Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Naturify 2300, Yarina Yiwei Dai

Masters Theses

In my art practice, I explore the interplay between human desires to manipulate and anthropomorphize nature, as seen in the technological augmentation of plants and living entities. This investigation delves into how this intersection, alongside empathy towards these creations, contributes to fears of uncontrollability and the risks of addiction and excessive dependence on technology.

Bioengineering and genetic modification have cultivated unprecedented developments, allowing humans to manipulate the fundamental building blocks of life. My research speculates on this technology further, modifying the genetic code of organisms and creating bioengineered wearable entities with enhanced traits or entirely new functionalities. The primary objective …

Call And Response : Experiments In Storytelling, Deanne Fernandes

Masters Theses

Being part of RISD's inaugural Masters of Illustration cohort has been an immense honor. This journey has been nothing short of transformative and healing, as it has allowed me to unearth layers of self-discovery through my creative practice.

In my thesis, I introduce a fresh research methodology rooted in the principles of call and response, with adaptability, creativity, and storytelling as its foundational pillars. Through the lenses of visual storytelling, experimental animation, graphic journalism, and fictional world-building, I demonstrate how these techniques can effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice. This dynamic approach fosters meaningful connections among diverse perspectives …

Trans-Species Communication, Fueled By Efforts Of Remediation, Naomi Canino

Masters Theses

Using science fiction pop culture and films as a basis to reposition the way that we think about communicating with plants as if they are sentient beings capable of human-like qualities, the process in which I intend to understand communication will be nestled in this fantastical, sci-fi realm of envisioning the world.

By analyzing existing forms of communication between humans, other living entities and themselves, I am challenging existing perspectives in order to propose new speculative processes of bio-based augmentation that can amplify a connection to plants. In order to pursue this exploration, I have chosen a real site in …

The Day The Door Flew Open, Clara Delgado

Masters Theses

A journey is a chance to better oneself, to go and come back anew. This kind of pilgrimage does not only happen in the spectacular realm of far-off travels. Often it happens where the soles of one’s feet comprehend the curvature of the land. Then, without forewarning, time opens a sliding door that appears on the recognized ground. Stepping in, the world is realized in a new way.

The writings that strike my tongue with ravishing bittersweet flavors are fictional narratives, with voyages that sail through day and night, disguised as lovely prose while critically probing the world. This written …

Making Then Meaning, Ben Denzer

Masters Theses

This is an artist talk contained within a book. It is 816 pages and 49 minutes long. Closed captions run across the spreads. A video of this talk can be watched on bendenzer.com/making-then-meaning

At RISD, I’ve been prompted to expand the scope and tools of my practice and to reflect on questions of meaning in my work.

I spend my days making things, but I’ve never really had good answers to questions of why I make the things I make, or what their meaning is. I don’t think there are simple answers to these questions.

I think meaning comes from …

The Wellington Affair: A Detective Story, Anakin Weston

Masters Theses

The week the heiress to the Wellington Family fortune returns to England, a series of strange events sweeps through the streets. The Wellington Diamond, unsurpassed by all of its kind, becomes the envy of more criminally-minded eyes and a plan is put into motion to steal it. Caught in the cross-fire, prospective writer Mark Verner is framed for the theft of the diamond but is saved from arrest by none other than the heiress herself. When the conspiracy to steal the jewel turns murderous, the only hope of the duo lies in the hands of the reluctant yet limitless detective …

The Cast Of A Giant's Shadow, Angela Kay Steineman

Masters Theses

Adapting fairy tales and folklore has been an ongoing endeavor by storytellers and artists since the very first story was repeated. The evidence can be seen in the many versions of fairy tales like those of the sleeping beauty, from Giambattista Basile’s “Sun, Moon, and Talia” to Walt Disney’s Maleficent. However, unlike their European counterparts, adaptations of American tales outside of children’s literature are not as ubiquitous. My writing rectifies this by adding to the resurging interest as seen in recent retellings like Matt Bell’s Appleseed: The Monstrous Birth (2019).

