Digital Commons Network^™

Becoming American: Poland, 1928 To Hot Springs, 2009, Sara Ann Terlecki

Honors Theses

On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, eliciting a declaration of war from Great Britain and France. The Second World War had begun. Hitler's authority proved detrimental to countless individuals lives. However, amid the chaos and agony felt by some, a few found a certain freedom by Hitler's presence. Edith Krueger Terlecki saw Hitler as a type of savior. This is Edith's story.

Then & Now: The Relevance Of Tennessee Williams For The 21st- Century Actress, Marcie Danae Bealer

Honors Theses

Finding a place to begin, discussing the role Tennessee Williams has played in the American Theatre is a daunting task. As a playwright Williams has "sustained dramatic power," which allow him to continue to be a large part of American Theatre, from small theatre groups to actor's workshops across the country. Williams holds a central location in the history of American Theatre (Roudane 1). Williams's impact is evidenced in that "there is no actress on earth who will not testify that Williams created the best women characters in the modem theatre" (Benedict, par 1). According to Gore Vidal, "it is …

Piano Performance Injuries And Preventions, Kristin N. Cordell

Honors Theses

Strength, flexibility, coordination, and determination are all words that come to mind when describing an athlete. Not only do these words apply to athletes, but also to musicians, especially pianists. Each of these characteristics must be found within a pianist in order to achieve success. Although musicians may not look like athletes with large, bulky muscles, they should be considered musician athletes as well.

Just as athletes can become injured during practice or performance, so can pianists. The difference is found in the methods of training each use. Athletes often undergo extensive training to prepare their bodies for intense performance. …

Whaling And The Antarctic, Anna Tohlen

Honors Theses

Historical evidence shows that whale hunting by humans has been occurring for millennia. We are still finding evidence of early whaling cultures. In May 2007, a group of Alaskan Eskimos were butchering a 50-ton bowhead whale they had caught, when they found the barb of a 19th century whaling harpoon wedged in its bones (Dolin, 2007).

House Of Leaves: Navigating The Labyrinth Of The Deconstructed Novel, Molly Throgmorton

Honors Theses

Ever since I learned how to read, I assumed that books must be read a certain way: open to the first page, start at the top, and read from left to right, top to bottom, page after page until the end. I thought that books have one main narrative told by one narrator, and that this narrative has a clear beginning, middle, and end. I also believed that books have clear meanings and explanations (tense). After reading Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, however, I realized that not all books are so neat and predictable.

House of Leaves is …

One Generation Consuming The Next: The Racial Critique Of Consumerism In George Romero’S Zombie Films, Henry Powell

Honors Theses

The racial and economic hierarchies in Romero’s films are complex. Each film shows a strong connection between wealthy and white, which rules over the poor and black or Hispanic. In each of his films, the Americans he shows us are so ingrained in their consumer or racist identities that they cannot look past them even in a time when the characters should only be doing what is important to survive. In Night, Harry dies because of his blind selfishness and bigotry against the African American man who attempts to look out for the group. Stephen and Roger both die because …

Gender Specific Rules In Sport Are Based On An Outdated Idea Of Femininity, Carlie Minichino

Honors Theses

This work is meant to point out the disservice done to female athletes when they play the same sports as their male counterparts but are made to play with different rules. The differences are based on an outdated idea of femininity, as female docility and no longer apply today (if it ever did). This attitude, along with rules of sport, needs to be changed. This paper analyzes this social ideology from three different angles. First, it examines how the female is viewed in society and how this gaze can be changed as presented in the academic writings. Then there is …

The United Arab Emirates Political Stability And Economic Growth, William Chandler

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Break The Sky: An Exploration Of Ethics With Swords And Superheroes, Kris Miranda

Honors Theses

In an extended piece of speculative fiction (specifically, a cross between the sword-and-sorcery and superhero genres), I try to explore the complexities of ethical deliberation in difficult circumstances. Through my protagonist I also present an “alternative” to Enlightenment ethics. I’ve referred to this alternative as an “ethics of the badass and the beautiful,” a little (but only a little) jokingly. The reason for doing all of this through fiction, and not a conventional philosophical paper, is that I believe my ethical education started in stories, and it’s still in good stories and the creative exploration of concretely realized personalities (as …

