Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Light And Unseen, Daša Kulikova

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a body of paintings and two poetic fragments. Shaped by distance and displacement, the work finds its ground in the tension between the desire to be free from the past and heal, and longing for home and connection. Painting practice becomes an event of contact with what is lost, or unclear, or in the process of becoming through accumulating layers, marks, erasures, and traces of the process of its making.

There Is A Puddle In Stonehenge, Nathaniel Newcomb

Theses and Dissertations

I began by making what I called "furniture": finding discarded logs and using a chainsaw, I milled out slabs of wood far larger than any normal board or beam, and gave them the function of chair, table, shelf. Sometimes it was a "shelf" in name only, and was commentary on furniture. In my practice, using discarded wood is necessary for the sake of the earth; making original pieces is necessary for the sake of my soul. I am reminded of megaliths when I erect these enormous forms in wood. I make intuitively, and like the meaning of megaliths, obscured by …

Film For Jeanette, Brice Goldberg

Theses and Dissertations

Film for Jeanette is an experimental documentary concerning grief, memory, and what remains of those who have left this physical plane. The film paints the portrait of my late sister, Jeanette Lee Goldberg, who died in a car accident when she was 19. What begins as a memorial becomes a celebration of her life and an exploration into the complexities of her character that led to her death. Jeanette’s story is told through interviews with family members, while the visuals, created with various alternative 16mm film techniques, depict my own journey through the filmmaking process. I was only 3 when …

All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand, Kevin Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis project, All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand, is a body of work that frames soft sculpture as "prophetic charm" and collaborative performance as the ceremony that charges them. In this essay, I will explore the conceptual chronology of the charms, their connection to the notion of décalage, and their potential to compel witnesses toward the immediate liberation of queer, Black individuals.

With my research centered on the necessity of shifting cultural responses to enduring racial trauma, I focus my work on deconstructing Black hypermasculine archetypes shaped by white supremacy and unpacking the tension between individual autonomy and social …

Algorhythm: Commodification Of Hobbies On Social Media Platforms, Fariha Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Forcing the world online, the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to turn social-media-based hobbies into income-generating cash cows. Digital creative spaces became sites of capitalist logic where hobbyists came to operate as both laborers and commodities. Profit-focused algorithms operate imperceptibly, shaping creative behavior and decision-making in ways that are difficult to recognize, and even harder to resist. This thesis asks how algorithmic participation on platforms such as Instagram conditions a hobbyist, and how that conditioning can be made legible to audiences who inhabit such platforms without always seeing them. Using autoethnography, I position myself as both researcher and subject to document the …

Mediator: Ornament As A Visual Language Of The Transcendent, Selma Fejzullaj

Theses and Dissertations

Adolf Loos’s declaration that “ornament is a crime” defined modernist design, establishing a legacy that dismisses ornamentation as wasteful and regressive. This research questions that legacy by repositioning aesthetics as a divinely grounded value, inspired by the Qur’anic vision of Paradise. In this celestial realm, beauty is not wasteful but a manifestation of divine perfection. Conceptually, the project reclaims ornament as a vital tool for contemplating metaphysical themes. Materially, it reimagines glass, shifting it from modernist "radical honesty" to a medium of layered depth. Recombining traditional Islamic ornamentation practices such as Girih and Chaharbagh, the project evokes the Qur’anic vision …

Re-Sense, Nneoma Njoku

Theses and Dissertations

Re-Sense examines artist’s books as perceptual tools capable of reshaping how readers encounter history, memory, and archival absence. Beginning with the idea that books teach us how to know and how to see, the text argues that conventional book structures often reinforce Western knowledge systems through overemphasis of linearity, coherence, and containment. In contrast, artist’s books' experimental structures support novel modes of knowing and relation to ourselves and the world of humans and non-humans. The author describes this process of exhuming perception from Western constraints as re-sensing.

Through re-sensing, the historical past becomes less like a fixed record and more …

Editor's Pen, Ronald E. Goodwin

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

Into The Fire: An Examination Of Violence In Reconstruction Texas, 1865-1868, John Gorman

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

This article examines the scale, patterns, and political implications of racial violence in Texas between 1865 and 1868, arguing that white terror functioned as a systematic effort to suppress Black freedom and restore antebellum racial hierarchies. Drawing on Congressional testimony, Freedmen’s Bureau records, and the 1868 Report of the Special Committee on Lawlessness and Violence in Texas, the study reveals that violence was not random but structured along social, labor, and political lines. Murders, whippings, intimidation, and organized attacks—such as the Millican riot—intensified when freedpeople asserted labor autonomy or political rights. Despite nearly 900 reported murders, convictions were exceedingly rare, …

