Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Blurred Intersections: The Anti-Black, Islamophobic Dimensions Of Cve Surveillance, Zeinab A. Dahir

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Modern mechanisms of state surveillance reinforce gendered, raced, classed and sexed power hierarchies. Forms of control and regulation of "problem bodies" are framed as neutral or benign forms of bureaucratic bookkeeping (Dubrofsky and Magnet, 2015). This thesis explores the possible Islamophobic and Anti-Black dimensions of Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) program, a counterterrorism community outreach program initiated by the federal government in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which targets the Somali community. I will be evaluating whether CVE programs, initiated by state agencies, transform into a site of surveillance. This thesis will examine declassified state documents from sources such as Homeland Security …

The Typology Of Community: A Case Study Analysis Of Three Intentional Communities, Caleb Kalinowski

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Typological schemes like those produced by Emile Durkheim and Ferdinand Tönnies have been used to classify human groups in an evolutionary spectrum ranging from the simple to the complex. Though the typological approach was foundational to further development of the western social sciences it is seldom used to examine what might be termed "simple" societies in the modern day. This study aims to apply the contributions of the two theorists listed above to the concept of the modern intentional community. Although these communities comprise an eclectic and diverse social phenomenon, their characteristic small populations and other features make them intriguing …

Amor Y Trascendencia En La Literatura De Carlos Fuentes, David William Hamilton

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the literary works of Carlos Fuentes, transcendence of spatial-temporal reality is driven by the protagonists' desires. As a result, a multifaceted perspective of love is presented in the midst of moral conflicts and ambiguous endings. This study examines the roles of love and the instances of transcendence in nine of Fuentes' stories. In doing so, it establishes the connection between love and transcendence in these works, considers the implications of these connections, and identifies distinctions between six modes of transcendence that Fuentes employs. This research begins by presenting an overview of the multifaceted nature of love, as well as …

A Labor Of Love: Women's Perspectives On Gender And Identity In Informal Caregiving, Kirby O'Hara Hurd

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The elderly population (adults 65 and over) is larger than at any time in history, thanks to improved access to healthcare, advances in medical technology, and health services focused on addressing the needs of aging adults. However, support for this growing population remains insufficient; the costs of in-home and residential care are high, and consequently, family members often become providers of informal, unpaid care. Presently, there is inadequate literature regarding the academic study of family members providing informal caregiving, especially from a perspective that emphasizes sociological principles and theories. Existing studies of the family caregiver phenomenon show that middle-aged adult …

Technical Direction Of Frankenstein 1930, Isaac Sawle

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre. It is a detailed account of author Isaac Sawle’s technical direction process for Minnesota State University, Mankato’s production of Frankenstein 1930 in the fall of 2016. This thesis chronicles the author’s process from pre-production through post-production in five chapters: an early production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a process journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

Creating The Role Of Georgie Bukatinsky In "The Full Monty", Erin Horst

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre. It is a detailed account of author Erin Horst's artistic process in creating the role of Georgie Bukatinsky in Minnesota State University, Mankato's production of "The Full Monty" in the fall of 2016. The thesis chronicles the actor's artistic process from pre-production through performance in five chapters: an early production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

Drag Performance And Femininity: Redefining Drag Culture Through Identity Performance Of Transgender Women Drag Queens, Cristy Dougherty

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Viewing gender as a performance reveals how gender identity is shaped and formed. There is currently tensions associated with drag queen performance as an act of subversion and transgression from the heteronormative definition of gender and drag as a perpetuation of heteronormative definitions of gender. There is also a tension between the affirmation of femininity and transgression from gender binaries of womanhood. In order to address these tensions, this thesis project examined the reasoning behind how transgender women and gay men drag queen performers navigate the world of femininity. Specifically, this study explored the varied reasons behind performing femininity through …

Embodied Composition: The Creation Of Enriched Interactional Experiences Through Music Composition, Aaron Bilney Geringer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Music is a form of embodied interaction through which people can synchronize their motor, sensory, and emotive systems. Anthropologists and developmental psychologists suggest that elements of music provide the groundwork for verbal interaction and interpersonal relationships (Aiello, 1996; Dissanayake, 2000; Mithen, 2006). When people interact with each other through music, the bases of community are formed. Phenomenological descriptions of individual’s experience of music and the role music plays in interpersonal interaction have been documented. However, there is little literature describing the embodied experiences of music composers as the architects of embodied interactions through music. Through this study, I address this …

Women’S Choice In College Stem Majors: Impact Of Ability Tilt On Women Students’ Educational Choice, Audie Jane Willis

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative study explored the impact of ability and ability tilt on the choice of an academic program in STEM majors for female college students who have not been identified as profoundly or highly gifted. A math tilt would be an ability tilt slanting toward math. The career development theory that provided a framework for this study was the Theory of Work Adjustment. Three bodies of literature were reviewed, (a) Self-efficacy as a variable in college major or career choice, (b) life-style preference, and (c) ability tilt and ability. A Chi Square Test of Independence determined that significantly more women …

Chroma Pneuma, Shayna Tietje

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

I was conducting process trials based on water. As I reacted to what was being produced, I found myself having little moments of joyful discovery. I was fascinated to observe patterns and implied textures that were generated through natural process; these patterns mimic the fractal nature of repetitive structures on a micro to macro scale that we see within our natural world. Patterns whose resemblance ranges from formations found in semi- precious stones, such as jasper or agate; to satellite imagery of branching river systems and sites of massive erosion. While the implied texture of the work was being influenced …

Elements, Stephen Anthony Geffre

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis consisted of a gallery exhibition titled “Elements” featuring sculpture created by Stephen Geffre for his Master of Arts in Sculpture from University of Minnesota-Mankato, located in Mankato Minnesota. The exhibition ran from October 16, 2017 to October 31, 2017. The artwork explored sacredness---sacredness rooted in the natural, sacredness rooted within the minds of human kind, sacredness in the form of the classical elements Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

All the work was created in part with material that was going to be thrown away or sold at a fraction of its cost because of its imperfection.

