Critical and Cultural Studies Commons^™

Chicana Aesthetics: A View Of Unconcealed Alterities And Affirmations Of Chicana Identity Through Laura Aguilar’S Photographic Images, Daniel Perez

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

In this paper I will argue that Chicana feminist artist Laura Aguilar, Alma Lopez, Laura Molina, and Yreina D. Cervantez established a continuing counter-narrative of cultural hegemony and Western essentialized hegemonic identification. Through artistic expression they have developed an oppositional discourse that challenges racial stereotypes, discrimination, socio-economic inequalities, political representation, sexuality, femininity, and hegemonic discourse. I will present a complex critique of both art and culture through an inquiry of the production and evaluation of the Chicana feminist artist, their role as the artist, and their contributions to unfixing the traditional and marginalized feminine. I argue that third wave Chicana …

Tiki Kitsch, American Appropriation, And The Disappearance Of The Pacific Islander Body, Daniel Mcmullin

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

After Greenberg's famous analysis of kitsch in terms of aesthetics, Art critic James Gaywood, reasserted the question of kitsch in terms of market. (Gaywood 1997) Here Picasso and cultural appropriation were supplanted by Marcel Duchamp and the readymade. The products of art became completely non-native on all fronts, the world so reflected was postcultural. In that sense, cultural appropriation was no longer an aesthetic, it was a commodity for production, and as much as possible, production by machines. The form of such commodity, of Pacific Islander cultures, was highly variable, from a 17th century English play by John Clarke, to …

Cultural Identity, Deafness And Sign Language: A Postcolonial Approach, Steven Loughran

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Franz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks describes the experience of the recently de-colonized members of the Negro (as he refers to those of African descent) population living in Europe, particularly France, in the 1960s. A little over a decade later, Edward Said published Orientalism, thus adding to a growing discipline of scholarship in the fields of art, literature, and cultural studies called “Postcolonialism.” My essay attempts to show that Deaf persons who communicate with each other using sign language can be viewed as a colonized group, and that applying postcolonial theory to the study of their culture is appropriate.

Mad Men: The Relationship Between Psychology And Religion In Chaim Potok’S The Chosen, Laura Longobardi

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

After watching an episode from the first season of Mad Men, that cleverly juxtaposed the Catholic Sacrament of Confession and a session with a psychologist, I wondered: are religion and psychology really all that different? After reading Chaim Potok’s 1967 novel The Chosen, I began to think that the perceived differences between these two disciplines were superficial. Psychology and religion both provide people with a valuable way of understanding their relationship to the world around them, in spite of the apparent differences between them. By examining Sigmund Freud and William James’ attitudes toward both religion and psychology and applying these …

Oxymormon: Feminism Ain't Got No Place On The Pulpit… Or Does It?, Jennifer Johnson-Bell

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Just as Moraga examines the effects this myth has had on her identity, I will, as a Mormon (although I dis-identify with that label except in the context of my upbringing) and a feminist, explore certain myths perpetuated within the Mormon culture and what effects they have had on my identity as well as my relationship with other Mormon women. Three myths I would like to explore revolve around the concepts of plural marriage (polygamy), priesthood, and the notion of Heavenly Mother. [excerpt]

A Christian Understanding Of Aesthetic Agency: A Theological Framework Of Resistance To Cultural Imperialism, Elise Edwards

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Aesthetic agency refers to conditions, capacities, and states that inform artistic forms of acting and exerting power on social structures. In resistance to the marginalization of women of color, aesthetic agency is exercised through creative acts of culture-making and critique of such practices to challenge domination and representation of the oppressed other. To support this work as a feminist Christian ethicist, I construct a theological framework for aesthetic agency. This paper proposes a theological understanding of transformative aesthetics and then describes the exercise of aesthetic agency for Christian communities by using a television special, Black Girls Rock! as an example.

Manifest Content Without A Dreamer: A Freudian Analysis Of Percival Everett’S Erasure, Irene Rose De Lilly

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

This paper will provide a Freudian analysis of Erasure in order to prove that Everett is, in fact, the two main characters he has created, as well as attempt to challenge the stigma of interpreting through a psychoanalytical lens, rather than treating writing and literature as manifest content without a dreamer.

It's Not About The Coffee: Queer Temporalities At A Community Coffeehouse, Jodi Davis

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Long Beach California’s “gay ghetto” 1 is a loosely defined neighborhood with bars, coffeehouses and businesses that cater to the LGBTQ community. The corner of Broadway and Junipero roughly marks the center of the gay ghetto and is home to Hot Java “The Community Coffeehouse”. The customers there are loyal and through ethnographic inquiry this paper highlights the importance of Hot Java as a queer site of resistance and community building. Through interviews, observation, and exploration of queer theoretical models of space and time, this paper illustrates Hot Java as a queer temporal space marked by trauma, resistance, and community …

Beauty-Ful Inferiority: Female Subservience In Disney’S Beauty And The Beast, Jeremy Chow

