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No description available.

Discourses of identity in East Asian new music are often limited to tracing ethnographic materials or conceptual influences from the composers' cultures of origin. Existing analytical approaches tend to look for the musical features that are emblematic of the cultures in question, and to map relationships between the contemporary and traditional musical aspects. Composers who resist employing their native traditions as musical tropes, however, problematise discussions of their identity and are consequently overlooked in studies of identity politics. This thesis therefore examines questions of identity through a focus on three contemporary composers who, in diverse ways, challenge and complicate essentialising expressions of East Asian identity: Chinese composer Chen Yi (1953-), Korean composer Unsuk Chin (1961-) and Japanese composer Karen Tanaka (1961-). All of them came to Europe or the United States to hone their skills in the mid-1980s and have since developed their musical careers in the Western world. They have been selected for examination due to their radically different reactions to the East-meets-West question; namely, Chen Yi's embracing of cultural fusion; Unsuk Chin's reaction against cultural fusion; and Karen Tanaka's lack of interest in cultural fusion. To demonstrate this variation, this thesis analyses the works of these composers, their personal viewpoints and the critical reception of their works. Beyond discussing conventional notions of identity and difference, this dissertation explores the ways in which these composers complicate their perceived dissimilarity by embracing a 'universal music' ideal. Chapter One explores Chen Yi's musical identity as defined by her idea of 'cultural translation' and her musical goal of enhancing intercultural communication; where Chen Yi affirms cultural fusion, her work contributes to the traditional idea of 'East-meets-West'. Chapter Two examines an alternative approach in the case of Unsuk Chin, who consciously avoids the practice of cultural hybridity by locating her work squarely within the Western tradition. Chapters Three examines the works of two Japanese composers - Toru Takemitsu and Karen Tanaka - who focus their attention not on cultural fusion but on natural themes. The first section of Chapter Three presents Toru Takemitsu's Japanese-based philosophy of the co-creative bond between nature and humanity, which serves as a foil for Karen Tanaka's evolving, observational relationship with the natural world. To conclude, I compare the identity choices and the musical representations in the three case studies of Chen Yi, Unsuk Chin and Karen Tanaka. By gaining a better understanding of each composer's music, this thesis aims to provide a more expansive discourse of identity formation in contemporary East Asian art music, and to offer a critical rethinking of what counts as an 'Asian perspective' in this field.

Dismemberment in the Fiction of Toni Morrison investigates the motif of dismemberment in Morrison's fiction from multiple perspectives—historical, psychological and cultural. My first chapter on A Mercy focusses on the aspect of historical dismemberment in the context of colonialism and slavery. I look at the forced separation of African Americans from their families and motherland in terms of originary experiences of racism and dismemberment. This entailed fragmentation for African Americans who struggled to develop strategies of survival in the New World. My second chapter on Jazz focuses on the impact of transgenerationally transmitted trauma. I argue that experiences of dismemberment – such as feelings of amputation and phantom limbs – arise not from physical amputation but from traumatic experiences and the unconscious of preceding generations as the result of trasgenerational hauntings. I borrow from the psychoanalytic insights of Nicolas Abraham and Maria Torok in my explanation of phantom limbs in Jazz. The third section of my project looks at how social order is brought about in the fictive community of Sula through the scapegoating mechanism. I define the scapegoating principle in Sula in terms of cultural dismemberment because of the ways the community members symbolically cut a pariah figure, like Sula, off by performing symbolic acts of violence. The characterization of Sula emphasizes the psychological need for a scapegoat figure who can give an outlet to the defensive tendencies of the community following discrimination. My final chapter focusses on Morrison's most recent novel Home, which is about homecoming. In this novel, Morrison continues with her project of imagining a space of domestic and social comfort which is physically and psychically safe in the broad sense of a homeland for African Americans. Home offers a place of salvation from social, historical and psychic fragmentation or the traumas of racism which result in experiences of disruption, amputation and dismemberment.

