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Growing Toward Light
No full textIn my work, I explore the experience of making art as a tool to move away from despair and towards hope for the environment. As an environmentalist and artist, my process-based art is a counteraction to paralyzing feelings of fear and helplessness that arise through living with and studying climate change. Care and regeneration are both the means and the goal; I exercise care for my immediate surroundings in order to receive care from them. In this work, I develop my personal relationship with Mount Holyoke campus, and one small room within it, as a model for caring and mutually supportive relationships between larger communities and ecosystems. I immerse myself deeply in time spent making and observing, and relinquish control of the visual forms of my work in favor of working in generative partnership with the light, water, spaces, and living things which construct and inhabit my ecosystem. I focus on the cyclicality and foundationally nourishing nature of sunlight as a metaphor for the promise of ecological renewal. In my writing and making, I am inspired and informed by James Turrell’s Roden Crater, Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s Maintenance Art Manifesto!, Glenn Albrecht’s Earth Emotions, and Andreas Weber’s Enlivenment: Toward a Poetics for the Anthropocene. These artists and writers reflect the relationships between individuals, spaces, and living ecosystems that I engage with in Growing Toward Light. This work is the manifestation of my effort to redefine my relationship with my environment through a collection of meditative and ritual art practices focusing on renewal, care, and complex ecological interrelations.Art Studi
Soft robotic actuation with pressure-driven magnetorheological (MR) fluid flow
No full textSoft robots can complete tasks that rigid robots cannot. These compliant, dexterous machines are well suited to delicate tasks in difficult environments such as within the human body and the deep sea. Fluidically actuated robots are popular due to their simple design, high force output, and safety. However, complex robots often consist of many actuators working together. These actuators can be difficult to control independently, and require many bulky tubes limiting the robots’ autonomy. Many techniques have been employed to integrate pressure control directly onboard the robots themselves, including using smart fluids like magnetorheological fluid (MRF). This project explores the use of MRF to actuate soft robots. The device flows MRF through the actuator using a peristaltic pump, and an applied magnetic field initiates actuation by locally solidifying the fluid. This creates a pressure buildup in the actuator, which bends due to a differential stiffness. We investigate how different properties of the MRF (particle size, non-Newtonian rheology, etc.) affect actuation efficacy. The actuation efficacy is quantified by the speed of actuation and the force produced by the actuator. The results are compared to determine the best combination of MRF parameters and device architecture for robust actuation.Physic
The Effect of Primes on Semantic Deviation Detection in English and Spanish Bilinguals
No full textInvestigations into the dynamics of multiple language systems have gained traction in
recent years. Research has established that foreign language mastery is achievable in adulthood and that multilingual reading activates parallel processing systems (Marian & Shook, 2012). However, bilingual comprehension mechanisms at the level of complex text remain largely unexplored. Previous studies (Perez et al., 2019) suggest that working memory, cognitive control, and proficiency aid multiple language processing. Nevertheless, there is a gap in knowledge about how contextual resources (primes) aid in the detection of errors in the text via revision of existing ideas and representations about the text. This study sought to use the N400 event-related potential to provide insight into the ease of processing in regard to reading comprehension. It explored semantic error detection as a marker of language comprehension and shed light on the role of context clues in bilingual reading processes.Psychology & Educatio
Witches, Devils, Madonnas, and Fairies: Tradition and Innovation in Verdi’s Adaptations of Shakespeare
No full textWilliam Shakespeare is one of the most adapted playwrights of all time; film, stage, and musical adaptations abound since the late seventeenth century. In the world of music, art songs, ballets, operas, musicals, symphonies, vaudeville, and more have been inspired by the works of Shakespeare; in addition to composers creating incidental music for the plays themselves. Of the Shakespeare-inspired operas, perhaps the most famous are those of Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth (1847), Otello (1887), and Falstaff (1893). In this thesis, I explore the overall effect of each of Verdi’s Shakespeare operas through the way in which he and his librettists develop major characters and emphasize thematic elements. I discuss the production history of each of the plays these operas were based on, making connections between standard performance practice and the way that the characters are depicted in Verdi’s operas. In addition, I address not only operatic tradition and how these conventions shaped Verdi’s adaptations, but also how Verdi’s operas pushed back against these conventions, creating a new style of opera.
Music’s role in conveying a story has shifted throughout opera’s history. From opera’s first emergence, music was generally the most important aspect of performance—often treated as more important than story. Although structures shifted over the next century, the emphasis on music remained. Prima donna and virtuoso culture allowed the singers more prerogative in changing a composer’s score, often to include more embellishments or impressive notes. Verdi had to contend with the power of individual singers and impresarios throughout the beginning of his career, but was soon able to gain enough power himself to put the story first.
