Sociology of Culture Commons^™

A Ulysses Pact With Artificial Systems. How To Deliberately Change The Objective Spirit With Cultured Ai, Bruno Gransche

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

The article introduces a concept of cultured technology, i.e. intelligent systems capable of interacting with humans and showing (or simulating) manners, of following customs and of socio-sensitive considerations. Such technologies might, when deployed on a large scale, influence and change the realm of human customs, traditions, standards of acceptable behavior, etc. This realm is known as the "objective spirit" (Hegel), which usually is thought of as being historically changing but not subject to deliberate human design. The article investigates the question of whether the purposeful design of interactive technologies (as cultured technologies) could enable us to shape modes of …

Dilemma And Knowledge - Book Review Of Re-Imagining Utopias: Theory And Method For Educational Research In Post-Socialist Contexts, Jessica Zychowicz

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

No abstract provided.

Developing Interactive Elicitation: Social Desirability Bias And Capturing Play, Matthew Spokes, Jack Denham

The Qualitative Report

Drawing on research from a mixed-methods project on gaming we argue for a qualitative methodological approach called “interactive elicitation,” a form of data collection that combines elements of photo elicitation, interviewing and vignettes. After situating our broader research project exploring young people’s experiences of violent open-world video games, we outline the process of conducting interactive elicitation, arguing for a mixed-methods approach where participants are observed and interviewed both during and immediately after interacting with particular cultural artefacts, in this case the game GTA V. We reflect on the initial design of the research methodology, the problematic aspects of conducting the …

La Construcción De Espacios Para La Memoria: El Rol De Los Actores En Tres Ex Centros Clandestinos De La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Quentin Bernhard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En esta investigación, cuento la historia como espacios de memoria de tres ex centros clandestinos en la ciudad de Buenos Aires y noto aspectos importantes de ellos que me conocí a través de entrevistas con trabajadores en los sitios en visitas ambas formales y informales. Analizo el rol de los actores sociales como el gobierno, el barrio y los visitantes en el funcionamiento de cada sitio, y a partir de eso exploro la identidad única de cada uno y cómo construyen la memoria por medio del espacio de memoria.

Este trabajo se base en parte en la cantidad de obras …

A Commentary On Narrative Platforms, Cinematic Universes, And Consumers Formerly Known As The Audience, Andreas Treske, Aras Ozgun

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Brrap Brrap Pew Pew: Representations Of Abortion In Adult Animated Television Comedy, Erika A. Byrnison

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis documents and analyzes representation of abortion in American adult animated comedy, charging that it is under-examined and significant because representation on television in other genres has traditionally been absent or misleading. It covers theories on how pop culture communicates social norms, and posits that greater truthful representation of abortion in popular culture may be effective in reducing prevalent abortion stigma in the U.S. amongst the young by normalizing and more accurately representing the procedure. It reviews why our culture should be concerned about reducing abortion stigma in the U.S. It also identifies the “taboo ratings paradox,” wherein television …

A Matter Of Life And Def: Poetic Knowledge And The Organic Intellectuals In Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, Anthony Blacksher

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation unpacks the poetry, performances, and the production of Def Poetry Jam to explore how a performative art embodied and confronted racial discourses, including stereotypes and also, addressed the racism, patriotism, and imperialist discourses that circulated after 9/11. Def Poetry Jam contributes to the intellectual capacity of spoken word and performance poetry, and poets as intellectuals, where poets produce and disseminate knowledge, ideas, and data, in the form of narratives, that contribute to critical consciousness. The effectiveness of the series lay in the consistent blurring of entertainment, knowledge, anti-capitalism, and capitalism. This research demonstrates how Def Poetry Jam provided …

The Electromagnetic Brain A Review Of Em Theories On The Nature Of Consciousness By Shelli Joye, Pryzdia, Michael, Radin, Dean

Journal of Conscious Evolution

No abstract provided.

