Aesthetics Commons^™

Editor's Introduction, Brent H. Otto S.J.

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Hindu Poetry And The Project Of An Inter-Spiritual Catholic Theology, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article engages the work of the Indian south Indian Tamil-language Vaiṣṇava poet saints known as the Alvārs. The article specifically focuses the First HundredHoly Linked verses of Poykai Ālvār to argue for inter-spiritual learning between Catholics and Hindus. The article concludes with personal reflections on this encounter within the context of the global Catholic Church

Tùn-Scene And A-Futurism: Biomythography, Opacity, And Posthuman Imagination, Minglu Du

Masters Theses

Grounded in the author’s position as a Chinese feminist, this thesis examines how East Asian women, as well as East Asian-coded femininity more broadly, are objectified and othered within futurist visual culture in the age of artificial intelligence. Through an engagement with ornamentalism, techno-Orientalism, and posthumanism1 , it argues that the persistent figure of the feminized humanoid cyborg continues to reproduce colonial and patriarchal structures of desire, rendering marginalized bodies as fetishized and violable surfaces. In response, the thesis develops Tùn-Scene, a biomythographic artistic framework and the first experiment in what the author provisionally names A-Futurism. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s …

Jadughar: The House Of Magic, Dhruvi A. Shah

Masters Theses

Jadughar or the House of Magic is what people call a 'museum' in parts of South Asia. The practice of museum making, at its origin, is the act of collecting, preserving, interpreting and representing a culture’s tangible and intangible heritage to make it accessible to diverse audiences. Since the early 19th century such practices have been performed at various kala bhandars (art centers) in India, without the need of a formal or institutional organisation. The British introduced the model of a ‘museum’ in South Asia, with the aim of not only preserving ethnographic collections, but also showcasing their power and …

Domestic Travelers: Transparent Machines, Hollow Bodies, Hanyi Wang

Masters Theses

Digitization is not a modern invention. Derived from the concept of fingers, this mindset of packing information into quantifiable, interchangeable units sounds mechanical, yet eerily physical. Try to imagine: a ghostly hand with millions of fingers with the same length, likeness, and function. Under the worldview of Digital Narrative, we live in a digital simulation: everything is representable with quantifiable units, fluid across media. Yet under this spectacle of convenient abundance, something is missing. The Unknowables are replaced with arbitrary symbols, while the Uncategorizables are omitted. This is a framework that cannot accommodate human subtleties and complexities. One needs to …

The Image Falls Apart, Alexa N. Curran

Masters Theses

The Image Falls Apart is a phenomenological account of my collision with Rogier van der Weyden’s The Descent from the Cross (ca. 1435). In an ever-expanding landscape of visual stimuli, how do we make sense of images that are an encounter with the sacred? Of what use to a modern viewer is an altarpiece of the late medieval period that, in its miraculous rendering of each of its human figures, reflects the impending iconophobia of the Protestant Reformation? And what does falling have to do with it? With careful attention to the assembly of bodies in space, this multidisciplinary project, …

Public Art And Military Technology At The Mexico-U.S. Border: Disrupting Boundaries On Battlegrounds, Anna Luise Kaunert

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how contemporary artists Rubén Ortiz Torres, Chico MacMurtrie, rafa esparza, and Cassils transformed military technologies into powerful artworks that interrogate the Mexico-U.S. border as a battlefield. Together, their works illuminate militarization and surveillance technologies at the border and the violent enforcement of U.S. immigration policy.

Towards The Publisher-Function Of The Independent Press: Authorship And Experimentation In The Semiotext(E) Oeuvre, Gilbert Aguirre

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This project is a contribution to debates on authorship, expanding Foucault’s theorization of the author as a function of discourse into the field of creative production by proposing my theory of the publisher-function. Here, I highlight the role of the publisher in shaping literary discourse using avant-garde publishing house Semiotext(e). I analyze two experimental publications to illustrate how this publisher’s role in editing and curating their booklist—or, as I propose we call it, their oeuvre—compounds with the fact of publication to create a new kind of authorial role. This is done through emphasizing the paratexts, elements of design, and literary …

Enjoying The Golden Screen Of Asian American Representation In A Colorblind Era: Neoliberalism, Narrative, And Negotiation, Jered Mabaquiao

English Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation contributes to Asian American studies, Cinema and Media Studies, and Critical Theory by interrogating how contemporary Asian American representation is shaped by the intertwined pressures of racial politics, neoliberal market demands, and psychic life. Working across race studies, media studies, psychoanalysis, and phenomenological questions of ontology and being, the project argues that Asian American film and television cannot only be understood  through the language of popular culture representation, narrative progress, media visibility, or political inclusion. Instead, I combine such angles to examine how popular culture media participates in the contradictory production of Asian American subjectivity as culturally present …

Science Fiction Cinema And The Technological Sublime: Spectacle And The Infinite From Early Cinema To Digital, David Jackson Dr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines how science fiction cinema constructs and reimagines the technological sublime in the twentieth century: the experience of awe, terror, and admiration provoked by human-made power and scale. Drawing on the philosophical foundations of the sublime in Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant and extending through Leo Marx’s and David E. Nye’s theorization of the technological sublime, I propose an aesthetic mode in which representation inflected with affect translates technological spectacle into examinations of humanity’s role and agency in the face of overwhelming technologized worlds and in some cases, even the universe itself.

Through three distinct historical periods …

The Construction And Reflection Of The Theoretical Knowledge System Of Chinese Literature And Art:Summary Of The 16th Annual Conference Of The Chinese Association For Theory Of Literature And Art, Qianpeng Gu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

No abstract provided.

Différance, Transparency And Truth: Jean-Luc Nancy On Beauty, Zhizhong Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In God, Justice, Love, Beauty, Jean-Luc Nancy thoroughly elucidates his perspectives on beauty, extending beyond the confines of conventional epistemological aesthetics by introducing deconstructionism to the discourses on aesthetic issues. Specifically, Nancy reinterprets the legend of Narcissus, positioning its theme as the movement of beauty's self differentialspacing, and unveiling the différance inherent in beauty. However, as a generalized spacing movement, différance cannot highlight the singularity of beauty. Consequently, through an analysis of douard Manet's painting Reading, Nancy contends that beauty, as a motion of meaning that transcends signification, can only be represented as being of near-nothingness, that is, as a …

Dufrenne's Genetic Phenomenological Explanation Of “Affective A Priori”, Ziming Huang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The discussion on the nature of the affective in phenomenology can be traced back to the debate on the universality of the aesthetic affective in modern epistemological aesthetics. Dufrenne interpreted it from the perspective of genetic phenomenology and identified it as a problem of “affective a priori.” The “affective” is an object of feeling triggered by the work and constituted by the subject; and “a priori” is a means of preforming the object within the subject. As the constituent structure of the object, the affective a priori indicates the unity of the objective cosmological a priori and …

Rita Felski's Critique Of Contextualism: Taking Rem Koolhaas And Bruno Latour As A Clue, Lijun Su

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

With a special nested structure, Rita Felski follows and finalizes Rem Koolhaas and Bruno Latour's manifesto of “Context Stinks!” The three theorists of different disciplines such as architecture, sociology and literature take context as a conservative proposition. In response to the contextualist paradigm that is threatened by self-limitation, self-exclusion and generalization, Koolhaas creates space for innovation through the strategy of “bigness”, while Latour questions the theory of social entities, introducing non-human actors into a new coordinate system. Based on them, Felski tries to remold the future of literature within the framework of actor-network theory, in order to forestall text from …

Derrida's Theory Of Sovereignty—And His Criticism Of Robinson Crusoe, Jinlong Xiao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The 20th century has witnessed an unprecedented exploration and development of the concept of human essence in the Western theoretical community. In the early 20th century, Heidegger proposed that human essence was existence. Later, Foucault argued that human essence was power. By the end of the 20th century, Derrida clearly pointed out that human essence was neither pure existence as advocated by the existentialists, nor pure power, as claimed by the power theorists. Instead, it is something between existence and power: the “powerization” of existence, which Derrida termed “sovereignty.” The operating rhythm of sovereignty involves the autonomy of automation, specifically …

Atmosphere And Artistic Appeal (Qi Yun): An Unfinished Reflection On The Modern Interpretation Of “Artistic Appeal And Rhythmic Vitality” From The Perspective Of Atmosphere Aesthetics, Lei Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Drawing from the traditional binary thinking of subject-object division and confrontation, the modern interpretation of “artistic appeal and rhythmic vitality” since the twentieth century considers it either as an aesthetic feature or the overall spirit of the artwork, or as the painter's inner harmony and resonance, failing to fully realize that the ideal effect of “artistic appeal and rhythmic vitality” can only be generated by the two-way communication and resonance between the creator and the object. In the light of the aesthetics of atmosphere, “artistic appeal” is a special category or an advanced state of atmosphere that arises from the …

