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This paper examines creative process and performance as a method of research for understanding self-in-context through the lens of my own artistic research for “Dress in Something Plain and Dark,” a project exploring my relationship as a woman to Mennonite religious and cultural identity, spirituality, and dance. Situating my artistic work in relationship to the fields of creative autoethnography, queer and transborder performance art, and somatic dance practice, I discuss the distinctions and commonalities of approach, methods, and practice of artists working in these fields, and the shared challenges of marginalization, translation, and contextualization. In response to these challenges, and the inadequacy of linear, Western, individualistic and mechanistic frameworks to address them, I draw from the ethnographic work of de la Garza, (formerly González, 2000) to seek a “creation-centered” ontological framework that the artist-researcher-performer may use to understand and contextualize their work. I offer the tree as an ontology to understand the organic, emergent nature of creative process, the stages of growth and seasonal cycles, and the structural parts that make up the creative and performative processes, and illustrate this model through a discussion of the growth of “Dress in Something Plain and Dark,” as it has emerged over two cyclical “seasons” of maturation.
Note: This work of creative scholarship is rooted in collaboration between three female artist-scholars: Carly Bates, Raji Ganesan, and Allyson Yoder. Working from a common intersectional, feminist framework, we served as artistic co-directors of each other’s solo pieces and co-producers of Negotiations, in which we share these pieces alongside each other. Negotiations is not a showcase of three individual works, but a conversation among three voices. As collaborators, we have been uncompromising in the pursuit of our own unique inquiries and voices and each of our works of creative scholarship stand alone. However, we believe that all of the parts are best understood in relationship to each other and to the whole. For this reason, we have chosen to cross-reference our thesis documents here, and we encourage readers to view the performance of Negotiations in its entirety.
Thesis documents cross-referenced:
French Vanilla: An Exploration of Biracial Identity Through Narrative Performance, by Carly Bates
Bhairavi: A Performance-Investigation of Belonging and Dis-Belonging in Diaspora Communities, by Raji Ganesan
Deep roots, shared fruits: Emergent creative process and the ecology of solo performance through “Dress in Something Plain and Dark,” by Allyson Yoder
Note: This work of creative scholarship is rooted in collaboration between three female artist-scholars: Carly Bates, Raji Ganesan, and Allyson Yoder. Working from a common intersectional, feminist framework, we served as artistic co-directors of each other’s solo pieces and co-producers of Negotiations, in which we share these pieces alongside each other. Negotiations is not a showcase of three individual works, but a conversation among three voices. As collaborators, we have been uncompromising in the pursuit of our own unique inquiries and voices and each of our works of creative scholarship stand alone. However, we believe that all of the parts are best understood in relationship to each other and to the whole. For this reason, we have chosen to cross-reference our thesis documents here, and we encourage readers to view the performance of Negotiations in its entirety.
Thesis documents cross-referenced:
French Vanilla: An Exploration of Biracial Identity Through Narrative Performance, by Carly Bates
Bhairavi: A Performance-Investigation of Belonging and Dis-Belonging in Diaspora Communities, by Raji Ganesan
Deep roots, shared fruits: Emergent creative process and the ecology of solo performance through “Dress in Something Plain and Dark,” by Allyson Yoder
ContributorsYoder, Allyson Joy (Author) / de la Garza, Sarah Amira (Thesis director) / Ellsworth, Angela (Committee member) / DeWitt, Inertia Q. E. D. (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
What is known about the lives, and especially the private lives, of English women in the early modern era is not at all satisfactory in terms of sources, scope, or understanding. Because the act of writing and reading was already exclusive to the upper classes, what sources do survive are not representative of the majority of the female population, leading to more speculation on behalf of historians. The sources which do survive, by and large focus on the role of religion and spirituality in a woman's life, since it was the most acceptable reason for an early modern woman to be writing about. However, I hoped to prove how women were interested in more than just self-improvement through religious devotion, thereby demonstrating that early modern English women were as complex and rich in personality and interests as a modern woman might consider herself to be. After a brief introduction and explanation of the research process, this project then begins to individually analyze the three women who were chosen for study based on their mutual practice of keeping a diary during their lives in early modern England. These women were Elizabeth Freke, Lady Sarah Cowper, and Mary, Countess Cowper, all of whom operated within the feminine social hierarchy during this period, but each of whom demonstrated a particular interest beyond that of marriage and family, including economics, religion, and politics. I believe that each woman analyzed proved how unique and varied the lives of early modern English women were through their writings.
ContributorsVetterl, Victoria Lee (Author) / Warnicke, Retha (Thesis director) / Looser, Devoney (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
"The Problem of Hope: Literary Tragedy in Mid-Twentieth Century American Fiction" examines Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar through the lens of tragedy. This thesis delves into how conflicts between internal and external identities can create a tragic individual, what kinds of success count toward achievement of the "American Dream," and whether the tragic "common man" is the socially normative one or the socially disenfranchised one. It raises a three-dimensional theoretical approach to American tragedy and, most importantly, considers the significance of tragic hope for American literature. This paper questions the construction of American identities across class, race, and gender according to social scripts. It seeks to uncover what forces these scripts exert on American cultural myths and rereads those myths through tragedy to explore Miller's idea of a noble common man. By moving from Miller to Ellison to Plath, this thesis traces the undercurrents of tragedy through some of the most identity-focused novels of mid-twentieth century American fiction to see how the overarching American narrative changed from 1940 to 1969 as the US underwent significant social changes domestically and image changes abroad. Ultimately, this paper concludes that tragedy in mid-twentieth century American fiction points toward a new idea of American success as a success that occurs beyond social scripts.
