Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Are There Compelling Moral Reasons To Refrain From Consuming Pornography?, Laurie Spafford

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Points, Lines, And Bodies: The Mereological Problem In Leibniz, Jackson Hawkins

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

How To Unground Academic Philosophy, Rik Pulles

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

An Objection To Singer's Argument On Charity, Benjamin Dever-Mendenhall

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Punishment For The Failed Criminal, Evan Lopes

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

The Falsity Of Ideology, Santiago Faviere Prado

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Where The Right To Resist Went Wrong, A Critique Of Dworkin’S Theory Of Disobedience, Juan N. Pava

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

The Moral Of The Story In Kant's Philosophy Of Religion, Jacob Farris

Ephemeris, the Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Screwed? Interactive Interpretation Of The Turn Of The Screw, Ava Bowen

Honors Theses

I began thinking about my thesis by wondering why we read, why we read the books we read, why we read a book the way we do, and how we read leads to different interpretations and opinions of a book. In my thesis, I have focused on figuring out how we can determine who we are based on the interpretations we make about a text. I have determined that one’s interpretation is based on their baggage which includes their memories, expectations, and imagination. A reader, either consciously or unconsciously, brings baggage to every text they read in order to come …

Fight Like A Ya Girl: Fourth Wave Feminism, Defense, And Weaponization Through The Lens Of Object Relations, Amanda Blakeman

Honors Theses

This thesis will discuss how the genre of Young Adult (YA) fiction, more specifically Fantasy YA fiction, reflects the major goals and objectives of fourth wave feminism, ultimately arguing for the need for more intersectional representation in heroine characters. YA Fantasy fiction consistently features a strong heroine in both spirit and body, one who uses weapons to take on systems of injustice in their respective worlds, from systematic child murder to modern slavery. What and how, then, are these books teaching the next generation about feminism? I attempt to answer this question with this thesis, looking at three YA female …

"Meatheads" Redefined: An Analysis Of The Union College Football Team, Michaela Wood

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the experiences and representations of the male football player. It provides an anthropological study of Union College football players and a film analysis of the sports film genre, revealing critical insights about relationships among bodies, diet preferences, and gendered stereotypes. These insights move beyond the “meathead” stereotypes that society constructs for the male football player. This thesis combines Anthropology and English to reveal that questions about hegemonic masculinity arise in the minds of the very athletes who embody the stereotypes of ‘the man.’ Moreover, sports films’ popularity lies in themes that entice men to acknowledge their emotions. …

My Sitayana: Sewing Seeds Of Empowerment, Dhea Kothari

Honors Theses

This thesis is an exploration of sculpture and installation. My project depicts a narrative of generational emancipation of women. The narrative was inspired by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel, ‘Forest of Enchantments,’ in which she rewrites the ‘Ramayana’ with Sita, the female character, as the protagonist instead. The Ramayana is a popular Hindu mythological story that revolves around Prince Rama’s quest to rescue his wife Sita from the perils of the villain Raavana. This story encapsulates the undertones of the patriarchal culture in India. This My thesis installation stands as a symbol of generational transformation of love and what it means …

Sexual Objectification Of Women: What Can Ancient Rome And Modern Psychology Teach Us?, Noa Raskin

Honors Theses

Sexual objectification (SO) is an omnipresent experience for women that decreases their quality of life. Researching why SO occurs and is perpetuated can help us understand how to decrease the interpersonal, mental health, and safety consequences women face from being sexually objectified. This presentation looks at sexual objectification through the lenses of two different disciplines: psychology and classics. The psychology component involved an empirical study aimed at better comprehending women’s perceptions of their own SO and the connection SO has to Greek life. Nineteen men from Union College completed two scales to assess their direct and indirect SO of women, …

Somewhere In The Universe: Senior Thesis 2022, Mallory Nelson

Honors Theses

My senior thesis, entitled Somewhere in the Universe, is an exploration of what makes a place believable, and how I as an artist can make something that doesn’t exist feel like it could. However, one of my favorite parts about art is its ability to be interpreted in unique ways. I may have had a set of intentions and ideas when creating this project, but I also am open to the ways different people interpret this art.

