Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Sound For The Cinema: A Senior Composition Recital By Lindsay Dills, Lindsay Dills

Honors Theses

Sounds for the Cinema involves the exploration of all elements encompassing the creation of film within one composition recital. Pieces were written with the intention of pursuing effective storytelling in writing the music, sound design, foley sound art, and directing videography. Every composition explores different facets of the filmmaking experience. The Batman, Spring, and Lord of the Rings: Two Towers are all rescorings opening the recital showcase to exhibit how altering the music of an already created scene can change the entire tone of a movie. Following this, the composition utilizing a clip from Antman and the Wasp …

Senior Recital, Saxophone, Owen Kilpatrick

Honors Theses

Postcards is a senior recital celebrating saxophone repertoire from diverse composer nationalities, including composers of Czech, French, Japanese, and German background. While this program only begins to scratch the surface of both composer and stylistic diversity present throughout the saxophone repertoire, it represents some of the most significant influences on the music available to saxophonists. Bookending the recital program are two French contest pieces, Brilliance by Ida Gotkovsky and Lamento et Rondo by Pierre Sancan. The morceaux de concours, or competition pieces, written for the Paris Conservatory are an important tradition because of the history of saxophone pedagogy in Paris. …

Take Care, Nicole Wetzel

Honors Theses

Day-to-day life is full of habits and routines set in place to maintain our health, each completed without a second thought. Though seemingly tedious, every action toward cleanliness is meaningful time we invest in ourselves. They are crucial to our wellbeing, deserving of our careful attention, not mindless execution. When closely examined, a strange tension is found between the end-goal of hygiene and the disgusting remnants of the steps taken to get there; the former cannot be achieved without confronting the latter. This relationship reveals the true value of these often-overlooked routines. Through intentional observation of the actions themselves and …

Healthcare Access Barriers And Proposed Solutions For Limited English-Proficient (Lep) Latinx Patients In Southwest Michigan, Carmen Vinkemulder

Honors Theses

This research study explores the circumstances and experiences of LatinX patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) when seeking treatment in the healthcare system of Southwest Michigan, in addition to proposing solutions to better facilitate this population’s access. The terminology used in this research, LatinX, is an American English neologism used as a genderinclusive term used interchangeably with Latino/a and/or Hispanic. This research provides an overview of the current socio-political legislature and climate of the American healthcare system as it pertains to the LatinX population to spread awareness and identify the barriers existing in our current healthcare model. This study will …

The Exploration Of Various Literary Genres Through Short Story Writing, Abigail Cowan

Honors Theses

This project contains four short stories and one collection of poetry. The first, “Touch-Me-Nots,” explores self-harm and healing using the touch-me-not plant as an analogy for avoiding self-harm and leaves readers with the hopeful sentiment of a person willing to heal by “leaving it alone.” Next, “The Bear and the Ant,” inspired by Aesop’s Fables, anthropomorphizes a bear and an ant and leaves readers with a ‘moral’ in true Aesop Fable fashion. Inspired by the ants who ransacked my six-month-old Halloween candy stash, I detail a Bear which attempts to “save” its honey for a day that never comes. The …

Mythos, Hana Holmgren

Honors Theses

Who gives a voice to the voiceless? When do we hear from those who are left behind, abused, abandoned, silenced? Mythos is an exploration of lost voices in mythology, antiquated, biblical, and personal: the women, the minorities, the marginalized. What would they say, if finally given the chance? Perhaps Helen of Troy chose to run away. Maybe Philomela was always meant to become a nightingale, and sing the world to sleep. Maybe fallen angels like making lentil soup for dinner. Maybe dead dragons are reincarnated as accountants. Maybe the stories got it all wrong.

A book of 13 poems, 6 …

Graduating Presentation, Erin Bates

Honors Theses

tethered is a seven minute dance for film that explores the baggage that every individual carries with them on a daily basis. When walking through a crowd, it is hard to imagine the people, thoughts, and experiences others might be connected to, as if by a tether. This graduating presentation thesis is a culminating project which combines the knowledge and experience I have gained as an artist in dance, choreography, costuming, conceptualization, and most recently - film. The full portfolio includes my artist biography, dance and headshots, resume, personal artistic statement, as well as the project elements. These project elements …

