ARS NOVA - Arts & Research Showcase 2016

Please click on the link above entitled “ARSNOVA 2016″ to view photos from ARS Nova, the New Arts and Research Showcase held on Thursday, April 14th, 2016. Thank you to Hana Keiningham, ‘17 photographer at The Observer and a double major in Communications and Visual Arts, for her time and contribution to our event. 

Department of Theatre and Visual Arts

Department of Theatre and Visual Arts 

This show is part of the Department of Visual Arts Thesis Series at Fordham University

Abstract: In studying stroke patients, it is observed that many of them develop hemianopia as a result of damage to the visual cortex. Upon further analysis, it can be concluded that this almost “perfect” loss of half of the visual field is due to a protective mechanism of the brain, which inhibits usage of the damaged portion of the visual field, regardless of how large or small the damage is. Thus, a patient may actually have more vision than what they perceive their visual field to be. Dr. Joyce Schenkein at the Lander College for Women asks the question: Through brain therapy involving multimodal stimulation, is it possible to effectively rewire the brain and bring this inhibition to light, in order to counteract it? By testing out a novel software, Bindsight, that tests patient’s impaired visual field in the darkness with the use of sounds, vibrations, and flashing images, patients with hemianopia experienced significantly improved vision. Therapy with Bindsight shows that the brain is more than capable of plasticity and that the human experience through the senses is a reality that is monitored and controlled by the brain itself.

Abstract: My research focuses on the lives of recent arrivals to the inner-city neighborhood of Hillbrow, Johannesburg.  Hillbrow was officially a whites-only district until 1985, when it became the first community in South Africa to defy apartheid laws and declare itself a “gray zone” (open to residents of all races).  After apartheid ended in 1994, and the ANC relaxed the rules for border crossings, this densely-populated district of high-rise residential buildings began to attract tens of thousands of immigrants from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mozambique, Angola and Congo. Ninety percent of Hillbrow’s 74,0001 current residents were born outside of South Africa. Immigrants arrive in Hillbrow hoping to improve their lives, my research takes a closer look at the lived experience of these new arrivals to Hillbrow from various members of the community including South Africans, foreign immigrants from neighboring African countries and outsiders who remember a very different Hillbrow.

Abstract: The museum is a reflexive site where pedagogical, aesthetic, and political praxis converge in the reification and ritualization of “black space” where diverse “black” peoples are seeking a new way of seeing. Whereas the classroom may work to inculcate, replicate, or fortify present asymmetrical power structures, the Studio Museum in Harlem has enormous power and duty to challenge the casual exclusion of communities, voices, and images of and by artists of color. This paper explores the limits of essentialism, elitism, and a monolithic black art(s), hoping to expand the walls such that the Studio Museum in Harlem becomes truly site-specific, an orientation towards the Other which is essential in the movement from seeing to doing, from passive absorption to active public engagement in the process of self and community image-making. Not chasing wrong or right answers, the museum space invites viewers to encounter iterations of beauty, which are, profoundly, an encounter of iterations of the self. Through a sixteen-week participant study and museum education practicum, this paper reveals the potential of intentional art and space making to claim ownership over our bodies, our blackness, ourselves.

Abstract: The dentate gyrus, located in the hippocampus, is the major terminal point of projections from the entorhinal cortex (EC) and thus, it is considered to be a principal site where information is ultimately converted to memory. Since memory is correlated to synaptic strength, activity-dependent strengthening of synapses or Long Term Potentiation (LTP) is vital for memory formation and learning.  Dentate granule cells (DGC) receive and integrate synaptic inputs from the EC via the medial perforant path (MPP) and lateral perforant path (LPP). N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate-gated ion channels capable of influencing long term changes in synaptic structure based on neuronal activity. GluN2A and GluN2B, the primary subunits for NMDARs in MPP-DGC and LPP-DGC synapses, have distinct variations in properties with each affecting the receptor’s biophysical, pharmacological and signaling attributes. While an increase of NMDAR mediated synaptic transmission in the form of LTP in DGCs has been established, the mechanisms of induction and expression remain unclear. Preliminary data demonstrates that NMDAR LTP occurs at MPP-DGC, but not at LPP-DGC synapses, however the reason for this input specificity is unclear. One possibility is that NMDAR GluN2 subunits differentially contribute to MPP-DGC and LPP-DGC synaptic transmission, and this discrepancy potentially plays a role in NMDAR-LTP induction. We tested this hypothesis by using electrophysiological and pharmacological techniques to ascertain and quantify the contribution of GluN2B subunit to NMDAR response at MPP-DGC and LPP-DGC synapses in the rat hippocampus. Our results using extracellular field recordings show that, during basal synaptic transmission, in the presence of the GluN2B antagonist Ro25-6981, the percent decline in the amplitude of NMDAR responses is greater in MPP-DGC relative to LPP-DGC synapses. This indicates that the presence of the subunit is greater in the MPP-DGC. Future studies will attempt to determine whether GluN2B is necessary for the induction of NMDAR LTP in the MPP-DGC. Understanding the mechanisms governing NMDAR LTP may shed light on neuropsychiatric disorders that affect memory formation and learning capabilities.

