Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Thomas Jefferson In Nairobi: The United States, Kenya, And The Democratization Debate, Cullen Haskins

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work is an intellectual history focussing on the ideas surrounding the implimentaiton of democratic systems in Africa, and specifically Kenya, at the end of the cold war. Taking the constitutional change to multi-party politics in Kenya in late 1991 as its fulcrum, this work examines the ideas about democracy put forth by politcians and policy-making cirlces in the United States and Kenya during this period. The work begins with an examination of the attitudes toward democracy in Africa as expressed at the U.S. congressional hearings on aid to Africa in 1991, and ends with an afterward looking at the …

Problematizing Executive Prerogative In Locke And Rousseau, Benjamin Joseph Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The organization of this paper is composed of three main sections. The first section intensively analyzes the discourses of John Locke. Thoroughly combing through Locke's reasoning the concept six fundamental principles of executive prerogative are derived. This provides a basis for comparison and understanding.The second section investigates Jean-Jacques Rousseau's works as an alternative proposal to the static principles of Locke. In order to effectively gain insight on executive prerogative, the basis and purpose of proper governments must be thoroughly addressed. Through Rousseau's various works three tenets for proper governance are built. The factors that position Rousseau to advocate for executive …

The Border Mural In The Electronic Age: Xican@ Literacy As Rhetorical Agency, José Angel Maldonado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Border Mural in the Electronic Age is a project that responds to blanket statements, not only about a people's literacy (or illiteracy), but to the ways in which we define and measure literacy in the electronic age. In this study, literacy is located on the US-México border, and this specific location serves as the social, political, and economic grounds on which to study the types of literacies used by the local population. A cultural ecology approach is necessary when studying niche literacies, and in today's world, traditional literacies coexist among emergent forms of literacy most likely attributed to technological …

Literatura Y Política En La Crónica Modernistas De Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Azucena Hernandez-Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

En esta tesis propongo abordar algunas crónicas del escritor modernista Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera (1859-1895) como un espacio discursivo altamente ideologizado en el que se articulan literatura y política. Quiero demostrar que la labor periodística de Gutiérrez Nájera, ejemplificada en la crónica modernista, está ligada aún a la función política romántica previa a la autonomización de las letras, en la que el escritor pone su pluma al servicio de la formación de ciudadanos. En su caso, la crónica modernista funge como un dispositivo disciplinario, si bien ya no legitimado en el proceso de construcción de la nación, sí autorizado por el …

Hombre Cero, Julio César Pérez Méndez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hombre Cero es una tragicomedia protagonizada por una mujer con rostro de payaso y un hombre sin personalidad. Ambos, junto a un par de indigentes llamados Clocló y Silla Coja, se ven envueltos en una serie de aventuras en las que la violencia política y el arte contemporáneo juegan un rol principal.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Integrating Sequential Narratives Into An English Language Learner's Curriculum, Cira Michelle Montoya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following thesis aims to explore the subject of using comics in the classroom, particularly with English Language Learner (ELL) students. Do the images, vocabulary, and contextual cues found within comics and graphic novels positively affect language comprehension and writing skills of ELL students when these texts are integrated into a tailored curriculum? Within my research I have composed an extensive literature review comprised of two major sections. The first section aims to highlight the use of comics to assist struggling readers, again focusing on ELL students. The second section compiles a list of comics and graphic novels I reviewed …

Principles Of Thomas Pynchon's Literary Realities, Ira Anthony Walker

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Thomas Pynchon's literature is unique in subject and style. Postmodern by definition, Pynchon illustrates physics as a societal metaphor; Guy Debord's text The Society of the Spectacle suggests that these societal, literary, metaphors constitute and/or lead to a Spectacle. Through the analysis of an unpublished text: Minstrel Island, an early written short story: "Entropy," and a short novel: The Crying of Lot 49 the reader is capable of seeing a developing theme of physics as metaphor constituting multiple Spectacles. The narrative devices offered by Thomas Pynchon become Spectacular in nature and reflect the characteristics and environment of the tumultuous 1960s …

Hybrid Interactive Rhetorical Engagements In Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (Mmorpgs): Examining The Role Of Rhetors And Audiences In Generative Rhetorical Discourses, Yowei Kang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The dissertation explores the emerging rhetorical practices in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) in general and World of Warcraft (WoW) game in particular. The study applies Kenneth Burke's rhetorical theories and concepts to examine the persuasive processes employed by both game designers and players at various stages of their gameplay experiences. The author argues that the analysis of these interactive rhetorical discourses during gameplay helps rhetorical scholars to understand the emerging rhetorical practices where the rhetors and the audiences collaborate to co-generate their hybrid intensive rhetorical engagement (H.I.R.E.).