“Graduating Presentation: Sunday”, Lauren Smith

Honors Theses

This portfolio fulfills the requirements for both my Department of Dance senior capstone, DANC 4800: Graduating Presentation, titled sunday, and my honors thesis for the Lee Honors College. DANC 4800 requires the senior BFA dance students to collaborate and produce a dance concert, usually held in-person, but was hosted virtually this year due to COVID-19. This capstone is designed for the students to create a portfolio worthy of sharing with the public and to aid in their career post-graduation. Responsibilities during this process include the choreographing an original work, managing production elements, promoting the concert, and coordinating with any personnel …

Zero Waste Design Exploration, Rosemarie Soma

Honors Theses

This creative project encompasses the creation of four zero-waste garments. Zero waste design is a technique which involves designing in a way that produces little to no byproduct. The intent of this project was to create garments that are functional, marketable, and contribute to the sustainable fashion movement.

There is currently a serious push in the fashion industry for brands to contribute to a circular economy. This can be done in a multitude of ways: upcycling, recycling, using natural textiles, or utilizing zero waste design. Textile waste is one of the most important issues regarding the fashion industry. There are …

Graduating Presentation: Stones Beneath A River, Lauren Desmedt

Honors Theses

Stones Beneath a River is an eight-minute collaborative staged work through the eyes of a soloist who is exploring the concept that you are the product of the five people you surround yourself with. The soloist realizes the ebbs and flows of relationships and how to let go of relationships that no longer serve the individual. The graduating presentation is a culminating project of everything I have learned in the past four years. This includes collaboration, performance, choreography, production, conceptualization, costuming, and much more. My final portfolio consists of my dance and headshot, artistic statement, biography, resume, proposal application, essay, …

Musical Theatre Showcase: A Performance Journey And Reflection, Alyssa Zamora

Honors Theses

For her senior musical theatre showcase, Alyssa Zamora attended and in person showcase with agents and theatre professionals in Detroit. Later, she recorded videos of her performing “Thrills” by Donna Missal and “I Want Them...” by Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler. In addition to videos of her performance, she reflects on her growth in her time as a student at Western Michigan University and looks at how she has grown as an artist and how her showcase experience set her up for success in the professional theatre industry.

Xenophobia In The Covid-19 Era, Joanne Jeya

Honors Theses

COVID-19 has altered people's daily lives across the globe and heightened tensions in response to changing economic, social, and political conditions. In the United States, xenophobia has seemingly escalated in the COVID-19 era, particularly towards Asians and people of Asian descent. The assumed reasoning for this rise in anti-Asian sentiment is tied to the presumed origins of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome‐Coronavirus‐2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, first detected in Wuhan, China, prompting some to initially call the disease the Wuhan or Chinese virus, among other racialized terms like the "Kung-flu." It remains to be seen if xenophobic acts have increased throughout the …

Media, Marketing, And More – How Social Technology Is Changing The Face Of Small Business, Lily Reynolds

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to identify the ways in which social media and marketing technology advances are affecting small retail businesses. A total of three interviews were conducted with working professionals in different areas along the fashion supply chain, and were contacted based on common acquaintances. Each interview was conducted over the phone, and lasted between ten minutes and half an hour, with guided and supplemental questions focusing on their experiences with technology in their fields. The results showed that each area was affected in numerous ways, from superficial business changes to advancements at the cores of their …

"Woodburn, Texas: A Study In Southern Gothic", Katherine Stone

Honors Theses

My thesis, titled “Woodburn, Texas: A Study in Southern Gothic”, is a short story separated into four main sections as well as an introductory piece and conclusion that are separate from the other sections. The four main sections are separated by four prose poems ¾one for each season.

Separating the sections are four prose poems that follow the seasons. They allow for further access into the history and mindset of the people of this seemingly quiet and slow town as well as the Southern mindset in general.

Both the poems and the regular prose are told in the first person …

Mindstate: A Capstone Project, Kyle Petronio

Honors Theses

Objectives For four years, I have been trying to release music under the moniker of Rookie Plenty. Aside from a few songs on Bandcamp, my releases have been few and far between. In addition to releasing music on streaming platforms, MindState: A Capstone Project is an experiment in exploring genre fluidity. Many mainstream musical projects released in the twenty-first century are often genre constrained and demonstrate minimal sonic deviation between songs. This extended-play album is an attempt to exemplify a mastery of genre conventions while branching outward into new musical territory.