The conceptual basis of my thesis is an attempt at worldbuilding. These worlds are based on various Greek and Roman Goddesses from the …

How Translations Affects Understanding In Euripides’ Medea, Alexis Nicole Candido

Honors Theses

This thesis considers Medea, from Euripides’ Medea, in her role as mother, wife, and a Woman of Corinth. Previous literature has considered the context within which Medea can be viewed as an icon for feminism in the modern world. Utilizing the translations from George Theodoridis, David Kovacs, Gilbert Murray, E. P. Coleridge, and Cecilia Luschnig, as well as my own translation, I investigated how Medea’s story can be viewed differently when carefully selecting words as a translation of the original Greek from her famous “Women of Corinth” speech. Each translation has similarities and differences, but they all portrayed a slightly …

Katrina Vs. Ida: A Comparative Analysis Of Fema Housing Recovery Efforts With Regard To Vulnerable Populations, Alyssa Harrynanan

Honors Theses

When Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in 2005, it revealed disparities in the way that recovery efforts are handled after storms. For example, it demonstrated flaws in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s attempt to provide housing for disaster survivors. The agency failed to adequately accommodate vulnerable populations, including communities of color, low-income individuals, the elderly, and people with disabilities, in its housing recovery process. Since then, efforts have been made to reform the agency and ensure that all individuals, regardless of race, income, education or disability level, are accommodated by FEMA. However, when Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana exactly 16 years later …

Overlooked Diplomacy: A Look Into Missed Diplomatic Efforts In The Pacific Theater Of World War Ii, Maxwell Melanson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines possible diplomatic solutions that may have ceased United States-Japanese conflict throughout the late 1930s and 40s. The first chapter analyzes the declaration of the policy of unconditional surrender, and what this policy entailed. Despite Roosevelt claiming that the idea just came to him, it was a carefully developed policy, and was chosen to be enacted for a multitude of reasons. After the Casablanca conference in January 1943, unconditional surrender became a unifying policy and a politically smart policy in Roosevelt's favor. The second chapter then analyzes the tensions rising between Japan and the United States through the …

Using Laughter To Inspire Change: Absurdist Theatre In Oppressive Societies, Mia Villeneuve

Honors Theses

The 1959 play Rhinoceros by French playwright Eugène Ionesco is one of many plays considered by Martin Esslin to be a part of "Theatre of the Absurd" a genre of plays written by mostly European playwrights in the late 1950's. These plays typically center around ideas of existentialism, and seem to lack any type of logical consistency. Rhinoceros centers around a small French town in which all the inhabitants slowly turn into rhinoceroses, and was a response to the uprising of fascism in Nazi Germany and a commentary on how social ideas spread.

This thesis will discuss the use of …

Crítica Social Y Esperanza Para Las Próximas Generaciones: Representaciones De Seropositivos En Todo Sobre Mi Madre (1999) Y Positivo (2016), Grace Heiting

Honors Theses

This thesis criticizes the progression of the HIV/AIDS pandemic from post-Franco Spain to contemporary Venezuela through the analysis of a domestic film from each country. From Spain, the comedy-drama film Todo sobre mi madre (1999) by Pedro Almodóvar is a reflection of an earlier stage of the epidemic, when the country was challenged to recreate its political and social identities. Almodóvar’s film highlights the struggles of the LGBTQ community to transgress stereotypes (not limited to HIV) and find hope in future generations to solve the lingering social inequalities. From Venezuela, the short film Positivo (2016) from De Tovar Films is …

Los Defectos De La Perfección: Un Análisis De Los Temas Recurrentes De Secretos, Traumas Intergeneracionales E Identidades Biculturales En Yo No Soy Tu Perfecta Hija Mexicana, Tiffany Vembenil

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the social critiques by author Erika L. Sánchez in her debut novel Yo no soy tu perfecta hija mexicana (2017). This is a fictional coming-of-age story of teen Julia Reyes, who is grieving the death of her “perfect” older sister. Sánchez explores intersectional feminism, describing Julia’s struggles with gender roles, power dynamics, race, and socioeconomic status.

Sánchez employs imagery and irony to critique how the judging, silence, and secrecy that younger generations learn from their community permit predatory behavior, sexual assault, and victim-blaming. However, she also shows how keeping secrets can be a necessary evil to protect …

Inocencia Y Memoria: Reconciliando El Trauma De La Guerra Civil Española En “Aquel Abril” Y “La Lengua De Las Mariposas”, Catherine Seaman

Honors Theses

I will analyze the fictional short stories “Aquel abril” by Armando López Salinas (first written and published in 1955) and “La lengua de las mariposas” by Manuel Rivas from his collection ¿Qué me quieres, amor? (1995) in order to understand how individual reflection on the past helps us access a nation’s collective memory in order to process traumatic events and keep them from repeating. I discuss childhood innocence as a form of rebellion and free thought as power to combat violent and oppressive systems that create this trauma. The child protagonists of the two stories represent individual trajectories, but they …

Apocalypse Across Contexts: Reactions To Sudden, Unwanted, And Comprehensive Change, Patrick Morrison

Honors Theses

For much of human history, people have maintained a fascination with the end of the world. The apocalypse refers to the final moment in human history, with apocalyptic thought focusing on questions of how and when this will occur. The apocalypse is among the most durable transhistorical phenomena, adapting to changes in technology, social structure, and theology. Apocalyptic thought often arises from conditions of “relative deprivation,” where subjugated members of society envision the apocalypse as deliverance from their present hardship. The Biblical works of Daniel and Revelation, among other notable apocalypses, fueled the anxieties and imaginations of Europeans during the …

