The old adage for authors is to ‘write what you know,’ and I believe the same can be said for any other artistic medium. I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome about four years ago and it has been a life-altering experience for me. I now have to shape the rest of my life around the management of a medical condition that forces me to locate the nearest bathroom whenever I go somewhere new, carry medication with me at all times, and cook everything I consume. I have struggled with this new way of life, and wanted to help remove stigma while building connections with others. It finally occurred to me that I could use my passion for photography to document the experiences and stories of myself and others with chronic illness. The main portion of this project is a website, www.monroephotos.com, that shows photographs I made with each individual as well as a portion of the story behind their illness. I struggled to give a name to this project but I ultimately decided on Beyond the Diagnosis because it implies that there is a story to tell after a diagnosis of chronic illness, and that an authentic life can be lived in the face of illness. And, as I will outline in the paper component of this project, there is real world evidence and scholarship that examines the need for a reclaiming of the self after facing a life-altering diagnosis. The project provides a window into the lives of five survivors of chronic illness beyond what is detailed in their patient charts – they are more than their diagnosis. With the contributions of my collaborators- Kevin, Eleri, Sam and Alex, as well as my own story- the website and paper explore the ways in which chronic illnesses impact the daily lives of each participant.
Past Master's Projects
The variety of master's projects produced by our students testifies to the interdisciplinary nature of the Duke GLS program. Some take the form of a traditional master's thesis, but explore issues from a perspective that requires stepping back from disciplinary boundaries or combining the methods of different disciplines. Others combine traditional academic analysis with other modes and genres -- whether creative, documentary or practical. Each of them represents the culminating efforts of a student in achieving the MALS degree.
From 2014-22, a few projects each year were awarded the designation of "Exemplary Master's Project," and marked as such in these records. Search for the word "exemplary" to find them. Exemplary projects were highlighted as particularly good models for students contemplating master's projects of their own. A video showcase featuring some of our 2019-20 winners may be found here.
Starting in 2022-23, all students completing projects are invited to present their work in a public year-end Master's Project Showcase. Projects whose authors choose to present at this event are designated "Showcase Projects."
How, who, and why are Western young adults within the United States and the European Union attracted to modern radical Islamic movements such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)? How have technology and social media aided these movements in areas such as recruitment, retention, and empathy for the organization? At the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism in 2001, the average foreign fighter in the Middle East was 28 years old. Today, the average age is closer to 21 years old. In the modern age of technology, this current wave of inexperienced jihadists being “radicalized” is now being discussed as a “violent extremist social trend.” Radicalization is not a new concept. Extreme ideology has a long history; yet it has often required face to face exposure to have a lasting effect. These particular Islamic movements appear to inspire both active and sympathetic allegiance by a new group of young fighters via secondary interactions such as internet videos, social media applications and live chats via smart phones. ISIS is considered one of these new radical movements that employs technology to recruit and groom potential members. As terrorist-based groups such as ISIS continue to attract young adults, it is imperative that motivation for joining such groups be researched and analyzed. A “one size fits all” approach to countering violent extremism does not appear to be a viable option for today’s modern, technologically astute society. There are many different pathways to radicalization, and the mechanisms in place that may aid in radicalization operate in different ways for different people at different points in their lives. Through the research conducted during this thesis, I have discovered that contributing factors such as cult and gang association, mental illness, cultural and societal identity, and social media all have the potential to contribute to the radicalization of individuals. Data analysis and a deeper understanding of marginalization factors (host, parental and traditional cultures) aid in countering the recruitment, retention and empathy for groups such as ISIS. As radicalization is considered a long, social process, governments and citizens must gain a greater understanding of the core elements that exist in these processes and be willing to acknowledge that actions on their part may contribute to the problem or to the solution.
In the context of globalization, economic reforms, and urbanization, China is experiencing a nutrition transition, a trend referring to shifts in dietary and physical activity patterns. In recent decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity increased dramatically and became a public health concern. Childhood obesity has multiple drivers, and the increasing rate reflects the changing food system, economic growth, and changes to dietary and physical activity patterns. Moreover, it becomes more complex when considering the disparities between urban and rural regions of China. Despite rural children have a lower prevalence in obesity than their urban counterparts, they are experiencing a higher rate of increase indicating a potential explosion. Effective interventions should be comprehensive, addressing both dietary and physical activity patterns and health education in both rural and urban areas. Furthermore, a whole-system intervention approach is suggested, which needs efforts of schools, communities, and families.
