Arts and Humanities Commons^™

We Came From The Sea, L. Alexis St. John

CGU MFA Theses

This paper contains a summary of the thesis exhibition, including an artist statement, exhibition flyer, images of the artwork with descriptions, and images of the gallery. The descriptions of the images are excerpted from the exhibition program, and include artwork titles in a constructed language called Ponder.

Aaron D. Baldon Mfa Thesis Artist Statement, Aaron Baldon

CGU MFA Theses

What I create comes from without and from within. It can be intellectual and/or experiential. It is informed by research and interpretation, yet it is raw and unaltered. In most cases, the experience flows through my natural synesthesia, wherein I literally see the unseen sensations such as auditory and physical stimuli. I don’t try to create palatable images, because the world is a dark and brutal place, and I have been there. Working with ink or high-flow acrylic on raw canvas is similar to a tattoo artist working with needle and ink on human skin - no mistakes can be …

Primordial, Fel Nikoli Mccoy

CGU MFA Theses

The culmination of my desire to reconcile with my existence through art is to create myths. Mythology, however fantastical it may be, was once how people conveyed their deepest experiences to one another. I became a mythmaker because I needed to communicate my experience: my efforts to reclaim my indigenous Mexican heritage, my anxieties about surveillance and judgment, and my belief in preserving the lands I live on. The myths I create are mashups of the cultural influences in my life with the intent of understanding my identity and positionality in contemporary society. PRIMORDIAL is a collection of my work …

As I Wander, Michelle Lum

CGU MFA Theses

My work highlights moments of wonder from my everyday life to give a more holistic view of reality. To me, experiences of wonder are spaces where a person feels God’s presence, where the spiritual reality of our world becomes visible. Sacraments in the Christian tradition are visible signs of a divine reality. I think of my work as sacramental: heightening moments where the visible gives way to the invisible—not by denying their physical characteristics but through them. The heart of my work is in the intersection between that which is deeply ordinary and that which is deeply extraordinary.

The Unseen River And Infrastructural Silences: The Santa Ana River And The Ontology Of Floods, Cooper Lennon Crane

Pomona Senior Theses

This article discusses the history of land development and infrastructure along the Santa Ana River in Southern California. The river plays a significant role in the landscape of many of Southern California’s cities and urban geographies but has been relatively underdiscussed in literature. This article approaches the river using a combination of historic ethnography and sociocultural theory to unpack the meanings of the infrastructure of the river and its relation to Southern Californians. From these meanings, the article places the river in context with environmental politics, urban development, and water management issues in California today. The article argues that the …

The Tradition Of Microtonal Guitar On The American West Coast, Kenneth M. Cotich

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Microtonal music in the United States has a significant connection with the American West Coast. Influential microtonal musicians and theorists originated on the West Coast or passed through California, subsequently inspiring future generations of composers to work outside of twelve-tone equal temperament (12tet). This project begins by examining the early trailblazers of music education and composition in California who sought to rearticulate the fundamentals of music. Two substantial sources that influenced new musical materials were the harmonic series and non-Western music and culture. Microtonal music in California is then examined through the efforts of a series of outsider speculative music …

Shame Clogs The Arteries Of Love: How To Love In The Face Of Shame And Conditions Of Oppression, Theodore J.M. Siasat

CMC Senior Theses

Love and shame, on its face, are at odds with one another. Love tends to foster connection while shame makes one want to hide and isolate oneself. This thesis aims to resolve this tension, particularly in cases of mistaken shame, where the ashamed agent need not feel ashamed, such as in cases of internalized racism, sexism, etc. To do so, this thesis begins by exploring similar cases of love driving people away, looking at (1) love under conditions of oppression and (2) love as seen in Vida Yao’s “Grace and Alienation,” where she is also concerned with ashamed beloveds. …

The Evolution Of Love: The Concept Of True Beauty In Plato’S Symposium And Phaedrus, Miranda Zhao

CMC Senior Theses

Love, a concept revered across cultures and time, holds multifaceted meanings and roles in human experience. Plato, in his dialogues Symposium and Phaedrus, offers profound insights into the nature of love. However, Plato’s conception of love has been subject to criticism, with many viewing it as selfish, objectifying, and lacking in interpersonal connections. Central to these criticisms is the question of whether the lover’s affection for the beloved persists after grasping the concept of true beauty. In this thesis, I delve into Plato’s idea of love as presented in the Symposium and Phaedrus, aiming to demonstrate that Platonic …