ContributorsMedeiros, Amy Marie (Author) / Holbo, Christine (Thesis director) / Sadowski-Smith, Claudia (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This project explores the promise and peril of networked self-portraits, focusing on comparisons between artists Andy Warhol and Cindy Sherman, celebrity and reality star Kim Kardashian, Democratic presidential candidate and former first lady Hillary Clinton, and artists Rafia Santana and Alexandra Marzella. I defined selfies as networked self-portraits using a front-facing camera. My introduction is more or less a literature review of photographic theory and art history texts, but all the significant themes brought up in that are relevant to the rest of my arguments. The arguments draw from feminist visual theory including Laura Mulvey, art history texts, as well as critical race theorists like Franz Fanon. While I chose four artists in my examination, I used them as a jumping off point to talk about how identity can be networked and what it means for small slices of life to be photographed and spread via social media. I decided to include feminist visual theory to inform my exploration of female bodies, especially how mediation sets up normative behaviors and representations. I used race theory to talk about visibility of people of color, especially in contrast to the white artists I talked about in my thesis. By way of Kardashian and Clinton, I explored the idea of celebrity and visual culture, as well as motherhood and what femininity could look like in the 21st century. I tend not to make any sweeping conclusions about the best way to network femininity using selfies, but rather explore the different challenges that women face when they place historically-policed bodies into what could be a digital utopia online.
ContributorsNorthfelt, Peter (Author) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Popular culture tends to downplay strong female characters to favor a plethora of male figures that children look up to as heroes. This creates a gender imbalance in exposure to inspirational characters that children can look up to as role models. For our team's creative project, we chose to write and illustrate a children's book mainly targeted at young girls, ages eight to twelve that focuses on the stories of selected female figures of Norse mythology. The five stories in our collection focus on the figures Frigg, Skadi, Elli, Idunn, and Freya and are inspired by the mythology contained in the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson and selected medieval texts on the Germanic Lombard tribe. Through our book, Women of Norse Myth: For Little Goddesses, we wanted to introduce children to Norse mythology, a branch of myth that is often overshadowed by more popular mythologies such as Roman and Greek. Additionally, our goal was to bring light to the female figures within Norse myth that are generally given less attention than their male counterparts. Keeping in mind these goals, the stories were adapted from the original myths in a manner that would be suitable for a young audience as well as our aim for female empowerment. The final manuscript contains an introduction to Norse cosmology, introductions to the figures, a glossary of Norse terms used, and the illustrated stories themselves. Together with our combined talents, interests, and goals, Women of Norse Myth: For Little Goddesses was completed, and we hope that someday it can be published and serve as a fun and inspiring storybook for children to read and learn from.
ContributorsFarine, Brittany (Co-author) / Muth, Margaret (Co-author) / Youngjohn, Trystan (Co-author) / Alexander, John (Thesis director) / Wells, Cornelia (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This project focuses on techniques contemporary American poets use in their work. Ten different poetry collections are analyzed for dominant writing styles and techniques, which I then apply to my own poems, concentrating on modeling that particular poet. I then reflect on those poems through an evaluation of my writing process, how those techniques were implemented, and how they affected the poem. In addition to these reviews and reflections, I also wrote three articles about the literary community and what I've learned from my interactions in that community. All these materials are organized into a website, which shows the connections between the different writings via links and menus. Creating this website brings all the materials together to demonstrate my growth as a poet, writer, and designer. This heavy focus on poetry and analysis has helped sharpen my critical thinking skills and has better prepared me for a career in design and journalism.
ContributorsHansen, Elizabeth Sarah (Author) / Murphy, Patricia (Thesis director) / Savard, Jeannine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This honors thesis features a translation of Andrés Bello’s “Historia físicia y política de Chile por Claudio Gay” that had never before been reproduced in English, as well as a discussion of translation theories and a biographical sketch of Andrés Bello, a prolific Latin American author and philosopher. The goals of this thesis include promoting Latin American literature, bringing awareness to Bello’s contributions to Chile’s history, and promoting translation as a creative form of education.
ContributorsDominick, Alicia Lorae (Author) / Humphrey, Ted (Thesis director) / Martinez, Maria Teresa (Committee member) / Burke, Janet (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper explores how marginalist economics defines and inevitably constrains Victorian sensation fiction's content and composition. I argue that economic intuition implies that sensationalist heroes and antagonists, writers and readers all pursued a fundamental, "rational" aim: the attainment of pleasure. So although "sensationalism" took on connotations of moral impropriety in the Victorian age, sensation fiction primarily involves experiences of pain on the page that excite the reader's pleasure. As such, sensationalism as a whole can be seen as a conformist product, one which mirrors the effects of all commodities on the market, rather than as a rebellious one. Indeed, contrary to modern and contemporary critics' assumptions, sensation fiction may not be as scandalous as it seems.
