Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Critical-Inclusive Approach To Instructing On Genocide Education In The United States: Delivering An Equally Critical And Inclusive Approach To Professional Development, Cassidy S. Ernst

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper presents a new approach to teaching the preconditions for genocide. Bringing together a number of theoretical insights from recent research, it focuses on the pedagogical value of a critical inclusive approach to genocide education. Such an approach incorporates persecuted groups commonly excluded from educational narratives, such as the experiences of homosexuals during the Holocaust. It also places genocide education within a wider framework focused on prevention and advocacy. Through utilizing a critical-inclusive approach to genocide education in the classroom, youth will be equipped with a stronger conception of genocide, genocidal ideologies, and measures that can be taken to …

Step 10, Jinhong Cai

Masters Theses

Step 10 is an experiment on provoking empathy through

abstracted elements within my studio practice. I am

proposing to craft an emotional piece without leaning

on my identity. This written thesis consists of two parts:

narrative prose and an explanation of my studio practice.

While the installation is entirely devoid of cultural or

personal references, this text-based thesis is full of them

because it is intended to inform whoever is interested in

learning more about the motive behind this creation.

The questions I bought into the thought and creation

process are: Can a piece of art still successfully bring

out …

Spaces Of Wait And Their Weight, Eman Alhashemi

Masters Theses

i have been exploring, researching and observing what influences affect a space within the traditions, rituals, food, thoughts and behavior. what happens when that space of comfort disappears and changes? through a series of work that waits, melts, merges, and exaggerates in am attempt to find its place. as i borrow objects and movements from daily life observing my surroundings and extracting mundane things that take on different forms whether exaggerated or unidentifiable. this recent culmination of work over the two years at risd look at objects and spaces of waiting, discomfort, longing and sharing. our behavior is affected by …

Migratory Material: Epigenetics & Weaving At The Us-Mexico Border, Valerie Navarrete

Masters Theses

Discourse often sutures the body shut, disallowing representations of identity to outgrow sociopolitical interests. This issue may originate from borders, but also from the unnamable pathology that generational colonial trauma transmits to the mind, body, and environment. Without a direct form of translatability, this thesis proposes a new materialism that deviates from any object-oriented ontology. Untethered and intra-active, epigenetics and weaving represent objects that transform typical ways of knowing and seeing. Their sensitivity to the environment, in addition to their mobility across generations of time, broaden the spatiotemporal loci of the body and its embodiment. Proposing new materials that expand …

Mourning In Eco-Poetics & Cellar As Linguistic Category, Gwen Moon

University Honors Theses

These poems are informed by ecopoetics as defined by Forest Gander: "If natural processes are already altered by and responsive to human observation, how does poetry register the complex interdependency that draws us into a dialogue with the world?" Because the backdrop of our lives is changing with increasing signs of eco-collapse, our bodies are constantly sensing fear and loss. These poems merge the personal with the global in an attempt at a corporeal language that conveys meaning as a felt sense over a cerebral relationship. To quote William Wenthe, "…there is something physical, corporeal about our experience of syntactic …

Flores, Rigoberto Flores

Masters Theses

My name is Rigoberto Flores and I was born in Guerrero, Mexico. The work I make involves politics, immigration, cartel violence and religious themes. I’m interested in presenting these challenging and difficult concepts, to have them remain in the public consciousness. The work I produce involve charcoal drawings, textiles, print, and painting. The work I create is intended to address inconstancies in established ideas, usually involving government violence. Throughout history art has been used to promote institutional propaganda. I am searching to do the same, but to oppose those structures.

Recipes For Building Relationships, Adriana Lintz

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the history of women's access to education and the issues of gender disparity in education. I focus on single-gendered schools as I write from personal experience to describe the benefits for individuals in single-gender educational systems. I cite conflicting research on how men and women learn regarding biological, cognitive, and developmental differences. I illuminate some of the benefits of single-gendered education through research, experience, and personal communications. I write about the controversies and disparities regarding education and single-gender schools. I document research on the issues women face in education and the politics of women’s bodies and minds …

Sartorial Representations Of Trans Men In The Post-Frontier West: A Case Study In Gender, Class, And Concepts Of Societal Degeneration, Rose Caughie

University Honors Theses

Clothing is communication. How it is perceived reveals a society's values and anxieties. In the post-frontier American west, moralistic laws against cross-dressing combined with fears of societal degeneration, resulting in the formation and enforcement of normative visions of gendered dress. When trans men Harry Allen and Milton Matson were arrested, images of them were published in newspapers across the nation. Allen's working class wear and close criminal contact with racial minorities reflects one perceived source of degeneration while Matson's high class look and British immigrant status reflects the other. This essay will consider how these men's clothing and bodies were …