The central question for this paper is: what should we do when the interests of our family members conflict with the interests of strangers? There has been a heated debate within the Chinese philosophy community on this question. The debate is situated in two classic Chinese schools of thoughts: Confucianism and Mohism. This paper begins by analyzing the debate. Recently, some scholars have argued that this so-called Confucian-Mohist debate is the result of misinterpretation. I reject this view and argue that, although Confucians and Mohists have some common grounds, they do have a central difference. Mohists believe that we should treat family members and strangers equally when they conflict, whereas Confucians believe that we should treat family members with some priority. Besides the interpretation issue, I argue that Confucians are right on the normative aspect. We should give family members some priority, and this is one of the important factors to consider when facing the moral conflict between family members and strangers. However, I argue that there are other important factors to consider, including our equal obligation towards strangers. Thus, in order to make a better decision in the conflict, we need to distinguish between doing and allowing harm, and love and care.
The province of Sindh in Pakistan is predominantly an agriculture-based region which has a large proportion of the population living in rural areas. Here, women play a significant role in agricultural activities and are also held responsible for household activities. Given rigid social structures, the influence of power by elites who exercise control through landholdings and additional cultural and religious restrictions, women in rural Sindh are considered to be amongst the most disenfranchised. Through this paper, I attempt to identify the vulnerabilities of women in rural Sindh to climate change effects and evaluate the gender differences in access to resources, services and facilities. From the analysis conducted, the increase in the burden of responsibilities for women of rural Sindh in combination with the social, economic and cultural barriers, ineffective implementation mechanisms and subsequent structural causes result in exclusion of women from sustainable livelihood management practices. The situation is further exacerbated by the effects of climate change.The paper assesses various policy options and provides recommendations to the Provincial government of Sindh to invest in capacity building schemes and improve agricultural practices through investments in social protection programs, technical and vocational skills. Investing in such mechanisms will have considerable positive effects on the social, cultural and economic status of women and help to build resilience against disasters and additional climate change effects within the region.
This thesis discusses the controversial doctor-patient relation problem in contemporary China. The key issue it aims to address is how to improve the doctor-patient relation with efforts from multiple levels. This thesis reviews literature on China’s healthcare service as a way to identify the causes of the doctor-patient tension. It then recommends possible interventions drawing on international experiences. The recommendations follow a three-level—macro-, meso- and micro-level—framework. What this thesis found is that the tension between doctors and patients is not only the fault of the frontline health workers. As a result, interventions for its improvement cannot target exclusively doctor’s behavior. Meanwhile, since the doctor-patient relations problem is not unique to China, we should also learn from the successful lessons in the global society. It is not our goal to resolve the problem in China’s healthcare system. With the discussion in this thesis, we hope to show that there is the potential to alleviate doctor-patient tension in China with joint efforts in the society.
**Designated as an Exemplary Master's Project for 2016-17**
In this project I explore how Spanish visual culture (in addition to select works of art from other European nations), especially but not solely Spanish Baroque painting and the works of Francisco Goya, inspired the filmmakers Carlos Saura and Victor Erice in their depiction of late Francoist Spanish society. Additionally, I interpret how these two directors, whose acclaimed work changed Spanish cinema in the 1960s and 1970s, specifically embody Francoist Spain in their characters and settings. In my exploration of artistic influences on Saura and Erice’s embodiment of Francoism, I analyze three films, in order of their theatrical release: The Garden of Delights (1970), directed by Carlos Saura, The Spirit of the Beehive (1972), directed by Victor Erice, and Cria Cuervos (1975), directed by Saura. My method for analyzing each film includes my allusion to specific works of art that I consider as influential to Saura and Erice, whether on a conscious or subconscious level. Each film, in my view, evokes images that play an important role in Spanish visual culture, and the nation’s collective memory. I discuss The Garden of Delights primarily within the context of Hieronymus Bosch’s eponymous painting, as well as Goya’s Duel with Clubs. I analyze The Spirit of the Beehive, the film which I see as most evocative of painting, primarily within the context of Baroque and Romantic painting, and how the two styles’ contrasts are evoked in the film’s indoor and outdoor scenes, respectively. I show how Cria Cuervos, filmed as Franco lay dying, primarily evokes Goya’s Saturn and Velazquez’ portraiture. I conclude that (primarily) Spanish visual culture influenced Saura and Erice’s embodiment of their repressive society and effectively aided the auteurs’ symbolistic subversive filmmaking.
