Digital Commons Network^™

The Significance Of Abstract Art In Self-Expression: A Study Developed By Analyzing Kandinsky's Black Lines And Producing Visual Juxtapositions, Keturah K. Bowles

Theses

This paper will contemplate how the creation of abstract art, a creative style born from the Avant-Garde movement of the 20th century by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, was imperative in the pursuit of artistic freedom. Additionally, it will seek to prove that abstraction is one of the unparalleled genres to utilize for self-expression in comparison to genres that uphold traditional art techniques, such as realism. This theory is further emphasized when considering abstract art in juxtaposition to the art standards maintained by the academy. Moreover, the research conducted to support the proposed theory falls into various categories, such as …

Leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence To Launch An Independent Game Studio, Douglas Evans

Theses

This project report examines how Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) can be integrated into the early formation and operations of an independent/indie game studio. Using a qualitative, practice-based single-case study approach, the project focused on Boar’s Head Studio, LLC. A human-in-the-loop approach was maintained with Generative AI used to support company formation, ideation, planning, documentation, analysis, coding assistance, marketing preparation, and community-building preparation

The report concludes that Generative AI can serve as a meaningful system integrated into the studio pipeline when used with structured, repeatable, human-in-the-loop processes. The project contributes a practical, case-based framework that may be useful to other …

Integrating Embodied Expertise Into Dress History Academia Through Practice-Led Actualistic Recreations: A New Methodology And Test Thereof, Rowan Paramour

Theses

This thesis examines the usage of practice-led methodology for historic dress recreation projects and how to implement and objectively analyze the findings from such research in an academically rigorous fashion. In section one, I examine the distinction between different types of recreation practices, the establishment of embodied practice within historic dress research, address concerns centering practice-led methodology, and develop a methodology for practice-led historic dress recreation projects and rubric for assessment of that methodology. In section two, I fully test the methodology and rubric by utilizing it in my own recreation and present this process using the methodology’s proposed deliverables …

Artificial Intelligence In Dental Education: A Literature Review Of Global Adoption, Pedagogical Outcomes, And Ethical Implications, Betti Shahin, Jeremiah D. Ghodsi, Toleen Mazloum, Denise Hale

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing many fields by enabling machines to accomplish tasks that previously required human intelligence, such as learning, decision-making, and problem-solving. In dentistry, AI is increasingly applied to diagnostics, treatment planning, and clinical training. Its integration enhances educational experiences for students while supporting more accurate and efficient patient care.

Objective: This review synthesizes recent research on AI in dental education, highlighting global adoption trends and key pedagogical, ethical, and practical considerations.

Conclusion: AI has significant potential to enhance dental education through innovative teaching, clinical training, and data-driven decision-making. Effective integration depends on institutional …

Beyond The Nude: Reimagining Feminist Agency In The Art Of Suzanne Valadon, Sofia Harris

Theses

This thesis examines the work of Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938) through a feminist art historical lens, challenging long-standing interpretations of her female nudes as inherently resistant to the conventions of Western art. Structured as a three-part lecture series, the project situates Valadon within a visual tradition in which women have been overwhelmingly represented by men, arguing that her engagement with the nude remains embedded in the same systems of objectification it is often said to subvert. Lecture One establishes the historical framework by tracing enduring archetypes of femininity, demonstrating how representations of women have functioned as projections of gendered power. Lecture …

Mediators Of The Dead: Funerary Strategies And Material Practice In The Final Jōmon Period, Celeste Marie Tran

Theses

Shakōki-dogū are prehistoric clay figurines from Japan’s Final Jōmon period, characterized by enlarged, goggle-eyed features. In both scholarship writing and museum display texts, generalized thematic labels or iconographic readings sometimes reduce the corpus’s internal variability. This study examines a focused set of Final Jōmon shakōki-dogū from northern Honshū (Tōhoku) and Hokkaidō (Figures 2–6) through their formal and material evidence—shape, surface treatment, and condition—read alongside published excavation reports and catalogue records. It asks what these figurines can be shown to do, as prehistoric artworks, within death-related practice when interpretation is anchored to observable features and documented context, rather than to a …

Firing Through Adversity: How Women Ceramicists Sustained Stoke-On-Trent’S Pottery Industry Between The Wars, Zachary Carlson

