Digital Commons Network^™

Picturing Consumer Culture, Cultural Hybridity, And Womanhood: Farah Al Qasimi’S Photographs From 2012 To 2020, Minji Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Farah Al Qasimi’s 2012-2020 color photographs, arguing that this work presents a distinctive and salient critique of domesticity, material culture, and womanhood in the UAE. Through her lens as a woman and a culturally hybrid subject, Al Qasimi explores the tensions of modernization, globalization, consumerism, and gender.

Container Film, Dena Kopolovich

Theses and Dissertations

Container Film is an experimental nonfiction short film that explores the theme of carrying. Drawing inspiration from a blend of anthropological, religious, and artistic sources, the film is guided by an unknown narrator who contemplates the origins of humanity. Unlike conventional storytelling, the narrator’s uncertainty and inner dialogue punctuate the narrative, challenging a traditional linear structure. Jumping between diverse thoughts, she resists depicting human history with a singular hero or linear trajectory. Visually, the film unfolds through vivid tableaux vivants, dance sequences, and curious object arrangements, illustrating the subtle relationship between human cognition and materiality. Through its nuanced, tactile approach, …

Reflections Of Little Red Dot: An Interactive Mixed Reality Archival Experience, Chloé Lee

Theses and Dissertations

It has been nearly a decade since I last visited Singapore, a place I am connected to yet an outsider. Reflections of Little Red Dot is a mixed-reality experience that animates my archive of drawings, videos, and 3D imagery from everyday Singaporeans in 2015, the year their country celebrated its 50th birthday.

Walking through this liminal mixed reality space, we hear how citizens are personally affected by the rapidly developing landscape and erasure of personal and historical sites of significance while reflecting on our collective agency to shape the future of our environments. We are invited into homes where loved …

間, Lele Dai

Theses and Dissertations

LeLe Dai makes contingent participatory public interventions using sensory materials such as sound, flickering light, and water. This paper examines their works through the lens of Chinese character Jian (間), meaning “gap/slit/incision,” to investigate the concept of “in-betweenness.”

A Review Of Consanguinity In The Iraqi Population: A Call To Action To Prevent A Future Health Catastrophe, Zaid Ali Hawi, Kealan Pugsley, Atefeh Namipashaki, Walied Samarrai, Ziarih Hawi

Publications and Research

Although not uncommon worldwide, consanguinity has been a part of Arab culture and tradition as a means to strengthen tribal blood relations. However, this type of union has been linked to inherited diseases, particularly those of a recessive nature (e.g., hemoglobinopathies). Furthermore, several recent studies have documented highly significant associations between consanguineous parentage and common multifactorial diseases, including but not limited to hypertension, mental disorders, and several cardiovascular diseases. In Iraq, the prevalence of consanguinity is very high and still on the rise. This has resulted in an increased prevalence of inherited diseases and has significant negative impacts on Iraq’s …

Classified Information: The Newsletter Of The Lloyd Sealy Library, Lloyd Sealy Library, Cuny John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Reports and Publications from John Jay College

Classified Information was a publication that informed the College about Library services, personnel, upcoming events, new technologies, and available resources.

An Interdisciplinary Approach To Language Activism From Community Colleges: Linguistics Meets Communication Studies, Carlos De Cuba, Poppy Slocum, Laura Spinu

Publications and Research

This chapter describes the work of three linguists working in communication departments at two community colleges in the City University of New York system (CUNY) to counter deficit approaches toward dialectal variation in the field of communication studies (and beyond). The authors’ approach includes professional presentations, curricular redesign, identifying linguistic discrimination in textbooks, and conducting professional development workshops and seminars. They believe that the things they are doing are easily reproducible, so they are shared in this chapter in the hopes that more people will get actively involved in reducing/eliminating such harmful classroom pedagogies that involve deficit views of dialectal …

Decolonizing World Civilizations Ii: 1500 A.D. To The Present, Juliana Nalerio

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Drifting Osteons Distinguishes Human Bone, Katherine M. French, Sophia R. Mavroudas, Victoria M. Dominguez

Publications and Research

The histological, or microscopic, appearance of bone tissue has long been studied to identify species-specific traits. There are several known histological characteristics to discriminate animal bone from human, but currently no histological characteristic that has been consistently identified in human bone exclusive to other mammals. The drifting osteon is a rare morphotype found in human long bones and observationally is typically absent from common mammalian domesticates. We surveyed previously prepared undecalcified histological sections from 25 species (human n = 221; nonhuman primate n = 24; nonprimate n = 169) to see if 1) drifting osteons were indeed more common in …

Representaciones Ideológicas De La Lengua, La Conversación Y La Comunicación En Manuales De Urbanidad Del Siglo Xix En México: Guías Para La Civilización, El Orden Y El Progreso Nacional, Luis B. Quesada Nieto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explores the main ideological representations of language, language use, conversation and communication found in a set of five etiquette manuals that were published and used in Mexico during the 19^th century. Following a glottopolitical perspective for the study of normativity, language policies, and sociolinguistic practices, the main hypothesis developed establishes that the ideas about language contained in these texts are strongly connected with the social, political, and economic period in which they are elaborated and enunciated, that is, the moment in which the nation is still defining itself, struggling to consolidate its viability and its value facing …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

Border Confinement And Assistance Markets In Tijuana: Mexican Deportees’ Experiences Of Labor And Violence Between Mexico And The United States, Christian Pacheco-Gómez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is an ethnography of deportation and describes how Tijuana’s (Baja California, Mexico) border redevelopment and spatial redesign has impacted in Mexican job seekers’ mobilities, incorporation, and stigmatization after experiencing forced removals from the United States. The dissertation explores three processes interwoven in the deportees’ class experiences of migration and deportation.

