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Description
This project examines C.L.R. James, V.S. Naipaul, and George Lamming's appropriation of the European Bildungsroman, a novel depicting the maturation of the hero prompted by his harmonious dialectical relationship with the social realm (Bildung). I contend that James, Naipaul, and Lamming use the Bildungsroman genre to critique colonialism's effects on its subjects, particularly its male subjects who attend colonial schools that present them with disconcerting curricula and gender ideologies that hinder their intellectual and social development. Disingenuously cloaked in paternalistic rhetoric promising the advancement of "uncivilized" peoples, colonialism, these novels show, actually impedes the development of its subjects. Central to these writers' critiques is the use of houses, space, and land. Although place functions differently in Minty Alley, A House for Mr. Biswas, and In the Castle of My Skin, the novels under consideration here, the corresponding relationship between a mature, autonomous self and a home of one's own is made evident in each. Tragically, the men in these novels are never able to find communities in which they cease to feel out of place, nor are they ever able to find secure domestic spaces. Because the discourse of home so closely parallels the discourse of Bildung, I contend that the protagonists' inability to find stable housing suggests the inaccessibility of Bildung in a colonized space. Further, I assert that this literal homelessness is symbolic of the educated male's cultural exile; he is unable to find a location where he can live in dialectical harmony with any community, which is the ideal aim of Bildung. Leaving the Caribbean proves to be the colonized male's only strategy for pursuing Bildung; thus, these novels suggest that while Bildung is impossible in the Caribbean, it is not impossible for the Caribbean subject.
ContributorsPate, Leah (Author) / Castle, Gregory (Thesis advisor) / Codell, Julie (Committee member) / Bivona, Dan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This dissertation analyzes contemporary American literature, which includes novels, graphic novels, film, and television of the last forty years, to deconstruct the critical relationship between lived space, institutional power, and trauma. It examines literary representations of traumatic moments in recent American history--the attacks on the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, the emergence of the Homeland Security state, and the introduction of the "new metropolis"--to demonstrate that collective trauma at the turn of the century is very much a product of the individual's complex relationship to the state and its institutional auxiliaries. As many philosophers and social critics have argued, institutional forces in contemporary America often deprive individuals of active political engagement through processes of narrative production, and this study discusses how literature both represents and simulates the traumatic consequences of this encounter. Looking to theories on urban, domestic, and textual space, this dissertation explores and problematizes the political and psychological dimensions of space, demonstrating how trauma is enacted through space and how individuals may utilize space and exploit narrative to achieve critical distance from institutional power. Literature as a narrative medium presents vital opportunities both for exposing the machinery of institutional power and for generating positions against the narratives produced by the state.
ContributorsPattison, Dale (Author) / Gilfillan, Daniel (Thesis advisor) / Clarke, Deborah (Thesis advisor) / Thompson, Ayanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In this dissertation I use Henri Lefebvre's concept of the production of social space to study how political theatre companies and artists in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, appropriate and resignify, through performance, their current social space as a strategy to contest Puerto Rico's neoliberal state policies. As Lefebvre suggests, modern industrial cities like San Juan maintain hegemonic power relations through spatial practices, processes through which users and inhabitants of the city conceive, perceive and live space. Lefebvre further suggests that for social justice to be possible, space must be resignified in ways that expose otherwise invisibilized struggles for social belonging and differentiation. I argue that theatrical performance, by staging various social conflicts and contradictions between the dominating space and the appropriating space, can produce new "performance cartographies" through which its audiences – in large part disenfranchised from the neoliberal processes so celebrated elsewhere on the island – may find ways to resignify space or envision new spaces for social justice on their own behalf. Specifically, I examine five theatre groups and artists from oppressed sectors in San Juan, whose work is to various degrees in opposition to neoliberalism, to reveal how both their artistic and quotidian performances might be resignifying space toward these ends. How does the work of Agua, Sol y Sereno, Y no había luz, Teatro Breve, Deborah Hunt and Tito Kayak strategically claim or appropriate space? What kind of knowledges emerge from these spatial tactics, and how are they helping envision new forms of living and social justice in the city?
ContributorsGonzález, Jorge (Author) / Underiner, Tamara (Thesis advisor) / Foster, David W (Committee member) / Tompkins, Cynthia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Radiation-induced gain degradation in bipolar devices is considered to be the primary threat to linear bipolar circuits operating in the space environment. The damage is primarily caused by charged particles trapped in the Earth's magnetosphere, the solar wind, and cosmic rays. This constant radiation exposure leads to early end-of-life expectancies for many electronic parts. Exposure to ionizing radiation increases the density of oxide and interfacial defects in bipolar oxides leading to an increase in base current in bipolar junction transistors. Radiation-induced excess base current is the primary cause of current gain degradation. Analysis of base current response can enable the measurement of defects generated by radiation exposure. In addition to radiation, the space environment is also characterized by extreme temperature fluctuations. Temperature, like radiation, also has a very strong impact on base current. Thus, a technique for separating the effects of radiation from thermal effects is necessary in order to accurately measure radiation-induced damage in space. This thesis focuses on the extraction of radiation damage in lateral PNP bipolar junction transistors and the space environment. It also describes the measurement techniques used and provides a quantitative analysis methodology for separating radiation and thermal effects on the bipolar base current.
