Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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Bridging the Gap: American Sign Language Accessibility in Collegiate Settings

Description

American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language that communicates through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In the United States, there are over six million sign language users (Mitchell & Young, 2022). At Arizona State University, there is a limited offering of classes for undergraduate students to take sign…

American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language that communicates through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In the United States, there are over six million sign language users (Mitchell & Young, 2022). At Arizona State University, there is a limited offering of classes for undergraduate students to take sign language; they can take up to four levels, which is satisfactory for degrees’ foreign language requirements. If students wish to proceed with their ASL education, they must transfer to a different university. The purpose of this study and subsequent research is to propose an ASL minor that can be established at ASU so that students can receive an in-depth education. Survey data was collected with the intention of determining how students felt about ASL and the addition of a potential minor. The survey findings, coupled with the secondary literature review, lead to the conclusion that establishing an American Sign Language minor is in the best interests of both the students and the University.
ContributorsAltaf, Haniyah (Author) / Gutierrez, Veronica (Thesis director) / Cheloha, Hannah (Committee member) / Ngo, Christina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2023-05

Altaf_Spring_2023_Presentation_0.pdf

Description
American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language that communicates through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In the United States, there are over six million sign language users (Mitchell & Young, 2022). At Arizona State University, there is a limited offering of classes for undergraduate students to take sign…

American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language that communicates through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In the United States, there are over six million sign language users (Mitchell & Young, 2022). At Arizona State University, there is a limited offering of classes for undergraduate students to take sign language; they can take up to four levels, which is satisfactory for degrees’ foreign language requirements. If students wish to proceed with their ASL education, they must transfer to a different university. The purpose of this study and subsequent research is to propose an ASL minor that can be established at ASU so that students can receive an in-depth education. Survey data was collected with the intention of determining how students felt about ASL and the addition of a potential minor. The survey findings, coupled with the secondary literature review, lead to the conclusion that establishing an American Sign Language minor is in the best interests of both the students and the University.
ContributorsAltaf, Haniyah (Author) / Gutierrez, Veronica (Thesis director) / Cheloha, Hannah (Committee member) / Ngo, Christina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2023-05

Altaf_Spring_2023_0.pdf

Description
American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language that communicates through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In the United States, there are over six million sign language users (Mitchell & Young, 2022). At Arizona State University, there is a limited offering of classes for undergraduate students to take sign…

American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language that communicates through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In the United States, there are over six million sign language users (Mitchell & Young, 2022). At Arizona State University, there is a limited offering of classes for undergraduate students to take sign language; they can take up to four levels, which is satisfactory for degrees’ foreign language requirements. If students wish to proceed with their ASL education, they must transfer to a different university. The purpose of this study and subsequent research is to propose an ASL minor that can be established at ASU so that students can receive an in-depth education. Survey data was collected with the intention of determining how students felt about ASL and the addition of a potential minor. The survey findings, coupled with the secondary literature review, lead to the conclusion that establishing an American Sign Language minor is in the best interests of both the students and the University.
ContributorsAltaf, Haniyah (Author) / Gutierrez, Veronica (Thesis director) / Cheloha, Hannah (Committee member) / Ngo, Christina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2023-05

Vestigials: A Novel

DescriptionAcademic interests combined into a speculative science fiction novel. Concepts from American Sign Language, mechanical engineering, and journalism studies were all utilized during development of the novel.
ContributorsGraziano, River (Author) / Irish, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Bell, Matt (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2024-05
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Understanding Linguistic Variation in American Sign Language

Description
Take a moment to reflect on your day to day life. Think about the conversation you have with your barista at Starbucks, the polite hellos and you’re welcomes you pass out to strangers on the street, or the sound of your best friend’s latest story. Society could not exist without…

Take a moment to reflect on your day to day life. Think about the conversation you have with your barista at Starbucks, the polite hellos and you’re welcomes you pass out to strangers on the street, or the sound of your best friend’s latest story. Society could not exist without language. Every person utilizes language within their own spaces and communities to establish their identities and relationships with the world around them. The Linguistic Society of America classifies sociolinguistics as the investigation of how “language use symbolically represents fundamental dimensions of social behavior and human interaction.” Broadly, sociolinguistics looks at language’s relationship to and function within society.
ContributorsHill, Taylor (Author) / Howard, Pamela (Thesis director) / Rines, Olivia (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05