Arts and Humanities Commons^™

H.E.L.P : A Creative Exercise In Feminism And The Buddy Comedy., Bayne M. Lutz

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This screenplay attempts to reconcile the author's confusion on how to best enact social progress by examining and satirizing several competing feminist movements. Set in an off-kilter Los Angeles, the comedy tracks Alivia, a recent PhD grad who cannot leverage her education toward finding a job. In desperation, she joins a radical organization called the H.E.L.P. (Heroines for the Elimination of Loathsome Professors), which encourages her to take matters into her own hands.

Inverting tropes from buddy comedies, cop-shows, ghost stories, and Bond movies, the screenplay grapples with how women are meant to break the glass ceiling and it may …

The Delphic Plague : A Study In Athenian Oracular Rejection As Evident In The Oedipus Tyrannus., Devin A Stephens

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this work is to determine the effects of the Plague of Athens on the socio-cultural and religious climate of Athens as revealed through Sophocles’ magnum opus the Oedipus Tyrannus. The focus is the problem of oracular decay as viewed by Sophocles due to the political discrepancies between Athens and Delphi of which the plague was the final catalyst. Sophocles in this work is then explored as a writer with sentiments of Delphic Apologism in the wake of the plague which acted as a catalyst for a near complete dissolution of religious customs and furthermore a negation of …

These Places We Walk : Stories Of Mental Illness In American Society., Rachel Grace Trimble

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper examines research on mental illness and mental health literacy as well as an examination of literary elements in interlinked stories in order to write a linked collection of five short stories about mental illnesses. Depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Looking Through The Grille : An Analysis Of Ursuline Religious Agency In An Early French Colonial Context., Molly If Laporte

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the agency of the Ursulines in French New Orleans from 1727 to 1732. It analyzes the letters of Marie Hachard and several other documents from the Ursuline archives and places them within the context of French colonial New Orleans. The Ursulines’ establishment in Louisiana and their missionary efforts were situated in a larger colonial context of violent conflict between the French and the native populations, the colonists’ endless struggles to develop an economy and secure funds to survive, and the slow evolution of official systems of power. The Ursulines’ decisions to leave their homes for the …

Louisville And The Tobacco Trade Within The Atlantic World., Jessica June Riley

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis uses the Campbell Company of Louisville as a case study to demonstrate how tobacco from Kentucky moved throughout the Atlantic World of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, specifically as an export commodity to major trading firms in England and France. Those trading firms, such as John Holt & Company of Liverpool, used that tobacco to engage in trade through West Africa and to obtain the commodities of palm oil and palm kernel that were valuable as factory lubricants, soap, and margarine in Europe’s industrial society. Charles Campbell of the Campbell Company used social ties and personal relationships with …

Racial Microaggressions Cohort Differences., Shayla R. Thompson

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This study examines the relationship between racial microaggressions and psychological distress and anger rumination among younger and older cohorts who belong to a racial or ethnic group other than White or European-American. The purpose of this study was to compare these relationships between older and younger cohorts. The hypotheses were that age will moderate the relationship between racial microaggressions and psychological distress and that age will moderate the relationship between racial microaggressions and anger rumination. A survey method was used to test the two hypotheses. Participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and were compensated $1 for their participation. The …

Caught In The Crossfires : Changes For Women During The Transition Period In Iran., Lindsay M. Ruth

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper explores the various ways in which the roles and lives of women changed and continued in the transition from Zoroastrian majority Iran[1] to post-conquest Islamic ruled Iran during the 7^th and 8^thcenturies. This paper mostly utilizes secondary sources due to the author’s inability to read the languages of the primary sources. Through the various sources, the paper discusses the background of the time period in the sections on Sassanian Persia, women in Sassanian Persia, the Arab Conquest of Persia, women in early Islam, and the Transition Period. Then it explores the ways in which …

Prevalence Of The French Language In Algerian Online News : A Remnant Of The Colonial Past., Zofia A. Hetman

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

A French colony for over a century, Algeria gained independence in 1962, yet its identity remains chained to its traumatic history. During the colonial period, French officials enacted laws to subvert the native population and its culture by discouraging the teaching of Arabic and, in its place, emphasizing French language and culture. Seeking to reclaim their national identity, leaders in post-independent Algeria created Arabization policies, which favored the use of Arabic and discouraged the use of French. Algerian society has therefore long been the target of linguistic control. As a result, language preferences of Algerians can be linked to the …

"To Prevent Pernicious Political Activities" : The 1938 Kentucky Democratic Primary And The Hatch Act Of 1939., Raymond Michael Myers Iv

