Digital Commons Network^™

Becoming Musical: Towards A Typology Of Non-Musical Sounds In Recorded Popular Music, Jacob David Mccooey

Theses and Dissertations

There are many instances in popular music in which traditionally non-musical sounds are used musically. There is currently no research on the types and functions of non-musical sounds used musically (NMSUMs). I have collected and organized a collection of example tracks that contain these NMSUMs and analyzed their functions to determine a typology of these sounds. The analysis of the NMSUMs focused on intertextuality, intratextuality, form, texture, and how the sounds relate to traditional, musical sampling. Throughout the course of the analysis, several trends were distinguished amongst the many tracks gathered, and these trends form the basis of the typology.

From North To South: North Carolina's Black Union Veterans In The South Carolina Lowcountry, Elizabeth L. Laney

Theses and Dissertations

For the almost two thousand black Union veterans living in South Carolina following the end of the Civil War, the formation of robust social networks, particularly those composed of fellow veterans, would be the key to sustaining themselves and public memory of their service. This was especially true for the veterans of the 35^th US Colored Troops (USCT), formerly the 1^st North Carolina Colored Volunteers, who settled in smaller rural communities throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry. Establishing social networks through marriage, forming local veteran support systems and initiating local celebrations were just some of the ways that out-of-state …

Medieval To Modern: Morgan Le Fay As Folk Icon Of Women In Power In Modern King Arthur Stories, Colleen Victoria Etman

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation interrogates the ways that society views women with/in power through Arthurian adaptation. The body of work that makes up the Arthurian story is a sort of folk legend, a myth being told and retold by various authors in their own way. By using folk studies to analyze both medieval and modern texts, we can dissect what is important enough to remain over time. This signifies cultural values; things that have remained over time are reflective of the values of the writers producing these works, as well as the audiences consuming them. By interrogating these stories, we can make …

Mental Trauma, Colonial Mimicry, And Internalized Racism In Tsitsi Dangarembga's The Book Of Not, Lily Kay Lynn Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Tsitsi Dangarembga’s second novel in her Nervous Conditions trilogy, The Book of Not (2006) emphasizes the disabling nature of colonial domination and terror through pain and violence inflicted on the body and the mind. Through the use of Frantz Fanon’s colonial and post-colonial theory and Homi Bhabha’s concept of colonial mimicry the critical nature of Tambudzai—the main protagonist—position in the novel becomes apparent. Just as the title suggests, the novel becomes a book of negation and unbecoming as Tambudzai tries to find her place as a woman in Southern Rhodesia while attending a European colonial institution while war rages just …

Analyzing Colonial South Carolina's Trade Landscape Through The Ricardian Model, Dylan M. Peddemors

Senior Theses

The state of South Carolina existed as a British colony from its founding in 1663 until it declared independence in 1776. During this period, South Carolina operated as a plantation-based, cash-crop economy relying on two primary exports: rice and indigo. The colony displayed nearly complete specialization in its exports of these crops while importing different goods. The theory of comparative advantage in trade relationships crafted by British economist David Ricardo in the 18th century concludes that gains from trade emerge when trade partners specialize in the production and exportation of the goods of which they have the lowest opportunity cost. …

An Antidote To The Necropolitical Path Of Logic: Ice Pick Lodge's Pathologic Classic Hd, Rose Branton

Senior Theses

Much of the existing scholarly literature on video games analyzed with Achille Mbembe’s Necropolitics (2019) focuses on games that replicate the destructive, dehumanizing logic that Mbembe discusses. These are typically games involving the zombie genre or war and conquest that do not challenge Amanda Phillips’s idea of mechropolitics, a further development of Mbembe’s idea that implicates video games specifically. Nor do they challenge the dehumanization and warrant limitless destruction of zombies in the zombie genre of video games. This thesis focuses on Pathologic Classic HD (2015) as an example of a video game that presents a challenge to the logic …

Facing Two Fronts: Asian Americans Grappling With Covid-19 And Xenophobic Tensions, Matthew Soos

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the impact of COVID-19-induced discrimination against Asian Americans (AsAms) and its effects on the mental health of college-aged individuals within this demographic. The study specifically targets East and Southeast Asians due to their heightened connection with the pandemic. Data was gathered via a survey disseminated among undergraduate AsAm students at the University of South Carolina. The survey sought information on the occurrence and forms of discrimination encountered pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, alongside the mental health condition and coping mechanisms of the respondents. Moreover, participants were prompted to assess the efficacy of suggested approaches in addressing discrimination. …

The Arabic Influence On The Spanish Language: Sociocultural Mechanisms Of Language Change Under Islamic Rule In The Iberian Peninsula, Reagan Borland

