Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2005, Journalism (Communication)

If a magazine's achievements can be measured in part by whom and how many it infuriated in the shortest amount of time, then surely Scanlan's Monthly deserves to be honored. The brainchild of former Ramparts editor Warren Hinckle and former New York Times law reporter Sidney Zion, Scanlan's printed only eight issues in 1970 and 1971. But during its short lifetime the magazine drew the attention and often the ire of business, labor, law enforcement, and government leaders including Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon. In the midst of such special attention, Scanlan's managed to print some of the most provocative muckraking journalism of its time. Scanlan's published the first examples of Hunter S. Thompson's now-celebrated Gonzo journalism; and two years before anyone outside of Washington, D.C., had heard of Watergate, Scanlan's called for President Nixon's impeachment. Scanlan's' 2019; eighth issue, dedicated to the subject of guerilla violence in the U.S., was subjected to a nationwide boycott by printing unions, and was then seized by Montreal police after it was printed in Quebec. The issue, which turned out to be Scanlan's' last, finally appeared in January 1971 after a three-month delay. Scanlan's' insistence on taking on and not backing down from power doomed it to an early death, and its brushes with the U.S. government demonstrate the extent of the Nixon administration's war on the dissident press. Scanlan's is a sobering lesson on how government power can be wielded to harass, and in some cases silence, the press.

Committee: Patrick Washburn (Committee Chair) Subjects: History; Journalism; Mass Communications; Mass Media

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

This dissertation examines the use of visual imagery, objects, alphabetic texts, and rhetorical and physical space within Kent State University's May 4 Visitors Center (M4VC) and asserts the value of multimodal composition in mediating for audiences uncertain histories such as the events on May 4, 1970. The M4VC exists to inform and contextualize the May 4, 1970 shootings, when Ohio National Guardsmen fired bullets into a crowd of student protesters and bystanders, killing four and wounding nine. On the grounds outside of the M4VC, the space where the 1970 shootings occurred and accompanying multimodal ensembles offer an immersive, historical experience for visitors. I analyzed the multimodalities presented to audiences in both the interior museum site and the outdoor grounds where the shootings took place. Additionally, I examined an archived implementation document that denotes anticipated interactions between visitor and institution. Ultimately, my research emphasizes the following: 1) Alphabetic text serves as the underlying mediator that contextualizes all other modes in multimodal ensembles; 2) Audiences make meaning from multimodal ensembles as they enact literacy practices prompted by the institution and foregrounded in alphabetic texts throughout the museum; 3) Alphabetic texts mediate for audiences the articulations of the museum composers; 4) Multimodality can serve as an effective means to negotiate the tension that comes with memorializing uncertain histories; and, 5) The curation of the May 4 rhetorical space offers an effective means to mediate tensions that arise from composing uncertain histories.

Committee: Pamela Takayoshi (Advisor); Sara Newman (Committee Member); Stephanie Moody (Committee Member); Kenneth Bindas (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Rhetoric

MFA, Kent State University, 2018, College of the Arts / School of Art

Weavings are formed through a gradual accumulation of threads inserted sequentially over time, fostering a connection between the materials and weaver. I am inspired by women of ancient Greek mythology who overcame adversity through their craft of weaving. Penelope sat at her loom weaving by day and secretly unweaving by night to stay off untimely decisions. Sisters Procne and Philomela communicated across borders through messages hidden in woven tapestry. Arachne was transformed into a spider by the goddess Athena so that she would weave for all eternity. Through the process of creating their textiles, these women exhibited considerable emotional strength and artistry, which I draw upon to bring their resiliency and feminine legacy into my own work. I use the loom as a conceptual tool, finding meaning in the metaphors associated with the process of weaving in conjunction with the physicality of the materials. My understanding of textile processes allows me to utilize the vocabulary of weaving to create textural cloth. Experimenting with compositional elements, I blur the line between foreground and background through the intersection of color and weave structures. Weaving is a form of three dimensional drawing, allowing me to delve into the pictorial and dimensional planes simultaneously. When complete and presented on the wall or suspended in space, the weavings read as eloquent objects of texture, color, and rhythm. While the ancient myths motivate my enthusiasm for the process, my use of decorative motifs was informed by my interest in the pattern and decoration movement of the 1970s. This group lead by women artists, placed value on pattern, craft, and ornament. They utilized complex pattern and shape relationships and upheld the decorative and feminine aspects of their work. Like them, these characteristics are important to me in my work. Through embracing the traditionally feminine activity of weaving and its rich history, I am connecting to the myriad gene (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Janice Lessman-Moss (Advisor); Gianna Commito (Committee Member); Peter Johnson (Committee Member) Subjects: Fine Arts; Folklore; Interior Design; Museums; Textile Research

