Digital Commons Network^™

Where The Under And The Over Meet And Disappear, Louisa Owen

Theses and Dissertations

Vignettes of light: light disappearing, light contrasting, light directing, light wandering, and light uncovering.

Misogyny In Contemporary Populist Authoritarianism, Maxine Mannheim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The regression of rights for women and the LGBTQ community, as well as the freedoms of religious and ethnic minorities are coinciding with the global rise in populist authoritarianism. However, the link between misogyny, gendered narratives, and populist authoritarianism remains understudied and requires further elaboration. There can be no full investigation of modern populism, nor the political leaders who utilize it, without an understanding of the gender dynamics that permeate populist and authoritarian politics. I argue that misogyny is interwoven in populist authoritarianism, and that it is a defining characteristic observable in the ways in which leaders manipulate the emotions …

Contact Sheet, Jiwoong Jang

Theses and Dissertations

Jiwoong’s thesis paper is a field guide to how he navigates his curiosity with photography, sound, sculpture, ceramic, and installation. Connecting fragments through narrative vignettes, he underscores how chance, walking, light, time, and uncertainty inform his art.

Storytelling In Modernist Fiction: A “Method Of Presence”, Laura Malhotra

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the relationship between narrative modes in cinema and literature and adopts the lineage laid out by Lukács that connects the oral tradition and epic poetry to the novel. I attach art cinema to this lineage and seek to justify its position as an equally significant medium representative of the age in which it is produced. This study aims to correct one established view of film, put forth by the Frankfurt School, of its low value as an art form and as a site of meaning. I compare the birth of literary modernism in Britain to the emergence …

Fifty Years Ago, My Grandfather Won The Nyc Marathon And Changed New York History, Colin M. Kern

Capstones

In 1970, my grandfather won the first New York City Marathon. This piece of long-form narrative journalism tells the story of how that race grew into the largest race in the world, which fosters New York City's colossal running community. The article is accompanied by photos, an animation that breaks down the original New York City Marathon course, and gif's that compare running footwear from the '70s and today.

The Political Aesthetic Of Hannah Arendt: Modernity, Judgment, And Culture, Quixote R. Vassilakis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The plan of this thesis is, first, to interpret Arendt’s critique of the modern age. Next, this paper outlines Arendt’s reconceptualization of Kant’s theory of judgment as the basis for a novel model of the public sphere in light of the conditions of modernity. Finally, this paper explores Arendt’s poetics as a means of activating the faculty of judgment in order to reconcile with the modern world. In order to address the political crises of modernity, Arendt develops a political aesthetic alive to the role of narrative and culture in reconstituting political communities. I argue that Hannah Arendt develops a …

“We Are All The Decline”: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Presbyterian Clergywomen’S Talk About Denominational Decline, Miriam Shelton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this study, I have used social representation theory and discursive methods to explore developmental challenges posed to the clergy by the social changes brought about by the loss of membership and resources in one mainline denomination. Analyzing the interviews of 37 Presbyterian clergywomen, I document a Presbyterian social representation of decline, the core of which aligned with a report on decline issued by the PCUSA (General Assembly Task Force on Membership Growth and Decline, 1991), shaped by themâta of death versus liveliness, moving versus stagnation, growth versus decline and decline as good versus as bad. One way in which …

Adults Formerly In Foster Care Narrate Schooling Experiences, Danielle Walker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Roughly 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States (Lash, 2017, p. 5). These youth are less likely to graduate high school than their non-foster peers (Barnow et al., 2015). While several barriers contribute to the poor educational outcomes for children in foster care, research has noted that the label “foster child” is associated with negative connotations and differential teacher treatment (Altshuler, 2003; Finkelstein, Wamsley, & Miranda, 2002). In spite of such observations, little research has emphasized the perspectives of those in foster care. To fill this gap, this qualitative study posed the following question: How do adults …

My Sight's Shadow, Lili Jamail

Theses and Dissertations

The story in the photographs I am showing is not about a person, but about the span of experience and emotion presented through time. I am looking into things that stand alone, and things that stand together — the idea of sharing space and experience with something or someone or being by yourself. One thing that draws me to photography as a medium is the way that photographs are able to tell a story or explain something without words. Photographs offer a unique perspective which, by their nature, alters reality. There is always some amount of truth that lies in …

North American Data, Joseph A. Burwell

Theses and Dissertations

North American Data fractures and reconfigures pre-existing narratives into new, unauthorized forms of storytelling. Core samples extracted from various narrative sources are reassigned new roles according to their proximity to each other. This paper functions as an introduction to the essential actors and their dramatic inclinations within fluctuating scenarios.

