Arts and Humanities Commons^™

“I’Ve Been Given The Wrong Mother:” Reconsidering Absent Mothers In Postmodern British Literature, Amanda G. Sawyers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nineteenth-century British authors, in particular, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen, often turned to orphaned children as a means to drive the plot of their novels. While struggles such as displacement were often accurately depicted, the abovementioned authors and their contemporaries often glossed over or completely disregarded the trauma and psychological implications felt by these orphans. As psychology gained prominence as a discipline through the works of Sigmund Freud and others, modern British literature saw a shift in its consideration of orphans and, additionally, emotionally absent mothers. This thesis will examine three modern British novels; Ian McEwan’s Atonement, …

The Impact Of Foreign Aid On Extreme Poverty: A Case Study Of Liberia’S Development Complexities (1980-2018), Roosevelt Seedee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many countries in West Africa, including Liberia, remain trapped in extreme poverty and dysfunctional social services amid continued increase in foreign aid. This study examines complexities influencing decisions of government donors in determining the kind of development assistance needed in Liberia and nation states in West Africa. This research explains the ways in which aid perpetuates poverty instead of alleviating it using interdisciplinary research approaches. Although aid is critical to Liberia’s development agenda, aid implementation faces numerous challenges because of extant poverty and rampant corruption.

Part of the problem in Liberia is not solely the failure of aid to meet …

Bluegrass And Old-Time In Catalonia: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Aesthetic Communitas, Michael J. Luchtan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is an ethnographic case study of a musical community in Catalonia centered around the performance of bluegrass and old-time music. By using Victor and Edith Turners’ ideas of normative communitas, this paper identifies an aesthetic communitas model which describes a community centered around a performative genre. Through participant observation in the 16th Annual Al Ras Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival and interviews with local musicians, fans, venue owners, and luthiers, the ethnographic narrative details the characteristics of the aesthetic communitas in Catalonia and searches for associations of Appalachia that accompany the cross-cultural manifestation of bluegrass and old-time music …

Worry In The Pews: Exploring Levels And Causes Of Worry Among Church-Goers, Jennifer Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A large body of research indicates that worry, anxiety, and depression are present in the modern American psyche at increasingly high levels. Everyday worry can lead to further mental health issues, interpersonal problems, and reduced physical wellbeing and should be reduced when possible. Previous research has examined the benefits of church attendance with varied results; however, understanding the relationship between church attendance and everyday worry could be useful in reducing the effects of worry on this population.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure self-reported levels and causes of everyday worry among church-goers from three congregations and to …

Resilience Of Nigerian Widows In The Face Of Harmful Widowhood Practices In Southwest Nigeria: An Interdisciplinary Analysis, Esosa Mohammed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Widows in Nigeria endure adverse and traumatic practices that affect their health, well-being, and rights as women. After decades of struggle and resistance against persistent widowhood practices, this study sought to portray in Nigerian widows, hidden strengths, resilience, and agency rather than their vulnerability and powerlessness. Analysis of secondary scholarship, interviews, and survey questionnaires reveal that some Nigerian widows are able to cope even as they navigate through the challenges and trauma of demeaning and stressful practices. The results also demonstrate that the ability to cope and thrive under stress and adversity links not only to an individual’s personal growth …

“I’Ve Always Identified With The Women:” How Appalachian Women Ballad Singers’ Repertoire Choices Reflect Their Gendered Concerns, Sara Lynch-Thomason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how contemporary Appalachian women’s gendered experiences influence their choices of ballad repertoire. This inquiry is pursued through a feminist analysis of interviews with six women ballad singers from Madison County, North Carolina. In evaluating the women’s choices of ballads and their commentary on the songs, this thesis draws upon narratological theories as well as concepts from Appalachian traditional music studies.

This study finds that women’s repertoire preferences reveal contemporary female concerns for physical safety and political agency. The singers also extract hidden transcripts from ballad texts and use ballads to educate audiences about women’s historic oppression. However, …

America’S Inconsistent Foreign Policy To Africa; A Case Study Of Apartheid South Africa, Olugbenga Samson Ojewale Mr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study lays bare the inconsistencies in the United States of America’s Foreign Policy, and how it contributed to the longevity of apartheid in South Africa. Michael Mandelbaum opined that America’s foreign policy post-Cold War era drifted from containment to transformation.1 America became involved with transferring their democracy and constitutional order to the countries they entangled with in running those countries’ internal governance. Instead of war, America preached and practiced proper, organized governance. Thus, America’s foreign policy to Europe and Asia post-Cold War was all about democracy and protection of fundamental human rights. However, the role of America’s Foreign Policy …