Theses

Between the First and Second World Wars, the pottery industry of Stoke-on-Trent endured economic depression, material shortages, and social upheaval. Within this volatile context, women ceramicists such as Susie Cooper and Clarice Cliff emerged as central figures in sustaining, and redefining British ceramic production. This thesis examines how these artists transformed adversity into innovation through design, entrepreneurship, and leadership, arguing that their work both stabilized the industry and advanced a distinctly feminist modernism grounded in labor, creativity, and resilience. Drawing on feminist design theory, class and economic analysis, and material culture studies, this research situates Cooper and Cliff within broader …

Identity And Representation In Contemporary Art: An Inclusive 400/500-Level Art History Seminar Course, Laura E. Franz

Theses

This project is an upper-level art history seminar addressing identity and representation – specifically related to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality – in contemporary art. Primarily a discussion-based course, the course is focused on inclusivity and is highly structured, with weekly low-stakes assignments that provide students with ample opportunities to practice engaging with academic texts. Designed for students with varying levels of academic skills, it is built around current non-academic articles that students select via an online survey. Students then “unpack” the “big ideas” in each of the four chosen non-academic articles via a cluster of academic readings and videos …

Beyond Phonics: Neuroaesthetic And Symbolic Divergence In Culturally Responsive Dyslexia Screening, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Recent advances in neuroscience and educational technology have challenged the traditional phonological-deficit model of dyslexia, revealing the profound influence of visual-symbolic processing, neuroaesthetic resonance, and cultural context in the reading brain. This article interrogates prevailing assessment paradigms by synthesizing research on the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), cross-linguistic literacy systems, and emerging neurodiversity frameworks. The study addresses the urgent need to reconceptualize dyslexia as a heterogeneous divergence in symbolic processing—rooted as much in neuroaesthetic and visuospatial alignment as in phonemic awareness. Existing screeners, predominantly optimized for English and other Latin-based scripts, systematically neglect the cognitive realities of learners in multilingual …

Digital Biophilia In Web Interface Design For Accessibility And User Well-Being, Bryana Michelle Peifer

Theses

This interdisciplinary study explores the intersection between horticultural therapy and web design, focusing on the impact of biophilic design principles in shaping contemporary practices within digital interface design. This exploration addresses the multifaceted relationship between humanity and the natural world, particularly how this connection serves as a source for the emergence of nature-inspired elements in digital expressions and their subsequent integration into modern web design for accessibility and well-being. As digital environments increasingly dominate daily experiences, the need for digital wellness through nature integration has become critical, especially for individuals who have physical disabilities, limited mobility, or limited access to …

The Evolution Of Agriculture Marketing: Harnessing Data Analytics To Understand Generational Shifts And Influencer Trends, Lexi Schweigert

Theses

The findings reveal that data analytics plays a crucial role in shaping marketing strategies in agriculture. Generational shifts, particularly among Gen Z and Alpha, are driving changes in consumer preferences and expectations. Influencers are also playing an increasingly important role in shaping the perception of agriculture and food among these generations.

Elisabetta Sirani’S Timoclea: Baroque Agency And The Aesthetics Of Feminine Rage, Shaylen Grace Gardner

Theses

This thesis examines Timoclea Kills the Captain of Alexander the Great (1659) by Elisabetta Sirani as a foundational example of feminine rage within the Baroque period. By framing Timoclea’s violent act not as an outlier or solely reactive gesture, but as a deliberate, composed assertion of power, Sirani constructs a model of feminine agency that defies patriarchal expectations of female submission and passivity. Through interdisciplinary analysis grounded in feminist theory, formal visual analysis, and retrospective cultural studies, this research argues that Sirani’s Timoclea exemplifies the Baroque’s strategic use of socially acceptable iconography to veil explicit challenges to gendered expectations. This …

Personifying The Goddess: Contrasting Representation Of The Deified Body In Feminist Art, Kelly Lorraine Phillips

