History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons^™

Recollections Of A Tejana Life, Carolina Yáñez

Art Theses and Dissertations

This thesis encompasses the life of a young woman navigating life in Texas through various political and social barriers. My interdisciplinary practice analyzes the historical context of Mexicans in Texas from its Revolutionary period into current injustices. Through fiber, printmaking, and photography I create a visual diary to illustrate what the political has made personal. These works display the beauty of Tejano culture, but also the power struggles that threaten communities I care for, as well as my own existence that persists against far-right wing agendas.

Current politics and government leadership in Texas have inspired me to make artwork calling …

Unveiling: The Exploration Of The Self And Ego Dissolution, Joseph Gonzales

Theses

This project explores self and ego dissolution through painting, engaging with Buddhist notions of no-self (Anatta), Christian Mystical union, and Jungian psychology to challenge the idea of a fixed identity. Through portraiture and figurative representation, the work visually explores impermanence and the tension between the individual and the collective consciousness, utilizing transparency, multiplicity, and symbolism. This research is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach, synthesizing visual art, philosophy, and psychology. By integrating Eastern and Western philosophies, this work expands the discourse on identity in contemporary art, contributing to broader conversations on the self and the ego within wisdom traditions and psychology. …

Nextgen Humanities: A Digital Art History Pedagogical Revolution, Analisa Soverns-Reed

Theses

In response to the urgent need for more accessible, inclusive, and technologically relevant humanities education, the NextGen Humanities project was conceived as a digital initiative to reimagine pedagogical practices within art history and the broader humanities. Traditional perceptions of humanities disciplines as elite and static have contributed to declining engagement, necessitating innovative solutions that integrate open-access resources, digital tools, and inclusive frameworks. This project developed a publicly accessible platform curating free, vetted resources grounded in artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and open educational resources (OER), emphasizing critical engagement, cultural inclusivity, and technological adaptability. Methodologically, NextGen Humanities combined extensive literature …

Presence Through Absence: The Ark Of The Covenant And The Aniconic Image Of God In Early Israelite Religious Art, Natalie Rivas

Theses

This thesis investigates the Ark of the Covenant as a paradoxical visual and theological artifact within early Israelite religious art. While the Israelite tradition has long been characterized as aniconic (eschewing anthropomorphic representations of the divine) the Ark occupied a central role in ritual, worship, and religious identity. Prior scholarship has focused either on the Ark’s narrative function in biblical texts or its formal attributes as a cultic object. However, limited attention has been given to how the Ark embodies divine presence through the visual strategy of absence. This study argues that the Ark does not merely avoid figural representation …

The Queen Of Heaven: Evelyn De Morgan's Transcendence Of The Soul, Sarah Victoria Eller

Theses

This thesis examines the religious iconography in three key paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Evelyn De Morgan, The Angel of Death, The Undiscovered Country, and Lux in Tenebris, and explores how they draw on Early Italian Renaissance visual traditions to depict themes of death and the soul’s transcendence. Recent scholarship has assessed De Morgan’s oeuvre through the feminist lens and emphasized her engagement with Spiritualism and the nineteenth-century revival of Swedenborgian philosophy. The Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli has also been recognized as an influential reference for De Morgan, particularly in her mythologically themed works. This study expands on that scope …

A Kind Of Myth: Infallible Abstraction In The Work Of Perle Fine, Shannon Hadfield

Theses

Unavailable.

Reviving Baybayin: The Pre-Hispanic Writing System Of The Philippines, And Raising Awareness In The United States, Richana K. Stone

Honors Thesis

Baybayin is an Indigenous system of writing in the Philippines that has been preserved, but has seen rapid decline in usage throughout the centuries. This paper explores the history of Baybayin and the methods of reviving the written script that have been suggested and used to reimplement Baybayin into the daily lives of Filipinos. Furthermore, this paper will look at how Lakota and Peruvian recording systems, the winter count and the khipu, respectively, have been preserved and used in modern times. Viewing the history of these groups and how they preserved these writing systems sparks a potential for the adoption …

