Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Telling A Story Through Posters: A Comparison Of Nazi And Soviet Propaganda Posters During World War Ii, Kolbe Bell

Honors Theses

The time around World War II saw an increase of countries using propaganda to spread their message, the result of which can be seen even today with modern advertising. During the war these countries had to convince their populations to support their militaries in both victories and defeats. Despite the differences between the fascism in Nazi Germany and the communism in the Soviet Union, many of these propaganda posters have some overarching similarities that can be connected. Some of which can be seen in their depictions of the enemy and with their call back to nationalism. To gain a better …

Off The Rails: Cinematic Trains As Technological Controls Of The Natural World, Trinity Thompson

Honors Theses

Short train rail lines across the United States are seeing increased national funding to reduce toxic chemical spills caused by train derailments, the most notable of which happened in February 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. A year prior, the film White Noise (2022) featured a similar toxic train derailment incident, taking place, too, in Eastern Ohio, and featuring actors from the town of East Palestine. In considering other films featuring trains, I identified a pattern of environmental conflict, leading me to question the relationship between trains and the natural environment as portrayed in popular cinema. To conduct my research, I …

A Dream Come True: More Than 50 Years After Black Students Demanded Faculty And Student Leadership Roles At The University Of Mississippi, Students Of Color Are Still Grappling With What It Means To Be Included., Kaylynn Steen

Honors Theses

This thesis tells the story of University of Mississippi alumna Treasure Fisher’s journey in the organization Column’s Society, an organization known as the hosts and hostess of the University of Mississippi. Throughout Fisher’s story, historical moments from the university’s complex relationship with its Black students are weaved through in an attempt to provide context for some of the lingering racial issues at the university today. Fisher’s story, these historical moments, and other anecdotal experiences from current and former Black students, faculty, and staff at the university challenges the reader to examine what representation does, and maybe should, mean to this …

Catholicism Online: How The Church Is Communicating In The Visual Field, Alexandra Barfield

Honors Theses

ABSTRACT

Given the rise and importance of social media in the last two decades, religious institutions, especially the Roman Catholic Church, have an important place online to fulfill their mission and belief of spreading the Gospel message. Communicating this message on social media and with contemporary marketing practices is an opportunity and a challenge for churches, Catholics, and apostolates alike. In this study, I analyze a variety of Catholic-related Instagram accounts and interview individuals involved in Church management and content creation. This primary research is prefaced with secondary research exploring the status of the Catholic Church in the United States, …

How Properly Contextualized Christianity Could Benefit Japan, Benjamin Highsmith

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to ask the question “how could Christianity, if properly contextualized, benefit Japan?” It does so through the use of academic sources, interviews, and personal observations. Topics covered include Japanese culture, its perception of Christianity, and the lifestyles of Japanese Christians. This thesis uses cultural concepts to explain how Christianity and Japanese culture might find themselves at odds, but also explains how Christianity could work in unison with Japanese culture in order to benefit Japanese society as a whole, defending its argument using Biblical concepts intertwined with Japanese values.

The Call Sheet: A Six-Part Podcast Interview Series On The Film Industry In Nebraska, Tanner Dykstra

Honors Theses

My University of Nebraska-Lincoln Honors Thesis project is a six-part podcast interview series entitled The Call Sheet. This is classified as an Applied Knowledge project and encapsulates my interests and areas of study in Journalism, Broadcasting, and Film Studies. I sought out interviews with people who currently reside or once resided in the state of Nebraska who work in association with the film industry. This industry is broad, and my interview subjects reflected this. The six episodes comprising my project are as follows: writer/director Aliza Brugger, writer/professor Michael Svoboda, director of the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center Danny Lee …

What Happened To Rosie The Riveter?: Media Portrayals Of Women In The Workforce, 1942-1946, Vivienne Cookmeyer

Honors Theses

Rosie the Riveter is a common feminist icon; however, few people know what happened to the Rosies after the war. Due to the Veterans Preference Act, women lost their jobs and went back to their home lives, which is contrary to the belief that women were incorporated into the workforce after World War II. Many women were laid off and had to fight to keep their jobs, resort to stereotypical female work, or revert to the caretaker of the home. While these women struggled for equality, there was a sustained increase in the number of women in the workforce in …

Is France Having A Populist Moment?, Emma Gilmore

Honors Theses

The word populism is often thrown around in news media and academic scholarship, but there is a lack of understanding of what it actually means as a political theory. In France, the two presidential candidates that made it to the second round in 2017, Emmanuel Macron and Marine le Pen, were both called populist, despite having vastly different campaign strategies and messages. This study used a computer-based method to analyze Campaign books from 24 candidates beginning in 1981 that determined that Populist language is on the rise, but not as aggressively as news media suggests.