Theses

Goddess imagery, the representation of a female deity or a concept of divine feminine power through various forms, symbols, and narratives, has been used by artists to communicate a multitude of sentiments, from spiritual reverence to political ideology. This study probes the evolution of representations of the deified female body from the 1970s to the current era to reveal contrasts in how these icons of female power have transformed over time. The artwork of second-wave feminist and self-identified “Goddess artist” Mary Beth Edelson is examined as a foundation for second-wave Goddess sentiment. Edelson’s collage work, which incorporates figures from a …

Evidence Of The Complexity Of The Conversion To Christianity In Early Medieval Funerary Stone Carvings Of Pagan Cultures In Scotland And Scandinavia, Cameron Genet

Theses

This thesis focuses on stone monuments created between the late fifth to late twelfth centuries CE, specifically in Scotland and Sweden. The aim of this thesis is to interpret the symbols or images inscribed onto the stone monuments to determine what they reveal about the Christianization of these regions. The Picts in Scotland and the Norse in Sweden left behind several standing stones such as the Craw Stane from the Picts and the Ledberg Stone from the Norse which have various symbols carved into them. These stones were sometimes created in connection with a burial, allowing the interpretations of their …

Integrating Pre-Colonial Indigenous Australian Art Into Global Art History, Allison Bell, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Art history as a discipline remains dominated historically through Eurocentric frameworks, systematically marginalizing Indigenous artistic traditions, particularly pre-colonial Australian Aboriginal art. Despite evidence of profound antiquity and cultural richness, such art often occupies peripheral spaces in global narratives. This article addresses these limitations through an interdisciplinary approach, integrating precise archaeological dating methods—including radiocarbon analysis of mud wasp nests and uranium-series dating—with detailed art historical inquiry. Case studies focus specifically on landmark findings, such as the Gwion Gwion rock paintings in the Kimberley region (over 16,000 years old) and Australia’s oldest known in-situ kangaroo painting, dated approximately 17,300 years old. Comparative …

Countering The Traditional Feminine: The Abject In The Works Of Johanna Hamann, María Evelia Marmolejo, And Regina José Galindo, Sierra Myers

Theses

This thesis explores the ways in which Contemporary Latin American feminist artists have been able to subvert the Western constructed ideas of gender that work to locate the feminine Other as subordinate and inferior. Focusing on the installations and performances by Johanna Hamann, María Evelia Marmolejo, and Regina José Galindo, there is an emphasis on the role of the abject which is used to defamiliarize our established concepts of the traditional feminine in order to allow space for a redefinition and portrayal that excludes a detrimental modern semiology rooted in a zero point epistemology. By analyzing these artists' works in …

Definitively Unfinished: Abraham Cruzvillegas’ Autoconstrucción, Disability Aesthetics, And Crip Materiality, Benjamin Brobst-Renaud

Theses

Abraham Cruzvillegas’ Autoconstrucción project is the sculptural manifestation of an approach to artmaking rooted in the self-built and continually evolving forms of the neighborhood where Cruzvillegas grew up (Colonia Ajusco near Mexico City). While it might seem surprising to draw a comparison between the forms of Autoconstrucción and Disability Studies, and while Cruzvillegas does not literally depict the disabled human form, Autoconstrucción resonates deeply with this critical space. Disability Aesthetics, in Tobin Siebers’ formulation, is “an attempt to theorize the representation of disability in modern art and visual culture.” Similarly, Jessica Cooley’s Crip Materiality is a methodology that “locates disability …

Between Sense And Nonsense, Holly Marie Hennessey

Theses

This project focuses on fiber art and its relationship to abject art, emotions, and the subconscious that are all evoked through sculpture. My project challenges ideas on societal norms, identity and ambiguity as I contribute to abject art and push the conversation forward within the contemporary world. I invite my audience to embrace the unfamiliar and to allow both beauty and oddity to coexist.

