Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Substitute Salvation: An Online Classroom Resource, Rachel Callaly

Honors Theses

As a teacher, not having a plan for days when you are not in the classroom is not an option. Usually, a teacher can plan a few days in advance and be prepared for a substitute teacher to come in. However, more often than not, the substitute is not certified to teach in the subject they are covering, which becomes particularly difficult in a World Language class, such as Spanish. Additionally, some days there is no advanced notice for an absence, and a last-minute plan has to be made. That is where Substitute Salvation comes in. Substitute Salvation is a …

Interpreted Fashions Of The Yoruba Tribe, Ramea Starling

Honors Theses

The visual presentation that I have created is a representation of the popular fashions of the Yoruba tribe found in Nigeria. The purpose of this fashion line that I have created is to bring culture awareness about the West African tribe to everyone who comes into contact with my line. Historically, the Yoruba Tribes culture mainly focuses on family, religion, and fashion (through their unique sense of textiles) so I really wanted to showcase this in a line. As a fashion design student at Western I also wanted to take this opportunity to display the skills that I have learned …

Cross-Curricular Writing In Mathematics For Comprehension, Kirsten Stowell

Honors Theses

Even though the idea of implementing writing in a mathematics classroom is far from new and the benefits from doing so are hardly nonexistent, this concept is often not found in modern secondary mathematics classrooms. Writing about mathematics allows students to organize and communicate their thinking, gain a better conceptual understanding of mathematical topics, develop a stronger sense of mathematical procedure, move beyond surface-level thinking, and place abstract ideas into context. Writing can also be used by teachers as a formative assessment to explicitly determine if students are struggling conceptually or procedurally in a mathematics classroom to then adjust instruction …

Comparison Of Internships In The United States And Germany, Kelsey Ennis

Honors Theses

My goal in my thesis is to lay out where my three internships were, what they consisted of and what was expected of me, and what I gained from each of them in terms of what I can use in the future as examples of what works in a museum.

Internships are required for Public history students at Western Michigan University and consist of 240 hours in preferably varying environments. When my first internship was a success, I decided to conduct two more internships beyond the 240 hours that I had completed with the first. I was the first Public …

The Benefits Of Immersion In Learning A Foreign Language, Cassidy Crouch

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to measure the linguistic benefits of learning a foreign language in a study abroad immersion program through Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Spanish department. The participants in this study were all participants of the Santander, Spain program of the Summer II semester of 2017. Nineteen students in total went to Spain and eleven of them agreed to participate in this study. During the Spring 2017 semester the eleven participants were given a pre-departure questionnaire and oral interview where they were asked demographic questions as well as program-specific information. During the last week in Santander, Spain …

Going Beyond The Textbook: Revitalizing Culture In The Spanish Classroom, Sarah Basar

Honors Theses

Effectively teaching the culture of a target language in foreign language classrooms can be a rather difficult and time-consuming task. Most often, culture is placed somewhere on a spectrum of either being a minor supplement to acquiring and learning the target language or utilizing culture as the direction through which grammar, vocabulary, and conversational practice are attained. Teachers’ beliefs, experiences, and resources all play a significant role in how culture is defined and taught in the schools of a country where globalization and immigration are quickly beginning to change the sociopolitical and demographic dynamics of our society. Thus, it is …

A Necessary Evil?, Jessica Wetzel

Honors Theses

In this essay, I set out to prove that some of the medical experiments undertaken by Nazi doctors during World War II have scientific relevance in today’s scientific community. In the first section, the experiments connected with Dr. Karl Brandt will be examined in some detail allowing the reader to develop a basic knowledge of the experiments that will be discussed. This will also set the foundation for the discussion on scientific validity due to the nature in which they are described. In the second section, the results relevant to today’s scientific community will be discussed, proving that these horrific …

I Was Taught To Yell Fire, Marina Gutierrez

Honors Theses

From a very young age my mother always told me to yell, “Fire,” if I was ever in a situation where I needed help from a potential attacker, but I never understood why I couldn’t just yell, “Help.” Her reasoning was that many people will run towards a fire to help put it out or save potential victims, but when someone yells for help others will shy away because they don’t want to get involved. I would just nod and promise to yell fire not really understanding the underlying meaning she had just explained to me.

It wasn’t until I …

Delving Into Multicultural Literature With Inquiry, Juan Gonzalez

Honors Theses

This paper argues for the use of multicultural literature in the classroom, and puts forth a unit plan that uses critical literacy in an English 11 classroom, though it can be readapted to fit other grade levels. Bishop (1990) describes multicultural literature as a set of windows, that people use to view the experiences of others, and mirrors, that reflect and validate peoples’ experience, a core principal in this paper. Critical literacy is comprised of four dimensions (Lewison, Flint, & Van Sluys, 2002) that allows for analyzing literature in a different and meaningful way. The final part of this paper …

A Scholarly Fictional Narrative Portraying The Stigma That Surrounds Mental Illness And Its Place In Literature, Adrianna Robinson

Honors Theses

The purpose of this scholarly fictional narrative is meant to reveal the struggles that individuals with mental illness go through, not only in their personal lives, but also with their place in society. I lay out research around the stigma that surrounds mental illness first, defining both public and self-stigma in relation to mental illness. I also briefly mention Girl, Interrupted and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” to show how authors have addressed the stigma that surrounds mental illness in literature in the past. The research is an important part of understanding why I write the fictional narrative the way I do, …

Tales From The "Bad Ras", Narisse Martin

Honors Theses

The life of a Resident Assistant is anything and everything except dull. From training to duty nights, to suitemate mediations and the end of a contract, each day is a story that most others rarely understand, if it is even believed. From these experiences came a collection of short stories, fictionalized accounts of what it is like to be a Resident Assistant in the average American public university.

