Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Into Thick Air: Adapting Cultural Practices Into Solutions For Modern Wicked Problems, Syed Muhammad Erzum Naqvi

Theses and Dissertations

Into Thick Air argues that cultural practices can inspire solutions

to challenging modern problems. This project employs the Basant

festival as a case study to critically reimagine kite flying as a

collective practice with the potential to contribute to the reduction

of air pollution in Lahore, a city consistently ranked among those

with the poorest air quality globally. By building kites from fabric

treated with nanoparticle coatings, Into Thick Air transforms a

traditional community activity into an accessible, citizen-driven

method for removing pollutants from the air. The treated kites

empower Lahoris to take charge of their environment while

encouraging collective …

You Go, I Will Wait, Rasim Bayramov

Theses and Dissertations

On the other side of the coast, a hand is waiting. On the other side of the shore, someone is waiting for you to come. This space between you and them is an asymptote. The more you wait, the colder the pan is to the hand. But the salt of the sea will cover and warm your hand. There’s much to play with while you wait. The destination is only a promise, a figure disillusioned. Waiting spaces are enchantingly altering

in their premise. A bureaucratic fantasy with no avail and no ending. Systematically accumulated levels of power and control lies …

Civic Conservation Workshop: A User Manual For Creating A Makerspace Dedicated To Historic Preservation, Building Repair, And Civic Engagement, Madeleine Bean

Theses and Dissertations

Research Abstract:

Democracy depends on citizens’ participation at all levels, from local to national; moreover, engagement in one’s community is directly correlated with greater reported feelings of happiness and trust (Cox et al., 2021). This research examines how makerspaces can act as civic hubs that promote inclusive community interaction, facilitate the exchange of cultural and skills-based knowledge, encourage civic discourse, and serve as sites for political engagement through the provision of tools and resources that focus on historic home repair/preservation and craft-based trades. Specifically, this study proposes the development and design of a preservation-focused makerspace in Jackson Ward, a historically …

Fueling The Fire! How Black Students Make Sense Of Their Experiences With Youth Development Programs And Their Roles In Post-Secondary Transition And Success, Erica Austin

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I used a phenomenological research design to explore how Black students make sense of their experiences with Youth Development Programs (YDPs)and how the program components contributed to their transition and success in postsecondary education. An analysis of the interview data gathered from ten black students through the lens of Social Identity Theory revealed three themes: (a) YDPs help students feel prepared and supported by equipping them with essential academic and life skills, mentorship, and leadership opportunities; (b) Representation within YDPs fosters self-efficacy and aspiration, as mentors and role models who share students’ cultural backgrounds inspire confidence and …

The Tender Flesh: Dwelling In Soft Wounds And Visceral Bodies, Madelyn Irene Turner-Havens

Theses and Dissertations

Within my painting process, I explore bodily interiority and exteriority in relation to the surface of painting, evoking a discomforting sense of corporeal (dis)embodiment, where haunted flesh becomes palpable. Indexing conversations with the body into the painting is a way to understand my body and create an experience of what happens when language fails to capture the complexity of sensation. Painting becomes a mediation with the canvas, a constant discovery of what can give shape to the intangible: how it feels when my skin folds into itself, bodily urges, and the soft texture of fatty tissue.

I let the parts …

Language Ideologies In Coloniality Contexts: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Efl Teachers’ Experiences And Perceptions On The Use Of Learners’ Language Repertoire As Assets For Teaching And Learning, Kountiala J. Some

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examined how dominant language ideologies in language politics and policy shape the professional identity development and pedagogical practices of five English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Burkina Faso. The study sought to understand how these ideologies influence teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of multilingual pedagogical approaches, as well as possible pathways for deconstructing them to promote student-centered practices. The participants’ accounts revealed that their academic and professional identities were largely shaped by the belief that home languages hinder proficiency in French and English. They recalled with remorse their elementary school experiences, where speaking native languages …

In Harmony: The Environmental Lives Of Marianne North, Beatrix Farrand, And Mary Hunter Austin, Willa Frank

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis explores the lives and careers of botanical painter Marianne North, landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, and literary nature writer Mary Hunter Austin to examine the interplay of femininity and the representation of nature in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All three figures had an approach to environmental representation which was based in field work, knowing a place truly, and a sense of harmony between subject and context of the produced work. This method did not occur because they were women or because it was an inherent feature of their assigned sex. Rather, their socialization in the Anglo-American …

"The Lgbtq Community, That's My New Church": An Examination Of Lgbtq+ Former Church Members' Experiences Of Religious Exit, Samantha N. Pfeiffer

