Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Lorentz Invariance And Quantum Coordination: A Neo-Aristotelian Framework For Entanglement And Relativity, Angel Rafael Sosa Muniz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The phenomenon of quantum entanglement has been at the center of heated debates among physicists and philosophers since the dawn of the quantum era. The early discussions initiated by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen—regarding potential violations of the Principle of Relativity by entangled particles, expressed in the so-called “EPR Paradox”—ultimately culminated in the demonstration of Bell’s theorem and its violations. Since then, philosophers of science and physicists have developed multiple proposals attempting to account for the ontological status of quantum formalism and its possible tension with relativistic principles. This thesis contributes to these efforts by advancing a Neo-Aristotelian ontological framework inspired …

Ode To The Infomercial, Edward Wade

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

'Ode to the Infomercial' is a poetry collection in five sections which explores themes of contemporary American life, parenthood, and the media landscape. While primarily written in a narrative voice, the poetic approach is as diverse as the content. Interwoven throughout the collection is religious imagery and political posturing accompanied by healthy doses of self-criticism and humor.

Book Bans And Border Texans: Testimonios From The Middle, Laura Calvillo Neill

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study explores how Chicana and Mexican American teachers and librarians along the Texas-Mexico border describe their experiences navigating books bans and curriculum restrictions. Through a Chicana feminist epistemological lens, the research centers the testimonios of four educators who reflect on their lived experiences navigating censorship, representation, and professional identity in politically charged educational spaces.

Using a testimonio-based methodology, participants shared personal narratives that illuminated how state politics and local interpretations of "appropriate" texts shape classroom and library decisions. Thematic analysis of these testimonios revealed four interconnected findings: 1. Teacher identity under pressure, 2. Censorship and control in the …

Rewarding Disruptions In Tamsyn Muir's The Locked Tomb, Elijah Moss

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Tamsyn Muir, author of The Locked Tomb, says she thinks of Biblical allusions in the same way she thinks of alluding to digital folklore. This research paper investigates the veracity of this claim, using the dual lenses of literary analysis and digital folklore studies to ultimately conclude that the broad range of intertextual references in The Locked Tomb exemplifies a broader strategy of ambivalence (e.g., in her tone) that disrupts the readerly experience. With these ruptures, Muir creates space away from the typical expectations that may limit the range of themes historically found in genre fiction. Therefore, her tonal …

Una Animación Propia. Discurso Emancipador Desde El Cine De Animación Independiente, Elisa Martínez, Damià Jordà

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Introducción: A pesar de la temprana incorporación de las mujeres a la industria de la animación, sus roles fueron históricamente relegados a labores mecánicas, limitando su capacidad de decisión creativa. Este artículo analiza cómo el cine de animación independiente del siglo XX funcionó como un espacio esencial para las directoras que buscaban un control artístico que permitiera desarrollar discursos emancipadores. Se parte de la hipótesis de que el circuito independiente propició que las animadoras desarrollaran técnicas y narrativas alternativas que rompieron con los cánones plásticos y los preceptos ideológicos dominantes en la industria. Metodología: Mediante una metodología cualitativa, …

Violence As An Ecology: Women Making Safety In Khayelitsha, Melissa J. Miller-Felton

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation asks how women in Khayelitsha make safety in a place where danger has become ordinary and where the afterlives of colonialism and apartheid still determine who waits, who walks, and who arrives home. What began as a study of risk and protection grew into an inquiry about time, dignity, and responsibility. I call the framework that emerged an ecology of violence—a way of seeing how harm gathers across generations and infrastructures, and how care, exhaustion, and survival intertwine within it.

In this ecology, violence is not a single act but a confluence of registers—slow, structural, colonial, and …

History Of Midwifery In Arkansas: The Attrition Of Midwifery, Koria T.L. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few years, Arkansas has gained a spotlight due to an increase in maternal and infant mortality. This increase has been so massive that Arkansas has ranked within the top five in the nation for maternal and infant mortality rates for several years. A large percentage of the maternal and infant deaths in Arkansas are prevalent in the Black and rural communities. This is an issue that has plagued the state of Arkansas for over a hundred years, with mortality rates highly affecting the same demographic of people. How did the practice of midwifery become a remedy for …

Embodied Encounters With Plankton: Ground Truth Methods As Sites For Human-Ocean Entanglement, Clarissa Chevalier

Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality: Faculty Publications

This article examines shifting methods of plankton research within contemporary oceanography through direct participatory engagement on a ten-day research cruise off the Santa Lucia Escarp- ment in February 2025. As a feminist visual science studies researcher, I reflect on how seasick- ness, sensory immersion, and embodied participation shaped my experience of plankton sampling and reveal the entanglement of oceanographic knowledge with its contexts. While remote sensing technologies – such as satellites, digital twins, and remotely operated vehicles – are increasingly shaping oceanography and producing intensified modes of ocean quantification, I argue that tactile, physical sampling methods remain indispensable in plankton …

Ink (2025)

Rabble, 2014-

The student-run features magazine covering the fashion, art, music and culture worlds at VCU and in Richmond. Published annually in print and updated regularly online.

