Cinema and Media Studies

To appropriate something means basically only to manifest the supremacy of my will in relation to the thing and to demonstrate that the latter does not have being for itself and is not an end in itself…This manifestation occurs through my conferring upon the thing an end other than that which it immediately possessed. I give the living creature, as my property, a soul other than that which it previously had; I give it my soul.

Aesthetic intervention can reveal new views of the world that work towards undermining the prevailing anthropocentric ideas that undergird the catastrophe of climate change. This paper outlines "catastrophe aesthetics," an artistic strategy that attempts to deal with "the mess" of the Earth in an effort to "turn the world anew." To exemplify this aesthetic orientation, I examine three geologically themed films that feature the "matter" of the Earth: Adrien Missika's Darvaza, Sasha Litvintseva and Isabel Mallet's The Stability of the System, and Terra Jean Long's Notes from the Anthropocene. These works share commonalities with new materialist philosophies in that they examine the way in which the "stories" of rocks, fossils, dirt, and other subterranean substances are deeply entangled with humans and have a key role in creating meaning in the world. These films contest the stance that the ground materials of the Earth are...

In this thesis I propose a range of ways in which music, as an affective mode of communication, is able to reach out and connect with audiences across multiple and diverse socio-cultural milieus. In order to understand music's social potential as a transformational force, the ideas expressed in this thesis suggests new ways of reading popular music through Deleuze-Guattarian theorizations when dealing with minoritarian expressions and collective becomings. Reading the punk DIY aesthetic through Deleuze

With Humanities disciplines expanding exponentially in multiple directions as a result of technological advancements that are providing us with more and more socio-cultural and political areas, objects, and events to be theorized and explored, the need for interdisciplinary approaches to various fields of study as a way to understand the role of the individual and issues of subjectivity in contemporary culture was inevitable. Interdisciplinarity, in a way, has made the study of various fields possible and enriched the ways in which we learn to engage with cultural objects and historical moments. In this paper, I will address the ways in which interdisciplinary practices have contributed to the field of Sound Studies. Sound Studies, recognized in the 1990s as a legitimate field of study, is one of the more recent additions to the Humanities. I will refer to cultural theorists such as Brian Massumi and Félix Guattari who write on the necessity for all disciplines to combine and inform one another as a way to better understand knowledge production and its impact on processes of subjectivation and the ever evolving social fabric of today’s culture. Jonathan Sterne’s writings on the emergence of Sound Studies and its inherent interdisciplinary nature will also contribute to my discussion. I intend to reference various sound and video artists whose work can be analyzed from a range of disciplinary perspectives and how such an interdisciplinary engagement with their work makes their creative contributions useful pedagogical tools to better understand the relevance of Sound Studies in academia.

Rock music gained a meteoric currency mainly as a vehicle for teen rebellion (1950s-70s). New sounds and styles questioned, challenged, and provided a subversive alternative to the status quo. Behind rock's ragged exterior, however, was a highly affective ethos, which provide those who partook in its socio-music scene with an expressive counter-cultural outlet. Music, as one of the most popular, affective and multigenerative modes of expression, creates a space in which individuals find the ability and freedom to articulate certain attitudes, ideas, and values that otherwise might prove too elusive. Ironically, rock's notoriety as an alternative to the mainstream it was initially reacting against, has since been annexed by the dominant culture. This sublimation of rock's rebellion gave rise to the punk ethic antidote-whose sounds, styles and attitudes I will discuss throughout this chapter. Specifically, I will explore women's utilization of punk to expand their potential influence in the rock music scene. The punk ethos is particularly important in establishing an artistic space for women who have traditionally been constrained by the limitations of a formulaic and hierarchical music industry system. The democratic potential of punk allowed them to demonstrate that women playing their own instruments are more than a novelty act-they are serious musicians with plenty to say, who are changing the soundscape of our lives.

In today's digital age, we are becoming more like machines and machines are becoming more like us. Donna Haraway's seminal essay, "A Cyborg Manifesto," proposes the cyborg as a transgressive figure capable of subverting oppressive power structures. While there is no denying this powerful imagery, what are the common trends in female AI narratives in mainstream cinema? This paper examines the films Ex Machina (2015) and Her (2013), which both feature male human protagonists and female AIs (Ava, a feminized robot in Ex Machina and Samantha, a female operating system in Her). Ava's and Samantha's highly sexual yet innocent characterizations and similar desires for freedom are reflective of societal anxieties surrounding male control over female agency. As gendered AIs continue to populate our media, one can only hope that we can live up to Haraway's vision of the cyborg, and expand the scope of our questions and concepts past male pleasure and women as research-fetish objects.

This paper explores ideas of trauma, affect, memory, and the queer archive of feelings within the expanded photographic and performance practice of the Canadian born, L.A. based queer performance artist Heather Cassils. The essay specifically looks
at Cassils’ piece "Becoming an Image". T

Paper submitted for Museums and Galleries (ArtHistory 5170) at York University. The papers analyzes the ways in which Canadian First Nations histories and narratives have been addresse, or not addressed, within the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Course paper for Curatorial Practices (Grad Art History at York University). The paper discusses concepts of regionalism and critical regionalism in relation to two Canadian prairie exhibitions "News From Here" and "They Made a Day be a Day Here".