Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Our Nuclear Quandary: Deliberating U.S. Nuclear Armament & Its Alternatives For Execution 1946-1961, Andrew Ross

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Sitting amongst his National Security Councilors in 1958, President Eisenhower quipped of how he “could remember well when the military used to have no more than 70 targets in the Soviet Union and believed that destruction of these 70 targets would be sufficient.” Yet moments later, Eisenhower would grant his approval of a nuclear targeting plan which would strike all Soviet cities over the population of 25,000—a plan requiring thousands, not dozens, of nuclear weapons. The potential consequences of this dramatic surge in nuclear armament has led scholars to dispute how to characterize operational planning during the Nuclear Arms Race. …

Dramatic Form: In Theory And In Practice, Alexander Borrello

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

One of the most essential aspects of any dramatic work is dramatic form - the categorization of whether a given play is a tragedy, comedy, melodrama, or something else. Most dramatists argue that dramatic form is inherent to the play and cannot be changed. Typically, dramatic form is determined by the playwright's choice in writing the play, and many dramatic theorists believe this determination to be unquestionable. One such theorist, Giovanni Battista Guarini, wrote,

" ... And there is no doubt that anyone who imagines that he can make one of these genres slip in its entirety intothe confines of …

An Exploration Of Dance Therapy, Its Origins, And Its Applications In Parkinson’S Disease, Emilia Floody

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Throughout history, dance has been used as a means of promoting health and wellbeing and for healing the sick. These practices date back to some of the earliest Neolithic societies with the advent of the circle dance in shamanistic cultures and continue into today’s society. Notable examples of healing dances include dances devoted to Apollo in ancient Greek culture, the dancing manias of medieval Europe, and the tarantism of southern Italy that dates back to the fourteenth century. Today, the primary role of dance in healing is the use of dance/movement therapy which, according to the website of the American …

We Just Want My People Thriving: Hip Hop As A Catalyst For Social Change In St. Louis, Joel Pettus Iii

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

St. Louis, regularly listed as one of the most segregated cities in the United States, has long been a hotbed of racial tension. As a current resident of St. Louis County, and a former resident of a subsection of St. Louis County called Ferguson, I have witnessed the havoc a history of racism, segregation and violence can wreak on a community. The silver lining of such an environment is the resulting creative talent that focuses its efforts on chronicling its surroundings. In this case, local artists have sought to illustrate St. Louis’ complicated history and uncertain future. Since hip hop …

The Aggravating Alloy: Mercury Amalgam’S Role In The Relationship Between The Educated And Non-Educated Dental Professional In The Nineteenth Century, Gracen Dunn

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In the early 1830’s, a pair of European ‘dentists’ brought a novel material for filling teeth into the United States. It was far less expensive and far easier to use than competing materials. This new potential ease at which some could practice dentistry put pressure on a situation of conflict between the educated dental professional, and the uneducated dentist. Quacks were the bane of the existence of an educated, gentleman dentist. They were openly condemned in private circles and in the press but the dental ‘charlatan’ was not the only person in the line of fire. Those who used mercury …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: A Historical Fiction Detailing The Trauma Of Mental Institutions In The Mid 1940’S, Jessica Klingensmith

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Out of Sight, Out of Mind is a historical fiction that details the trauma of one character, Francie, when she is admitted to a mental institution against her will in mid-1940’s America. Francie suffers from severe bipolar depression, which was poorly understood and had little treatments during this time. Different characters take turns narrating this piece, demonstrating how different perspectives can provide insight into the same circumstance. Francie’s family must cope with complicated family relationships and mental illness throughout this narrative, which serves as the first segment of a future novel.

Why Can’T A Woman Fail Like A Man? Gender Differences In Perceived Competence Following A Mistake, Kathryn Kincaid

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Stereotypes are pervasive and can significantly influence the way we perceive and evaluate others. When people occupy roles that are not congruent with stereotypes (such as a stay-at-home dad or a female CEO), past research has suggested that they are evaluated more harshly than those in roles that are stereotype-congruent. The present study examined the role of gender stereotypes by asking participants to read a vignette about a college student and their performance in a class. In these vignettes, the student’s major and gender were manipulated such that there were students in gender stereotype-congruent majors (female nursing major, male computer …

Raising The Stakes: The Impact Of Emotional Investment On Learning Stage Combat, Sarah Tam

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

One of the most integral parts of stage combat is safety. A fight director’s constant challenge is keeping their actors safe. One aspect of a fight scene that then merits close inspection is the effect that the intense emotions involved in the scene have on an actor’s ability to perform the fight safely. Does the level of stakes in the scene affect the integrity of the actor’s fighting technique? There exists a paradox when an actor must be emotionally present in a fight as their character while performing technical fight moves accurately. Knowing how to navigate this paradox will enhance …

Speculative Literature In Modern Society: Octavia Butler And The Tragedy Of The Commons, Katherine Elyse Miller

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

What leads to peaceful prosperity and what leads to destructive collapse in any society? While it may seem daunting or overwhelming to dissect the success or collapse of a multi-faceted society, there are lenses and tools through which we are able to do so, such as political theory and speculative dystopian fiction. By using lenses to analyze the society in which we live, we are able to recognize the seeds of both prosperity and destruction in our society that may otherwise be overlooked or ignored. The speculative dystopian fiction of Octavia Butler may be considered as building upon the political …

The Back Pocket Play: Revealing White Privilege And Its Contribution To Institutionalized Racism, Sonia Michelle Goldberg