Lingering Presence: (T)Racing Chinese Community In The Borderlands, Reia Li

Pomona Senior Theses

By the mid-1900s, although there were only around 700 Chinese people in Tucson, Arizona, there were over 100 Chinese-owned markets. These small grocery stores were located in Mexican American barrios and served mainly Mexican, Indigenous, and Black people. Starting from these stores and moving to other spaces important to the Chinese community, this work explores race as a spatial process and space as a racialized project. Drawing on anthropology, geography, and Asian/American studies, this thesis (t)races the transformations of Chinese homes, grocery stores, and suburban spaces throughout the 20th century, examining the racial meanings that these places both emerged from …

Penelope: Our Cunning Hero, Rossana Leal

CMC Senior Theses

In the literary world, Homer’s Odyssey has served as a fundamental text in the Western canon. It was influential to great writers such as Virgil and Dante, along with being a significant influence in Ancient Greek religion. The subject of both mystery and celebration, Homer remains one of the most prominent authors in literary history. His work has received several interpretations over the years. This thesis takes a feminist and modern approach to the epic poem, focusing on Penelope as the protagonist of the epic and argues for her status as not just an equal partner for her husband, but …

Shaping Modern Europe: Evaluating Napoleon Bonaparte's Governance And Impact On European Statecraft, William R. Thurman

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores Napoleon Bonaparte’s profound impact on Europe, examining the leadership, military strategies, and reforms that reshaped European governance and law. Retracing Napoleon’s rise to power from the chaos of the French Revolution to the height of the Empire, it highlights the political acumen and strategic genius that enabled him to seize power and dominate Europe. Napoleon's reign is illustrated both as a quest for power and as a transformative movement to modernize Europe through systematic reforms in administration, law, and education.

Central to Napoleon’s vision was the Napoleonic Code, which revolutionized legal systems around the world by emphasizing …

Divided By Design? Urban Renewal’S Differential Impacts On Economic Outcomes By Race, Derik Suria

CMC Senior Theses

I study city-level effects of the federally and state-sponsored urban renewal program that aimed to improve living conditions for residents in blighted areas and slums. I use an interdisciplinary approach to estimate urban renewal effects on measures of income, property value, poverty, and employment. I first replicate the methodology and estimates of urban renewal effects on city outcomes in 1980 from Slum Clearance and Urban Renewal in the United States (Collins and Shester 2013). I extend this research by looking at a longer time horizon (1990, 2000, 2010) and incorporating race-based outcomes. From 1980 to 2010, estimated effects on property …

Between Self And Others: The Pursuit Of Legitimate Interests For Service-Based Identities, Joelle Min

CMC Senior Theses

American psychologist Carol Gilligan's work reveals that the socialization of women often emphasizes an ethics of care, which is largely overlooked in traditional theories of moral development that prioritize justice and universal moral principles. This gendered distinction in socialization not only enables women to develop a service-based identity—where their self-value is intertwined with serving others—but also exposes them to exploitation. Such identities risk subordinating personal needs to the needs of others, making individuals susceptible to neglecting their own legitimate interests. These individuals have a service-based identity, as they value service to others so highly that their personal needs are often …

Riqueza Por Decreto: The Role Of Politics In Shaping The Banking Industry Of Pre-Revolutionary Mexico, Daniel Lorenzen

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the nexus between politics and banking in pre-revolutionary Mexico, particularly during the Porfirian era. It scrutinizes how political entities molded the banking sector to consolidate authority and dictate economic policy. Through an analysis of historical documents, financial records, journal articles, and expert interviews, the study delineates the profound influence of legislative reforms on the evolution of Mexico's financial landscape and power structures.

Architects Of War: The Economic And Industrial Strategies Of The Third Reich And United States Under Albert Speer And William Knudsen, Spencer David Taylor

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis presents a chronological narrative that delves into the economic and industrial underpinnings of the Second World War, focusing on the contrasting war machines of Germany and the United States. By examining the strategic decisions and outcomes shaped by two central figures, Albert Speer of Germany and William S. Knudsen of the United States, this study highlights how their approaches to war production profoundly influenced the overall trajectory and outcome of the war. Knudsen’s embodiment of the American industrial spirit and Speer’s manipulation of Germany's constrained resources illustrate the crucial roles that economic strategies played alongside military operations. The …

The People Are A-Changin’: The Political Groupings That Built American Folk And Country Music, Nicholas Taubenheim

