Digital Commons Network^™

Hot Girls Don't Worry About Copyright: Trans/Formative Works And The Femmage Lifestyle, Czeslawa Wojtkowski

MFA in Visual Art

This thesis examines the ways in which collage is an ontologically transgender medium due to its freedom from traditional artistic formal and narrative structures. Considering that many trans experiences center around dichotomies, juxtaposition, and self-definition, collage is the best equipped to communicate these experiences in innovative ways. Through interrogations of feminized labor and the ways in which the art world upholds harmful gender binaries, as well as discussions of Femmage, maladjustment, and obsession, I argue that the fragmentary nature of photomontage, digital collage, and videomontage can externally express the multitude of feelings and identities contained within a body, to a …

Hauntological Warfare: Explorations In Propaganda, Influence Campaigns, And Online Affect, Roy Uptain

MFA in Visual Art

This thesis, Hauntological Warfare: Explorations in Propaganda, Influence Campaigns, and Online Aesthetics, investigates how ideological power continues to shape contemporary reality through both overt and spectral means. Drawing from concepts like hauntology, psychological operations (PsyOps), and disinformation aesthetics, I examine how propaganda does not simply vanish once its immediate goals are achieved, but instead lingers—reshaping memory, identity, and cultural narratives through what I call hauntological warfare.

My post-conceptual research-based art practice engages this terrain by creating site-specific installations, performances, and media works that make these invisible forces perceptible. Works such as Kill Zones (for Boeing) (2024), r/RoastMe (2024), …

Shell Quilt: Piecing Memory Through Quilting, Collage, And Printmaking, Grace M. Woodruff

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

Shell Quilt is a mixed media quilt and accompanying book which collect an amalgamation of found, hand dyed, and printed fabric pieces. This project serves as a visual tether and inquiry into my late grandmother Sylvia’s life and a way of piecing together memories of my time with her. As a conceptual frame for my thesis project, Shell Quilt, I have looked to the process of femmage, a term initially coined by Miriam Schapiro and Melissa Meyer, which I interpret as a portmanteau of feminism and collage. Through the lens of femmage, I explore the processes of collage, quilting, …

Go Cry About It!, Grace C. Ryder

MFA in Visual Art

I have always been a crier. I have always felt deeply and intensely. Goodbyes, heartbreak, joy, and empathy—I’m grateful to feel it all, even when it hurts. My artwork often investigates vulnerable topics through making the personal public using self archival and diaristic elements. Inspired by my familial and romantic relationships, I explore my connections to other people and how I memorialize and honor them. My painted works often depict ephemeral objects, establishing their value through the use of oil paints while my sculptures are often exaggerated, oversize forms, emphasizing the passage of time.

From January 1st to December 31st …

Unmeasured, Detached, And Isolated: The Legitimation Of A Domesticated Identity, Eva M. Agüero

MFA in Visual Art

Unmeasured, detached and isolated explores the lingering effects of colonialism on identity, behavior, and cultural perception through the lens of my personal experience as a Venezuelan immigrant in the United States. I investigate how colonial legacies—especially those codified through manuals of etiquette like Manuel Antonio Carreño’s Manual de Urbanidad y Buenas Maneras—continue to shape self-perception and societal expectations. Through video, sculpture, miniatures, and installation, I reconstruct a visual language that resists simplification and reclaims complexity. Engaging with the symbolic weight of tropical imagery, domestic spaces, and hybrid aesthetics, my work challenges Eurocentric frameworks and examines the figure of the migrant …

Illustrated Nonfiction In The Screen Age, Katie Klaras

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

The addictive qualities of our phones and incessant demands on our attention pose consequential challenges to individuals and the collective. In the age of screens, what are illustrated nonfiction books uniquely positioned to offer modern audiences? This essay seeks to understand how the genre can serve as one possible antidote to the infinite scroll. I examine the qualities of three illustrated nonfiction texts: Abbi Jacobson’s I Might Regret This, Shaina Feinberg and Julia Rothman’s How We Got By, and Nora Krug’s Diaries of War. The essay considers how the slower pace of the reading experience, the careful curation of image …