The Metaphysical Underpinnings Contemporary Attitudes In Consumerism: An Pontification?, Jason Stigliano

Honors Theses

Contemporary philosopher and activist, John Zerzan, critiques modern civilization, and then in hindsight the history of civilization, on two central grounds, which form the basis for the rest of his criticism and theory. Firstly, we are alienated from existence in as much as our experience is, in various ways, mediated rather than immediate. Through language (or symbolic thought), a sense of measured time, symbolic ritual, technology and all the other constituents of civilized culture, we become alienated. His ideal existence might be something like the state of animals as described by John Gardner in his novel Grendel, “he stares at …

Into The Hands Of Christian Princes, Will Darr

Honors Theses

In 313 C.E., Constantine I and Licinius, co-augusti of the Roman empire, issued an edict of toleration for all religions, legalizing Christianity and ending the last great persecution of the early church. This event is seen by most, and rightfully so, as being of inestimable significance in the development of the church. The question has been raised, however, and this also rightfully so, about the dangers of Constantine's caesaropapism and the blurring of distinction between Christian and State polity. Has the effect of this event been to take one step forward and two steps back? How has Christianity been affected …

Reading Joycean Comedy And Faulknerian Tragedy: Exploring The Significance Of Location, Literary Influence And The Possibilities Of Heroism With Leopold Bloom In Joyce’S Ulysses And Quentin Compson In Faulkner’S The Sound And The Fury And Absalom, Absalom!, Colin R. Cummings

Honors Theses

The distinct similarity between Joyce’s and Faulkner’s philosophical concerns (the affirmation of life in spite of its myriad difficulties), and the striking disjuncture between their aesthetic approaches (comedy for Joyce and tragedy for Faulkner), is where my interest in this project began. I sought to explore the lives and works of both writers in order to get a sense of how two artists could attempt to convey a similar message through such different means. The first thing I explore is a number of similarities between Joyce’s and Faulkner’s personal worlds (particularly their intimate connections to location) and their sources of …

On The Record : The Visibility Of Race, Class, Gender, And Age In Richmond, Virginia's Newspaper Coverage Of 1960'S Sitdown Movement, Jill Eisenberg

Honors Theses

This research project is an analysis of the representation of race, class, gender, and age in local newspapers during the early 1960 civil rights' sitdown movement in Richmond, Virginia. Political figures and heads of media were predominantly older, elite, white- and male-oriented and -dominated. Through studying both white Richmond and African American Richmond newspapers, this thesis explores how these interlocking and interdependent systems of oppression and privilege affected the portrayal of groups and individuals in the media. Gender, race, class, and age cannot be studied in isolation from one another when analyzing the Civil Rights Movement and newspapers as primary …

The Politics Of Sectional Servitude : The Construction Of American Abolitionist Discourse In Black And White, 1837-1847, Christopher M. Florio

Honors Theses

I argue that American political discourse surrounding abolition and slavery, sectional politics and violent insurrection, coalesced in the 1840s. The merger of such ostensibly disconnected streams of thought began with the perception of a new political need, as abolitionists came to believe that southern plantation elites had constructed a hegemonic proslavery order. Their interpretation of northern consent to southern domination impelled a proliferation of abolitionist possibilities, possibilities that were intended to sever the connection between national politics and the peculiar institution. Initially disseminated by freed blacks but subsequently appropriated by northern whites, these possibilities crossed the color line and challenged …

Cosmological Vision(S) : History, Modernism, And American Renewal In Hart Crane's The Bridge, Lauren Grewe

Honors Theses

With the help of recent Crane studies, along with my own ear, I intend to prove the worth of Crane's myth of bridging as a way of responding to and eventually reforming the Elitonian vision of the modem world. The Bridge counters Eliot as a way to offer hope to the modem world in place of despair, as a way to offer a system of belief that is neither dogmatic nor futile, that incorporates a vision of the future just as much as a vision of the past.

Good Death: A Community Conversation, Jasmine Lake

Honors Theses

No abstract available. Playbill.