Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2024, Geography

This research conducts an analysis of urban change in Toledo, Ohio. While not explicitly stated in planning, “rightsizing” strategies that are emerging in legacy cities across America's Rust Belt as a response to decline are being implemented in Toledo. Targeted investments, particularly in the form of downtown revitalization, and targeted demolition alike are rightsizing strategies being implemented in Toledo. These strategies are being carried out through various forms of intergovernmental collaboration and public-private partnerships. They are being justified in the name of urban beautification, neighborhood revitalization, productivity, and public safety.

Committee: Yeong Kim (Advisor) Subjects: Geography; Political Science; Urban Planning

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2020, English

This paper looks at Donald Trump's rhetoric of nostalgia and how it influenced voting within Appalachia and the Rust Belt. I argue that many voters within the two regions—often colloquialized as spiritual “others” within the United States—exemplify a desire for a past time in which they were of extreme importance to the country's industry, culture, and politics and how they influence the structure of modern day political campaigns. In 2016, both regions became the target of Donald Trump's popular message to “Make America Great Again” in which he promised to stimulate their economies through deregulation, new trade deals, and a reversal of numerous energy policies made by President Barack Obama and presidents before him. I argue that the politics of race and populism, as well as the rhetoric of nostalgia, play extremely important roles in how Appalachia and the Rust Belt vote and that the 2016 election created both a newly reinvigorated interest in politics and a step back into anachronistic beliefs of xenophobia, racism, and distrust in the system.

Committee: Stephen Wilhoit Dr. (Committee Chair); Jennifer Haan Dr. (Committee Member); Tereza Szeghi Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Rhetoric

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ohio University, 2019, Business Administration

High-growth industrial clusters can be engines of economic growth through the development of human capital, knowledge spillovers, and early-stage investment. For the past 50 years, Stanford University has been a catalyst in developing Silicon Valley as a global center for technology innovation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ohio University now has the opportunity to leverage the Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) and Russ Research Center (RRC) to play a similar role in producing an industrial cluster centered around emerging technologies in aerospace and defense in the greater Dayton, Ohio area. A significant gift from noted alumni Fritz and Dolores Russ provided Ohio University with the RRC in Southwest Ohio, and Ohio University's usage of this facility could result in significant financial and social return on investment for the University and the State of Ohio. This work looks to explore the structures and components of industrial clusters, the economy of the greater Dayton region and Ohio University's potential role in the Dayton ecosystem through the RRC. The overall objective is to provide decisionmakers at Ohio University with a comprehensive foundation to facilitate discussion surrounding utilization of the RRC. In 1994, Fritz and Dolores Russ (Ohio '42) presented plans to donate property in Beavercreek, Ohio to Ohio University when current tenants' leases expired. As part of this $124 million gift, which remains the largest donation to any public or private engineering school in the country, Ohio University named the College of Engineering and Technology after the Russ family (Keller, 1996). When Fritz and Dolores passed away in 2006 and 2008, respectively, Ohio University took ownership of the property and renamed it the “Russ Research Center.” In addition to the gift, the Russ family's professional legacy carries significant weight. After working at WPAFB, Fritz and Dolores Russ founded a leading electronic and automation corporation called Syste (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Benedict MBA (Advisor); Raymond Frost PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Economic Theory; Economics; Geography

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2019, Educational Leadership