ContributorsCampola, Michael J (Author) / Barnaby, Hugh J (Thesis advisor) / Holbert, Keith E. (Committee member) / Vasileska, Dragica (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
In nineteenth-century France, in rural areas, women washed laundry in the nearest streams or in the sea and hung the linens where they could, on lavender bushes, rocks and grass fields, where it had a quaint, if not artistic quality. In villages, laundresses washed linens in fountains, or other water sources, which were often found at or near the center of town. In either case, laundresses operated in public spaces without problem. I argue that, in Paris, changing ideas about the functioning of city space, the management of public hygiene and decisions about the use of public space, made laundresses and laundry operations matter out of place in the city. This study will demonstrate the changes laundering and laundresses underwent during the nineteenth century in Paris, making them out of place. City administrators and public health officials changed the occupation and places where laundry could be done as they sought to render laundry and laundresses invisible within Paris. In the early nineteenth century the Préfet de la Seine forbade women from using the river banks. In the mid-nineteenth century complaints about the disgraceful aspect of women laundering on the river prompted the Préfet to try to eliminate bateaux-lavoirs. In the late nineteenth century the discovery of microbes focused attention on laundry and laundresses and their potential to transmit diseases prompting another wave of hygiene regulations and questions about closing bateaux-lavoirs and lavoirs. The Préfet and Conseil d'Hygiène's struggle to make them invisible by moving them into approved facilities continued until the end of the nineteenth century. Studying laundresses and laundry sheds light on how the shifts in politics, changes in acceptable uses of public space and public hygiene affected working women. It illustrates the manner in which public hygiene- the Conseil de Salubrité and later the Conseil d'Hygiène, functioned and to what degree they could demand changes to the city in the name of hygiene. Through identifying subtle policy shifts, historians may learn how laundry demonstrates policies on the use of urban space, public hygiene or issues about work.
ContributorsGrüring, Jaimee Kristin (Author) / Fuchs, Rachel G (Thesis advisor) / Thompson, Victoria E (Committee member) / Wright, Johnson K (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
En contexto del desarrollo urbano culturalmente acrítico, el cual con la gentrificación amenaza el bienestar del barrio y sus habitantes, esta disertación interpreta la dialéctica barrioización y barriología como atmósfera dramática en la dramaturgia chicana. Como tropo de supervivencia social y ontológica en la producción cultural chicana, la recurrencia literaria del barrio también queda reflejada en la temática y las formas de numerosas obras de teatro chicano. De tal modo, el análisis de la conciencia espacial chicana en Bernabé (1971) y Heroes and Saints (1994) revela la significancia de un sentido de lugar colectivo y sitúa esta interpretación dramática del barrio en torno al matiz ideológico de la evolución de la conciencia espacial chicana. Manifestada como una dialéctica entre muerte y vida social y ontológica, la representación y representatividad del barrio en La trampa sin salida (1973), Water and Power (2009) y A Drunkard’s Tale of Melted Wings and Memories (2016) ilustra el efecto dramático de la dialéctica entre barrioización y barriología. Mientras algunos estudios precedentes a este han explorado la espacialidad chicana y el significado sociocultural del barrio, esta disertación es la primera en demonstrar concomitantemente la función temática y semiótica del barrio en la configuración de la atmósfera dramática en el teatro chicano. Más aún, la intersección entre barrio, espacio social y teatro no solo revelan la significancia semiótica de la atmósfera dramática, si no que también sostienen la urgencia de fomentar la (re)producción socioespacial urbana históricamente informada y culturalmente crítica.
ContributorsGómez-Becerra, José Juan (Author) / Rosales, Jesus (Thesis advisor) / Foster, David W (Committee member) / Urioste-Azcorra, Carmen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This work investigates the effects of ionizing radiation and displacement damage on the retention of state, DC programming, and neuromorphic pulsed programming of Ag-Ge30Se70 conductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM) devices. The results show that CBRAM devices are susceptible to both environments. An observable degradation in electrical response due to total ionizing dose (TID) is shown during neuromorphic pulsed programming at TID below 1 Mrad using Cobalt-60. DC cycling in a 14 MeV neutron environment showed a collapse of the high resistance state (HRS) and low resistance state (LRS) programming window after a fluence of 4.9x10^{12} n/cm^2, demonstrating the CBRAM can fail in a displacement damage environment. Heavy ion exposure during retention testing and DC cycling, showed that failures to programming occurred at approximately the same threshold, indicating that the failure mechanism for the two types of tests may be the same. The dose received due to ionizing electronic interactions and non-ionizing kinetic interactions, was calculated for each ion species at the fluence of failure. TID values appear to be the most correlated, indicating that TID effects may be the dominate failure mechanism in a combined environment, though it is currently unclear as to how the displacement damage also contributes to the response. An analysis of material effects due to TID has indicated that radiation damage can limit the migration of Ag+ ions. The reduction in ion current density can explain several of the effects observed in CBRAM while in the LRS.