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

By 1938, popularity for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal had declined. The 1938 Kentucky Democratic primary, pitting Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley against Governor A.B. “Happy” Chandler, became a referendum on the administration. During the campaign, each candidate accused their opponent of employing government resources to buy votes. This national scandal prompted Congress to enact the Hatch Act of 1939. Still in effect, this law restricted how federal employees interacted with political campaigns. This paper contends that the 1939 Hatch Act served as a constitutional backlash against the New Deal’s federal expansion and the rise of the administrative state. …

Race And Community : Coloured Identity Formation Within Nineteenth And Twentieth Century Cape Town, South Africa., Cornelius L. Sanford

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Historically, the "Coloured" identity within Cape Town, South Africa was used as an umbrella term to include all the cultures residing within the city that were not either European, or of South Africa's native Bantu speaking groups. However, the identity seemingly has now shifted to primarily refer to multi-racial people. However, if the Coloured identity was initially created as a catch- all phrase, then what shifted the term to now address those who are of multi- racial descent? This essay examines the progression of the Coloured identity within Cape Town society by tracking the rise and fall of Cape Town's …

Cultural Investigation On Typography In Branding In The United States And In Brazil., Carolina C Ganon

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This cultural thesis is set to investigate the use of typography in branding, and how the same is influenced by cultural aspects, specifically in the United States and Brazil. The contrasting experience I have had as a student of graphic design in these two countries led me to discover the influence culture has in dictating the typography design use in branding. Typography, branding and cultural influences have been significantly researched in the past, but historically as three separate subjects, without focusing on the importance of their association and how they influence one another cross-culturally. Since the impact of graphic design …

On The Politics And Conceptualization Of Gender Non-Conformity : Exploring Thailand’S Kathoey Population., Macey E. Mayes

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the politics and conceptualization of gender in Thailand, drawing specifically on the Thai understanding of sex and gender with regard to the kathoey population. This work considers the solidification of a third-gender category and looks to the ways this solidification can inhibit the fluidity of gender and sexuality. It also analyzes the dangers of transnational advocacy and the superimposition of Western queer advocacy and theory on Thai gender identities. I approach this issue from an interdisciplinary framework that seeks to include historical, cultural, and theoretical perspectives. In examining anthropological research, critiques of …

Prescription Packaging Design For The Impaired : A Meta-Analysis., Amber C. Kleitz

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis is a critical analyzation of the state of prescription drug packaging in the United States with respect to unresolved problems for users with visual, physical, and cognitive impairments. It begins with an anecdotal overview inspired by Deborah Adler’s journey of prescription drug packaging for her grandparents and her design solution outlined by a case study. This case study focuses on the need for better prescription packaging for those with the aforementioned and neglected issues.

This thesis uses studies in user-centered design, packaging design, and industrial design among others in order to critically assess and question the current state …

Queen Dido And Empathy : A Different Perspective On An Ancient Epic., Rachel E Kelley

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This project investigates the relationships between gender, emotion, and madness in a range of pre-modern literary texts. It is evident that extreme emotion is gendered female in early literature. Moreover, violence against women—even sexual violence—is nearly ubiquitous in this literature as well. Associating the female with motive shows that such depictions have contributed to misogynist or masculinist viewpoints. However, this project will instead investigate the role of readers’ emotional responses, from identification to sympathy and even empathy, that such writing might hope to produce in readers. That is, these texts, in their depictions of female characters suffering extreme distress, might …

"The Only True American Republic" : Vermont Independence And The Development Of Constitutional Government In The Early United States., Jacob Michael Abrahamson

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Vermont’s declaration of independence in 1777 created a unique and unprecedented situation in the brief history of the United States. Individuals in the newly independent New York and New Hampshire each claimed portions of present-day Vermont as part of their own state, and while Vermonters wished to become the fourteenth state in the brand-new country, the Continental Congress was in no hurry to take action. This paper analyzes how the Vermont issue affected the broader debate over the nature and limits of American federalism and the channels and limits of congressional power.

Flesh In Line With The Mind : Gender In Caitlin Kiernan’S The Drowning Girl., Sarah Buckley

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper analyzes how Caitlyn R. Kiernan in her novel The Drowning Girl characterizes gender identity, particularly in regards to women, both transgender and cisgender. The book's characterization of gender roles for cisgender men, cisgender women, and transgender women, while seeming on the surface to subvert sexist stereotypes, reproduces the pitfalls of feminist literary criticism popularized in the 1970s and 1980s. Notably, such themes include viewing women's madness as a method of transcending masculine rationality, a dichotomized essentialism of masculinity and femininity, and universalizing women's experience without regards to race, class, and nationality. Transgender autobiographical and literary archetypes employed in …

"What To Inspect When You're Expecting" : Critically Examining Constructions Of Women In What To Expect When You're Expecting., Kirsi Lancaster

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper critically analyzes and draws out harmful implications of the language used around pregnancy and women's bodies in the 2016 edition of What to Expect When You're Expecting, using a close reading of the text and multiple interdisciplinary sources. Themes include gender norms and essentialism, heteronormativity, surveillance of women's bodies, and the reduction of women to mere fetal environments.