The Artistic Mother Tongue, Hannah Perkins

Honors Theses

Art is the mother tongue of culture. William Cameron Townsend, pioneer missionary and founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators, said “The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue.” But the mother tongue of any people of any culture is more than just the spoken and written word. It is found in every artistic and visual expression of that people. How is the Bible, the everlasting truth of God, to be expressed through artistic expression in the ‘mother tongue’ of a people?

Often, Christianity is painted as the Westerner’s religion. Christianity is very ingrained into specifically America’s cultural identity. In …

The Multi-Sensory Design Of A Synesthete's Everyday Experience, Madeline M. Spicer

Honors Theses

Perception, which can be defined as becoming aware of occurrences in the world through the senses, is different for every person (Merriam-Webster). My thesis deals with perception in the form of a condition called synesthesia and the communication of this condition using graphic design. Synesthesia is a condition that involves the involuntary crossing of the senses, resulting in multi-sensory experiences every time a synesthete absorbs the world and visible language. Utilizing the field of graphic design, I created several projects to communicate my three goals of conducting research on synesthesia, sharing what I experience every day, and educating others about …

Sustainable Stories: Linking Graphic Design And The Environment To Inform, Educate, And Inspire, Shannon M. Stanforth

Honors Theses

The importance of the field of graphic design lies in its ability to communicate with others. It can serve to transcend barriers, to clarify messages, and to deepen universal understanding. Similarly, sustainability encompasses the three spheres of the environment, society and economy—demonstrating its interconnected complexities and multifaceted applications. In pursuing my Honors Thesis, I aimed to develop a project which would reflect the ideals of sustainability while simultaneously serving to educate about the importance of caring for the natural world. Furthermore, my research explores how the disciplines of sustainability and design overlap and interact, searching to discover ways in which …

The Art And Importance Of Deliberative Rhetoric In Political Communications, Cameron Sadler

Honors Theses

This project explores the use of deliberative rhetorical appeals in political communications. Seven professionals spanning all levels of politics were interviewed about their work as communications specialists and strategists. Their insights further proved the necessity for attention to rhetoric in messaging.

“Damn, You Reek Of Pr”: Anti-Establishment Rhetoric And Resistance To Advertising Within Science Fiction Film Discussions In The Reddit Movie Community, Bailey R. Tinsley

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Give Me A Choice: Perceptions Of Freedom And The Anti-Vax Movement In Maine, Louisa Goldman

Honors Theses

While vaccination has proven to be an incredibly effective method of disease prevention, the growing ‘anti-vax’ movement threatens the population-level benefits conferred by widespread immunization. Recent findings indicate that anti-vax beliefs are not, as had been previously assumed, necessarily the result of scientific illiteracy but rather, are likely produced by intertwining social and situational contexts. With these considerations in mind, the goal of this study was to identify potential motivations underlying anti-vax behavior by performing a deep examination of anti-vax rhetoric, coupled with demographic and situational analyses. I focused specifically on the anti-vax community in Maine, with a special interest …

The Significance Of Transmedia Storytelling In The World Of Jane Austen, Margaret Brennan

Honors Theses

Transmedia storytelling is an opportunity for developing interactive stories involving various media, which “has grown out of the increased possibilities that come with the multifaceted developments of the ever evolving Internet” (Jandl 167). This means that multiple media platforms can be utilized to convey a single story –from videos to blog posts, tweets on Twitter or status updates on Facebook. The goal of transmedia is ultimately to have many moving parts that create one cohesive storyline, and the ways in which these pieces move and work together creates a unique, immersive story experience. Taking cultural icons like Austen and adapting …

Monkey Mind: Everyday Observations Of Mental Illness, Mikhayla Dunaj

Honors Theses

When I first was able to identify that I dealt with anxiety, I was 18 years old. At the time, I didn’t know how to explain it, and assumed it was only because I was in an unhealthy relationship, after already having been in an abusive one. At the end of my third year at Western Michigan University, I suffered a mental breakdown and started counseling.