First, I trace Mexican job seekers’ trajectories of labor and migratory movement before, during, and after deportation as well as their incorporation stories in Tijuana. Second, I reconstruct the political economy of reception immigrant subjects encounter after being deported from the United States and subjected by Tijuana’s border …

No Ela Without Ella: Understanding The Naming And Crafting Of Gendered Subjectivities In Puerto Rico, Carmín Quijano Seda

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

At the beginning of the 20th century, the official metadiscourses about gendered job titles sedimented the idea that names or indexes pointing to women should be interpreted as unskilled, cheap, or even free labor in Puerto Rico (Azize, 1985; Muñiz Mas, 1998; Baerga-Santini, 1999). For this reason, Puerto Rican women organized and fought for equality in work settings. Furthermore, they became more active in politics and the government. Nevertheless, the Estado Libre Asociado (ELA) and local media discourses and interpretations about women’s labor discouraged them from participating in more senior positions (Acevedo Gaud, 2012).

However, this interpretation seemed to have …

Ethnic Minorities And Family Health History: An Autoethnography Of Guyanese Americans And Kidney Disease, Dhaneesha R. Bahadur

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Exploring family health histories (FHHs) has emerged in recent years as an inexpensive genomic tool in public health. Families and clinicians can also use them to uncover family histories and experiences, which could inform better lifestyle choices to prevent or delay the onset of diseases. Exploring family health histories focuses on an individual’s genetic makeup and considers differences in lifestyle and environment. Despite national campaigns, it is an underutilized tool that could lead to engagement in effective strategies and better health outcomes. One important and serious condition that families should be more aware of is chronic kidney disease (CKD). One …

Dancing In The Heart Of The Empire, Talisa Feliciano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Dancing in the Heart of the Empire is an urban ethnography of public transit space in New York City. The work is based on five years of research on the trains of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) subway system. This work primarily focuses on Black and brown youth dancers who perform on the subways. Combining participant observation, archival research, digital social media research, and interviews, the dissertation identifies dancing as a form of resistance to the racialized structure of the train space and New York City. Public transportation is the heartbeat of the city. It is a contested site of …

Culturally And Socially Responsive Teacher Professional Learning At The American Museum Of Natural History, Jessica Correa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project consists of a series of professional learning sessions to support teachers in their implementation of Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CR-SE) using the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) as a resource and case study. Through the lens of Historically Responsive Literacy, the series also seeks to reestablish social science as a critical element of natural history for teachers. This series can help teachers see the museum as not only a place to explore life and physical science, but also a place to explore identity, social/emotional development, cultural studies and American History. The project includes resources and directions for …

Digital Rhetoric Of The Invisible: Bisexual Literacy Practices On Tiktok, 2020–2021, Olivia Wood

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses auto- and digital-ethnographic methods to analyze the literacy practices of bisexual TikTok users primarily during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, during which time TikTok exploded in popularity among U.S. social media users, especially among young adults. It is also an exercise in neuroqueer composing, diverging at times from the norms of academic writing and the dissertation genre to perform and intentionally draw attention to neuroqueer styles of thinking and communication. I argue that bisexual invisibility and contemporary bi+ rhetorical activity must be understood within the context of LGBTQ+ political history, particularly …

What Does One Billion Dollars Look Like?: Visualizing Extreme Wealth, William Mahoney Luckman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The word “billion” is a mathematical abstraction related to “big,” but it is difficult to understand the vast difference in value between one million and one billion; even harder to understand the vast difference in purchasing power between one billion dollars, and the average U.S. yearly income. Perhaps most difficult to conceive of is what that purchasing power and huge mass of capital translates to in terms of power. This project blends design, text, facts, and figures into an interactive narrative website that helps the user better understand their position in relation to extreme wealth: https://whatdoesonebilliondollarslooklike.website/

The site incorporates …

Similes Mini Lesson Plan, Kristen S. Addessi

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Place-Conscious Vs. Place-Bound, Julie Avetisyan

Theses and Dissertations

Julie Avetisyan’s installation of sculptures, paintings and printmaking works are driven by an exploration of constructed identity that is not place-bound, but place-conscious. In this paper, she explores how her art practice generates world building under the context of the Armenian Diaspora – considering histories of indigeneity, migration, and assimilation.

Barley As A Human Companion Species - Exploring The Relationship Between Barley And North Atlantic Peoples: 4000 Bc – Ad 1200, Chloe Combs

Theses and Dissertations

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is an ancient cereal crop originating in the Fertile Crescent approximately 12,000 years ago and is presently one of the most important cereal crops globally. Barley has a long and complex history. This thesis aims to explore one dimension of this history through the lens of human companion species using archaeobotanical data collected from the islands of the North Atlantic from the Neolithic (4,000 BC) to the Norse period (AD 1200).

