Arts and Humanities Commons^™

“Native American Folk Song Suite”: A Study Of Traditional Native American Melodies, The Role Of Music In Native American Society, And Its Translation To The Modern Wind Ensemble, Preston Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music holds a sacred place for the many Native American tribes of the United States. Over the past 150 years, ethnomusicologists Dr. Theodore Baker (1851-1934), Dr. Frances Densmore (1867-1957), and John Donald Robb (1892-1989) have preserved these songs by sitting down with indigenous Native Americans and recording their music straight from the source. Through these recordings, these ethnomusicologists created a springboard for composers, including myself, to study the past and create new music that honors the traditions and culture of Native Americans. I have applied my new knowledge of these musical techniques and traditions to create a work for wind …

Just Between Us Girls: Discursive Spaces From America's First Gay Magazine To The World's Last Website For Queer Women, 1947-2019, Josie Rush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Just Between Us Girls charts the diffusion of queer theory outside of the academy, using convergence theory to examine communication technologies like periodicals and the Web to argue for a conception of queer theory that includes discourse between queer women about queerness. In making this argument, this project creates a lineage of discursive spaces by, for, and about queer women, putting content from these spaces in conversation with canonical queer theorists like Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, and Jack Halberstam. Analyzing and contextualizing discursive spaces like Vice Versa (1947-1948), The Ladder (1956-1972), The Furies (1972-1973), AfterEllen, and Autostraddle demonstrates not …

Unruly Matter: Masculine Consumption In English Restoration Literature, Shawn Watkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unruly Matter: Masculine Consumption in English Restoration Literature

Over the past several decades, material culture scholars working within the “Long 18^th Century” have identified how the figure of the woman consumer became an ideological nodal point that registered new enthusiasm for emerging economic dynamics (mercantilism, nascent capitalism, etc.) while also expressing masculine anxieties about consumerism and the role of consumable goods in English society. Although many scholars have noted that men functioned symbolically and ideologically as English society’s primary consumers of material goods in the later 17^th century, there is no scholarly work that aims to describe the …

Staging Intersectionality: Power And Performance In American Cultural Texts, 1855-2019, Alexandra Reznik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores a diverse array of cultural texts, from literary representations to live performances, from the antebellum period to the contemporary moment,that highlight African-American women singer-celebrities navigating entertainment industries in the United States. Focusing on significant figures from the nineteenth century to the present including Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield (the first prominently known Black woman singer in the antebellum period), Pauline Hopkins (the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century novelist and soprano), Sissieretta Jones (a twentieth-century soprano singer), and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (a contemporary singer-celebrity, songwriter, and producer), this study re-imagines the archive of Black singer-celebrities by centering Black women’s performances and …

Kink In Flux: Bdsm Theory And Sexual Praxis, Celeste Pietrusza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The opening decades of the 21^st century have seen a veritable explosion of representations of bondage, discipline and sadomasochism (BDSM) and kink practices in mainstream media and American culture. Along with this, empirical researchers working in sexuality studies continue to show, contrary to the history of stigmatizing accounts in the history of clinical psychology, no evidence of increased pathology and, in some studies, better outcomes on measures of mental health.

Given the legacy of psychoanalysis in foregrounding considerations of sadomasochism and sexuality for the human psyche, it seems particularly well positioned to approach the complexities of dynamic fantasies involved …

Land Tenure In Acadian Agricultural Settlements, 1604-1755: Cultural Retention And The Emergence Of Custom, Carol A. Blasi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Starting in 1755, the British began the process of not only expelling some eleven thousand Acadians from their homes and farms, but also of uprooting a culture that had survived for over one hundred and twenty years. This dissertation applies a legal historical approach to elucidate a crucial feature of that culture, namely Acadian land tenure. In particular, it traces the way in which seigneurialism, and the French law supporting it, were central to property formation in Acadian agricultural settlements from their inception to their destruction in 1755.

Scholars have been at best ambivalent, and at worst hostile to the …

Wholeheartedness And Acquaintance With God, Sarah Naomi Dannemiller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I demonstrate that wholeheartedness is a constitutive intellectual virtue. Wholeheartedness consists of a definite and unified volitional structure in which one’s desires are integrated around union with God and which contributes to one’s personal intellectual worth by positively orienting her toward acquaintance with God. Since wholeheartedness consists of a hierarchy of the will that prioritizes a desire for union with God, wholeheartedness aims towards the epistemic good of acquaintance. By desiring that one have a will that wills union with God, she cooperates with God toward wholeheartedness. As one becomes aware of her volitional structure changing, she …