Double, Double, Toils And Troubles: Analyzing The “Magical” Relationships Between University Leaders’ Personality Traits And Their Self-Efficacy In Leadership Situations, Fay Ludvine Boudreaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This present study investigated the relationship between higher education leaders’ personality traits and their self-efficacy in leadership situations. A total of 151 leaders employed across the nine institutions within the University of Louisiana System completed a survey that prompted them to identify their personal values, traits, and skill sets, as derived from the online Pottermore quiz, the official Harry Potter Hogwarts House sorting instrument. This niche personality metric was chosen to cater to higher education’s evolving landscape, as it welcomes an influx of Millennials into leadership positions. Participants’ responses were eventually recoded to “sort” them into their respective Houses: Gryffindor, …

Framing Queenship: Gender, Power, And Political Representation In Holbein’S Portraits Of Jane Seymour And Anne Of Cleves, Kateryna Chernenko

Theses

This paper explores the intricate relationship between queenship, gender, and political representation as depicted in Hans Holbein’s portraits of Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, two wives of Henry VIII. By analyzing these works within the framework of Tudor England's gender dynamics, we can better understand how Holbein’s portraits transcend mere artistic expression to serve as critical commentaries on the roles of women in a predominantly patriarchal society. Recent scholarly trends emphasize the significance of gender in the interpretation of historical art, revealing how these portraits reflect, challenge, and reinforce the societal constructs of their time. This study focuses on …

An Exploration Of Irish Celtic & Early Germanic Brooches And Their Cultural Functions, Lisa Michele Medlen Mueller

Theses

During the early medieval period in the British Isles, jewelry objects, in particular brooches, served many functions, while simultaneously expressing differing social hierarchies and distinctions. The following analysis investigates the forms, materials, iconography, and symbolism present in brooches created by Irish Celtic and early Germanic peoples from the 7th to the 9th centuries CE, also termed Insular artworks. Additionally, this research examines the performative aspects of early medieval brooches in the British Isles, exploring their social roles as mediators between wearer and viewer. By analyzing specific examples such as the 'Tara' Brooch, Kingston Brooch, Londesborough Brooch, and Strickland Brooch, this …

Beatrice Wanjiku: A Portrait Of Human Vulnerability, Suzanne R. Vuoncino

Theses

Abstract artist Beatrice Wanjiku uses an anatomical composition to illustrate a sense of vulnerability, an element of human identity, in relation to one’s social environment. Going beyond the skin, Untitled excavates the mental and emotional aspects of the human condition and gives expression to experience. By observing her figural composition, examining the foundation of identity theory, and interpreting her use of abstraction, I will describe how Untitled speaks to a message of connectivity through a portrait of human vulnerability. This thesis argues that one’s environment affects the individual and exemplifies how vulnerability is seen as a pervasive aspect of human …

Trembling At The Threshold: Zurbarán's Saints And The Crisis Of Masculine Virtue, Andrew T. Epsilantis

Theses

No abstract provided.

Tel Jezreel's Medieval Crusader Cemetery: A Case Study In Contemporary Burial Practices And Necroviolence Against Infants And Children., Autumn Koehling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 1990s excavation of the archaeological site of Tel Jezreel in the modern nation state of Israel yielded the remains of fifty infants and children, associated with the contemporary Medieval Crusader Church. The Church, built by Knight’s Templar from the Frankish Kingdom served the occupants of Tel Jezreel from the 11^th to the 13^th century and introduced Western Christian burial practices to the local Syriac-Palestinian Christian inhabitants. Burial practices from the surrounding region of the Levant and beyond, into Crusader European cultures, show different forms of burial treatment for infants and children that can be used to understand …

Movement On The Ladder: The Lesbian Avant-Garde In America., Sarah Melloy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the role of the periodical magazine in artistic production of avant-garde ideology, focusing on the ability of print as a medium to distribute poetry, art, literature and discourse of the avant-garde in an underground manner. More specifically, it places the earliest American lesbian periodical, The Ladder, in conversation with the surrealist magazine, Minotaure and the New York Dadaist magazine, Blind Man in order to examine the overlaps in how each publication functioned within their respective movements. I use this positioning to argue that The Ladder is as worthy of scholarly attention as the Surrealist and Dadaist …

“Re-Storying” Anne Shirley And The Adhd Child: A Crip Genealogy Of Anne Of Green Gables, Darian Aleyna Wilson

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the contested nature of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), focusing on its cultural and historical constructions. While ADHD has been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders since 1980, its legitimacy remains a subject of debate across medical, disability studies, and historical scholarship. Using Eli Clare’s critique of diagnosis as a tool rather than a fact, this project examines how ADHD is both pathologized and re-storied within societal and medical discourses. It highlights the tension between medical classifications and lived experiences of those diagnosed with ADHD, particularly in the context of girlhood.

