Digital Commons Network^™

Explorations Of Dystopia: Challenging Expectations Through Composition, Bryan Pfiester

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

John Jasper: The Creation Of A Character, Blake Price

Honors Theses

On November 13th, 2015, I will be participating in my last mainstage performance at Western Michigan University. To say I’m excited to be finishing my college career as John Jasper in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, would be an absolute understatement. Over the course of the past three and a half years, I have had the rare privilege to split my time evenly between performing plays and musicals, which does not always happen for Music Theatre Performance majors. The ability to work with new directors on a variety of different styles of plays and musicals has given me the opportunity …

Imagery, Prayer, And Mind Wandering: Kataphatic Prayer, Martha M. O. Duah

Honors Theses

Mind wandering—reduced attention to external events—during prayer could pose a problem for Christians. However, different types of prayer make different cognitive demands. Kataphatic prayer, a common type of evangelical Christian prayer, makes use of mental imagery in hopes of experiencing God in a richer sense. Because both mind wandering and kataphatic prayer require imagery, tying up imagery resources in kataphatic prayer should block mind wandering thereby improving focus. Participants in this study prayed as they normally do, viewed a visual task, or engaged in kataphatic prayer while self-monitoring for mind wandering.

The Trickster And Queen, Jagjit Sidhu

Honors Theses

The trickster is a primary motif that appears in numerous cultures in the form of a mischievous and impulsive character, who tricks others to get what he wants. However, in reality the trickster is far from a simple-minded clown. He is actually very complex and sees through the facade of society and it’s strict hypocritical cultures and traditions, seeking to challenge these mechanisms that restrict the flow of logic and pleasure. For this paper, I will theoretically analyze the mechanism of the trickster, and the intimate relation between his trickery and his role as a culture-hero. I will apply this …

I'M Right Here., Emily Gadzinski

Honors Theses

In order to survive the mundane, monotonousness of my depression, I performed an identity, a repetition of actions and reactions. This performance was the barrier between two selves, my outward expression and my internal experience. “I’m right here”, the title of my exhibition, is my way of asserting and re-claiming my identity. By re-claiming the spaces that my body and mind occupy, I’m able to maintain power and control over my emotional struggle, the perception of myself, and the trajectory of my life. The concept of my thesis was demonstrated through four pieces, which included a video, interactive installation, sculpture, …

Exploration Of The United States’ Cultural Legacy In Panama Through Analysis Of American Foreign Policy And Public Opinion, Katherine A. Boss

Honors Theses

The study of a culture is nearly too difficult to accomplish academically, therefore the consilience of data, personal experience, and public opinion offers the most comprehensive approach. The Panama Canal has just celebrated its centennial and remains to this day one of the most important geopolitical and global economic hubs in the world. Nearly every country that participates in maritime trade utilizes the canal. Panama has ambitious plans for the canal’s future, as it nears completion of a multibillion dollar expansion project; however predicting how Panama handles this growth and new responsibility as a major world power is directly related …

Democratizing Dionysus: The Origins Controversy And The Dual Evolution Of Tragedy And Civism, Belen Plaza-Gainza

Honors Theses

Finding the origins of tragedy has been a fascinating subject since late antiquity, and it continues to be a source of academic debate. The controversy I have examined is from the early years of our twenty-first century, and has questioned the testimony of Aristotle, opening the debate once again. The evidence continues to prove that tragedy’s origins were religious, and even though there is no hard evidence to prove that it evolved from Dionysiac ritual, there is no hard evidence to disprove this theory either.

I have taken this opportunity to examine the origins of tragedy from its evolution, which …

Creando Las Estrellas: Determining The Quality Of The Dominican And Cuban Player Development Systems, Samuel C. Hearn

Honors Theses

Recently, there has been a huge rise in the number of Cuban ballplayers, or peloteros, as the baseball playing Latinos are known. Why do Major League Baseball (MLB) teams go to such lengths to sign Cubans, when a heavy presence already exists in Cuba’s Caribbean neighbor, the Dominican Republic? Through the comparison educational systems, statistics of each country’s elite players, and comparative accounts of the Dominican and Cuban player development systems, the contrast between the two systems is evident. Though the Dominican system creates a large return in the investment MLB teams make in the country, the socialized sport system …

Economic Socialization Through Children’S Literature, Kate Maxwell

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Art Of French Melodie: A Manual For Recital Preparation, Kristen Abraham

Honors Theses

This is a documentation of my journey through the research, development and execution of a voice recital, with a focus on the creation of guidelines for how one may achieve success in a future recital. Moving through three phases: Thinking, Doing, and Reflecting, I highlight the important processes required to transition seamlessly through the phases. During the entirety of this project, I kept a journal of each step, documenting everything to maintain the integrity of the process, and organizing the information into sections to make the findings easier to understand, learn, and replicate. My end goal is to produce a …

Why Were We There?: Using Oral History To Understand Soldiers’ Perceptions Of Why The United States Was In Vietnam, Bailie Avrit

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Layers Of Memory At Sachsenhausen: From The Gdr To Contemporary Germany, Barry J. Bookheimer Jr.