On the basis of the gaming sessions captured by the researcher …

Indentifying And Understanding User Preferences In Generic Planning Tools, Grisel Ventura

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Planning is an important cognitive work activity. To support this complex task, the development of planning tools is important to support people during decision-making and problem-solving tasks. Nowadays, a large number of manual and electronic tools support this complex activity; manual and electronic planning tools aid people in creating strategies for effective work performance. However, there is limited information on the design of generic planning tools people use for their activities, and why people choose to use the planning tool they do. Some examples of generic tools for planning are calendars, checklists, agendas, etc.

To answer this question, this research …

Fan Commitment And Its Transformation Into Communitas Through The Process Of Proxemic Exchange, Arthur Alexander Aguirre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Live performances are comprised of various elements that scholars have utilized to understand the artist-fan relationship as well as the relationship among the fans themselves. In this study, I look at fandom in independent, or “indie” music and utilize my findings to creation a foundation for the understanding of fan commitment. I then argue that when a fan of a particular artist attends a live performance by that artist, they inherently engage in a proxemic exchange with the artist as well as the fans around them. This proxemic exchange is driven by fan commitment and facilitates the creation of communitas …

Kandinsky's Nonrepresentational Art: Finding Meaning Through Aesthetic Experience, Kandice Nikkole Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The art world is not one in which much scholarship has been conducted from a communication perspective. As such, this study attempts to add to the very little body of work that exists in the realms of both art and visual rhetoric. Abstract art, such as that of Wassily Kandinsky, is full of meaning despite the fact that it is nonobjective, and therefore considered meaningless. Using a rhetorical method, I argue that by examining the artwork of Wassily Kandinsky in certain contexts, it is possible to discover the meaning embedded in his abstract paintings, in particular his Compositions and Improvisations.

Incorporating Sustainability Into Urban Infrastructures: The Tension Between Bio-Cultural Aspects And Environmental Considerations, Shane Epting

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following arguments focus on how to think about sustainability as it relates to technology and the non-human world within an anthropocentric framework. We end up with a picture showing that humankind needs to change the ways in which we look at anthropocentric concerns. Secondly, the discussion that leads up to the final picture details the urgency that guides the thinking behind the implementation of sustainability. Because, as the West learns to live in an entirely new sense that is consistent with holding humankind's desire for existence as a permanent situation, one finds that this notion must be paramount for …

Pacto Por La Cultura: The Power And Possibility Of Cultural Activism In Ciudad Juárez, Kerry Doyle

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper is a qualitative study of Movimiento Pacto por la Cultura , a group of cultural activists that operate in the hyper-violent reality of 21st century Ciudad Juárez. This work looks at Pacto as a case study to explore the possibilities of culture as a tool of activism in a particular time and place, exploring in the ways in which economic development policies, deficiencies in infrastructure, and rising violence both effect and can be affected by cultural processes. Through analysis of the group's original documents and qualitative interviews with organizational members, the paper documents both the successes of the …

La Taquillera, Hector Hugo Montero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Esta es la historia de una obsesión. Del amor por el cine y sus historias, los seres que de él se derivan y multiplican. Es el amor que una mujer siente po una clase de música, actores y películas de México.

The Exploratory Value Of Agent-Based Models In Social Science, Ricardo Andress Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

N/A

Al Cuerpo Lo Que Pida, Lucia Sanchez-Llorente

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Al cuerpo lo que pida, is a novel that addresses the old topic of disloyalty in contemporary Mexico City society. It narrates in first person the inner-conflict of the protagonist, Mercedes Santamaria, who tries to lead a double life. On one hand she is in love with her husband, Fernando, and on the other hand, she is incapable of stopping her impulses with other men, which puts her marriage in jeopardy. She turns to her late grandmother, as an alter ego, for advice.

The Relationship Between Divided Government And Real Per Capita Gross State Product, Adrian Christopher Villasenor

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper analyzes the relationship between divided government and real per capita gross state product in U.S. states using a panel study of data from all of the contiguous U.S. states, except Nebraska, for the period of 1990 to 2007. Some literature can be found on the relationship between divided government and economic growth at the national level. There is a lack of study of this relationship at the state level. Real per capita gross state product is the dependent variable in this study. Divided government, partisan control of the governor's office, partisan control of the state legislature, combined federal …

Reading Dialogically : A Bakhtinian Approach To Interpreting Elijah, Mark Hoehner

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

In this introduction, we will explore the great debate about the proper interpretation of textual characters within the past century, as well as the presuppositions that led to certain interpretations of textual characters. 3 We will also see how narrative-critical approaches have influenced the interpretation of Old Testament characters since Auerbach’s 1947 work. This will set the stage for showing that Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogic approach is a valuable contribution to the great debate over how to interpret textual characters, specifically the characters found in Old Testament narratives.