Senior Theses

After Latin, which makes up about 75-80% of the Spanish lexicon (Comparán Rizo, 2006, p. 17), Arabic is the most important linguistic contributor to the branch of Romance languages that would come to be known as Spanish or Castellano (Castilian), surpassing Germanic influence and that of other contributors such as French and Celtic languages. The broad range of Arabisms found in Spanish can be attributed to certain cultural and social changes that took place under Arab-Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula between 711 and 1492 and during the period following the so-called “Reconquista” of Spain by the Christian kingdoms to …

A Historical Analysis Of Health Institutions, Professionals, And Advocates In The Civil Rights Movement In Columbia, South Carolina, Anusha Ghosh

Senior Theses

From 1900 to 1970, widespread racism severely restricted healthcare access for Black citizens in the South, leading them to establish and staff alternative healthcare institutions to support their community.

Such institutions faced debilitating issues such as chronic financial shortages and patient overflow. Despite these problems, oral histories, media, and primary written sources show that Black healthcare workers in alternative healthcare institutions demonstrated a greater ability to meet the health needs of Black patients due to cultural understanding and external community involvement.

Dr. Matilda Evans was an African-American woman physician who became a leader in medicine, public health, and education in …

”To Be Or Not To Be – It’S Good”: Actor And Student Experiences In A Drama Club For People With Aphasia, Jade K. Hannan

Senior Theses

Individuals with aphasia, a disorder caused by damage to the brain’s language network, confront a variety of social and emotional struggles. While leaving their cognition largely intact, aphasia tremendously impacts a person’s ability to communicate confidently, fracturing their social network and contributing to feelings of loneliness and frustration. To address this persistent need in the chronic aphasia population, the Play on Words drama club at the University of South Carolina provides a forum for people with aphasia (PWA) to engage in dramatic exercises focused on non-verbal communication of emotions, ideas, and stories, culminating the production of an original devised play. …

Spectre Of Justice: Russian Reform In The Courtrooms Of Dostoevsky And Tolstoy, Abby Moore

Senior Theses

The Great Reforms of Alexander II are regarded as transformative policies in the history of Tsarist Russia, drastically changing the empire’s social and political fabric. The judicial reforms of 1864 in particular addressed longstanding issues within the existing criminal justice system, yet they also liberalized the institution at large. Following in the West’s footsteps, the reforms introduced an unprecedented level of democracy into Russia’s courtroom. Among the critics of these changes were renowned authors Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy, both of whom used the realm of fiction to explore their respective concerns with reformed Russian jurisprudence. Both authors bring distinct …

A Third Way: Christian Philosophy Of Music, Eric S. Gardner

Senior Theses

Philosophers have posed many difficult-to-answer questions regarding music. For example, what counts as beautiful music? Can beauty be objectified, or is beauty in the eye of the beholder? What counts as a performance of a piece of music? Besides, what counts as music anyways? Where does the noise stop, and where does the music begin? In this thesis, I want to show that the Christian worldview offers the philosophical building blocks to answer these questions. By working with biblical truths and Christian presuppositions, I hope to show that the Christian worldview can offer satisfying answers to these philosophical questions.

‘Kazakh Means Freedom’ - Kazakh Language Policy And National Identity Before And During The Ukraine War, Mclean T. Brown

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the link between language policy and national identity in Kazakhstan, tracing the relationship between the two across history and describing how they have been affected by the Ukraine War. The Kazakh government has put considerable effort into developing a national identity for contemporary Kazakhstan, but conflicting standards of production make it difficult for a cohesive, well-defined Kazakh national identity to be put forth. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses, phenomenological critical discourse analysis, and ethnographic research, this thesis strives to alleviate existing gaps in Central Asian studies research while arguing that language policy is a lens through which …

Twisted Threads: A Novel And Exploration Of Fraternity Culture And Race, Christian S. Golden

Senior Theses

Twisted Threads: A Novel and Exploration of Fraternity Culture and Race is a project that seeks to explore questions about race and brotherhood through the lens of the urban fantasy genre. It is the first ten chapters of a full-length fantasy novel and can be considered the first half of the planned novel. The Introduction details some of my influences, both literary and cultural, as well as the thought process behind much of the worldbuilding in my manuscript. It also details some of the research that was conducted to help build accurate allegories and allusions. The novel follows a black …

Focus Group And Survey Responses To Postural Feedback During Creative Movement Exploration, Mary C. Matthews

Senior Theses

John H. Riskind’s “appropriateness hypothesis” states that posture, positions, and gestures can be emotionally self-regulating if an individual holds a posture that is appropriate for its context. A litany of studies on power posing suggests expansive postures could increase Feelings of Power. One meta-analytic review demonstrates the “robust” significance for evidence of “power feelings, emotion, or self-esteem” due to postural feedback while cautioning researchers on the empirical invalidity of evidence for behavioral and physiological variables. A qualitative description of individuals’ experiences as they change posture, gesture, and position would direct future research on postural feedback. The current project qualitatively examines …

