Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Maine School Of Wonder: Developing A School For Earth Skills And Sustainability In Maine, Leigha Hart

Capstone Collection

This research project explores the feasibility of establishing an earth skills and spirituality school in Maine, examining pertinent literature on adult environmental education, contemporary notions of work and leisure, earth-centered spirituality, and sustainable development. The study draws insights from interviews conducted with four distinct organizations across Maine engaged in similar initiatives. These include two farms hosting community events and workshops, alongside two retreat centers dedicated to fostering personal growth and skills development. These interviews provide diverse perspectives on the operational dynamics, required resources, and necessary skills for launching a new school aimed at creating inclusive, engaging, and sustainable learning environments …

Building Resilience: Food And Nutritional Insecurity Among University Students In Buenos Aires, Argentina Amidst Inflation And Escalating Poverty, Kyoka Miura

Capstone Collection

This paper examines how university students (aged 18 and older) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, navigate the challenges of escalating food insecurity amidst food price inflation and poverty. Utilizing a resilience framework, the research explores the coping strategies of these students. The study integrates semi-structured qualitative interviews and questionnaires. The findings reveal that university students in Buenos Aires are affected by food and nutritional insecurity, impacting their ability to manage their academic responsibilities, and leading some students to question their ability to complete their education. To cope, students adopt various strategies: price comparison, reducing out-of-home expenses, altering food purchasing habits, compromising …

The Impact Of The Jordanian Education System On Syrian Refugee Identity, Victoria Wiese

Capstone Collection

Jordan currently hosts 1.3 million Syrian refugees, with 48% of those refugees being children. Many of these children are currently enrolled in the Jordanian education system, both in host communities and in refugee camps like Za’atari. As such, the future of education for these children holds a great deal of importance, especially because education plays a significant role in the shaping of cultural identity and can have a considerable impact on a child’s future success. This exploratory research is based on the opinions of six Syrian refugee fathers from the Irbid community in the North of Jordan. It examines Syrian …

Global Portraits From A Changing Climate: The Influence Of Environmental Storytelling On The Climate Narrative, Alexandra Welch

Capstone Collection

Environmental Storytelling can influence the climate narrative and serve as a catalyst to structurally alter how individuals think about the environment. The medium of the “Eco-film” allows viewers to create intimate connections with the natural world, and in turn alter how individuals engage and perceive issues like climate change. To combat climate denialism this project showcases different hopeful stories in a deliverable video collection, called “Global Portraits from a Changing Climate”. Two of these videos will be filmed in Germany, featuring the Waldrapp Team Research and Conservation project. One of the videos from Waldrapp Team will touch on the social …

Applied Theatre For Peacebuilding: Exploring The Value Of Embodied Practice, Emily Machin-Mayes

Capstone Collection

Arts, storytelling, theatre, and drama have been woven into strategic approaches to peacebuilding after conflict to engage with people’s experiences and emotions, share silenced stories, and build trust and empathy. Applied theatre challenges audience members to take a more active role, either through participating in the storytelling or acting itself or through dialogue and reflection activities. This collaborative art form has been used for community-building, reconciliation efforts as well as in post-conflict settings. This study examines the impact and value of an intensive applied theatre workshop, using participant-observation, and semi-structured interviews. Some of the qualitative findings include the value participants …

Community Resilience And Creating Capacities For Risk Reduction In First Nations Communities, Case Study In Minegoziibe Anishinabe (Pine Creek First Nation), Brittany S. Lavallee

Capstone Collection

The colonization of Indigenous peoples in Canada has serious consequences on First Nations, including forced removal and displacement from their ancestral lands, environmental degradation, declining resources and capacities, and human rights violations. First Nations communities are currently facing the amplified effects of human-driven climate change. Sustainability of the environment is not just a concept, but a practiced way of life, that recognizes the interdependence of all living things. This deep respect for Aki (earth) is at the foundation of First Nations cultures and continues to guide their actions to insure better futures for Seven Generations. The community of Minegoziibe Anishinabe …

Masters Abroad, Sebastian Chavez

Capstone Collection

The research focuses on gaining the perspective and experience of students attaining a master’s degree abroad. The overall study is to answer the following questions: 1) What is the reasoning behind gaining a master’s degree abroad? 2) What kind of impact does a master’s degree have on the identity of students? 3) How might a master’s abroad experience aid international relations? Among the key findings, specifically, students’ main incentives ranged from career development in wanting to advance career objectives or real-world experiences of living and adapting to a new cultural environment. Following identity transformation, students experienced self-growth or discovered new …

Decolonizing Wash Practices Between National Policies & International Standards: A Case Study In Tanzania, Mary Thibodeau

