Digital Commons Network^™

Challenges Facing Independent Cultural Actors: The Case Of Egypt, Reem Khedr

Theses and Dissertations

The independent art scene in Egypt flourished following the January 25 revolution in 2011. This study examines the experiences of Egyptian artists and cultural operators through a looking glass into the evolving democratization of arts towards cultural democracy from a global perspective and using the intrinsic and instrumentalist arguments regarding the value of arts. Furthermore, it employs a qualitative analysis of case studies of 18 cultural operators in Cairo and Alexandria, who work in different artistic fields ranging from visual arts to performing arts and academia. The results demonstrate that the cultural policy framework guiding the arts sector in Egypt …

An Eye-Movement Examination Of Gender Stereotype Processing, Elva Adriana Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study investigates how bilinguals comprehend gender, especially when one of their languages is grammatically marked in gender. This study explored influences of world knowledge, lexical representations, and language activation in a bilingual population. Eye-movements were recorded as bilinguals read sentences containing gender-stereotyped nouns (e.g., surgeon) followed by a male or female pronoun (he/she) that served as an anaphoric referent. Language dominance in Spanish and English dominant and balanced bilinguals, the gender of the stereotype noun (i.e., female or male), and congruency between noun and anaphor (match or mismatch) were included as variables. The following eye …

Beirut/The Other Side Of The City: The Impact Of Visual Texture Production Of The Lebanese Postmemory Generation, 1989 - Present, Mohamed Moustafa Gameel Ebada

Theses and Dissertations

In 1989, after the Ta'if agreement, the war in Lebanon started to fade, which ended years of one of the most destructive civil conflicts in the region with no decisive winner or loser. The year also marked the birth of a new Lebanese generation who did not experience the war in person. It is a generation of postmemory, a term Maria Hirsch coined to describe the reminisces of those who did not have a personal encounter with past traumatic events. However, it was not before February 2005, when Rafic Al-Hariri's violent assassination occurred, when the postmemory generation started to question …

My Body, No Apologies, Maxine Montilus

Theses and Dissertations

“My Body, No Apologies” is a 20 - minute autobiographical dance film, conceived, choreographed and performed by Maxine Montilus, with text from Sonya Renee Taylor’s The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. The supporting paper examines the impact of family, history and societal forces on her Black female body.

The film premiered on the Hunter College Dance Department’s website, www.hunterdances.com/mybody, on Saturday, May 1, 2021.

Clams Clams Clams Clams Clams Clams Clams Clams Clams Clams, Ella Boureau

Theses and Dissertations

CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS CLAMS is a multilingual retrofuturist couscous western starring two eco-militant sisters living on a polluted Mediterranean beach.

Signal To Noise: Harmonic Temperaments And Patterns Of Interference, Dylan A. Marcheschi

Theses and Dissertations

An audio/visual exploration of historical tuning systems. Most contemporary Western audiences will seldom if ever encounter harmony outside of post-Renaissance tuning conventions. This presentation highlights some of those pre-orthodox harmonic relationships which existed throughout most of history. The corresponding paper documents correlates in recent advances of acoustic ecology.

Musical Irony In Selected Piano Sonatas By Ludwig Van Beethoven, Andrew J. Hochler

Theses and Dissertations

In the third variation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111, there is an abrupt shift in rhythms that almost resembles an excerpt of early jazz. This passage is so seemingly out of place that it appears to be an ironic commentary on the music that came before. This variation thereby raises an interesting question: how can irony play a role in music?

In an attempt to answer this question, this thesis examines the aesthetic property of irony, suggesting ways in which might be understood to impact three piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven: namely, his …

The Communal Roots Of The Tree Of Life: The Performativity Of The Torah Scroll In Jewish Ritual, Joseph Maybloom

Theses and Dissertations

The Torah scroll’s materiality is central to its use in ritual and encourages a performance-based analysis. The object acts as a physical connection to the divine, a material embodiment of Jewishness. The congregation’s participation in the scroll’s lifecycle rituals fosters their communion with the object and with each other.

