Digital Commons Network^™

Who Tells Our Stories?: An Analysis Of Lgbtqia2s+ Community-Museum Collaboration In Northeastern Wisconsin, Frances Kerkhof

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, histories of LGBTQIA2S+ individuals have been excluded from mainstream conversations and censored from public records. This exclusion was evident in how LGBTQIA2S+ history is retold in museum spaces. Over the past few decades, public institutions have shifted how LGBTQIA2S+ histories are communicated, with efforts to include more diverse histories and perspectives. During the summer of 2025, I conducted a museum ethnography of the Neville Public Museum’s Telling Our Stories: LGBTQ+ Voices of Northeastern Wisconsin to answer the research question: How does community engagement enhance the representation of the LGBTQIA2S+ community in a local museum in Northeastern Wisconsin? Through this …

Difficult History During Difficult Times: Amache Junior Rangers, Katelyn Morkovsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My research aims to understand approaches to teaching difficult histories to children at cultural heritage institutions. To do this, I examined the creation process of the Amache Junior Ranger booklet that launched at the site in the fall of 2025. Amache, a WWII Japanese American incarceration center, presents significant interpretive challenges in balancing the traumatic nature of the site with age-appropriate content as well as highlighting the agency people exercised without losing the gravity of the situation. In addition to how the booklet was made, I use my research to situate the booklet in the social and political climate in …

Documenting Death: A Question Of Sovereignty In The Cairo Geniza, Thomas Adkins

Theses and Dissertations

How can death offer a case study for the question of sovereignty in eleventh to thirteenth century Egypt as it was performed by sovereigns, officials, and subjects alike, and, in this context, how can the documentary practices preserved in the Geniza be understood as an instrument to perform sovereignty? This thesis uses death as a case study in the same way that scholars of the medieval Islamic world have studied taxation, administration, and ceremonials to understand sovereignty as it was performed by the state, officials, and subjects. This performance of sovereignty by each implicated actor left a rich documentary trail, …

They, The People, Ammel Sharon

Socio-Legal Review

This essay engages with Rohit De and Ornit Shani’s Assembling India’s Constitution by situating it within a broader conceptual history of “the people.” While the book offers a compelling account of participatory constitution-making, the essay suggests that it opens up further questions about the conceptual and historical conditions shaping the people as a political subject. Drawing on contemporary political theory on populism, the essay explores how politics invokes the people through affective and performative practices alongside constitutional forms.

From Peril To Perseverance: Dr. Arthur C. Parker And The Seneca Arts Project, Brennan Ciccolone

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Like many Native people, the Haudenosaunee were subjected to culturcide and assimilation using residential schools like the Thomas Indian School in the late 19th and early 20th century. During this time, in 1925, the Seneca archaeologist Dr. Arthur C. Parker was hired as the director of the Rochester Museum and Science Center. Parker used his museum position to uplift and preserve Haudenosaunee arts and culture. This paper focuses on his Seneca Arts Project (1935-1941), which gathered art and artifacts from both ancient and contemporary Haudenosaunee members. This project explores how Parker’s work was used to help revitalize and honor Native …

Regimes Of Pain: Violence, Silence, And The Reproduction Of Power In Indonesia, Andi Achdian, Erna Ermawati Chotim

Jurnal Politik

This article examines political violence in Indonesia as a continuing mode of governance that extends beyond periods of open repression. Focusing on three historical episodes—the mass violence of 1965–1966, militarised rule in Aceh during the Military Operations Zone, and the racialised violence of May 1998—it argues that violence does not disappear after formal repression ends, but is reorganised within everyday life through bodily injury, social silence, fear, and learned endurance. To explain this process, the article develops the concept of regimes of pain, defined as forms of power that produce and normalise bodily suffering in order to sustain political order. …

Kitchen Table Press: A Case Study Of Regression To The Neoliberal Mean, Alaina Disalvo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the idealistic founding of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1980 and its slow downfall, culminating in the cession of ownership of the Press to a university in 1992. It traces the ideological development of Kitchen Table Press’s key founders, Barbara Smith and Audre Lorde, and their respective relationships to the ideologies of other renowned feminist figures of the era, specifically June Jordan and Adrienne Rich. It examines the history of the Press through historical, intersectional, affective, and socialist lenses. This thesis argues that neoliberal pressures can bend even the most radical organizations away from their …

Conga Santiaguera: A Century Of Innovation And Competition, Nick Herman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Santiago de Cuba is home to the island’s biggest, oldest, and most famous carnival.  Any local resident will confirm that “sin conga no hay carnaval (without conga there is no carnival).” In Santiago, conga refers to a vibrant street procession, the music that drives it, and the ensemble that makes the music.  Conga Santiaguera: A Century of Innovation and Competition presents a musical history of the conga from roughly 1910 to 2010.  This project, https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/conga employs an eBook, musical analysis, oral histories, and audiovisual media to show how the conga has been constantly reinvigorated by innovation, competition, and Afro-Diasporic …

Beyond The Veil Of Modernity: René Guénon, Prophet Of The Metapolitical Imaginary, Frederic Colier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Heralded by some as one of the greatest intellectuals of the 20th century, French metaphysician René Guénon (1886-1951) is also the controversial father of Primordial Tradition, a metaphysics designed to remedy the decline of Western civilization. Guénon viewed the West in the grip of a prolonged cycle of degeneration. He sought to implement a pseudo-authoritarian spiritual reset that required a total rejection of its Western intellectual heritage and an embrace of Eastern doctrines.

