Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Principles Of Islamic Moral Philosophy And The Possibility Of Re-Conceptualizing Classical Islamic Aesthetics Of Architecture, Muhammad Feteha

Theses and Dissertations

This study is primarily concerned with the intersection of the moral and aesthetic theories of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 1111). Al-Ghazālī’s theory of aesthetics has been the subject of thorough scholarly investigations and diverse interpretations in the field of Islamic art history since the 1940s. This thesis critiques the premises upon which the use of al-Ghazālī’s writings in studies of Islamic art and architecture were built. It suggests that they lead to what could be described as “the contradiction of unethical beauty.” To overcome this contradiction, it offers a comprehensive interpretation of al-Ghazālī’s aesthetics through analyzing the concept ḥusn in …

"Highly Value Employees": Interpreting The World War Ii History Of The Sioux Ordnance Depot, Tatiana Painter

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Public historians strive to create relevant interpretative history for diverse audiences by finding connections between local history and national narratives. This thesis demonstrates how local historians can make history relevant to the public in the form of a digital exhibit that uses the stories of a western Nebraska military installation’s World War II employees. The Sioux Ordnance Depot was an ammunition storage site in Sidney, Nebraska, from 1942 to 1967. For over 25 years, the Depot’s mission was to receive, issue, and store Army ammunition, ammunition components, and general supplies, but little is known about the Depot and its employees …

Normal And Known: Identity And Community Amongst Queer Women Involved In The Social Reform Movements Of The Late 1800s And Early 1900s, Kathleen W. Johndrow

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

The late 1800s and early 1900s saw a wave of social change in the United States, including increased urbanization, European immigration, the end of Reconstruction in the South, and new educational opportunities for women. These changes combined in various ways to contribute to ongoing social reform movements addressing education, health, and safety. Much of this reform was initiated by women, particularly those coming out of institutions of higher learning. The women described in scholarship have typically been white and of middle or upper class origins, and have been classified as being so dedicated to their work that they chose to …

Spam, Solidarity, And Roving Pickets: The Hormel P-9 Strike Of 1985-86 In Iowa, Scott Pate

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

In the 1980s, the labor movement reached a crossroads with economic changes and corporate restructuring challenging the effectiveness of New Deal labor unions. Meatpacking proved one of the hardest-hit industries, with laborers accepting concessions that jeopardized their quality of life. The Hormel P-9 Strike of 1985-86 exemplifies the rank-and-file’s struggle against neoliberalism and status quo business unionism. Rachleff’s Hard-Pressed in the Heartland argues for the importance of the P-9 as a social movement, placing the conflict within the context of the American labor movement, while Stromquist and Warren indicate the importance of Iowa labor when evaluating labor issues in the …

Revealing Students’ And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Challenges And Strategies In Arabic Reading Comprehension, Osama Othman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the perceptions of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) students and teachers regarding the influence of eight textual features on reading comprehension. These features are: vowelization, word patterns, roots, vocabulary, case endings, word order, punctuation marks, and text organization. It also investigates reading comprehension strategies employed by both groups to overcome comprehension challenges associated with these features. Data were collected from 102 AFL students and 26 AFL teachers through questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 students and 11 teachers. Results revealed that students generally rated the influence of these features more highly than teachers. The …

Embodied Freedom: Nietzsche On Agency, Health, And Value, Nathan University Berthiaume

Dissertations

This study examines Nietzsche’s views on freedom to show how they inform a notion of human flourishing. I argue that while Nietzsche denies the existence of a metaphysical freedom in which the self is an unconditioned cause of events, he affirms an embodied freedom in which our consciousness can function as part of the causal explanation for action in virtue of its ability to alter the expression of bodily drives. However, I demonstrate that agential power in this sense can only function in conjunction with other causal factors that constitute constraints on freedom. As such, I argue that there is …

Rethinking The Relationship Between Capitalism And Environmental Sustainability: Locating Nigeria Within The Globe, Chukwuebuka Emmanuel Madu

