Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The New Pornography: The Rise Of Fanfic, Kelly Caputo

Capstones

Fanfic has quickly become the new pornography, showing how in modern culture, everything becomes sexualized.

https://newpornography.wordpress.com

Why The Business Of Love Is Bull$Hit, Deanne Gaston

Capstones

This is a narrative piece about the experience I had when I became a love guru/advice columnist.

Link: https://deannegaston.atavist.com/why-the-business-of-love-is-bullshit

Toxic Toys, Bad Vibrations, Samantha Lee

Capstones

The global sex toy industry is worth a full $15 billion, and approximately half of America's adult population have previously incorporated a vibrator into sexual play. And yet, despite sex toys’ ubiquity in the boudoir, no local or federal authorities have taken on the mantle of regulating the safety of sex toys -- some of which have been reported to break during use, electrocute its user, or even leach poisonous chemicals.

In the absence of regulatory strictures, can sex educators, toy manufacturers, and adult store owners ensure adult products are safe enough for a growing customer base?

This narrative takes …

As The World Watches, George Goss, Nicholas Perez

Capstones

In 2015, President Barack Obama pledged to admit more than 10,000 Syrians fleeing the civil war, but with an asterisk: the near absence of religious minorities, including Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims. It is an omission that some have charged is discriminatory but, at the very least, has left some of the world’s most vulnerable hanging in the balance.

http://georgegoss.com/theminorityreport/

India's Dalit Moment, Gabriel Kenneth Carroll Conlon

Capstones

This summer a brutal attack on Dalit youths in the Indian state of Gujarat set off months of street protests. The attack and subsequent protests underscored the persistence of caste-based discrimination in rural India, and the often brutal manner in which Dalits – members of India’s lowest castes – are excluded from everyday society. “India’s Dalit Moment” is a field report examining the causes and protagonists of the revolt. With on-the-ground reporting in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar, this multimedia piece – including print, radio and photo elements – conveys a synthetic, but detailed window into the Dalit community …

How A New York Native American Community Was Polluted For Decades, Tola Brennan

Capstones

General Motors came to the upstate New York's North Country a savior, the bringer of much needed jobs. But after decades of using PCBs, a chemical much later revealed to be highly toxic, it's become the story of one the largest Superfund sites in the country. And the the hardest hit have been the Saint Regis Mohawk whose small reservation is right next door to the now demolished plant. Today, after decades of cleanup, General Motors has capped its liability through a 2009 bankruptcy. With the cleanup set to be completed next year, many Mohawk feel justice was never served. …

The Future Of Music: Exploring Noise And Pop With Cienfuegos, Reed Dunlea

Capstones

Pop music today has become increasingly filled with sonic elements that are much more abrasive than traditionally acceptable. This piece explores how pop music got to this point, the underground subcultures that it draws influence from, and what's next.

Lgbt In Colombia: A War Within, Monica Espitia

Capstones

On the surface, Colombia appears to be at the vanguard of the gay rights movement, having extended legal rights to same-sex couples and transgender people in recent years. But for many of the nearly five million Colombians who are LGBT, these rights have been largely meaningless as a result of the deep-rooted prejudice that often results in violence.

Gay, lesbian and transgender Colombians have been actively persecuted by armed groups involved in Colombia’s decades-long civil war. Members of the LGBT community are four times more likely than the rest of the population to be threatened and abused by both legal …

Roots On The Record, Joaquin P. Cotler

Capstones

Roots on the Record is a podcast featuring musicians and organizers who use their music to promote social consciousness, cultural awareness, and self-empowerment. The first four episodes focus on a black banjo player named Hubby Jenkins, a Brazilian rapper named Eli Efi, a Honduran DJ named De La Ceiba and a Brazilian-American singer/percussionist named Jen Nascimento. They each have a different relationship with music and teaching in their communities.

https://joaquinpcotler.atavist.com/roots-on-the-record

The Blurred Lines Of Cultural Appropriation, Jaja Grays

Capstones

For centuries, fashion designers, music artists and other celebrities alike have borrowed elements or styles from other cultures for personal gain. In my piece, "The Blurred Lines of Cultural Appropriation," I demonstrate the countless ways celebrities have appropriated different cultures whether at high-end fashion shows or live music performances. Cultural appropriation refers to a privileged culture borrowing or stealing from a marginalized culture-- striping elements of the culture to use it as a prop or for profit. I also discuss how to avoid cultural appropriation and engage in respectful cultural appreciation.