The central …

The Evolution Of The Divine Feminine: How Religious Upheaval Changed Female Devotions, Nicole M. Honeycutt

Institute for the Humanities Master's Papers, Projects, and Capstones

The transformation in the depiction of women in Christian religious art from pre-Reformation through the Counter-Reformation mirrored and molded shifting theological, cultural, and gender paradigms. While much scholarship has addressed the symbolic and doctrinal significance of female figures in sacred imagery, less attention has been paid to how such portrayals influenced women’s own devotional experiences and sense of spiritual agency. This study argues that the religious imagery was not merely a passive reflection of male-dominated ecclesiastical values, but an evolving communicative medium through which women could engage with and reshape their spiritual roles. By analyzing key artworks, patronage trends, and …

Reading Tipu's Tiger: Hybridity And The Sound Of A Silenced Roar, Sarah M. Jackson

Theses

Tipu’s Tiger, a powerful artifact at the nexus of colonialism, cultural preservation, and museum practices, serves as a unique case study of shifting historical interpretations. Originally crafted in Mysore, India as a symbol of resistance against British colonial forces, the object was later repurposed as a trophy of empire. This dual role embodies the tensions central to postcolonial theory, where the meanings of cultural artifacts shift depending on the context in which they are placed. Through the lens of Homi Bhabha’s theory of hybridity, Tipu’s Tiger is understood as a hybrid object, reflecting the complex liminal space between its …

Embodied Intimacy And Social Justice: Patricia Cronin's Memorial To A Marriage, Alex Anne Mattioli

Theses

This paper examines Patricia Cronin’s Memorial to a Marriage (2002) as a pivotal work within her artistic catalogue, one that engages deeply with themes of intimacy, identity, and social justice. Created at a time when same-sex marriage was illegal in the United States, Memorial to a Marriage represents Cronin and her partner, feminist artist, Deborah Kass, in a Classical funerary sculpture, reclaiming the tradition of public monuments to center an LGBTQIA+ experience from memory. Through a critical analysis of Memorial to a Marriage within Cronin’s broader artistic practice, this study explores how the sculpture challenges the conventions of public art …

Reconstructing Art And Evidence: Forensic Architecture In Institutional Settings, Makenzie Smith

Honors Scholar Theses

Forensic Architecture (FA) is a London-based multidisciplinary research collective and human rights agency that uses digital modeling, architectural and spatial analysis, and open-sourced images to investigate and present visual evidence of human rights violations committed by state governments, militaries, and corporations. The team of architects, software developers, filmmakers, investigative journalists, scientists, and lawyers, collaborates with civil society groups, witnesses, and victims to establish a counternarrative in the service of human rights and social justice, exhibiting their investigations in institutional settings as varied as legal courts and parliamentary tribunals, citizen assemblies, mass media, universities, and art museums. My research focuses on …

Quantifying The Transformation Of The Built Environment As A Result Of Cooper River Bridge Construction In Charleston, South Carolina, Catherine Claire Jackson

All Theses

The demolition of historically undervalued vernacular architecture for the construction of transportation projects has created a large-scale, cumulative loss of architectural heritage nationwide. This thesis quantifies the architectural loss caused by the construction of the series of Cooper River bridges in peninsular Charleston and Mount Pleasant. This study assesses the transformation of the built environment as a result of each bridge’s construction by determining the quantity of architectural loss, identifying forms and materials of architectural loss, and differentiating the effects of bridge construction on the more rural Mount Pleasant side compared to the urban peninsular Charleston side. Also assessed in …