Making Sex Work For The State : The Policing Of Sex Work In The United States., Madeline A Clabough

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the ways that sex work is regulated within the United States, and analyze the ways that regulation is shaped by contemporary feminist discourse. To do so, it analyzes the ways in which sex workers have been and pathologized since the 19th century, and address the ways that these conceptualizations have been incorporated into the legal regulation of sex workers. Finally, this thesis will look to contemporary practices in the state regulation of sex workers, and argue that the relationship between neoliberalism, the carceral state, and what has come to be termed “carceral feminism” operate in conjunction to …

"Y'All And All These Assessments Is A Little Bit Too Much" : The Effects Of High-Stakes Testing On Critical Literacy Pedagogy., Diana Lalata

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

As the United States of America becomes increasingly diverse, there is a need for teachers to embrace multiculturalism within the classroom. Shifting away from the traditional “banking model” of teaching, educational researchers call for a more critical approach—one in which teachers and students challenge dominant beliefs and practices of education. Foregrounded in those aims of cultural competence and critical consciousness, “critical literacy pedagogy” addresses the politicization of literacy education and employs conscious curriculum and teaching strategies to empower marginalized voices. Although a number of case studies on critical literacy pedagogy show considerable promise in disrupting dominant discourse and developing cultural …

The Problem Of Luck And Free Will : How Counterfactuals Can Help., Zach Smith

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

For free will theorists, the problem of luck has been a constant source of consternation. Peter van Inwagen presents a version immune to even agent-causal conceptions of free will. However, van Inwagen’s version of the problem can be avoided if there are true propositions taking the form of counterfactuals of creaturely freedom. There are good reasons to think that there are, and no comparably good reasons to think that there are not. This defense is also resistant to common attacks based on foreknowledge and the grounding of the truth of these counterfactuals.

Vonnegut's Composite Work : The Importance Of Illustration In Breakfast Of Champions., Blake Schreiner

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper examines Kurt Vonnegut's 1973 novel, Breakfast of Champions, in the context of word-image theory and multimedia publication. Drawing from the critical discourse surrounding the illuminated manuscripts of William Blake, the paper discusses Vonnegut's experimentation with a "composite" work and re-evaluates the significance of the novel in light of this innovation.

Greening Gawain : Connecting Environmental Damage And Masculinity In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight., Austin Putty

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper explores medieval environmental attitudes through a historical reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the study of which provides a blueprint for what may be a method of combating climate change denial at its cultural roots, which I will argue in this paper links to an outdated mode of European warrior masculinity. This paper will demonstrate the connections between hegemonic masculinity and environmental degradation at work as a discourse in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight through chivalric behaviors, as well as a burgeoning environmental conscientiousness at play that undermines it. The conflict between Gawain and …

The Priorities And Accomplishments Of Kentucky Legislators : Is There A Gender Difference?, Amanda Allen

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis uses Kentucky as a case study of gender differences in the policy priorities and perceptions of accomplishments of state legislators. The research question is, “are there gender differences in the legislative priorities and perceptions of accomplishments of Kentucky legislators?” The legislative priorities of the legislators seemed to be similar, along with their own classification of women’s issues. The perceptions of success demonstrated that male legislators were not necessarily more likely to attribute success to themselves, whereas women would attribute success to collaboration efforts. The research was completed through confidential interviews with Kentucky legislators and analysis of the 2015 …

Obergefell V. Hodges And Support For Same-Sex Marriage : Changes In National And State Public Opinion., Adria Neal

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Many have argued that Supreme Court decisions on culture war issues, issues that cause conflict between conservative and liberal values, stifle public progression on the very problems they are meant to resolve. They often cite political and electoral backlash following a decision as evidence of this stagnation in opinion. However, this backlash may not be representative of widespread public opinion. In order to understand the relationship between Court decisions and public opinion, changes in opinion on culture war issues following a Supreme Court ruling must be measured. This study utilizes national and state survey data in order to examine this …

A World In Flux : Envisioning Climate Change From An Ecocentric Perspective., Katlyn Brumfield

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Whiteness In Contemporary Feminist Campaigns : Free The Nipple., Laura Patterson

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Habeas Corpus And The Exceptions Clause : Exploring Intergenerational Institutional Struggle., Kevin Grout

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

"Divest Now!" The Student Divestment Campaign At The University Of Louisville : A Crusade For Equality., Chris Burns

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

High School Music Program Participation And Subsequent Strength Of The Local Music Economy., Andrew Segal

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

King Arthur And The Historical Myth Of England : A Child’S Guide To Nationalism And Identity In The Victorian Era., Natalie Clare Smith

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.