Digital Commons Network^™

Fashioning Women Under Totalitarian Regimes: "New Women" Of Nazi Germany And Soviet Russia, Victoria Vygodskaia Rust

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

My dissertation seeks to expand our knowledge of Russian and German women's history under totalitarian systems by comparing women's fashioning by the state and their self-fashioning in Germany and Russia during the Third Reich and Bolshevik and Stalinist rule respectively. I argue that processes of women's fashioning and self-fashioning were largely influenced by the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century debates on the so-called Woman Question and the New Woman and were culturally specific. I map the evolution of the Woman Question and the New Woman in the decades directly preceding and following the Nazi and Bolshevik seizure of power, defining changing …

Sex And The City: A Promotion Of Modern American Feminism, Cameron Michael Tufino

Theses & Dissertations

The television series Sex and the City (SATC), has left a significant impact on American society. The show displays this revelation: American women today have many established cultures of equal worth in male dominated discourses. This thesis explains how the shows narrative represents and expands feminist ideology in America. By modernizing feminist discourses, SATC challenges televisual female representation on subject matters including motherhood, sexuality, marriage, gender identity, and family. Investigating its four protagonists - Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha - demonstrates how the narrative contributed to the social movement of feminism. Furthermore, with analyzing its construction and display since the …

Armed With A Smile Or A Dagger: Women In The French Resistance, Barbara Opar

Syracuse University French Colloquium

No abstract provided.

Shaping Identity: Male And Female Interactions In Cinema, Jonette Lauren Lagamba

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Since the inception of cinema, women have been portrayed with the typical identities of emotionally and physically weak characters; this portrayal led to their subsequent dependence on men. Men were usually the protagonists and/or the heroes, following their archetypal journey. Thus, women's position in early cinema was to exemplify what men were not, placing the former in the diminutive position of the Other. One may conclude that men were often defined by what women lacked, and the women were defined by their relationships with these heroic men. As time progressed in the history of cinema, women's images retained part …

Menarche Ceremonies & Social Change In Fiji, Anna Clauson

Social Sciences

Fiji is undergoing rapid urbanization. Over fifty percent of Fiji’s population has moved from traditional villages to the city. Changes in lifestyle associated with urbanization bring challenges to traditional Fijian values and ways of life. The occurrence of menarche ceremonies in Fiji is a lens by which to explore the implications of these social changes on Fijian women. Inductive interviews with sixteen Fijian women reveal that birth order, proximity to home villages, and maternal agency are three general factors that determine the occurrence of menarche ceremonies. Education is also identified as an impacting force on first menstruation events in Fiji, …

Women Count, Jeff Miller

Leaven

No abstract provided.

A Law And Literature Approach To Stumped By Debora Threedy, Kristin (Brandser) Kalsem

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In this response, I will begin by identifying questions and issues about Stumped that might present themselves from law in literature and law as literature perspectives. This analysis will be followed by a discussion of the play from a particular law and narrative approach, one that ideologically is allied with feminist jurisprudence and critical race studies. Finally, I will conclude by examining the play in connection with scholarship on the cultural study of law, specifically emphasizing ways in which law and literature mutually constitute one another as opposed to being distinct categories of knowledge.

"Only A Girl Like This Can Know What's Happened To You" : Traumatic Subjects In Contemporary American Narratives, Allison Virginia Craig

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This project is primarily concerned with the difficulty of representing traumatic experience and the problem of seeing violence and exploitation as natural and inevitable functions of social life. It argues that texts attempting to expose exploitive hierarchies and structural injustices often risk having their stories subsumed and commodified by the profuseness and proliferation of countervailing messages about individual choice and personal freedom. This struggle is highlighted through historicizing five contemporary American narratives--Margaret Atwood's Bodily Harm, the films Boys Don't Cry and Monster, Toni Morrison's Beloved, and Linda Hogan's Solar Storms--with and against critical concerns and popular texts. Furthermore, by employing …

Giving Birth: The Voices Of Women In Tamil Nadu, India, Cheryl A. Corbett, Lynn Clark Callister

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to describe the perceptions of childbearing women living in Tamil Nadu, India. This study can increase cultural understanding and foster cultural competence in nurses caring for Indian women.