Since the emergence of the industrial revolution and throughout the information age, secondary schools in the United States have increased curricular rigor and accountability, in hopes of producing students capable of pursuing postsecondary education and generating a viable workforce in order to further economic growth. A large disparity still remains in postsecondary educational attainment when we compare high-SES to middle- and low-SES students. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to examine the phenomena of students from a Rust Belt community transitioning to postsecondary through the theoretical framework of Tinto's (2017) theory of persistence. High school graduates from the classes of 2008 through 2013 in southwest Ohio were asked to participate in a narrative interview process. Eleven open-ended interview questions were designed to provide the opportunity for participants to convey their experiences and make sense of their life in relationship to the guiding question. Four prevalent themes were generated: motivation for change, financial independence, thinking about thinking, and sense of belonging. The results of this study bring attention to the children of the precariat and their motivation for employment and financial security. Participants reflected on their academic preparation, but also identified a need to readjust their method of learning in postsecondary. A key experience enabling students to persevere was an earnest desire to take advantage of social networks in and outside of their postsecondary institution. This study reveals the potential financial trap that students from a Rust Belt community face and gives credence to the need for further financial education within secondary. Additionally, participants being self-reliant during critical decision-making periods brings attention to the need for more guidance, potentially in the form of individualized learning plans. Due to the findings of this research, school syst (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joel Malin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Lucian Szlizewski Ph.D. (Committee Member); Adam Beissel Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Sociology

Since the mid-1900s, former industrial strongholds in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States—the Rust Belt—have struggled with population loss and economic declines stemming from deindustrialization. These cities have tried a number of revitalization strategies, which have been largely (though not completely) unsuccessful. The latest attempt in several of these cities is immigrant-driven revitalization, where the cities try to create a positive context of reception in an attempt to attract immigrants who could restore their populations, rebuild their neighborhoods, and restart their economies. This dissertation focuses on the challenges these cities face in implementing these strategies. I focus on three main challenges: 1) the difficulty inherent in trying to create a positive context of reception; 2) the difficulty inherent in providing services to a small, diverse, and disadvantaged (in this case, disproportionately refugee) population; and 3) difficulties created by decentralization and federalization. Using a combination of data from municipal codes, newspaper archives, the Census, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and Immigrations and Customs enforcement, the empirical chapters focus on these three challenges. Chapter 2 considers how official policymaking efforts—policies that are codified in the city's municipal code—affect the context of reception in 16 Rust Belt cities. I consider both whether cities are passing new policies with the intent of changing their context of reception, and whether they have existing policies on the books that could affect immigrant experiences. I find that with the exception of two cities—Chicago and Detroit—these cities are not passing new immigration laws, and that they all maintain existing laws that can both positively and negatively affect the context of reception. If these cities are trying to attract immigrants as a revitalization strategy, most of them are not doing it through changes to the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Rachel Dwyer (Advisor); Reanne Frank (Committee Member); Dana Haynie (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

MA, Kent State University, 2017, College of the Arts / School of Art

In this body of work I am addressing some of the social issues of the small Rust Belt city that I grew up in which include poverty, addiction and loss of the labor industries. Located on the banks of the Ohio River, East Liverpool, Ohio became impoverished during the Great Depression and never quite recovered from it. It has a unique story, it was the pottery capital of the United States for a brief period and this is still very important to the local community. It is kept alive by local historians and collectors, a museum which features ceramics from the local potteries and three potteries which are still in operation today. The artwork that I created around this history includes symbols from the region filtered through my personal lens. There are underlying themes addressing my personal view on classism which was shaped by many artists such as Diego Rivera, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and Walid Raad as well as the novella Flatland by Edwin Abbott and the writings of Karl Marx. Flatland is represented visually through the geometric cobalt drawings on the ceramics; the triangles and lines represent the working class and women of the community within the universe of Flatland. The geometric pattern also represents my own thoughts on classism and inequality. The English potters who came and established the pottery industry in East Liverpool created pottery within the European tradition which included white porcelain with intricate cobalt drawings. My pattern is a looser and more gestural riff on this tradition. I have also drawn from particular memories in my childhood, for example, the days that I witnessed the coal barges being pushed down the river towards the power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. All of these things coalesce in this body of work to tell a personal story about the history of East Liverpool, Ohio and the swift loss of its chief source of pride.