Methods To demonstrate an understanding of genres, I focused …

Boundaries And Pleasure In Ovid's Metamorphoses: A Critique Of Augustan Marriage Legislation, Nicholas Pryor

Honors Theses

Love, sex, and pleasure are all themes that surface frequently throughout Ovid’s corpus. But these are not exclusively Ovidian themes: they warranted great attention from the emperor Augustus as well, albeit for different reasons. While Ovid entertains these themes in ways that reflect prevailing attitudes of pleasure for pleasure’s sake, Augustus attempted to recover traditional, practical conceptions of love and sex in an effort to further strengthen his control over the burgeoning Empire. In many ways, each man’s treatment of love and sex is a reaction to the other’s conflicting attitudes. The enactment of Augustus’ marriage legislation (leges Iuliae) rendered …

“Space For All?”: An Analysis Of Race, Gender, And Society In The Cult Classic Doctor Who., Liron Sussman

Honors Theses

Much like the Doctor, people are constantly growing and evolving, and it is out of a desire for human connection that people strive, always, to improve and as a long-running television program, Doctor Who reflects that desire for connection. This analysis explores race, gender, and society as portrayed in the modern series of Doctor Who (2005-).

Westbound, Genevieve Nicolow

Honors Theses

Westbound is a twenty-five chapter novella that aims to demonstrate ways in which creative writers can use climate fiction to overcome psychological barriers to act on climate change. The narrative follows Cassie, a character loosely based on a relative of its author, living in a future version of the United States that has been ravaged by climate change and its indirect consequences.

In the novella, Cassie and her mother Nia set out on a cross-country road trip as a climate disaster looms. The narrative explores their relationship and that with Cassie’s estranged father, the implications of projected ecological changes under …

The Textile Industry: A Deep Look Into The Environmental Impacts Of Fast Fashion, Jordan Miller

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research was to understand the detrimental effects the textile industry has had on global environments and ecosystems across the globe. The textile industry for many years has continued to disregard the current acceleration of global warming and other environmental crises, and it is time the fashion industry holds itself accountable for these actions and takes a change in a new, more sustainable future. With proper education of the environmental pollution the textile industry has made, young consumers will be able to make the change necessary for businesses to develop more sustainable habits for the future production. …

Senior Recital, Kenneth Kressin

Honors Theses

Kenny Kressin started to study the cello in 2001 at the age of four with Patty Hicks in Orange, California. Kenny spent about 11 years studying the Suzuki method under Ms. Hicks until he switched cello teachers when he started to attend Orange County High School of the Arts. Starting in 2012, Kenny studied under Laszlo Mezo in Irvine, California. Throughout the years, Kenny has grown as a soloist, orchestral musician, and chamber musician. As an orchestral musician, he has been a part of the Orange County School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra and the Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings Orchestra. …

Button Box: An Exploration Of Matriarchy And Material, Rozlin Opolka

Honors Theses

Rozlin Opolka’s Lee Honors College Thesis was completed in November 2020. Committee consisted of Vince Torano (thesis chair), Cat Crotchett, and Patrick Wilson. The thesis took form in a visual arts exhibition exploring the relationship of the artmaking material to the concept of matriarchy. The specific material explored in this exhibition is buttons. When the rich historical connotation of buttons paired with the personal aspect of the collection process of buttons in the artists own family the thesis came about in three large scale artworks. The following artist statement will detail the process and conceptual importance of combining buttons as …

International News From Differing National Perspectives: Spanish-Speaking Newspaper Coverage Of The 2019 Venezuelan Presidential Crisis Protests, Lauren Lalonde

Honors Theses

On January 23, 2019, the streets of Venezuela became flooded with protests in response to the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, announcing his claim to the Venezuelan presidency. The protests were largely in support of his announcement, though some supported Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela since 2013. This day marked the beginning of the Venezuelan presidential crisis, which left Venezuela, and the world, debating the legitimacy of each leader. This investigation focuses on how Spanish-language news sources from three different countries reported on the protests surrounding the Venezuelan presidential crisis on January 23, 2019, and how the …

The Effects Of Involvement In Religious Practices On Recovering Substance Users., Taylor Currier