The Legitimation & Networked Unification Of #Nodapl: Diverse Discourses Of Value Validate A Collective Identity, Jacqueline Marie Ouellette

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

NoDAPL was, first and foremost, an Indigenous-led resistance against the construction of a pipeline in North Dakota. It was also a movement that built solidarity, bridging networks between international Indigenous peoples, Black Lives Matter activists, veterans, and feminists. This discourse analysis of social media and digital texts addresses the networked publics, collective identities, social capital, and intersectionality in applying Van Leeuwen’s (2007) understanding of legitimation. In doing so, the practice of reproducing and extending the values, themes, and images of various algorithmic imaginaries will be explored, as they relate to network homophily, identity construction, and mobilization. This study will argue …

An Exploratory Study Of Acculturation Experiences Of Graduate Student Immigrants At The University Of San Francisco, Courtney Lamar

Master's Theses

This study explores the shared challenges during the acculturation process of graduate student immigrants pursuing higher education in the United States. 13 graduate student immigrants at the University of San Francisco discuss their experiences of cultural adjustment into U.S. culture. Through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis, this study seeks to understand the acculturation experiences of graduate student immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. This analysis is based on the individual-level experience examining attitudes and acculturation strategies in the dominant society. Analysis, possibly policy implication for institutions of higher education, and possible directions for future research …

Rebuilding Tunisia, One Artist At A Time, Caitlin Kelley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper argues that Tunisia’s engaged artists are playing a key role in the development of Tunisian civil society and democracy. The bulk of the research is in the form of interviews with five Tunisian artists. Each artist is actively engaged in the project of building a stronger, more democratic society. Through their art, they exercise and protect the political rights won in the 2011 revolution. These artists resist censorship, powerfully and loudly exercise their right to free speech, and help Tunisian society envision a better future for itself. The five artists interviewed for this research represent the type of …

Different Choices: A Public School Community’S Responses To School Choice Reforms, Amanda U. Potterton

The Qualitative Report

In the United States, state and federal reforms increasingly encourage the expansion of school choice policies. Debates about school choice contrast various concepts of freedom and equality with concerns about equity, justice, achievement, democratic accountability, profiting management organizations, and racial and class segregation. Arizona’s “market”-based school choice programs include over 600 charter schools, and the state’s open enrollment practices, public and private school tax credit allowances, and Empowerment Scholarships, (closely related to vouchers), flourish. This qualitative analysis explores one district-run public school and its surrounding community, and I discuss socio-political and cultural tensions related to school choice reforms that exist …

From Rock Art To Vertical Forests, Hall, Gill

Journal of Conscious Evolution

No abstract provided.

Can Synchronicity Be Invoked? Synchronistic Inquiry And The Nature Of Meaning, Crane, Gabriel S.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper examines synchronicity, the concept first proposed by Carl Jung, of an “acausal connecting principle” (Jung, 1952), or, a meaningful coincidence linking inner and outer events, from three distinct angles. First, it reviews the theoretical framework for synchronicity, and specifically explores the nature of meaning as an arbiter of synchronicity. The paper then asks whether, considering the co-determined nature of meaning, synchronicity can possibly be consciously invoked. Drawing upon anecdotal examples from personal experience, the outlines of a possible research process, personal synchronistic inquiry, are proposed. Finally, this paper presents a personal attempt to implement the research protocol outlined …

The Mythic-Cosmological Equation: A Different Approach To Understanding Reality, Mcauley, Charles E.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

No abstract provided.

Panpsychism And J.R.R. Tolkien: Exploring A Universal Psyche In The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, And The Lord Of The Rings, Sheppard-Goodlett, Lisa R.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

An informal exploration of the concept of panpsychism in three of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy works, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, by using multiple consciousness theories from prominent consciousness authors. Plotlines, character compositions, and physical and mental interactions between individuals and entities are examined through multi-faceted panpsychic consciousness lenses. Those lenses include consciousness as a “stream,” integrality, evolutionary emergence of consciousness in all life forms, numinosity, liminality, the mythical trickster, major consciousness themes, precognitive and lucid dreaming, removal of self-identity through separation and burial, inner work, plurality and conflict, and enlightenment and synergism.