Capstone Collection

The international community has developed guidelines and standards for the maintenance of water and sanitation (WASH) in states from the end of the 20th century to present and have often been criticized for their lack of contextual adaptations in the standards that states are expected to implement universally. The research explored how international standards on WASH have applied decolonized methods of interventions to guide the development of culturally relevant national policies. Tanzania was chosen as a case study to conduct a comprehensive review of the states’ integration of international standards within their policies through a decolonial perspective. The study included …

Responding To Disproportionate Skin Cancer Rates Affecting Adult Men Aged 18-60, Aaron Thompson

Capstone Collection

Skin cancer is a deadly disease that kills significantly more men than women every year. At the same time, women are more than twice as likely to apply daily sun protection factor (SPF) than men. This research study explores how key stakeholders within the skin care industry have responded to the data showing increasing disparities between male and female skin cancer rates. To fulfill the objectives of this research study, qualitative data was collected from six semi-structured interviews with adult males between the ages of 18 and 60. The interviews were intentionally designed to engage with the American, adult male’s …

Bridging Knowledge Systems In The Peruvian Andes: Plurality, Co-Creation, And Transformative Socio-Ecological Solutions To Climate Change, Domenique Ciavattone

Capstone Collection

In the current era of anthropogenic climate change, Quechua farmers in the Peruvian Andes are some of the most impacted by, yet some of the lowest contributors to global warming. Dominant Western systems alone have proven insufficient in tackling the climate crisis, and there have been increasing efforts to elevate and center Indigenous voices and epistemologies when addressing climate change. Researchers and communities are calling for a bridging of knowledge systems, in which Indigenous and Western methods collaborate to co-create innovative solutions to climate challenges. This research sought to explore methods and successes in bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge systems …

National Development And The Sustainability Of Mining In The Atacama Desert, Chile, Dakota Soleil Osgood

Capstone Collection

As climate change continues to intensify on a global scale, efforts have been made to implement renewable energies and progressive technologies. These tools are critical in the shift towards a more sustainable practice, and yet analysis of localized impacts from the development of these mechanisms is inadequate. Chile has been and continues to be a leading country in mineral extraction, with an economic history founded in the mining industry. The establishment of mining in Chile as a progressive tool has aided the social and economic development of the nation. Consequences of mining extraction, however, include intensive environmental degradation, human rights …

Heritage Diplomacy: A Case Of The Hashemite Kingdom Of Jordan & The United States, Michelle Rahimi

Capstone Collection

The newer concept of heritage diplomacy is outlined in this paper by first evaluating the various definitions of it presented by scholars in the existing literature. I then attempt to assess how it is postulated to benefit bi-lateral diplomatic relations. The postulated benefits identified are then explored, analyzed, and applied through the lens of a case study between the United States of America and Jordan. The objective of analyzing heritage diplomacy through this particular lens is to identify whether or not heritage diplomacy is capable of cultivating/preserving positive diplomatic relations between states. The paper confirmed that heritage diplomacy has the …

Supporting Lgbtq International Students Through Resource Visibility: Examining Washington State Community Colleges, Abigail Fredrickson

Capstone Collection

College is a time when many students begin exploring their sexual orientation and gender identity. Washington State, and Seattle in particular rank high in support for the LGBTQ community, according to the Municipality Equality Index put out by the Human Rights Commission. The schools that are represented in this study serve approximately 2,000 international students annually.

LGBTQ international students are a demographic that inhabits two minority groups – international students and LGBTQ students, and there is a lack of ongoing support and access to resources to aid these students in their personal growth during their time in community college. This …

Feminism At The Borders: The Navigation Of Gender Issues By Mexican-American Women Along The U.S.-Mexico Border, Carolina Fuentes

Capstone Collection

Feminist movements have taken on various iterations since they first began, particularly as the movements expanded beyond predominantly Western and white spaces. This research study explores how gender equality is perceived and navigated along the U.S.-Mexico border area, taking into account the various Latin American and U.S. feminist developments that have shaped the current landscape of the border. 11 Mexican and Mexican-American women living in U.S.-Mexico border states were interviewed to gain an understanding of their definitions, perceptions, and opinions on feminism and gender-related issues given their bicultural contexts. These conversations revealed that ideas of rights and equality were central …

Impact Of Community Radio On Community Development In The United States, Jillian Hermansky

Capstone Collection

Community radio is a community-led broadcasting service that serves as a tool for development for communities around the world. This research study explores the development benefits of community radio in the United States using a case study of Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-licensed FM community radio stations to evaluate the role of community radio in communication and information sharing and promoting sustainable social change and development. To fulfill the objectives of the case study, data was collected from 55 community radio stations in the United States using mixed-questionnaire digital surveys and supplementary virtual interviews. Findings indicated that community radio stations in …