Enlightenment Ideologies And The Non-European Other In Eighteenth-Century Opera, Daniel Silva

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how French Enlightenment ideologies influence representations of non-European figures in eighteenth-century opera and opera-ballet. The venue of the fair theatre created a space for egalitarian principles to covertly criticize autocratic control as is exemplified in the utopian ideals of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes galantes.

Pepón Osorio And Merián Soto: Multidisciplinary Collaborations, From 1985 To 1995, Zuna Maza

Theses and Dissertations

This paper assesses Pepón Osorio and Merián Soto’s collaborative multidisciplinary works created from 1985 to 1995. Underdiscussed in their individual scholarships, these joint works are reexamined through their collaborative approach, multidisciplinary framework, and their thematic explorations of the nuances of culturally specific subject matter.

Transatlantic Triangulations: Genre And Traumatic Memory In The Novels Of Esmeralda Santiago And Alejandro Zambra, Amanda A. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

When a traumatic event collectively happens to a group or body of people, be that geographically, emotionally or physically, an imprint is left behind which impacts a part of a culture or society. The larger the scale of the incident, the wider the scope in terms of lives affected and memory established, which creates a new history for many.

In Alejandro Zambra’s (2011) Ways of Going Home, Zambra remembers his traumatic childhood growing up under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in war torn Chile in the 1980s. While this postmodern novel uses memory and historical perceptions from a child’s …

Taste Of Grief & Other Unconventional Love Stories, Madison Brown

Theses and Dissertations

In her book The Hidden Machinery: Essays on Writing, Margot Livesey uses the phrase "the hidden machinery" to refer to two different aspects of novel making: on the one hand, how certain elements of the text characters, plot, imagery work together to make an overarching argument; on the other hand, how the secret, psychic of life of the author, and the larger events of his or her time and place, shape the argument (29). To me, the interconnected craft elements of fiction remains an ongoing enigma. I will delve into the hidden machinery of two authors with whom my own …

Eagle Eye Vs. Gear Jammer, Jessica Danielle Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

Where similarities in class struggle have historically operated as a unifying force globally, the American crafted mythos isolates the individual and dehumanizes those that do not fall within the parameters of the cowboy archetype. The national protagonist is turned into a class traitor and an extension of government power.

'Give Us More To See': A Feminist And Queer Look At Stephen Sondheim, Kevin P. Goffard

Theses and Dissertations

As our world begins to reopen following the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries—including the theatre—will be left with starting to get back to a new normal. Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, theatre also faced another reckoning within the industry: despite often being a place of refuge for many marginalized groups, racism, discrimination, and harassment has been a common occurrence within the industry. As the theatre community looks forward, many are yearning for a more inclusive theatre community. As such, the theatre community will be tasked with an overarching question of: what will our new normal look like? …

Redemption Through Representation: Grace Carpenter Hudson And Her Portraits Of American Indian Children, Meagan Camille Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

In his 1978 biography of Grace Carpenter Hudson, Searles R. Boynton refers to the artist as "the best in California," praising her life-long dedication to depicting the Pomo children of Northern California. During her lifetime (1865-1937), Hudson's work traveled to museums, world fairs, and expositions across the United States. The purpose of this research is to assert that Hudson's work is evidence of, and a response to, turn-of-the-twentieth-century Euro-Americans' hopes that the American Indian child could be "redeemed," or "saved," from their "savage" or "undomesticated" past. Additionally, this paper aims to convince the reader of the significance of Hudson’s art …

Disabled Epistemologies: Failures Of Knowledge And Care In Shakespeares's Merchant Of Venice And Othello, Amie Elisabeth Wambach

Theses and Dissertations

The presence of disabled characters like blind Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice and epileptic Othello are handy physical metaphors for the failures of epistemology that occur in both plays. Disability is often construed as a sort of saboteur of knowledge—disability of all kinds inhibiting the ability to perceive the world as an abled person would. But disability also produces a new, necessary sort of knowledge in order to survive and thrive in an unaccommodating world. A disabled epistemology suggests that knowing is contingent on individual, specific experience of the world. Tied to this issue of disabled epistemology is the …

