Arts and Humanities Commons^™

¡Mujeres Chéveres! – Cool Women!, Hernan A. Gonzales Mejia

LSU Master's Theses

¡MUJERES CHÉVERES! – Cool Women! is a body of work and writing that looks into the history of feminism and analyzes the activism of Colombian women, highlighting their resilience and spirit. Policarpa Salavarrieta, Maria Cano, Madre Laura Montoya, and Adriana Ocampo are a few examples of Colombian women’s contributions to social movements and gender equality. Movements like “Estamos Listas” in Medellín are discussed for their role in advocating for women’s rights and societal change.

As a self-identified feminist male, this body of work, draws from my upbringing among influential women to investigate the societal roles of Colombian women. This …

Home Is, Jodie Masterman

LSU Master's Theses

As an exploration of family and personal history, Home is. aims not only to chronicle my own experiences and memories, but to touch upon the innumerable definitions of the word “home”. The objects are rooted in personal reflection, but each one refers to an aspect of play, identity, love, loss, or regret, inherent within any family. Although they do serve as a blueprint of my life, they are meant to stand as moments shared by all.

Damon Hill, Elizabeth Welch

LSU Master's Theses

“Damon Hill” acts as a physical record of the family folklore of a group of people formed by landscape and kinship. As a member of this group, I have translated my family’s stories into a visual narrative as a way to process my own identity in relation to our shared identity. The focus of “Damon Hill” rests primarily on the lives of my female predecessors, as a way for me to contribute their unique voice to the overarching feminine narrative. I incorporate the visual representation of traditionally feminine handicrafts in order to relay their stories through the primary means of …

A Cleansing Breath: A Journey Of Creation On The Hard Road, Addie Leigh Barnhart

LSU Master's Theses

To adhere to the structure of Louisiana State University and Swine Palace’s Actor Training program, the M.F.A. candidates are required to develop new work. This project is in place to cultivate the individual actor’s sensitivities to his/her own process in theatre making, grow as an artist, and begin the long journey of devising and constructing work, in this case a solo play, that has the potential to continue to grow after graduation. My piece is derived from several of the classic Greek plays and myths but told with a twist on the traditional stories and entirely from different women’s perspectives. …

The False Idealization Of Heteronormativity And The Repression Of Queerness, Catherine Lynn Thurmond

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, entitled “The False Idealization of Heteronormativity and the Repression of Queerness,” I examine heteronormativity as a social structure that is idealized over, and against, queerness. In the first chapter, I define heteronormativity and queerness. “Heteronormativity,” here, is simply a set of standards that dictate what one must do with their gender and sexuality, such as having sexual relations with the opposite sex, getting married, or having children. Heteronormativity is visible, validated, and normalized in society. Conversely, “queerness” refers to the social structures that dictate what one must not do with their gender and sexuality. Thus, queerness is …

White Manhood In Louisiana During Reconstruction, 1865-1877, Arthur Wendel Stout

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Economic, political, and social landscapes changed for white men in Louisiana after the Civil War. Suffering displacement, business interruption, property confiscation, and lower social and political standing vis-à-vis the former slaves, white men’s standing in every realm seemed diminished, including their core identity as men. It was important to them and to their families for white men to regain a sense of competence as men. Using letters, diaries, and court cases involving white people with strong connections to Louisiana during the Reconstruction era, this dissertation analyzes the gendered problems that white men and their families sought to resolve. Newspaper articles, …

Indians And Onions : An Exploration Of The Creation Of "Curry Bowl" A One-Person Play, Rani Jessica Jain

LSU Master's Theses

The object of our thesis project was to devise and perform a one-person show. The experiment was to see if we could create original, thought provoking and engaging material and then perform this material in a confident and exciting way. The initial execution involved conceiving an idea that we felt compelled enough to talk about for 30-40 minutes. For many of my classmates, this was perhaps the hardest part. I, however, knew from the beginning I had a desire to explore the challenges and complications faced by children of immigrants. My desire was to share stories about my own experience …

Marriage In Seventeenth-Century French Theater, Adam Michael Babin

LSU Master's Theses

In seventeenth-century France, social and political confusion abounded. Absolute monarchy, which was principally created by Richelieu and glorified by Louis XIV, began gradually replacing the medieval feudalism that remained popular among the nobles. Likewise, préciosité, a proto-feminist literary and cultural movement that was not in line with official political ideals, emerged in France during this century. The institution of marriage was an important element of the complicated sociopolitical tapestry of seventeenth-century France. Through the depiction of marriage in Pierre Corneille’s Le Cid (1636), Jean-Baptiste Poquelin de Molière’s L’École des femmes (1662), and Jean Racine’s Andromaque (1667), three works of the …

The Role Of Nina In Diana Son's Satellites: A Production Thesis In Acting, Jessica Wu

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores the role of Nina in Swine Palace’s 2009 production of Diana Son’s Satellites. The play investigates themes dealing with interracial relationships, major life transitions, and parenthood. Included in this study are a character autobiography written from the actor’s interpretation of the role, the actor’s journal, and a detailed account of the in rehearsal and performance process. In addition, this study includes production photos, reviews, a working copy of the script scored for subtext/inner life, objectives, and tactics, and an interview with the playwright.

A Shared Silence, Jessica Alice Mowers

LSU Master's Theses

I took a journey home to Western New York and turned the camera’s lens on both my family and myself. 

 This thesis is a story about my family and me. I photographed my family to confront the tragic car accident that took my brother’s life and my mom’s sanity. I also acknowledged the present state of my family with these photographs by exploring the root of many of my fears and anxieties that stem from the tense and stressful atmosphere within my home as a result of this car accident.

Moppet*Sense, Tyler Rochelle Mackie

LSU Master's Theses

Moppet*Sense is a hybrid collaboration between my adult self and a fictionalized version of me as a young girl, or moppet. Through use of craft, textiles, sound, light, color and narrative the work describes a space where both woman and moppet can join to engage with one another in a playful exchange of knowledge and experience. Saturated hues, exaggerated scale and a playful approach to the handicrafts offer the viewer an overwhelming, hyper-realistic experience of girlhood and play, which they can each physically explore and navigate throughout. The work refers to the nostalgic and domestic through its employment of familiar …

Push And Pull, Tessa Ann Mouton

LSU Master's Theses

“…motion means…passing through time and through space.” “Pushes and pulls seem to be the cause of motion.” - Richard Wolfson. “Push and Pull” is about exploring process. While trying to locate my form of expression and process, I rediscovered my mother’s form of expression and process – crochet. I decided in order to continue forward, I must explore the past.

Of Fathers And Sons: Generational Conflicts And Literary Lineage--The Case Of Ernest Hemingway And Ernest Gaines, Wolfgang Lepschy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Focusing on the depiction of the father-son relationship and the generational conflicts in their works, as well as the metaphorical literary father-son relationship between the two authors, this dissertation offers an intertextual reading of the works of Ernest Hemingway and Ernest J. Gaines. Part One examines Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories that feature the young hero’s growing disillusionment with and eventual rejection of his home and family. Parodying conventional stereotypes about Native American ways of life, Hemingway deconstructs prevailing notions of race by aligning Nick’s father with the wilderness and the Indians. Gaines’s earliest short stories focus on a reunion of …