Intersections In Clowning And Drama Therapy’S Core Processes, Brett Alters

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores potential intersections of drama therapy and an embodied clowning exercise known as leading centers. The aim is to further establish relations and a common lexicon between therapeutic circus arts and drama therapy. To guide this coupling, drama therapy’s newly revised core processes per Frydman et al. (2022) were utilized as a framework when coding the leading center exercise. Three out of seven drama therapy core processes were investigated: embodiment, dramatic projection, and distancing. These were determined to be most salient for the purposes of this thesis as they were recently the most emergent core processes coded in …

Roleplaying Games And Performance, Benjamin Joseph Munise

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Roleplaying Games and Performance calls to mind popular appearances of roleplaying games on stage and screen, like Stranger Things or Qui Nguyen’s popular play, She Kills Monsters. However, inquiry into the way roleplaying games appear in these titles reveals the way they have been instrumentalized to serve the ends of their respective mediums. Scholars writing about roleplaying games also tend to leap straight to analyses of video games, with many words spilled over World of Warcraft while a live site of analog performance sits before them. In this work, I address the tabletop roleplaying game as a medium with …

Reclaiming Narratives Of Sexual Assault: An Examination Of The #Metoo Movement And Social Media, Katherine V. Marano

Student Theses and Dissertations

Untruths depicted by American media has shaped narratives about sexual assault and negatively affected the credibility of female sexual assault victims. Since women began the viral #MeToo movement in 2017, there is a need for research about the shifting sexual assault narratives in the United States. My project examines how this movement and use of social media has allowed women to reclaim narratives about sexual assault, spanning from October 2017 to April 2023. Specifically, my project analyzes ways in which the media responded to the #MeToo movement and how female created social media videos amplify sexual assault stories. I argue …

My Promise To Nature., Kathleen Mcvea

LSU Master's Theses

My Promise to Nature is a body of work created to emphasize the importance of conserving natural habitats in Louisiana’s Tunica Hills. The decision to do Land Art and select the Tunica Hills as the subject did not come to me right away. Nature and family have been woven throughout my work throughout my time in the M.F.A. program.

This was not out of reach, and I was already extremely passionate about the subject. It might be a pain due to location, but my family owned 400 acres of property in the Tunica Hills with a cabin that they had …

Good Boy, Abdullahi Aress Mohamed

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

A coming of age story about a boy growing up in Garissa, Northeastern Kenya.

To Open A Clearing: Cultivating Spaces Of Endurance In The Upper Amazon, Brunno De Melo Meirelles Douat

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

To effectively challenge the policies of extraction implemented by late liberal regimes, the Waorani communities from Upper Amazon have devised spatial strategies to defend their traditional territory. By re-examining the concept of the contact zone and unfolding settler and Indigenous literature, spatialities, and worldviews, this thesis suggests the concept of forest Clearings as a means to explore spatial forms of endurance.

Clearings emerge within the Amazon in sites where encounters between divergent worldviews embody otherwise modes of existence. Through a series of fieldwork reflections, these Clearings are perceived as spaces where ontological negotiations are more likely to occur, strategies of …

Algorithmic Bias: Causes And Effects On Marginalized Communities, Katrina M. Baha

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Individuals from marginalized backgrounds face different healthcare outcomes due to algorithmic bias in the technological healthcare industry. Algorithmic biases, which are the biases that arise from the set of steps used to solve or analyze a problem, are evident when people from marginalized communities use healthcare technology. For example, many pulse oximeters, which are the medical devices used to measure oxygen saturation in the blood, are not able to accurately read people who have darker skin tones. Thus, people with darker skin tones are not able to receive proper health care due to their pulse oximetry data being inaccurate. This …

Reproduction: The Ultimate Enemy Of Racial Passing In Harlem Renaissance Literature, Veronica Kordmany

Student Theses

"In this essay, I examine three texts that consider the repercussions of passing for Black Americans. Nella Larsen’s Passing (1929) serves as a namesake for this general idea, as two light-skinned African American women represent the divisionary approach to racial passing. In George S. Schuyler’s Black No More (1931) we see a passing Black man’s virility being tested as he enters an ‘alternate universe’, in which a scientific invention grants him full access to the wondrous white world he’d always dreamed of entering. Finally, in the middle of this textual spectrum is Angelina W. Grimké’s 1919 short story, “The Closing …