A Study Of The Historical Formation Of The “Fengyao” Pattern And The “Touchun” Pattern In Five-Character Metrical Poetry, Zhao Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Since the Song dynasty, the touchun pattern has referred to the five-character metrical poetry in which the antithesis is used in the first couplet rather than the second; the fengyao pattern has referred to those in which the antithesis is only used in the third couplet. These two patterns began to flourish in the works of Shen Quanqi and Song Zhiwen. During the High Tang dynasty, they were equated in number with the standard format of metrical poetry. It was not until the Dali era that they were finally confirmed as variant formats of five-character metrical poetry. This trend of …

A New Explanation Of The Connotation And Poetic Significance Of “Poetry Springs From Emotions And Hence Reads Beautifully” In Rhapsody On Literature, Yanfeng Cai, Xiaoli Wei

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Traditionally, “poetry springs from emotions and hence reads beautifully” in Rhapsody on Literature has been interpreted primarily within the poetic context of expressing emotions and aspirations, often overlooking the broader connotation of “emotion” and the logical relationship between “springing from emotions” (yuanqing) and “beautiful” (qimi). Two key concepts are essential in understanding of this sentence. The first is “emotions”, which has been widely used to denote an objective state, essence, and reality since the pre-Qin era. Recognizing the objective meaning of “emotion” is crucial for a correct understanding of the poetic connotation of “springing from emotions”. …

New Changes In The Theater Ecology In The Late-Qing Shanghai: A Study Based On Wang Guifen's Contract Payment Lawsuit, Chunning Zhao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Contract payment lawsuits discussed in this paper were disputes over rights and interests arising from the operation of modern xiqu (Chinese opera). During Wang Guifen's performances in Shanghai, he was involved in such lawsuits with quite a few theaters, including Xin Dangui, Tianxian, Liuchun, Tianfu, and Guixian. The practice of inviting and recruiting famous actors with high contract payments was a common form of commercial competition in Shanghai's theaters, and it was also the direct cause of job-hopping by well-known actors and their involvement in legal disputes. The high contract payments intensified malicious competition between theaters, hindered the healthy development …

A Semiotic Interpretation Of Landscape Painting And Its Limitations: A Focus On Duan Lian, Yiqing Liu, Zhijie Sun

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Duan Lian has offered a semiotic interpretation of the history of landscape painting. He argues that the formation, development, divergence and decline of landscape painting are all conveyed through the form of images. This constitutes an interaction of image symbols from form to concept, providing new perspectives and paradigms for the study of landscape painting and semiotics. However, regarding the transcendence of landscape painting, we contend that Duan Lian's semiotic interpretation of landscape painting cannot fully capture its intrinsic aesthetics and spirit, as this approach may lead to an underestimation and weakening of the artistic essence of landscape painting. Semiotics, …

Education For The Average Person And The Celestial-Human Strategy In Ancient Poetry Education: Pedagogical Choices In The Context Of The Li-Du And Su-Huang Debates, Shugong Zhao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

As early as the Wei and Jin dynasties, Chinese literary culture developed a marked adulation of genius. Yet, poetry education took a distinct approach, which favored models not solely based on genius. In discussions contrasting Li Bai and Du Fu, Li Bai was esteemed for his rare natural gift, while Du Fu was valued for his profound intellectual insight. Similarly, in the Su-Huang debates, Su Shi was praised for innate talent, while Huang Tingjian was noted for his disciplined scholarship. Despite these distinctions, poetry education consistently recommended emulating figures like Du Fu and Huang Tingjian. This choice reflects the ancient …

“The Poetics Of Graphite Stone Paintings” And The Quality Of Modern Scholars' Paintings: Wu Changshuo And Pan Tianshou As Examples, Zhongyi Xia

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

To identify why only “the poetics of graphite stone paintings” in Wu Changshuo and Pan Tianshou's works deserve to be referred to as representative of “modern scholars' paintings,” several issues need clarification. First, what is the boundary between “paintings by scholars” and “paintings by literati?” Second, how does one identify Wu's “stubborn stone” not only as a kind of “scholarly painting,” but also as “modern?” Third, how does one recognize Pan's “massive rock” as a “scholarly painting” worthy of being called “modern?” The response is as follows. Firstly, “scholarly painting” is rooted in tranquility and introverted in the self-sanctity of …