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Youngstown State University, 2012, Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts (Creative Writing)

Night Fever is a novel-in-progress, satirizing vampire stories, crime fiction, and the disco era. It tells the story of Serena, a centuries-old vampire with an attitude, who returns to her old haunts in the fall of 1979 to hunt down new prey--the free love ways of the pre-AIDS era providing a perfect opportunity to take strangers home for dinner. Complicating matters are the appearance of Vaughn, an old friend who carries a torch for Serena, and who now runs a disco, and Detective Bronski, a close-to-retirement police detective who is on the trail of another kind of killer while training a new partner, who himself runs afoul to Serena and finds himself with a curious aversion to sunlight.

Committee: Christopher Barzak MFA (Advisor); David Giffels MA (Committee Member); Eric Wasserman MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Literature

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2009, History (Arts and Sciences)

For women, the passage of secular and ecclesiastical laws to ban overt forms of discrimination and open corporate and cultural opportunities is a necessary step toward the full inclusion in society. However, even as American women's legal standing imporved throughout the 20th century, they encountered subtle forms of discrimination: vestiges of 19th century coverture. Jeannette Ridlon Piccard's life (1895-1981) uniquely illustrates the struggles during the 20th century for women in the spheres of citizenship, science and religion, particularly the Anglican tradition. Piccard was not "protected" by her husband's citizenship; she was not "protected from the rigors of science; nor was she "protected from the rigors of religion. Rather the vestiges of coverture protected men's domains from her inclusion. Piccard did not accept the exclusionary practices, challenging and overcoming barriers to women in space exploration and women as Episcopal priests. Sources employed include manuscript collections; interviews with family members; letters and memoirs; religious and science periodicals; congressional documents and court cases.

Committee: Katherine Jellison PhD (Advisor); Sholeh Quinn PhD (Committee Member); Chester Pach PhD (Committee Member); Julie White PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American History

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, History

In the early 1990s, young middle-class women took to the streets to protest the erosion of abortion and reproductive rights, gathered in coffee shops and dorm rooms to discuss their personal experiences with sexism and violence, and assembled in punk rock nightclubs and hijacked typically masculine spaces in order to stage their own creative and political actions. This surge of activism is identified as the beginning “third wave” feminist activism. By no coincidence, the progenitors of “third wave” feminism were largely members of Generation X, the group of Americans born between 1960 and 1975. As heirs of the cultural and political transformations of previous decades, this generation grew up benefiting from the gains made by the women's liberation movement of the sixties and seventies. As GenXers came of age as teens and young adults in the eighties and nineties, the privileges of “normative” identity—those wrought from whiteness, masculinity, and social class—had been thoroughly challenged by three decades of activism, and nearly two decades of academic proliferation of French post structuralism and post modernism, which were mainstreamed in the U.S. under the rubrics of “multiculturalism” and “identity politics.” Generation X and the Invention of a Third Feminist Wave is a study of late twentieth century feminist activism, popular culture, and the gendered implications of the 1990s political conflict known as the culture wars. The dissertation explores two inextricably linked phenomena: Generation X and third wave feminism. Third wave, what I term “GenX,” feminism emerged as an example of political action in an age of paralyzing ironic detachment. GenX feminism surfaced at a time in history when it seemed impossible to incite political activism based solely on gender. Feminists of this generation understood the ways in which various socially constructed categories of identity intermingled and produced social inequality. As activists and scholars grappled with the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Renee Sentilles Ph.D. (Advisor); Jonathan Sadowsky Ph.D. (Committee Member); Peter Shulman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mary Triece Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Gender; History; Mass Media; Social Structure; Womens Studies