Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Mother Is How I Got Down Pat, Kyrae Dawaun

Theses and Dissertations

This essay gathers concepts of matriarchal studies, theatre and hospitality in thinking beyond the contemporary venue of painting. Recognizing the limits of fine arts, as it is today, a product of a patriarchal, capitalistic societal structure, in its service to an inclusive, public sphere, my work is insistent on the value of installation. Accessibility to space (the art space), language, and the right to politics are goals inspiring the evolved features in my studio practice. The use of word is central in my study of our human behaviors as they can be best modeled according to the appreciation of mother(ing). …

Exploring The Creation Of Immersive And Responsive Spaces For Interrelationship Through The Concept Of Playfulness, Yonghun Jung

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020 is causing serious damage to many countries. As of May, the number of confirmed patients worldwide is at 3.35 million and the death toll stands at 239,000 people. As a way to prevent the pandemic, most countries encourage people to keep social or physical distance and self-quarantine. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they recommend that people stay at least six feet away from each other and the South Korean government also recommend keeping their distance from each other at least two meters.

Because of the current situation, …

I Hope My Black Skin Don't Dirt This White Tuxedo, Luis A. Vasquez La Roche

Theses and Dissertations

I Hope My Black Skin Don't Dirt This White Tuxedo is a series of works--sculpture, installations, and performances--that explore themes of shame, failure, commodity, ephemerality, ritual, resilience, erasure, race, and death. The research and interest in these themes stem from a page of the Trinidad and Tobago Slave Registry. I use the research that surrounds this document to highlight different moments in history, in my personal life, and to imagine near futures.

Against The Eyes Of God And Man: The Suicide And Alcohol Intoxication Deaths Of Enslaved People In Alexandria And Henrico County, Virginia, 1805-1829, Peighton L. Young

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a compressive examination of suicide and self-destructive behaviors within specific enslaved populations in early republic Virginia localities. I use coroners’ inquests as the primary means for identifying notable causes of death and potential behavioral patterns amongst the enslaved people presented in this study. I focused my investigation on two causes of death, demographics, and localities respectively: the drowning suicides committed by enslaved women along the Potomac River waterfront in Alexandria between 1807 and 1824 and the alcohol intoxication-related deaths of enslaved men in Henrico County between 1805 and 1829. Stepping away from …

Port To World, Samuel M. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Among those that are ill for long periods, there is often a mistrust created not only in one’s own body but in the institution that promises a cure to the malady. Often this stems naturally from the dogma of the institution paired with one’s desire for wellness, for the institution's goals are many besides the overall health of the patient. Even when a patient is cured of an ailment, this is often just the first step in the actual healing process. The body can quickly change, and the mind takes time to catch up with the body's condition. My work …

Paul By Paul By Paul, Paul Finch

Theses and Dissertations

In 2020 flamboyant fashion is associated with queer performativity. Psychologist Alan Downs and queer theorist madison moore understand this to be a response to a culture that is hostile to sexual behaviour and gender expression that falls outside a rigid binary. I study the history of flamboyant aesthetics and camp sensibilities from an intersectional perspective, and locate designers and artists who have produced clothes in ways that materialize the political implications of fashion. As a studio-based artist, I employ traditional sewing techniques, digital technologies, and performance to create clothes and new media works that demonstrate a circular understanding of time, …

Moving Parts, Andrew Lowrie

Theses and Dissertations

Material bodies, human and non-human, exist in a constant state of doing and undoing. As bodies change over time, so too do the objects they wear. In this way, a jewelry object is never finished and is constantly being made. In contemporary art practice, this is described as relational ontology by Amelia Jones, who reaches this terminology through the eco-political writings of Jane Bennett and Karen Barad. Through this framework we are able to understand the way artists like Gabriel Orozco and Helen Carnac resist the notion of a finished object or artwork. By engaging with the ways that process …

Transforming Trauma: Performing The Works Of William Shakespeare As Rehabilitation For Incarcerated Individuals, Elyssa Mersdorf

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is the summation of my research and exploration into the history, social ramifications, and individual psychological impact of incarceration and the use of theatre as a vehicle of rehabilitation. Throughout my studies, I encountered evidence in the forms of personal accounts from theatre practitioners, scholarly articles, inmate testimonials, and historical journals regarding the success of such carceral theatre programs in the reformation of the prisoners they serve. How have past prison procedures and strategies hindered or helped inmates in their preparation for their transition from life in a penitentiary to reintroduction into larger society? What are the financial …

