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Social and Behavioral Sciences
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
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- Transdisciplinary (16)
- Religion (7)
- Cultural studies (2)
- Disney (2)
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- History (2)
- Identity (2)
- Muslim studies (2)
- Women's studies (2)
- Abstinence (1)
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- Aesthetic agency (1)
- Aesthetics (1)
- African american (1)
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- American appropriation (1)
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- Anti-feminist (1)
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- Chaim Potok (1)
- Chicana (1)
- Chicano studies (1)
- Christianity (1)
- Christians (1)
- Community building (1)
- Concept of Belief (1)
- Cultural Studies (1)
Articles 1 - 20 of 20
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Mamluk Jerusalem: Architecturally Challenging Narratives, Andrew C. Smith
Mamluk Jerusalem: Architecturally Challenging Narratives, Andrew C. Smith
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
Narratives abound concerning the religious and political positioning of Jerusalem in the past as well as the present and have been used in a variety of ways to serve various ideologies or political ends. One such narrative (which can be found even in some academic treatises of the history of Jerusalem) states that following the Muslim re-conquest of the city after the Crusades Muslim rulers neglected the city entirely, leading to its decline into obscurity and ruin. This narrative asserts that the city remained as such until Zionism, Jewish immigration, and, most especially, the establishment of the state of Israel …
Damsels And Heroines: The Conundrum Of The Post-Feminist Disney Princess, Cassandra Stover
Damsels And Heroines: The Conundrum Of The Post-Feminist Disney Princess, Cassandra Stover
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
This research explores cultural shifts in the popularity of the Disney princess in American culture, especially its postmodern resurgence, as well as the complex relationship between Disney’s recent representations of women in the 1990’s and post-feminist ideology. My project begins by analyzing the historic appearance of the Disney female in relation to the women’s movements. I also examine lingering anti-feminist backlash in representations of what I call “New Wave” Disney heroines. Finally, I examine the implications of post-feminist discourse and advertising for young female viewers.
Moore’S Paradox, Direct Doxastic Voluntarism, And Atheist Distrust, Kyle Thompson
Moore’S Paradox, Direct Doxastic Voluntarism, And Atheist Distrust, Kyle Thompson
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
The concept of belief is analyzed and then discussed within the context of the current climate of atheist distrust in America. To begin, Moore’s Paradox, and its relationship to an important claim made by Wittgenstein regarding false beliefs, is explored. Next, the definition of belief that results from affirming Wittgenstein’s claim is outlined and subsequently defended from an attempted refutation constructed by John N. Williams. The defended definition of belief, which regards direct doxastic voluntarism as false, is then used to argue that atheists do not directly choose to not believe in any gods so as to evade moral responsibility.
Re-Masculating The Vampire: Conceptions Of Sexuality And The Undead From Rossetti's Proserpine To Meyer's Cullen, Emily Schuck
Re-Masculating The Vampire: Conceptions Of Sexuality And The Undead From Rossetti's Proserpine To Meyer's Cullen, Emily Schuck
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
This paper explores the relationship between sexuality and the undead from Victorian England to present day vampire narratives. Specifically, I examine the shift in the vampire narrative from the frightening Dracula to the extremely sexualized nature of vampires in the early twenty-first century. My results are concerned with the nature and exchange of fluids between vampire bodies and their victims (or lovers) and the power associated with that exchange. My conclusion implies that re-masculating the vampire is a return to a patriarchal dominant discourse promulgates the heteronormative status quo, unlike their early predecessors, which tend to undermine heteronormative sexuality.