Otherwise Than Human: Responsibility In The Wake Of Disaster, An Eco-Deconstructive Response To Climate Catastrophe, James W. Harris

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis will, firstly, assume a line of eco-deconstructive reasoning, which takes as its point of departure from other approaches to the environment the basic premises of deconstruction, which aim to de-center the ontological and epistemological assumptions of Western thought about the subject and language, and apply it to the concept of the human as a distinct and, most importantly, privileged being as this privilege has operated within language and culture, thereby demonstrating how climate catastrophe constitutes a fundamental rupture in traditional ontology. Secondly, I will turn towards the ethics of Emmanuel Levinas, as in present in his God, Death, …

Burdened By Conviction: The Pressures Within, Dulce M. Perez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates how religious and political systems, particularly Catholic influences in the Rio Grande Valley, limit and silence women. By employing historical and alternative photographic techniques such as cyanotype, gum bichromate, and photo transfer, I express how these systems control and shape women’s lives. Combined, the materials serve as a metaphor for the oppression and damage which power can inflict. In these works, fabric represents the potential for manipulation of the human mind; the red thread stitched through cloth and paper symbolizes control; and fragmented images are a reference to the collapse of humanity. Throughout this exploration, I reflect …

Decolonizing The Whitexican: Reclaiming Identity Through Nahuatl And Mesoamerican Motifs, Laia Ivanna Vite Cano

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the intersection of art, linguistics, and ideography through the lens of personal and cultural heritage rooted in the Huasteca region of Central Mexico. Drawing inspiration from familial connections to the pueblos of Huazalingo and Huejutla in Hidalgo, Mexico, the research examines the cultural complexities of bicultural and binational experiences. It is grounded in the theoretical framework of Nepantla, a concept introduced by Gloria Anzaldúa to describe the unseen space of the border life as one of existing between worlds, identities, and cultures. Included and essential to this work is the Coyolxauhqui Imperative, which informs the process of …

Érase Una Vez En Tiempos Modernos… Colección De Relatos Reimaginados, Jose Rolando Rivera Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Esta tesis examina la reimaginación narrativa de cuentos de hadas en diálogo con leyendas urbanas, situados en países hispanohablantes y en contextos históricos específicos, como una metodología crítica capaz de transformar paradigmas culturales, visibilizar voces marginales y cuestionar estructuras hegemónicas. Desde un enfoque interdisciplinario que integra estudios culturales, psicología narrativa y teoría decolonial, se propone entender las historias como sistemas vivos que modelan identidades y configuran memorias colectivas.

La reimaginación se plantea como una forma de intervenir estratégicamente en los relatos heredados mediante operaciones como la deconstrucción, la excavación psicológica y la reubicación cultural. El estudio aborda, además, subgéneros del …

Recording Alternative Rock Guitar: Gear, Techniques, And Implementation, Alberto De Jesus Garcia Padilla

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper examines the tools, techniques, and creative decisions involved in recording alternative rock guitar, with particular attention to how genre defining sounds are achieved through gear choice, signal chains, microphone placement, and digital workflows. Drawing on historical context and influential alternative rock artists, the study outlines common guitars, amplifiers, pedals, and recording practices associated with the genre. These concepts are then applied to a practical case study: the recording of guitar parts for the band Phone Booth. By combining traditional amplifier recording with modern digital amp modeling, this project demonstrates how alternative rock guitar tones can be achieved without …

Confronting Settler Colonialism Through Indigenous Feminism: The Structural Roots Of Mmiw, Miah Schiavi-Munoz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S) across the United States and Canada represents a manifestation of ongoing settler colonial violence. This paper examines the MMIW crisis through the frameworks of settler colonial theory and Indigenous feminist scholarship, arguing that contemporary patterns of disappearance, assault, and murder are structural outcomes of colonial law, governance, and heteropatriarchal control. Drawing on historical analysis, legal critique, and participant observation from the 2025 MMIP Training Conference in Monterey, California, this study traces how the settler colonial logic of elimination operates through jurisdictional fragmentation, bureaucratic neglect, data erasure, resource …