The Doyen Of Dixie: A Survey Of The Banjo Stylings Of Uncle Dave Macon, Corbin F. Hayslett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

David Harrison Macon (1870-1952) is often memorialized for his showmanship rather than his banjo playing. To compartmentalize such a significant American musician yields a wide gap within scholarship about Macon, country music history and the banjo. Macon’s banjo playing, documented through over two-hundred and fifty recordings made between the 1920s and 1950s, represents an array of cultures, eras, ethnicities, and styles all preserved in the repertoire of one of the most prolific country musicians of the 20^th century. This study reveals Macon’s playing by considering such factors as influences that preceded his professional tenure, identifying elements within his playing …

Digging Into Playwriting, Gleason Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis was to write an original play and detail the writing process. Themes dealt with in Jane (or, Dug In) are family, coping with grief, survivor’s guilt, and exploration (both literal and personal). In addition to the full script, this thesis explores the inspirations for the play and its title. The play’s genre is analyzed, and reasoning is given for this selection. Included are omitted scenes from the latest draft to offer additional insight into the playwright’s previous versions. A reading of the third draft was presented and detailed in this thesis. A section about future …

The Motivations And Uses Of Instagram, Rehab Althobaiti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Instagram is revolutionary in social media and networking, but little is known about the factors, social or psychological, that motivate users to become constant users on this app. A comprehensive survey was created, 277 college-aged Instagram users responded about their motivation, attitude, purpose, and primary activities regarding Instagram. The results show that Instagram users have five fundamental social and psychological motives: social interaction, archiving, self-expression, escapism, and peeking. Results showed that males were different from females in the following areas of using Instagram: create a personal space, interact with a number of people, keep in touch with friends far away, …

New Criticism—Not So New To Tennessee’S High School English Teachers, Seth Grindstaff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When Tennessee Department of Education adopted Common Core in 2010, Tennessee implemented New Critical ideas associated with the college classroom, but did not present this connection to English teachers. Comparing high school education reforms like A Nation at Risk (1983) and TNCore to the New Critical works of Cleanth Brooks, T. S. Eliot, John Crowe Ransom, Robert Penn Warren, William Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley, reveals that New Criticism is the literary method grounding current ELA education reform. Referencing Deborah Appleman’s Critical Encounters in Secondary English (2015), Diana Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School System (2010), and …

An Intersectional Feminist Perspective Of Emmett Till In Young Adult Literature, Claire Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emmett Till’s murder inspired many novelists, poets, and artists. Recently, Till has inspired several feminist young adult novelists who are introducing his case in an intersectional way to a new generation of readers. The works that I have studied are A Wreath for Emmett Till (2003) by Marilyn Nelson, The Hunger Games Trilogy (2008-2010) by Suzanne Collins, and Midnight without a Moon (2017) by Linda Jackson. By examining how the authors employ a feminist perspective, readers can understand how they are striving for a more inclusive, intersectional feminist movement. This is significant because the publishing industry, specifically for Young Adult …

Environmental Deterioration In Contemporary Appalachian Literature: A Biblical Ecocritical Analysis Of Serena And Strange As This Weather Has Been, Alexandria C. Craft

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ron Rash’s Serena and Ann Pancake’s Strange as This Weather Has Been are two contemporary Appalachian novels that have yet to be analyzed from a biblical ecocritical perspective. While some literary scholars acknowledge the environmental aspects of the novels, little of their research goes beyond examining the land and its resources as commodities or metaphorical extensions for the characters. In this thesis, I elaborate on those interpretations by scrutinizing the natural descriptions in both novels and comparing those findings to some of the landscapes and environmental verses located within the Bible. Unlike the pastoral ideal found in a portion of …

“All The Foundation Of The Earth Becomes Desolate” Tracing Icelandic And Anglo-Saxon Connections Through A Shared Literary Frontier, Adam E. Timbs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The mythology of migration is deeply integral to the medieval Germanic societies peopling Northern Europe and the island nations of the North Sea. Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic society construct their identities through a memory of migration that takes places within a frontier that is mythic and historical in scope. By surveying eco-critical components of Anglo-Saxon poems such as “The Wife’s Lament” and “The Husband’s Message” alongside the Icelandic sagas Egil’s saga and The Vinland sagas, a shared tradition of the frontier ideal is revealed.