The Move From Protectionism To Outward-Looking Industrial Development: A Critical Juncture In Irish Industrial Policy?, Paul Donnelly, John Hogan

Articles

This paper utilises a new framework for examining critical junctures to help us understand whether the changes to Irish industrial policy at the end of the 1950s constituted a critical juncture, breaking cleanly with what came before, or were a continuation of policy pathways previously established. The framework is made up of three elements, which must be identified in sequence, for us to be able to declare a critical juncture. Irish industrial policy is examined here, as it constitutes a core tenet of wider economic policy.

Review Of Second Language Teaching And Learning In The Net Generation By R. Oxford And J. Oxford, Todd A. Hernandez

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Clara Janés [Encyclopedia Entry], Anne Pasero

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Un Lugar En El Parque By Julia Otxoa, Anne Pasero

Spanish Languages and Literatures Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Encyclopedia Of Music In Ireland: Jonathan Nangle, Adrian Smith

Articles

Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland entry on the Irish composer Jonathan Nangle

Play Education Video Games On Their Terms, Wendi M. Kappers

Publications

It is imperative when utilizing educational video games in K-12 classrooms that student preferences with regard to game play, purpose, and design be considered in order to maximize game play efficiency for learning. As Web 2.0 content infiltrates our educational medium, student customization is key. This manuscript intends to share customization requests gleaned during an 18-week experimental study examining educational video game effects upon 7th graders enrolled in Mathematics and Mathematics 2 courses.

文学研究的合法化：一种新实用主义、整体化和经验主义文学与文化研究方法 (Legitimizing The Study Of Literature: A New Pragmatism And The Systemic Approach To Literature And Culture), Steven Tötösy De Zepetnek

CLCWeb Library

Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven (斯蒂文·托托西). 文学研究的合法化：一种新实用主义、整体化和经验主义文学与文化研究方法 (Legitimizing the Study of Literature: A New Pragmatism and the Systemic Approach to Literature and Culture). Trans. Ma Jui-ch'i (马瑞琪翻). Peking University Academic Lectures Series 7. Beijing: Peking University Press, 1997. ISBN 7-301-03482-2 217 pages. The book contains texts of invited public lectures at Peking University in 1994, 1995, and 1996 on radical constructivism, culture and literary theory and methodology, women's writing, film and literature, and Canadian and Hungarian modern and contemporary prose. The Peking University Press 1997 print version of the book does not include a Works Cited: in the 2011 pdf version …

Building Kites, David Brian Anderson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This collection of short stories focuses on the struggles of people living in the suburbs as they try to forge emotional connections against a backdrop of malaise and uncertainty.

Tom Regan And The Problem Of Conflicting Rights, Jeanine Campsall

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

N/A

Feminist Legal Theory As Embodied Justice, Roxanne Mykitiuk, Isabel Karpin

Articles & Book Chapters

This chapter examines a shift within feminist legal theory from a central concern with sexual difference to one of embodied difference. The subject at the center of this theorizing is marked by bodily (as opposed to sexual) difference from the normative, self-actualizing individual of legal subjecthood. Bioethical and biotechnological inquiries too are concerned with bodily differentiation. Bodies discussed in these contexts are often anomalous or pathologized. They are brought under scrutiny, when they deviate from what is often regarded as "normal," that which is both valorized for its "species typicality" and, by extension, held out as the "natural" state of …

Reading Queer Subtexts In Children’S Literature, Jessica Kander

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this project is to explore and to challenge heteronormative assumptions regarding childhood and adolescence. I will show how these assumptions affect the literature published and made available to young readers, and how, often, overtly queer texts are not available for young readers. Such omissions leave young readers, especially those with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered (LGBT) identities, to find depictions of queerness in subtexts underlying seemingly “straight” texts. While these queer subtexts can be recognizable to readers through the use of culturally and historically significant markers that are understood to represent queerness, even a text with a …

The Relationship Between Technology And The Body In Muriel Rukeyser's Poetry, Fathi Nasaif

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis studies Muriel Rukeyser‟s view of the relationship between technology and the body by analyzing some of her poetry in her Collected Poems and her philosophy of poetry in her book The Life of Poetry. The thesis also deals with the relationship between science and art; Rukeyser thought of science and art as supplementing and complementing each other through her idea of dynamism in nature and in artistic thought. In addition, my thesis discusses some critical responses to Rukeyser‟s poetry and philosophy of art. The theories that form the basis of my study are Rukeyser‟s idea of relational …