Committee: Isabel Farnsworth (Advisor); Taryn McMahon (Committee Member); John-Michael Warner (Committee Member) Subjects: Fine Arts

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2017, Theatre Arts-Arts Administration

In Youngstown, Ohio and the Mahoning Valley region, the arts community and local economic leaders of the city wanted to jumpstart innovative change that would improve the quality of life for residents, and develop solutions to attract new businesses and organizations to be a part of the community. Discussion among artists and economic leaders were made to inspire the arts and economic development sectors to work together. However, there was an equal number of doubts expressed about the possibilities of coordinated plans to improve the state of Youngstown's community by implementing art throughout the public spaces. The purpose of this research was to study perceptions about the arts in Youngstown, Ohio in order to learn more about the feasibility of public art in the community and to better understand how to implement an arts-focused plan to strengthen the economy of Youngstown, Ohio. This study was conducted to investigate arts practitioners' and consumers' perceptions about the arts community's potential economic impact on Youngstown. Also, the study considered these perceptions when analyzing the importance of incorporating public art to encourage economic growth and development.

Committee: Elisa Gargarella Dr. (Advisor); Dominic Marchionda (Committee Member); Raymond Cox, III Dr. (Other) Subjects: Arts Management; Business Administration; Business Community; Economic Theory; Entrepreneurship; Fine Arts; Public Administration; Urban Planning

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Youngstown State University, 2017, Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing)

This collection of thematically and geographically linked stories takes place in the fictional northeast Ohio town of Miles Junction and the surrounding area, including the real city of Youngstown, and explores a number of experiences within the working-class culture. Violence, revenge, financial insecurity, family dysfunction, love, forgiveness, and addiction are among the many themes running throughout the text. Set against a backdrop of deindustrialization and economic depression in the last few decades of the twentieth century and the first years of the new millennium, these stories employ a number of different literary modes—including American Gothic, noir, coming-of-age, and “dirty” domestic realism—in order to examine the tensions not only between individuals and groups but also between the past and the present and how these tensions govern our choices and trajectory as we move into the future.

Committee: Christopher Barzak MFA (Advisor); Steven Reese PhD (Committee Member); Eric Wasserman MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Families and Family Life; Literature

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, City and Regional Planning

In the aftermath of the Great Recession, welcoming initiatives aimed specifically at attracting first generation immigrant entrepreneurs for their economic benefits are launching in shrinking cities of the Rust Belt in the Midwestern United States. However, with their narrow focus on economic benefits, these initiatives may be overlooking the spatial or community development impacts of immigrant entrepreneurship which have a strong effect on the reinvention and indeed resilience that cities are seeking to achieve by attracting immigrant entrepreneurs. The main objective of this research is to examine first generation immigrant entrepreneurship within the context of immigrant welcoming policies and plans. The five initiatives under investigation - Agenda 360 (Cincinnati), Welcome Dayton, Global Detroit, Immigrant Welcome Center of Indianapolis, and St. Louis Mosaic Project - are the longest standing consistent members of the Welcoming Economies Global Network and its predecessor organization known as the Global Great Lakes Initiative. These initiatives have the most established programming and longest track records of all member initiatives. This dissertation begins with a review of the academic literature related to the non-spatial and spatial impacts of immigrant entrepreneurship. It then presents Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analyses of each of the initiatives, a social justice framework analysis of the Welcome Dayton Plan, and an examination of eight existing indices of urban resilience. Findings include common strengths and opportunities such as peer-to-peer programs, ethnic chambers of commerce, and existing immigrant communities, as well as common weaknesses and threats such as small staff sizes, limited sources of funding, and a lack of evaluation metrics. The success of welcoming initiatives will be mitigated by external threats such as federal immigration policy, negative sentiment toward immigrants, and competing welcoming i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bernadette Hanlon (Advisor); Jack Nasar (Committee Member); Kareem Usher (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2016, Environmental Sciences

This final report provides a description of my professional experience, as well as the academic and theoretical underpinnings that have guided my approach and decision making throughout my practicum and early career experiences. To begin with, my fellowship encompassed a vast range of projects, responsibilities, and assignments that varied in degree of ownership, input, and outcome. There are three experiences that will clearly illustrate a city aggressively trying to remake itself. In the pages that follow, I will connect my varied experiences at the City of Hamilton. Beginning with my fellowship position I will discuss the redevelopment campaign I directed and then I will continue to discuss the projects that I am working on in my current position. The fellowship position provided a logical transition from the theoretical into the practical application of local government. The Institute for the Environment and Sustainability (IES) provided a solid foundation upon which to develop my skills and put them to practical use. The common thread amongst these three projects is the role that they play in a city's revitalization.