Religious Freedom Without Material Autonomy: Property Dispossession And The Containment Of Religion In Socialist Macedonia, 1945-1958, Aleksandar Spasenovski

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines the relationship between religious freedom and property rights in socialist Macedonia within Yugoslavia between 1945 and 1958. It argues that the formal constitutional recognition of religious freedom did not necessarily guarantee the institutional autonomy of religious communities. Through a legal-historical analysis of federal Yugoslav and Macedonian legislation, implementing regulations, and administrative mechanisms, the article shows how agrarian reform, nationalization of private economic enterprises, expropriation, and the nationalization of rental buildings and construction land progressively reduced the material foundations of religious organizations. The central claim is that property was one of the clearest indicators of the practical scope …

You’Re Gonna Be Popular: A Semiotic Exploration Of Meaningful Tools Used To Promote Popular Music Artists, Maya Raye Kurth

Masters Theses

I have been to dozens of concerts, but after experiencing The Era’s Tour I became a Swiftie so quickly and passionately that I was looking for comparable concerts and fan experiences and found very few. It made me wonder how and why this fan experience stuck with me and what made it so special. With that question in mind, I started this project with the question of how successful indie music is marketed.

To answer this question, I used semiotics as the driving theory behind this study. Semiotics allowed me to establish a binary between organic and manufactured and allowed …

Religious Radio Broadcasting In Ukraine In The Context Of Digital Mediatisation And Social Transformation, Oleh Sokolovskyi, Olena Yurchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The study carries out a religious studies analysis of contemporary forms of spiritual communication implemented through audio and digital media platforms. The work highlights the particular features of organizing religious broadcasting under conditions of transformation of the information space, when traditional models of transmitting doctrine become integrated into new technological formats. Mechanisms of the formation of religious identity, ways of maintaining spiritual continuity, and strategies of interaction between religious institutions and their audiences are examined. An analysis is conducted of the structures that ensure access to spiritual content, including forms of catechetical communication, mentoring practices, and models of pastoral support …

The Cross And The Flag: Papal Diplomacy And John Paul Ii’S Struggle Against The Tyranny Of The Possible: A Review, John Grondelski

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Lebui, John Tanyi Nquah. The Cross and the Flag: Papal Diplomacy and John Paul II’s Struggle Against the Tyranny of the Possible. South Bend, Indiana: St. Augustine’s Press, 2024. Pp. xxvi + 322. PB, $30. ISBN 978-1-58731-143-7.

2026 Iapc Residential Summer Course Flyer, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Documentation

No abstract provided.

2026 Iapc Residential Summer Course Schedule, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Documentation

No abstract provided.

Not My Girl (2014) By Christy Jordan-Fenton And Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Picture Books

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries American and Canadian government agencies and Christian churches established Indian residential schools where hundreds of thousands of children were “reeducated” in English and Christianity. They were not allowed to use their native languages or given names, to practice their religions, or to communicate with their siblings or parents. They were made to work in crop fields, kitchens, laundries, and industrial workshops. Many were physically and sexually abused. Many never saw their families again. The nine picture books reviewed here are accounts of survivors of residential schools from eight different Indigenous nations. In addition to …

2026 Iapc Residential Summer Course Roster, Maughn Rollins Gregory

Documentation

This year we had seven IAPC staff members, six participants (from Japan, the Philippines, Turkey, and the US), and four visitors from Hawai'i.

Chapter 2: Rhombus Textile Motifs And Patterns And Their Significance In Mesoamerica, Billie J. A. Follensbee, Lois Martin

Precious Pattern: The Dotted-Diamond Motif in Indigenous American Textiles, Explorations in Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the Andes

Presents the rhombus textile motifs and patterns in Mesoamerica and their significance.

Chapter 6: Snakeskin And Corn Markings: The Dotted-Diamond-Grid Pattern In The U.S. Southwest, Laurie D. Webster, Kelley A. Hays-Gilpin

Precious Pattern: The Dotted-Diamond Motif in Indigenous American Textiles, Explorations in Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the Andes

Discusses Southwestern tie-dye and its Mesoamerican and Andean connections.

G Willis Tyson - Interview About His Aviation Career Reported In Fly Paper 17.09.1942, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: George Willis Tyson

Interview with G Willis Tyson, General Manager, 5BFTS, Riddle Field about his aviation career reported in Fly Paper September 17, 1942. Mr Tyson died on August 19, 1943, after a plane crash in Tallahassee.  He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

G Willis Tyson, Report Of Death In Clewiston News August 20, 1943, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: George Willis Tyson

Death of G Willis Tyson, General Manager, 5BFTS, Riddle Field, who died after a plane crash in Tallahassee on August 19, 1943. He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California. Reported in The Clewiston News, August 20, 1943.