ContributorsFischer, Brett Andrew (Author) / Bivona, Daniel (Thesis director) / Looser, Devoney (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The Walt Disney Company has been a worldwide phenomenon for over half a century. Disney's animated films in particular impact a large number of individuals around the world. The fact that they rerelease popular films every few years lends to the lasting influence these movies will hold in the lives of children to come. It is important to examine the messages Disney animated films can teach children in regards to women's roles, United States history, and racial difference. This essay examines these topics as they appear in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, and The Lion King. Lastly, it examines the potential impact these films can leave on children and suggests ways in which adults can help children analyze what they see in the media.
ContributorsMonnig, Elizabeth Ann (Author) / Baker, Aaron (Thesis director) / Sandlin, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
My honors thesis, entitled “Conversing with Angels: John Dee and His Quest for Divine Knowledge”, was a study of the Elizabethan scholar John Dee and the angelic conversations he is most known for. I decided to focus my work on the nature of the conversations, as well as looking for an answer to the question of why Dee spent years of his life figuring out how to contact, invoke, and converse with God’s divine beings. After extensive research I found five scholars whose works held six different arguments as to Dee’s motivations for the conversations.
I began my thesis discussing the conversations themselves, starting with Dee’s scryer, Edward Kelly, and the ways in which he was able to contact the angels. I also went into detail about the prayers and psalms Dee used to invoke the angels, as well as the multiple topics discussed throughout the conversations. I found that Dee’s transcriptions of the conversations were written in a form of short hand, and often included his own commentary to go along with what the angels told him. After the general overview of the process that let to the conversations, as well as the conversations themselves, I moved on to discussing the six different arguments from the five scholars: Deborah Harkness, Nicholas Cluelee, Stephen Clucas, György Szönyi, and Stuart Clark.
A quick rundown of each argument is as follows. Deborah Harkness argued that Dee’s conversations found their root in apocalyptic concerns, while Harkness and György Szönyi believed he was trying to bring religious reformation to the world. Stephen Clucas felt Dee was doing everything to bring glory to God, and Nicholas Cluelee claimed Dee was conversing with angels for a purely scholarly reason. Finally, Stuart Clark played devils advocate and argued that Dee was not actually talking to angels, but rather to demons.
After much consideration, taking each of the six interpretations into account, I concluded my thesis by arguing in agreement with György Szönyi and Nicholas Cluelee. I believed, like Szönyi, that Dee was doing all of this work to bring glory to God. But that was most likely only to a lesser extent, for when it comes to Dee’s main reasoning behind the conversations, I argued, like Cluelee, that Dee was a scholar through and through. He had spent his whole life chasing after the idea of omniscience, finally looking to the heavens in hopes that God would share his divine knowledge. Therefore, while Dee might have been conversing with angels for many different reasons, I believe that the main reason was somewhat selfish. He was a scholar with the chance to learn the secrets and knowledge of the divine, there was no other motivation needed.
I began my thesis discussing the conversations themselves, starting with Dee’s scryer, Edward Kelly, and the ways in which he was able to contact the angels. I also went into detail about the prayers and psalms Dee used to invoke the angels, as well as the multiple topics discussed throughout the conversations. I found that Dee’s transcriptions of the conversations were written in a form of short hand, and often included his own commentary to go along with what the angels told him. After the general overview of the process that let to the conversations, as well as the conversations themselves, I moved on to discussing the six different arguments from the five scholars: Deborah Harkness, Nicholas Cluelee, Stephen Clucas, György Szönyi, and Stuart Clark.
A quick rundown of each argument is as follows. Deborah Harkness argued that Dee’s conversations found their root in apocalyptic concerns, while Harkness and György Szönyi believed he was trying to bring religious reformation to the world. Stephen Clucas felt Dee was doing everything to bring glory to God, and Nicholas Cluelee claimed Dee was conversing with angels for a purely scholarly reason. Finally, Stuart Clark played devils advocate and argued that Dee was not actually talking to angels, but rather to demons.
After much consideration, taking each of the six interpretations into account, I concluded my thesis by arguing in agreement with György Szönyi and Nicholas Cluelee. I believed, like Szönyi, that Dee was doing all of this work to bring glory to God. But that was most likely only to a lesser extent, for when it comes to Dee’s main reasoning behind the conversations, I argued, like Cluelee, that Dee was a scholar through and through. He had spent his whole life chasing after the idea of omniscience, finally looking to the heavens in hopes that God would share his divine knowledge. Therefore, while Dee might have been conversing with angels for many different reasons, I believe that the main reason was somewhat selfish. He was a scholar with the chance to learn the secrets and knowledge of the divine, there was no other motivation needed.
ContributorsBosak, Lindsey Rae (Author) / Barnes, Andrew (Thesis director) / Wright, Kent (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-12