Focusing on his landmark book The Crisis of the Modern World (1927), the dissertation examines how Guénon implemented his controversial reset. After outlining the religious, cultural, and …

Rethinking Pakistan Studies: The Grounds Of Regional Knowledge After South Asia, Zoya Sameen

FAS Pakistan

This article rethinks Pakistan Studies as both a pedagogical project and a field of knowledge by examining the limits of history as a tool of legitimation. It argues that in the public sphere, history often serves to authorize the present, and shows how Pakistan Studies has historically operated within this framework. At the same time, the article suggests that this condition opens up another possibility: to understand history not as passive inheritance but as an active demand upon the present. Seen in this light, Pakistan Studies emerges not as a stable body of knowledge but as a series of shifting …

The Maghrebi Silk Road: A Medieval Exploration, Malak Ouammou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Maghrebi Silk Road: A Medieval Exploration is an interdisciplinary historical examination of a variety of intellectual and material cross-cultural interactions and connections between Asia and the Maghreb from 900 to 1492. It primarily revolves around agriculture, sericulture, and immaterial and material culture, with an emphasis on knowledge production and dissemination. In it, I focus on the Mediterranean endpoint of the Silk Road network, illustrating the Maghrebi Silk Road through an exploration of various case studies such as rice, silk, and storytelling that demonstrate the role of and the extent to which these “secondary” Silk Road routes existed and were …

“Ese Dia Que Se Va El Patron An Hecho Fiesta”.* Historicities Of Successful Resistance Against Hacienda Bosses Among The Kukama (Peru, 1933-1945), Arno R. Holl

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

This paper analyzes two cases of resistance by Kukama workers within the debt slavery system of habilitación in the Peruvian Amazon during the first half of the twentieth century. It discusses the similarities and differences between the two cases, and positions the workers and their accounts of events and agency within the historical, social and cosmological framework of the time and region. Through the examples studied here, the hierarchies, power dynamics, spirituality, lifestyles, traditions, and cultural changes that shaped Kukama communities at the time become visible from an emic perspective. The paper places special emphasis on how historical events are …

Dr. Kacey Grauer Faculty Spotlight, Katelyn Trimble

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

An interview with Dr. Kacey Grauer of the University of Denver's Department of Anthropology.

Kicau Kericau: The Chirps And Warbles Of A Bird-Human Story, Airien Ludin

Masters Theses

This thesis tells the tale of bird-human relationships and what it means to live alongside one another, subverting the hierarchical view of humans as above birds inherited from colonial history. It asks how the practice of illustration can function as a site of Two-Eyed Seeing, where scientific and local knowledge are held together as an entangled narrative. It also examines how mendongeng (storytelling), as I have experienced it within Indonesian culture and everyday contexts, can help us understand birds as a companion species with their own agency.

This project takes two forms: first, a picture book titled Sun Bird …

Tùn-Scene And A-Futurism: Biomythography, Opacity, And Posthuman Imagination, Minglu Du

Masters Theses

Grounded in the author’s position as a Chinese feminist, this thesis examines how East Asian women, as well as East Asian-coded femininity more broadly, are objectified and othered within futurist visual culture in the age of artificial intelligence. Through an engagement with ornamentalism, techno-Orientalism, and posthumanism1 , it argues that the persistent figure of the feminized humanoid cyborg continues to reproduce colonial and patriarchal structures of desire, rendering marginalized bodies as fetishized and violable surfaces. In response, the thesis develops Tùn-Scene, a biomythographic artistic framework and the first experiment in what the author provisionally names A-Futurism. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s …

Jadughar: The House Of Magic, Dhruvi A. Shah

Masters Theses

Jadughar or the House of Magic is what people call a 'museum' in parts of South Asia. The practice of museum making, at its origin, is the act of collecting, preserving, interpreting and representing a culture’s tangible and intangible heritage to make it accessible to diverse audiences. Since the early 19th century such practices have been performed at various kala bhandars (art centers) in India, without the need of a formal or institutional organisation. The British introduced the model of a ‘museum’ in South Asia, with the aim of not only preserving ethnographic collections, but also showcasing their power and …

The Ever-Changing Immigration Experience: An Oral History On The Impacts Of Immigration For Connecticut Latine Residents / Una Experiencia En Cambio Constante: Una Historia Oral De Los Impactos De La Inmigración Por Habitantes Latines En Connecticut, Sam S. Arevalo-Hoefer

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper is an oral history study focused on Latine immigration experiences in Connecticut from six different individuals sharing their stories and perspectives on the immigration process. I focus on the act of testimony as a source of grassroots knowledge and attempt to spread this notion of community wisdom further through the creation of zines (small-batch, self-published, non-commercial shortform magazines) as a means of making information more accessible and reaching a larger audience on a local level.