**Designated as an Exemplary Master's Project for 2016-17**
Without question, I believe that those who desire to teach and subsequently become educators do so because they look at students and find hope, recognize humanity. As a teacher for these last 13 years, the most foundational questions (What is education? Why do I teach? Who do I teach? How do I teach?) seem lost in wider conversations about education. This is due, in part, to the guiding educational philosophies that determine our society’s motivations for valuing education. In this project, I look at the potential literature affords to engage adolescents in thinking about ethics. In chapter one, I argue why this remains an important task in the public sphere. Next, I discuss the state of current educational rationales and literature standards for middle school Language Arts classrooms. Through this research, I discovered the term “moral imagination,” an idea present in many professional schools but notably absent in Kindergarten through undergraduate educational settings. In the second chapter, I discuss moral imagination using scholarly historical and psychological perspectives. I then argue for the unique opportunity the middle grades classroom provides to encourage this type of imagining. In the third chapter, I explore how teachers might encourage thinking about morality through reading actual books, cover to cover, page by page. Finally, in the fourth chapter, I provide close readings of three widely-used middle school texts: Jacqueline Woodson’s brown girl dreaming, Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and Lois Lowry’s The Giver. My purpose in this short analysis is to demonstrate motifs that arise when students read books that cultivate imaginative ways to understand complicated stories and characters. I encourage teachers to risk assigning books that help young people stretch their moral muscles, so to speak, and learn to engage questions that cut to the core of what it means to be human.
The joy of finding unspoiled beaches on the island of Ocracoke led to inquiring how these areas escaped the rampant development prevalent in coastal North Carolina. This project’s primary purpose was to investigate a mostly unknown person, named Frank Stick, and to determine his role, if any, in helping to establish the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and second, to investigate present-day threats to the seashore. The primary inquiry led to Roanoke Island, NC, and the Outer Banks History Center to research from primary sources the life of Frank Stick and the formation of the national seashore. I also interviewed residents of the Outer Banks and descendants of landowners that had contributed to the national seashore. To research current threats, I attended forums of the NC Coastal Federation, Duke’s Ocean Policy Working Group, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and toured the entire seashore. My inquiry reveals that the formation of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore has a very long and complicated history in which Frank Stick played a major role, and which this paper examines through his life and times. I found that oil exploration and global warming are major threats to the seashore, and that coastal residents prefer tourism to an energy economy. This paper reveals who Frank Stick was and what we can learn from his activism, conservationism and methods in order to counteract current environmental threats to America’s first national seashore.
**Designated as an Exemplary Master's Project for 2016-2017**
Recognizing paved roads in the U.S. as an intersection between humans and other living things can contribute to new ways of relating to the world around us. While engineering capabilities can accomplish feats that increase the possibilities for human connectivity, human transportation also affects the movement and lives of many other organisms. A multispecies approach to understanding roads considers humans as one of many component parts of the ecosystems we occupy—as animals entangled with and interdependent on other beings, each seeking solutions for survival. Ultimately, I am curious how a multispecies exploration of paved roads in the U.S. could influence change in the way humans design transportation systems and share space with other species. By comparing human movement to the movement of other organisms, humans may learn better ways to move ourselves and remember to see ourselves as animal actors within the ecosystem. There are multiple indications that a close examination of American road infrastructure is a timely endeavor. While the cost of materials and labor makes large scale change to the built environment challenging, three factors that contribute to change are currently coalescing. I argue that deteriorating infrastructure coupled with recent ecological discoveries and new developments in technology present the conditions for a major change in the American landscape.