Although Verdi’s operas are often considered among the most faithful to Shakespeare’s original works, he had to reconcile operatic convention with the innovations that Shakespeare's plots require. Because he did not speak English, Verdi was also relying on translations of these plays rather than the originals themselves; the difference in languages combined with artistic liberties on the part of the translator may alter a reader’s understanding of these translations. As a result, the Verdian versions of Shakespeare’s characters differ from their original counterparts. I will be looking closely at a number of these characters—Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the Witches; Desdemona and Iago; and Falstaff and the Merry Wives—in an attempt to analyze what elements of the characters were altered in translation while also acknowledging the dimensions gained. A key element that has emerged throughout my discussion of the three operas is the way in which the female characters in Verdi’s operas are given power they do not have in the plays through their supernatural connections.Theatre Art
Low Power Public Spheres: Localism, Advocacy and Political Economies in LPFM Radio Stations
No full textLow-power FM radio stations allow organizations broadcast at interval frequencies between those occupied by commercial radio stations. In 2000, the FCC ruled to grant licenses to select community radio stations across the country to broadcast on these airwaves. Given current crises of media conglomeration and a history of political activism from these low-wattage stations, it is imperative to continually understand how these stations function in an ever-changing media landscape. This case-study contains interviews with eight individuals who volunteer as programmers at a single LPFM station aimed at better understanding how contemporary community radio functions. The findings suggest that though participants pride themselves on their independence from the broader radio field, innovations in streaming and volunteer-based political economies in some ways limit LPFM’s ability to distinguish itself from commercial constraints. However, despite the changes occurring for programmers, audience engagement and advocacy-based programming are still highly prioritized in unique ways.Critical Social Though
Fredscape: Maximalism and Trans Identity
No full textI am an interdisciplinary artist working with many materials ranging from handmade paper to craft gems and found objects. Through my senior thesis project I explored maximalism and excess in relation to my trans identity through repetition, pattern and bedazzling. The work aims to bring the viewer into a colorful, playful perception of my own gender. FREDSCAPE is a site-specific installation brought to life in the Blanchard Gallery. In utilizing a stencil modeled from a 1970s do-it-at-home kit marketed toward housewives, I distorted its original usage and created a rich pattern filled with colors that nod to traditional stereotypes of gender in the United States. In FREDSCAPE delicate handmade paper is transformed with additions of gems and stenciled paint. FREDSCAPE explores the visuals of grids as containment and organization, in addition to the moments where a grid cannot confine one’s self expression. I invite viewers into the space to experience my perception of my own gender identity in its multitudes, maximalism and chaos. In addition to maximalism the archive and the concept of the living archive were central focuses of my work. Artists that engage maximalism and/or archiving of themselves and their experiences were inspirations for this project such as Trenton Doyle Hancock and Tseng Kwong Chi. Additionally artist and educator Maree Clarke’s work informed my thinking surrounding the living archive.Art Studi
Major Transitions: Cultural Capital and Major Selection for Chinese International Students at Historically Women’s Liberal Arts Colleges
No full textThis thesis explores major selection for Chinese international students and the role of cultural capital in this process. Previous research has predominantly examined the impact of cultural capital on academic achievement among domestic students, with limited attention given to its role in shaping college major selection, particularly among Chinese international students. This thesis uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the process of major selection and the transition of cultural capital across nations. The findings reveal that cultural capital accumulated through strategic approaches employed by families at different life stages significantly influences the major selection process for Chinese international students, particularly women. Specifically, embodied cultural capital acquired through pre-high school cultural activities decreases the likelihood of choosing STEM majors. Furthermore, science-related cultural capital influences the significance of career aspirations in major selection, highlighting the role of parental education in this process. Additionally, parents play an active role in shaping their children's major selection through strategic plans, such as investing in shadow education and working with private counselors. Shadow education develops both embodied and institutionalized cultural capital, indirectly influencing college major choices. Accessing private counseling services facilitates the transition to U.S. colleges, enabling the acquisition of transnational cultural capital, and impacting the selection away from STEM fields.Sociology & Anthropolog
Regulation of Programmed Cell Death by Diap 1 and Dronc During Drosophila Metamorphosis
No full textProgrammed Cell Death (PCD) is a tightly regulated process in which organismal cells and tissues undergo self-destruction (Green & Llambi, 2015). In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, most of the larval tissues undergo PCD during metamorphosis under tight regulation by 20-hydroxyecdysone (ecdysone) signaling. During the first 12 hours of metamorphosis, ecdysone signaling works in two pulses; one at the end of the third instar larval stage and one at 12 hours after puparium formation (puparium formation is the onset of metamorphosis) (Lee et al., 2002). This signaling pathway induces the death activator genes that drive PCD. In contrast, the E3-ubiquitin ligase Diap1 inhibits PCD (Steller, 2008; Yin & Thummel, 2004). Several studies have examined the interaction between Diap1 and Dronc in regulating PCD in Drosophila. While Diap1 is necessary for the inhibition of unwanted cell death, Dronc, the initiator caspase, is necessary for promoting PCD. Dronc is activated when Diap1 undergoes auto-ubiquitination by the death activator genes, stopping the inhibitory actions of Dronc (Lee et al., 2002; Steller, 2008; Yin & Thummel, 2004).