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This study examines the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals who previously attended Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) churches, considering their experiences of being in the church, leaving the church, and rebuilding outside of the church. It also examines sermons from IFB churches that addressed topics related to the LGBTQ+ community to examine the teachings these individuals received while in the church. My examination of this topic was based in scholarly literature addressing the rhetoric of church sermons, the process and experience of religious disaffiliation, and Weick’s (1995) theory of organizational sensemaking. I used multiple qualitative methods in this study, including qualitative content …

The Information Practices Of Undergraduates Encountering Material Objects As Information Resources In Classroom Learning Tasks, Christopher A. Miller

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Undergraduate students sometimes encounter material objects as information resources in small-group classroom learning activities. Examples include art, artifacts, specimens, and anatomical models. This dissertation sought to identify common features of the students’ information practices in such situations, regardless of the activity’s discipline or content, and to explore how making material information central shapes students’ information practices. The conceptual framework combined theorizations of materiality and information practices. Methods involved video recording students doing a variety of simulated classroom activities with objects, video elicitation, qualitative content analysis, and praxiographic interpretation. The praxiographic interpretive descriptions illustrated how all aspects of the site–material, bodily, …

Ink And Internment: The Wartime Artistry Of Japanese Americans And Spaniards During World War Ii, Avery Calvert

Theses

World War II displaced millions of people around the world. “Ink and Internment: The Wartime Artistry of Japanese Americans and Spaniards During World War II” evaluates the internment experiences of Japanese Americans and Spaniards through the lens of art with a special focus on two artists: Miné Okubo and Josep Bartolí. Okubo, a Japanese American artist born in 1927, experienced internment in the United States as a young adult. Her artwork reveals her personal experience as well as that of her fellow internees. Okubo created her art memoir, Citizen 13600, to share the internment experience of Japanese Americans with others. …

戲曲之情感寄托：夢境幻象與天仙謫降——葉小紈《鴛鴦夢》探析, Chung Nga Sin

Dissertations from all years

《鴛鴦夢》由葉小紈（字蕙綢，1613-1657）創作，為中國戲曲史上現存最早由女性劇作家創作的作品。同代著名劇作家沈自徵盛讚它為「補閨閣所未有」，肯定了它在女性戲曲史上開創先河的成就。目前對於《鴛鴦夢》的研究均從葉小紈的生平背景出發，分析劇本中所表現的「姐妹情誼」，並以「女性劇作」的角度給予評價。然而，拋開了對葉小紈「第一位女性劇作家」的濾鏡，《鴛鴦夢》的作品本身仍然有很多可以討論的空間，本文嘗試回歸文本本身，探索《鴛鴦夢》是否還有未盡之處，重新審視《鴛鴦夢》在中國戲曲史的所在之位。

本文以「夢境書寫」與「謫仙敘事」為雙主軸，突破性別視角的單一框架，回歸文本內部結構分析，重新定位《鴛鴦夢》在戲曲史與文學傳統中的意義。在「夢境」敘事方面，劇中通過「以情補夢」的敘事轉向，將短暫現世昇華為情感的永恆性。又延續了了前的「謫仙」敘事，提出了「情證」敘事，角色將情感體驗轉化為力量，支撐他們達成從「短暫」到「永恆」的轉變。

破曉, Sze Ue Kwok

Dissertations from all years

你有沒有想過，另外一個時空的自己是怎樣的？

在地鐵站工作的阿曉夢想成為作家，每夜都在無人的客務中心書寫，直到，她發現自己的身體裏長了一顆腫瘤，漸漸地，她被世界無聲地宣告了喪失創作能力，甚至患上了感覺失語症，在如此孤寂無助的時候，她意外穿越到另外一個平行時空，這看起來就像種命運的扭轉，在那個地方，她是赫赫有名的作家，可是透過日記的訴説，那個世界的阿曉似乎依舊沒有獲得喜悅，她的不快樂持續地無以名狀……

她在暮光站遇到的那個女人，那支唇膏，遺失的小說手稿，一切都好像是引導她尋找內心深處，療癒自己的一把鑰匙。待你翻開這小說時，希望你能在迷失的過程中找到一點什麼，共鳴也好，安慰也好。

Panem’S Pitfalls: Reading The Hunger Games As A Critique Of Noncritical Media Consumption, Madison Phipps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I utilize Collins’ YA dystopian series The Hunger Games to demonstrate that YA literature merits our attention as a valuable jumping point from which young adults can develop critical reading and thinking skills as well as develop enhanced media literacy. My first two chapters, in addition to situating Collins’ works within a long history of dystopian fiction, demonstrate how these works engage with the potential pitfalls of noncritical consumption in our media-saturated world. And in the third and final chapter, I examine how the series provides pathways to resistance and the potential for revolution.