Abstract: The Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran have come under international criticism in recent years for their discrimination and abuse of their respective lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. The Iranian Penal Code criminalizes all intimate and sexual same-sex activities, punishing these citizens with lashings or with death by stoning or hanging. Iraq’s Penal Code does not discuss homosexuals, but the government instead turns a blind eye to private militias and individuals who beat, torture, rape, and murder those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Death is a constant threat for these citizens in both countries. However, a solution can arguably be applied to both states in order to produce a safer and more protected environment. Efforts pushed by international forces to encourage discussions about LGBT persons, to better educate the top members of each country’s society, and to humanize the topic might help both Iran and Iran to one day achieve true equality.

Abstract: When we read detective fiction, we find ourselves racing against the detective to solve the mystery before the conclusion. At first glance, the reason behind this desire is, as Sherlock Holmes would say, elementary. Authors of detective fiction craft the narratives so that the readers can follow the clues and almost become the detective. The intentional organization of these narratives may give us the satisfaction of successfully solving the case before old Holmes in A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or disappointed in our incorrect solution. At times we can only stare, dumbfounded at the ending of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. On closer examination, we can analyze the authors’ narrative strategies and how these strategies help construct our expectations of the genre. I analyze a “traditional” detective novel in Rex Stout’s 1965 novel, The Doorbell Rang, to identify key strategies of the genre. Moreover, I examine how Paul Auster targets these very strategies and alters them in his 1987 meta-fiction, City of Glass.

Abstract: The nucleus-accumbens (NAc) and its dopaminergic innervation from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are involved in promoting reward-seeking behavior (RSB), which is a characteristic of clinical addiction. NAc dopamine (DA) can play a role in reinforcement by strengthening the association between cue and reward, as well as promote RSB. Additionally, investigations suggest that many excitations in the NAc caused by cue-predictive rewards promote movement of an animal towards the reward. Although these studies strongly support that DA activates reward-seeking by increasing cue-evoked firing, it is unknown if DA activation is sufficient to increase cued approach behavior. We hypothesize that DA neuronal activity is sufficient to increase cued approach to reward, and that DA neuronal activity during reward presentation is sufficient for reinforcement during cued tasks. An optogenetic approach was taken to selectively activate dopaminergic neurons. TH:Cre rats were injected with a double floxed AAV vector containing channelrhodopsin-2, and fitted with optic fibers aimed at the VTA. After training the post-surgery rats to respond to condition stimulus (CS) task, (CS+: liquid sucrose; CS-: non-rewarded), the animals went through a series of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) experiments. This allowed us to investigate the sufficiency of DA release in the NAc for cued approach and reinforcement in an operant task.  Our data suggest that during extinction (when sucrose is no longer delivered), substituting photo stimulation for sucrose is sufficient to prevent the decline in behavioral responding normally observed during extinction. This result suggests that DA release plays a role in reinforcement of behavioral responding. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Nicola lab for all their help and support. Additionally we would like to thank the SURP Program and CSTEP. Funding for this project was provided by NIDA, NIMH, NARSAD and the Klarman Foundation.

Abstract: In this paper, I conduct a cross cultural analysis of the experience of menopause in the United States, Japan (kōnenki), and Turkey (menopoz). Menopause refers to the end of a women’s menstruation; naturally, this occurs due to a decline in hormone levels in females between the ages of 45 and 60 years of age. Though in Western medical discourse menopause is applied universally, I argue that menopause is a subjective experience. This subjectivity is shaped by the unique medical, historical, cultural, and social factors of each country. I use my research to provide a holistic analysis on how a globally experienced biological process in not universally experienced the same.   

