Browsing by Author "Didier, John, committee member"

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Open Access
An urban field of dreams: professional baseball and the fruition of new - old Denver
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Miller, Preston, author; Alexander, Ruth, advisor; Gudmestad, Robert, advisor; Dickinson, Greg, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
This thesis examines how Coors Field framed the evolution of Denver's cultural geography and common identity between 1980 and 2010. I focus on the ballpark's connection to the process of "placemaking" as it unfolded between two adjacent "Old Denver" neighborhoods: North Larimer - a multicultural enclave that became the "Ballpark Neighborhood" - and the Lower Downtown historic district, whose founders bemoaned Denver's subsequent transformation into "Sports Town USA." As a contested icon, Coors Field affected notions of place, image, and inclusion for these neighborhoods and the city at large. Given this volatile context, I argue that its fruition highlighted what the Retro Ballpark Movement could and could not do for postmodern urban America. Many observers have heralded this ballpark project as an urban panacea, but an analysis of how ordinary Denverites perceived the new kind of city it left in its wake exposed a growing rift between baseball's working class mythos and the upscale nature of contemporary ballpark projects. Despite its instant success as an economic anchor, Coors Field ultimately contributed to the homogenization (or "Disneyfication") of "Old Denver" - a trend that clashed with baseball's democratic promise and previous notions of this downtown area as a diverse and authentic enclave. Utilizing local periodicals and government documents, I look at how this facility sprang from the hopes, dreams, and qualms of myriad individuals; the finished product representing a new dawn for some and a recurring nightmare for others. The narrative follows, as a central protagonist of sorts, Karle Seydel, an influential urban designer and neighborhood activist who should be recognized as the grassroots "Father of Coors Field." Seydel championed the project as a means to save North Larimer, guided its design, and dealt with its consequences. I wanted to offer a people's history of the "Blake Street Ballpark," and thus his experiences and opinions (as well as those of his allies and opponents) will guide my analysis of how an urban field of dreams contributed to Denver's reinvention as a new - old "city of leisure."
Open Access
Clean Water Act environmental compliance program review of ten air force bases and water quality survey
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Hoeffner, Jacob, author; Carlson, Kenneth, advisor; Carter, Ellison, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
This study includes two main components. First, environmental compliance program reviews (ECPRs) of ten AF bases investigated the permits, programs, and compliance records at an installation level. Due to the depth of the ECPRs, detailed performance metrics from EPA ECHO, EASIER, and OSD databases were integrated into the ECPRs findings. Second, a survey further investigated trends identified in the ECPRs across 25 participating installations. The relevant performance metrics were used to evaluate the effectiveness of water programs that participated in the survey. Systemic compliance risks in permit management, data management, and stormwater and wastewater infrastructure were identified.
Open Access
Cuexcomate or temezcal?: deciphering the circular architectural features at Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Ahrens, Corrie, author; Fisher, Christopher T., advisor; Leisz, Stephen, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
The Middle Postclassic Purépecha site of Angamuco in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Michoacán, Mexico possesses a significant number of circular architectural features. Comparison of these features to similar structures across Mesoamerica suggests their function as cuexcomates (granaries) or temezcals (sweatbaths). Based on comparative research of storage structures and sweatbaths employed throughout Mesoamerica, identification of physical attributes associated with cuexcomates and temezcals provided a basic foundation for identification of these structures during field survey. The availability of GPS and LiDAR data enable the use of spatial spatial statistics resulting in the identification of statistically significant spatial clustering of the circular features based on diameter. These clusters reside in elite and commoner residential and public/civic-ceremonial areas. Further inspection of these areas has provided insights into storage behavior, socio-economic characteristics, access, and urban development among the Purépecha. Future research at Angamuco providing the existence of additional circular features will aid in better identification of circular structure types and the expansion of storage knowledge and spatial analysis techniques employed at archaeological sites.
Open Access
From Nobilissima dux to Beata: expressions of female authority and influence in medieval Florence
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Smith, Barbara S., author; Lindsay, James E., advisor; Didier, John, committee member; Coronel, Patricia, committee member
This thesis argues that by examining four influential women of Florence and northern Italy over some five centuries' time (circa 1060-1471A.D.) historians can view change over time related to female authority and how it reflects larger social norms that became increasingly entrenched over time. These women inform our understanding of the role and status of women in medieval Florence through their exceptionality. By considering such a large expanse of time these women's lives can be compared to one another, as well as to their contemporaries. Chapter 1 introduces the topic and discusses general themes that are occurring contemporaneously across Europe that serve to inform and provide context for the laws and social norms that are occurring in Florence. Chapter 2 focuses more directly on each woman and her familial and social circumstances in which she uses and exercises her authority. Chapter 3 builds on the base of Chapter 2 and makes arguments regarding the extent to which each woman wielded her authority and the ways in which that authority was exercised. Chapter 4 provides a brief conclusion in relation to each woman and how the four, together, help to inform historians' knowledge about the ways in which patriarchal power structures, including patrilineage, worked to increasingly exclude women from positions of authority.