Divine Simplicity As A Necessary Condition For Affirming Creation Ex Nihilo, Chance Juliano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proponents of the Doctrine of Divine Simplicity (DDS) have frequently argued that God must lack any temporal, physical, or metaphysical composition on the grounds that God’s existence would be dependent upon God’s parts. This avenue of discourse has been tried and trod so often that most detractors of DDS find it insufficient to demonstrate DDS. Additionally, objectors to DDS have often rejected the doctrine on the count of the heap of metaphysical (often Aristotelian or Neoplatonist) assumptions that one must make before one can even arrive at DDS. Within this essay I will offer an argument for DDS that is …

The Rural Health Physician Narrative: A New Historic Analysis Of Appalachian Representation In Twentieth-Century Rural Physician Narratives, Ashley Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rural health physician narrative is one of the most understudied genres in non-fictional Appalachian literature. Physician narratives are significant in the historical, social, and political contexts of twentieth-century Appalachian representation. These accounts provide insight into the social contexts in which physicians lived as they wrote about healthcare and Appalachian communities. New Historicism is an analytical tool used to better understand the complexity surrounding Appalachian representation, particularly in terms of the politics of representation, gender, and race that influenced these narratives in the twentieth century. I engage in close readings of narratives written by or about rural health physicians who …

The Life And Political Career Of Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Dylan Mcnutt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hubert Horatio Humphrey never reached the Oval Office, but his accomplishments during his tenure as mayor, senator, and Vice President are just as noteworthy. During Humphrey’s political career he played a pivotal role in the most influential period of liberal American politics. During his youth and college years Humphrey became learned how to remain loyal to the people around him, and about the racial divisions of the South. Most research on Vice President Humphrey analyzes his time as a Senator, Vice President, and the 1968 Presidential election. The Life and Political Career of Hubert Humphrey, examines Humphrey’s life in its …

John The Solitary's Epistle To Marcianus: Edition, Translation, And Analysis, Ethan K. Laster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an edition, translation, and analysis of the heretofore unpublished Epistle to Marcianus, an early fifth-century letter attributed to Mar John the Solitary of Apamea. Mar John has long remained a somewhat shadowy figure in Syriac studies, given the complexities of his writings, confusion about what texts should be attributed to him, and his condemnation as a heretic by later Syriac writers. However, scholars have recently begun suggesting that Mar John was in fact quite influential in the development of Syriac ascetic theology. The Epistle to Marcianus (EpMar) considers the passion of lust, which is …

A New Materialist Rhetoric: Theorizing Movement From A Rhetorical Ethnography Of Hiking, Bryan Picciotto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the field of rhetoric, conventional concepts of movement depend on dialectical theories of materiality that posit matter is not rhetorical until acted upon by human sign or symbol systems. New materialist philosophy, which considers the dynamism of matter without situating materiality in dialectical relationship to language, provides a theoretical context for reconceptualizing the rhetoricity of movement. Working from a nondialectical approach to materiality, this dissertation theorizes how movement functions rhetorically, specifically within cultural practices of hiking. For this project, I participated in 15+ hikes at state and national parks in Maine, and generated a multimodal archive of 1,000+ audio, …

From Harmony To The Field, Steven E. Norton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This document expounds a brief history of Western musical art, from the mid-nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty first, which traces the complete transformation of its expressive means and materials. Examined are the changes to Western music’s basic materials such as pitch system, timbral palette and formal architecture. We observe as these aspects are dismantled, supplanted by a dramatically expanded sonic palette and subsequently expanded ranges of expression and topical consideration. This brief historiography contextualizes my current working theories and methods for the construction and understanding of electroacoustic music, centered around the idea of The Field, which frames …

Reputation Versus Reality: An Oral History Of Vidor, Texas, Amanda Michel Saylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vidor, Texas is a town learning to manage its past with the Ku Klux Klan and the subsequent legacy of racial intolerance it now carries into the twenty-first century. By utilizing oral history, interviews with the residents (current and former) clarify how Vidorians see their past and form a collective memory. This memory study oral history project chronicles the historical narrative of Vidor and Vidorians based on oral histories of the interviewee’s point of view. It then highlights my mastery of relevant public history and oral history literature while reviewing the best practices of oral history as both a methodology …

Leonora Carrington : A Bestiary., Stephanie Wise

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Similar to the painted creatures that dwell within the illuminated manuscripts of ancient and medieval bestiaries, the beasts in Leonora Carrington’s early work are used metaphorically. She was deeply influenced in her formative years by mythology and animals; tales with heraldic characters, obscure adventures, and symbolic meanings were foundational to her works. World War II and a subsequent internment in a sanitorium initiated Carrington to wrestle with an existential crisis. Her capacity and appetite for sources of inspiration and knowledge was boundless; infinite symbolic references were readily available for her artistic executions. The metaphors adapted or created by Carrington enabled …