Abstract: Between the years of 1999 and 2002, Venezuela saw a sharp increase in censorship unprecedented in the oil producing country. While many observers point out that this was due to a decrease in democracy, "democracy" is a vague term with malleable meanings, which often include civil liberties like freedom of speech, making it a dubious variable to explain the level of freedom of speech in the first place. I propose looking at the collapse of institutions to better understand the ability and propensity of the Chávez government to use censorship. To measure the deterioration of institutions, I use state capacity, a measure of how structurally well equipped the state is to provide basic goods and services. State capacity is based on bureaucratic values that make a state efficient, like meritocracy and political independence. The opposite of a high capacity (or bureaucratic) state, is a patronage state, which functions according to values opposite to those of a bureaucracy. In a bureaucratic state, resources and power are distributed neutrally according to merit, while in a patronage state they are distributed according to personal ties with those in power. My research shows that a decrease in state capacity is correlated with an increase in censorship, and I argue that there is a causal relationship between the two; as Venezuelan political institutions began to function increasingly according to patronage, the state became less able to deliver basic goods and services, incentivizing the use of censorship to prevent a change in government.

Abstract:They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; but when it comes to the world of American fashion design -- an industry that, to date, is valued at more than the U.S. film and publishing industries combined -- design piracy isn't just an unavoidable reality; it is also entirely legal under current United States copyright laws.Even though fashion designs are oftentimes celebrated as creative and original works of art, there has been an obvious reluctance among legislators to view them as protectable, copyrightable goods. And despite substantial protest within the industry itself, fashion designs continue to be disqualified from copyright protection due to one simple fact -- they are still treated as utilitarian objects under the eyes of the law. It is precisely this intersection between art and utility that makes fashion design such an interesting field of study through the lens of copyright law. Using a number of failed industry initiatives, notable lawsuits, and consultations with actual industry executives, this thesis doesn’t just evaluate why fashion designs are not presently protected under the umbrella of copyright law; it also pinpoints precisely what level of protection would best fit the industry as a whole.

Abstract:  Today’s scholarship widely acknowledges the Spanish Empire’s drive toward expansion in the Americas during the 1500s, yet often overlooks the significant contribution of its only Asian colony, the Philippines. This research paper argues that Spain conquered the Philippines as a gateway into mass religious conversions of Asian peoples, but after relatively unsuccessful efforts, utilized the archipelago's location as a gateway into prosperous Asian trade. I reference various translated documents by religious or government officials to the Spanish Crown, from a large collection of volumes known as The Philippines Islands, 1493-1898. My thesis responds and critiques Katharine Bjork’s “The Link that Kept the Philippines Spanish: Mexican Merchant Interests and the Manila Trade, 1571-1815,” in which she emphasizes that the benefits of religious conversion had a greater impact than the trade opportunities. Contrary to Bjork, I argue that the failure to convert the masses throughout Asia, outside of the Philippines, lead the Spanish to seek trade as an avenue of Imperial expansion. By way of the Manila Galleons, the Silver Trade from modern-day Mexico through the Philippines satisfied the Chinese demand and connected Spain with both the European and Asian Markets. Although, by introducing a third party to the gaining profits off of the bullion, Spain lost some of its profits because the distance from Mexico to the Crown prevented careful trade regulation. Despite this, the benefits of successful trade outweighed the failed attempts to convert the natives beyond the islands’ borders, and thus persuaded the Spanish Crown to maintain its only Asian colony.

Abstract: ​In humanity’s ongoing goal to create societies that work to further equality and sufficiency through the advancements of technology and medicine, a divide has grown between us and nature. As we have become more dependent upon technology and the complex systems of our economies and governments to help us strive towards greater advancement, we have tried to find ways to separate ourselves from something our ancestors could not live without. Our ancestors depended greatly upon nature to serve them food, medicine, and shelter, but today we mostly depend upon economies and governments to give us these things instead. We also separate ourselves from nature in the hopes of avoiding the harshness of it, where our society is believed to be safer thanks to the systems we have put in place. And the question becomes whether our removal from nature has been more detrimental to us or more beneficial. In my piece Connections, I seek to create illusions to demonstrate the connections that we still have with nature, even in our modern societies that have severed certain of those connections. Many phenomena occur in nature where things that are completely different appear similar, which perhaps indicates a similarity we are unable to see. I have illustrated certain things within us and the environment around us that could be seen as metaphors for the connections we still have with nature even in our modern societies that have been far removed from it.

Abstract: “The Latchfield Tales” is a creative writing project that features a series of short stories centered around a fictitious community set in modern day New England. Each story fits into the literary genre of crime fiction and possesses its own self-contained story. However, when strung together, the collection also features a secondary plot line that snakes through the background. Latchfield is presented as a community engorged with secrecy and deception, and its stories are designed to enter into dialogue with questions regarding the motivations of lawbreakers, crime solvers and everyone caught in between.