...And Yet The Devil Exists, John Hee Taek Chae

Theses and Dissertations

...And Yet the Devil Exists is a project that explores the ways in which ideology determines reality. It is an installation that plots and connects the historical and personal narratives that have defined my sense of identity–narratives in which perceptions of reality shatter, mutate, or hybridize when confronted with power, opportunity, or coercion. The installation component of the project consists of three parts. The first is an infrastructure made of wooden beams upon which paintings and images are installed; I call this the lantern. In the center of this is a round table on top of which is a nonsensical …

See As One, Min Haeng Kang

Theses and Dissertations

Everything that exists in the world is made from “nature.” Humans who initially coexisted with nature began to distinguish themselves from what is human and what is not. Unlike past systems that used to reuse all materials, Society so far has focused on maximizing economic profits along with advancing technology. As a result, the nature of the earth is being irrevocably destroyed, and I think the basis for this lies in the distinctions made between the human and the non-human.

I am always seeking to be in a state where I do not have an atman, like the Buddhist concept …

Jazz, Improvisation & The Importance Of Collaboration, Laurie Marcotte

Theses and Dissertations

Project Statement

As one of the least popular, yet highly influential and pervasive, musical genres of modern times, jazz will help inspire impressionable high school aged students in cultivating individual expression and collaboration through an environment of musical and social interaction. The project is designed to be a safe haven for these students where the ambiance intends to promote a sense of self-worth, security, and curiosity through the engagement of jazz music.

Concept Statement

The project celebrates harmony and individual expression through the improvisational and collaborative efforts of jazz music.

Motivation

It is commonly accepted that music education has a …

Spooky Stuff, Petra A. Szilagyi

Theses and Dissertations

A real imaginal exploration of the aesthetics of the supernatural.

From Abdication To Action: Turning Points In Clinton's Foreign Policy, Eric J. Szandzik

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzes important turning points in the foreign policy of President Bill Clinton (1993-2000). These turning points include Clinton's decision to not intervene in the Rwandan genocide (1994), and his decision to intervene in Bosnia (1995) and Kosovo (1999). The various reasons why Clinton did, or did not, intervene in those three events are examined. Clinton admitted that not intervening in the Rwandan genocide was the greatest regret of his presidency. The regret of not intervening in Rwanda had a substantial impact on his decision to launch military interventions into Bosnia and Kosovo. The impact of that regret is …

Approaches To Lifespan Writing Research: Generating An Actionable Coherence, Ryan J. Dippre, Talinn Phillips

Writing Commons Open Access Books

This edited collection builds on the three themes that emerged from the 2018 inaugural lifespan writing conference—identity, society, and theory—to further the study of writing through the lifespan. The contributors to this collection provide a framework within which the reader can develop a dynamic, interdisciplinary, multifaceted understanding of the limits and possibilities of studying lifespan writing. Recognizing that such research requires methodological rigor and flexibility as well as theoretical precision and adaptability, Approaches to Lifespan Writing Research draws on a range of methodological and theoretical approaches, from autoethnography to longitudinal structural equation modeling. This methodological and theoretical flexibility reflects the …

La Voz Winter 2020, El Instituto: Institute Of Latina/O, Caribbean, And Latin American Studies

La Voz

In this issue:

• Multi-Media Artist Begins Year-Long Residence at UConn
• Graciela Mochkofsky Presents the 2019 Mead Lecture
• La Comunidad Intelectual Learning Community Presents Research at Virginia Tech Conference
• Cost Rica Education: Why it's Worth the Trip?
• Music Professor Publishes Book on Global Mexicanidades
• La Colectiva Feminista Comes to UConn

A Black Feminist Quare Interrogation Of Stud Misogyny In Black Queer Web Series, Taisha Mcmickens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this Black feminist-quare study is to analyze the relationship between misogyny and queer masculinity performed by “studs” in Black queer web series located on YouTube.com: Women of Atlanta TV, New York Girls TV, Choiices The Series, and The Best Friend. Studs are masculine-identified Black lesbians. Stud misogyny is tethered to histories of the patriarchal gaze on Black women’s bodies. This gaze exposes stud and femme queers to layers of violence challenging us to rethink masculinities outside of the colonial imagination. I employ a Black Feminist Quare theoretical framework to attend to stud’s embodied experiences, challenge …

Roman Medical Instruments, Mickayla Hite, Kendall Westmor

Classics Ancient Science Fair

This poster presents information about a variety of Roman Medical Instruments. It includes Scalpels, Cauteries, Forceps, Gynecological Instruments, Probes, Bleeding Cups, and Materials.

