The American counter-monumental tradition: renegotiating memory and the evolution of American sacred space

This dissertation explores U.S. monuments as contested sites where marginalized groups who have been either omitted or villianized in the original monument at a site have sought to gain inclusion and have their narratives of the past articulated on U.S. sacred sites. My project expands on academic literature on German counter-monuments and links American counter-monuments to this field of study. Following my analysis of three German counter-monuments, this project explores three American counter-monuments: Chicago’s Haymarket Square, “Liberty Place” in New Orleans, and the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington D.C., which offer examples of struggles over public memory on issues of class (Haymarket Square), race (Liberty Place), and sex (Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial). I selected each site intentionally because each has been marked with an original monument, as well as served as a site where the narrative contained in that monument has been challenged by those denied representation on the sacred site. Each has been altered significantly since the creation of its original monument, and has also been the locus of vernacular performances and responses in the years since the inception of the original monuments. Accordingly, my dissertation offers a critical analysis of the aforementioned counter-monuments by exploring four central traits of counter-monuments: 1) the evolution of monumental sites, 2) presence, absence, and irony, 3) the monument’s relation to sacred space, and 4) the use of the site as a forum. I argue that American counter-monuments begin with competing claims to a sacred space, the eventual creation of multiple monuments (each representing a different perspective on how the past should be remembered), and the representation of the development of the site across time. Ultimately, those in control of each site have attempted to reconcile the competing perspectives under some transcendent ideal, thus rearticulating the different perspectives not as competing, but as different perspectives pursuing common American ideals. Both by gaining access to build a monument at U.S. sacred sites, and by having this monument marked as a perspective contributing to an American ideal, counter-monuments offer spaces at which U.S. public memory has been expanded to include previously marginalized perspectives

Creating Livable Neighborhoods in Old Hill and Six Corners, Springfield, Massachusetts

This report documents the work of the Graduate Urban Design Studio in Springfield’s Old Hill and Six Corners neighborhoods with 12,000 inhabitants. Both neighborhoods are challenged by a very low average household income, housing foreclosures, lot vacancies, lack of substantial home ownership, high traffic volumes and poor quality of open space. The primary goal of the project was to develop a vision to renew Old Hill and Six Corners to improve livability for their residents and create new opportunities for housing, recreation, working and commercial activities. Crucial keys to attaining this goal will be creating a stronger sense of place throughout the neighborhood and improved connectivity to the existing public open spaces like the Watershops Pond and the proposed recreational trail “Arc of Recreation”. Four physical design objectives were explored: Creating a vision for livable streets - a more livable streetscape improves walkability, urban ecology, commercial activities and provides an enriching sensual experience. Creating a better physical environment for commercial and business activities – attractive streets create a new identity and support existing businesses. Creating and improving a pedestrian and bicycle oriented circulation and coherent public open space system. Exploring new housing opportunities - new sites for housing integrate the student population in the neighborhoods. We are proud that our proposals were recognized after a tornado hit Springfield in June 2011. REBUILDSPRINGFIELD targeted the tornado-impacted neighborhoods in a collaborative effort with engaged citizens and community groups. Our plans created a valuable planning and design framework to rebuild the City

Essential Guide to Visual Communication

The Essential Guide to Visual Communication is a concise introduction to the evolution, theory, and principles of visual communication in contemporary society. This guide helps students develop the skills they need to become critical consumers of visual media by examining images through the lens of visual rhetoric. Students see how images influence and persuade audiences, and how iconic images can be repurposed to communicate particular messages. Images selected and discussed throughout the text highlight examples of visual communication from earlier generations and the current digital environment that students encounter in their everyday lives.https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/1500/thumbnail.jp

Fundamentals of Oral Communication

https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/1532/thumbnail.jp

McGrath Corridor - A vision for the future in Somerville, MA

Project Goals This project seeks to create opportunities for green connections and city beautification along the McGrath Highway corridor. Key directives are: • Build greenway connections including pedestrian path and bike lanes • Increase open space • Minimize storm water flows and create on site infiltration through green infrastructure. • Improve tree canopy • Enhance economic growth and revitalization The studio’s primary goal is to plan this urban greenway project at multiple scales. The studio synthesizes information about natural features, recreation resources, and development patterns to create a green infrastructure network that addresses the unique problems and opportunities of the study area. Moreover, the studio focuses on finding innovative strategies for enhancing green space in the city, creating urban wildlife habitats, improving recreation access, and enhancing environmental quality