Nene Leakes As A Modern Medea, Jazzlyn L. White

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This paper examines how The Real Housewives of Atlanta functions as a modern form of Greek tragedy through its portrayal of Nene Leakes, whose rise and fall within the Bravo franchise mirrors the tragic arc of Euripides’ Medea. Both Medea and Leakes represent women who defy the systems that once empowered them Medea through her rebellion against patriarchal and familial structures, and Leakes through her public confrontation with the television industry that made her a star. By analyzing these two figures through rhetorical, feminist, and media studies frameworks, this paper argues that reality television operates as a contemporary stage …

Adaptive Compulsion, Amanda A. Santos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Adaptive

Adjective

Adap.tive ( ə-ˈdap-tiv)

of, relating to, or being a heritable trait that serves a specific function and improves an organism's fitness or survival

Compulsion

Noun

Com.pul.sion (kəm-ˈpəl-shən)

a repetitive behavior or mental act that a person feels driven to perform to alleviate the anxiety and distress caused by an unwanted thought or urge, known as an obsession.

For years we have lived in unprecedented times. From the worldwide quarantine in 2020 resulting from the pandemic, to our current US political crisis. The constant barrage of events is overwhelming and demoralizing.

The work in this gallery is a display …

Writing The Script: Shaping Korean National Identity, Media Imperialism And The Revolution Of K-Dramas, Isai J. Martinez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This thesis explores the role of South Korean television dramas (K-dramas) as cultural artifacts that the Korean creators have created and become agents, which in turn has constructed and projected globally the modern South Korean national identity. Positioned at the crossroads of cultural imperialism, nationalism, resistance and appropriation, K-dramas have become extremely critical to reshaping South Korea’s place in the global media landscape. Through the lens of the Hallyu (The Korean Wave), this study analyzes how K-drama’s navigate an ambiguous cultural space which simultaneously resists Western media dominance while appropriating global forms including platform-based distribution, tailoring original content to …

Rise Above!! Second-Wave Post Punk/ Hardcore In Orange County, 1977-1983, Jessie Zepeda

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Post-punk and Hardcore played a pivotal role in creating a youth identity in Orange County that created a stark contrast to the more recognized Republican image of O.C. during the late 1970s and early 1980s. While historians view this era of California for its Republican ties with former presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, we overlook the much more underground, yet important, identity created by many of the adolescents and young adults during this time. Though it is essential to recognize these Republican ties as they play a key role in understanding political dynamics and cultural studies that …

“Are There Any British Soldiers In Tobruk?” National Identity During The Siege Of Tobruk, May To November 1941, Stewart Golightly Weight

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Throughout this thesis, I examine what it meant to be British during the 1941 Siege of Tobruk. This is important as it reveals previous assumptions about the Second World War’s British Army, including its religious practices and regional distinctions, were more diverse and influential than previously assumed. To do this, I analyze previously overlooked sources concerning religion, morality, and regional identities to demonstrate that Second World War Britishness was not monolithic.

Unloved Ecologies, Ellen Griffin

All Theses

Unloved Ecologies is an exhibition of ceramic sculptures that stage encounters between human and nonhuman bodies. Through it, I investigate the intersections of queer identity and ecology to reevaluate what society often deems “unlovable.” By working with the language of Queer Ecology, I explore the tensions between protection and vulnerability, as well as between cultivated order and wild resistance. Ceramic sculpture is my mode for examining moments of transformation, repair, and growth, and natural processes function as metaphors for the ways external pressures shape individuals. My overall goal is to explore the ecological processes of change and examine how our …

Dwelling / Knowing / Loving: Imaging The Immanent Present, Joel Pasquarelli

All Theses

This thesis serves as an attempt to articulate, understand, and testify to my experiences within the immanent present. Defined as moments where the world impresses itself upon my awareness with such a force that it eclipses all else, the experience of immanence is necessarily undeniable and ephemeral. These moments are accompanied by a combined sense of exultation in the world’s existence and poignant longing for something beyond. I feel as though I am embedded within something great and meaningful, as the material world acts upon me, yet I remain ever unsatiated by this experience as the world inevitably returns once …

The People’S Medicine: Modern Perspectives On Folk Medicine In South Central Appalachia, Stacey M. Horton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study addresses the critical need to document Appalachian folk medicine conventions and cultural practices from a modern perspective. In so doing, it addresses folk medicine research gaps in understudied places in South Central Appalachia, particularly in Southwestern Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. This research utilizes participant observation and oral history interviews to research modern Appalachian folk medicine practices among a select group of practitioners. Interviews focused on individuals who center their professional careers and subsequent lifestyles around herbalism, foraging, folk medicine, ethnobotany, and botanicals. By utilizing a critical praxis framework, the study seeks to move beyond lists of symptoms and …