Master's Theses

The relationship between capitalism and environmental sustainability and how problems arising from this relationship can be resolved globally and locally is vital for those with economic and environmental concerns. The environment that provides human beings with essential survival needs has to be preserved if these needs are expected to be available for future generations while also being enough for the present generation of human beings. One obstacle to protecting the environment is climate change due to global warming. What is responsible for global warming that ultimately leads to environmental unsustainability? This study pursues this question by rethinking the relationship between …

Break It Down - Examining Paradigmatic Shifts And Intersectional Devaluation Through Quantitative Exploration: Martial Arts And Narrative Inquiry As Pathways For Community Wellness Programming, Kenisha Coy

Educational Studies Dissertations

Despite growing awareness of health disparities and social exclusion, there remains a significant gap in understanding how devaluation affects both individual well-being and broader community cohesion. Historically, mental health services have been dominated by clinical settings, such as hospitals and private practices, yet this approach has limitations in reaching underserved populations. "Alternative" and "non-traditional" wellness practices offer promising avenues for promoting emotional well-being outside these traditional settings, leveraging community resources and social support networks, yet they are often overlooked and devalued. This dissertation addresses this gap by exploring the complex connections between devaluation, health outcomes, and community engagement/social capital. Using …

Visual Mindful Autoethnography In Practice: Integrating Visual Expressive Art And Self-Compassion Into The Research Process, Jennifer Bentley

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This thesis introduces the framework of Visual Mindful Autoethnography (VmAE) which integrates mindfulness, self-compassion, and creative visual expression as tools for reflexive self-inquiry within the research process. Grounded in the principles of autoethnography and mindfulness, VmAE fosters a deep engagement with personal narratives, biases, and cultural contexts while encouraging emotional resilience, self-awareness, and ethical integrity. By utilizing techniques such as expressive art and visual process journalling, this approach re-presents the inner emotional landscape while facilitating a balanced exploration of subjective experience. The framework is supported by the “P.A.C.E. Research with C.A.R.E.” model, which establishes mindfulness and self-compassion as foundational principles …

Mindful Of God: Meditation Practices Within Abrahamic Traditions, Jacob Aqua

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Through the exploration of meditation practices within Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, this paper emphasizes the shared intention among practitioners of these Abrahamic traditions to connect with the Divine Presence of God in daily life. In modern America, where religious diversity and secularism coexist, meditation practices have gained traction in spiritual settings, secular spaces, religious communities, and other environments. This paper reviews three key meditation practices: the dhikr practice in Islam, the “Just Being” Shabbat practice in Judaism, and the “Silence as a Door to God” practice in Christianity. Through this review, significant phenomenological parallels emerge: the practices of cultivating stillness …

Mindful Art Curriculum: Teaching Towards Transformational Change, Ashley Riemann

Mindfulness Studies Theses

With the recent influx of American public school diversity, art educators must establish an art curriculum that nurtures students' cultural awareness and creates a more equitable and inclusive learning environment. This paper responds to the increasingly diverse classroom and proposes the need for the implimentation of a mindful, culturally responsive art curriculum. Mindfulness paired with culturally responsive teaching is a transformative tool for art educators. These teaching techniques unite and create an inclusive and inquisitive learning environment. Through mindful exploration students learn to cultivate awareness and focus, forming a deeper connection with art and one another. As Jon Kabat-Zinn expressed, …

Rainbow Road To Prismatic Playwriting: Black Women's Dramatic Praxis In Practice, Taren Wilson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of Black women in academia, uplifting those interested in non-traditional or creative scholarship. Underrepresentation and attrition due to exclusionary academic practices is a systemic problem. What can Black feminist playwriting as research do for Black women in academia hoping to resist and connect to themselves and their community? What can playwriting as a Black woman doctoral student elucidate about the utility of playwriting as research, culturally informed epistemologies, and African American women's drama? By merging African American women's drama, Black feminist epistemologies, Practice as Research, and playwriting as research, I developed an onto-epistemological method …

Intelligence Assessment And Response Toward Japan By The British And Chinese In Malaya During The Second World War, 1939-1945, Guo Shuaishuai

Student Works (2020-2029)