Honors Theses

This paper reviews empirical studies focused on spirituality and its effects on those in the recovery process from substance abuse. This paper will look at qualitative studies as well as quantitative research to see which form has derived the best results on how spirituality has affected substance abuse recovery. Prolonged recovery is the goal for those that struggle with substance use. Behavior change is an important in sustaining sobriety with those dealing with addiction. It is predicted that those who engage in spiritual growth within their community have a higher likelihood of prolonged recovery than those that do not believe …

Scott Boerma: A Study Of His Musical Compositions And Conducting Career, Qiuxian Lu

Honors Theses

Scott Boerma is a well-known wind music composer and conductor. In this paper, I will examine his career development as a composer and conductor. I will include brief analyses of some of his musical compositions based on form, orchestration, usage of harmonic and melodic devices, etc. I will also talk about his conducting methods when he conducts different pieces and conveys various musical ideas. There are three sections in this thesis: 1) Scott Boerma’s musical journey (how he became a successful composer and conductor); 2) Analyses of his compositions: Fanfare for a Golden Sky, Bora Bora, Shadows, Poem, and Cityscape …

Mind To Mirror To Life: Sexual Health From A Body Positive Lens, Kacey Richardson

Honors Theses

Body image and sexual health are inextricably linked. It is crucial for college students to understand the importance of body image within sexual health in order to capture the full scope of sexual well-being, although most existing sexuality education resources for college students fail to make this connection. This thesis demonstrates the necessity for comprehensive sexual health education that incorporates a focus on body image to promote the health and wellness of college students. Using an intersectional outlook, the thesis evaluates existing resources and presents the contents of an original workshop titled “Mind to Mirror to Life: Sexual Health from …

Atlantic Abolition In The Borderlands: The Interesting Narrative Of Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua, Alexandra Bicknell

Honors Theses

In 1854, the Geo. E. Pomeroy & Co. published An Interesting Narrative. Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua, a native of Zoogoo, in the interior of Africa (A Convert to Christianity,) with a Description of That Part of the World; including the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants in Detroit, Michigan. Baquaqua’s narrative did not gain as much attention as others in the genre published around the same time. The narrative only survived in eight copies though it was published by an editor that was able to sell hundreds of thousands of copies of an essay to a similar audience. This …

Graduating Presentations 2020: Six Point Convergence - Inner Workings, Jasmine Clark

Honors Theses

This portfolio serves as the fulfillment of both my honors thesis for the Lee Honors College, and my Department of Dance capstone for DANC 4800: Graduating Presentations. The typical process for DANC 4800 involves producing a concert in collaboration with the rest of the senior B.F.A. class, in which each member presents an original piece of choreography. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 crisis and the switch to distance education, our concert was cancelled, and we were forced to abruptly stop rehearsing. In this transition, my project shifted from the creation of a new work to the revisiting of a solo …

Formulated Ataxia, Alexandra Renner

Honors Theses

Formulated Ataxia is an athletic and vigorous choreographic work based on the overall theme of recognizing order within chaos. With a cast of eleven dancers, I created a world that depicts the cycle of anxiety and how I seek organization within chaos. Choreographically, I toyed around with aspects of my neurological condition, synesthesia. Synesthesia can be described as a way of organization people and situations with numbers. Part of my research involved delving deep into the theory of chaos, as it mirrors the cyclical nature of my mental and emotional instability. This work invites a thrilling and exhausting experience for …

Bridging The Gap: An Academic Recital For Solo Voice Featuring The Music Of Underrepresented Female Composers Throughout History, Keiley Vieau

Honors Theses

Keiley Vieau, mezzo-soprano, presented her honors thesis senior academic voice recital on Friday, April 19th, 2019 at 3pm. The performance took place at the Lee Honors College in the lounge. This recital was put on in collaboration with pianist Molly Sanford. Music performed included works by all female composers, such as Barbara Strozzi, Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Nadia Boulanger, Augusta Holmès, Liza Lehmann, and Amy Beach. This abstract will provide a brief overview of the theme of this recital as well as address the basic musical characteristics of certain pieces from the repertoire programmed.

The recital was based solely …

The Art Of Making Paper, Kristen Theys

Honors Theses

The Art of Paper Making is an exploration into an overlooked field. My goal was to learn not only how to make paper, but how different materials and processes can change the final product. The process was not only for me though. I wanted to create a fun and informative way to document the papermaking process to present to those who aren’t familiar with it.

One of the biggest things that impacted my studies was the amount of time I would beat the paper pulp. The amount of time the pulp runs through the beater drastically changes the texture of …