Open Access
Re-visiting Orientalism: on the problem of speaking for the Orient
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Baradan, Saad Nawras, author; Kneller, Jane, advisor; Didier, John, committee member; MacDonald, Bradley, committee member
It was the advice of one of my professors that when I found a thesis topic that would sustain my interest that I be able to summarize it in one sentence. Here it is: Orientalism involves instances of speaking for others, and, therefore, Orientalism is primarily a problem of ethics. Or, in another formulation: Orientalism, not as the problem of representing the Orient, but as the problem of speaking for the Orient. In the pages that follow, I will offer a re-reading of Orientalism, one that is aimed at both a positive exegesis of Edward Said’s Orientalism and a critical engagement with the text. In the first chapter, I distill Orientalism and some of the common criticisms leveled against the book. This requires delving into Michel Foucault and specifically examining how Said appropriates Foucault’s discourse theory. My main argument here will be that discourse theory is by its nature perspectival, and, thus, Said does not fail to correctly appropriate Foucault. Given the perspectival nature of discourse theory there are numerous perspectives from which to analyze the discourse of Orientalism. Thus, my suggestion by the end of this chapter is to make the turn away from a representational reading of Orientalism towards an ethical reading. In Chapter Two, I chart out this ethical reading by highlighting the problem of Orientalism as one of speaking for the Orient rather than representing the Orient. Using Linda Martin Alcoff’s essay, The Problem of Speaking for Others, I highlight how discourse theory in general and Orientalism in particular involve instances of speaking for others. In Chapter Three, then, I offer solutions to the vexed problem of speaking for others.
Open Access
Seeing beyond design: exploring non-engineering functions of technology in engineering ethics
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Hoeffner, Jacob, author; Rollin, Bernard, advisor; Hamid, Idris, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
The purpose of this paper is to draw a distinction between the function of technology in engineering contexts and non-engineering contexts. The first two sections identify and elaborate this distinction; the final portion of the paper demonstrates why engineers should be aware of non-engineering functions of technology in light of this distinction. Both engineering (or design-based) and non-engineering evaluations of technology can be categorized within the genus of engineering ethics. However, I do not intend to provide a commentary on how engineers might improve the design process. Rather, my goal is to provide an argument as to why it is important for engineers to understand the limitations of the design method of evaluation. In order to do so, I will outline various non-engineering evaluations of conventional nuclear technology and the correlations between non-engineering evaluations and advanced nuclear designs of today. In closing, I will distinguish engineering as a method, a metaphysical concept, from engineering as a profession, an ethical concept. I will conclude by demonstrating that understanding the limitations of the design method is an essential feature of professional engineering. Through introducing the limitations of the design method it will be clear why engineers should learn to see beyond the design.
Open Access
Strategies of the Arapahos and Cheyennes for combating nineteenth century American colonialism
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Hilger, Stephen, author; Smoak, Gregory E. 1962-, advisor; Knight, Frederick C., advisor; Kneller, Jane, 1954-, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
The nineteenth century was a period of turbulence for the Cheyenne and Arapaho people and both tribes relied on existing cultural systems of socio-political organization to confront the new challenges brought by this new era of change. At the dawn of the century, the two tribes elected to embrace the horse and a nomadic equestrian lifestyle on the Great Plains. Although the adoption of the horse offered a path to acquire great wealth, the animal's ascendance as the critical material good within both societies stressed existing social relationships. The second new phenomenon confronting the Cheyennes and the Arapahos during the nineteenth century was the influx of American settlers onto the Front Range following the Colorado gold rush. American settlers not only brought a contending ecological relationship with the natural environment, but also competing conceptions of property and power. These new dynamics threatened the viability of equestrian lifestyles as natural resources were put under high levels of stress and became privatized by the new boundaries of capitalism. To confront the challenges brought by the horse and American expansion, the Cheyennes and Arapahos developed indigenous political strategies expressed through their respective socio-political institutions. In Arapaho culture, males were progressively organized into peer groups through the lodge system. The lodge system directed Arapahos' interactions with foreign actors, as the tribe utilized intermediaries to relay pre-established political decisions made by the tribe's elders known as the Water Pouring Men, functioning to avert instances of violence with the United States and limit tribal factionalism. Similarly, the Cheyennes own socio-political institutions, the Council of Forty Four and the warrior societies, directed their relationship with United States in a different historical trajectory. While the chiefs of the Council of Forty Four strived to use peace and diplomacy in solving critical political issues, the warrior societies preferred methods of violence to advance Cheyenne interests. After the violent massacres of Cheyennes at Sand Creek and along the Washita River, however, a new generation of Cheyenne council chiefs, who embraced policies of both war and peace rose to leadership and were more successful in achieving Cheyenne political goals.