Character Arcs: Mapping Creative Writers' Trajectories Into The Composition Classroom., Jon Udelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops a theoretical and empirical approach to the study of professional creative writers and teachers. Specifically, it examines how these writers developed their knowledge of creative writing and writing pedagogy and how that knowledge informs their work as instructors of composition. Despite the common practice across writing programs of hiring formally-trained creative writers (M.A., M.F.A, Ph.D.) to teach first-year composition and related courses, little scholarship in the field of rhetoric and composition or writing studies more broadly specifically focuses on the disciplinary and professional development of these writer-teachers. Through case studies of graduate students, contingent faculty, lecturers, and …

The Captivity Narratives Of Cynthia Ann Parker : Settler Colonialism, Collective Memory, And Cultural Trauma., Treva Elaine Hodges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores representations of the captivity narrative of Cynthia Ann Parker, an Anglo woman captured as a child by Comanche, with whom she lived in a kinship relationship until her forced return to Anglo society twenty-four years later. The project draws upon trauma theory to explain the persistent appeal of Parker’s narrative. Interpretations analyzed include the original historical account of Parker’s narrative, and appearances in the genres of opera, film, graphic novel, and historical fiction. The dissertation reveals how appearances of Parker’s narrative correspond to periods in US history in which social change threated the dominant position of Anglo …

Mapping Rural Literacy Sponsorship Networks : Literacy Infrastructures And Perceptions In Abbyville., Amy Mccleese Nichols

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the academy has become aware that rural students are choosing to attend institutions of higher education less often than their urban counterparts. Rationalizing why this particular population remains underserved by institutions of higher learning is a new conversation for higher education. And yet, in literacy studies, the perceived urban/rural divide in terms of national politics sometimes seeps into conversations about the perceived “literacy” or culture of rural peoples. This polarization, unaccompanied by detailed portraits of rural community literacy sponsorship, means that rural areas do not benefit from the consistent attention paid to their urban counterparts in New Literacy Studies. …

Subversive Sponsorship : Organized Literacy Education And The Long Civil Rights Movement., Jaclyn Hilberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents literacy sponsorship as a narrative framework that complicates the history of black struggles surrounding educational equity as a civil rights issue. While that history has traditionally been framed as a fight for black access to and participation in white-sponsored institutions, this dissertation demonstrates that a number of prominent black intellectuals and activists instead argued for black sponsorship of black literacy and pursued such sponsorship as a political strategy to advance the goals of the civil rights movement. As such, this project contributes to the body of alternative historiography in rhetoric and composition that examines sites of literacy …

Queering Black Greek-Lettered Fraternities, Masculinity And Manhood : A Queer Of Color Critique Of Institutionality In Higher Education., Antron Demel Mahoney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drawing heavily on Roderick Ferguson’s (2012) theory of institutionality, this dissertation constructs a counter-historical genealogy of racialized gender in higher education and U.S. society through the formation of black Greek-lettered fraternities. Ferguson argues that with the insurgence of minority resistance globally and domestically during the mid-twentieth century, hegemonic power took a new form. Instead of rejecting minority difference, power’s new network attempted to work through and with minority difference in an effort to absorb and restrict these radical formations within state, capital and academy frameworks—producing narrow or one-dimensional minority subjectivities. Established at the turn of the twentieth century, black Greek-lettered …

Charlie Wilson's First War: Challenging Carter's Human Rights Policy Through His Support For Anastasio Somoza Debayle, 1977-79., Sherman J. Sadler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the support of Congressman Charles Wilson, D-TX, for the Nicaraguan government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle from March 1977 to July 1979. A narrative of Wilson's actions and motivations it relies heavily on his congressional papers for primary sources. This work argues that Wilson was motivated by his personal anti-Communist beliefs to challenge the perceived biased application of the Carter Administration's human rights policy against the Somoza regime. He saw the administration's abandonment of Nicaragua, a traditional Cold War ally after four decades of loyal support, as directly contributing to the rise of …

Mom's Money: A Dark Comedy, Buddy Ketelle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will recount the making of the feature film Mom’s Money which I produced, edited, wrote and directed. My influences on the story and visual style of the film will be discussed as well as my prior work and the way those combined forces drew me to make this film. Breaking this into the three stages of filmmaking- Production, Pre-Production and Post Production- I will explore the film from its conception to its completion. The collaborative nature of filmmaking and the way the particular collaborators I had on this film gave me an advantage (while still providing an occasional …

A Tale Of Two Dogs Fine Art Exhibit, Jeff Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is a formal examination of the fine art exhibit titled A Tale of Two Dogs by Jeffrey A. Harris as a partial fulfillment of requirements for a Master of Fine Arts degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.