Bewitching The Blame: The Crucible's Legacy Of Appropriation And Sexual Shame In Popular Culture, Hope Kristine Morris

Theses and Dissertations

In The Crucible Arthur Miller uses tropes of female characters, Abigail and Tituba, to tell a story of male heroism. In the process, he dismisses and appropriates the true stories of women who suffered during the Salem witch trials for his own political and personal gain. In this thesis, I argue that Miller’s appropriation and sexualization of women continues into contemporary popular culture depictions of the Salem witch trials including the movie adaptation of The Crucible and the television shows Salem and American Horror Story: Coven. These depictions appropriate and sexualize women’s stories in order to fulfill the male gaze. …

Seven Phases Of The Moon, Muhammed Can Yasar

Theses and Dissertations

While studying for my MFA in Theatre, with a concentration in acting at the University of South Carolina, I was asked to write a solo show. I wanted to write about all the lives inside of me. As a Turkish Muslim man who lives in the United States, I lived so many lives, I met many people and seen many places. It made me who I am today, and writing became part of me forever. Creating a solo show was the most eye-opening learning experience. It changed my perspective towards my art, theatre. It helped me spotlight people, philosophy and …

Inside The Designer: A Costume Designer’S Process, Kennedy Reid Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Through an analysis of my Costume Design process for The Revolutionists, by Lauren Gunderson (2019), Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl (2020), Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (2020), presented at The University of South Carolina, my goal is to explain the knowledge and experience I received as a student and Costume Designer. By observing my journey as a first-year graduate student to a third-year graduate student and bridal designer, I will analyze my work and achievements. This program taught me to be the designer I am today. This included designing 3 shows and creating a business plan for my own …

Step By Step, Iuliia Khamidullina

Theses and Dissertations

STEP BY STEP is a new work of theatre written and performed by me, Iuliia Khamidullina. This script is the one in which I appeared in four performances at the Center of Performance Experiment, within the Department of Theatre and Dance at USC. It tells the story of how a beloved daughter learns to become an artist, even as life’s difficulties are thrown in her way. And it examines her teachers, and most particularly her father. It asks the question: who are Siberian men? What makes them unique? And it examines how this daughter learns from her father’s courage and …

Media Combat: The Great War And The Transformation Of American Culture, Andrew Steed Walgren

Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the role of professional musicians, stage performers, civilian entertainment organizations, and the federal government in the formation of a nationalized, wartime cultural apparatus during the United States' involvement in the First World War (1917-1919). This process was contested, fragmented, and incomplete, but it laid the foundational groundwork for federal cultural initiatives and programs during the 1930s and 1940s. In many ways, the war forever altered the relationship between American citizens and the federal government. Specifically, this project examines two major cultural arenas – music and theater – by looking at the institutions and actors that transformed them. …

The Robber Barons Of Show Business: Traveling Amusements And The Development Of The American Entertainment Industry, 1870- 1920, Madeline Steiner

Theses and Dissertations

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, traveling amusements such as circuses, minstrel shows and Wild West shows were the most popular forms of entertainment in the United States. This study argues that advancements in transportation and technology inspired managers of traveling amusement companies to create new business models that transformed popular entertainment from informal, local productions into modern commercial spectacles. These amusement companies were capitalist enterprises, significant not just in the cultural arena but also in the growth of American business. These amusement companies traveled nationwide on the newly expanded railroad system, sporting elaborate sets and props and …

The Impact Of Self-Regulated Learning Interventions On Acting Skills And Self-Regulated Learning, Jessica Perry Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of self-regulated learning interventions on acting skills and self-regulated learning. Research questions sought to investigate the impact of self-regulated learning interventions on students’ acting and self-regulated learning skills and determine the perceptions of students regarding the integration of self-regulated learning interventions in the Acting classroom. Self-regulated learning is an important skill for students to have as self-regulated learners are able to self-direct their own learning processes. In the intervention, students engaged in goal setting, progress monitoring, video annotating, and self-evaluation exercises to determine if the self-regulated learning interventions impact their …