Committee: Michele Simmons Ph.D (Committee Chair) Subjects: Environmental Science; Public Health Education; Sustainability; Urban Planning

MFA, Kent State University, 2016, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design

Post-industrial cities today are experiencing an influx of new generations moving into local urban communities. Street culture and walkable downtowns and districts are progressively developing in these urban areas, and the need is present for safer and interconnected bicycle infrastructure. Research has proven that the success of a walkable and bikeable environment plays a significant role in the comprehensive sustainability of a city. Therein lies an opportunity for design to help foster environmental experiences involving the urban streetscape. Experiential, or environmental, graphic design elements can improve the safety and connectivity of bicycle pathways for the betterment of the city as a whole. This investigation explores the value that environmental graphic design elements can contribute to the development of safer bicycle pathways, and further examines the role of wayfinding increasing the connectivity of urban bicycle networks. A case-study design investigation was executed involving districts and roadways in the near-west downtown Cleveland, Ohio area. The location is a primary link connecting west side neighborhoods to downtown Cleveland spanning three urban districts, making it a relevant area of study. This study uses design research tactics and prototypes to further understand how design can improve the user experience of Cleveland's bicycle pathways.

Committee: Ken Visocky O'Grady MFA (Advisor); Jessica Barness MFA (Committee Member); David Middleton MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Many post-industrial cities within the Rust Belt and around the world have had to deal with the population and economic loss associated with the readjustment of the manufacturing sector in the modern global economy. Cities throughout the world have been forced to reckon with a new landscape as their built environments must now respond to new economic activities and reduced populations. Some cities have fared better than others but all are dealing with new conditions within the landscape. In recent years Youngstown, Ohio has been forced to come to terms with the decades of negative effects that stemmed from the closing of its steel mills, the primary driver of its economy. In Youngstown, the landscape communicates loss and degradation, the shared history of the Rust Belt. Suburbanization and deindustrialization contribute to a sense of loss that is manifested in vacancy and overgrowth. Repurposing vacant lots that formerly have significant community importance will reframe the perception of the city and reorient the city's collective memory in a positive direction. The current landscape presents a new and permanent reality that must be rethought and retooled. Youngstown 2010 responds to this new reality through broad urban initiatives. However the large scope of the plan fails to physically reorient people in the landscape and adjust their zones of fixation or sites of interaction. Through localized interventions an architectural response can provide a physical and tangible anchor that allows for the interpretation of a new reality. Rather than reorganizing the physical landscape as the Youngstown 2010 plan suggests the landscape will be embedded with new purposes and will reorient people through and among the landscape reintroducing them to their present reality. A repurposing of Idora Park's former site must recall the purposes it once held, resurrecting its former assets that allow people to recover what was lost. It must redirect people in (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Aarati Kanekar Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Youngstown State University, 2013, Department of Criminal Justice and Consumer Sciences

The country's recent recession has been devastating to hundreds of thousands of cities and families across the United States. One of those cities is Youngstown, Ohio, where roughly forty years ago the closing of the steel industry created a regional crisis of its own. Having survived two major downfalls in less than half a century is one aspect that sets Rust Belt cities like Youngstown apart from other American cities. This research attempted to determine the influence of a city's location in the Rust Belt with crime. Other factors described by social disorganization theory as having a criminological effect were also tested. Crime rate data from 188 cities (94 Rust Belt cities each with an appropriately matched non-Rust Belt city) along with socioeconomic variables were evaluated using four stages of analysis--summary, comparison, correlation, and regression. While the location of a city was not shown to be statistically significantly related to crime, the percentage of married residents, percentage of adults with a high school education, and the percentage of the majority race were shown to be influential variables on crime. Analyzing crime rates and socioeconomic factors before, during, and after the era of steel in America will aid in increasing our understanding of the relationship between Rust Belt status and crime.