I use oral histories as a method of research that can achieve a deeper, more human understanding of how macro level political decisions …

Rewoven Identity: The Stole As Material Agent In Twentieth-Century American Culture, Anastacia Rice

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines the stole as a material means of shaping identity in twentieth-century American society, tracing the movement across religious, cinematic, academic, political, and archival contexts. Traditionally understood as a liturgical vestment, the stole expanded in the modern era into fashion, performance, protest, and institutional ritual while maintaining a remarkably stable physical form. The study argues that the stole’s continuity is not the result of fixed tradition, but of ongoing material reconfigurations through which identity is produced, negotiated, and sustained. Rooted in material culture studies and guided by performance theory, fashion history, and archival methods, the dissertation presents rewoven …

James Wilson And His Republic Of Happiness, Seth Ryan Hodges

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The following dissertation examines the political and moral philosophy of James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a Framers’ theorist whose synthesis of natural law, theology, and Enlightenment moral philosophy grounded what he referred to as the “Republic of Happiness.” It argues that Wilson’s concept of happiness was not rhetorical, but the structural foundation of his legal and constitutional thought. Drawing on Wilson’s Lectures on Law, revolutionary pamphlets, and convention debates, the study demonstrates that for Wilson, happiness meant moral excellence rather than pleasure or material satisfaction. The pursuit of happiness represented both a divine command and …

The Seeds Of Empire: Endogenous Influences On The Politics Of Bakumatsu And Meiji Era Japan (1853-1912), Benedict M.D. Talley

History ETDs

In this thesis, I argue the roots of Japanese nationalism, exceptionalism, and imperialism long preceded renewed contact with the West following American Commodore Matthew Perry’s historic 1853 expedition. Rather, late Edo Period (1603-1868) and Meiji Era (1868-1912) intellectuals and political figures looked to and were inspired by endogenous forces, ideologies, and intellectual movements of the Edo Period. Through a synthesis of secondary scholarship and analysis of Bakufu and Meiji Era figures’ writing, I seek to uncover the endogenous influences and de-emphasize western influence on the development of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Japanese nationalism and imperialism.

Assessing Legacy Collections: Analyzing The Preservation, Recovery, And Interpretive Value Of Archaeobotanical Remains From Site 15le70 (Pine Crest Rockshelter), Lee County, Kentucky, Jennifer Carroll

Graduate Final Projects

This paper uses the archaeobotanical assemblage from Site 15Le70, a multi-excavated and extensively looted rockshelter in eastern Kentucky, while opening new lines of inquiry into gendered labor and practice during the Archaic-Woodland transition. Because legacy collections are often dispersed across institutions and/or research projects, the materials from any single site may be fragmented, as was the case for 15Le70. Such collections can be overlooked, yet this investigation into 15Le70’s archaeobotanical assemblage demonstrates that partial or scattered datasets can yield meaningful results and hold the potential to fill gaps in the archaeological record left by looting.

In this study, a small …

Losing The Body: Tracing Corporeality As A Component Of The Imago Dei Through Early Christian Exegesis, Andrew Kneeland

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Kneeland, Andrew R. “Losing the Body: Tracing Corporeality as a Component of the Imago Dei Through Early Christian Exegesis.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2025. 252pp.

This dissertation examines the interpretation of imago Dei in Gen. 1:26 across early Christian history, revealing both a robust tradition of corporeal emphasis and a shift toward a spiritual consensus that was driven not by immediate, unanimous consensus but a variety of pastoral and polemical factors. Far from a fleeting, anthropomorphic error, a bodily understanding of the image of God spans diverse provenances and contexts. Organized diachronically and topically, the study begins with textual exegesis …

Menstrual Monster Or Criminal Lady?: Ella Castle, Biopower, And The Plight Of The Female Kleptomaniac In Late 19th Century America., Grace S. Teske

Madison Historical Review

On October 5, 1896, Ella Castle, a San Franciscan socialite, was arrested in London for shoplifting. In the proceeding months, Castle's trial became a transatlantic sensation, as her initial veneer as a respectable upper-class woman was replaced by the image of an ill and unstable woman suffering from kleptomania. The case of Ella Castle is representative of the larger social and economic processes that developed in the late 19th century that converged together in the diagnosis of kleptomania. One of the main transformations was the development of consumer capitalism which manifested into the new urban institution of the department store. …