On “Posthumanism”, Martin Crowley

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The label “posthumanism” identifies neither a doctrine, nor an intellectual or analytical approach with a defining set of protocols. Rather, we may take “posthumanism” as a term loosely applied to a range of contributions and approaches, on the basis of a generally under-specified collection of sympathies and commitments. Approximately stated, these sympathies and commitments would entail the claim that — with due allowance for historical variation — the category of “the human” has long played a key role at the centre of Western thought; that this role has included serving to justify the promotion of human beings above other forms …

The Invention Of Tradition: From Ancient “Articles” To May Fourth “Literature” — A Concurrent Explanation Of The Connotation Of “Chinese Literary Theory”, Xu Xu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

This article focuses on the relationship between literary views and article studies of May Fourth scholars from the perspective of hermeneutics, in order to re-explain the connotation of “Chinese literary theory” and consider the construction of a Chinese literary theory discourse system. Rooted in interpretations of the interplay between literature and dao, May Fourth scholars reshaped the traditional framework, shifting the focus to the relationship between literature and humanity, through the integration of ideals and dao. Their commitment to broad, applied literary views led to a progression from a simple division between cultural traits and literary function to a more …

Returning Into The Deep Forest--A Methodological Practice Around Memory, Asianness, And Speech, Yu Ye

Masters Theses

">">The title of this thesis is borrowed from the Tang dynasty poem Deer Enclosure by Wang Wei: “Empty mountain, no one in sight—only the echo of voices. Returning sunlight slips into the deep forest, shining once more on moss.” I feel like my essay is responding to this kind of sensation: light does not shine head-on, but folds back, glancing sideways through dense branches, illuminating what is often overlooked. In that gesture of return—quiet, angled, persistent. This thesis unfolds in three chapters, each following a distinct path—image (Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes), movement (The Rings of Saturn by …

The Portals: Jewelry As A Site Of Escape And Solace, Jung Ki Min

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates jewelry as a medium for emotional escape and psychological refuge, offering multisensory alternative forms of escapism. Rooted in personal experiences of continuous change and instability, the work explores how imagined spaces—constructed through AI-generated and digitally assisted visuals and layered material processes—can serve as intimate sanctuaries. Drawing from psychological theories, surrealism, and escapism, the study positions jewelry as a portable interface that enables temporary retreat without full detachment from reality. The series of work, which integrates transparent acrylic, visual layering, and subtle dimensionality, materializes these imagined spaces into wearable forms. These pieces invite reflective engagement, allowing wearers to …

I Don't Want To Talk About It, Margaryta Winkler

Masters Theses

This thesis is a contradiction. It is an attempt to verbalize what words can’t capture. It asks what is lost, what is gained and what can only be said when nothing is said at all. It is a love letter to wordless visual narratives. Drawing on the work of animators and illustrators like Gints Zilbalodis, Don Herzfeldt, Shaun Tan and Sophie Burrows, as well as the author’s own explorations, it looks at the risks and rewards of wordless storytelling. It is about silence, but not absence. It is about images that refuse to be reduced to captions and stories that …

The Kinship Of Creatives, Saba Saif Ur Rehman

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This research essay contends that artists and creative individuals must recognize their agency in shaping societal narratives, particularly during times of technological and political upheaval. The essay draws on the insights and contributions of visionaries like Walter Benjamin, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Tomm Moore to emphasize the power of imagination and creativity in addressing real-world issues. It argues that previous technological advances have often reinforced hierarchical and oppressive systems, benefitting a select few while neglecting the masses. As we enter the fourth Industrial Revolution, this essay calls the artists to reclaim their tools from being co-opted for exclusionary and …

Pedro Aceves Mfa Thesis, Pedro M. Aceves

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My Work is about looking at Cruising through a queer decolonial lens. Using multiple mediums such as photo, glass, Augmented reality, and film, I explore these queer histories and aesthetics through not just an anthropological approach but also an artistic epistemological approach weaving together narratives of prehispanic and modern queer Latinidad.

Collaborative Ai: Oer Materials For Exploring Ai As A Partner Rather Than A Tool, David Smith

Open Educational Resources

The Collaborative AI Open Educational Resource (OER) explores how artificial intelligence can act as a creative and analytical collaborator rather than a tool. Centered on the Balanced Blended Space (BBS) framework and the philosophy of the Center for Holistic Integration (CHI), the OER includes curriculum materials, theoretical models, and live research environments. It offers an interesting approach to blending physical, virtual, and conceptual spaces through shared human–AI agency and invites ongoing participation in interdisciplinary meta-projects.