Digital Commons Network^™

The Robot On The Hill, James Ryan

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

“The Robot on the Hill” is a rogue-like autobattler that procedurally models the state of the individual in the information age. The game abruptly transitions between diverse framings - a hill, a bedroom, a pond, a chessboard, the void - in order to highlight the disjointedness that is present in the informationalizing of self and reality. It dialogues with Byung Chul Han and Heidegger to portray what Han describes as a ‘narrative crisis’ in modernity and the devaluation of experience. When the value of experience diminishes and disintegrates, “all that is left is bare life, a kind of survival.” …

Machines Of The Absurd: Leveraging Generative Ai For Creativity, Humor, And Playfulness, Tyler Sanders

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Machines of The Absurd is a collection of four projects exploring how generative AI can be leveraged for creativity, humor and playfulness.

1. neverOS — A node-based visual playground for interacting with large language models.

2. Other Calc — An iOS app with a calculator interface, where players can “calculate” text instead of numbers.

3. What Must Burn — An experiment where players type in text that can be dragged into a campfire to produce contextually appropriate sound effects.

4. Jazz vs Waffles — A turn-based comedy game, where players battle anything they type in.

Together, these projects make the …

Mille-Feuille Magazine Littéraire, Printemps 2024, Pascale-Anne Brault

Mille-Feuille Magazine Littéraire

No abstract provided.

Athalea: Fear And Hate, Santiago Posada-Jaramillo

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Athalea: Fear and Hate is a single-player 2D role-playing video game (RPG) for PC using pixel art and a minimalistic aesthetic. Through conversations, environmental storytelling, and the main character’s own thoughts, the game explores, through a critical lens, fascist rhetoric and the way that fascists use power in order to help the player to be better equipped to properly understand how fascism operates. Different from traditional portrayals in media that tend to use an easily identifiable set of symbols and historical references, Athalea: Fear and Hate exposes fascism in a different context with the goal of making the core of …

Reflection: Journey To Safety And Belonging: Honoring The Narratives Of Asylees, Maria J. Ferrera

Faculty Professional Development Fellowship

No abstract provided.

Reflection: Coming Of Age(Ncy) On The Migrant Trail: Central American And Mexican Adolescent Journeys In Contemporary Young Adult Literature, Susana S. Martinez

Faculty Research Fellowship

No abstract provided.

Reflection: Black Boston And The Making Of African American Freemasonry: Leadership, Religion, Andfraternalism In Early America, Chernoh M. Sesay Jr.

Faculty Research Fellowship

No abstract provided.

Black Digital Spaces: Theorizing Resistance In The Wake Of Racist Technology, Shannan Moore

Graduate Student Research Fellowship

In the wake of major technological advancement, social media has increasingly become a communal space of daily congregation, particularly for Black people. This paper specifically explores how the Black Diaspora navigates these spaces at a complex intersection of social media and transnational Black histories. I draw from critical Internet studies, Black Diaspora studies, Black feminisms, and media studies to investigate how new technology allows Black folk to engage in conversations about our identity, community, and resistance. Employing a critical ethnographic approach, this paper analyzes online discourse within the Black community about Marvel's Black Panther (2018). This analysis emphasizes the parallels …

Escaping Anti-Haitinismo: Analyzing Anti-Haitianismo In Popular Culture And Its Societal Impact, Laura Carvajal

Graduate Student Research Fellowship

No abstract provided.

The Bracero Program’S Legacy On Its Participants, Lila Nambo

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

The Bracero Program was a bi-nationally sponsored by the U.S. and Mexico which meant to provide labor in the agricultural and industrial sectors of American society during World War II. The program ran from 1942 and 1964 where about 4.5 million Mexican men were contracted to provide labor in the U.S. for a period of time not exceeding six months. There is much documented about the Bracero Program’s history, but there is not a vast amount of sources that focus on the braceros’ personal accounts on their experiences in the program. How the Bracero Program is remembered often doesn’t include …

Writing The Wake: Archives, Absence, And Aesthetics In Black Counter-Historical Thought, Laszlo Katona

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

No abstract provided.