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

The ubiquity of Disney movies has certainly transformed the American cultural landscape. The Disney zeitgeist manifests itself as generations of children actively seek Prince Charmings, unrealistic fairy tale relationships and the omnipotent, happily-ever-after. One such Disney favorite, Beauty and the Beast (1991), reveals typical Disney themes such as the power of altruism, the transformation of the anthropomorphic, and the catharsis of true love. Yet, under these benevolent-seeming Disney themes lurk more sinister, subliminal messages. Beauty and the Beast promotes female subservience and subjugation in addition to the glorification of abusive relationships. Belle, the female protagonist, embodies these gendered disparities and …

“Human Relations Movement In View Of Interpersonal Relations With Emphasis On Mayo’S Work”, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

Human relations movement refers to the researchers of organizational development who study the behavior of people in groups, in particular workplace groups. It originated in the 1930s' Hawthorne studies, which examined the effects of social relations, motivation and employee satisfaction on factory productivity. The movement viewed workers in terms of their psychology and fit with companies, rather than as interchangeable parts, and it resulted in the creation of the discipline of human resource management. An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range in duration from brief to enduring. This association may be based on …

All You Need Is Capitalism?: An Ideological Criticism Of The Beatles-Jackson Auction Controversy, Arianna Marie Chopelas

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Media Studies Professor Authors Book On Television Program, The O.C., Lori Bindig

Lori Bindig

In The O.C.: A Critical Understanding (Lexington Books, 2012), Bindig analyzes the cultural legacy of the popular series that ran on the FOX broadcast network from 2003 to 2007.

Introduction: A Game's Study Manifesto, Jason C. Thompson, Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

In the epigraph to this collection, we return to a foundational text of the western literary canon, Homer’s Odyssey, and see in Penelope’s “bow contest” an illustrative moment in the history of game culture. Having fought in the Trojan War and having survived his ten-year trek home, the weary Odysseus cannot simply show up—the returning hero must rout the odious suitors whom Penelope has forestalled. In order to buy more time for vengeance, Odysseus disguises himself as an old beggar; in order to buy more time for deferral, Penelope creates an unwinnable game: she will marry the suitor able …

Radical Love: A Transatlantic Dialogue About Race And Mixed Race

Daniel McNeil

Whereas the transracial, transdisciplinary and transnational field of mixed race studies tends to focus on the love between “interracial couples” and their children, this article opens up space for a critical dialogue about how people classified as 'mixed race' in North America and Europe navigate racism, racialization and relationships across time and space.

Cultural Identity And Education: A Critical Race Perspective, Theodorea Berry, Matthew Candis

Faculty Publications

The article discusses cultural identity, experience, and gap, along with the connections of critical race theory (CRT) and critical race feminism (CRF) with cultural identity and experience. Topics include the definition of cultural experience, the identity of African American educators, and the cultural gap experienced by African American students.

Gay For Play: Theorizing Lgbtq Characters In Game Studies, Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

Despite, and perhaps because of, popular press reactions to stereotypical depictions of beefy boys and busty babes in video games, the realm of gender, sex, and sexuality remains a lacuna in the emerging field of game studies. Of particular interest is the notion of performance and the ways this impacts both on gender and on game play. The combination might be expected to offer a very interesting way of approaching LGBTQ characters in digital games, especially given the recent inclusion of such characters in some popular and well-studied game franchises, including Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar 1997-present), Jade Empire (BioWare 2005-08) …

Why Don't I Look Like Her? The Impact Of Social Media On Female Body Image, Kendyl M. Klein

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to understand and criticize the role of social media in the development and/or encouragement of eating disorders, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction in college-aged women. College women are exceptionally vulnerable to the impact that social media can have on their body image as they develop an outlook on their bodies and accept the developmental changes that occurred during puberty. This paper provides evidence that there is a relationship between the recent surge in disordered eating and high consumption of social media. I examine the ways in which traditional advertising has portrayed women throughout history, …

Productive Resistance, Nihilist Production, And The Fetish Of Negation, Hanna Backman

Media and Cultural Studies Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Decolonization And Community Media: Fostering A Decolonial Imaginary In El Alto, Bolivia, Rebecca Jackson

Media and Cultural Studies Honors Projects

Radio Trono, a community radio in Bolivia, uses grassroots critical theory and participatory media to illuminate the influence the colonial matrix of power has on participant's bodies, daily lives, and imaginations. Corporal decolonization, the theory of decolonization developed by the collective that manages Radio Trono, focuses on the body as a site of liberation at multiple scales of geography, and links new bodily configurations to new imaginaries and possibilities for resistance to coloniality of power. This theory infuses Radio Trono's production process and content while the radio's presence in El Alto works to decolonize and democratize the city's media system.