G Willis Tyson, Report Of Death In Fly Paper August 27, 1943, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: George Willis Tyson

Death of G Willis Tyson, General Manager, 5BFTS, Riddle Field, who died after a plane crash in Tallahassee on August 31, 1943. He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California. Reported in Fly Paper, Vol VI, No 19, August 27, 1943.

Fly The Coop - Pilot Script And Bible, Allison Righter Moore

Screenwriting and Film Studies Theses (MA/MFA)

Fly the Coop is a children's cartoon about a young teenage girl, Robin, who gets caught in a storm while in a hot air balloon alongside her father. She finds herself teleported to a foreign land called Perch which is inhabited by humanoid bird-people called avains, Robin herself being transformed into one. She enters the small town of Roost Rest where she meets and befriends a trio of orphans. Goldie, a canary who wishes to be theater star, Rudite, a burrowing owl who strives to be the most intelligent bird around, and Pebb, a penguin wisecracker always trying to earn …

Anemoia, Emily A. Macdonald

Screenwriting and Film Studies Theses (MA/MFA)

Many girls would kill for the opportunity to make it in the modeling world, but with one foot in the door already, Sloane seems less than thrilled. When the chance arrises to visit the famed Arion Hotel, a training ground for up-and-coming models run by the mysterious photographer Louis Lord, even she cannot pass it up.

However, the hotel does not appear to be all it was promised. Outdated, isolated and nearly empty-- save for a small group of Lord's friends and employees, Sloane finds herself in an unfamiliar and strange world. All this she could bear, but the appearance …

G Willis Tyson, General Manager 5bfts - Biography, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: George Willis Tyson

Biography of G Willis Tyson, General manager, 5BFTS, Riddle Field, who died after a plane crash in Tallahassee on August 19, 1943. He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

From Ship To Shore: The Impact Of Sailor Resistance On The Anti-Vietnam War Movement, Trent Chamberlain

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the often-overlooked role of United States Navy personnel in the broader anti-Vietnam War movement. While civilian protests dominate historical narratives of the era, the impact of active-duty sailor resistance remains underexplored. To address this gap, this thesis examines shipboard and shore-based dissent to determine how Naval resistance influenced both military operations and domestic anti-war efforts. By conducting a historical analysis of primary source materials, including military records, underground press publications, and personal accounts, this research traces the evolution of sailor organizing and its intersections with civilian peace movements. The thesis shows that Naval dissent not only posed …

Exploring Associations Between Mental Disorder And Creativity, David A. Romero Mora

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Mental disorder has been misunderstood and misrepresented throughout history, leading mental health research to be severely behind where it needs to be. Years of misinformation, over-medicalization, negative rhetoric, and stigmatization at the hands of the very same institutions that were believed to care for mental disorder have kept this misunderstanding alive. Further, studies throughout history have failed to look at the nuances of mental health, prioritizing generalizability. This thesis explores the relationship between mental disorder and creative expression, how other factors like cultural discourse and cognitive processes inform this relationship, as well as how analyzing this relationship can provide a …

Complexity Theory And Environmental Conservation Management: A Case Study With Coyote And Red Wolf Hybridization, Gretchen E. Mahalic

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Conservation biology and invasion biology are value-led scientific disciplines founded on environmental advocacy, operating at the intersection of research and action. Though these disciplines are known for their scientific veracity, unexamined values are often promulgated without scrutiny and drive decisions that work against good ecological outcomes. A case in point is that coyotes migrating into southeastern territory are framed as the greatest threat to the conservation of the endangered red wolf because hybridization is seen as diminishing their species integrity. Applying Val Plumwood’s ecofeminist account of dualistic frameworks, I will use this case to show how the vilification of the …

A Richard Thompson - Primary Instructor. Biography, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents: A R Johnson

Biography of A Richard Thompson, Primary Instructor at 5BFTS, who was killed in a plane crash on March 5, 1943. He was flying in a Stearman PT-17 with cadet LAC Derek Holdroyd, Course 13, as pilot. LAC Holdroyd was seriously injured but recovered from his injuries, Richard is buried at Hillcrest Park Cemetery, Springfield, Massachusetts. This was the only fatal accident during primary training at 5BFTS.

The Principle Of Tolerance And Logical Pluralism, Teresa Kouri Kissel

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Logical pluralism is the view that there is more than one correct logic. This is in contrast with logical monism, which holds that only one is, and logical nihilism, which holds that none are. Monists are typically folks who defend a single logic, like Michael Dummett (2000) or Alan Ross Anderson and Nuel D. Belnap (1975), as correct for guiding deductive reasoning.