Calladita No Te Ves Más Bonita: Cultural Practices Within Latina Women’S Advocacy, Gabriela Córdova

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

Historically, Latina women-led advocacy groups have faced significant underrepresentation within academia, leading to an erasure of their experiences and contributions. For this reason, it is imperative to take on a thorough analysis that respects the nuances of Latina women's advocacy. In recognizing how their identities enable them to bring about meaningful change, we see the Latina woman's role as an agent of advocacy. Therefore, this exploratory research study investigates the incorporation of cultural practices within two Latina-led organizations in Chicago, Amigas Latinas, and Mujeres Latinas En Acción, from the mid-20th century to the present. I employ Anita Tijerina Revilla's Muxerista …

Disrupting The Gender Script: How Beyoncé’S Lemonade Reimagines A Black Queer Feminine, Samara J. Smith

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

By virtue, Beyonce’s visual album, “Lemonade" can be seen as a form of Black Feminist theorizing as she creates images of the feminine along a personal narrative backdrop of infidelity and healing. To delegitimize controlling images of Black femininity, I will investigate how forms of the Haitian Vodou Lwa Ezili appear in the visual to problematize feminine constructions. Thus, this project aims to confront existing literature that either imposes external definitions of Black femininity or centers these images in its critique. I will take a triangular approach to trace how and where Iwa Ezili appears in Lemonade. By using Jennifer …

Invisible In Plain Sight: A Qualitative Analysis Of The U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study And Contemporary Issues Of Iatrophobia In Black Women, Krystal Morgan

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

The U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study (USPHSSS) is the nation’s most infamous example of biomedical misconduct in the United States. Using the wives and the descendants of the USPHSSS as a case study, this project examines and conceptualizes how the lack of healthcare access and secondhand healthcare the wives and descendants received has had a cumulative impact on Black women and contemporary iatrophobia, using a Black feminist ethical and constructivist theoretical framework. Findings reflect two major themes for contemporary iatrophobia: systemic racism and what Muhjah Shakir terms the cultural constellation of silence.

She Was There Too: Enslaved Black Women, Agency, And Community, Jael Davis

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

Rarely are the experiences of enslaved women prioritized in studying the history of enslavement in the United States. This is particularly true in relation to how black women experienced, survived, and carved out agency in the face of sexual violence. Rather than acknowledge the strength demonstrated by these women, contemporary historiography relegates them to the position of victims. This research intervenes in this practice and argues that enslaved women worked hard to create agency for themselves in the face of sexual violence from those that enslaved them. More specifically, it argues that the presence of a community of other enslaved …

Calladita No Te Ves Más Bonita: Cultural Practices Within Latina Women’S Advocacy | Poster, Gabriela Córdova

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

Historically, Latina women-led advocacy groups have faced significant underrepresentation within academia, leading to an erasure of their experiences and contributions. For this reason, it is imperative to take on a thorough analysis that respects the nuances of Latina women's advocacy. In recognizing how their identities enable them to bring about meaningful change, we see the Latina woman's role as an agent of advocacy. Therefore, this exploratory research study investigates the incorporation of cultural practices within two Latina-led organizations in Chicago, Amigas Latinas, and Mujeres Latinas En Acción, from the mid-20th century to the present. I employ Anita Tijerina Revilla's Muxerista …

The Bracero Program’S Legacy On Its Participants | Poster, Lila Nambo

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

The Bracero Program was a bi-nationally sponsored by the U.S. and Mexico which meant to provide labor in the agricultural and industrial sectors of American society during World War II. The program ran from 1942 and 1964 where about 4.5 million Mexican men were contracted to provide labor in the U.S. for a period of time not exceeding six months. There is much documented about the Bracero Program’s history, but there is not a vast amount of sources that focus on the braceros’ personal accounts on their experiences in the program. How the Bracero Program is remembered often doesn’t include …

Invisible In Plain Sight: A Qualitative Analysis Of The U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study And Contemporary Issues Of Iatrophobia In Black Women | Poster, Krystal Morgan

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

The U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study (USPHSSS) is the nation’s most infamous example of biomedical misconduct in the United States. Using the wives and the descendants of the USPHSSS as a case study, this project examines and conceptualizes how the lack of healthcare access and secondhand healthcare the wives and descendants received has had a cumulative impact on Black women and contemporary iatrophobia, using a Black feminist ethical and constructivist theoretical framework. Findings reflect two major themes for contemporary iatrophobia: systemic racism and what Muhjah Shakir terms the cultural constellation of silence.

