Digital Commons Network^™

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. …

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 …

Who Said It First? : Linguistic Appropriation Of Slang Terms Within The Popular Lexicon, Rachel Elizabeth Laing

Theses and Dissertations

Linguistic appropriation is an area of study that has been under-researched, even as it has become all the more relevant due to the rapid dissemination of slang and linguistic trends during the digital age. There are clear ties shown between individuals’ and groups’ identity and language. This study specifically examines the appropriation of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and LGBT language by creating an Acceptability of Appropriation scale and assessing potential relationships between linguistic appropriation, intercultural tolerance, and LGBT tolerance. These results are then examined through the lens of the communication theory of identity (CTI) and potential identity gaps that …

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 …

“The Once And Future Audubon:” The History Of The Audubon Ballroom And The Movement To Save It, William Maclane Hull

Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the history of the Save the Audubon Movement – an activist movement in the 1980s and early 1990s protesting Columbia University’s plan to demolish the Audubon Ballroom and replace it with a modern biomedical research complex. The Audubon Ballroom is best known for being the site of Malcolm X’s assassination and was a major landmark to New York Hispanic and African Americans. It takes a cultural history lens, giving special attention on the emerging hip-hop culture that became the primary voice of protest in New York City in the 1970s through the 90s. This paper begins with …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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.”

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 …

Technology Experience: Measurement Development And Validation, Hyejo Hailey Shin

Theses and Dissertations

Think about yourself traveling to somewhere in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s repeatedly. What would be the most significant difference among those four periods? There would be many differences, including clearer sky and clean air. Imagine how you would plan your three-day vacation. You might need several travel guidebooks and travel agents to plan your trip if you were in the 1990s. In the 2020s, you just need to download some mobile apps to plan and even create organized travel itineraries. After arriving at the destination, how would you find the way to a tourism attraction? You just need …

A Stylistic Analysis Of Edvard Grieg’S Slåtter, Norwegian Peasant Dances, Op. 72, Zhiyuan He

Theses and Dissertations

Slåtter, Norwegian Peasant Dances, Op. 72 is a composition for solo piano by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). This set is one of his greatest contributions to piano literature, and shows his attempt to bring the traditional folk music to the rest of the world. The object of this study is to aid musicians toward a better understanding of Slåtter through a stylistic analysis of the work. The study includes historical information about the composer and his connection with nationalism in Northern Europe, and conveys how Slåtter can be considered a culminating work representing traditional Norwegian style characteristics.

The document …

Foxy Ladies And Badass Super Agents: Legacies Of 1970s Blaxploitation Spy And Detective Heroines, Carlie Nicole Todd

Theses and Dissertations

The presentation of Black femininity in Blaxploitation spy and detective films like Cleopatra Jones (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), and Get Christie Love! (1974) – depicting powerful, independent, and multidimensional characters – was a sharp departure from the derogatory images of African American women in film prior. These films also included some of the first Black spy and detective film heroines – Foxy Brown, Cleo Jones, and Christie Love – that portrayed a “serious” female detective or government agent as the main protagonist and center of the film’s action. These Blaxploitation heroines were unique in how their characters departed from prior …

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 …

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 …

Exploring The Impact Of Utilizing Real Patients During Nutrition Counseling Training, Ashlyn R. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the educational advantages real patients can offer dietetic students in nutrition counseling training. In addition, this study observed the impact of training with real patients on dietetic students' nutrition counseling confidence. Six dietetic students were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured individual interviews. Students expressed their opinions and experiences regarding their nutrition counseling training sessions with both simulated and real patients. Each interview was audio-recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Using a grounded theory approach, key themes were identified from the data. Findings from this study indicated that practicing nutrition counseling with real …

The Globalgothic Vampire: Application Of And Benefits For The English Studies Model, David Lawrence Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation utilizes canonical vampire texts interlaced with pop-culture story-worlds and international cultural remediations to demonstrate the flexibility of the Globalgothic as a viable and valuable research lens to facilitate skills-based learning in undergraduate students by utilizing each of the four branches of the English Studies Model; literature, linguistics, rhetoric, and pedagogy. For this dissertation, I will be using the term Globalgothic as suggested by Glennis Byron. The focus of this literary lens is not merely to look at the conventions traditionally associated with the gothic genre, such as crumbling houses, a sense of foreboding, dark omens, and damsels in …

Balancimi I Kreativitetit Dhe Kostos – Shtëpia E Mallrave Gërmia, Fjolla Shala

Theses and Dissertations

Në Kosovë duke marrë parasysh se zhvillimi ka qenë më mbrapa se në vendet e tjera si pasojë e tranzicionit dhe zhvillimit ekonomik, njerëzit çdo vit e më shumë kanë shfaqur interesim për Art dhe Kulturë. Arti tash e disa kohë ka qenë pjesë e jetës sonë prandaj kërkesa për hapësira kulturore është duke u rritur çdo vit e më shumë.