ContributorsTaggart, Jennifer L (Author) / Barnaby, Hugh J (Thesis advisor) / Kozicki, Michael N (Committee member) / Holbert, Keith E. (Committee member) / Yu, Shimeng (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The research titled “A Comparative Analysis of Museums in Paris, Barcelona,
and Phoenix” critically reviews six museums in three culturally diverse countries. This research looks at features within marketing, space, and branding which may or may not differ depending on socio-cultural factors, histories, traditions, etc. in Spain, France, and the United States. A conclusion is formed around the identity of each museum through the variables of marketing, space, and branding.
and Phoenix” critically reviews six museums in three culturally diverse countries. This research looks at features within marketing, space, and branding which may or may not differ depending on socio-cultural factors, histories, traditions, etc. in Spain, France, and the United States. A conclusion is formed around the identity of each museum through the variables of marketing, space, and branding.
ContributorsWeiler, Libby A (Author) / Bernardi, Jose (Thesis advisor) / Fehler, Michelle (Committee member) / Harmon-Vaughan, Beth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
With the push towards interdisciplinary approaches, there has been tremendous growth of scholarship in the comparative ethnic studies field. From studies on multiracial people, to residential segregation, to the study of multiracial spaces, there is a lot to say about cross-cultural experiences. “Te de Boba” explores the relationship between identity, race, and ethnicity of millennials through a food studies lens. In particular, I analyze the role of food spaces and food pathways in developing identity and conceptions of race and ethnicity. My research site consists of a small business, a boba tea shop in Baldwin Park, California: What happens when a boba shop opens up in downtown Baldwin Park, a predominantly Latinx community? How do interethnic relationships shape the structure and city landscape of Baldwin Park, and how do these experiences in turn shape self-identity among millennials? I draw from qualitative interviews, cognitive mapping, and surveys conducted within the boba shop to understand millennial identity formation in Baldwin Park. Millennials growing up in Baldwin Park experience unique relationships between cultures, foods, and lifestyles that cross ethnic and racial barriers, creating new forms of community, which I call hub cities. I develop “hub cities” as new terminology for discussing suburban spaces that foster a sense of community within suburban areas that challenges and break down popular discourse of race and ethnicity, giving way for youth creation of alternative discourses on race and ethnicity, consequently shaping the way they form self-identity.
ContributorsSantizo, Natalie (Author) / Cheng, Wendy (Thesis advisor) / Guevarra, Jr., Rudy (Committee member) / Fonow, Mary M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Since the early 1980s spoken word has been on the rise as a highly influential performance art form. Concurrently, there has been an increase in literature on spoken word, which tends to focus on the critical performative and transformative potential of spoken word. These on-going discussions surrounding youth spoken word often fail to take into account the dynamic, relational, and transitional nature of power that constructs space and subjectivity in spoken word. This ethnographic study of one youth spoken word organization – Poetic Shift – in a southwestern urban area makes a conscious attempt to provide a nuanced, contradictory and partial analysis of space, place, and power in relation to youth spoken word and aspires to generate an understanding of how spaces designated for spoken word are dialectically (re)produced and maintain or subvert dominant relations of power through a constant stream of negotiations. This study aims to more explicitly examine the relationship between place and spoken word in effort to understand how one’s positionality impacts, and is impacted by, their involvement in youth spoken word.
Over the course of a 6-month period participant observation was conducted at two high school spoken word workshops and four interviews were completed with both teaching artists and young adult spoken word poets. Using spatial and critical pedagogy frameworks, this study found that Poetic Shift serves as a platform for youth to engage in the performative process of narratively constructing and reconfiguring their identities. Poetic Shift’s ideological position that attributes value and validation to the voices and lived experiences of each youth is an explicit rejection of the dominant paradigm of knowing that relegates some voices to a culture of silence. The point at which the present study deviated from most other literature on spoken word is where it offers a critique of Poetic Shift as a site of critical literacy and of the unreflexive rhetoric of student empowerment. The problematic presuppositions within the call for youth voice and in the linear, overly simplistic curriculum of Poetic Shift tend to reinforce the dominant relations of power.
Over the course of a 6-month period participant observation was conducted at two high school spoken word workshops and four interviews were completed with both teaching artists and young adult spoken word poets. Using spatial and critical pedagogy frameworks, this study found that Poetic Shift serves as a platform for youth to engage in the performative process of narratively constructing and reconfiguring their identities. Poetic Shift’s ideological position that attributes value and validation to the voices and lived experiences of each youth is an explicit rejection of the dominant paradigm of knowing that relegates some voices to a culture of silence. The point at which the present study deviated from most other literature on spoken word is where it offers a critique of Poetic Shift as a site of critical literacy and of the unreflexive rhetoric of student empowerment. The problematic presuppositions within the call for youth voice and in the linear, overly simplistic curriculum of Poetic Shift tend to reinforce the dominant relations of power.
ContributorsKesselring, Jenna (Author) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Cheng, Wendy (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Charles (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016