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<p> <i>The Most Fantastic Lie</i> explores the troubled realm of lesbian history through contemporary art practice, visual culture, and activist collectives, arguing the necessity of new strategies toward the construction of marginalized histories in the absence of traditional evidence-based documentation. I identify three overlapping strategies toward the reconstruction of lesbian and queer histories: the documentation and collection of existing material evidence by grassroots archivists and contemporary artists who base their practice in affective relationships to archival objects; the manipulation of found objects, in the tradition of Claude Levi-Strauss&rsquo;s concept of bricolage, to serve as visual placeholders for absent histories; and the fabrication of material evidence by artists working in a mode referred to by Carrie Lambert-Beatty as parafiction: deceptions that have productive power in the creation of new senses of plausibility. These strategies, in addition to providing visual pleasure to those seeking lesbian and queer histories, each mount critiques of institutionalized notions of legitimate history. In shucking the burden of proof and elevating denigrated forms of evidence such as gossip, oral history, and fantasy, artists and collectives are able to construct lesbian histories while simultaneously demonstrating the unstable foundations of historical truths.</p>

<p> This study explores whether and how government services originally designed to meet the needs for homeless veteran men are being modified to address the unique needs and circumstances facing the current population of homeless veteran women. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)</p>

<p>This thesis investigates the creation of California&rsquo;s Free County Library System during the Progressive Era. Previous histories of the topic have conveyed a partial picture of those involved in organizing county libraries, focusing on leaders at the state level, such as James L. Gillis and Harriet Eddy. Using Santa Cruz County as a case study, this thesis examines the overall process of organizing a county library system at the local level. Primary source materials consulted include correspondence and publications from the California State Library, newspaper accounts from the time period, California Library Association meeting minutes, <i>News Notes of California Libraries </i>, and local records from Santa Cruz County. This study discusses the Progressive Era&rsquo;s influence on California county library organizing in general and Santa Cruz County libraries in particular. It also considers how the Progressive Movement affected the rising power of women&rsquo;s groups and their invaluable work organizing public libraries. In addition, the thesis explores the early development of reading rooms and libraries in Santa Cruz County and the creation of the area&rsquo;s first county library system. The thesis pays particular attention to the early history of the Watsonville Public Library and its adamant stance against joining the Santa Cruz County library system. Based on comparative histories of the two library systems, the thesis concludes with an analysis of the positive and negative characteristics of a countywide library system versus an independent city library. </p>

<p>This study helps address gaps in knowledge concerning the lives of Indo-Fijian immigrant women in California and offers a space for their voices to be heard. The subsequent chapters investigate the lives of five Indo-Fijian immigrant women and their experiences upon migrating to Modesto, California. Using a qualitative research approach, data were collected through participant-observations, semi-structured in-depth interviews and informal conversations. The data are presented as anthropological silhouettes, a form of life-writing (the recording of events and experiences of a life), which explores each individual woman&rsquo;s experience with life in Fiji to her eventual migration and transition to life in California. The study reveals heterogeneity amongst the women&rsquo;s experiences and perspectives as well as commonalities that arise in their collective experiences as Indo-Fijian immigrant women residing in the city of Modesto. Overall, the anthropological silhouettes reveal that migration has led to shifts in the women&rsquo;s identities and their prescribed gender roles. Furthermore, despite some of the challenges that came with immigrating, the women have experienced social, political and economic mobility since arriving to California. All five women have accepted the United States as their adopted homeland, and as a result, have no plans of re-migrating to Fiji. </p>