Letter To The President: Longitudinal Critical Discourse Analysis Of Academic And Hip Hop Genres In A Rap Narrative Program, Debangshu Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of this study was to examine an in-school rap narrative workshop through critical discourse theory (Bamberg, 2012; Daiute, 2014). Twelve youth from a public school serving youth in urban Houston, TX were recruited from an in-school and after-school Hip hop/Rap narrative program to participate in a two-year cohort research study. The primary research question guiding the study was “How do young people participating in a school-based Hip hop/Rap program use a wide range of narrative genres for literacy and psycho-social development over two years in the program?”

The data-intensive study involved assessments of literacy and psycho-social development via …

"Why Wouldn't You Like It?": Exploring Masculine Identities In Discussions Of Male Rape, Bridget Woods

Student Theses

Empirical research on the topic of male rape is scarce within the discipline of psychology. Current research focuses on negative perceptions of male rape victims, but does not take into account the role hegemonic masculinity plays in constructing beliefs about male rape. The present study aims to gather narratives of young men’s beliefs of male rape and male rape myths and analyze how masculinity and masculine identities shape these beliefs. Narratives were gained through collection of journal writings and focus groups, and an integrated narrative analysis was conducted to identify themes and discursive strategies that men employed to balance their …

Decidedly Uncertain, Sophia I. Varosy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My capstone project is meant to reflect the ideas I’ve been exposed to and the ways in which they have, as a consequence, influenced my life; the ways, I suppose, I can apply them. Over the course, or courses (literally), of my time spent at The CUNY Graduate Center, I felt (mostly) enthusiastic about the ideas and philosophies I was growing to at-least-marginally understand. However, as time passed I became increasingly more unsettled about my position as an “academic.” In other words, I found that I was moved and motivated to increase my understanding of things, but never did I …

Takun J Fought The Gbagba, Zach E J Williams

Capstones

Liberia's most famous rapper has embarked on a quest to save democracy in Africa's oldest republic. This challenge faces Jonathan "Takun J" Koffa after a nine-year reign as the king of HiCo — a local form of Hip Hop music defined by the local patois. A local form of corruption called "Gbagba" makes for a formidable enemy, but Takun J has a plan to defeat it.

Link to capstone project: https://zachjournalism.com/2016/12/12/takun-j-fought-the-gbagba/

Trauma And Human Objecthood, Leslie Kelman

Theses and Dissertations

I am processing recent traumatic personal content in multiple media. This investigation dovetails with the work I was conducting previously, that of contemplating humans as objects continuous with their environment. This represents a reduced position in the biological hierarchy for humans, or a rejection of the hierarchy itself.

First Year Sober And A Lifelong Journey, Lisa Brown

Capstones

This is a non-fiction narrative story that shows the difficulty and process of the first year of sobriety from substance abuse, using in-depth journalism reporting. The piece follows two individuals from New York during the first weeks or months of their recovery as they maintain a sober lifestyle.

Inmates Guide Inmates Through Peaceful Deaths, And Find Peace With Themselves, Maura Ewing

Capstones

Inmates guide inmates through peaceful deaths, and find peace with themselves. Prison hospice programs offer rehabilitation through caretaking.

Changing Gender: Gender Role, Class And The Experience Of Chinese Female Immigrants, Doris Cheung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes gender role identity development in Chinese female immigrants from diverse work and education backgrounds. This study focuses on Chinese female immigrants, bakery salesladies and social workers, to addresses a gap in the existing literature, which has previously emphasized factory workers and students, on gender role identity development at the interface of social context and activity system dynamics. To understand further the Chinese female immigration experience, this research investigates how gender role identity is manifested across different social contexts and institutions. I administered questionnaires and conducted interviews with Chinese female immigrants residing in New York City. The sample …