Kaleidoscope is a creative nonfiction thesis comprised of five chapters, each of which considers the relationship of scent to the writer-speaker's mental health. Grounded in olfactive language, the thesis’s scent obsession is a gateway to many other themes: fragmentation, digital addiction, and mental health crises.
Accompanying the thesis is a short critical introduction that explores the relationship between scent, pain, and futurity in my work. I argue that sensory stimulation can allow us to imagine alternate universes that bring pleasure into pain. I also look at scent as an obsession that leads to vibrant language, putting my work in conversation with three major influences: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Annie Dillard, and Leslie Feinberg.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>Kaleidoscope</em> is a creative nonfiction thesis comprised of five chapters, each of which considers the relationship of scent to the writer-speaker's mental health. Grounded in olfactive language, the thesis’s scent obsession is a gateway to many other themes: fragmentation, digital addiction, and mental health crises.</p> <p>Accompanying the thesis is a short critical introduction that explores the relationship between scent, pain, and futurity in my work. I argue that sensory stimulation can allow us to imagine alternate universes that bring pleasure into pain. I also look at scent as an obsession that leads to vibrant language, putting my work in conversation with three major influences: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Annie Dillard, and Leslie Feinberg.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rigney, Maeve C"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joshua Bernstein","Angela Ball","Emily Stanback"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2026-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z","subjects":["english","mental health","Nonfiction"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1184","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joshua Bernstein","Angela Ball","Emily Stanback"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rigney, Maeve C"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2275-04-03T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["english","mental health","Nonfiction"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1184"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Kaleidoscope is a creative nonfiction thesis comprised of five chapters, each of which considers the relationship of scent to the writer-speaker's mental health. Grounded in olfactive language, the thesis’s scent obsession is a gateway to many other themes: fragmentation, digital addiction, and mental health crises.
Accompanying the thesis is a short critical introduction that explores the relationship between scent, pain, and futurity in my work. I argue that sensory stimulation can allow us to imagine alternate universes that bring pleasure into pain. I also look at scent as an obsession that leads to vibrant language, putting my work in conversation with three major influences: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Annie Dillard, and Leslie Feinberg.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Kaleidoscope"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Joshua Bernstein","Angela Ball","Emily Stanback"],"dc:creator":["Rigney, Maeve C"],"dc:date.available":["2275-04-03T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Kaleidoscope is a creative nonfiction thesis comprised of five chapters, each of which considers the relationship of scent to the writer-speaker's mental health. Grounded in olfactive language, the thesis’s scent obsession is a gateway to many other themes: fragmentation, digital addiction, and mental health crises.
Accompanying the thesis is a short critical introduction that explores the relationship between scent, pain, and futurity in my work. I argue that sensory stimulation can allow us to imagine alternate universes that bring pleasure into pain. I also look at scent as an obsession that leads to vibrant language, putting my work in conversation with three major influences: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Annie Dillard, and Leslie Feinberg.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/1184"],"dc:subject":["english","mental health","Nonfiction"],"dc:title":["Kaleidoscope"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:55Z"}