<p> As a Buddhist female from Japan who has lived in the United Sates for 15 years, I examine how Buddhist spirituality and aesthetics influence religious inspiration through woman&rsquo;s eyes; in other words, from a feminist perspective to the &ldquo;practice&rdquo; of justice based on Buddhism. Hence, the driving questions of this dissertation are, how can we define beauty and spirituality from a feminist perspective so that they empower women&rsquo;s voice through art, and what kind of contribution can this study provide to feminist scholarship in the West? </p><p> The study&rsquo;s significance lies in its illustration of the concept of feminist aesthetics that nurtures spirituality based on Buddhism, Taoism and Asian traditional thought which are not well known to the Western world. Thus, through using art and feminist- based research, as well as symbolic interactionism as a perspective, principles for a feminist aesthetics theoretical model as a dimension of spiritual and religious education are generated based on Eastern thought. </p><p> The use of symbols and their interpretation are crucial to understanding the relationship between art and human perception which fosters awareness for social justice. Therefore, this study addresses the following questions: (1) What does Buddhist feminist aesthetics mean? (2) What are the characteristics of feminist ecology in Eastern thought? (3) How does Buddhist or Eastern feminist aesthetics contribute to eco-justice in the context of religious education? (4) In what ways can a theoretical model of Buddhist or Eastern feminist aesthetics enhance and contribute to foster spirituality as dimension of religious education in the West? </p><p> The dissertation has five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to the study, while chapter two reviews art as a source of creating imagination. The third chapter describes Rima Fujita&rsquo;s artistry based on an Eastern perspective of aesthetics. Chapter four reviews feminist theological aesthetics and suggests how a Buddhist feminist perspective can make a contribution to Western scholarship. The final chapter proposes educational application, in particular to interreligious education, which fosters spiritual growth. Drawing deeper insights from these and other scholars, a new perspective, which incorporates and contributes to Western scholarship is proposed.</p>

<p> This thesis examines the use of two depth psychological techniques, somatic active imagination, known as authentic movement, and dream work in aiding a woman to embody elements of the Great Mother archetype within her psyche. These techniques act to unearth unconscious material, providing access to archetypal symbology. They help identify and explore the boundless archetypal content within, drawing it from the unconscious into consciousness for psychic integration. Dreams and authentic movement sessions are used to demonstrate how one might assist a woman in developing an embodied relationship with the Great Mother archetype and the archetypal Feminine as it exhibits within her psyche. The process is analyzed from a Jungian perspective and uses a heuristic methodology, contemplating the Great Mother archetype as an avenue for psychic transformation.</p>

<p> Descended from Celtic goddesses and the fairies of folklore, the literary character of Morgan le Fay has been most commonly perceived as a witch and a one-dimensional villainess who plagues King Arthur and his court, rather than recognized as the legendary King&rsquo;s enchanted healer and otherworldly guardian. Too often the complexity of Morgan le Fay and her supernatural abilities are lost, her character neglected as peripheral. As a literary figure of imaginative design this thesis explores Morgan le Fay as a unique &ldquo;window&rdquo; into the medieval mindset, whereby one can recover both medieval understandings of magic and female magicians. By analyzing her role in key sources from the twelfth to fifteenth century, this thesis uses Morgan le Fay to recover nuanced perceptions of the supernatural in medieval England that embraced the ambiguity of a pagan past and remained insulated from continental constructions of demonic witchcraft.</p>

<p> African American women leaders positively influence the college experiences of students at predominately White institutions (PWI), but the retention of those women leaders remains an issue. At the time of this study, limited research informed race and gender issues that intersect the career advancement of African American women serving in midlevel leadership positions at PWIs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the intercultural and career advancement experiences of these women. Critical race theory, critical race feminist theory, and intercultural communications theory were used as a framework to understand the participants&rsquo; intercultural and career advancement experiences, perceived influences, and mentorship experiences. A snowball sampling approach with members of a national African American women&rsquo;s organization in higher education led to 9 participants who met the criteria. They were each interviewed twice to generate data to understand their experiences. Results from an inductive exploratory process of data analysis indicated that race and gender influenced their perception of career advancement potential and relationship building in the PWI workplace. Themes that emerged from their experiences were limited advancement opportunities, the effects of intersectionality, intercultural relationship challenges, and the benefits of locating and having a mentor. Support and guidance were paramount to their job satisfaction and retention. This study contributes to social change by providing insight to personnel at PWIs about the experiences of African American women leaders on those campuses and the needed improvement in the environment for retaining current and future women of color.</p>