The thesis draws three main conclusions from its findings. Firstly, during the Second World War, British intelligence mistakenly assessed Japan’s motives in occupying French Indochina by inaccurately perceiving the occupation as an act to attack China. Despite internal debates within British intelligence agencies by the end of 1940, factors such as the “cognitive closure” effect, interference from intelligence noise, and internal Japanese uncertainties contributed to the misinterpretation of Japan’s strategic intent in occupying French Indochina. Secondly, the effectiveness of British intelligence in addressing Japanese espionage in Malaya was limited. Even with a thorough understanding of the Japanese espionage activities in …

Towards The Non-Spectacle: Responses To Necropolitics In The Artwork Of Teresa Margolles And Maya Watanabe, Leslie Anne Condon

Masters Theses

How do we engage with artwork that addresses complicated histories

of colonialism and political violence, specifically intangible and

incomprehensible violence? Mexican artist Teresa Margolles’ 2005 work, Lote

Bravo, is named after and composed of the soil from a mass grave site

discovered in 1995 in the southeastern corner of Ciudad Juárez, a city known

internationally for the femicide that has continued to haunt its streets and

peripheries since the 1990s. Peruvian filmmaker Maya Watanabe’s 2019 film

Liminal cinematically documents the official exhumation of two mass graves

in the Ayacucho and Huánuco regions of the Andes highlands, where

thousands of …

The Rhythms Of Our Bones, Thomas Henry Bowling

Online Theses and Dissertations

Grief is universal. It permeates all things. This collection is organized into four sections, each concerned with such universality, such permeability, and how the “small,” personal griefs of human relationships echo and form dialogues with the larger, more global griefs of war and violence. Ultimately, at the core of this collection, lies an investigation of family, masculinity, and how all griefs are absorbed and passed down by the generations that have preceded us.

Examining The Creative Process Of Visual Artists: A Phenomenological Study, Filiberto Vargas

Dissertations

Creativity fuels problem solving and innovation, driving both economic growth and individual success. Yet, many schools and organizations fail to nurture it. Today, there is a decline in creativity scores among U.S. students. This is concerning since many of these students will be the future leaders of organizations and communities. For this reason, this dissertation explores the creative process of visual artists to better understand how creativity can be cultivated. Visual artists' perspectives and sense-and-meaning-making processes offer a unique view of innovation and creativity. However, there is limited research on the creative processes of contemporary visual artists from culturally diverse …

Memory In Haruki Murakami's 'Norwegian Wood', Merry Ling

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood challenges conventional perceptions of memory as a linear process tied to self-understanding and reconciliation. Through the protagonist Toru Watanabe's struggle to confront his traumatic past, Murakami presents memory not as a straightforward tool for resolving the present but as an elusive, fragmented phenomenon. Toru's hesitance to release his attachment to the past, alongside his interactions with characters who embody different approaches to memory and trauma, underscores the complexity--and often the impossibility--of achieving closure. While the novel appears overwhelmed with tragedy, trauma, and loss, and offers no clear resolution for Toru, Murakami's subtle …

Johann Georg Hamann And The Liberal Project, Jesse D. Ansley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the political thought of Johann Georg Hamann, his relationship to liberalism, and the importance to modern concerns for consensus formation and intercultural dialogue. This contributes to the line of literature sparked by Isaiah Berlin debating the political legacy of Hamann and its relation to the development of modern politics. Berlin labels Hamann an anti-rationalist whose current developed into the ideology of the Nazi party. My work supports the countervailing arguments that Hamann’s work is importantly different from the Romantics he inspired and even more so from the Nazis. By examining two complete works and a number of …

The Unknown Turning Point: How Operation Pedestal Secured Allied Dominance In Europe, Brian Zachary Williamson

All ETDs from UAB

Operation Pedestal was a World War II convoy operation in the Mediterranean that successfully resupplied the island of Malta in late 1942. The convoy fought through constant Axis air raids and submarine attacks, which resulted in high British losses. The operation was overshadowed by the Allied invasion of North Africa during Operation Torch, which was launched soon after. Malta’s role throughout the war in the Mediterranean made it vital for the British to hold and the Pedestal convoy’s successful effort to keep the island from capitulation should make the operation be considered as a turning point. The few military historians …

Rhythm Machine: Polyrhythmic Dimensions, James Elam

Theses and Dissertations

James Elam combines visual and aural mediums with technology to capture and manipulate sound. Here, Elam discusses how the repetitive elements in his work serve a practical purpose and add a conceptual and tactile layer to his sculptures and echo the hypnotic qualities in his DJ practice.

