critique of what he termed the “White Blindspot” in the eyes of most U. S. labor historians who had omitted the Black chattel laborers from the proletariat. This omission on the part of both Marxist and non-Marxists constituted, in Allen’s view, the original sin of U. S. labor historiography, which had inadvertently inhibited …
Love And Power: Narrative Resistance In The Contemporary Literature And Film Of The Americas,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
Love And Power: Narrative Resistance In The Contemporary Literature And Film Of The Americas, Tania Nicolaou
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This project analyzes the ways in which narratives of love, care, and intimacy support sociocultural change through cinema, literary fiction, and memoir in Indigenous, immigrant, and diasporic communities in the United States, Haiti, and Cuba. The project’s intervention revolves around how we compare and examine narratives of the marginalized, underrepresented, and misremembered in a way that does not focus primarily on pain and trauma, but on experiences that embody radical change, healing, and a shift in the colonial matrix of power. The chapters consider love as constructed through family, identity, memory, and nationhood, all in relationship to what love looks …
Cuny In The News: A History Of Reporting On The Humanities At The City University Of New York,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
Cuny In The News: A History Of Reporting On The Humanities At The City University Of New York, Jacqueline R. Cahill
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This project compiles newspaper articles concerning humanities at the City University of New York, placing them on a timeline to establish patterns and changes within media reporting and public perception. The archival research of this project explores four distinct eras, grouped around major events in the history of the university: 1961-1971, for the founding of the university and open admissions struggle; 1980-1990, for the response to the ‘70s fiscal crisis and introduction of the Board of Trustees; 2000-2010 for the post-open admissions era and the centralization of CUNY; and 2020-present, for COVID and a new fight for racial equity. Examining …
Our Relentless Objectification Of Native Americans: As Exemplified By Louise Erdrich And Cherie Dimaline,
2025
Kennesaw State University
Our Relentless Objectification Of Native Americans: As Exemplified By Louise Erdrich And Cherie Dimaline, Lena Kozubek
The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research
Indigenous communities relentlessly challenge the normalized commodification of their culture and beliefs. One way they actively address these oppressions is through storytelling. Their accounts educate readers and encourage them to re-frame modern perspectives and how stereotypes affect Native communities. Their stories are not a simple myth; instead, they serve as an active participant to combat actions that treat Indigenous people as an anomaly. We should treat Native Americans as human beings who invariably struggle with present-day degradations, commodification, and continual displacement. Indigenous authors reclaim their narrative by using their historical context and storytelling skills to dissect the parallels between fact …
Counter-Hegemony In The Captive State: Recasting Katrina’S Carceral Legacy Through Conjuncture,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
Counter-Hegemony In The Captive State: Recasting Katrina’S Carceral Legacy Through Conjuncture, Joseph S. Muratore
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This thesis traces the historical development and contemporary manifestations of carceral power in Louisiana, arguing that racialized systems of control—from slavery and convict leasing to mass incarceration—have been sustained through shifting alliances of political and economic elites. Using The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) and its exhibit Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration as a foundational timeline, this study demonstrates how Bourbonism forged a regional bloc that institutionalized racial domination through incarceration and labor exploitation, later reconstituted through neoliberal policies of abandonment, privatization, and militarization. I chose to focus on Hurricane Katrina because its aftermath reflects many …
Podcast: One To Grow On – Why Black Studies Matter When Working And Living In Black Communities,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
Podcast: One To Grow On – Why Black Studies Matter When Working And Living In Black Communities, Celia E. Ceballos
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This paper examines the transformative potential of Black Studies in enhancing community work within Black and Brown communities in New York City. The research is driven by the author's firsthand experiences and the realization of the importance of Black Studies, which was largely absent from earlier education. Through the interdisciplinary approach of the Graduate Center’s MALS program, the author has gained a deeper understanding of key topics such as the legacy of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movements, and the ongoing struggle for racial justice. This journey inspired the creation of a capstone project, …
American Utopia: The Evolution Of David Byrne’S Viewpoint Of America From 1977 To Present,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
American Utopia: The Evolution Of David Byrne’S Viewpoint Of America From 1977 To Present, Morgan A. Prince
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
David Byrne is a multimedia artist known primarily as the lead singer and main songwriter for the new wave band Talking Heads. Throughout Byrne’s career he has continually written about America and Americans. This thesis traces his writings about America from the beginning of Talking Heads to his most recent projects. In doing so, the thesis puts forward that Byrne’s opinion on America has changed from one that is centered on the American people to one that is instead focused on American institutions. Additionally, the thesis traces how Byrne’s work has evolved from idealization to realism, as his early work …