Study Design and Methods: Women were invited to share their childbearing experiences. Following institutional review board approval, interviews were held with 22 women who had given birth in the previous 18 months to a viable infant. The women were grateful for the opportunity to share their perspectives with an interested nurse investigator. Data collection proceeded concurrently with data analysis. Themes were generated collaboratively …

The End Of Men Or The Rebirth Of Class? How Hanna Rosin Leaves Out The 1% & Family Law Fails The Other 99%, Naomi R. Cahn, June Carbone

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article argues that much of what has been described as “the end of men” is in fact the recreation of class. Greater inequality among men and among women has resurrected class differences and changed the way men and women relate to each other and channel resources to their children. While women have in fact gained ground in the workplace and acquired greater ability to live, work, play and raise children without men, a mere relative move towards sex equality only masks the more fundamental changes occurring in American society and the continuing existence of patriarchy. First, the improved freedom …

Climbing The Himalayas: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Female Leadership And Glass Ceiling Effects In Non-Profit Organizations, Chin-Chung Chao

Communication Faculty Publications

Purpose – The present study aims at contributing to the knowledge of organizational communication and cross-cultural leadership by examining the relationship between cultural values and expected female leadership styles in non-profit organizations in Taiwan and the US. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 307 Rotarians in Taiwan and the US completed a survey meant to reveal their cultural values and expected female leadership styles. In addition, the method of semi-structured interviews was used to raise the participants’ consciousness of and critical reflections upon social practices regarding female leadership.

Findings – The research results are threefold. First, among the three major leadership styles, …

Piracy, Slavery, And Assimilation: Women In Early Modern Captivity Literature, David C. Moberly

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines a hitherto neglected body of works featuring female characters enslaved in Islamicate lands. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many Englishmen and women were taken captive by pirates and enslaved in what is now the Middle East and North Africa. Several writers of the time created narratives and dramas about the experiences of such captives. Recent scholarship has brought to light many of these works and pointed out their importance in establishing what was still a young, unsure, and developing English identity in this early period. Most of this scholarship, however, has dealt with narratives of the …

Rethinking Social Support In Women's Midlife Years: Women's Experiences Of Social Support In Online Environments, Julie Dare, Lelia Green

Research outputs 2011

The midlife years (45–55) often coincide with fundamental changes in women’s lives, as women experience transitions such as menopause, changes to family structure due to departure of children or divorce, and parents’ ageing and death. These circumstances tend to increase women’s reliance upon their social support networks. Evidence suggests that social support is critical in helping women manage transitions during the midlife period and develop a sense of self-efficacy; this article highlights that this support is being increasingly exchanged through mediated communication channels. The article presents a comparative investigation of mediated communication channels, primarily email and online chat, through which …

The Creative Content Programme And Audiovisual E-Platform: An Institutional Analysis Of Unesco's Influence On The Development Of Independent Documentary Content And Production Practice, Deborah Joanne James

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is an institutional analysis of two interrelated UNESCO (United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organization) activities. These include the Creative Content Programme, and the Audiovisual E-Platform, an online catalogue and social networking hub for independent filmmakers/media producers from the global South. Contained by these activities, the author focuses the multi-method approach on gender and access by (A) conducting an analysis of the composition of programs and practices of the Creative Content Programme and the E-Platform; (B) conducting textual analysis of documentary media and interviews with Diaspora women producers; and (C) participating in and observing community-based multimedia production …

Communication Channels Utilized By Emirati Females To Enact Leadership, K. Kathleen O'Neill

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify the communication channels six Emirati females concurrently employed in organizations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in which they had supervisory responsibilities; formal, legitimate authority; and positional leadership roles recalled using with their direct reports to enact leadership. In particular, the study attempted to ascertain the reasons for the selection of communication channels when engaged in downward communication with organizational subordinates. Data were collected via three interviews with each participant over a four week period. Interviews were conducted both face-to-face and via telephone. Data were analyzed via thematic content analysis to …