In an effort to reframe the American tall tale …

“We Are The Walking Dead”: Morality In Robert Kirkman’S Comics Series, Amy L. Jacobs

Masters Theses

Despite widespread cultural success, Robert Kirkman’s comics series, The Walking Dead, has received little critical attention in the literary canon. The limited critical attention it has received fails to provide an in-depth examination of the work’s morality. This could be a result of the ever-present influence of Frederic Wertham’s claims in his 1954 work, Seduction of the Innocent. However, when viewed through the frameworks provided by John Gardner’s On Moral Fiction and Wayne C. Booth’s The Company We Keep, Kirkman’s zombie narrative exhibits morality in multi-layered and complex ways with every turn of the page. Through the …

A Monstrous Tomorrow, Ty Noel

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Neon Calico, Joshua Webb Garrett

Masters Theses

This is a work of creative fiction in the genre of cyberpunk that explores themes of loss, sexuality, and trans-humanism though the eyes of a young Asian-American woman who struggles to cope with the loss of her former boyfriend, with an emerging sexual attraction to a friend of the same sex, and with feelings of disconnectedness complicated by a loss of humanity brought on by her continually improving her own physical body through cybernetic implants and augmentation. Inspired by such works as William Gibson's Neuromancer and Shirow Masamune's The Ghost in the Shell, this book explores the struggle that …

Render Down, Nathan Hinote

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Heroic Texts And Special Effects, Joshua D. Goss

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

For Quality And Training Purposes: Stories, Sean Towey

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Troubled, Solomohn Nallshi Ennis-Klyczek

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Between Heaven And Hell And Heathens, Gabrielle Knock

Masters Theses

This work of fiction explores the relationship between worshipped and worshipper by dually depicting it as a child/parent relationship and as a relationship between lovers. Written in the tradition of parodies like Don Quixote and re-imaginings of myths like The Childhood of Jesus by J.M. Coetzee, I use humor and a contemporary setting in my book about a child who could be the second coming of Christ, but who cares more about his mother' s approval than he does about God.

What Men Do And Other Stories, Larry Joseph Seale

Masters Theses

This collection of short stories is about men, men and women, and the problems that occur in relationships when one character is more unstable than the other. In today’s modern times, the role played by each gender has shifted mightily, and as women become closer and closer to being regarded as equals, many men have found themselves wondering what this means for them. The man is no longer the undisputed leader of the household. He is no longer the sole breadwinner. Without a clear role to play, some men find themselves pressured to lash out in some way, to overcompensate …

How I Love You, Hannah R. Green

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

And By The Grace Of God, We'll Travel West, Aaron White

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Grayscale, Emily Bowers

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Red Star Studded Chaos: Sex Scandal, Juan Salas

Masters Theses

Leon de Cruz is a fame hungry journalist that published sex pictures of the greatest pop group in the world: Red Star Studded Chaos. The group was genetically engineered to be physically perfect and live a minimum of 10,000 years without aging. Leon's news article about the group catapults him into international superstardom, and RSSC's only rival, a recently founded Christian pop group called Properness, wants to manipulate Leon into using his new found fame to write a novel that condemns the very debauchery RSSC stands for.

Looking to capitalize on the chaos sparked by the sex photographs, Properness's management …

A New Dressing, Damon S. Murrah

Masters Theses

In A New Dressing Damon Murrah presents a collection of short stories where characters find the dramatic amongst the ordinary. The everyday situations and conflicts of these characters’ lives offer no formula, but rather inspect the complexities of the overlooked or ignored.

The Wharton Place: A Novel, Allison Yilling Wear

Masters Theses

The Wharton Place is a novel told from the first-person retrospective point of view of Kate Wharton, an eight year old girl from Kentucky. When Kate’s estranged grandfather dies, Kate’s family unexpectedly inherits a piece of property in rural Tennessee. Faced with mounting financial trouble and his own concerns about his legacy, Kate’s father moves the family to the farm, even though he has no experience working the land. The novel will cover Kate’s adjustment to her new life as well as her maturation into a young woman.