CMC Senior Theses

Since the Civil War, American folk and country music have become deeply political cultural mediums. This thesis posits that the history of the folk-country family can be broken down into three distinct “eras.” During the first era, the post-Civil War South gave rise to a new form of “Dixie,” or “hillbilly” folk music derived from traditional European folk ballads. In the second era, the Dust Bowl migrants of Southern California pioneered the “Okie” sound, which built upon Dixie/hillbilly music. And in the third era, the political and cultural dissidents of the 1960s produced a new type of folk music in …

Auden: Body/Mind, Basil Lloyd-Moffett

CMC Senior Theses

On one hand Auden appears the most cerebral of poets. It is said that when he arrived at school, aged eight, he professed himself excited to study the different psychological types, and the cryptic verse that was to emerge over a decade later bears the scars of his reading, psychological or otherwise, as clearly as the relentlessly analytical Dichtung und Wahrheit and other late works.Absorbing and repurposing philosophical, psychological, religious, and scientific works was an essential part of his artistic strategy, and led to credible accusations of plagiarism on a number of occasions.And just as his collaborators and friends mocked …

Unveiling The Unseen: A Feminist Exploration Of Consciousness And Empowerment Among Homeless Women Through Consciousness-Raising, Scarlett Liu

CMC Senior Theses

Homeless women have been forgotten subject matter in the study and practice of feminist consciousness and consciousness-raising efforts. However, they grapple with the compounded challenges of both gender and homelessness within an oppressive societal structure. This thesis therefore seeks to conceptualize the consciousness of women, and particularly homeless women, in a feminist lens. Specifically, this thesis explores the Othering of women’s consciousness through the intellectual lineage of Simone de Beauvoir and Hegel, and emphasizes the role of material circumstances in shaping consciousness-raising efforts. Then, this thesis examines two unique struggles faced by homeless women – survival sex and homeless motherhood. …

Recognition And Domination: A Hegelian Approach To Evolving Gender And Technology Paradigms, Zachary Davis

CMC Senior Theses

This paper aims to develop a strong account of recognition. It begins with a Hegel-inspired account of recognition as a fundamental desire that drives humanity. This account establishes recognition as fundamental to the initial subject formation of independent self-consciousnesses as agents. I offer the lord-bondsman dualism to provide a critique of domination as oppositional to securing the means for recognition. This entails that, as history progresses the world ought to move towards universally adopting mutual recognition relationships without domination. I adopt this goal as an ideal form of recognition. In Chapter 2, I apply this recognitional framework to gender. Through …

Exploring The Factors That Influence Female Offending In The U.S. And Mexico, Dana Villasenor

CMC Senior Theses

Hollywood has painted a picture of the criminal woman as a sexy, sneaky, and often psychotic female fatale. This is because men run Hollywood. Much like movies, research on why women offend had historically focused on men as their stellar. However, towards the turn of the century and with the disproportionate rise in female incarceration, literature caught up to the fact that women and men do not experience the same socialization, standards, or reality and, therefore, have different reasons for and ways of offending. This research explores those reasons for women in the U.S. and Mexico and paints the picture …

Does The Constitution Follow The Flag? The Paradox Of Puerto Rican Identity And Citizenship, Laura Somoza Velez

CMC Senior Theses

How do identity and citizenship interact? Puerto Rico’s current political status is that of an unincorporated, organized territory of the United States, under the shiny title of ‘Commonwealth.’ Although they have US Citizenship, Puerto Rican residents aren’t protected by the US Constitution. This source of dual identification, American and Puerto Rican, creates a unique circumstance where questions of identity, and belonging naturally arise. In this thesis, I aim to answer how the citizenship condition created in Puerto Rico and how it is experienced measure up to current debates and scholarship surrounding citizenship. Achieved through a historical analysis of the formation …

Savage Tales: The Colonialist Narratives Underpinning Indigenous Genocide, Riley Green

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the settler-colonialist supremacist narratives - religious, racial, and civilizational - wielded in the territories that would become Australia, Canada, and the United States to justify displacing and killing Indigenous Peoples. The narratives and their effects persist: contemporary disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples reveal the narratives' institutionalization, as do modern incarnations of the same legitimizing tropes in Australian, Canadian, and US domestic and foreign policies.

Alternative Ontology For Ante Rem Structuralism Based On Huayan Buddhist Metaphysics, Chul Soon Hwang

CMC Senior Theses

Ante rem structuralism is a version of mathematical structuralism presented by Shapiro (1997) that asserts the existence of mathematical objects. It stands out amongst other structuralist views in that it secures a face value semantics for mathematical statements. In this paper, I propose an alternative ontology where structures are fully explained by relations. I argue that this alternative ontology avoids arguments against ante rem structuralism’s endorsement of indiscernible entities while retaining the convenience of a face value semantics for mathematical expressions.