Dual Consciousness: Identity Construction Among Appalachian Professional Women In Southern Ohio, Rebecca Nicole Roades

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examined identity construction among a purposeful sample of professional women of Appalachian origin with particular regard to the blending of their cultural heritage in a society in which they are often marginalized. The questions guiding the research were grounded in a conceptual framework encompassing elements of culture, gender, leadership, and identity theories specifically using internal colonization, social cognitive, and social identity theories. They included the following: How do these women identify with their Appalachian heritage? How has their Appalachian heritage influenced real or perceived feelings of marginalization and how has that shaped their identity? Do they perceive themselves …

Barriers To Computer Use And Internet Competency Among Homeless Women And Low-Income Women At Risk Of Becoming Homeless, Sondra L. Wildman

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

As our society relies more and more on digital communication methods, the consequences of not having access to computers and the internet will further erode the ability of homeless women to effectively navigate mainstream venues for social and economic interaction. This study strives to explore the barriers that prevent homeless women, and low-income women at risk of becoming homeless, from optimizing their access to computer and internet resources. A group of fifty homeless women was observed using a computer lab at a daytime shelter, and of this group, five women were interviewed. The theoretical framework of the study utilizes Pierre …

Dante Gabriel Rossetti And The Italian Renaissance: Envisioning Aesthetic Beauty And The Past Through Images Of Women, Carolyn Porter

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s knowledge and interpretation of the Italian Renaissance during the 1860s. I argue that there is a relationship between Rossetti’s Aestheticism and his understanding of the Italian Renaissance and that this relationship is visibly manifested in his images of women from the period. In Victorian England, Aestheticism and the philosophy of beauty for its own sake became increasingly popular throughout the 1860s. I challenge the idea that Aestheticism and an interest in Renaissance art are mutually exclusive aspects of the artist’s work. Rossetti’s images of women expressed both his understanding of Renaissance art and the …

Representations Of Women Athletes In The Media, Sarah Kustok

College of Communication Theses and Dissertations

This study took a critical historical content analysis of the media’s coverage of women’s athletics through the 1990’s and into the early part of the 2000’s. Not only was there massive growth in the quantity of coverage for women’s sports, but specifically for the U.S. Women’s soccer team. As media depictions showed this particular team displaying both masculine and feminine characteristics on and off the field, the idea of gender fluidity proved to be accepted and cherished by society. It is possible for women to perform or enact traditionally masculine or feminine identities throughout their daily lives. The U.S. Women’s …

Re-Membering Lesbian Desire In Belle Epoque, Soldados De Salamina, And Las Trece Rosas, Debra J. Ochoa

Modern Languages and Literatures Faculty Research

The presidency of Jose Luis Zapatero Rodriguez has seen significant legisla tion in Spain that includes the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2005 and La ley de la memoria historica in 2007.¹ Upon consideration of the changes in Spain during the first decade of the twenty-first century, we as critics must pause to consider how literature and film respond to the topics of homosexuality and history. Since the death of Franco in 1975, writers and directors have created a significant body of films and literature that uncovers previously prohibited topics in order to make, "the once hidden visible" (Creekmur …

Indigenous Andean Women In Colonial Textual Discourses, Sara Guengerich

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

This dissertation combines historical and literary analysis to challenge a history of literary studies that reads colonial texts as reflecting a real historical domination of indigenous Andean women in a patriarchal society. Through a comparative examination of colonial chronicles and archival documents, I reconsider the portrayal of these women as having played the role of victims from the very beginning of colonial relations through the seventeenth century. Through these sources, I unveil these womens discursive agency that was expressed in archival documents, only to be suppressed in colonial chronicles and contemporary literary criticism.