Committee: John Hazy Ph.D. (Advisor); Christopher Bellas Ph.D. (Committee Member); Richard Rogers Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology; Geography; History; Statistics

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2013, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Identity, whether it refers to a person or a country, is a fluid concept. It relies on layers of time and experience. Erasing built fabric in the city is comparable to erasing a person's memory, inevitably altering an overall character and sense of self. The rich industrial heritage of the U.S. survives in its architectural landmarks; but, in a postindustrial society, such places often fail to stay relevant to their surroundings. They face demolition or prolonged physical decay. These pockets of broken fabric elicit anxiety and uncertainty from a city's residents, representing a sort of cultural hesitation over how to proceed. This body of research explores the shift in the American psyche from industrial to postindustrial life, and the potential for reconciling conflicting American identities at former industrial sites through adaptive reuse.

Committee: Michael McInturf M.Arch. (Committee Chair); Aarati Kanekar Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2013, English

This collection of poems focuses on exploring the contemporary Rust Belt city and its likeness to the archetypal post-apocalyptic city. Specifically, the poems focus on Detroit as well as the relationship between person and place or space. Through this relationship, Detroit itself is exposed and dissected, shedding light on multiple social issues specific to the city proper. Newspapers were used in the creation of these poems as material for found text, and maps were used both as templates for exploring a text and as unique containers of text for pieces exploring the process of navigation. Through these methods, the reader is able to explore Detroit and various commonalities of a typical Rust Belt city in an array of ways.

Committee: cris cheek (Advisor); Margaret Luongo (Committee Member); Catherine Wagner (Committee Member) Subjects: Literature; Regional Studies; Social Research

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2013, English

This linked short story collection explores the concept of utilizing the genre of fiction to tell a true story. These nine stories all feature a single narrator-character, known simply as Nick, who interrogates his own past through the art of writing. The collection challenges the notions of conventional narrative tradition in terms of both its composition and its various styles of narration. In addition to their concern with fiction's ability to capture greater truths, these stories also investigate the themes of memory, trauma, and the subjective nature of reality, as well as the social and societal ramifications of working class life and the physical and psychological consequences of labor. Finally, the collection examines the ways in which place and region work towards the construction of persona.

Committee: Joseph Bates Dr. (Advisor); Margaret Luongo Professor (Committee Member); Kay Sloan Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Literature; Literature

Master of Arts in History, Youngstown State University, 2012, Department of Humanities

After a half a century of seemingly inexorable urbanization, the post-war era in America saw a steady decline of cities. For older industrial areas like Youngstown, Ohio, decay in the decades following World War Two proved to be particularly extreme. After reaching a height of 170,000 in 1930, the city's population declined to 139,000 by 1970. In the ensuing decades after the war, the shift of the population to the outlying areas and growing racial conflicts and inner city problems proliferated in a city trying to counter a shrinking population and tax base The purpose of this study is to determine how and why the roots of Youngstown's eventual urban collapse grew. To determine the roots of urban decay in the city, this thesis moves beyond the study and analysis of the closure of the city's steel mills in the late 1970s and early 1980s. By analyzing populations and demographics, retail shifts, racial conflict, African American self-empowerment, and the effects of urban renewal in the period between roughly 1950 and 1977, this thesis seeks to explain the problems that led to the Youngstown area's fragmentation. Chapter one analyzes Youngstown's population stagnation at the beginning of the 1950s, early suburbanization and the growth of retail in outlying areas. Chapter two examines the cities response to decline in urban renewal campaigns and the unintended consequences they had on concentrations of poverty. Chapter three focuses on white flight in the 1960s and the eclipsing of retail in Youngstown by huge shopping centers in the suburbs. Chapter four examines the impact of segregation in the city-especially in regards to education and neighborhood decay. Chapter five deals with the problems of inner city joblessness, concentrated poverty, and the first Youngstown race riot in 1968. Chapter six is about the second riot to hit Youngstown in 1969 and the rise of the Black Power movement in the city. The conclusion closes the thesis by examining the eroding position o (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Fred Viehe Ph.D. (Advisor); Donna DeBlasio Ph.D. (Committee Member); Thomas Leary Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; American History; Modern History; Urban Planning