The process of counseling was difficult, because as I opened up more, I realized that I had spent a majority of my life stuffing down things that were actually anxiety symptoms, assuming that it …

Rebranding The Classics: The University Of Mississippi, Maraea Cardner

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to analyze the current perceptions of the study of classics from an Integrated Marketing Communications perspective with the goal of realigning misconceptions with the contemporary ideology of those within the field. The field of classics is facing challenges stemming from misappropriation of the field itself, and there is a current debate about the decline in the number of classicists in the field and in the number of undergraduate students studying classics. Specifically, this thesis looks at the Department of Classics at the University of Mississippi as a model for other like departments across the field to use …

The Role Of Social Media In Small Museums In Michigan, Kaitlin Mcgrath

Honors Theses

Social media is now firmly ingrained in the daily life of many people. In order for museums to remain relevant in society, institutions like museums need to learn how to integrate this new technology into their practices. Small museums especially may have the most to gain from utilizing this technology in their institutions. These museums usually do not have access to as many resources as their larger counterparts. The challenge for museums is knowing how to use social media effectively. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social media in museums with a focus on small …

Make It On Her Own? The Portrayal Of Single Women On Television From The 1970s To The 2010s, Antonia Batha

Honors Theses

This longitudinal study examines the portrayal of single women on television series from the 1970s to the present demonstrating the changing perception of single women by American society through the history of television. The study first examines the demographic changes leading to the rise of "singleness" in three forms: never-married women divorced women and widowed women. The study then examines television as a cultural force which affects and reflects the way that Americans perceive themselves and others including single women. A qualitative and quantitative content analysis of six television series shows several trends which appeared throughout the series. In earlier …

Lacuna: Transcendence Of The Human Body Through The Space Between, Anica Bottom

Honors Theses

This essay examines the author’s choreography, Lacuna, and research integral to its representation. During the choreographic process, experimentation of how the human body moves in relation to different architectural space was observed. In collaboration with the cast of dancers, cohesion of personal experiences in particular locations was evaluated: specifically, investigation of how environments has the ability to trigger habits or patterns of movement from both past and present experiences. A closer look at how the body responds on a visceral level to the physical and emotional sense of place is described. Although the choreographic piece, Lacuna, came to …

Reifying Digital Histories, Ed Ryan

Honors Theses

The use of sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat is rooted in nowness. Most users rarely think about the long-term aspects of their relationship with the networks to which they belong, instead focusing on an ever-refreshing interface filled with fresh content. But what happens to this content when it is removed from its familiar digital context? Do the archived interactions, updates, tweets, and other pieces of our digital histories take on new meaning when placed onto a physical substrate? Using the form of the book and my personal Twitter archive, I have addressed my own digital history, looking specifically …

Finding Christ In Cinema: Examining Secular Film Theologically, Evan Wheatley

Honors Theses

For me as a teenager, secular films were merely a form of entertainment. A trip to the movies meant the chance to escape to a “galaxy far, far away,” to stand alongside Harry Potter in his latest confrontation with Lord Voldemort. I did not realize at the time the parallels between the Force in Star Wars, and the Christian God, or how Harry and Voldemort’s cinematic struggle can be seen as an allegory for the fight between good and evil.

At the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, I was introduced to how God can use secular film to challenge our …

A Return To The Authentic: The Changing Book Industry & Millennial Detachment, Kathryn Bauer

Honors Theses

Similar to many other industries in the twenty-first century, the book industry is beginning to turn in the technological direction. The emergence of eBooks, among other factors, has started to change the face of the industry as we know it. However, these changes may be a result of something bigger: the lifestyle choices of the trailblazing millennial generation. Millennial lifestyles differ significantly from those of past generations, especially in terms of social and emotional detachment. How do these seemingly different, yet defining, aspects of today’s world relate? And is it possible to use ideas from thinkers of the past such …

La Paisana Jacinta: El Programa Que Causa La Risa Para Algunas Y El Sufrimiento Para Otros, Rachel Wyman