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Black lives matter. This phrase incites intense and polarizing emotions in our community: with it brings images of police brutality. It forces the topic of racism to the forefront of the listener’s mind. And when that listener hardly ever considers issues of race in their daily life, “Black lives matter” easily becomes a hostile phrase, one to shrink away from. Why? This ability to dissociate – to write off uncomfortable situations – is a privilege. In predominately White communities like Butler University, individuals are often hesitant to have a conversation about race, because they believe firmly it is not their …

Quantitative Analysis Of Acetic Acid In Hard Woods As A Way To Improve Museum Artifact Storage, Alexandria Flora

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Many materials used for storage of museum artifacts have been found to cause damage to the items either through emitting harmful volatile gases or through direct contact. Harmful storage techniques can cause corrosion, discoloration, or deterioration of priceless artifacts. Museum enclosures made of hardwoods have been shown to emit acetic acid vapors that cause damage to the items being stored. In the present study, a review of the effects of acetic acid damage on museum artifacts was performed, and an evolved gas analysis and titration method were used to quantify acetic acid in various hardwoods.

When Poetry And Humor Get Hitched, Christian Hartselle

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Through humor, poetry explores the imagination and the mind just as it does through other means of expression. Comic poetry finds the truth in the illogical and in the absurd; it finds what unsettles us through its use of surprise; it finds delight and play in the unknown and uncertain. By its very nature, comic poetry clings to the edges of what we know, so pinpointing its characteristics is tricky. But the shared characteristic of all comic poetry is the permission the poet grants herself to disobey boundaries. The poet chooses not to fit her works within the reader’s expectations, …

Imprisoning Sexuality: The Abuses Of The State In Homosexual Male Incarceration At Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (1934-1957), Vic Overdorf

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Between 1934 and 1957, J. Edgar Hoover - the presiding director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation – signed documents approving the transfer of over twenty military men with a charge of “Sodomy” to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Through the first half of the twentieth century, Alcatraz was notorious for it’s incredibly violent and high profile criminals. Since the island was isolated and conditions were severe, Alcatraz was the designated site for the United States to imprison undesirable people: violent and influential men who they did not want to rejoin society. When considering the legal term “Sodomy”– which in 1934 …

Living The Lake Life: Indiana’S Lake James In The 1950s And 1960s, Warren Travis

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

At over a thousand acres, Lake James has been a staple for entertainment in northern Indiana for years. Lake James has changed significantly over the more than one hundred years of human interaction. This paper captures the scene of Lake James in the 1950s and 1960s.

Islamic Influence On Spain: Discussion Of Women’S Rights And Islamic Influence, Samreen Uzzama

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Current sentiment in the West surrounding Islam stems from a variety of factors: terror attacks, lack of understanding the Islamic faith and cultures that practice the religion, and stereotypical depictions in the media of Muslims as terrorist or as oppressed women. Arab societies oppress women via laws, such as the law that prevents women from driving or the law that prevents women from being outside of the house without being accompanied by a man, both in Saudi Arabia. These depictions, especially of Saudi Arabian practices or similar practices from other nations, are generally available to the West, via media, web, …

Spectroscopic Analysis Of The Traditional Cyanotype Process And Its Impact On Art, Jacob Applegarth

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Reflectance spectroscopy was used to study the cyanotype printing process. Originally this process was used to make photocopies of building designs, but today it is used for art. The cyanotype process is a photo catalyzed oxidation-reduction reaction. This study altered the concentrations and reagents involved in the printing process, and it included the use of ammonium ferricyanide and ammonium iron(III) oxalate along with the traditional potassium ferricyanide and ammonium iron(III) citrate. The impact of these changes on the rate of formation of Prussian blue was observed and quantified. Rate laws and general trends were determined for the reagents involved. Qualitative …

Late L2 Acquisition And Phonological Memory Development, Madeline Westerhoff

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The development of phonological memory, a subdivision of short term memory, is crucial to learning and analyzing sequences of sounds to form words and phrases. This process utilizes short term representation and rehearsal to allow for the eventual long term representation of language. Individuals learning more than one language must acquire even more of these language sequences than monolinguals. Previous research agrees that early Spanish-English bilinguals have superior phonological memory to monolinguals, however the impact of second language acquisition on phonological memory remains unknown. This study examined three groups of undergraduate participants studying Spanish as a second language including study …

The Social Construction Of Winston Churchill: How Life Experiences Shaped The Identity Of A Wartime Legend, Molly Elisabeth Smith

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

While the theory of social constructivism in international relations may not be the most common, it has appeared in different forms throughout the twentieth century and has gained popularity in recent years. Focusing on the formation of - and potential for change in - identities and interests, constructivism allows for the consideration of both ideational and behavioral factors in studying actors of the international community. Pairing these concepts with principles from both social identity theory and political psychology, one can observe the constructivist development of identities and interests of a political individual, such as Winston Churchill. Churchill's unique life experience …

Tabaquismo: ¿Negocio Y Forma De Identidad Cultural?, Caroline Zuhone

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

España es un país con un nivel de desarrollo similar a los Estados Unidos, no obstante, a pesar de su inserción dentro de los países del primer mundo tiene un índice que no se corresponde con esta categoría, una gran parte de su población usa tabaco frecuentemente. Con la actualización de muchos trabajos científicos que explican los efectos negativos del tabaco y su difusión publica, en los Estados Unidos se ha logrado que muchas personas dejen de fumar. No ha sucedido lo mismo en España, allí muchos españoles siguen consumiendo tabaco desestimando la difusión de los mismos estudios científicos. El …