Black Lives Matter, Randal Mckoy

Capstone Collection

The notion of systematic racism continues to exist even today among African-Americans. The systematic racism that they face prevails in every area of their life, whether it is social or economical. This paper examines the experiences of systematic racism that African Americans go through in their daily lives and to what extent they believe that reparations can be used to address those inequalities and be a means to overcome racism in the United States. The literature reviewed focused on various aspects on the history of racism and inequality in the United States, systematic barriers in education, as well as the …

How Palestinian Aid Organizations Adapt To The Possibility Of Further Annexation And Rights Abuses In The Wake Of "The Deal Of The Century", Nadia L. Wiggins

Capstone Collection

This research explores the question, “To what extent has the ‘Deal of the Century’ impacted Palestinian aid organizations, and how might it impact them in the future?” The significance of this question lies in the fact that the “Deal of the Century” claims to solve one of the longest and most complex conflicts, yet it has not been sufficiently analyzed from a Palestinian perspective nor a humanitarian perspective. Furthermore, by presenting scholarly critiques of the deal and aid worker’s concerns, my hope is that an American audience may be convinced of the complicity of our government in devising a failed …

Spanish Language And Culture In Buenos Aires And Córdoba, Argentina, Sarah Eidt

Capstone Collection

The Spanish Language and Culture in Buenos Aires and Córdoba, Argentina program is a theoretical faculty-led multi-site semester-long program that is designed for Boston University students for the fall semester of 2022. The purpose of the program is to give student participants the opportunity to learn Argentine history and culture at two distinct locations with different sets of host families and speaking partners, while visiting contrasting regions around Argentina in order to obtain a more complete understanding of the country. Students will become more proficient in the Spanish language and gain a greater understanding of Argentine culture by immersing in …

Sharing Stories, Building Bonds: The Reconciliating Power Of A Narrative, Breanna Nicole Thompson

Capstone Collection

The Vusumnotfo Persona Doll Programme is a program that incorporates Way of Council, traditional storytelling and dialogue together to enable community preschool teachers in rural Eswatini to use the Persona Doll Approach with their students. Many emaSwati are not given the support to develop their Emotional Literacy, leading to a continued cycle of emotional abuse and community trauma. The Vusumnotfo Persona Doll Programme is designed to give preschool teachers the necessary skills to navigate this shared trauma, create a safe space for these teachers to confront their own trauma and work together to create a culture of healing for the …

The Island Earth Field Studio: A High School Summer Program On Polynesian Voyaging In Hawaii, Andrea M. Bachmann

Capstone Collection

The Island Earth Field Studio is a ten-day program for high school students to learn about Polynesian voyaging in Hawaii as a framework to understand non-Western knowledge systems. The program design is grounded in research on the historical significance of voyaging and informed by current literature on adolescent development and place-based pedagogy.

To further refine the program, a needs assessment was conducted using a combination of surveys and interviews with parents and educators in the continental United States (mainland) as well as interviews with local partners in Hawaii. The assessment revealed that cultural learning and community building were viewed by …

Music As A Cultural Gateway: A Short-Term Folk Music Program In Albania, Catherine Pierattini

Capstone Collection

Folk songs have been described as a musical representation of a society’s entire culture. The field of ethnomusicology combines aspects of music and anthropology, and the study of folk music can give considerable insight into worldviews, histories, and traditions. Yet there are few study abroad program providers using this discipline as an approach to cultural analysis and exploration.

The proposed Middlebury Music Studies in Albania program would introduce diverse folk music traditions in three distinct cities, giving students the chance to learn the basics of the Albanian language, understand the historical, geographical, and social influences on the music in the …

Evangelicalism And Peace And Conflict Studies: A Wheaton College Case Study, Sophia Bouwsma

Capstone Collection

Evangelicalism and peace and conflict studies are both salient topics in addressing current religious and political dynamics in the United States. Amid the realities and myths surrounding these topics, there are many complementarities and tensions between evangelicalism and peace and conflict studies, both real and perceived. One of evangelicalism’s most prominent academic institutions, Wheaton College, recently established a Peace and Conflict Studies Program, placing this program at the center of an unexpected relationship between peace and conflict studies and evangelicalism. This study examines the views of students in Wheaton’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program to explore how they see the …

Critical Embodied Praxis For Social Justice And Peace Educators: A Story Of Personal Transformation Through Analysis Of My Jewish And Settler Identities, Cara Michelle Silverberg

