Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
This creative project dives into the issue of sexual harassment against women at work. I applied the topic to a clock and exhibit design, and explained the topic further in “In Conclusion.” The book also documents my senior year research, projects, and experience.
The United States of America has the highest incarceration rate in the world per capita. In 2019, the American criminal justice system held almost 2.3 million people in prisons. The current prison system is failing us. Eighty percent of prisoners return to jail within 5 years of being released because the prison system focuses on punishment, not rehabilitation, making reintegration into society nearly impossible for released criminals. Solitary confinement, abuse and a lack of resources only make this worse. Roughly 600,000 prisoners are released every year, back into your community to interact with your children and family, after years and years of sensory deprivation, violence, and being medically neglected. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of contributing factors and products of the mass incarceration crisis, but the most threatening and in need of attention are: the overcriminalization of drugs, inmate treatment and living conditions, the arrest and trial process, the prioritization of punishment over rehabilitation, and long sentence lengths for non-violent offenders.<br/><br/>The goal of my project is to bring awareness to this often overlooked problem. Throughout my research, I faced many unsettling emotions including fear, anger and deep sadness. While I do not wish to cause you pain, I noticed the impact my emotions had on my response to this issue. Therefore, I included disturbing content in my design to bring out similar emotions in you, because you should be fearful and angry about what is happening in our country.
This Thesis presentation and book review is on social media manipulation and the issue of media algorithms developing a close minded perspective in individuals. It discusses the mechanics of these algorithms, the definition of social media manipulation, and the neutral negative impacts on the polarization of our country. It also goes into detail on how I applied this research to design projects throughout 4th year of the Visual Communication Design Program.
An exploration of the decline of human empathy and whats aspects are important to include in design in order to see social change.
This creative project book details a year of research and design projects centering portrayals of asexuality in fiction, culminating in a virtual reality senior exhibition. It addresses how current popular media desexualizes and alienates asexual characters, and details ways that we can start to change this by crafting better media role models. Interspersed in this discussion is a reflection on my senior graphic design experience, putting on events in a virtual environment.