Expression Of Genes From Pseudomonas 20ei1 For Possible Control Of Fungi And Cyanobacteria, Brianna Glees, W. Scott Grayburn

Honors Capstones

Some fungi, such as Aspergillus, can cause significant economic losses in food production and produce mycotoxins that are carcinogenic to humans. Similarly, certain cyanobacteria, which are often present in harmful algal blooms, can kill animals and also produce toxins that are harmful to humans. The goal of this study was to determine if living Pseudomonas 20ei1 bacteria and their cell-free extracts inhibit the growth of Aspergillus nidulans and cyanobacteria. Plating experiments were performed to assess growth inhibition. In plating assays, both live P. 20ei1 bacteria and their cell-free extracts showed inhibition of A. nidulans and cyanobacteria. However, the cell-free …

The Limits Of Democracy: A Comparative Analysis Of Democratic Backsliding In Syria And Tunisia After The Arab Spring, Talar Haidostian, Kenzie R. Winton

Pepperdine Policy Review

Fourteen years ago, the Middle East was shaken by widespread protests against authoritarian regimes, driven primarily by a lack of economic opportunities for citizens. These protests, spanning six Arab countries, held aspirations of ushering in change, reform, and democracy in the region. Today, however, the region appears more fractured, unsafe, and susceptible to radicalization compared to the onset of the Arab Spring in 2010. The present geopolitics and disillusionment in the Middle East raise essential questions for the world that this paper aims to answer. What are the factors leading to the decline of democracy following the initial spark of …

A Letter To Governor Newsom And The California State Legislature On The Loneliness Epidemic And How To Confront It, Nathan Peterson

Pepperdine Policy Review

We are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness in the United States, with our youth and elderly being the most affected populations. The best solution for loneliness is relational connection. While loneliness is subjective and will never be eradicated, the most serious consequences can be reduced significantly. The approach here focuses on determining what constitutes a healthy, close relationship and how to go about promoting that in order to improve overall relational health in the community. The policy options assessed include increased counseling and therapy, community building events such as neighborhood gatherings, teaching conflict resolution and communication skills, providing “Gateway Services” …

The Polarization Of Electric Vehicles In Partisan News Networks: An Analysis Of Cnn And Fox News, Francisco Moran, Matthew Gaon, Quinn J. Proudler, Casimir Wypyski

Pepperdine Policy Review

Due to the great leaps made within mass media, how people consume news, current events, and policy has drastically changed. It has become increasingly simple to succumb to confirmation bias and partisan views. This shift has stretched towards the framing of electric vehicles through mass media networks, including both CNN and Fox News. In this paper, we analyze what sentiment these two different news networks use to cover the discussion of electric vehicles. In particular, we ask: Does the sentiment of the media covering electric vehicles vary based on the partisan leaning of news outlets? Does the polarization of sentiment …

Board Of Trustees Minutes, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Legal And Compliance Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Greek Life Ad Hoc Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Policy And Workflow Ad Hoc Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Nominating Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Academic Excellence And Student Experience Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Administration, Governance And Advancement Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Athletics Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Executive Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Facilities And Planning Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Finance And Audit Committee, May 7-8, 2025, Coastal Carolina University

Board of Trustees Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

Joshua Cyr Named Unh Paul J. Holloway Entrepreneur Of The Year, Aaron Sanborn

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Archival Literacy And Primary Source Literacy: A Collaborative Instructional Toolkit For Introductory Composition And Beyond, Kristin B. Leaman, Adriana Harmeyer

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This article is a case study that addresses challenges archivists and introductory composition instructors can experience when working to embed archival and primary source literacy into a course and models how to successfully overcome related obstacles. Building on the excellent work of James Roussain, it employs the archivist-as-educator model not only to teach the students but also to train the disciplinary instructor. Teaching instructors archival and primary source literacy and training them how to teach these types of literacy enhances student success. Acknowledging the literature that discusses the ineffectiveness of one-shot guest lectures, the authors have designed and piloted an …

Intervention, Force & Coercion: A Historical Inquiry On The Evolution Of The Prohibition On Intervention, Mohamed S. Helal