Nevoja për të organizuar qendra kulturore, salla koncertale, teatro, galeri artistike ka ndikuar që dizajni i brendshëm të kërkohet më shumë, në mënyrë që të ofrohen hapësira adekuate.

Dizajni i brendshëm ka arritur të përmirësoj brendësin e një ndërtese …

E Ardhmja E Afërt, Diellza Sahiti

Theses and Dissertations

Futurizmi është një lëvizje artistike që filloi në fillim të viteve 1900. Në këtë kohë futurizmi është një nga konceptet më të ndikuara dhe në trend. Kjo lëvizje ndikon në jetën moderne me reflektimet e saj në arkitekturë e modë duke ndryshuar shumë fusha si në letërsi, arte pamore dhe dizajn. Ky koncept që ne shpesh e hasim në epokën tonë është një nga elementet më të domosdoshëm në jetën tonë. Marrëdhënia më logjike është se moda dhe arkitektura sigurojnë një strehë për njerëzit në dimenzione të ndryshme shoqërore.Të dy fushat kalojnë nëpër disa epoka ku dizajni kalon nga kompleksiteti …

Unsettling, Cynthia Groya

Theses and Dissertations

Unsettling is an experimental essay film created during COVID-19 shelter-in-place isolation, documenting remembrances of traumatic life events and the impact these memories have on my vision and life. Preparing to leave my home, my marriage and the lifestyle I have inhabited for fourteen years, I contemplate, “What are memories?” “What do you hold onto from the past and what do you let go?” This film documents my personal journey exploring love, loss, denial, grief and acceptance, told in the third person. The personal ramifications of historic racism, cancer, divorce and white supremacy and the role these issues play in the …

Giglife.Nyc: Blood, Sweat, Tears And Glitter., Erik B. Slavin

Theses and Dissertations

In New York City there's a community of artists who have rejected the obvious choices that the world has offered them and pursued a life of performance and glitter, of bright lights and fire and sensuality.

These performers are extraordinarily compelling. They're artists with lives crafted to entice and delight our gaze. GigLife.NYC: Blood, Sweat, Tears & Glitter is an observational documentary film that invites the viewer, drawn in with the promise of titillating spectacle, to discover the object of their desire is engaged in artistic, romantic, political and economic struggle.

Broken Harts: Mourning The Human/Animal Divide In Shakespeare’S As You Like It And Wordsworth’S “Hart-Leap Well”, Jennifer Jourlait

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis compares the deer scenes in Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Wordsworth’s “Hart-Leap Well.” Both raise questions about man’s right to hunt animals with impunity. Shakespeare’s Jaques superficially takes up the issue of animal rights whereas Wordsworth’s personification of the stag evokes the reader’s sympathy for the animal.

Gus Solomons Jr.: Analyzing The Dances Of An Early Black Postmodernist, Zsuzsanna Orban

Theses and Dissertations

Gus Solomons jr. was one of the first Black dancers to participate in the Judson Dance Theater workshops, but was never fully integrated into the white, postmodern dance world. This thesis looks at several of his works which exemplify his use of site-specificity and innovative technologies, including dual-screen video dances.

The Gridded Time Of Waiting; Or Is Not Aristotle’S Metaphysics; Or A Kind Of Idealist Trap; Or In My Secret Life, Olivia Divecchia

Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical musings, descriptions, articulations of process, quotations and anecdotes form a constellation of thoughts about the trappings of the grid, ontology, the subject, the window, translation and other things.

The Grid As Organizing Principle Of Space, Information, Time, And Display, Sam Sherman

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past several centuries, the grid has colonized nearly every aspect of human life. This text traces the development of the grid in technology and art, and links the grid’s proliferation to the rise of modern governance. The grid has become the primary tool by which government exerts social control via the production of spectacle. As such, artists have increasingly recognized the grid as a central problematic to confront rather than reiterate. Within this context, I consider two of my videos: Today’s News (2020) and Tiles (2020).