Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item STICK FLY: A DISSECTION OF PROCESS AND EXPLORATION OF ADVOCACY(2022) Taylor, Zavier Augustus Lee; Mezzocchi, Jared M; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The following thesis is a series of observations and explorations documenting my experiences as Media and Projections Designer of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at The University of Maryland College Park’s production of Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond. The production opened on April 15th, 2022 as a live performance in the Kogod Theatre. Stick Fly was performed in a black box theater space with direction by Kenyatta Rogers, Scenic Design by Abigail Bueti, Associate Scenic Design by Mollie Singer, co-sound design by Neil McFadden and Gordon Nimmo-Smith, lighting design by Christian Henrriquez, and costume design by Ashlynne Ludwig.Item The Performance of Remastery in Theatre and Media(2023) Miller, Alexander Williams; Harding, James M; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Within the field of mediatized performance, there are many terms that rely upon the “re-” prefix. Terms like remediation and remix have been utilized for the last two decades in discussions of how digital media has affected our perceptions of live performance. This dissertation analyzes the potential of a third “re-:” remastering. Remastering refers to the act of “touching up” older mediums, mostly vinyl discs and reels of film, digitizing the media they contain while improving the overall quality of sounds and/or images. With this sort of digital augmentation affecting the audience reception of media, the question emerges: how can we think of the remastering process as performative?This project centers on the notion that performance studies provide an excellent template to begin to answer the questions that arise surrounding remastering. It explores technical acts of remastering through the lens of performance and performativity to develop a working theory of remastery. This theory draws upon and expands previous conversations surrounding both digital media and performance. Starting with a discussion of the technical requirements that go into remastering in general, I develop a working understanding and theory of remastery. This theory centers remastery as a performative action that can shed light on the power dynamics that underpin our cultural interest in obsolescence, nostalgia, and technology. In discussing this theory of remastery, four case studies of remastered media are analyzed, each providing a different facet of my theory. The first is The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records: a remastered collection of work from a defunct inter-war recording company that produced a wide variety of African American Artists and performers. The second is the various remastered versions of Star Wars and their effect on the prospects of authenticity and alteration within remastering. The third is Warcraft III: Reforged, a remastered videogame from 2020 that was met with critical and commercial failure. The fourth is Elements of Oz by The Builders Association, a live production of multimedia theatre that demonstrates the usefulness of remastery as a theoretical concept to bridge the gap between performance and technology.Item PERFORMANCE IN ONES AND ZEROS: NO-BUDGET CINEMA IN THE DIGITAL ERA(2018) Nixon, Adam Wayne; Frederik, Laurie; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Narrative feature filmmaking has traditionally been an elite art form practiced by moneyed, culturally powerful individuals through institutions in specific locations around the world. With the worldwide dissemination of the digital camera, however, non-professional self-financed, no budget, outsider filmmakers worldwide now practice the art form. This community of digital filmmakers numbers in the hundreds-of-thousands. They show their work in festivals ranging from fringe, smaller venues in places such as Jakarta and Milan, to massive international festivals in Cannes or Sundance. The dissertation examines the world of the no-budget DIY digital filmmaker and the festivals that display their work. I utilize the tools of the ethnographer to explore the meaning of film festival, to record red carpet performativity, and to track the accumulation of stature by digital filmmakers. The methodology blends practice-based research, surveys both quantitative and qualitative, archival database research, and an examination of the mediated with the embodied, looking at both the filmmaker and the digital film in festival space. The artists studied are building processes that stand apart from traditional “Hollywood” systems. Like the subjects of my ethnography, I work outside of Hollywood with little money, making digital films while I build my own performative and off-camera identity in festival spaces. The embodied performance of Filmmaker on the red carpet at international festivals, small and large, is a powerful and unique vehicle for identity creation. The digital camera allows outsiders—middle income, excluded, non-western, or non-professional artists—to perform identities once exclusively controlled by powerful institutions and by the individuals inside those organizations. This research project examines the performativity of film festival spaces, the archiving of these moments for purposes of building new identities and socio-cultural status, and the assertion of power outside of traditional structures. It is concerned with identity creation through the process of filmmaking (capture, representation, reinterpretation, revision, assertion) and the formation of a self-made, artistic sense of self.Item AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE MEANING OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: A NETWORK APPROACH(2013) Khakimova, Leysan; Toth, Elizabeth L.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore public diplomacy from a network approach. Whereas traditionally public diplomacy was conceptualized as a communication function belonging exclusively to governments, the network approach suggested that public diplomacy is a multilateral communication process that includes nongovernmental organizations, governments, publics, corporations, and other possible actors (e.g., Fisher 2008; 2010; Zaharna, 2010). Network approach to public diplomacy accounts for the technological advances, suggesting that digital media is an integral part of public diplomacy networks. This study used the qualitative research methodology to answer three research questions that sought to explore public diplomacy definitions, public diplomacy networks, and the use of digital media in public diplomacy. This research used the network approach as a conceptual framework and not as a methodology. In addition, this dissertation explored relationship cultivation processes in public diplomacy networks. Fitzpatrick (2007; 2009) argued that relational framework provided a holistic approach to public diplomacy, emphasizing interpersonal relationships as well as long-term plans. This study explored relationship cultivation processes in public diplomacy practice. Data included 32 in-depth semi-structured interviews with employees in governmental and nongovernmental organizations that were tasked with international communication. Findings confirmed the two approaches to public diplomacy evident in the literature: traditional approach and network approach. Results revealed that some actors viewed public diplomacy as networks, although such view was not common and links between actors were limited. Data suggested that public diplomacy networks were formed around issues of global concerns. Publics were conceptualized in terms of demographics and interests instead of geographical locations. Findings also suggested two new goals for public diplomacy: to explain global issues to audiences inside the country, and to empower publics. Convening, or network-making power, and expert power emerged as valuable sources of influence. Results showed that competition was a predominant relationship cultivation strategy. Trust emerged as a relationship cultivation strategy as well as an outcome. Last, findings suggested several advantages of digital media use, including its ability to reach many various publics simultaneously. However, results also showed that digital media was used as a "bull horn" rather than a two-way communication tool.Item Toward an Architecture of Suspension: Promiscuous Collisions of Transient Cartographies(2008) Yazdanseta, Farzam; Rockcastle, Garth C; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Many political experts argue that we have tried too hard to fully resolve international and geopolitical conflicts by trying to negotiate full and lasting resolutions. International crises are dangerous episodes that are destabilizing not only to those directly involved but also to the entire international community. Long and exhaustive methods aimed at negotiating conflicts to end crisis have not been effective and have resulted in deaths and human suffering that may not have been necessary. What is evident is that international conflict is increasing and has rendered the world as a more dangerous place to live and has exposed future generations to greater peril. A growing number of experts in the United Nations diplomatic community contend that the best and the most expeditious way to end deadly violence in the world is to suspend conflict, to promote and extend a suspension of conflict, rather than seeking to overcome it. This thesis will investigate and explore the ways in which qualities of architecture can assist the suspension of deadly conflict. I am interested in discovering how architecture can help diminish the intensity and scale of conflict by creating a place where constructive talks between conflicting parties can be best carried out. How can architecture help to achieve a greater comfort between conflicted parties when searching for a less threatening ground? Can architecture foster greater empathy between adversaries?