Vidigal Nights: Big Dreams In A Small Favela, Christina Thornell

Capstones

This 14-minute documentary follows Tatiane and Rafa, two aspiring actors in Rio de Janeiro's favela of Vidigal in Brazil. They are both performing in “Noites de Vidigal” (Nights of Vidigal) a community play about their favela and the challenges it has faced in the last decades. As we follow Tatiane and Rafa while they rehearse and perform, viewers are offered a window into their lives and the world around them.

Tatiane and Rafa aren't just aspiring actors but community members who experience firsthand the joys and hardships of living in a favela.

Vidigal, the favela Tatiane and Rafa live in, …

Hidden Jews Of The Balkans, Joshua A. Futtersak

Capstones

The history of the Jewish people is one filled with trials, triumphs, and often devastation. Many believe themselves to be educated in Jewish history, but we often have blind spots in our research and schooling. This project aims to look at just one region of Jewish history to tell the stories that are not usually told.

The Balkan region is incredibly diverse in its ethnicities and cultures. The history of the Jews in this region expresses that diversity. This project focuses on the unique stories of the Jewish communities in Bosnia, Serbia, and Greece. These stories of survival and perseverance …

The Three Year Clock, Sam Roeck

Theses and Dissertations

Roeck: I mean, it’s “a” future. It’s like half what I want to be and half completely not what I want. I didn’t want to create a future that I was entirely excited about because I’m not actually that excited about the future. It looks pretty fucking grim.

Negative Capability, Gabriela Vainsencher

Theses and Dissertations

Negative Capability is video installation inspired by a series of recorded interviews with my mother, a Uruguayan psychoanalyst. Our talks revolved around dream interpretation, how meaning arises out of chaos, what to do when one doesn’t know what to do, and how to tell when something must end.

Levin Analyzes The Life, Work Of Artists., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

For many, the history of art is a recounting of names and dates. For Dr. Gail Levin, it is about the human stories behind great pieces of art. “I became in- terested in art because my mother had gone to art school and her parents made her drop out, because they thought art was sinful,” says this native of Atlanta, Georgia. The reason was that, as orthodox Jewish immigrants, her grandparents became alarmed when her mother began winning prizes for painting male nudes.

Levin not only de ed her grandparents’ traditions but took her studies very seriously, thanks to her …

Trump Dreams Of Jeannie, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

This is a short story by Marleen S. Barr which describes how Trump encounters a genie, appoints Genghis Khan and Jack the Ripper to his Cabinet, and ends up corked in a bottle.

Sexual Violence As The Language Of Border Control: Protecting Exceptional Difference, Miriam Ticktin

Publications and Research

When I first arrived in the Paris region in 1999 to do research on the struggle by undocumented immigrants (les sans papiers) for basic human rights, discussions of violence against women were remarkably absent from the public arena. Nongovernmental organizations and researchers had begun to broach the topic, but with little public visibility. However, this changed in late 2000, with a media explosion on the issue of les tournantes, or the gang rapes committed in the banlieues of Paris. Such tournantes involve boys »taking turns« with their friends’ girlfriends, both parties usually being of Maghrebian or North …

Agitando Lo Cotidiano. Una Conversación Sobre El Desafío Ⓐnarquista Frente Al Sexismo En El Lenguaje, Mariel Mercedes Acosta Matos, Ernesto Cuba

Publications and Research

Ernesto Cuba entrevista a Mariel Acosta acerca de los hallazgos en sus tesis de maestría, que aborda las propuestas de morfemas de género inclusivo en publicaciones anarquistas de habla hispana, entre las que se halla el uso de " @ " , " x " y otras innovaciones ortográficas que buscan desafiar el sesgo androcéntrico de la lengua. Palabras clave: Lenguaje no-sexista; anarquismo; ortografía; sociolingüística; estudios de lenguaje y género; español.

Ernesto Cuba interviews Mariel Acosta about the findings in hers master's thesis, which addresses the proposals of inclusive gender morphemes in Spanish-language anarchist publications, among which is the use …

The Poet And The Polemist: Demystifying The Natural Law Theory Of John Milton, John J. Mazola

Theses and Dissertations

A summation of the influences behind Milton's Natural Law theory as found in the works of Aristotle, Grotius, Hobbes, and Thomas Aquinas. The essay's intent is to uncover this important thread that runs through both Milton's Poetic Verse as well as his Polemic tracts.

Art Beyond The Object? Art Beyond Grad School? (A Kickstarter Fundraiser): Help Me Complete My Mfa And Kickstart My Life As An Artist., Hsini D. Leary

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this paper and Kickstarter project is to enable the production of my last semester’s work and thesis exhibition, and also to aid in the post-graduation transition to a sustainable art practice that does not rely on the current gallery structure.