MA, Kent State University, 2010, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

This study investigates the Shenango China company of New Castle, Pennsylvania in its years of decline prior to its 1991 shutdown. Shenango China began operations in 1901 and enjoyed steady success until a lawsuit brought the plant out of family hands into a series of outside corporate owners which led to its closure. Through historical investigation of the meanings of failure, both physical and psychological, this thesis outlines Shenango's efforts to avoid their own demise in three ways. The first attempts are seen in the work of Shenango's management within the plant. The company's leadership actively promoted new products and designs to improve sales as well as renovations of the production facility and incentive promotions for salesmen, workers, and customers to keep up with a growing market of domestic and foreign competition. The dissemination and promotion of its public image through advertising make up another crucial aspect of Shenango's efforts to avoid failure. Through examination of advertisements for its subsidiary Castleton China, Shenango's overall failure is seen as a parallel to the decline in its public image as subsequent owners of the company reduced its outward appearance along with its autonomy. Finally, the viewpoints of Shenango's workforce are explored to see the effects of failure on workforce morale in the plant's declining years and how memory serves to create a narrative about the plant's success and failure. In conclusion, the attempts of Shenango China to avoid failure are compared with the overall decline in industry in the region known as the Rust Belt and the social effects of deindustrialization on the population and quality of life in areas such as New Castle that have lost their industrial base since the 1970s and face uncertain futures going through the twenty-first century.

Committee: Kenneth Bindas PhD (Advisor); John Jameson PhD (Committee Member); Donna DeBlasio PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Economic History; History; Modern History; Social Research

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2011, Theatre Arts-Arts Administration

This practical thesis discusses the considerations, planning efforts, and implementation process needed to create an online branding marketing video for a nonprofit arts organization. The goals are to sell the organization, its values and culture, build online brand awareness, drive customers to the website, and inform purchase intent. The final product is a short two minute and thirty second digital marketing video to be used to benefit the organization in its current marketing position. The commercial-like video captures the essence and values of The Akron Civic Theatre's brand and aligns with the current and future goals of the organization. The message of the video tells the evolving story of the organization and offers a fun, inviting, and personal connection with the venue by showcasing the versatile space and highlighting organizational leaders. The content broadens and advances the organization's digital online presence and communicates that the community can use the versatile space for purposes other than programmatic entertainment.

Committee: Durand L. Pope Mr.. (Advisor); Neil Sapienza Mr. (Committee Member); Phillip Hoffman Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Arts Management; Marketing; Theater Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2013, English (Arts and Sciences)

Alison Stine's Rust Belt Blues is a book-length work of linked creative nonfiction essays set in former manufacturing towns in Ohio, Indiana, and upstate New York. In pieces that range from autobiography to literary journalism, she focuses on abandoned places and people in the area known as the Rust Belt--a section of ex-industrial centers stretching from New York to Chicago--covering such topics as feral houses, graffiti, and the blues. She researches the Westinghouse factory that once employed a third of her hometown, explores a shuttered amusement park, re-visits a neglected asylum, and writes of rural poverty. In her critical introduction “The Abandoned Houses are All of Us: Toward a Rust Belt Persona,” Stine examines the work of contemporary nonfiction writers born in and / or concerned with the Rust Belt, finding that their work shares traits of deflection, obsession, lying, dark subject matter, and stubborn optimism--what she calls the defining characteristics of the emerging Rust Belt persona.

Committee: Dinty Moore (Advisor) Subjects: Fine Arts; Literature