The creative component of a Doctor of Creative Arts thesis submitted under the general title The shelter of honour. / Doctor of Creative Arts

Albert Einstein is one indisputable luminary who in my opinion exemplifies the balance, brilliance, and altruism I look for in my heroes. Subsequent to his dream of riding a beam of light to the edge of the universe, with the tools of calculus and physics, he radically changed our understanding of the universe. But the dream came first, and everybody dreams.I believe everyone has something incredible to offer. In my creative project paintings I attempt to demonstrate with the tools of paint and canvas my peculiar dream of the cosmos from macrocosm to microcosm.I ride the beam of light using paint and canvas, in my creative project paintings I celebrate my fascination with that intuitive element we all share. I also celebrate those who have gone before with the wisdom to seek an understanding and discernment of the genius we all share, have access to, and indeed must thoughtfully and carefully awaken for our species to evolve past its current halting material, ideological, and technological adolescence. / Department of Art

Hard Soled Shoes is a collection of poetry designed to appeal to several, specific audiences. The first audience consists of: other poets, creative writers, and literary critics. I have submitted a work drawn from the life experience of a 42 year-old man. I crafted the poems with the academic learning gained from a graduate study of poetry and creative writing. My graduate education has helped me recognize a higher and broader standard in the realm of poetry. It also enabled me to refine my own style of writing; a comfortable mix of song lyrics and image-rich writing.Another group I hope to reach with this collection is a segment of readers who have a limited knowledge of poetry. I feel it is important to reach out beyond the academic community to a broader audience. There are many people outside academia who can appreciate and enjoy good poetry. I chose many poems for this collection that are accessible and relevant to people of many backgrounds, interests, and demographics. The use of humor, meter, rhyme, and familiar characters give the pieces understandable "hooks" to draw the attention of readers. The inclusion of song lyrics and musical devices like refrains bring a familiarity to readers who only have experience of poetry through popular music.My intent is to use simple and clear language to express more complex ideas. Hopefully the depth of subject matter will entice readers to re-read certain pieces and consider new ideas. The use of repetition and rhyme will hopefully bring focus and power to certain poems and create at least a few memorable or quotable lines from the collection.I believe a poetry collection can be an artistic endeavor and still have a broad entertainment appeal. My education has prepared me to recognize and write quality, literary poetry suitable for publication. My years of experience producing creative ideas for media and advertising have made me aware of the challenges of trying to reach a vast audience. I see a hole in the media market. I believe good, accessible poetry could fill a void and successfully satisfy the needs of a specific, literary niche. / Department of English

This project comprises the best poetry written in my graduate study at Ball State University. The title, Liminal, is a term that has reappeared thematically in my work. Merriam Webster defines it as: "the threshold of a physiological or psychological response," but more than that, for me liminality is the doorframe between things; it is poetry. Poetry is a conglomeration of splicing between inner worlds and outer worlds; it tries to capture and recreate physiological or psychological responses, bringing the reader into the threshold that the writer has exited. Poetry is a door, a threshold; it is liminal. Thresholds are infinite and immeasurable; therefore, I have tried to capture or recreate liminal moments of my life into words that are physical, measurable in a sense, and therefore create presence, inviting readers through the threshold of my literary house out of the liminal abyss. These 36 pages of poetry contain liminal subject matter, whether embodying sexuality, relationships, spirituality, or moments bordering life and death, but always the inestimable line between two things. / Department of English

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The objective of this creative project is the creation of sculptures and paintings that make statements concerning judgment and its subsets, fault, blame, martyrdom, self-sacrifice, and absolution. The group of pieces shown at the Thesis Exhibition explores recurring themes and iconography within a historical context, while addressing issues in a contemporary social framework. Repetitive elements and images such as self-portraits, the pointing finger, and the heart, are set in the present, but layered with the iconography and history of Saint Sebastian. The techniques used to achieve these works are metal casting and fabrication, casting using a variety of materials, woodworking, and oil painting. These techniques, along with materials such as wood, steel, plaster, wax, and branches congeal to form a body of work that is conceptually harmonious. / Department of Art