Arsenal Of Femininity: Women, Relationships, And Gender Roles During World War Ii, Jesse B. Yaeger

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Popular imagery of Rosie the Riveter has colored our collective consciousness to assume the women entering manufacturing jobs during World War Two permanently expanded the gender roles of women in American society. However, historians Leila J Rupp, Susan Hartmann, D’Ann Campbell, and Maureen Honey have shown that during the war, publicly espoused gender roles continued to restrict women to the point of “going back to the kitchen” once the war ended. Their research focuses on societal expectations of women but not how women responded to these questions in their personal lives. Reading correspondences between men and women after the attack …

“One, Two, Three, Four, We Don’T Want Your Fucking War”: The Student Protest Movements At Columbia University And Kent State University During The War In Vietnam, Eric Kappaz

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The comparative study of student protests at drastically different universities and the success ofthose protests is significantly lacking from the historical record. The Vietnam era was a pivotal turning point in American university life, during which students across the country pushed for changes not only to the institutions of higher learning but also to the country as a whole. This historical comparative analysis utilizes significant primary source documentation to analyze how students and universities at the time dealt with the changes that were occurring in the university structure and the intrusion on university operations by outside actors, specifically the federal …

Playing Through Music History: The Contextualizing Function Of Western Historical Music In Fantasy Role-Playing Video Games, Laney Abigail Sheehan

Wayne State University Theses

This thesis focuses on the presence of Western historical music in contemporary video games. Through a combination of music-theoretical analysis, iconography, and Peircean semiotics, the author demonstrates that the nondiegetic soundtracks of fantasy role-playing video games utilize elements of major style periods in music history—including the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras—to enhance existing representations of time and place in their visual environments. This phenomenon is particularly apparent in three games, which serve as case studies: Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), and Elden Ring (2022). Ultimately, the project contributes research to …

Fat Feminists, Ami Trowell, Ami C. Trowell

Playwriting (MFA) Theses

This thesis presents the original play "Fat Feminists" alongside a critical reflection exploring the intersection between feminist theory and lived experience. The play depicts two friends confronting their 50th birthdays in a society that has historically valued them primarily for youth and beauty. Through their journey, the work examines how women navigate the terrain of aging in a culture that continues to prioritize female appearance despite decades of feminist progress.

The accompanying critical paper interrogates the disconnection between feminist theoretical ideals and everyday reality, drawing particularly on bell hooks' "Feminism is for Everybody" to frame the discussion. The paper traces …

Lost, Courtney Rose Kostopoulos

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Nightmare, Phoebe E. Bowen

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Reconceptualizing Madness: Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Autobiography And The Cultural Landscape Of Insanity, Gender, And The Illness Experience, Claire Paley

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Hit Me, Baby, One More Time: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Celebrity Gossip Magazine Shaming Of Britney Spears, Anna Rae Drabik

Honors Theses and Capstones

Britney Spears is an American pop star who rose to fame in the late 1990s at the age of 17 with her music, performances, and fashion. Spears was a prominent figure in celebrity gossip magazines, a genre which grew to prominence alongside and, in many ways, because of Spears. The distinct aesthetic and style of celebrity gossip magazines involved stories, blurbs, and images which wielded praise and shame—directly and indirectly—as tools to enforce norms and expectations for both female celebrities and female readers. Through a critical discourse analysis of 378 People and Us articles throughout the first ten years of …

Sites 45ch01104 And 45ch00402 Determinations Of Eligibility, Chelan County, Washington, Benjamin Aa Hodges

All Graduate Projects

This Master of Applied Science (MAS) project report assesses the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility of archaeological sites 45CH01104 and 45CH00402 near Wells Dam in Chelan County, Washington. Field investigations conducted in 2024 included pedestrian surveys, subsurface testing, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) analysis to gather data on site conditions and potential cultural features. Site 45CH01104 was characterized by pre-contact lithic and fire-cracked rock (FCR) scatters and is recommended as eligible in this report for the NRHP under Criteria A and D due to its association with Indigenous subsistence activities and its potential to yield important archaeological information. It …

The Sword And The Serpent, Gina Dittmeier

Children's Book Writing and Illustrating (MFA) Theses

This project provides insight into the monstrous bridegroom trope in fairytale and its influence in modern fantasy literature. The monstrous bridegroom trope has several different variations, but all of these variations result in a young and innocent woman marrying a monster. Through my critical essay, I look at this trope through a modern feminist lens, exploring the different variations of the trope in fairy tales, modern fairy tale adaptations, and fantasy literature. The essay brings in modern ideas of toxic masculinity and toxic femininity and applies them to the fairy tale inspiration of fantasy literature. The monstrous bridegroom trope and …