This ontology is based on mereological nihilism and the Huayan Buddhist argument that an object can be fully described …

Vision, Love, And The Church: An Analysis Of Key Themes In William Blake's Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience, Anna Tolkien

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis engages in a close reading and interpretation of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The first chapter examines his visionary imagery, symbolism, and language in The Songs. The second chapter explores his nuanced views on love and sexuality – addressing both a pure, mutually pleasurable love as well as a darker, destructive form of love. Lastly, I discuss his critique of the Church as a repressive and corrupt institution. In each chapter I draw from both Blake’s poetry and visual art. Through this extensive study of Blake’s Songs, I present crucial insights on …

Preservation Through Transformation: An Interpretive Analysis Of Title Vii’S Failure To Secure Remedy For The Wrongs Of Workplace Sexual Harassment, Halle Rudman

CMC Senior Theses

The establishment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as federal law was a pivotal moment in the pursuit of workplace equality and eradication of discrimination. Unfortunately, the application of Title VII in sexual harassment cases has fallen short of the statute’s noble intentions. In this paper, I argue that the judicial treatment of Title VII has been disloyal to its original purpose, perpetuating systemic inequalities and hindering progress towards gender equality in the workplace. I first establish a framework for the reasonable construction of a statute, drawing on work from various legal theorists to establish three …

Creating A Just System Of Civil Recourse – Articulating The Controlled Instrumentalist Approach For Marginalized People, Rukmini Banerjee

CMC Senior Theses

A system of civil recourse is a precondition for a just society. In this paper, I outline the ideal version of a system of civil recourse and analyze the accounts of various liberal philosophers to explain how a non-instrumental and mutual accountability theory of civil recourse best encapsulates its stated purpose. I analyze the American system of civil recourse, specifically tort law, and argue that it bypasses the threshold of tolerable injustice for marginalized people in the United States. Using Tommie Shelby’s framework in Dark Ghettos: Injustice, Dissent, and Reform, I argue that marginalized people are not obligated by …

Serving With Pride: Analyzing Lgbtq+ Personnel Policy In The U.S. Military, Sonja Woolley

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the evolution of LGBTQ+ personnel policies in the U.S. military, analyzing how these changes reflect broader social transformations and the military’s role as both a mirror and catalyst in societal shifts. It traces the historical roots of discriminatory practices against queer and transgender servicemembers, identifying key periods of reform and resistance. Using institutional theory to dissect the mechanisms of policy adaptation, this paper focuses on coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphism, which illustrate the complex interplay between external societal pressures, internal demands for legitimacy, and the professionalization of the military. Through detailed case studies, the thesis highlights how …

‘Poetry Is Not A Luxury’, Rage Should Not Be A Privilege: The Potential Power Of The ‘Racial Imaginary’, Georgia Mcgovern

CMC Senior Theses

Female rage exists outside of the constructed masculine ideal of anger. To examine female rage, one must analyze the intersections between gender and race. I examine white women's privilege and access to female rage in reality and the fictional world. I explore Black Feminist poetry as a form of storage for rage at gender-based prejudice, racial injustice, and their intersection. Using Myisha Cherry’s term “Lordean Rage”, I recognize this specialized manifestation of female rage as an artistic, intergenerational source of energy for change.

I examine Claudia Rankine’s term “racial imaginary” as an imaginative space in which white people draw lines …

Pathways For Recognition: Indigenous Land Rights In Panamá, Caruna Gillespie, William Ascher

CMC Senior Theses

Indigenous communities in Panamá face the same challenge that many Indigenous communities experience around the globe: a lack of recognition of their land rights. Over the last several decades, the Panamanian government has developed policies and ratified international agreements that recognize Indigenous rights. The comarcas that institutionalize these rights have had some success. However, despite a seemingly progressive framework for recognition, Indigenous communities across the country continuously have their rights violated by conservation projects and resource extraction efforts in the name of economic development. The Panamanian government crafts recognition policies using loopholes, exceptions, and ambiguous language that allow for them …

Cultivating Desire: Media Technologies In Fashion Branding, Jad Gorman

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the symbiotic relationship between media technologies and fashion branding, examining how the latter is increasingly mediated. In an age where digital platforms dominate, designers have adapted by utilizing a range of media technologies to cultivate desire and construct their perception and identities. The main argument is that media technologies are not just tools for communication but active agents in shaping their brand narratives and consumer perceptions. Whether that be a cult fanbase, reaching a wide consumer audience, or creating anticipation for a certain item, the use of media is often more important than the consumer object itself. …