A New Method Of Remote Healing Through Information Based Treatment, Sági, Mária

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Healing, in the form of remote healing, is one of the most exciting proofs of the working of the primordial field described by Ervin Laszlo. Although phenomena of "presentiment" and "faith healing" have been with us since earliest times, in each subsequent age, in every culture, and throughout the development of the world's belief systems, systematic attempts to understand these phenomena have been growing ever stronger. The paradigm of western science in the modern age tended to relegate remote healing to the realm of superstition or delusion, but this certainly does not characterize the complete history of science. Even in …

Poly-Perspectival Wisdom And Aperspectival Awareness: How Attunement To The Umwelten Of Nonhumans Cultivates Integral Awareness, Morley, Julie J.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper explores the idea that humans are biologically, mentally, and spiritually connected to nonhumans throughout the natural world. As science and philosophy expand to include the participation of the observer, new integral methodologies emerge and understanding shifts. Without deeper awareness of our place and purpose within the planetary ecosystem, we cannot begin to understand who we are as a species, and what we mean to the cosmos. We need to re-awaken to our relationship with the whole. Theologian and Earth scholar Thomas Berry referred to this connected whole “the Great Conversation,” (1991). He warned that only our re-entry into …

Art And The Evolution Of Consciousness: A Look At The Work Of Owen Barfield, Jean Gebser, And Gottfried Richter, Brown, Zachary

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This essay examines the concept of consciousness in three major twentieth century writers, Owen Barfield (1977, 1988), Jean Gebser (1984), and Gottfried Richter (1982). Fundamental to all three of these is the idea that human consciousness, and especially perception, evolves with the passage of historical time, and that this evolution is reflected in the production of art. In each thinker, consciousness of the self is seen primarily as a function of orientation in space and time. The evolution of this orientation is concretely expressed in many areas of cultural development, especially the arts (Gebser, 1985).

Promethean Mythopoetics & Evolutionary Consciousness: A Theoretical Journey Through The Realms Of Metaphor, Media, And Mind, Mcauley, Charles E.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

The focus of this essay is exploring the concept of the critically acclaimed comic classic Promethea (2000) by Alan Moore (writer) and J. H. Williams III (artist) as an integral work of art. To that end I utilize the integral theories of cultural historian and poet Jean Gebser (1985), and theorist Ken Wilber (2000) Having introduced the general themes and theoretical lenses, mentioned above, which are used to see Promethea, there is first an exploration of the earliest origins of consciousness according to the integral theories of Wilber (2000) and Gebser (1985). From there, a brief exploration of the significance …

Clare W. Graves And The Turn Of Our Times, Reitter, Nicholas

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Clare W. Graves (1914 – 1986) was a psychologist and visionary who pioneered an evolutionary theory of human values. Based on research concerning differing views of “what is a mature human being,” he developed the idea of a universal progression of value-structures. According to the theory both individuals and societies may be placed in this progression. This paper attempts to summarize Graves’ ideas and his influences on others, while grappling with what I see as some of his theory’s most important problems. Refinements are proposed that bear on the theory as a whole, with a particular focus on how it …

The Grand Unfolding Yogaverse, Sovatsky, Stuart Jivanand

Journal of Conscious Evolution

No abstract provided.