A Culture Of Control: Progressive Era Eugenics In South Carolina As A Continuation Of Created White Supremacy, Hannah Nicole Patton

Theses and Dissertations

This work examines the evolution of eugenic ideology in South Carolina during the Progressive Era by following relevant discussions published in The State newspaper. Between 1891 and 1939, The State newspaper provided a platform for discussions about eugenic ideology to be disseminated to the general public. Through eugenics the white portion of the South Carolina population saw a way to retain white supremacy and create better progeny. An examination of The State reveals a network of discussions that reached across South Carolina, the United States, as well as Western Europe. The existence of newspaper articles illustrates cultural integration in the …

The Music Festival: A Case Study On The Establishment, Development, And Long-Term Success Of An Instrumental Music Education Event From A Logistical Perspective, Dakota Corbliss

Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, I will combine insight collected from interviews of people involved with events related to the arts, particularly in the field of the music. These discussions include a variety of perspectives including executive directors, logistics personnel, operations managers, faculty, guest artists, as well as festival participants. Through a multi-layered and thoroughly filtered lens, I aim to establish an outline for a guide that will allow individuals in the field of music set their extracurricular educational program up for success.

There are many factors that need to be considered when establishing a music festival, but this paper will mainly …

Five Dollar Ticket, Gabe Reitemeier

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the fact that American culture seems to hold tightly to the notion that happiness is only deserved by those who work for it, experiences which require some work to fully appreciate struggle to survive due to an apparent unwillingness to undertake said work by the vast majority of American consumers. In Five Dollar Ticket, I examine the struggles of such experiences to find purchase in the American market and offer suggestions on how to make the “work” aspect of their appreciation more appealing and worthwhile. Specifically, I use the examples of attending foreign language operas and eating spicy foods …

Religion, Senses, And Remembrance: Brooklyn’S Sumter Club In Postbellum Charleston, S.C., Michael Edward Scott Emett

Theses and Dissertations

Civil War historians are slowly coming to realize the need to explicitly analyze the senses of those who lived in, and survived, the Civil War era. Although vision has reigned as the “supreme” sense, the nonvisual senses, with the help of historians of the senses, are becoming just as important to Civil War research. However, scholars are still unraveling the lived experiences of Civil War Era Americans and the perceptions and meanings these Americans gave to those experiences, with Northerners receiving comparatively little attention. To understand the world of antebellum and Civil War Americans, we should take them at their …

Failure And The Amiable Lie, Timothy Giles

Theses and Dissertations

This document details the creation and execution of my solo theatrical piece The Man and the Demon. The first chapter serves as an exploration of how the show was conceived, created, rehearsed, and presented before an audience. In the second chapter, I detail why this piece resists traditional standardization for the purpose of repetition. Through both chapters I investigate the intimacy and immediacy of theatre, the benefits of risk, the essence of storytelling, and the usefulness of theatre’s “amiable lie.”

14 Minutes In Purgatory, Jennifer Moody Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

14 Minutes in Purgatory is about the trials and tribulations of growing up female. Inspired by the Greek myth, Prometheus, and the #MeToo movement, this solo show takes a cold hard look at the social, economic, and cultural oppression of women. In the story of Prometheus, he was found guilty by giving the gift of fire to the humans. In 14 Minutes in Purgatory, the character is held in purgatory for the crime of giving wisdom to another generation of women, in a world of privileged men. Using real life stories, I was able to portray individuals that molded me …

This New Colossus, Sean M. Ardor

Theses and Dissertations

This New Colossus was an original work of theater which I conceived, wrote, designed, directed, and performed four times over three consecutive evenings in mid-November 2019 at the Center for Performance Experiment in Columbia, South Carolina (A video recording of this performance is included in my thesis submission). This New Colossus tells the a story of an unnamed Grandfather and his Grandson struggling against a fictional communist government of the United States during its rise in the 1930's and its fall in the 1970's. The work was inspired by the lives of 20th century leftist revolutionaries, the poetry of Walt …