Disrupting The Gender Script: How Beyoncé’S Lemonade Reimagines A Black Queer Feminine | Poster, Samara J. Smith

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

By virtue, Beyonce’s visual album, “Lemonade" can be seen as a form of Black Feminist theorizing as she creates images of the feminine along a personal narrative backdrop of infidelity and healing. To delegitimize controlling images of Black femininity, I will investigate how forms of the Haitian Vodou Lwa Ezili appear in the visual to problematize feminine constructions. Thus, this project aims to confront existing literature that either imposes external definitions of Black femininity or centers these images in its critique. I will take a triangular approach to trace how and where Iwa Ezili appears in Lemonade. By using Jennifer …

Writing The Wake: Archives, Absence, And Aesthetics In Black Counter-Historical Thought | Poster, Laszlo Katona

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

No abstract provided.

She Was There Too: Enslaved Black Women, Community, And Agency | Poster, Jael Davis

Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship

Rarely are the experiences of enslaved women prioritized in studying the history of enslavement in the United States. This is particularly true in relation to how black women experienced, survived, and carved out agency in the face of sexual violence. Rather than acknowledge the strength demonstrated by these women, contemporary historiography relegates them to the position of victims. This research intervenes in this practice and argues that enslaved women worked hard to create agency for themselves in the face of sexual violence from those that enslaved them. More specifically, it argues that the presence of a community of other enslaved …

Depaul Digest

DePaul Magazine

College of Education Professor Jason Goulah fosters hope, happiness and global citizenship through DePaul’s Institute for Daisaku Ikeda Studies in Education. Associate Journalism Professor Jill Hopke shares how to talk about climate change. News briefs from DePaul’s 10 colleges and schools: Occupational Therapy Standardized Patient Program, Financial Planning Certificate program, Business Education in Technology and Analytics Hub, Racial Justice Initiative, Teacher Quality Partnership grant, Intimate Partner Violence and Brain Injury collaboration, School of Music Career Closet, Sports Photojournalism course, DePaul Migration Collaborative’s Solutions Lab, Inclusive Screenwriting courses. New appointments: School of Music Dean John Milbauer, College of Education Dean Jennifer …

Donor Profile - Setting The Stage

DePaul Magazine

DePaul alumna Tammy Meyer (MST ’90), a veteran legal and business leader, litigator and accountant, was a first-generation college student who is now supporting first-generation theatre students at DePaul.

Full Issue: Fall 2023

DePaul Magazine

In DePaul Magazine's fall 2023, President Robert L. Manuel unveils his Designing DePaul road map to position the university for monumental impact. We also highlight an innovative program that merges law and tech, an initiative centering humanities in collaborative, community-based interactions, and the ascendance of soprano Janai Brugger (SOM '05) on the international opera stage.

Experiential Humanitiesx

DePaul Magazine

DePaul University's HumanitiesX program promotes project-based learning through innovative community collaborations.

Music In The Liturgy: An Education-Focused Approach, Robert M. Beatty

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This project examines how people engage with music in the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Liturgy. Despite ongoing debates in the field of liturgical music regarding musical style, music may express theological concepts, explore critical historical developments, reflect different cultural influences, and challenge commonly held beliefs. This inquiry explores these dynamics from the standpoints of educational theory and theology by examining the process of 'doing' and ‘receiving’ music in the liturgy. The site for this study was St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Chicago, whose current curriculum-based, liturgical music program developed over the last twenty-five years. Qualitative, case-study research methods, personal …

Tech Time

DePaul Magazine

DePaul is embracing tech more than ever, incorporating innovative devices and approaches into education in all corners of the university. Here are seven ways DePaul provides hands-on experiences with cutting-edge tools that position students and faculty in the forefront of their industries and disciplines.

Well Played

DePaul Magazine

At DePaul's high-tech Esports Gaming Center, students gather to compete in competitive video gaming. As players battle on screen, they depend on skills like teamwork, strategy and sportsmanship as well as inclusion.

An “Other” Experience Of Videogames: Analyzing The Connections Between Videogames And The Lived Experience Of Chronic Pain, Gracie Straznickas

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

In this dissertation I argue for the connections between the lived experience of chronic pain and videogames, exploring what interacts with and influences them. To answer this, I draw on cripistemology as I engage in autoethnography, close-reading and close-gameplay, restorying, mixed methods design, formal interviews, surveys, and inductive coding. I further argue for pushing back against the unhelpful binaries that define the “human” and a false idea of “universal” experience or ability, instead pointing to the intersectionality that better reflects the biopolitics of disability, including both debility and capacity. I engage with these methods in three specific projects that consider …

Reflection: Dna Forensics And Genealogy, Lori Pierce

Faculty Professional Development Fellowship

No abstract provided.