The critical introduction to this piece analyzes two classic novels, To Kill …

Death In Canada: A Short Story Collection, Leanna Rose Wharram

Masters Theses

Leanna Wharram’s Death in Canada explores themes of family, betrayal, friendship, love, and death in four short stories, set in various locations across Canada: “The Elephant Goddess,” “Paddleboat Drowning,” “The Dog Groomer,” and “Social Observation Study – Observer#A2651.” The collection also includes a critical introduction detailing the use of foreshadowing techniques and narrative perspective.

Like A Terrible Fish: A Collection Of Stories, Hannah Ledford

Masters Theses

In this collection of stories, Hannah Ledford examines fairytales and domesticity to portray the difficulties of characters at many different stages of life, particularly as they deal with growing up and building relationships with family. Her characters are often restricted by their society in some way, and they attempt to either reconcile themselves with or break free from expectations of femininity, sexuality, motherhood, and grief.

Dolus's Doctrine, Gretchen Schaible-Smith

Masters Theses

Marta Hoyle has lived her entire life in the safety and security of the New Republic where she tries to live a life that is in accordance with The Book of Law and Faith. Her Radical parents put her under the government's constant scrutiny, and even though she's resided with her pious Aunt Grace for over five years, she finds herself in danger of being tried and eliminated as a Radical.

When Marta receives a warning from a soldier of the danger in store, she decides to risk a visit to a Radical meeting in hopes of finding safety and …

Talk Me Down: A Selection Of Short Stories, Katie Elyce Freeman

Masters Theses

In Talk Me Down, Katie Elyce Freeman offers a selection of short stories that follows young characters in their pursuit for self-satisfaction. At times her characters are uncertain of their talents, at times wracked with guilt over immature mistakes; but their highly detailed, sensory worlds often deliver a needed coincidence, a sliver of light to lead their way.

Walking With The Wampus, Abigail Grace Griffith

Masters Theses

In Walking with the Wampus, Abigail (Abby) Griffith offers a collection of short stories that toe the slippery stream that runs between the shores of the fantastic and the mundane. Challenging preconceptions of what might be traditionally defined as “literary fiction,” Griffith’s stories are three parts surrealism to two parts metafiction. Fairy tales that come equipped with teeth and a twist, this collection introduces readers to a ragtag variety of characters, including: a girl who turns everything she touches to ice and the Devil who loves her, a kid cursed with a mother who just might be a goldfish, a …

Marty On The Edge, Bill Feltt

Masters Theses

Marty Kaden can fly. A champion Taekwondoist with serious hopes and a good chance of making the United States team, propelling him all the way to the Olympic Games one day, he takes his chosen martial art seriously. Trouble looms on the horizon, however, and soon brings Marty down to Earth. After suffering defeat at the hands of an arch-rival, Marty spins out of control. Worse, his master instructor disappears under what Marty believes are mysterious circumstances. Yet no one will take him seriously—the police, his mother, his master's assistant. None of them shares his concern. Marty's despair sends him …

L.I.F.E., Omar Merideth Headen

Masters Theses

I've written my creative thesis in support of the Chicago Public School (CPS) System's "Character Education" initiative. This initiative is composed of a teaching curriculum designed to develop instructional lessons and activities for students, training for teachers and CPS staff, and information for the community that will serve to reduce racial, ethnic and/or religious intolerance and increase sensitivity, cooperation, and understanding. The purpose of this thesis is to give teenage students valuable lessons in character building and allow them to come face to face with various realities of life (i.e., peer pressure, divorce, death, etc.). But more importantly, this thesis …

Door To Door, Bryan Levek

Masters Theses

My creative thesis consists of four short stories and my author's introduction to them.

In my introduction, I discuss my primary literary influences; not only the author's whose approaches to short fiction that I share, but also those I feel indifferent towards. Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio is admirable for its sketches of common people and ordinary life events. James Joyce is highlighted as the originator of literary epiphany, a moment of revelation or profound insight, and both A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners provide examples of the device. Hemingway's stripped down language is appreciated for …