Honors Theses

Examino el papel de la comedia en La Paisana Jacinta en la naturalización de la discriminación racial. La identidad denigrada que se asigna a La Paisana Jacinta origina en los estereotipos populares de la población indígena en Perú, no es solamente una interpretación de la cultura andina migrante. Entonces, analizo los comentarios de los usuarios fans en las redes sociales para entender como el programa ha ganado popularidad, incluyendo la reacción a la censura del programa. También, examino la reacción de las organizaciones humanas y indígenas que desean imponer la censura y el fin inmediatamente del programa. La Paisana Jacinta …

La Epoca De #Nofilter: El Impacto De Los Medios Sociales En La Imagen Corporal Latina, Rebecca Calvo-Cruz

Honors Theses

Compartiendo fotos se ha convertido en un medio fundamental de comunicación que ofrece a los usuarios la oportunidad de un examen constante de sí mismos y otros. De hecho, a medida que más plataformas de medios sociales basados en fotos, como Instagram, ganan popularidad, cada vez es normal para los adultos jóvenes compartir fotos personales con el mundo en línea. Este año, el 54% de los usuarios del Internet mayores del año 18 dicen que “publican fotos originales en línea”, en comparación con 46% en 2012 (Duggan 2013). En Facebook, hay casi 300 millones de fotos publicadas cada día, que …

“Can The Subaltern [E-Communicate]?” Exploring The Complex Relationship Between The Worldwide Web And The World’S Most Marginalized Women, Julia Hotz

Honors Theses

Famously heralded by early Internet pioneers and contemporary globalization theorists as providing a “state of perfect freedom and equality”, the Internet, on one hand, may be used to benefit the world’s least privileged women; these efforts have taken variety of forms, from serving as a space where women can share ideas, to creating an encyclopedia of practical women’s health and political information, to providing a medium through which women can directly access economic opportunities. Yet through critically examining the ways in which the Internet is used, we see how such apparently benevolent initiatives may sometimes silence the very marginalized, female …

El Paralelismo Entre Los Cambios Demograficos Y Los Medios Sociales Y Su Impacto En El Activismo En America Latina, Ashley Beccia

Honors Theses

En la segunda mitad del siglo XX, los avances sociales, especialmente en los ámbitos tecnológicos y médicos, cambiaron la manera en que viven los seres humanos. Los sectores demográficos empezaron a experimentar grandes transformaciones debido a la reducción de la tasa de mortalidad infantil y el crecimiento de la expectativa de vida (Saad 240). Como consecuencia, ha emergido una nueva época de vida, que se llama la edad de adulta emergente, que es caracterizada por la exploración y construcción de la identidad y creencias personales (Smith y Snell 6). Las nuevas estructuras sociales alrededor del mundo han requerido que los …

The Rise And Fall Of The Friends Of Irish Freedom: How America Shaped Irish American Nationalism In The Twentieth Century, Shanon Delia Douglass

Honors Theses

The Friends of Irish Freedom were an Irish American nationalist organization that consisted of prominent leaders and members from other nationalist groups that also attracted more moderate Irish Americans. This thesis focuses exclusively on the leaders and activities of the Friends between 1916 and 1921. During these years, membership both skyrocketed and plummeted within a matter of months. Contributing to both their rise and fall was American public sentiment, the onset and conclusion of WWI, and interactions with nationalist leaders in Ireland. My Thesis shows how despite their seemingly radical nationalist activities and beliefs, it was the gradual Americanization of …

Content And Character: Modeling Christian Communication After Jesus' Sermon On The Mount, Sophie Demuth

Honors Theses

In order to learn about Jesus’ communication method, I decided to study the Sermon on the Mount. After doing an in-depth study of Jesus’ method (how he taught, the devices he used, and his structure), I realized his method is only a part of his effectiveness as a speaker. Without credibility and integrity as well, Jesus’ teaching would fall flat and cease to have authority. This realization especially struck me because, in the field of communications, method is emphasized over integrity and character. I decided to compare Jesus’ method and character with what the communication field teaches about public speaking. …

The Corporate Logo: An Exploration Of The Logo Through Infographics And Other Works, Caroline Aldrich

Honors Theses

Everywhere we go, we interact with logos in one way or another, whether it is the car we drive, the toothpaste we use, or even the water we buy, a logo is present throughout our every move. The logo can be defined as “a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition.” The logo has evolved over hundreds of years, and due to its continued presence in our lives, there are many facets of the logo that I chose to explore as the primary focus of my thesis. …