The Modernization Of The Long Island Rail Road, Derek Stadler

Publications and Research

The history of Long Island embodies what public funding contributes to transportation infrastructure. The article contextualizes the Long Island Rail Road in American railroad history both as a private company and public service. Using the Port Jefferson branch as an example, it argues that state proprietorship was essential for modernization and that recent improvements proved to be a poor investment.

Music And Words: Connecting The Love Of Music With Language, Eileen P. Kennedy, Raymond Torres- Santos

Publications and Research

Children from different cultures have a natural affinity for rhymes, rhythm and music. Imagine if students were able, from the beginning of their education and experiences with academic writing and literacy, to access their unconscious and original selves from which to create their writing. The study of music can help to access this aware, inventive side that can enhance anyone’s writing. As an early childhood writing teacher and a composition teacher, we draw on our experiences with young children with words and music. We examine the relationship between music and words in an effort to bring the primitive drive of …

The Latino Population Of New York City, 1990 - 2015, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

This report is an update to the CLACLS report "The Latino Population of New York City, 1990-2010" issued in November 2011. It uses the most current data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 American Community Survey released in October 2016. The report examines a wide range of social and economic variables tracing how these changed for Latinos in general within the City in comparison to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Asians. It also examines the changes within the five largest Latino nationalities in the City: Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Ecuadorians, and Colombians. There has been a definitive transformation in Latino …

Review Of Muslims And Jews In France. History Of A Conflict By Maud S. Mandel, Bryan Turner

Publications and Research

The mood of European scholarship with respect to the recognition and integration of Islam is typically pessimistic. The rise of anti-immigrant and anti-Islam political parties – Golden Dawn in Greece, the Northern League in Italy, Marine Le Penn and the National Front in France, and the English defense league in Britain – have exposed a hitherto hidden or ignored under-current of resentment against foreigners. In the context of these developments, Maud Mandel’s study of Muslims and Jews in France is a welcome corrective to the dominant focus on anti-Islam in the academic literature and in the popular media. The historical …

The New York With Instance, Or Abject In The Personal Environment, Liam Kirby

Theses and Dissertations

This paper was produced by an artificial neural network. An algorithm iteratively taught itself how to write by studying the text of thesis papers from the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 MFA semesters. After hundreds of generations of self-education, the program can produce endless thesis papers, writing letter-by-letter. The images were created through an identical process, using 8000 installation photographs from the website Contemporary Art Daily as a dataset.

Grace Paley, Octavia E. Butler, And Wendy Wasserstein In The Cuny Graduate Center Bathroom, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

This creative piece about book promotion describes how Grace Paley, Octavia E. Butler, Wendy Wasserstein, and the CUNY Graduate Center bathroom figure in Marleen S. Barr's efforts to draw attention to her novels OY PIONEER! and OY FEMINIST PLANETS: A FAKE MEMOIR.

Less Citation, Less Dissemination: The Case Of French Psychoanalysis, Rémy Potier, Olivier Putois, Charlotte Dolez, Elliot Jurist

Publications and Research

The future of all publishing is open to question, and this is especially true in the case of psychoanalytic publishing. Stepansky (2009) has explored the future of psychoanalytic publishing with a particular emphasis upon how the digital era has had an impact upon the decline of scholarly publication in the United States. If this trend continues, the survival of contemporary psychoanalytic research will depend upon its capacity to embrace and utilize digital publishing.

Echoing this perspective, we tried to determine whether the seemingly small international visibility of contemporary French psychoanalytic research could be related to its lack of acknowledgment of …

Culturally Responsive Teaching: Implications For Educational Justice, Magnus O. Bassey

Publications and Research

Educational justice is a major global challenge. In most underdeveloped countries, many students do not have access to education and in most advanced democracies, school attainment and success are still, to a large extent, dependent on a student’s social background. However, it has often been argued that social justice is an essential part of teachers’ work in a democracy. This article raises an important overriding question: how can we realize the goal of educational justice in the field of teaching? In this essay, I examine culturally responsive teaching as an educational practice and conclude that it is possible to realize …

Neutrality, Autonomy, And Power, Eldar Sarajlic

Publications and Research

This paper critically examines Alan Patten’s theory of neutrality of treatment. It argues that the theory assumes an inadequate conception of personal autonomy, which undermines its plausibility. However, I suggest that the theory can resolve the problem by developing and reinterpreting its conception of autonomy and introducing an additional strategy for addressing the power imbalances that result from the market-based interactions between individuals and their conceptions of the good.

Book Review Of "Righteous Transgressions" By Lihi Ben Shitrit, Anissa Helie

Publications and Research

This is a Book Review for the following publication:

Righteous Transgressions: Women’s Activism on the Israeli and Palestinian Religious Right. By Lihi Ben Shitrit. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016. 239pp. $22.95 paper.