Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Chaos, Damon Stone

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Over the duration of the summer and this past semester, I have revised a story which I wrote in middle school, known as ChAos. The story focuses on fictionalized version of friends of mine from middle school, as they survive a zombie apocalypse together, while bringing down the corporate entity that started it, and dealing with the political aftermath of such an event. Throughout this, I have started work on an audiobook as well, consulting with several different voice actors to help with the project.

Throughout this process, several changes had been done to add to the quality of the …

Creating Community In A Space Of Strangers: Sea Shanties In Theatre, Cassandra Merena

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Theatre is more than watching actors in the present. It can bring a magic into the room that connects us to a tangible ride of emotions. Sea shanties, a widely known variety of maritime singing, is purposely meant to bring its singers together. I wrote and directed an original one-act play structured around its repetitive beats, to create a communal feeling that will deem a sea of strangers a community for that day. The songs curated were specifically chosen to achieve that sense of community–songs that allow moments of reflection, toe-tapping, humming, and recognition. Phantom Pains is about a captain …

America, The Beautiful: How American Cosmetics Companies Advertised Femininity In The 1950s, Bridget Beavin

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The 1950s were an influential decade for cosmetics in terms of sales and social impact yet have received little consideration from historians. This paper explores how cosmetics companies reflected and directed ideas about American women, femininity, beauty, consumerism, and race in the 1950s. Using cosmetics advertisements in magazines, business newspapers, cosmetics packaging, employee manuals, and secondary literature, this paper analyzes tone and content of messaging published by cosmetics companies and reactions to the sale and use of cosmetics by public commentators. Analysis shows cosmetics were marketed as a necessity for achieving ideal femininity, yet women were largely criticized or belittled …

Bluegrass Backstory: Connecting People To Local History Through Podcasting, David Hunter Hartlage

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Kentucky has a rich cultural identity, built upon a storied local history. Unfortunately, certain aspects of local cultural history, such as the origins of Kentucky vernacular music or how the bourbon industry has promoted growth in Kentucky’s communities, are not readily apparent. The increasing popularity and accessibility of podcasting offers local historians an opportunity to address this problem.

The goal of this project was to create a podcast program which makes information regarding the history, culture, and identity of Kentucky accessible to all in a scholarly—but engaging—way. I researched podcasting equipment and how to use it, then purchased that equipment …

Improving Diagnostic Outcomes For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders Within The Hispanic Community In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Bethany Waddey

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Despite the importance of early identification and intervention of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Hispanic children are significantly under-diagnosed with ASD in comparison to non-Hispanic, white children due to barriers to ASD identification in this population. The purpose of this research is to determine the levels of ASD knowledge in the Hispanic community in Bowling Green, the barriers that may contribute to why ASD is underdiagnosed in Hispanic children, and how to mitigate these barriers. This research analyzes the results of a survey, called the “Autism Spectrum Knowledge Scale- General Population Version”, administered to 51 participants from the Hispanic population of …

Building Coleus Academy, Janessa Unseld

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Coleus Academy, a nonprofit e-learning platform, has been created to address the deficits left by the de-emphasis and, at times, outright omission of practical skill-centric education in American curriculums. There exists a gap between the degree of knowledge necessary to engage with adult life and the extent of that knowledge that is actually possessed by emerging adults. Prominent legislations are among the numerous efforts to address this issue. However, there is a deeply fractured market where resources are proving too expensive, too sparse, or hyper-specific to the point of limited usability. Compounded with disparities in when, where, and to whom …

The Reality Of Bipolar Disorder: A Dance Film To Bring Awareness To The Misconceptions Of Mental Health, Julia Woolums

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For my project, I researched bipolar disorder to create a dance film highlighting the associated symptoms and emotions of hypomanic and depressive episodes. The purpose of this research is to bring awareness to and educate on the reality of these mental health symptoms to reduce mental health stereotypes and stigma. I researched academic texts and peer-reviewed articles about bipolar disorder written from the perspective of those diagnosed with it and used the symptom criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to compose, choreograph, film, and edit my dance film. The completed film showcases what daily life could …

Rosalie Edge And The Modern Environmental Movement, Elizabeth Claire Coleman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis examines and follows the actions of an understudied activist in the environmentalist movement: Rosalie Edge. This thesis relies and encourages a combination of conservation, environmentalism, and historical women’s history in America. Rosalie Edge’s work as an environmentalist created a new and effective way for environmentalists to advocate for the environment around them. She created a pamphlet medium that invited scientists and other conservationists to publish writings and opinions that went against what the Audubon Society, the Biological Survey, and legislators were doing and publishing. The research for this project combines analysis from other professionals in the field with …