Technical Temporalities Of The Transitional Protest Movements, Talha C. Issevenler

Publications and Research

The concept of political time is unpacked through an analysis of the interactive, technologically mediated field between the state and social movements. The activities of protest movements are set in dialogue with state reason in order to theorize the temporality of political rationality as entangled with political affects (i.e., attachments to past political ideals and unmetabolized/unsymbolized technological propensities).

Language, Hip Hop, And Identity Work On Youtube, Matt Garley, Cecelia Cutler

Publications and Research

As hip hop has evolved into the dominant form of global popular music, YouTube has become a locus of fan-artist interaction. This chapter examines how hip hop artists and fans produce their identities and engage with hip hop culture on YouTube. This identity work centers around establishing credibility, glocal and ethnic positioning, and signaling stances of resistance and simultaneous alignment with ultralocal and global hip hop personae. Building on a background of research about language and identity in hip hop, particularly in the Internet sphere, the chapter summarizes the state of the art and then highlights the authors’ own explorations …

A Handbook On Mentoring Students In Undergraduate Research: Proven Strategies For Success (2nd Edition), Nadia Benakli, Monica Berger, Aida Egues, Hamidreza Norouzi, Kate Poirier, Diana Samaroo

Open Educational Resources

This Handbook was developed by the multi-disciplinary Undergraduate Research Committee (URC) at New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of The City University of New York (CUNY). The URC provides unique opportunities for students to participate in authentic research experiences with trained faculty mentors. Committee members themselves are trained mentors who are actively engaged in interdisciplinary and disciplinary research that spans the fields of anthropology, architecture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, communication design, engineering, health sciences, history, literature, management, mathematics, philosophy, physics, psychology, robotics, sociology, and theater.

Additional information about this and the first edition of the Handbook can be found …

Survival Strategies: Human Adaptation To Environmental Change, Julie Lozano

Open Educational Resources

This assignment explores human adaptation to environmental change by examining genetic, physiological, and cultural responses in various populations. Through case studies from geographically diverse regions, the research highlights how genetic adaptations such as metabolic changes, physiological traits like thermoregulation, and cultural practices involving diet and shelter have contributed to human survival in challenging ecosystems. The study compares these adaptations across different populations, analyzing the interplay between environment and evolutionary traits.

How We Make It: Disability Justice, Autoimmunity, Community, A Multimedia Project, Alexandra Juhasz, How We Make It Collective

Publications and Research

How We Make It: Disability Justice, Autoimmunity, Community is a born-digital multimedia piece that lives on the Scalar platform and that was submitted and eventually accepted into the Special Section on Autoimmunities in the Wake of COVID-19. The text below is a close reproduction of the Navigation page within the Scalar piece. While reading this text, one cracks open the door to glimpse the ten-person collective behind this project.

Crj 63 - An Introuction To The Criminal Justice System, Grace Trotman

Open Educational Resources

This course provides a study of the elements that comprise the criminal justice system: the police, courts, and corrections. Attention is given to civil liberties issues, which involve the procedural due process rights of criminally accused persons. Students undertake an intellectual journey through the criminal justice system to fortify their knowledge of the law and protections guaranteed under the Bill of Rights as they apply to the agencies that comprise the criminal justice system.

New York City’S Health Governance And Activism From The 1950s To The 1970s, Andres Valcarcel

Theses and Dissertations

New York City's expansive network of hospitals and preventative health services has an intense history outside of the popular narratives of biomedical and technological advancement. This thesis will discuss the period between the 1950s and 1970s and the various movements and parties that shaped the city's health and hospital system. During this period, New York City's healthcare delivery system became increasingly privatized and commercialized; processes that improved the quality of healthcare yet simultaneously barred the poorest from accessing it. Communities, healthcare workers, and civil rights organizations worked to address perceived faults and extend their agency in health and hospital policy; …

The Pleasure In Cruelty Is The Point: Reflections On The Souls Of White Jokes, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

"The Pleasure in Cruelty is the Point: Reflections on The Souls of White Jokes,"

Book review of The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy. Stanford University Press, 2022, by Raúl Pérez, Reviewed by Jessie Daniels. Paperback ISBN: 9781503632332

To be published in:

Identities: Global Stuies in Culture and Power

Climate Change And Critical Agrarian Studies, Ian Scoones, Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Amita Baviskar, Marc Edelman, Nancy Peluso, Wendy Wolford

Publications and Research

Climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to humanity today and plays out as a cruel engine of myriad forms of injustice, violence and destruction. The effects of climate change from human-made emissions of greenhouse gases are devastating and accelerating; yet are uncertain and uneven both in terms of geography and socio-economic impacts. Emerging from the dynamics of capitalism since the industrial revolution — as well as industrialisation under state-led socialism — the consequences of climate change are especially profound for the countryside and its inhabitants. The book interrogates the narratives and strategies that frame climate change and examines the …