Talking And Not Talking: Sexual Education And Ethics For Young Women Within The Evangelical Movement In America, Kate Sargent
Talking And Not Talking: Sexual Education And Ethics For Young Women Within The Evangelical Movement In America, Kate Sargent
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
Evangelical culture is a juggernaut, and has now permeated every level of American society. Much of the culture’s strength is due to the powerful youth movement within Evangelical denominations. A great deal of its propaganda is aimed at “youth” and “youth culture” in the form of music, books, and technology. Young people are the “heart and soul” of the Evangelical movement. They embrace it, and then perpetuate it. “Evangelical” is an admittedly elusive term. The Oxford English Dictionary (2011) defines evangelical in two ways, both as an adjective, “1 of or according to the teaching of the gospel or Christianity. …
Satanic Indifference And Ultimate Reality, Brian J. Reis
Satanic Indifference And Ultimate Reality, Brian J. Reis
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
Satan has captured the imagination of writers in the English language for centuries. This figure and the notion of evil have gone through many changes in English literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Something changed Satan during this time, and made him into an arbiter of truth rather than a figure of rebellion. In The Mysterious Stranger, Mark Twain used him as the grand narrator of the universe who explains the truth of all existence, that life is an illusion. The American horror author H.P. Lovecraft carried this one step further, using Rudolf Otto's mysterium horrendum to divest Satan …
Chicana Aesthetics: A View Of Unconcealed Alterities And Affirmations Of Chicana Identity Through Laura Aguilar’S Photographic Images, Daniel Perez
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
In this paper I will argue that Chicana feminist artist Laura Aguilar, Alma Lopez, Laura Molina, and Yreina D. Cervantez established a continuing counter-narrative of cultural hegemony and Western essentialized hegemonic identification. Through artistic expression they have developed an oppositional discourse that challenges racial stereotypes, discrimination, socio-economic inequalities, political representation, sexuality, femininity, and hegemonic discourse. I will present a complex critique of both art and culture through an inquiry of the production and evaluation of the Chicana feminist artist, their role as the artist, and their contributions to unfixing the traditional and marginalized feminine. I argue that third wave Chicana …
Tiki Kitsch, American Appropriation, And The Disappearance Of The Pacific Islander Body, Daniel Mcmullin
Tiki Kitsch, American Appropriation, And The Disappearance Of The Pacific Islander Body, Daniel Mcmullin
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
After Greenberg's famous analysis of kitsch in terms of aesthetics, Art critic James Gaywood, reasserted the question of kitsch in terms of market. (Gaywood 1997) Here Picasso and cultural appropriation were supplanted by Marcel Duchamp and the readymade. The products of art became completely non-native on all fronts, the world so reflected was postcultural. In that sense, cultural appropriation was no longer an aesthetic, it was a commodity for production, and as much as possible, production by machines. The form of such commodity, of Pacific Islander cultures, was highly variable, from a 17th century English play by John Clarke, to …
Cultural Identity, Deafness And Sign Language: A Postcolonial Approach, Steven Loughran
Cultural Identity, Deafness And Sign Language: A Postcolonial Approach, Steven Loughran
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
Franz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks describes the experience of the recently de-colonized members of the Negro (as he refers to those of African descent) population living in Europe, particularly France, in the 1960s. A little over a decade later, Edward Said published Orientalism, thus adding to a growing discipline of scholarship in the fields of art, literature, and cultural studies called “Postcolonialism.” My essay attempts to show that Deaf persons who communicate with each other using sign language can be viewed as a colonized group, and that applying postcolonial theory to the study of their culture is appropriate.
Mad Men: The Relationship Between Psychology And Religion In Chaim Potok’S The Chosen, Laura Longobardi
Mad Men: The Relationship Between Psychology And Religion In Chaim Potok’S The Chosen, Laura Longobardi
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
After watching an episode from the first season of Mad Men, that cleverly juxtaposed the Catholic Sacrament of Confession and a session with a psychologist, I wondered: are religion and psychology really all that different? After reading Chaim Potok’s 1967 novel The Chosen, I began to think that the perceived differences between these two disciplines were superficial. Psychology and religion both provide people with a valuable way of understanding their relationship to the world around them, in spite of the apparent differences between them. By examining Sigmund Freud and William James’ attitudes toward both religion and psychology and applying these …
Oxymormon: Feminism Ain't Got No Place On The Pulpit… Or Does It?, Jennifer Johnson-Bell
Oxymormon: Feminism Ain't Got No Place On The Pulpit… Or Does It?, Jennifer Johnson-Bell
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
Just as Moraga examines the effects this myth has had on her identity, I will, as a Mormon (although I dis-identify with that label except in the context of my upbringing) and a feminist, explore certain myths perpetuated within the Mormon culture and what effects they have had on my identity as well as my relationship with other Mormon women. Three myths I would like to explore revolve around the concepts of plural marriage (polygamy), priesthood, and the notion of Heavenly Mother. [excerpt]
Wpa Projects In Anaheim, Ca, During The Great Depression, Laura Enomoto
Wpa Projects In Anaheim, Ca, During The Great Depression, Laura Enomoto
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
The Works Progress Administration (WPA), served as a catalyst for public works programs, specifically in the area of providing work to the unemployed. In cities all over the nation, the WPA provided grants that either paid employees directly or allocated funds to private firms. These programs were fundamental not only to the individuals they employed, but to the future of the cities themselves. Through the construction of public buildings, art projects, parks, and roads, American cities endured, remained intact, and even flourished as a result of the WPA.
A Christian Understanding Of Aesthetic Agency: A Theological Framework Of Resistance To Cultural Imperialism, Elise Edwards
A Christian Understanding Of Aesthetic Agency: A Theological Framework Of Resistance To Cultural Imperialism, Elise Edwards
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
Aesthetic agency refers to conditions, capacities, and states that inform artistic forms of acting and exerting power on social structures. In resistance to the marginalization of women of color, aesthetic agency is exercised through creative acts of culture-making and critique of such practices to challenge domination and representation of the oppressed other. To support this work as a feminist Christian ethicist, I construct a theological framework for aesthetic agency. This paper proposes a theological understanding of transformative aesthetics and then describes the exercise of aesthetic agency for Christian communities by using a television special, Black Girls Rock! as an example.