The First Steps Toward Developing Leadership Programs For Women In The United Arab Emirates: A Survey Study Exploring The Transformation Of Emirati College Students, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Developing effective leaders has become one of the most critical challenges for many organizations today, as strong, competent leadership often separates high-performing, successful organizations from less effective ones. In many countries research is being conducted to assist practitioners in designing successful leadership development programs for both men and women. However, in some countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), these efforts are only in their infancy, and leadership development for women is a new concept. Needless to say, there is no evidence of existing research on the development of women leaders in that country, and only a few indications …

Choice Ideology And The Parameters Of Its Practice: Alternative Abortion Narratives In New Mexico, Abigail Rae Adams

Anthropology ETDs

The ideology of choice, embedded in the pro-choice, anti-abortion debate in the United States, is founded on Enlightenment notions that take the autonomous individual with perfect knowledge and rationality as the unit of analysis. The basic premise is that each woman 'chooses' from a variety of equally accessible options. Hidden in the political language of choice are the constraints all women face as they attempt to negotiate reproduction, especially if they wish to end a pregnancy. 'Choice' does not exist as an abstract freedom, but is situated within the realities of power and agency. This paper examines the ability of …

The Politics Of 'Giving Back' And Its Effects On The Autonomy Of Women After Sex Trafficking, Amanda N. Ferrandino

Honors College Theses

In the field of humanitarian service, advocates have the intentions of speaking on behalf of those they represent. Many activists and organizations seek to ‘give back’ to those in need of food, shelter and social services. But, does ‘giving back’ really help? This essay explores the politics and hierarchies of humanitarian aid to discover if independence and agency for aid recipients can be achieved. On the path to independence, what are the obstacles that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists create for the underprivileged? Are there effective frameworks and methods for advocate organizations to approach the underprivileged?

Authors such as Columbia …

Playing With A Different Sex: Academic Writing On Women In Rock And Pop, Monica Berger

Publications and Research

This annotated bibliography of academic writing on women in rock in pop should provide an overview of most of the scholarly literature on the topic and reflects my personal interest in methodology. When I returned to graduate school in the late 1990s to study American studies and popular culture, I discovered that academe had changed considerably from my undergraduate days when I studied history of art. Although traditional academic disciplines continue, I found that in the humanities and social sciences, there were no longer neat categories for disciplines and disciplines no longer were isolated from each other.

The topic of …

Academic Libraries As Feminine And Feminist Models Of Organization., Marie F. Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Because academic libraries are primarily staffed by women and are relatively autonomous entities in colleges and universities, they offer a unique model of workplace gendering and feminism. This qualitative, ethnographic study examined 3 small college libraries in 3 regions of the United States and explored issues of bureaucracy and gendering in these libraries. Feminist challenges to bureaucracy emerged in the areas of hierarchy, division of labor, competition and collaboration, decision-making, and communication. Feminine practice in the libraries reflected private sphere attitudes toward work (values of community, emotionality, and caring) and an affirmation of feminine roles in the workplace. The organizational …

Fashion Advertising, Men’S Magazines, And Sex In Advertising: A Critical-Interpretive Study, Jennifer Ford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines sexualized portrayals of women in fashion advertising found in metro-sexual men's magazines as visual rhetoric. Historically, studies on sexual images of women in advertising have focused on content analyses of these images and how they affect women. This study asks how sexualized imagery of women functions rhetorically as part of a branding message designed to sell products. The exemplar advertisements were chosen specifically for their sexual imagery from an earlier study by the researcher on sexual images of women in fashion advertisements found in men's magazines.

The messages interpreted within the visuals of this study reveal a …

Learning Resiliency: An Opportunity For Clergywomen, Mindy Johnson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Correlation Between The Eating Attitudes Test And Body Shape Questionnaire, Maren L. Kanekoa

Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the relationship between eating attitudes and body image dissatisfaction using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). Three cohorts of almost 2,000 undergraduate females from Brigham Young University were given the EAT and BSQ twice a year for two to four years, depending upon their year of entrance to BYU. The data collected were analyzed using correlational statistics. Results indicated that a high positive correlation between the EAT and BSQ existed across semesters and cohorts.

Voices Raised, Issue 15, University Of Dayton. Women's Center

Women’s Center Newsletter

Included in this issue: Celebrating Women’s History; International Women’s Day: Acknowledging the contributions of women; Round of Applause For…Dr. Caroline Merithew; Defying traditional female roles; ATWLC Committee plans for success; How Powerful is Your Inner Voice?; Voices of Women in History; Challenging behavior that works against our community.