Not all the tissues in Drosophila undergo PCD during metamorphosis; the larval fat body undergoes remodeling rather than destruction during metamorphosis (Agulia et al., 2007). The fat body cells are resistant to PCD, unlike other larval tissues such as the larval salivary glands. The larval fat body has the function of storing energy for the development of the pupa (Agulia et al., 2007). Following previous studies, this study examines programmed cell death and its regulatory pathways in more depth. The hypothesis is that high Dronc expression and low Diap1 expression in the larval salivary gland cells will lead to the destruction of that organ by PCD, and that low Dronc and high Diap1 expression in the larval fat body cells inhibit PCD. My findings indicate that Dronc is underexpressed in the larval fat body relative to the larval salivary gland, supporting my hypothesis. Unfortunately, the results of my experiment with Diap1 are inconclusive due to poor RT-PCR primer efficiency. The findings from this study provide valuable insights into the regulation of PCD, which aid in our understanding of disorders caused by PCD misregulation.Biological Science
EXPLORING THE SELF: RECONSTRUCT THE PAST AND IMAGINE THE FUTURE
No full textMy artworks reflect my identity expression based on a range of cultural norms that I have experienced in my life. Through my studio practice, I express my autonomy and rebellion against the patriarchal social expectations regarding how I am supposed to think or behave. I implement cultural change by sharing my personal worldview through my artworks as I reach toward reconciliation within myself.
Inspired by contemporary female artists from China and the United States, I remix my autobiographical experiences with Chinese ideologies and folk tales, and Western contemporary feminist literature. The resulting images are featured in a series of charcoal drawings and acrylic paintings, where the former is influenced by traditional Chinese landscape paintings and Daoist beliefs about nature and humans, while the latter features expressive brushstrokes inspired by Western ideas about automatic drawings revealing subconscious thoughts. Ultimately, these two approaches are fused into a double-sided artwork: the charcoal drawings are attached to the back of the acrylic paintings on stretched canvas, demonstrating the inseparable and mutually-inclusive nature of the impact of the two cultures that affect my artistic expression and personality.
My thesis project is a visual interpretation of feminism and feminist cultural productions. I articulate my own complexity as an independent human being, ultimately proclaiming self-autonomy and emancipation through a series of expressive paintings.Art Studi
The National Agreement for Language: a contemporary exploration of the function of Catalan from a glottopolitical perspective
No full textThis thesis explores the process of El Pacte Nacional per la Llengua (henceforth: PNPL), a contemporary initiative in Catalonia, Spain by the Generalitat of Catalonia, its Department of Culture and its Secretariat for Language Policy, to improve the linguistic situation of Catalan, in terms of its use and the population’s competency. The PNPL, which was mandated by a 2021 resolution of the Catalonian Parliament, has sought to study the current linguistic situation through a sociolinguistic report, to inform both citizens and organizations of its findings and efforts, and to encourage widespread participation in the process. Besides justifying a glottopolitical study of the PNPL, describing the process, documenting the materials it has produced, and contextualizing it historically, this thesis addresses the way in which the sociolinguistic report talks about language, drawing on Riera Gil (2013) and Woolard (2016 & 2018) to consider the PNPL alongside the concept of common language and the ideology of linguistic anonymity. The thesis ends with a consideration of how the sociolinguistic report views the juridical framework which pertains to Catalan, dialoguing with the overarching perspective of this thesis, glottopolitics, as well as theories regarding language rights.Spanish, Latina/o, & Latin American Studie