The Impact Of The Tobacco-Free Policy On The Auc New Cairo Campus, Fatimah Badawy

Theses and Dissertations

In 2019, the American University in Cairo (AUC) conducted a research study on campus attitudes towards tobacco use and smoking behaviors within their community, in light of the then newly enforced tobacco-free policy. They found most campus members in support of the policy, with higher rates of disapproval from the smoking community. In 2021, this research aimed to follow-up on changes in attitudes towards the policy as well was smoking behaviors. It hypothesized that over time, levels of support to the policy would increase, smoking habits would be positively impacted and that positive health behaviors would correlate with policy support. …

Ci Guardiamo Il Culo: A Phenomenology Of Relevance In Ancient Italian Cultural Heritage, Sophia Hudzik

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Relevance to the public has become critical for Italian cultural heritage institutions, as domestic visitation to archaeological parks and museums remains low while expectations to engage communities rise. This paper presents a phenomenological analysis of the experience of ancient cultural heritage through the lens of individuals located nearby the Villa of the Antonines Archaeological excavation, in Genzano di Roma, Italy. The findings conclude with a set of recommendations for ancient cultural heritage institutions to become more relevant to the existing needs and lived experiences of the community.

The Development Of The Holistic Pastoral Wellbeing Assessment: A Mixed Methods Study, Timothy Captain

Dissertations

Some pastors are clearly in crisis. Research has indicated that clergy struggle to cope with the stressors of their profession. While pastoral work is overtly spiritual in nature, day-to-day tasks include interactions with God, themselves, congregants, and the world at large. Without multi-dimensional tools to consider their wellbeing, specifically assessments that reflect their worldview and role, pastors may remain unaware of dangerously low levels of wellbeing until they reach a place of crisis. Therefore, in this mixed methods study, the Holistic Pastoral Wellbeing Assessment (HPWA) was developed and tested to offer a validated, useful tool for pastors and those who …

The Search For Existential Meaning: Tracing Leo Tolstoy’S Nihilism Through His Later Works, Elisabeth Koyfman

Student Theses and Dissertations

In this senior thesis, I explore the writings of acclaimed 19th-century author Leo Tolstoy through the lens of existential and ethical nihilism: a philosophical ideology espousing an assertion of a meaningless existence shaped by similarly meaningless governing social, political, and religious conventions. Prior to the author’s religious conversion at the age of 50, Tolstoy’s writings reflected a nihilistic worldview that opposed any socially accepted definition of a meaningful existence. Although within the span of 1800s Russia nihilism was strongly associated with atheism and terrorism, Tolstoy distanced himself from any accepted cultural value or label—including the negative political associations and other …

Whose Imagination Are We Living In?: An Examination Of Feminist Utopia Through The Lens Of Pragmatism, Mia A. Gindis

Student Theses and Dissertations

Pragmatic feminism is a philosophy which utilizes and merges the fundamental concepts of pragmatism, such as its emphasis on pluralism and lived experience, with feminist theory in hopes of inciting social change. The main goals of pragmatic feminism are to recover the work of women who were influential in the popularization of American pragmatism but were also excluded from the history of philosophy, to analyze the “canon” of lauded pragmatist philosophers through a feminist lens, and to yield pragmatist philosophies as a weapon for contemporary feminist activism. In my study, I argue that feminist utopian literature can be a serviceable …

Woman Flytrap, Brianna Jo Hobson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Woman FlyTrap is a short story zine collection that explores the topic of sexual violence through the perpetrator and victim relationship with an explicit lens. Replete with cultural and entomological themes and motifs, Woman Flytrap seeks to remind survivors that we are not alone. In our bodies or in our lives. Neither in the world. There are over a million insects to every human, proving that there is strength in numbers. All five stories in the collection present different abstracts: revenge, transformation, justice, healing, body image, self-harm, mourning, etc. There is also a playlist and a section about the author. …

Creating Project Contrast: A Video Game Exploring Consciousness And Qualia, Pierce Papke

Honors Projects

Project Contrast is a video game that explores how the unique traits inherent to video games might engage reflective player responses to qualitative experience. Project Contrast does this through suspension of disbelief, avatar projection, presence, player agency in storytelling, visual perception, functional gameplay, and art. Considering the difficulty in researching qualitative experience due to its subjectivity and circular explanations, I created Project Contrast not to analyze qualia, though that was my original hope. I instead created Project Contrast as an avenue for player self-reflection and learning about qualitative experience. While video games might be just code and art on a …