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 …

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

Theses

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Fear Of Replacement: How Ai Panic In Journalism Mirrors Existential Crisis In Industry, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This study systematically examines the portrayal of artificial intelligence (AI) errors, such as hallucinations and deepfakes, in journalistic contexts, evaluating whether these narratives reflect a broader existential anxiety about AI's role in reshaping journalism. Using a systematic literature review combined with a qualitative content analysis of recent AI-focused news reports, this study identifies recurring themes in media coverage to assess the accuracy and context of reported AI errors relative to actual technological limitations and affordances. Findings suggest that while AI errors are comparatively rare, they receive amplified coverage, often fueling public mistrust in AI technologies. Nevertheless, a balanced examination reveals …

Framing The Gaze: The Transformation Of Storytelling From Chinese Scrolls To Persian Miniature Illuminations, Lindsey A. Maslar

Theses

Miniature painting represents one of the many exquisite traditions in Islamic art, flourishing particularly during the Safavid period (1501–1736 CE). Numerous power shifts throughout Persia during this time resulted in significant cross-cultural artistic exchanges, particularly with visual culture from the Ming Dynasty. The Mongol invasion of Persia in the 13th century facilitated a profound cultural diffusion, as Persian artists and patrons selectively incorporated Chinese motifs, techniques, and spatial concepts, adapting them to suit local aesthetic and ideological frameworks. This thesis examines how the adaptation of Mongol artistic elements in Persian miniatures influenced not only stylistic conventions but also transformed the …

Neuroplasticity And Creativity: Transformative Potential Of Fibre Arts For Growth And Well-Being, Piper Hutson, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the transformative potential of fibre arts—such as quilting, weaving, and embroidery—as tools for personal growth, neuroplasticity, and well-being. Drawing on neuroscience and psychology, it demonstrates how engaging with fibre arts stimulates brain regions associated with problem-solving, sensory integration, and adaptability, fostering neural growth and enhancing cognitive flexibility. Fibre arts, through their inherent challenges and opportunities for play, provide a perfect medium for stepping beyond familiar boundaries, cultivating resilience, and reducing stress. This interplay of creativity and tactile engagement is particularly effective due to the historical undervaluation of fibre arts, which makes them novel and accessible mediums that …

Beauty In The Mundane, Madeline Caniglia

Theses

This project focuses on challenging what compositions are considered valuable as art. The primary focus is on the relationship between light and shadow and how it contributes to the revelation of finding beauty in the mundane. This project involves studying old masters like Caravaggio and Edward Hopper while employing their techniques and methods in my artworks. Through a series of oil paintings, I depicted everyday objects and scenes to demonstrate how classical techniques, paired with contemporary subjects, help bridge historical and artistic practices with modern art.

Jacqueline Marval: Référence Sans Révérence Art History Lecture And Activity Series, Michelle Erickson

Theses

The painting Les Odalisques (1902-03) anchors the investigation of French artist Jacqueline Marval’s presence and contribution to the modernist art narrative. The painting is composed of five women who share a face and features, set in a private female space. The canvas is complete with bold strokes of color, and their skin is painted in the unrealistic tones that Fauvists will embrace, yet naturally – these women are still fully and complexly human. From a distance, they are sculptural.

This project is intended as a Club de Lecture series for adult learners of French culture and language at the Alliance …

Disrupting The Disconnect And Delving Deeper: A Study Exploring The Dimensions Of Black Male Educators, Terri Elaine Cole Brown

Dissertations

Nationwide, the role and impact of Black male educators and administrators in schools is a critical area of study. This research focuses on a predominantly Black, Catholic high school in the Midwest, where Black male educators and administrators comprise 40% of the staff, providing a unique setting for exploration. While numerous studies have examined Black male educators' experiences, motivations, and perspectives, this research seeks to understand the dynamics within a school where they are significantly represented. This study provided a comprehensive understanding of their influence through surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups with Black male teachers, administrators, alumni, and parents. …

Colleges Of Distinction Praises Lindenwood For Robust Equity & Inclusion Initiatives, Lindenwood University

Archived Lindenwood Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Three Zafimaniry Carvings From The Southern Highlands Of Madagascar And Their Symbolic Meaning, Emily Krupp

Theses

The Zafimaniry people are a community living in the southern highlands of Madagascar, most known for their geometric, low-relief works of art that they carve onto wooden surfaces throughout their villages. The shapes that make up the designs signify the Zafimaniry people's ideologies, but motifs carved into the homes specifically represent their beliefs about marriage and societal structure. Three metaphorical symbols have been translated within the motifs by the Zafimaniry people as the patriarch, the family, and the community. A comparative cultural study between the motifs on Zafimaniry window shutters and Swahili doorways reveal similarities in material culture, visual elements …

Visionarium, June 2024, Full Issue

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

No abstract provided.