acase@tulane.edu

This thesis investigates the relationship between the Viequenses, the U.S. government, the land, and the law on Vieques from 1979-2012 to illustrate how ecological empire is enacted and contested on the island of Vieques. I argue, that imperial ecology is enacted when a distant and overarching hegemon, in this case the U.S. government, controls the access, use, and management of land and sea through institutional channels in order to advance national priorities of defense and security. In Vieques, the authority of the Navy on the island represented a direct and explicit expression of U.S. military empire and expansion. However, the consequences of the restrictions of land on the island, and the lasting imprint on the land left by the Navy constitute a more subtle and deceptive transnational process of what I term as “imperial ecology.” Chapter One investigates the 1978 fishermen’s struggle for livelihood rights on Vieques to illustrate how the Viequenses framed their grievances in terms of livelihood and land—and sea—and how these grievances became amplified and dispersed as Puerto Rican political actors and radical activists became involved in the struggle. Chapter Two explores the transfer of former bases lands in 2003, unveiling the tensions and contradictions implicit in the overlapping designations of Wildlife Refuge and Superfund site on the island. Chapter Three investigates the 2007 class action lawsuit filed by a collective of over 7,000 Viequenses to demonstrate how the Viequenses perceive the mechanisms of imperial ecology on their island, and how these perceptions diverge from the Navy’s understanding of its action on the island. / acase@tulane.edu

By the thirteenth century, Eucharistic devotion had reached a crescendo of adoration among medieval Christians. Contemporary sources recount how worshippers attended mass only for the moment of elevation, racing from church to church to see as many consecrations as possible. As the priest raised the transubstantiated wafer above his head, the assembled congregation was granted the momentary luxury of gazing upon God. While this awe-inspiring vision was believed to unify the gathered people, nuns could not participate directly in this powerful experience. In the fourteenth century, following Pope Boniface VIII’s Periculoso (c. 1298), nuns heard Mass while hidden in private choirs, without a view of the altar. This thesis will explore how Clarissan nuns in fourteenth century Italy would have encountered the Host via works of art inside and outside of their enclosed choir. The Passion cycle decorating the Neapolitan Church of Santa Maria Donna Regina (ca. 1318-1320) will illustrate how Eucharistic vision could occur during the public recitation of the liturgy, while two illustrated manuscript copies of the Meditationes vitae Christi (Oxford Corpus Christi College MS 410, ca. 1350 and Paris Bibliothèque Nationale MS Ital. 115, ca. 1340-1350) will demonstrate how devotional books could provide an avenue for Eucharistic veneration in the privacy of the convent. The main objective of this thesis is to draw attention to one major limitation of enclosure, specifically how Clarissan communities were able to overcome their visual obstruction to the altar by engaging in the devotional practice of performative vision. By entering into the image with her mind’s eye and sustaining the narration of the biblical episode as though she were present, the nun is able to visualize spiritually what she is denied from seeing corporeally. Sensory experience is thus restored in the cerebral confines of the brain, as devotional images become intercessory conduits of connection, bridging the gap between the sponsa and her sacrificial bridegroom. / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

A central question of political philosophy is this: What does justice demand of us, politically and economically? What is the just way to select our political leaders, arrange the institutions of government, and distribute wealth and income? I argue that justice is a matter of giving people what they deserve, and in the political and economic realms these deserts are usually grounded in merit. This foundational principle of meritocracy can command support across ideological lines and is deeply intuitive--as empirical research demonstrates. When it comes time to distribute a scarce resource, so long as we are free of merit-distorting biases and fair equality of opportunity has prevailed, it is hard to see, ultimately speaking, what principle other than merit could possibly guide us. Meritocracy is an alternative to the theories of justice that have dominated the debate. Egalitarians tend to think that the "fortune" of our genetic and social circumstances precludes the possibility of deserving anything at all. Libertarians rely on the free market to distribute wealth and income, but the market produces gargantuan inequalities which fail to give people what they deserve. The egalitarian and the libertarian are wrong. There is a third, better way to arrange political society--a way in which merit is the centerpiece. In Chapter One I lay the conceptual foundation for my meritocratic theory of justice. Chapter Two is my argument for meritocratic politics. Political influence ought to be wielded by people on the basis of their political knowledge--not on the basis of their popularity, or their wealth, or other irrelevant factors. In Chapter Three I consider the compatibility of meritocracy and public reason. Chapter Four is devoted to distributive justice. I argue that economic reward ought to turn on merit-based contributions to productivity, and that we should commit ourselves to establishing equality of opportunity and fighting the pernicious influences of inherited wealth, pedigree, nepotism, and cronyism. Chapter Five is an independent, epistemic argument for meritocracy. I conclude, in Chapter Six, by considering whether there are fundamental principles of justice other than desert and by providing some public policy recommendations. / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

My thesis is a series of 9 compositions. Pieces include the following solos: cello (Passage), piano, viola (Elegy), and flute (Stream Solo). The ensemble pieces are as follows: Vale - Flute, viola, cello, Piano; Stream Ensemble - Flute, Violin, Cello, Piano, Soprano; Around the Bend Percussion Trio - 3 snare drums, bass drum, floor tom, conga, crotales, wood block, cymbal; Steps - Clarinet and Piano; Pierrot Ensemble - clarinet, flute, piano, soprano, cello, violin / acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu

acase@tulane.edu