Iowa Gothic, Caroline Bailey Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Iowa Gothic deals with the stories that we tell ourselves, for better or worse, and is an interconnected short story collection set in the fictional town of Madison, Iowa. The stories are grounded in realism, but are also slightly off from the way we typically experience the world: a hoarder who tries to win a cooking contest by boiling a rabbit, a woman who recreates her neighbors' living rooms out of their yard sale items, a hypnotic rooster that starts a feud, residents who believe in ghosts, or at least the communal value of ghost stories. By asking the reader …

Oscars Vs. Ozone: The Motion Picture Industry’S Impact On Climate Change And What They Are Doing About It, Alexis J. Simpson

Senior Theses

This thesis focuses on demonstrating that the motion picture industry, which includes film and television production (and thus will also be called ‘the film and television industry’), has notably contributed to the global effects of climate change. Such contributions can stem from the industry’s emissions and waste, with examples including travel for cast and crew, energy use for production equipment (some of which run on diesel), and disposable physical sets and costumes. The intention here is to give an accurate picture of current production practices and share examples of progress in the industry that are combating the negative impacts of …

From "Our Poor" To "Personal Responsibility": Changing Welfare Rhetoric In Political Party Platforms Of The Carolinas And The Nation, 1950-2005, Felicity N. Ropp

Senior Theses

In this thesis, I track political rhetoric surrounding poverty and welfare from 1950-2005. I first provide thorough context on the history of welfare policy in the United States and the way these issues were framed by politicians leading up to the period my data covers. My analysis centers on 108 political party platforms from the national Republican and Democratic parties and from state parties in North and South Carolina, ranging from 1950 to 2005 (31 of which I located in archives and manually digitized for the first time ever). I explain the significance of party platforms and review the literature …

Contemporary Vocal Pedagogy In The Choral Ensemble Rehearsal: A Guide For Secondary Educators, Luke Lee Browder

Theses and Dissertations

The field of contemporary commercial vocal pedagogy is relatively new, with serious academic study primarily taking place over the last twenty-five years. In that time, however, a growing body of research has shown that the function of the vocal mechanism operates in essentially the same manner across classical and contemporary commercial music (CCM) genres, but the application of vocal function is what differentiates classical and CCM singing. Since secondary music educators often represent the only vocal training their students will ever receive, it is helpful for them to know the differences in vocal techniques and how to effectively train singers …

The Impact Of Incorporating Self-Myofascial Release Into Voice Lessons: A Six-Week Study, Benjamin Patrick Stogner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of Self Myofascial Release (SMR) techniques within voice lessons over six weeks; aiming to alleviate muscular tension, enhance vocal performance, and improve singers' overall well-being. The study employed a qualitative pre-test/post-test design. The data collected indicates that while SMR offers significant benefits, it is impractical to incorporate a comprehensive routine into applied lessons. However, using SMR techniques in vocal warm-up routines, and encouraging the student to use SMR techniques on their own, yielded promising results. Consistent SMR application led to improved posture, jaw mobility, and overall well-being, with older participants …

Representaciones De La Violencia En El Cuerpo Femenino En María, Llena Eres De Gracia, El Despertar De Las Hormigas Y Cuando Las Flores Hablan, Catalina Lancheros Villa

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTO Son muchas las mujeres que han aportado a la historia y a las luchas contra la violencia de género. Mujeres que han sido registradas en libros, documentales o películas y marcadas en hechos como heroínas del cambio y la transformación social (ej. Policarpa Salavarrieta Ríos / colombiana, Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderón / mexicana, Manuela Sáenz/ ecuatoriana). Son estas mujeres fuertes y empoderadas las que han querido un mundo igualitario para todos desde la antigüedad hasta los tiempos modernos. Desde su capacidad intelectual descubrieron que podían mejorar las condiciones de vida, dejando un legado de transformación en un sistema …

Assessing The Threat Of Social Media To National Security: Information Operations In The 21st Century, Brendan M. Cullen

Senior Theses

The ubiquity of social media has enabled an unprecedented amount of personal data to be accessible to various entities. Social media platforms leverage this data to optimize algorithmic recommendation systems, persuade users to engage, and promote monetization. The social media ecosystem’s business model demands continuous engagement and the relentless collection of user data to grow and scale. Not only is social media massively popular around the world, but it has integrated heavily into users’ daily lives. This integration is driven by social platforms’ deliberate architectures and affordances. The intentionality of social media can be exploited by state and non-state actors …

Meditations On Modern America: The Ambiguous Worldview Of Transcendental Meditation, 1967-1979, Grant William Wong