Honors Theses

Sachsenhausen is the site of a traumatic and complex history in the twentieth century. Since 1933, Sachsenhausen has taken on many diverse forms: a Nazi concentration camp, a Soviet Special Camp, an East German National Memorial, and after German reunification, a memory site in contemporary Germany. This work examines the contrast between the centralized, nationalist narrative of the GDR, and the current “decentralized” concept at the site in post-communist Germany. Unlike many other memory sites where previous narratives are minimized, obscured, or even destroyed; Sachsenhausen exhibits relics from all eras of its history, conceptualized in this thesis as “layers of …

Presentation Of Bicultural Identity In Hispanic Children’S Literature, Elena B. Lofton

Honors Theses

Children of all backgrounds can use literature as a means to understand the world in which they live. Therefore, it is important that children’s books represent diverse cultures and experiences. This study analyzed Hispanic children’s literature published in the U.S. that contained child characters with bicultural Hispanic-American identities. The aim of this study was to determine how the linguistic and literary elements in five books, which contained bilingual Spanish-English interwoven text, combined to present a bicultural identity and lifestyle in the United States today. The literary elements analyzed included themes, character portrayal, the roles of family and the elderly, and …

Silenced Voices: Sexual Violence During And After World War Ii, Cassidy L. Chiasson

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the different types of sexual violence present during and immediately after World War II and focuses specifically on the European Theater of the war. Memoirs, journals and diaries were used as primary sources. This research focuses on the overlapping themes of sexual violence in the form of forcible rape and sexual violence as a means of protection and survival. The goal of this research is to provide a comprehensive view of the complexity surrounding many situations in which sexual violence occurred. It also aims to partially fill the gap in historical literature on this topic, and bring …

Performativity And Jazz In The Fiction Of James Baldwin And Ralph Ellison, Drako P. Wells

Honors Theses

Since slavery in the seventeenth century, African Americans have been politically and economically oppressed in the United States. Even in recent times, it seems as if simply being black is enough to have a person criticized by society, convicted of crimes, or even killed. However, the frustration that oppression causes has, in many ways, catalyzed the evolution of African American culture and the African American identity. In this study, I examine how two postwar African American authors, Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin, portray the African American struggle with racial injustice and the means of overcoming its negative effects. In this …

What's "Really Real": David Foster Wallace And The Pursuit Of Sincerity In Infinite Jest, Henry Clayton

Honors Theses

Throughout his literary career, David Foster Wallace articulated the problems associated with the profusion of irony in contemporary society. In this thesis I assert that his novel Infinite Jest promotes a shift from the reliance on irony and subversion to a celebration of the principles of sincerity. The emphasis on sincerity makes Infinite Jest a landmark novel in the canon of American fiction, as Wallace employs postmodern formal techniques, such as irony, metafiction, fragmentation, and maximalism, in the interest of promoting traditional, non-ironic values of emotion, community, and spirituality. I draw from works of postmodern theory and criticism to bolster …

Madagascar: Passé, Présent, Et Futur, Liz Devine

Honors Theses

N/A

Holding Water: The Political And Economic Debates Of The New York State Canal System 1895 – 1903, Erich Grome

Honors Theses

With the allure of the famed Erie Canal deteriorating as swiftly as its traffic and physical condition by the latter half of the nineteenth century, New Yorkers gave serious thought to the future of the waterway. As the commerce of the state and its renowned metropolis of New York City declined relative to its rival states and ports during this period, many questioned if enlarging the canal system would lead to its revival and produce similar results for the economy of the state at large. An ever frequent scene of partisan conflict, the proposals to radically enlarge the Erie Canal …

A Comparative Analysis Of Character Depiction In The Grimms’ Kinder-Und Hausmärchen And Modern Fairytale Adaptations, Meghan Hill

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the depiction of archetypal characters such as the step-mother, the old crone/witch, the trickster, the hero, and the heroine within Kinder-und Hausmärchen, first published in 1812 by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, and the influence that German culture had on this portrayal. This analysis of the tales will then be contrasted with an examination of the ways that modern authors and directors have adapted the presentation of these characters to better appeal to today’s audience in recent (1980-2014) adaptations of the stories. Our cultural values and ideals determine how characters within the tales are depicted and, conversely, the …

The Somewhat Less Than Super Adventures Of The Gargoyle And The Sparrow, Including The Pseudo-Comical Incident Of The Fan Fiction And What Transpired After, Thomas Arcuri

Honors Theses

What do superheroes do when they retire? Are they expected to go out and reinvent themselves, maybe write a heartwarming memoir--or worse, sit in silence for the rest of their days as if it never happened? Two out of three of those wouldn't make for very interesting theatre, so I went with Option 1. Frank and Eddie (formerly known as masked avengers The Gargoyle and The Sparrow) haven't seen much of each other since leaving the trade, so when Eddie visits his old comrade out of the blue after fifteen years, it's odd enough. When he pulls out a scheme …

America’S First Ladies: A Catalyst For Change In Female Leadership, Power And Influence Or A Reinforcement Of Gender Norms In American Society?, Deborah Kim Grinhaus