Learning Context Matters: Communication Strategy Development Through Spanish Interaction, Sonya Hildebrand

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

University studies in the Spanish language are often times confined to the classroom. However, more and more programs have been implementing civic engagement in the Hispanic community into the curriculum to create a service-learning experience. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of service-learning in enhancing communication techniques. Twenty undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky were surveyed at the onset and the conclusion of one semester while simultaneously serving the Hispanic community. The students, on average, increased the frequency of communication techniques after a semester of service-learning. Students who participate in a service-learning program often times see a result …

屬靈戰爭與旅遊 : 一個短期宣教活動的個案研究, Lai Ieng Lau

Theses & Dissertations

本研究試圖描繪香港細胞小組教會網絡短宣參加者的歷程及屬靈體驗，指出他們在旅途內的所見所聞受到了特定的宗教論述及旅遊操作所形塑和建構，而在此脈絡下產生的屬靈經驗可能不再純粹是神秘的、超自然和非物質的力量，相反它是可預期的文化產物，甚至不是本真(authentic)的屬靈經驗。然而，這種被建構的宗教及屬靈視野選擇性地把某些社會文化或問題 (如貧窮、種族主義、色情和異教文化)簡約歸類為邪惡他者的陰謀和控制，巧妙地隱藏或迴避了問題背後複雜而糾結的社會、經濟、政治及文化張力；同時鞏固了基督徒的身份認同及基督教的優越感，並相信基督教的價值觀獲得超越而且凌駕一切文化的合法性，然後將短宣內的屬靈經驗視為經歷神的重要證據。

此研究亦有助我們反思全球靈恩運動(Global Pentecostalism)的擴張，全球靈恩運動是近年基督教內增長最迅速的宗教運動，以屬靈恩賜、屬靈戰爭及繁榮神學(Prosperity Gospel)為主要特徵。除了依賴龐大的宗教媒體和超級教會等意識形態機器宣傳外，透過細緻的旅遊操作、宗教論述及靈性實踐，使短宣成為全球靈恩運動擴張的途徑之一，甚至讓這場源自美國的宗教運動轉化成本土的宗教內容。

Recapturing Our Minds, Reclaiming Higher Learning: A Review Of R. P. Keeling’S And R. H. Hersh’S “We’Re Losing Our Minds: Rethinking American Higher Education”, Brandon Hensley

Brandon O. Hensley

Situating their conversation within a growing weltanschauung that the world is becoming “flat" and intellectual capital is integral to a changing globalized marketplace with emerging superpowers, Keeling and Hersh (2012) lay forth a bold claim in We’re Losing Our Minds: undergraduate education in the U.S. is sapping minds because learning is no longer the primary focus or essence of colleges and universities. “Intoxicated by magazine and college guide rankings, most colleges and universities have lost track of learning as the only educational outcome that really matters” (p. 13). The authors advance that this systemic crisis, though well documented (even before …

Figure/Ground Interviews With Professors Theo Van Leeuwen, Trevor Johnston, Aranye Fradenburg And Dawn Bennett, A/Professors Carmen Daniela Maier And Mehdi Riazi As Well As Artist, Paul Galy Oam, Judie Cross

Judith (Judie) L Cross

Figure/Ground Communication is an open-source, para-academic, inter-disciplinary collaboration who investigates central problems across academia through in-depth conversations with scholars, researchers, and university professors, artists, filmmakers, and creators of every stripe. Judie Cross interviewed Professors Theo van Leeuwen, Trevor Johnston, Aranye Fradenburg and Dawn Bennett, A/Professors Carmen Daniela Maier and Mehdi Riazi as well as artist Paul Galy OAM.

Birth Of The American Zombie, Samantha Bloodworth

Samantha Murillo

This paper explains the concept of the "American zombie" as it is known in popular culture today and traces how it became the concept it is in American culture today.

The "Rich Bitch": Class And Gender On The Real Housewives Of New York City, Michael J. Lee

Michael J Lee

This project offers the opportunity to examine the ways in which normative conceptions of class and gender cohere to produce an archetypal, trans-historical villain, what we term “the rich bitch.” In this essay, we employ the concept of irony to analyze how Bravo'sThe Real Housewives of New York Citycreates rich women as objects of cultural derision, well-heeled jesters in a populist court. The show primes its savvy, upscale audience to judge the extravagance of female scapegoats harshly in tough economic times. The housewives' class and gender flops are inter-related on the show. The lure of class status produces inconsiderate mothers. …

“100% Authentic Pittsburgh”: Sociolinguistic Authenticity And The Linguistics Of Particularity, Barbara Johnstone

Barbara Johnstone

As Bucholtz (2003), Coupland (2007, pp. 25-26), and others have pointed out, what counts as an authentic linguistic variety or an authentic speaker depends on who is counting and why. Sociolinguists have often unthinkingly privileged as their object of study the most unselfconsious, “vernacular” speech in relatively closed, homogeneous communities like traditional working-class neighborhoods, with their dense, multiplex social networks, and in the relatively self-contained symbolic economies of schools. This has allowed us to explore social correlates of variation and processes of change in communities where these things appear least muddied by outside influences, and doing so has given us …

Deleuze & Guattari And Minor Marxism, Eugene W. Holland

Eugene W Holland

This paper suggests a version of Marxism - a minor Marxism - derived from Deleuze & Guattari's political philosophy.