Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Emergentist Critique Of The Contract Theory Of The State Of Nature, With A Consideration On Two Types Of Polity And Their Origins., Ryan A. Apperson

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The theories of the state of nature provided by the political philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke have made a significant impact in the general conceptions of the origin of states. Though there are many critical differences in the conceptions of the state of nature between each in their seminal works, they both possess of a view of states that is rational and constructivist.

In this paper, I use the game theory concepts of the coordination game, collective action problem, and focal point to illustrate a lacuna in this rational and constructivist conception of the origin of states, as their …

The Lost Cause And The Commonwealth: The United Daughters Of The Confederacy And Forging Civil War Memory In Kentucky., Emma Donaghy

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

For over a century, the Kentucky division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has worked to instill the Lost Cause myth of the Confederacy in the state’s public schools, libraries, and places where a white child could learn about the past. Few scholars have studied the activities of the Kentucky division of the UDC, although some of the organization’s most influential work took place in the state, and the organization’s national founder, Caroline Meriwether Goodlett, was born in Todd County, Kentucky. This honors thesis offers an in-depth examination of the work of the Kentucky division, drawing from the rich …

The Philosophy Of Activism And Its Paradox., Omar Arar

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Activist organizations have been at the forefront of countless progressive efforts, seeking to ameliorate social injustices, expand the rights of marginalized people, and strengthen democratic institutions. However, the efforts of activists always seem to lead to incremental victories or a minimal change to the status quo. In this paper, I argue that the primary cause of this largely stagnant social justice landscape is the professionalization of activism. Activism in its professional form, as people who make a living out of their activist efforts, brings with it numerous issues, the most problematic among them is the manifestation a paradox. Namely, professional …

Other Bodies: Deconstructing Visual Binaries By Subverting Visual Representations Of The Other., Amaiya L. Crawford

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The goal of creating my sculptural work, The Avian, is both to broaden the visual categorization of sentient bodies, as well as to deconstruct binary thinking regarding the way that bodies display racialized, gendered, and sexualized characteristics. The Avian does this by subverting visual and aesthetic tropes that construct labels like human, monster, and animal. Subversion acts as the main design influence that illustrates how the display how othered bodies can be used to highlight the constructed nature of how we construct humanity. This paper posits that by acknowledging an expansion in visual categorization, in addition to further pushing opportunities …

Interpreting San Cecilio: Ritual And Discourse In A Granadan Celebration., Martha M. Popescu

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The romería de San Cecilio is an annual, local short pilgrimage and celebration of the patron saint of Granada, a city in Andalusia, Spain. The romería takes place at the Abbey of Sacromonte, a monastery built on top of the site where San Cecilio’s remains were found as part of the famous discoveries of the Lead Books of Granada in the late sixteenth century. These books were ultimately declared to be Islamic forgeries, yet the romería persists today as a granadino, or Granadan, tradition. Consisting of both a Mass at the Abbey as well as a popular celebration, the …