Date of Award

Spring 5-15-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Maureen Creegan-Quinquis

Second Advisor

Dr. John Maier

Third Advisor

Dr. Kimberly Post

Abstract

The Tree of Life has historically flourished across cultures as an archetypal image of interconnection, regeneration, and continuity. In the Anthropocene, however, its symbolic vitality is reframed by the realities of environmental crisis. This study investigates how contemporary women artists across the globe sustain and reinterpret the Tree of Life’s meaning to express themes of ecological, spiritual, and cultural relevance. Employing a qualitative design grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology, the study analyzes publicly available artworks and published reflections, including interviews, catalog essays, and artist statements. A purposive sample of twenty women artists from diverse cultural traditions forms the dataset, each represented through existing visual works that explicitly represent the Tree of Life. Analysis is guided by a custom visual and textual analysis protocol and framed by Jungian Archetypal Theory (Jung, 1969), the Biophilia Hypothesis (Wilson, 1986; Kellert & Wilson, 1993), and relational worldviews that include New Animism (Harvey, 2006) as part of a broader symbolic ecology. Findings show how these women artists nurture the Tree of Life as a living symbol, preserving its ancestral depth while reimagining it as a synthesized language for ecological and cultural renewal. The study proposes a ‘symbolic forest theory’ to interpret the Tree of Life as a singular visual concept that encompasses multiple symbolic meanings. It contributes to ecological art, visual culture, and qualitative analysis, demonstrating how art can illuminate meaning and foster ecological care in times of planetary uncertainty.

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