Quiverfull: Conservative Christian Women And Empowerment In The Home, Juliana Denson
Quiverfull: Conservative Christian Women And Empowerment In The Home, Juliana Denson
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
What is commonly referred to as “The Quiverfull Movement” is defined by its particular brand of “neo-fundamentalist” Christianity that advocates leaving family planning entirely up to God by refusing to use contraception, medical treatments, or, oftentimes, even natural family planning to prevent or control pregnancy and also tends to promote female submission to male headship. Although it has attracted increasing attention from the media and the ire of feminists, it has yet to receive scholarly attention. In this essay, I attempt to present a fair, nonjudgmental treatment of Quiverfull by seriously considering the experiences and words of Quiverfull-minded Christians, particularly …
Manifest Content Without A Dreamer: A Freudian Analysis Of Percival Everett’S Erasure, Irene Rose De Lilly
Manifest Content Without A Dreamer: A Freudian Analysis Of Percival Everett’S Erasure, Irene Rose De Lilly
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
This paper will provide a Freudian analysis of Erasure in order to prove that Everett is, in fact, the two main characters he has created, as well as attempt to challenge the stigma of interpreting through a psychoanalytical lens, rather than treating writing and literature as manifest content without a dreamer.
It's Not About The Coffee: Queer Temporalities At A Community Coffeehouse, Jodi Davis
It's Not About The Coffee: Queer Temporalities At A Community Coffeehouse, Jodi Davis
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
Long Beach California’s “gay ghetto” 1 is a loosely defined neighborhood with bars, coffeehouses and businesses that cater to the LGBTQ community. The corner of Broadway and Junipero roughly marks the center of the gay ghetto and is home to Hot Java “The Community Coffeehouse”. The customers there are loyal and through ethnographic inquiry this paper highlights the importance of Hot Java as a queer site of resistance and community building. Through interviews, observation, and exploration of queer theoretical models of space and time, this paper illustrates Hot Java as a queer temporal space marked by trauma, resistance, and community …
Beauty-Ful Inferiority: Female Subservience In Disney’S Beauty And The Beast, Jeremy Chow
Beauty-Ful Inferiority: Female Subservience In Disney’S Beauty And The Beast, Jeremy Chow
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
The ubiquity of Disney movies has certainly transformed the American cultural landscape. The Disney zeitgeist manifests itself as generations of children actively seek Prince Charmings, unrealistic fairy tale relationships and the omnipotent, happily-ever-after. One such Disney favorite, Beauty and the Beast (1991), reveals typical Disney themes such as the power of altruism, the transformation of the anthropomorphic, and the catharsis of true love. Yet, under these benevolent-seeming Disney themes lurk more sinister, subliminal messages. Beauty and the Beast promotes female subservience and subjugation in addition to the glorification of abusive relationships. Belle, the female protagonist, embodies these gendered disparities and …
Marriageable Age In Islam: A Study On Marriageable Age Laws And Reforms In Islamic Law, Jeremiah J. Bowden
Marriageable Age In Islam: A Study On Marriageable Age Laws And Reforms In Islamic Law, Jeremiah J. Bowden
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
One area of Islamic law that has been subject to much criticism as of late is the practice of child-marriage. Some, preferring to view Islam suspiciously, tend to create a caricature of Muslims as morally depraved individuals who force young daughters into marriages to old men for financial gain. Several polemicists commenting on this practice have hurled virulent epithets toward the Prophet Muhammad, whom they believe to be the originator of this abhorrent practice. After exploring instances where child-marriage still occurs, I will examine how this practice is currently being reformed in a way consistent with Islamic law. Ultimately, I …
Assimilation, Acculturation, And The Law: Solving A “Problem” Like Shar’Ia, Kristina E. Benson
Assimilation, Acculturation, And The Law: Solving A “Problem” Like Shar’Ia, Kristina E. Benson
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
An unexpected development in the English legal system involves Muslim women’s use of legally binding Shar’ia councils to protect their autonomy, marital security, and property rights. Although scholars and political commentators alike have voiced concerns that Muslim women will be treated unfairly in these councils, there is some indication that women have become adept at navigating this plural legal landscape and that they have often managed to secure better outcomes from Shar’ia family law than from English courts. Over 80 Shar’ia tribunals have been established to issue legally binding decisions on divorce, child custody, inheritance, and other areas of family …
The Use Of Rhetoric In Anti-Suffrage And Anti-Feminist Publications, Artour Aslanian
The Use Of Rhetoric In Anti-Suffrage And Anti-Feminist Publications, Artour Aslanian
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University
After decades of struggling to gain the right to vote, women were finally granted that right with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920. While it would seem that most, if not all, women would be in favor of gaining the right to vote, the women’s suffrage movement did not represent the wishes of all women within the United States. Scholarship in this area largely focuses on the historical developments of the suffrage movements, with the presence of female opponents of suffrage and anti-suffragist organizations receiving less attention.1 These anti-suffragists were vocal in their opposition to the …