Defense Date
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Art Education
Department
Art Education
First Advisor
Yiwen Wei
Second Advisor
SJ Sindu Sathiyaseelan
Third Advisor
Pari Valad
Abstract
This arts-based autoethnographic study investigates individualism and collectivism, specifically through my study-abroad experience traveling from Saudi Arabia to the United States. Through arts-based reflective practice, I depicted the diasporic experience of being ontoepistemologically collectivistic while navigating a primarily individualistic society. I use the medium of a graphic memoir to illustrate and develop frameworks of confluence that embrace the two distinct cultural orientations simultaneously. This arts-based self-study not only contributes to the body of transnational scholarship but also serves as a reference for international students, researchers, and educators to use arts-based subgenres and data analysis methods to gain better insights into their lived experience.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-8-2026