Theses and Dissertations

Transcendental Meditation [TM], a form of silent mantra meditation pioneered by the Indian holy man Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1957, took the United States by storm as over two million Americans learned its meditative technique between 1968 and 1978. At once a spiritual movement and a lifestyle, TM was a countercultural movement that went mainstream. I argue that TM was appealing because of its ambiguity and consequent malleability, as its teachings and practice came to reflect the aspirations and anxieties of its followers. By tracing their varying interpretations of the practice across periodicals, movement literature, memoirs, and contemporary scholarship, I …

Bohuslav Martinů’S Eight Preludes For Piano H. 181: Style Analysis And Pedagogical Approaches In Piano Performance, Jinkyung Kim

Theses and Dissertations

This treatise delves into Bohuslav Martinů’s Eight Preludes for Piano H. 181, offering a comprehensive exploration of the twentieth-century Czech composer’s life; discussing his compositional significance; analyzing the style of his Eight Preludes using the framework of Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Growth (SHMRG); and suggesting pedagogical approaches for advanced piano learners. The study examines Martinů’s life and the socio-cultural influences that shaped his artistic language. His compositional journey, combining elements of Czech folk music with Parisian influences of impressionism, neoclassicism, and jazz, illustrates his versatility and ingenuity. Through the SHMRG framework by Jan LaRue, the style analysis of Eight …

Creative Insights On The Commissioning, Analysis, And Performance Of Four New Works For Saxophone, Andrew Joseph Hutchens

Theses and Dissertations

This document explores, in detail, four works for saxophone, which the author commissioned. These pieces were performed on the author’s degree recitals prior to the writing of this document. The selected works are At the Seams by Baljinder Singh Sekhon II, Intrepid by Russell Wharton, Unity Synonym by Michael Laurello, and Third Rail / Revelation by Stephen Karukas. This document focuses on the commissioning process, musical performance, and theoretical aspects of these four pieces. Interviews were conducted virtually via Zoom and then transcribed for inclusion in this document. There have been no previous studies that have explored these four works. …

Injury Prevention Exercise Guidelines For Flutists, Ziqing Guan

Theses and Dissertations

Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) have long been a common topic among performing musicians. There are studies of PRMDs specific to flutists, but not much detailed guidance of playing-related injury prevention has been provided. As increasing numbers of students have taken up the flute in recent years, PRMDs in flutists have become more of a concern. However, large numbers of flutists are still lacking education on prevention of PRMDs. The purpose of this document is to help flutists better understand the major muscle groups that we use in playing the flute, how these muscles are affected by flute-playing, and to introduce …

Colored Lawyer, Topeka: The Legend And Legacy Of Elisa Scott, Jeffery Scott Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Attorney Elisha Scott’s reputation for fighting injustice grew so large he received letters addressed only, “Colored Lawyer, Topeka, Kansas.” He was born in obscurity in 1890, but his death made national news in 1963. Scott’s story may not be known at all if his name was not often listed as counsel in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that desegregated public schools. But it was his sons who filed the case and helped fight it from Topeka to the United States Supreme Court. He was never officially part of the legal team. He had, however, won a …

From Roland To Gawain, Or The Origin Of Personified Knights, Clyde Tilson

Theses and Dissertations

Though there is a lot of work on the development of the novel, there has not been sufficient analysis of how it was formed, especially the shift towards the modern protagonist. By analyzing two medieval works, one from the early medieval period and one from the middle of the medieval period, the seeds of this shift can be seen. The works chosen were La chanson de Roland and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as both have knights with fairly similar expectations, and both have been enduring characters in their respective national identities and literatures. Both Roland and Gawain, being …

Comprehensive Method For Clarinet Latin American Music Heritage Case Study – Venezuela, Carmen Teresa Borregales

Theses and Dissertations

Latin American music and music-making have much to offer in their performance traditions and richness of genres, which demand technical proficiency and musicianship. In particular, some contemporary new music for clarinet carries traditional elements, including rhythmic patterns, accentuation, articulation, harmonic progressions, and instrumentation, among others. This study proposes an innovative approach to technical practice and skill development for clarinet, based on twelve etudes for clarinet, commissioned from twelve outstanding Venezuelan composers who explore Venezuelan traditional music genres. The results represent a comprehensive method for clarinet, appropriate for advanced-level players, and its application to pedagogical and performance practices.

Archetypes Revisited: Investigating The Power Of Universals In Soviet And Hollywood Cinema, Iana Guselnikova

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the concept of archetypes in Soviet and Hollywood films, drawing perspectives from ancient philosophy and the thought of Carl Jung and post-Jungians. While psychoanalysis provides a valuable framework for understanding the human psyche and the idea of archetypes, it has its limitations and gaps that require further exploration. To address these issues, this paper proposes the adoption of a structuralist approach, with reference to the work of Vladimir Propp on the morphology of the fairy tale. Incorporating Propp's ideas can complement psychoanalytic theory and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying patterns and structures that shape …