Bias And The Writing Process In Adaptations And Retellings Of Mythology, Haley Sanderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis is an examination of how adaptations and retellings of mythology are written and affected by readership and reception of mythology. I compare American Gods by Neil Gaiman and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood and how they are written as adaptations and retellings of mythology. As seen in both novels, the presence of the mythological source material in adaptations and retellings of mythology is equally influenced by authors’ perception and the influence of readership. Approaching the ideological positions of Atwood and Gaiman through the similarities and differences of The Penelopiad and American Gods provides a deeper insight on the …

"That Was Something I Had To Get Used To”: Communication Challenges Of African Graduate Teaching Assistants, Mohammed Hafiz Nabila

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the communication challenges and adaptive strategies of African Graduate Teaching Assistants (AGTAs) in U.S. higher education, focusing on East Tennessee State University. The study aimed to understand how AGTAs navigate linguistic, cultural, and institutional barriers in their teaching roles. Using semi-structured interviews with seven participants, data were analyzed through thematic analysis to identify key patterns and meanings. Findings revealed challenges related to accents, cultural adjustment, and limited institutional preparation. Faculty mentorship played a vital role in shaping AGTAs’ confidence, interpretation of challenges, and professional growth. However, lack of support often led to isolation and self-doubt. The …

Divine Affirmation And The Prophet's Consolation During Times Of Trial: An Analytical Study Of The Objectives Of Tribulation In The Holy Qur'an, Ahmad Bin Ali Al-Zamli

University of Tabuk Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences

This study seeks to uncover the profound theological dimensions of the Qur'anic concept of the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) consolation, through an analytical examination of selected verses that manifest divine psychological support and reinforcement during moments of missionary adversity and intellectual challenge. It investigates the mechanisms of divine affirmation as a central means of cultivating doctrinal steadfastness and safeguarding the prophetic message in the face of evolving trials. Adopting an integrative, textually grounded analytical methodology, the research is anchored in the thematic pillars of monotheism, divine decree, faith in the unseen, and the Hereafter. It draws upon the …

The Challenges Of Implementing The School-Based Empowerment Educational Supervisory Model, Rajeh Abdullah Alshehri

University of Tabuk Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences

The study aimed to identify the level of challenges facing the implementation of the school-based empowerment educational supervisory model. The researcher employed the descriptive survey method, utilizing a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of supervisors, school principals, and teachers in Makkah region, totaling 421 participants. The questionnaire covered three main domains: administrative challenges, technical challenges, and societal challenges. The results revealed that participants rated the level of challenges to effective implementation of the new supervisory model as high across all three domains. The most prominent administrative challenges were the variation in different school environments and its expected impact on …

The Level Of Psychological Well-Being And Its Relationship To Psychological Exhaustion And Some Demographic Variables Among Kindergarten Teachers In Jazan Region, Salwa Saeed Musaad Al-Harbi

University of Tabuk Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences

The current research aims to identify the level of psychological well-being and psychological exhaustion among kindergarten teachers, reveal the nature of the relationship between psychological well-being and psychological exhaustion, verify the differences in psychological well-being attributed to the variables of age and marital status, and reveal the possibility of predicting psychological exhaustion through the dimensions of psychological well-being among kindergarten teachers in the Jazan region. The researcher used the descriptive correlational predictive approach, as the research sample consisted of (202) female teachers; from kindergarten teachers in the Jazan region, who were selected by a simple random method during the academic …

Abu Hayyan Al-Andalusi's (D.745ah) Methodological Rules In Grammar Lessons, The Term (Correct) In His Book Al-Tadheel Wa Al-Takmeel As A Model, An Analytical Study, Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mazzah

University of Tabuk Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences

This research aims to identify the methodology adopted by Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi in his book "Al-Tadhiyal wa al-Takmil" for correction, through a descriptive and analytical study that traces the mechanisms of correction and weighting in his treatment of grammatical issues, and the extent of his adherence to the methodological controls he set for himself. The research begins with an introduction explaining the importance of the research, its problems and objectives, and previous studies, followed by a preface on the importance of judgmental terms in Arabic grammar. The first section focuses on defining the concepts of "correct" and 'weighting' in grammatical …

Singapore's Pre-Service Teacher Training System: A Comparative Study For Improving Saudi Arabia's Teacher Preparation Programs, Mohammed Awad Alasmrai

University of Tabuk Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences

This study sought to explore opportunities for leveraging Singapore's distinguished pre-service teacher education model and assessing its applicability within the Saudi context. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach, the research compared teacher preparation systems in both countries, drawing on official documents, educational literature, and insights from 82 educational experts. The findings highlighted the excellence of Singapore's model, which is built on an effective tripartite partnership between the National Institute of Education, the Ministry of Education, and schools. This system features competitive admission standards and comprehensive training programs that integrate cognitive, skill-based, and behavioral dimensions. In contrast, Saudi Arabia's system involves multiple supervisory …