Senior Project Advisor

Thomas Hummel

Document Type

Project

Publication Date

Fall 2023

Keywords

gender, cultural stereotype, classroom interaction, microaggression, oil painting, public research, artificial intelligence, STEM, male-dominated, academia, visual art, course structure, inclusive classroom

Abstract

Incorporating visual art, social research, women’s studies, and artificial intelligence, Fierce Female Friendships investigates the ramifications of gendered experience on the learning environment. By reflecting upon her work in a male-dominated discipline, the author transforms her sense of classroom isolation into two paintings that highlight the subtle yet significant differences that separate inclusivity from alienation. In addition to her personalized reflections, the author also creates a fourteen-question survey which invites her peers to consider gender in academia, to assess their experiences on a university campus, and to imagine how they might depict those experiences using visual art. Positing the idea that gender assumptions proliferate in ways that are similar to those with which artificial intelligence (AI) generates texts and images, the author compiles survey responses and uses an AI art generator to create two, eighty-image posters depicting peer experience. Over the course of Fierce Female Friendships, personal and peer experiences suggest that more inclusive and welcoming educational environments for all minority demographics will require active, consistent, and collaborative change.

Department

Honors

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Women in higher education; Women in science; Sex discrimination against women; Microaggressions

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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