Capstone Collection

In this paper, I examine definitions of and relationships between violence, oppression, peace, liberation, and embodiment in the context of critical pedagogy in order to construct a theory of critical embodied praxis for social justice and peace educators. Considering the body to be a tangible vessel through which narratives and mechanisms of violence are expressed and maintained, I explore the potential of the body to be a vessel through which liberatory narratives may be generated and shared. After constructing a theory of critical embodied praxis, I illustrate this framework in action through a personal narrative that explores the intersections …

Japan: Universal Design And Innovation, Lindsay Kravit

Capstone Collection

Recent trends in study abroad have seen a positive push for expanding diversity in student numbers; however, that push has generally not been targeted towards students with learning differences and disabilities (MIUSA, 2017). Though not exclusively tailored to participants with disabilities, The Japan: Universal Design and Innovation program is a summer program that builds participants’ knowledge, skills, and awareness in the topics of disability, access, and inclusion through the curricular/pedagogical methods of Experiential Learning and Universal Design. It takes place in Tokyo and Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan over the course of one month. It aims to challenge the concept of …

Facilitating Community Participation With Palestine Refugees: An Exploratory Study Of Unrwa, Tiffany Rene Baccus

Capstone Collection

Community participation plays an important role in reversing the traditional power dynamic between service providers and beneficiaries. However, the level of community participation facilitated by organizations in their initiatives often varies greatly. This study sought to understand how and to what extent the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) West Bank Field Office can best facilitate community participation with Palestine refugees through its initiatives. Data collection took place at two levels: the strategic and camp level. The strategic level included interviews with a representative from the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Department of Refugee Affairs (DORA) as well as nine staff …

The Effectiveness Of A Boys For Positive Change Program At Changing Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Gender Equality, Bethany Grupp

Capstone Collection

There has been tremendous research done regarding programs involving the empowerment of women, girls, and gender equality. Even Sustainable Development Goal number five focuses on gender equality. An analysis of the research reveals that most programs for girls and women address the inequalities and discrimination that they face, along with obstacles to girls’ access, completion, and retention in school. Increasingly, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and other international organizations have found that these programs are not changing the view of gender norms in society and that men and boys also need to be included in the discussion. This paper examines …

Bridge To Her Education (Bthere): Black Girls And The School To Prison Pipeline, Otasha Clark

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this capstone paper is to create a citizen centered advocacy strategy plan, which will be launched through the Girls Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), in order to at the very least, slow the school to prison pipeline. It refers specifically to the zero tolerance policy, which has intensified the movement of Black girls into the pipeline. After reviewing the literature, it was evident that the zero tolerance policy in combination with historical gender and race stereotypes surrounding Black girls, had resulted in implicit bias as a motivational factor in the way Black girls are being punished. Furthermore, …

A Cappella Bridge: Towards A More Reciprocal Arts-Based Exchange, Daniel Malin

Capstone Collection

A Cappella Bridge is a short-term, non-credit, arts-based exchange program for collegiate a cappella groups from the United States. This program proposal is the result of an extensive needs analysis that includes interviews with Education Abroad professionals and the founder of the Contemporary A Cappella Society (CASA), a national nonprofit organization representing nearly 3,000 a cappella groups in the United States. The program’s design is meant to address a profound need for more reciprocal arts-based exchange programs open to highly skilled amateur artists and musicians. With a firm grounding in experiential learning and the seven-continuum transmission model for music education …

Addressing The Assumption; A Case Study On Student Motivations And Barriers To Study Second Language Abroad, Rebecca Schano

Capstone Collection

Historically, second language learning and study abroad programming have run in natural conjunction. However, in recent years there has been a slow but steady decline in the number of foreign language students in higher education who are choosing to study abroad to further their second language acquisition. This study explores this topic through a case study at Marquette University, and aims to answer the research question: What are the motivations and barriers of foreign language students to study their second language abroad? Using a student survey and in-person interviews with professionals in the field, data is collected on the most …

Building Community In Refugee Youth Mentoring Programs At Partnership For The Advancement And Immersion Of Refugees, Shaina Holm

Capstone Collection

ABSTRACT

Building community in youth programs is a necessary and effective way to support the human developmental needs of refugee and immigrant youth by way of facilitating cultural integration. The intentional processes of building community in the after school mentoring programs for refugee and immigrant high school students at Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees (PAIR) in Houston, Texas are essential to the program’s overall success and mission fulfillment. Specific methodologies of building community include activities such as icebreakers, name games, teambuilders, and unstructured relationship building time. Crucial factors that a facilitator should be cognizant of when implementing …