For four RAs, the stories of their Residence Life incidents are day in the life for them, even if not the day in the life they expected at the start of the …

Impulse Graduating Presentation Of Erzsi Bernath, Erszebet Bernath

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

Wild Freedom, Elizabeth Field

Honors Theses

Wild Freedom, A Fable is a work of utopian fiction that explores themes dominant in Western culture and offers more nature-centered, holistic ways of being. The fable is written from six different perspectives in order to explore diversity among gender, race, sexuality, ability, age, and other identities. This writing style was chosen because acknowledging and listening to diverse perspectives is essential to the creation of a just and equitable society. The ideas presented aim to break away from harmful dualisms dominant in Western culture, for example those that value culture over nature, the mind over the body, and the masculine …

The Effectiveness Of Music Therapy To Reduce Agitation Among Persons With Alzheimer’S Disease, Caroline Mazon

Honors Theses

According to the Alzheimer’s Association (2016), Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is diagnosed every 66 seconds resulting in this disease being the 6^th leading cause of death in the United States. Among other signs and symptoms, agitation is one of the most challenging symptoms that patients and caregivers must try to control using nonpharmacological therapies or prescribed pharmacological treatments. Among many professions, music therapy has been used to specifically lower the levels of agitation in AD patients. Live music, “sing a long’s”, using instruments, and listening to a song of the patients’ choice have all been shown to reduce agitation behaviors …

Feed The Birds, Haley Ellis

Honors Theses

These birds, the gulls, crows, starlings, sparrows and pigeons here swarming the gallery, are each considered to be pests, whether due to their invasiveness as a species or by their sheer number. We see them in flocks in parking lots. We chase them away but we're still followed by them, and we find them to be nuisances. However, they would not behave this way if they hadn't adapted so well to our behavior. They live alongside us, and they live like us, always searching for the easiest way to a quick meal. It's the small, seemingly insignificant actions we take …

Precarious Positions Of Femininity In Contemporary Literature: A College Course Creation, Ireland Atkinson

Honors Theses

In an effort to understand college instruction, I created a collegiate literature course and its logistical materials. This process manifested in the creation of a syllabus, schedules, assignments, and a teaching philosophy statement. With the title “Precarious Positions of Femininity in Contemporary Literature,” the course is in an interdisciplinary format that explores gender and women’s studies with literary scholarship as its medium. All of the texts are not only written by female authors, but also address women’s issues and the precarious positions their femininity puts them in. With a focus on the intersectionality and the diversity of the female experience, …

The Laureate; 16th Edition, Nicholas Alti

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

1984: Book Arts As A Driver Of Thought Expansion, Kelly Brandon

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

Taino Revival, Carla Sofia Zorrilla Baquero

Honors Theses

The Taino people were the first known inhabitants of La Hispaniola. They started a foundation of culture for the Dominican Republic that currently lives in the museum, El Museo del Hombre Dominicano. This museum is one of the most important promoters of our identity to the world, which means that how it looks and what is in it is ultimately how we present ourselves to the rest of the world. Which is why, as an effort to protect our identity and heritage, I propose this revamp and rebrand.

Reifying Digital Histories, Ed Ryan

Honors Theses

The use of sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat is rooted in nowness. Most users rarely think about the long-term aspects of their relationship with the networks to which they belong, instead focusing on an ever-refreshing interface filled with fresh content. But what happens to this content when it is removed from its familiar digital context? Do the archived interactions, updates, tweets, and other pieces of our digital histories take on new meaning when placed onto a physical substrate? Using the form of the book and my personal Twitter archive, I have addressed my own digital history, looking specifically …

Amayra Short; Touch Of Shadow (Creative Writing, Fictional Short Story), Jessica Blandford

Honors Theses

Born in a small village near Del Marah, Teagan, abandoned by her mother, arrives on the steps of the orphanage. Her gifts express themselves in unexpected ways as she is taunted by those around her. Manifestations of her dreams become reality in the stone halls and calls the attention of the Reverend Mother, the woman responsible for purging the land from Darkness. Fearing for her life, Teagan is forced to leave behind the only life she has ever known. All the while the Forbidden God calls to her from the Shadows. Contained is a short story of fictitious work, any …

Western Michigan University’S Department Of Dance Marketing Plan, Cassandra Hartline

Honors Theses

The following report constitutes the formal marketing plan for the department of dance at Western Michigan University. This plan is intended to synthesize all of the marketing related information pertinent to Western’s dance department and provide easy one step access to this material at any time. The other purpose of this plan is to dictate the primary objectives the department is looking to accomplish through implementation of marketing tactics.

The first primary objective includes increasing visibility of the department of dance as a whole to both our primary and secondary target audiences; the second objective is to create innovative marketing …

Haunted Houses: A Directorial Exploration Of Expressionism, Jose Martinez-Chavarria

Honors Theses

The purpose of “Haunted Houses: A Directorial Exploration of Expressions” is to demonstrate the effectiveness of my directorial skills in staging a drama on stage with both an objective and subjective reality. The play Haunted Houses by Kathryn Schultz-Miller served as the chosen work whose staging would implement the common expressionist staging strategies of abstraction, simple and flexible blocking, nonrealistic lighting and a strong emphasis on visuals and stage images. The following thesis provides a detail directorial book containing the blocking, scenery, props and creative concepts used in this original production that allows it to be recreated if desired. A …