My Land, My Life is a documentary film about the woman, Jo Angela Lamb, who lives and works on Frying Pan Ranch in Texas Panhandle. the film explores the complexity of a ranch woman's experience that breaks the spell of the stereotyped image of American cowgirls. It also reflects on women ranchers’ relationship with their family members and their relationship with the land.

My dissertation explores the transmission of musical knowledge between China, Portugal, and France in the context of a global Enlightenment. Through the lenses of two treatises authored by Jesuit missionaries serving at the Chinese Imperial Court––one introducing Western music to China, the other introducing Chinese music to France––I investigate how music and the system of knowledge represented by each treatise challenged their audience's worldview: although their interpretation differed, both the Europeans and the Chinese acknowledged China as the origin of the Western civilization. I argue that this construction of a universal history that accommodates all cultures on a single timeline shows there was a common effort across the globe to systematize the diversity of the world's musical cultures into one coherent principle and, more importantly, that the Enlightenment did not originate in Europe but was built on a shared effort of the East and the West to use history to make sense of the expanding globe. My research offers a new model for musicological studies by situating music at the intersection between East Asian Studies, Mission Studies, History of Science, and Global History. Moreover, it challenges the preconceived notion of the Enlightenment as a purely European phenomenon and argues instead that the Enlightenment was global at its inception. In doing so, it moves beyond the framework of dissemination and the comparative approach that characterize much of the past scholarship on global history. Emphasizing simultaneous emergence over successive development and integration over connection, I examine how local societies actively incorporated foreign systems of knowledge in the face of globalizing forces and how this incorporation not only expanded but also transformed their conception of the world.

I propose to design a fish market in Puerto Real, a fishing village in the West Coast of the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. Being the most important fishing village in the island and fishing being the principal economic activity of this town, this fish market takes the place of a social and cultural center for residents and visitors of the village. The materials and the modern architectural design of the building evoke and interpret the vernacular and picturesque architecture of the structures around town. The location in the water of the fish market pays tribute to the natural resources of the village as well as fulfills the needs of the fishermen and customers to perform their daily activities in the market. The activity around the market becomes a spatial experience that begins with the open plaza that diffuses in the metal structure bridge which ends in the concrete base tower that visually connects the town with the water and the people with the market. The metal and concrete base structure, as well as the white fabric roof of the market, complete the architectural experience and transform this space into the Center of a Little Town. / Master of Architecture

Lacking the natural amenities “New West" counties, some rural communities have attempted to attract land use activities that are normally seen as undesirable. One example of these undesirable industries is the hog concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO. While a number of studies have explored the socio-economic and environmental aspects of hog farms, few studies have focused on the planning process and evaluated its effectiveness in dealing with the threats and challenges that a CAFO poses. This qualitative study used interviews, observations, public meeting minutes, and other written sources of data to evaluate whether or not a rural, western community, Beaver County, Utah, was able to successfully plan for one of the largest hog operations in the United States. The evidence suggested that the majority of planning efforts failed in the short-term, but were more successful in the long-term. Despite any relative success, the proposal generated intense controversy in the small community. Crucial to any planning achievement was the input and guidance provided by the state environmental agency. This research highlights the need for long-range planning as well as the importance of public participation in the planning process.

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This project analyses the meaning of the term “conservative” in political discourse during the Civil War Era. Far from an ideology, the term “conservative” denoted a measured approach to change that moderated political discussion on the emotional topic of slavery. Utilized by all major parties of the day, conservatives strove to provide moderate, sane solutions to an increasingly imbalanced world as the nation lumbered toward war. Specifically focusing on a unique form of conservatism, this project examines political conservatism in the states along the Ohio and Missouri Rivers or the Civil War Era West. The West was a diverse place where white colonizers from the American South, the Northeast, and various immigrant groups from Europe comingled in one location. In order to avoid conflict at home and on the national level, many in the West attempted to consolidate a western consensus that celebrated a shared white western identity, decried governmental interference with slavery, promoted compromise as a moral good, and claimed that slavery was a negotiable part of life. As I argue in this work, conservatism based on the western consensus was a major force in the politics of the era influencing major figures like Stephen A. Douglas and John J. Crittenden. Slowly over time, this form of conservatism lost ground to competing claims of the mantle for true conservatism as free soil and proslavery conservatives battled for the future of the West.