The Benefits Of Art Therapy On Stress And Anxiety Of Oncology Patients During Treatment, Helen Shiepe

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Within the last ten years research on art therapy and its positive impact on oncology patients’ stress and anxiety during treatment has been minimal. Oncology patients whether they are children or adults when diagnosed experience similar reactions due to their diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases end of life care. The current question is whether or not art therapy does have a positive impact on decreasing the stress and anxiety with oncology patients while undergoing treatment. Deane, Fitch & Carmen (2000), discussed art therapy as a healing art that is “intended to integrate physical, emotional, and spiritual care by facilitating …

Examining The Use Of Expressive Arts Therapies In Neurorehabilitation Treatment Planning, Rebecca J. Horner

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Those undergoing neurorehabilitation after stroke and traumatic brain injury report a diminished sense of overall wellness. This paper examines the conceivable benefits of introducing expressive arts therapies, which is the therapeutic use and combination of the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other intermodal creative processes, into physical therapy and neurorehabilitation treatment planning. Expressive arts therapies have the capacity to engage with an individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual states concurrently. They simultaneously offer the ability to promote an increased sense of well-being, address mind-body disconnects, and process trauma non-verbally.

The sections of this narrative literature review focus on …

Can Collage-Based Art Therapy Be A Bridge To Engage Patients Experiencing Social Isolation With A Diagnosis Of A Psychotic Disorder?, Nora Wolff

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Social isolation is not only a common part of the experience of people with psychotic disorders but also often acts as a barrier to their treatment and recovery. Causes of this isolation seem to include not only symptoms of the psychotic illnesses themselves but also the social stigma related to psychotic illnesses, as well as feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and low self-esteem related to common comorbid disorders. Engaging with patients in acute inpatient units with short lengths of stay can be extremely difficult. This paper reviews the literature and describes a collage-based art intervention with six particularly isolative patients in …

Jewish Wordless Singing In Music Therapy And Burnout Prevention With Outpatient Mental Health Clinicians, Elizabeth Zinn

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Existing literature has shown a rise in burnout levels for mental health clinicians, especially in light of the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This capstone project focused on understanding how Jewish wordless melodies (niggunim) may be used as a technique in group singing in music therapy as a strategy for preventing clinician burnout. Research has demonstrated that music therapy techniques may be beneficial in addressing the causes and components of burnout though there is minimal research on the use of niggunim in music therapy, and none on the use of niggunim to prevent burnout. A single-session niggunim-based intervention was …

Exploring Core Concepts And Uses Of Makeup In Expressive Arts Therapy And Mental Health: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Rhys Triolo-Rodriguez

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

According to Merriam Webster (2022) the definitions for Makeup are as follows; “Cosmetics (such as lipstick, mascara, and eye shadow) used to color and beautify the face”, “A cosmetic applied to other parts of the body”, and “Materials (such as wigs and cosmetics) used in making up or in special costuming (as for a play).” Many of the articles reviewed also discuss the importance of skin care and the rituals that one goes through when applying or removing facial products. For this research, a combination of all definitions above will be most beneficial. However one may define makeup, within the …

Exploring The Motivations And Therapeutic Benefits Of Fandom And Fanart Online Communities: A Literature Review, Miriam Kilian

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Participation in Online Fandom culture has become a highly valued aspect of many individuals' self-expression and how they seek to build social connections with others. Furthermore, within the Fandom community, the phenomenon of creating and sharing fan-based work also plays a significant role in the interactions between group members. These factors are important to acknowledge in a therapeutic context as future practitioners can choose to utilize a client's pre-established fandom involvement to explore their identity and social connections with other fans. This thesis is a literature review that examines the academic journals and individual interviews of Fanart Creators. The topics …

Exploring The Hinterland: The Development Of A Person-Centered Music Therapy Method For A Hospice Patient With Lewy Body Dementia, Paige Chaplin

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the development and implementation of a music therapy method with an individual diagnosed with dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) receiving home hospice services. There is very little known about the effect of music therapy on patients diagnosed with DLB. Informed by Tom Kitwood’s Person-Centered Care (PCC) philosophy for dementia care, Yumiko Sato’s Musical Life Review (MLR) model, and Lisa Kelly and Bill Ahessy’s Reminiscence-Focused Music Therapy (RFMT) model, a clinical method was developed to explore the effects of person-centered music therapy on reminiscence, caregiver connection, and identity. I drew inspiration from music therapy concepts by Tony Wigram …