International Law Studies

In the Nicaragua Case, the International Court of Justice described coercion as the “very essence of prohibited intervention.” The characterization of coercion as an essential element of non-intervention has become unquestioningly accepted by States and scholars and has dominated debates on how the prohibition on intervention applies in various contexts, including in relation to economic sanctions and cyberoperations. This article challenges the ICJ’s assertion. It does so by retracing the history of the evolution of the prohibition on intervention. It begins by surveying the travaux préparatoires of three Inter-American treaties in which non-intervention was first codified, and then explores the …

Lines Of Thought: The Cartoon As A Phenomenological Object And A Philosophical Tool, Thomas Attwood

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

Cartooning’s greatest strength is its simplicity. This essay argues that the cartoon’s inherent modesty and accessibility are central to its philosophical utility, and that its spare visual language conveys more than meets the eye. Drawing on phenomenology, it considers cartooning as a process grounded in the body, and it investigates the bodily encounter between the viewer and the cartoon. Through an analysis of cartooning work by Saul Steinberg, R.O. Blechman, and Liana Finck - a “family of cartoonists” - it demonstrates how a line-drawn, representational cartooning language can transform the act of looking into a participatory experience that interrogates issues …

Firing The Canon: Queer Representation In The Magical Girl Genre, Lena C. Humble

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This research delves into the impact queer representation in the shoujo (Japanese for young girl) genre has on audiences. More specifically, the “Magical Girl” (a subgenre of shoujo) genre’s main focus is about ordinary girls whose lives are drastically changed when they are given magical powers. One of the major plot points of magical girl media is how these girls find balance with their ordinary lives with their magical alter egos, and their attempts to keep these lives separate. Much of this media follows a small group of girls, who tend to build deeply emotionally intimate relationships as they share …

Comics As Confrontation : A Case For Breaking Silence Around Sexual Abuse In Comics, Manimanjari Sengupta

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

In this essay I will provide an overview of the socio-cultural and legal attitude towards sexual violence in India, as evidence of the need for bringing survivor’s narratives out into public view. I will look closely at Indian comic artist Shromona Das’s Naming and Shaming (2018) , American artist Phoebe Gloeckner’s A Child’s Life and Other Stories (1998), and my own comic Feral (2025), to elucidate the ways in which comics are a potent medium for survivors to confront, not only our own memories by stringing together a sequential narrative, but also the audience, with the visualization of a lived …

The Dragon's Eye: A Quest For Tabletop Role-Playing's Visual Culture, Benjamin Kent

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

The world of Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TRPGs) has always been defined and dominated by Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), the game that pioneered the industry in the 1970’s. Meanwhile during this time, independent games have consistently innovated new ways of utilizing this highly creative field both in contrast and in concert with D&D’s growth. As a decade-long player and developing creator of these games, I hold a vested interest in furthering our understanding of them. The visual aspects of these products are well-documented and celebrated, but in this essay I attempt to define the overall landscape of TRPG visual culture …

America Is Banking On You! Selling American Ideology During World War Ii, David W. Maupin

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This essay uncovers advertising from World War II found in tear sheet archives. Through deep reading and contextual analysis, this essay seeks to determine what these advertisements—found in magazines, newspapers, and posters—were asking their viewers to do in response to the global conflict of the 1940s. It argues that advertisers used emotions and racism to entice citizens of specific classes to invest, enlist, and align their values with American ideals. The creators of these advertisements were hired by American companies, who used government sponsored tactics to woo citizens to the American Ideology while keeping the corporate brand in the public …

Experimental Evaluation Of Resource Allocation To Organelles In Eukaryotic Cells, Ronan Hanley

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

Among the hallmarks of the eukaryotic cell is its organization into spatially defined sub-compartments known as organelles. Organelles provide optimized environments for otherwise incompatible biochemical reactions within the cell. It has been shown that there is significant variation in the properties of organelles in a cell, and that cells have access to a limited pool of resources that they can allocate to organelles. This begs the question: by what principles do cells dictate how resources are allocated? To begin to explore this question, we look at resource allocation in S. cerevisiaefrom two perspectives. First, we use a combination of …