Weaving In Mythology: Women’S Agency And Portrayed Character, Molly Mcleod

Honors Theses

Although weaving would have been a daily activity for many people in the ancient Greek world, the nature of the practice remains somewhat unknown to the modern view. The archaeological record contains loom weights and spindle whorls, but the looms and textiles themselves have almost entirely decomposed. Scholars have attempted to reconstruct what weaving looked like in the ancient world through a combination of literary sources, archaeological methods, and visual representations. Based on this research, and in order to better understand the process and difficulties of ancient weaving, I have constructed and woven fabric on a model of an ancient …

两岸问题从三个看法来谈, Michael Connolly

Honors Theses

现在，我们都知道两岸问题。在问题的基础上：台湾是否属于中国的一部分？当然，台湾跟中国有很大的关系。今天，每些土地都称自己“中国。”差不多四百年以前，台湾成为一个中国的殖民地。很多汉族人来台湾，带了他们的文化和语言。但是，从1895年到1945年，日本领导了台湾。这个外国的领导时期改变了台湾的历史。中国的现代政府，中华人民共和国，连一天都没治理了台湾。但是，这个问题可以造成了战争。为了懂这个问题的重要性，我们得寻找历史了解中国的身份。我们会发现台湾的政治重要性，这个问题结果的未来。这个问题对亚洲和世界的政治和和平很重要。台湾的经济，政治状态使两岸问题当作新冷战的中心。在这个文章，我会分析台湾的历史、政治、经济和国际的看法。

Conceptual Chair Designs: Study Of Materials & Craftsmanship, Aram Festekjian

Honors Theses

This thesis is a study of different chair concepts made with various techniques and

methods. Usually, when taking a seat, people do not take a moment to appreciate the architecture and design thinking incorporated into a chair. The objective of my project is to have the viewer take a moment to appreciate and feel a particular way before taking a seat. I am inspired by many different architects and designers who have created chairs within their artistic careers. The thesis work includes four different conceptual chair sculptures made from steel, plywood, expanding foam, bullet liner, and bungee. When bringing my …

“Ang Kuwento Ng Araw At Buwan” (“The Story Of The Sun And Moon”): What It Means To Be Filipino-American., Rochelle-Leah Barcelona Nuqui

Honors Theses

As a Filipina American from Southern California, my cousins got to experience our Philippine culture through their college’s Filipino American Student Associations, while I had a hard time learning about our culture as I attend a school that has a low Asian American population and miniscule Filipino American population. Although the populations are small, my senior thesis has pushed me to learn about my ethnic identity through the arts and especially through the power of storytelling. This journey in learning the importance of authentic folklore untouched by the western influence has shown me as a Filipina American, that the original …

Nocturne Series, Jessica Kirker

Honors Theses

My oil paintings explore the mingling of interior and exterior space. Each work in this group focuses upon nocturne scenes with the inclusion of reflections. Inspiration for my work comes from photographs I have taken while walking around at night or from the windows of the space I am in. I have also layered images to develop my own created spaces. Surrealism has played a prominent role in the development of these artworks. The elongated canvases reference the human form and the presence of the viewer in front of the work. With the size of the canvas in mind, I …

The Normalization Of Detention Centers In The United States, Laura Beth Mulligan

Honors Theses

Since the beginning of 2022, 19,948 immigrants have been detained in the United States. Mistreatment of Latin American immigrants occurring across the 215 detention centers located in the United States has grown completely out of control in the more recent years. The U.S. detention system is one that is motivated by racism and superiority complexes of one race over another, leading to Latin American immigrants being treated as less than human. This Senior Thesis explores what a detention center is, the presence of detention centers in the United States, the power structure of ICE and other employees, with personal stories …

James Fenimore Cooper's Last Of The Mohicans As An Adirondack Novel, Onno Oerlemans

Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies

Cooper’s most famous novel should be recognized for how it represents some of what is distinctive and significant about its setting in what would later be called the Adirondack Mountains. Cooper’s novel contains many of the ideas about the Adirondack region that can be seen in later works about the Adirondacks, including representations of its natural beauty as an aesthetic resource for tourism, its potential for development, its representation of Native Americans, and its celebration of the region as a place for hunting and the development of specific kinds of masculinity. Recognizing Last of the Mohicans as in part a …

Contemporary Iroquois Art Collection Available Online, Colette Lemmon

Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies

The Iroquois Museum’s contemporary art collection is online and available for browsing. The searchable database includes 2400 ethnographic and artistic objects dating from 1979 to the present. The collection includes works produced by Mohawk, Onondaga, Seneca, Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora creatives accompanied by color images, dimensions, and artist bios. Together, this extensive specialized collection serves as a window into the values, traditions, and contemporary concerns of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois people as expressed through the visual arts.