It Is Not Her Fault She Didn’T Know Mary Had A Lamb, Samer Ridikkuluz

Theses and Dissertations

“It is not her fault she didn’t know Mary had a lamb” is not an Arab Queer conflict. It is the genocide of everything they told me art was and the decolonial clarity of what art can be. Whether it be bridging the gap between the East and the West, the straights and the gays, or me and the world—I investigate the human condition, the parts we play, and how identity evolves and hides.

How Eye See, Now I See, Michael Anthony Simon

Theses and Dissertations

Michael Anthony Simon’s paper addresses ideas surrounding the fluid nature of perception, time, and ideas of control, or lack there-of. Creating a symbolic relationship between paintings and sculpture. Simon both embraces and confuses the notion that understanding is never truly stable or secure.

Ultraviolent, Jin Mateo Kim

Theses and Dissertations

How do you reconceive yourself in a society that has failed you? Jin Mateo Kim's works examine the reckoning of self-conception in postwar youth subculture of the 1960s.

To Swallow The Stars, Catie Dillon

Theses and Dissertations

Through abstract paintings of illuminated voids, Catie Dillon explores ideas of interconnectedness. In "To Swallow the Stars", she traces the layers of her process, examining the function of gesture, color, light, and space as a means to capture the ineffable.

List Of No's, Hwi Hahm

Theses and Dissertations

Through abstract paintings with an emphasis on the absence of the human form, Hwi Hahm creates an esoteric, veiled expression, prompting the question: when do swaths of paint become something? In this paper he discusses the dissociation of identity, and how it offers a balance between material properties and the illusionistic possibilities of painting.

You Are Not A Good Photographer, Byungsuk Yoon

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the medium of photography as a dynamic space for exploring the interplay between reality, memory, and imagination. It positions photography as an imperfect medium that operates on the boundary between predictability and uncertainty, embracing its inherent limitations as a source of creative potential. By addressing the tension between subjective experience and objective reality, this study redefines photography as a tool for continuous questioning and reinterpretation, highlighting its role in navigating the gaps between what is seen and what is imagined.

The Epiphany, Maja-Lisa Flodin-Ali

Theses and Dissertations

Maja-Lisa Flodin-Ali explores her interest in constructing spaces and occupying sets, while navigating the complexities of living with a mood disorder. She draws parallels between the multilayered nature of New York City and the layers of her own identity, retracing her personal history and examining its impact on her art practice. By engaging with classic narratives, such as Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, Flodin-Ali reframes her journey and personal history, using these stories as a lens to explore healthier and more sustainable approaches to making.

Victim/Perpetrator, David D. Moy

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout this text, David Moy will discuss the inner working of his investigation on image overload and materialization. Through tactics of blurring, erasure, and layering he achieves obfuscation in his printed media. In doing so, he questions the compounding nature of image/text that negate themselves in the larger context of time in the digital age.

Shapes That Hide Their Shadows, Jennifer Blaine

Theses and Dissertations

shapes that hide their shadows concerns itself with the mutability of memory. The complexities of girlhood to womanhood, and the way we are shaped by place and space, are explored through the artist recounting childhood memories connected to her grandparents' hometowns. Divided into three different sections, the artist discusses drawing as medium, creating a lexicon through using visual symbols, and the logistics of building your own archive.

The Farthest I Can Sense Time, Danielle Alhassid

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the experiences of immigration, identity, and language through the lens of diasporic memory and intergenerational storytelling. At its core lies Communion of Empty Mouths (2024), a multi-channel video installation exploring the physical, communal, and ephemeral dimensions of language development and loss. The work juxtaposes live animation, tactile materials like ceramics, and experimental soundscapes to delve into the ancestral and embodied nature of linguistic expression.

Anchored in Yiddish poet Celia Dropkin’s text My Hands and inspired by familial narratives, the thesis critiques hierarchical and gendered dimensions of language, focusing on Yiddish as a diasporic medium of resistance and …