Sharing The Pain In Social Media: A Content Analysis Of #Thinspiration Images On Instagram, Agustina Amon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

#Thinspiration is an online trend that depicts thin-ideal media content specifically found on the social medium Instagram. The images found under the #thinspiration intend to inspire weight loss while encouraging and/or glorifying dangerous behaviors that are usually attributed to eating disorders including anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). This study provides a content analysis of thinspiration imagery on the popular social networking site Instagram. A set of 300 randomly selected images was coded. Images tended to objectify women and sexualize them with a focus on bony and extremely thin women. Results seemed to …

“You Can’T Put A Price On Something That’S Not For Sale”: Eminent Domain In St. Paul, Virginia (1970 - 1985), Evan Couch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The St. Paul Redevelopment Project was unique and touted as the first-of-its-kind to feature cooperation from all three levels of government. Several government agencies helped St. Paul accomplish an “impossible dream,” spending an estimated thirty million dollars to rechannel the Clinch River in the 1970s and 1980s. The small town of 1,000 residentsrelocated 100 families from South St. Paul to carry out the project, much to the dismay of many of the residents. A primary factor in enforcing the power of eminent domain in the St. Paul Redevelopment Project was the idea of “progress,” a commonality of many redevelopment projects. …

Hearing Through Walls, Bradley Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The photographer discusses work in “Hearing Through Walls”, a Masters of Fine Arts thesis exhibit held at downtown Tipton Gallery from February 19th through March 2nd, 2018. The exhibition consists of 15 archival inkjet prints and one two-channel video piece, representing the artists three-year exploration into narrative forms in image making. Using non-traditional approaches to photographic portraiture and experimental exhibition layout, the artist forms questions around themes of domesticity, lost youth, and American masculinity. Among these themes is an investigation into photographic issues, including the cultural role that photographs play in perpetuating, miming, and disrupting the facades of everyday life. …

Undesirable Forms, Maria Risner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Master of Fine Arts exhibition, Undesirable Forms, presents a collection of paintings and sculptures that focus on the repulsion and discomfort a woman can experience within her mind and body. These works were exhibited at the Tipton gallery, in downtown Johnson City. The pieces included in this exhibition consist of encaustic paintings on panel, and sculptures created from plaster life-casts.

The ideas discussed in this paper are influenced by Julia Kristeva and Sigmund Freud’s work relating to the abject/grotesque female body. This paper also discusses inspiration from other artists, such as Natalie Frank and Helen Chadwick, who work …

Running The Health Care Marathon: An Ethnography Of A Charitable Clinic In A Rural Appalachian Community, Courtney A. Rhoades

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Appalachia is characterized as being a place of health inequalities, including substandard health care access. Health disparities in access to health care persist in the region, and many Tennessee residents are unable to afford premiums, if they can afford insurance at all. Uninsured individuals rely on community based free clinics, which serve as health care safety nets and allowing people to obtain limited health care. This ethnographic investigation, involving semi-structured interviews and participant-observation of the Blackberry Spruce Free Clinic, provides insight into the continued need of health care safety net resources. This research provides a patient’s perspective on the barriers …

Worlds With Words: Discourse And Frame Analysis Of Performance Storytelling, Chelise Fox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I explore how performance storytellers create intense focus on imaginal realities through language—a phenomenon sometimes called “transport” or “realm-shift.” To this end, recordings of performances by two professional storytellers were transcribed and examined through the lens of frame theory and discourse analysis. Examination of these transcripts shows that storytellers employ clusters of linguistic involvement strategies around frame transitions, facilitating realm-shift. Additionally, it shows that throughout a telling, tellers shape discourse around frame shifts that draw attention to significant elements, particularly those that establish a story’s relevance to the occasion of its telling and those that contribute to …

Bertha Harris' Confessions Of Cherubino: From L'Ecriture Feminine To The Gothic South, Kara Russell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by her obsession with the South and informed by the liberating socio-political changes born from the 1970s lesbian feminist movement, North Carolinian author Bertha Harris (1937-2005) provides a poetic exploration of Southern Gothic Sapphism in her complex and tormented novel Confessions of Cherubino (1972). Despite fleeting second-wave era recognition as “one of the most stylistically innovative American fiction writers to emerge since Stonewall,” Harris’s innovation remains largely neglected by readers and cultural theorists alike. Nearly all academic engagements with her work, of which there are few, address her 1976 novel Lover. Instead, this thesis focuses on Confessions of Cherubino …

The Open Door, Dollar Diplomacy, And The Self-Strengthening Movement: The Birth Of American Idealist Imperialism In China, 1890 - 1912, Frederic Poag

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American Foreign Policy at the outset of the Twentieth century evolved from a realist to an idealist position as the United States transitioned to an imperial power. This ideal framework was formed in the crucible of China during the Spheres of Influence and the Open Door. The US had to play delicate game of helping China to maintain their territorial, and administrative integrity while at the same time protecting their newly acquired overseas interests against more established imperial actors. While there were many missteps, and failures during this transition perhaps the most the important result was the change toward the …