Western Woburn Greenway Study

In spring 2010, the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst was asked to complete a landscape planning study, the “Western Woburn Greenway Study” for the City of Woburn, MA. The study was undertaken by a team of graduate students, supervised by Professor Jack Ahern. The goals of that study are as follows. The City of Woburn currently has two large parcel groups of undeveloped land, Whispering Hill (the north focus area) and Winning/Shannon Farms (the south focus area) that are, or may become, available for acquisition (see “Scope of Project” below). The first goal of the study was to analyze these focus areas and conduct suitability assessments for potential land uses that meet the needs of the residents of Woburn, as well as meet the goals specified by the town’s 2004 Open Space and Recreation Plan. The analysis and land use recommendations could be used by the city in current and future land acquisition decisions. The second goal of the study was to evaluate strategies and actions for connecting these focus areas with linkages to each other, to other existing open spaces in Woburn, and to other green spaces in neighboring towns. These linkages could be obtained with Green Streets an

The Daily Show and Rhetoric Arguments, Issues, and Strategies

The Daily Show and Rhetoric approaches the popular program from a scholarly, rhetorical perspective to uncover the rhetorical nature of the show. Using a variety of rhetorical methods, the book, taken as a whole, concludes that The Daily Show is more that just a show designed to make the audience laugh; it's designed to make the audience think.Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Daily Show and Rhetoric-Arguments, Issues, and Strategies -- I: The Nature of the Beast -- 1 The Arete of Amusement: An Aristotelian Perspective on the Ethos of The Daily Show -- 2 Before and After The Daily Show: Freedom and Consequences in Political Satire -- 3 Cramer vs. (Jon Stewart's Characterization of) Cramer: Image Repair Rhetoric, Late Night Political Humor, and The Daily Show -- II: Arguments -- 4 The (not-so) Laughable Political Argument: A Close-Textual Analysis of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart -- 5 Models of Democratic Deliberation: Pharmacodynamic Agonism in The Daily Show -- 6 Purifying Laughter: Carnivalesque Self-Parody as Argument Scheme in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart -- 7 The Voice of the People: Jon Stewart, Public Argument, and Political Satire -- III: Strategies -- 8 We Frame to Please: A Preliminary Examination of The Daily Show's Use of Frames -- 9 Breaking News: A Postmodern Rhetorical Analysis of The Daily Show -- 10 Visual Aspects of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart -- IV: Issues -- 11 Gaywatch: A Burkean Frame Analysis of The Daily Show's Treatment of Queer Topics -- 12 Modern Hebrew Prophets? The Daily Show and Religious Satire -- 13 The Daily Show and Barack Obama's Comic Critique of Whiteness: An Intersection of Popular and Political Rhetoric -- Index -- About the ContributorsThe Daily Show and Rhetoric approaches the popular program from a scholarly, rhetorical perspective to uncover the rhetorical nature of the show. Using a variety of rhetorical methods, the book, taken as a whole, concludes that The Daily Show is more that just a show designed to make the audience laugh; it's designed to make the audience think.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries

JT002, a small molecule inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome for the treatment of autoinflammatory disorders

Abstract The NLRP3 inflammasome is an intracellular, multiprotein complex that promotes the auto-catalytic activation of caspase-1 and the subsequent maturation and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β and IL-18. Persistent activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome has been implicated in the pathophysiology of a number of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including neuroinflammation, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, lupus nephritis and severe asthma. Here we describe the preclinical profile of JT002, a novel small molecule inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome. JT002 potently reduced NLRP3-dependent proinflammatory cytokine production across a number of cellular assays and prevented pyroptosis, an inflammatory form of cell death triggered by active caspase-1. JT002 demonstrated in vivo target engagement at therapeutically relevant concentrations when orally dosed in mice and prevented body weight loss and improved inflammatory and fibrotic endpoints in a model of Muckle–Wells syndrome (MWS). In two distinct models of neutrophilic airway inflammation, JT002 treatment significantly reduced airway hyperresponsiveness and airway neutrophilia. These results provide a rationale for the therapeutic targeting of the NLRP3 inflammasome in severe asthma and point to the use of JT002 in a variety of inflammatory disorders