The Ancient Greek Trireme: A Staple Of Ancient Maritime Tradition, Joseph York

Classics Ancient Science Fair

This poster presented information on the Greek Trireme. The Ancient Greek Trireme was a staple ship of Greek naval warfare, and played a key role in the Persian Wars, the creation of the Athenian maritime empire, and the Peloponnesian wars.

Archimedes Catapult, Dominick West

Classics Ancient Science Fair

This presentation discusses various weapons used in the past. It starts with discussions of the belly bow, torsion springs, and catapults that use the spring.

A Philological Examination Of Eratosthenes’ Calculation Of Earth’S Circumference, Kelly Staver

Classics Ancient Science Fair

A Greek mathematician named Eratosthenes calculated an accurate measurementofthe Earth’s circumference, that being 250,000 stades orclose to Earth’s actualcircumference of40,120 km,¹ in Hellenistic Alexandria, Egyptcirca 240 B.C.E. To do this, Eratosthenes’utilized the distance between Alexandria and Syeneandgnomon measurements taken in Syeneand Alexandria at noon on the summersolstice.

The Cosmos According To Ptolemy, Benjamin Smith

Classics Ancient Science Fair

In the second century AD, Claudius Ptolemaeus, the astronomer from Alexandria, would provide a geometric conception of the cosmos with the ability to predict planetary motion, in what would be known as the Ptolemaic, or Geocentric, Model of the Universe. Prior to Ptolemy, the notion in ancient astronomy was that the cosmos was ”perfect”; the heavenly bodies must move along the perfect curve (a circle) as the perfect shape (a sphere). Yet, irregularities occur in observing the planets in concentric circles alone. Ptolemy’s answer, building upon Hipparchus and Aristotle, would present an eccentric system in which the heavenly bodies move …

Finding Pythagoras In The Pythagoreans, Brandon Barnes

Classics Ancient Science Fair

This presentation for the Ancient Science Fair deals with the Pythagorean Theorem. Since Pythagoras himself did not write down his work, early scholars had to work to find the knowledge and unify it among differing sources.

The Antikythera Mechanism, Aladsair Turnbull

Classics Ancient Science Fair

The mechanism was retrieved from a shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera in 1901. The structure of the mechanism was the subject of debate among scholars for many years after the initial discovery. Little is known about the maker of the device and there is still disagreement regarding certain pieces of the mechanism. Close study of the fragments allowed many models to be designed.

Gynecology In Antiquity, Kristen Cross

Classics Ancient Science Fair

The field of Gynecology has had major shifts through its history. It began with the expansion of duties for Midwives and a wide variety of schools of thought continued to advise its growth. This presentation discusses the ancient thoughts, their origins, and its many outdated beliefs.

Evolution Of Surgery And Surgical Instruments In Science, Shelbi Royster

Classics Ancient Science Fair

The professionalism of the medical field developed in ancient Greece through the Hippocratic Corpus. This is one of first Greek writings on medical practices and the tools associated with different medical practices as well. Although medicine and its practices were defined from different writers, the medical field was not a popular profession to enter in the Greek world. Educational occupations such as philosophy were more sought after, especially with superstitions of the Greeks.

Sailing In The Ancient Mediterranean, Cody Lawrence

Classics Ancient Science Fair

Sailing in the Mediterranean was no simple feat. The technological advancements took many decades to continue went through many stages. This presentation discusses various stages of these advances and discusses many of the shipwrecks found of the various stages of development.

The Engineering Of Roman Baths, Rachel Kinder

Classics Ancient Science Fair

The Roman Bath was a engineering miracle that has captured our imaginations for centuries. This presentation explores the history, engineering, and social implications of the Roman Bath.

Ballista, Amber Terrill

Classics Ancient Science Fair

This presentation is based on the construction of a miniature scale Ballista. In addition to creating and demonstrating the Ballista, it also discusses its function, and other aspects of the siege weapon.

Pathos, Winter 2020, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Pathos

Editor: Sadie Jordan

On Some Moral Implications Of Linguistic Narrativism Theory, Natan Elgabsi, Bennett Gilbert

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this essay we consider the moral claims of one branch of non-realist theory known as linguistic narrativism theory. By highlighting the moral implications of linguistic narrativism theory, we argue that the “moral vision” expressed by this theory can entail, at worst, undesirable moral agnosticism if not related to a transcendental and supra-personal normativity in our moral life. With its appeal to volitionism and intuitionism, the ethical sensitivity of this theory enters into difficulties brought about by several internal tensions as to what morality and moral judgements involve. We contend that the proponents of linguistic narrativism theory must strongly recognize …