Open Access
Terraces at Angamuco: analysis of urban agricultural landscapes through LiDAR and GIS
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Westberry, Celena, author; Fisher, Chris, advisor; Leisz, Stephen, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
Angamuco was a long standing ancient Purépecha city located in Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Michoacán, Mexico. Occupied for at least 1300 years, this archaeological site represents an accumulation of urban features including monumental architecture, a vast road network, wide-ranging domestic and public architecture, and extensive agricultural terracing. Years of pedestrian survey, several excavation seasons, and LiDAR scans of the city have produced a robust record of the dense features of the city. Using these data, in-depth GIS analysis of the spatial qualities of terraced features was possible. Through a robust investigation of 25% of the site, a total area of 178,232m2 was found to be terraced. This sample was then extrapolated onto the entirety of the site, giving an estimation of 712,928m2 of terraced area for the malpaís of Angamuco. Total area, dimensions, and spatial associations suggest that the agricultural system at Angamuco was created through a bottom up process. This likely represents multiple generations of small groups investing time and labor to make their land more productive and sustainable over long periods of time. Furthermore, productivity models suggest that small groups were utilizing these terraced zones for personal consumption, elite crop production, or minimal market transactions. Future research will further elaborate on specific growing qualities such as crop type, irrigation practices and fertilization techniques in order to better understand the agricultural system at ancient Angamuco.
Open Access
The ontology of the ineffable
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Miller, Zachary, author; Plastini, Johnny, advisor; Dormer, James, advisor; Ryan, Ajean, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
In this essay, Taoism and other philosophical references are juxtaposed with contemporary art historical figures to supplement Zach Miller's explanation of his own artwork. Themes explored include the relationships between language, creation, destruction, positivity, idealism, negativity, sense and manifestation. Miller argues that sense transcends the functionality of the linguistic notions of signification, especially in relation to translating ineffable qualities of experience. Conceptual influences are balanced by explanations of aesthetic processes involved in the creation of Miller's work to show similarities between ideas and artistic behaviors. Miller reveals the potential liberating experiences of creating artwork in the face of the meaninglessness and impossibility of the objective knowledge of reality.
Open Access
The Paw Pout Deh: an autohistoria from the Burmese diaspora
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Telling, Thazin Su, author; Sagas, Ernesto, advisor; DeMirjyn, Maricela, committee member; Didier, John, committee member
This study seeks to make sense of my first-hand experience witnessing and experiencing the Burmese diaspora both from within and as an outsider. The title Tha Baw Pout Deh is a Burmese phrase that describes the process of reaching an understanding of a complex subject. It is a compound phrase made up of Tha Baw (mind set) and Pout Deh (explode), much like the English phrase 'to blow your mind'. My Tha Baw Pout Deh began with my experience living and working with Burmese refugees on the border between Burma and Thailand. Theories I was exposed to subsequently as a formal student of Ethnic Studies, both at the University of Colorado at Boulder and at Colorado State University, helped me comprehend fully my experience in the borderlands and my prior experience as a child of mixed race in a predominantly white and extremely affluent Boulder. It is from the collision of my border experience, my own up-bringing, and Ethnic Studies theories and accounts through which chapters of this thesis were produced. I use these chapters to illustrate the central message of my thesis, which is that a contribution of three factors was needed to reach my Tha Baw Pout Deh. These are an autobiographical experience, first-hand observation of the experience of others, and a theoretical framework learned from the Ethnic Studies literature.
Open Access
What to pack for the hero's journey: an examination of some concepts relating to heroic figures
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Brown, Robert, author; Rollin, Bernard, advisor; Didier, John, committee member; Hickey, Matthew, committee member
Heroes are a concept that has existed in almost every culture and period of human history. The contemporary era is no exception, with one example being the incredibly popular and lucrative industry of comic book superheroes. Despite this prevalence however, contemporary philosophy has had little to say about the hero. In this project I try to slightly remedy that situation by examining what the hero may look like in some popular normative ethical theories (nonspecific utilitarianism, Kantianism, and virtue ethics) with the idea that a successful ethical theory should be able to conceptualize the hero. Additionally, I borrow a concept from Ancient Roman culture, the discrimen, to aid in examining heroes ranging from the historic, the everyday, and beyond. Finally, I make some remarks on the inspirational nature of heroes, which I believe to be a significant reason for why philosophers should address the hero. Going forward, I would like to see more robust discussion of heroes in philosophy because of both the positive role they can play as exemplars to aid and facilitate ethical education and ultimately, create a more ethical society.