Honors Theses

My work examines the nature of The Office of the First Lady of the United States as a lens through which to view female leadership, power and influence in America. Through analyzing the singular experiences of four controversial First Ladies; Abigail Adams, Jacqueline Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, this dissertation illustrates the ambiguities and challenges associated with The Office of First Lady as a metaphor for female power. Why analyze the First Ladyship as compared to other political posts held by women? The Office itself is not elected, appointed, institutionalized or legal. Therefore, how do these women use The …

The Divorce Revolution: The Macro And Micro-Level Factors In The Risk Of Divorce, Arielle Homer

Honors Theses

Over the past fifty or so years, American society has endured overwhelming changes, affecting nearly all aspects of life. A new set of values emerged and families began adopting more liberal mindsets, leading to an increase in the divorce rate. The first aim of this study is to explain the social, macro-level causes of divorce. Literature on the 1960s identifies these influences as the importance of “the self”, feminism, birth control, no-fault divorce laws, and religious teachings. Further, I use data from the General Social Survey to determine whether micro-level factors influence an individual’s risk of divorce, both during this …

The Virtue Of Shame In Moral Development An Aristotelian Perspective, Claire Amelia Kokoska

Honors Theses

Aristotle touts the importance of performing virtuous actions in order to have a virtuous character. Yet, reason is necessary for an individual to actively change their own behavior. Aristotle believes that children are too young to have developed reason, so we may wonder how are they to become virtuous. The answer I offer is shame. Shame is a painful emotion that causes one to believe that, by acting poorly, we have lowered our worth in the eyes of those we respect and admire. I argue that shame effectively changes behavior in children because it is attached to a stigma of …

Russian Military Intervention In The Caucasus, Chelsea Mickel

Honors Theses

My research focuses on Russia's foreign policy interests and actions in the context of the post-soviet space and its relations with western nations and organizations. I used three case studies: the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, the Russo- Georgian War, and the Crimean Crisis. The Russian government has pursued intervention in these areas for various reasons. The most prominent of these reasons are ethnicity, religion, irredentism, great power politics, and economics. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict centers on the Eastern Orthodox Armenian enclave in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, a nation otherwise consisting of a majority of Turkic Sunni Muslims. The Russo-Georgian War was fought …

Otaku – A Case Of Assigned Identities, Steven O'Branovich

Honors Theses

With the international rise in popularity of anime and manga in the 1990s, Japan shattered its image as a nation of soulless salary men and robots and became an entertainment giant. Since then, anime has become an even larger force in the global cultural landscape, growing from a niche tape-trading market at science fiction conventions to inspiring large-scale conventions of its own. The driving force behind this expansion is a group of people known as otaku. Internationally, otaku are often defined simply as enthusiastic fans of Japanese popular culture and of anime and manga in particular. In Japan, however, the …

Debussy’S Life Through His Letters, Phaik Suan Quah

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the life and works of French composer Claude Debussy through his letters. These letters were compiled by François Lesure and translated by Roger Nichols. Several topics of interest emerged from reading Debussy’s letters, including his relationships with his closest friends throughout his lifetime, his experiences as winner of the Prix de Rome, his struggles, his perception of works written by other composers, his perception of music, and his perception of his own music. Debussy’s letters give the reader unique insights into his life. He relied on his friends for support and they were imperative to his success. …

United States War Memorials: The Transformation Of Design And Significance Influenced By The Vietnam Veteran’S Memorial, Victoria Quinlan

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the change United States war memorials underwent after the Vietnam War ended in 1975 and when the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial was created in 1982. The first memorials analyzed are the Marine Corps Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Gettysburg National Military Park, which were all built prior to the Vietnam memorial. The stark differences of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial are then examined. The Korean War Veteran’s Memorial, the National WWII Memorial, and the 9/11 Memorial in New York City conclude the study of memorials built after the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. These separate sets of memorials represent most …

An Analysis Of Soviet Spy Networks In The United States Throughout The Twentieth Century, Julia S. Shively

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Does Positive Reframing Lead To Better Coping Styles: Examining The Effects Of Two Different Writing Prompts On Self-Reported Stress Of Caregivers Of People With Dementia., Marisa Thurin

Honors Theses

The challenges caregivers face are often overwhelmingly mentally and physically stressful, and layered in is the grief that comes with watching a loved one slip away (Ornstein, Gaugler, Devanand, Scarmeas, Zhu, & Stern, 2013). The purpose of my study will be to examine if utilizing expressive writing (EW) can benefit caregivers of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), before a patient might progress to dementia. I hypothesize that EW during early stage decline will be more beneficial than later since it is may be an easier time to use this skill, before caregivers are in the most demanding phases …

An Experiment In Gendered Writing: Translation And Original Prose Composition, Julie Warren

Honors Theses

This thesis is a two-part project of translation and prose composition. In part one, I am translating two letters from Ovid’s Heroides, a collection of elegiac poems written from the female perspective of women in mythology to their male lovers. I chose the only two letters, Hypsipyle’s and Medea’s, in the collection that are both written to the same man, Jason. In part two, I am composing two letters in Latin from Jason’s perspective to Hypsipyle and Medea. As Ovid was a male writing from the female perspective and I am a female writing from the male perspective, my goal …