Emulating God’S Heart In Embracing And Regulating Our God-Given Emotions, Cyndie Claypool De Neve

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christians need a Bible-based tool to help them move from emotionally dysregulated to emotionally regulated. Instead of processing their emotions, some Christians have a tendency to ignore and suppress their emotions, which can lead to poor mental health, unfulfilling relationships, and emotionally dysregulated behaviors such as overeating, rage, and various addictions. This doctoral project explored theological, literary, and field research to create a tool to help Christians move from feeling emotionally dysregulated to emotionally regulated. The biblical examples of God, Jesus, the Prophet Elijah, and King David were combined with secular research on emotional granularity, gratitude journaling, confession, and prayer, …

Mágico Nunca Se Muere: Una Historia De Un Amor Unconditional And Unstoppable, Belén Silvia Yudess

Scripps Senior Theses

This novella explores how traditions of silence, family dynamics, adolescence and storytelling influence identity formation and self-perception for Mexican-American women. Situated within the AIDS pandemic, this story aims to show how even within a world riddled with grief, hatred, and fear siempre hay espacio para las risas y el amor.

Tackling Media Convergence: An Examination Of Video Game Influence In La Liga Live Streams, Melina Durre

Scripps Senior Theses

Following a partnership with gaming giant EA Sports, Spanish top-flight soccer league La Liga has begun to include various digitized elements reminiscent of video games in the broadcasts of their matches. This sponsorship has allowed La Liga to set itself apart from competitors through the creation of a unique viewing experience while simultaneously selling EA's product. Using aspects of media convergence theory, this project aims to explore the growing relationship between video games and live sports. These findings reflect a trend among younger generations, who want to get more out of their engagements with their favorite athletes and teams. As …

The Dirt Underneath My Fingernails: The American Pastoral And 21st-Century Food System Reform, Annabella Isaacson

Scripps Senior Theses

The following is an amalgamation of my experiences personally and vested interests academically, and is meant to be read as just that. As a thesis that combines Environmental Analysis and Writing & Rhetoric degrees, this project challenges traditional academic forms by integrating creative nonfiction and poetry with academic writing and analysis. This thesis attempts to fuse the academic and personal essay into one cohesive piece. The inconclusive nature of the narratives and explorations that follow are intended to represent my process in grappling with the histories and significance of American pastoral literature through the ways in which this genre has …

Severance As Metaserial Dystopia: Penal Spectatorship And Critical Reintegration, Sofia Buntz

Scripps Senior Theses

Typical prison media, while purporting to represent incarceration and its social meaning to the public, transforms lived realities of state-sanctioned violence into entertainment spectacle and operates under strict material and ideological constraints that prevent it from meaningfully questioning the legitimacy and function of the prison as a built institution. The television series Severance (2022), however, represents incarceration in the form of the dystopian office-prison where the innies are trapped, employing metaserial and science fictional narrative mechanisms to critically implicate the spectator. The show’s science fictional premise links the explicit violence of incarceration to the more subtle form of disciplinary control …

Lands Lost: Tracing Displacement And Ecological Degradation Amongst The Tataviam, Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, And Vanyume People Of Antelope Valley, Calif., Daisy Alvarez

Scripps Senior Theses

Exploring the historic and ongoing impact of settler colonialism in the Antelope Valley, this thesis argues the Tataviam, Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, and Vanyume, the aboriginal tribes of the valley, are effectively erased from the valley’s narrative and imagination. Through a series of genocidal and colonization efforts, first from Mission San Fernando and then from the California State Government and arrival of Anglo American settlers, the valley’s tribes can be subjugated to acculturation, displacement, massacres, and marginalization. Recognizing the valley's moral responsibility to platform their living descendants, the thesis proposes a path forward through decolonization, calling out local governments (Lancaster and Palmdale) …

Right-Wing Populist Mobilizations And Gender: France's Rassemblement National And Italy's Fratelli D'Italia, Meredith Mckinley

Scripps Senior Theses

European right-wing populist (RWP) parties are increasingly touting their attention to women’s issues and representation, and this has coincided with stronger electoral performances. Thus, the following puzzles emerge: how have RWP parties harnessed gender frames, issue salience, and women’s representation as part of a mainstreaming process, and through what mechanisms are these strategies resonating with voters? I address these questions by comparing France’s Rassemblement National (RN) and Italy’s Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), tracing their developments from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. I find that immigrants’ perceived relationship with the welfare state, feelings of insecurity due to terrorism, and RWP …