Hunting, Craftsmanship, And Migration: The Ethnobiology Of The Raute Nomads Of Nepal, Ramesh Prasad Adhikary

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study explores the ethnobiology of the Raute nomads in Nepal, a dwindling hunter-gatherer group facing threats from modernisation, deforestation, and sedentarisation policies. Despite growing ethnobiological research on indigenous knowledge, there remains a scholarly gap in integrated analyses of how nomadic practices like hunting, craftsmanship, and migration interlink to promote sustainability, particularly in South Asian contexts. Drawing on six weeks of ethnographic fieldwork with a single Raute community (n=15 key informants via purposive sampling for interviews; 3 focus groups of 6-8 participants via convenience sampling), this research employs participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions to address this gap. …

Taxidermy And Technology: A History Of Climate Change Exhibitions At American Museums Of Natural History, Laura Haushalter, Amy Woodson-Boulton

Honors Thesis

My research is on the history of temporary and permanent climate change exhibitions at natural history museums in the United States. My primary research question is: How have natural history museums responded to human-caused environmental destruction through their exhibitions, and what, if anything, are natural history museums doing now to address our current environmental crisis? My research begins with a historiography of natural museums and examines how early 20th-century museums responded to a sense of environmental crisis and widespread threats of species extinction. In the early 20th century, museums shifted from Victorian-era glass cases to modern and artistic dioramas that …

From Farewell To Fáilte: The Voices Of Iowa’S Irish Daughters, Katie Hermanson

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Irish women’s immigration to Iowa brought rich culture and lasting impacts, despite their contributions being silenced by history. Women left Ireland for economic opportunity and education abroad to support their impoverished families. Millions emigrated between 1830 and 1915, spreading across the world. The Irish women who came to the United States encountered discrimination and cultural stereotyping as they worked in domestic service, developed religious orders, taught school, owned businesses and raised families. Women bore the burden of supporting their families in Ireland by sending remittances home and communicating between countries. Their cultural identity as exiles dwelled in guilt for leaving …

The Grizzly, May 7, 2026, Renee Washart, Sidney Belleroche, Dylan Mchugh, Andrew Mihniak, Adam Denn, Cassidy Denning

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Ursinus College Announces Shifts to Berman Museum • Ursinus Food Pantry: Coming Soon? • Students Learn From MLS Senior Director of Social Media Dan Stelly • Theater Department Presents Independent Capstone Production • Renee Washart Signing Off! • Adam Denn Signing On! • Sidney Belleroche Signing On! • AI: Humanity's Silent Killer • UC Sports Network Returns In Full Force • Ursinus Baseball's Miracle Run Comes to a Close

Living Archaeology: A Comparative Perspective On How Archaeologists Can Study And Document The Present, Alia S. Moran

Honors Capstones

Archaeology has long remained a social science that has tended to exclude sustained consideration of contemporary societies in the analysis of material culture. In recent decades, approaches such as ethnoarchaeology and the archaeology of the contemporary have expanded the field to include the study of present-day societies through material culture. Inspired by my involvement in the Thais in Illinois Project, which focused on documenting the Thai American immigrant experience in the greater Chicago area to produce an oral history collection, alongside other goals, this thesis intends to further explore how archaeological practice can be used to understand everyday issues in …

Who Can Dance If They Want To?: Intersections Of Dance, Gender, And Political Control In Late Archaic And Early Classical Athens, Adeline P. Strickler

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This thesis investigates the evidence for women's public choruses in the polis of Athens and the wider Greek world prior to the 6th century BCE and their decline in Athens following the Kleisthenic reforms of 509/508 BCE. Emphasising analysis of visual sources through Athenian fabric vases in the Beazley archive, and supporting literary evidence, this research seeks to establish a base of evidence for a neglected area of dance and women's research in the classics. Additionally, by analyzing the significance of choral dance in polis social and political life, this research seeks potential reasons for the lack of a culture …

Let's Play A Lovegame: How College Hookup Culture Came To Be, How It Functions On A University Campus, And The Greek Organizations That Perpetuate It At Butler University, Ella Gray Tucker

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

“Let’s Play a LoveGame” examines how hookup culture functions, is perpetuated, and impacts students on a college campus. By understanding the historical context of its creation, I analyze the multitude of factors that aided it to evolve into what it is today. Although hookup culture is considered part of the undergraduate “college experience”, it is negatively impacting students' mental well-being and their understanding of romantic relationships. With Butler University as my case study, I have come to find that Greek Organizations within the National Panhellenic Conference and Interfraternity Council hold events that enable hookup culture to permeate Greek row which …