By examining the multiple established points of view within his artwork, the author questions these establishments and asks if this approach leads to a relevant way of seeing. Using expanded polystyrene foam as a sculpture medium, a series of artworks created during the MFA research process are conceptually analyzed to explore the value of maintaining a multiplicity …

Ripple Effects: The Transformation Of Sfasu Women's Social Clubs To National Sororities, Lea Brannon Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shortly after Stephen F. Austin Teachers College (SFA) opened in 1923, students began organizing social clubs. By the late 1920s, women formed the Amities and Pine Burrs to develop friendships and a sense of belonging. The Fideles and Sigma Gammas arrived on campus in the late 1940s as more women began attending SFA. Dr. Ralph W. Steen’s appointment as president brought significant changes to SFA and inadvertently to the social groups.

Responsible for adding more classrooms and dormitories, expanding course work and faculty, the new president also influenced the campus population by attempting to bring in students from metropolitan areas. …

Navigating Wilderness And Borderland: Environment And Culture In The Northeastern Americas During The American Revolution, Daniel S. Soucier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the evolving interactions of nature and humans during the major military campaigns in the northern theatre of the American War for Independence (1775 – 1783) as local people, local environments, and military personnel from outside the region interacted with one another in complex ways. Examining the American Revolution at the convergence of environmental, military, and borderlands history, it elucidates the agency of nature and culture in shaping how three military campaigns in the “wilderness” unfolded. The invasion of Canada in 1775, the expedition from Quebec to Albany in 1777, and the invasion of Iroquoia in 1779 are …

"There Isn't Anything That Guy Can't Teach About Cars": How Nontraditional Female Career And Technical Education Students Perceive Instructor Effectiveness, Christopher J. Healy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored how female Career and Technical Education (CTE) students who enter predominantly male-attended programs perceive instructor effectiveness. Although previous research has shed light on structural and social barriers faced by females wanting to enter these programs (Whitehead, 2013), new information suggests that CTE instructors engaged in prolonged professional development focused on improving instructional skills can support beneficial learning outcomes for their students (NRCCTE, 2013). It has also been suggested that improved knowledge of instructional approaches can increase nontraditional female students’ successful completion of their CTE programs (NRCCTE, 2013). Consequently, I sought to better understand three factors associated with …

"The Birth" And Other Flights Of Fancy, Abigail Adent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a collection of ten fictions, poems, and things in between that play with a variety of forms, ranging from the choose-your-own-adventure story to Oulipian constraints like the lipogram and Mathew’s Algorithm. I attempt to convey narratives of my own felt experience in the world, dressed in elaborate metaphor and strange images. In this thesis you will see: severed hands, a short severed tongue, eyes on moss, too many teeth, attached very long tongues, dripping earlobes, a tentacle, etc.

The Writing Of Exile, Rahma Elmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perpetually exposed to geographical or emotional exile, the human being never finishes discovering himself. Each exile is the beginning of a new adventure in which chance holds the reins. In this thesis, I will analyze the writing of the exile of three French-speaking immigrants who have settled in Canada for some time. Born elsewhere than in Canada, the three French-Canadian writers reflected on their status, what they would have become if they did not immigrate to this country from their respective countries torn apart by the war, dictatorship or even cultural oppression. The search for a stable life and security …

"Prejudice": The Impact On Dialogic Communication Ethics, Cyril Latzoo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work seeks to elaborate upon the contributions of dialogic communication ethics to a rhetorical understanding of prejudice. The aim is to address the problematic nature of ethical rhetoric apropos of dialogic communication, arguing that there are contending views in the community of memory, and that prejudice is an integral aspect of dialogic communication ethics. Drawing upon Arnett’s concept of dialogic ethics, I argue that there is need for a “dialogic turn” towards the notion of prejudice in the postmodern era. I begin by looking at Chesebro (1969), Arnett (1987), Johannesen (2001), and Arnett, Arneson and Bell (2006) to advance …

When Humanity Meets Technology: Contemplating Neil Postman's Critique Of Advertising, Yingwen Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project aims to contemplate Postman’s critique of advertising and offer insights to understand Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in today’s mediated environment. As an essential component of IMC, the history of advertising demonstrates and documents that the medium of communication has an extensive influence on IMC practices. The concern about how communication media affect human perception, understanding, and behavior, resides within the central claim of the study of media ecology. Thus, this project investigates IMC through the lens of Postman’s media ecology perspectives, and argues that Postman’s prescient ideas provide both hope and constructive insights. Moreover, Postman’s thermostatic perspective, rooted …