Rhetoric Of Typography: Cross-Cultural Perceptions Of Typefaces For Technical And Visual Communication, Michael Peterson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Since the early 2000s, scholars have been conducting research to determine whether typefaces influence a reader's response to a document. Some areas of research have included the role of gender, age, or other demographics on typeface perception. However, the role of culture in academic discourse on the rhetoric of typography has been largely underexplored, and this is concerning given the ease with which technical documents can be delivered to cultures around the world with a couple of clicks on a computer.

I developed my research topic to explore whether Koreans perceive typefaces differently from non-Koreans and to discover what typefaces …

Assiduous Adaptation, Shelley Therese Caldwell

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Growing up in a rural environment, you both witness the wonders of the natural world and learn to be resourceful with what you already have. This lesson has had a profound impact on my work as an installation artist whose practice combines mixed media drawing with subjects from nature and daily life. Drawing spider plant (chlorophytum comosum) silhouettes upon legal pad pages then displaying them alongside actual plants—each accumulated to near absurdity—exemplifies the creative impulse behind the work; combining familiar items and imagery into large-scale installations transforms the space they inhabit as well as their ordinary meaning into something extraordinary. …

Painting The Persona, Reed Dean White

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

I am an oil painter who paints the human form as a subject. My technique varies between loose transparent glazes to more realistic impasto, revealing the process in which I paint. My colors are often exaggerated and unrealistic. I choose to paint people in my community because it reveals a story about the time and place I live in. I enjoy painting people because we are interesting as physical objects: color, form, the way our bodies change as we age, what we chose to wear, etc.. We come in many different sizes, colors, shapes, our postures and facial expressions articulate …

Anaġoptaŋ Po! (Listen!) What We Can Learn About Our Own Stories By Accepting The Stories Of Others: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Competing Narratives Within The Dakota Access Pipeline Conflict, Scot Zellmer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

There have been over five-hundred years of interactions between European Colonizer-settlers and the Indigenous peoples of North America. Starting with the 1493 Doctrine of Discovery through the present, language embedded in documents, laws, policies and popular culture, have created damaging and misleading stereotypes and identities for these Indigenous Peoples, the American Indians. This study connects historical and contemporary perceptions constructing the dominant narrative that informs many people about American Indians. Narrative Paradigm Theory, Critical Race Theory and Indigenous Theories all serve as a lens to deconstruct the legitimacy of the dominant narrative and promote the salience of counter-narratives constructed by …

Remote Sensing Of World War Ii Era Unexploded Bombs Using Object-Based Image Analysis And Multi-Temporal Datasets: A Case Study Of The Fort Myers Bombing And Gunnery Range, Bryan Byholm

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

During World War II, United States Army and Navy pilots trained on several hundred bombing ranges encompassing more than 12 million acres of land, leaving behind crater-scarred landscapes across the country. Post-war estimates suggest that 10-15% of aerial bombs used failed to detonate as intended, so these areas today are contaminated by a large number of dangerous unexploded bombs (UXB) which remain under the surface. Until recently, detecting UXB has been a tedious and expensive process done in three stages: (1) identifying and mapping general areas of concentrated bomb craters using historical air photos and records; (2) intensely searching these …

North Of The Heart East Of Victory, Joel Hansen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Just as music can be described as colorful and text can provide texture, art has a voice. That voice can scream, whisper or babble incoherently. It can also sing. Making art sing is the overarching goal of all my work. There are no formulas or templates, of which I am aware, on how to accomplish this but if I think of individual pieces as songs, a series as an album and exhibits as concerts art can become sonorous. Shadows and highlights act as rhythm. Color and composition behave as melodies and arrangements. If I've done my job correctly the art …

More Than Skin Deep: An Analysis Of Black Women's Experiences With Race, Skin Tone, And Cosmetics, Anne Yung Van

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In June 2016, the cosmetic company, ColourPop, released a new line of contour-intended sculpting sticks with insensitive names, such as “Yikes,” “Typo,” and “Dume,” for their three darkest shades. ColourPop’s lack of regard to their African American consumers serves as a reminder that the cosmetic industry often fails to include and fully embrace Black women. It is important to explore the relationship between the cosmetic industry and Black women because reoccurring negative experiences may be indicative of systemic oppression – illustrating that Black women’s personal experiences reach a political sphere. Furthermore, the parallels between history and contemporary experiences provide proof …

Imágenes Fragmentadas Y Alucinantes: Encuentros Iconotextuales Y Diálogos Extraordinarios Hispano/A/Mericanos, Sandra Lucia Castaneda Medina

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Las series que componen mi tesis recrean, a través del arte mixto y la multimedia, los trabajos literarios de los escritores latinoamericanos Jorge Luis Borges, "El aleph" (serie "el bosque"); Juan Rulfo, Pedro Páramo (serie "reminiscencias"); y Ciro Alegría, "La sirena del bosque" (serie "insania humana"). Sus partes (esas imágenes del bosque y de los intramuros de insania, y los recuerdos del pasado que permanecen vivos) dialogan entre sí y dan una idea sobre aquellos puntos de yuxtaposición en donde lo extraordinario y el eterno retorno de lo mismo se hacen evidentes. Mi interés en la filosofía, la historia y …