Unwinding Into Being, Salmon, Ronald Keith

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Spontaneously arising physical expression is the birthright of every human being. This spontaneity is motivated by the intelligent dynamism of Life to facilitate our maturation into the fullness of our Being. Spontaneous expression began to guide our maturation even before our conception...and continued throughout our life in the womb. During our fetal development—and into our infancy— our movements were initiated by the activity of developing systems of motor neurons; the sensory impulses resulting from these movements in turn stimulated the development of sensory neuron systems that refined and defined higher neural centres…and thus played a pivotal role in our developing …

A Pedagogy Of Deep Listening In E-Learning, Laryea, Kerri

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper examines deep listening as a pedagogy in 21st century online education. The topic is situated in the intersubjectivity of computer-mediated communication in learning environments that foster transformative experiences. The transdisciplinary orientation of the paper includes the complex and overlapping lenses through which multiple ways of teaching, learning, and knowing are viewed and experienced in the context of fostering transformation in online education in a time of rapid growth in technological innovation, globalization, and significant environmental change. It transcends an individual disciplinary research and focus, bridging epistemologies to consider the felt sense of deep listening in the educator’s role.

From Primitive To Integral: The Evolution Of Graffiti Art, White, Ashanti

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Art is about expression. It is neither right nor wrong. It can be beautiful or distorted. It can be influenced by pain or pleasure. It can also be motivated for selfish or selfless reasons. It is expression. Arguably, no artistic movement encompasses this more than graffiti art. Because of its roots in ancient history, reemergence with the rise of the hip-hop culture, and constant transformation, graffiti art is integral. Its canvas can be a concrete building, paper, or animal. It can be two- or three-dimensional; it can be illusionistic and inclusive of various techniques. It can be composed with spray …

The Wabi Sabi Way: Antidote For A Dualistic Culture?, Cooper, Tracy M.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper presents a discussion of the Japanese philosophical, aesthetic attitude known as Wabi Sabi. Tracing the history of Wabi Sabi from ancient times to the modern day this paper examines the tea ceremony in Japan, the production of handmade pottery, and the Zen way of artistic creation. Intermixed I offer a view of my artistic development and personal evolution of consciousness as I have come to understand them through the lens of Wabi Sabi.

Street Art As An Expression Of Post-Modern Consciousness, Suzuki, Christopher M.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper explores the development and expression of street art from the end of the twentieth century to the present day. I examine the street art’s use and definition of public space and how it challenges the prevailing paradigm on property and ownership. I explore the way that street art uses the language of advertising to reach the largest amount of people, while speaking out against all that consumerism stands for. I discuss how in braking down the boundaries between high art and low, and using images from every source imaginable, street speaks to the post-modern projects desire to see …

The Russian Bride’S Attire: A Journey Through Art And Consciousness, Luce, Elizabeth A.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper addresses the triad of, creativity, consciousness and culture. How the viewer “sees” the painting is influenced by consciousness and the surrounding culture – creativity is the creative process of the artist. Art is fluid in the sense that viewers see it differently at different times in their lives. The creative process experienced by the artist is the genesis of the painting. However, the art takes on a life of it’s own for every viewer. The definition of consciousness in this paper is based on the awareness and environment of the viewer.

Jack B. Yeats: Journey In Consciousness, Buck, Richard

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) was an Irish artist and writer. His art evolved from the representational to something much more abstract. By examining six paintings covering the early, the middle, and the late periods of his life, I have endeavored to demonstrate a distinct shift in Jack B. Yeats from the mental structure of consciousness to the emergence of the integral structure of consciousness, as described by Gebser (1984). Artistic evidence of a shift in his consciousness is supplemented by a critical reading of one of his novels. Secondary sources were consulted to gain insight into the literary works that …

The Three Neurogenetic Phases Of Human Consciousness, Grandy, John K.

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper is an organization and conceptualization of a genetic account of human consciousness and to establish an initial list of the neurogenetic correlates of consciousness (NgCC). This will be accomplished by establishing networks of genes that are involved in the multiple facets of the process of human consciousness. The methodology utilized in this work is the evaluation of a small number of genes that have been researched experimentally in order to understand their role in brain development and function. The results demonstrate that most neurogenetic genes can be categorized into three phases: the emergence of neuron-based consciousness, the continuum …