Defamiliarizied Gender In The Works Of Hayao Miyazaki, Jolie Finley

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Defamiliarized Gender in the Works of Miyazaki Hayao argues that the films of Hayao Miyazaki portray unconventionally strong female protagonists through a process called defamiliarization. Defamiliarization is a literary technique that transforms familiar qualities to ones that seem strange and new to the audience. Miyazaki borrows from and rejects elements of Japanese culture to create characters and settings that evoke the defamiliarization of gender in the films Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service. Examples of this in Miyazaki’s works include allusions to historical figures of the opposite gender in his own characters and presenting fantastical creatures of Japanese folklore …

Examining The Impact Of Holistic Practices On Lgbtqia+ Wellness, Airelle Railley

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The project involved surveying the before and aftereffects of holistic healing for ten undergraduate Kentuckians who identify as LGBTQIA+. The purpose of the project was to heighten and expand the LGBTQIA+ participants experience with holistic and wellness care, by utilizing on or off campus wellness activities. Those ten participants were split into two groups of five. The control group was lightly “encouraged” to attend any health and wellness activities. The intervention group was required to attend at least one yoga session per week. Each participant was instructed to complete and submit documentation each month. Those documents included surveys and monthly …

Terror Management Theory And Legislation: An Analysis Of How Patterns Evolve And Change, Elizabeth Roth

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Recent legislation passed in states including Georgia, Florida, and Kentucky have included clauses that govern “divisive” material and the manner in which this material is discussed, particularly in schools. The term “divisive” is never truly defined beyond content that is “patently offensive to prevailing standards.” The emphasis has been placed on the fact that students should not be biased by the information that they are taught or allowed to access, but definitions are lax as to what constitutes inappropriate information. The loose criteria as to what counts as “unsuitable” opens up divisive material to easy censorship based on partisan and …

Taiwanese Women In And Out Of The Workforce: Perceptions Of Working Mothers And Their Roles, Josie Coyle

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis explores how Taiwanese citizens perceive women in the workforce and at home, with a specific focus on how working mothers in Taiwan are perceived. The first section provides a literature review of perceptions of women in and out of the workforce in Taiwan and how policies surrounding maternity leave and breastfeeding can impact these perceptions. The second section will detail the findings of an original survey that asks the Taiwanese respondents their opinions regarding women in the workforce, division of labor in the home, breastfeeding, and gender roles. The data shows that there may be a greater level …

Progress In The Bluegrass: An Analysis Of Grassroots Organizing In Kentucky Post 1970, Brooklyn Lile

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

While historians and other scholars have explored grassroots organizing in Kentucky, most historiography on this topic is limited to the 1930s through 1970s and focused on coal, labor, and the Civil Rights Movement. This paper fills a gap within the historiography by extending the discussion of grassroots organizing in Kentucky past the 1970s. Through the examination of organizational documents, membership newsletters, and oral histories, this paper explores the transformation of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) from 1981 to 2020. KFTC began as a small Eastern Kentucky organization focused predominantly on fair taxing practices in coal companies. Through efforts to diversify …

Encouraging Little People’S Big Questions: An Elementary School Teacher’S Guide To Encouraging Philosophical Inquiry In Decision Making, Morgan Flanagan

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Children serve as natural philosophers. Their innate sense of questioning, in a classroom setting, with the right instruction, can be beneficial to understanding many abstract concepts. This project is a user-friendly elementary school teachers’ guide to encouraging philosophical questions and thoughts in young students. Teachers should be able to utilize the guide as a skeleton in forming their own lesson plans. The guide is not a completed lesson plan, rather an array of activities and literature that can be incorporated into pre-existing units or be used as a tool in creating new ones. Outlines include literature synopsis, overall philosophical themes, …

A Pilot Study: An Evaluation Of Accessibility Of Resources For Parents Of D/Deaf/Hoh Children In Ky/Tn, Amara Danturthi

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Most parents of d/Deaf/Hoh children are not Deaf, making it imperative for easy access to diverse strategies to ensure smooth communication between them and their child. Parents make the paramount decision of what their child’s first language should be, therefore, access to current information on communication strategies is crucial in this journey. Many families fall on resources sometimes from sources in different formats to understand what may work best for them. The accessibility and availability of these resources are a crucial component in the parent’s decision-making process. Due to the unique dynamics between hearing parents and d/Deaf/Hoh children, this pilot …

No-Knock Warrants: Unlawfully Legitimate, Isabel Pergande

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor was fatally shot when officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) executed a search warrant at her apartment. Breonna Taylor’s case brought national attention to no-knock warrants (NKWs), which allow police to enter private residences unannounced. It is estimated that 20,000-80,000 NKWs are executed by American police each year. This thesis explores the development of NKWs as a common, yet controversial, police tactic. The increase in NKWs is largely attributed to the federal government’s War on Drugs, beginning with Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign. However, the Supreme Court laid the foundation for NKWs …

Kids, Culture, And Queerness: The Progression Of Lgbtq+ Representation In Children's Media, Sarah Stevens

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Historically, popular media has functioned as a window into society’s ever evolving idea of normalcy. Children’s popular media, which contains elements of both entertainment and didacticism, is further burdened with the responsibility of influencing the perspectives of upcoming generations. This truth is particularly salient for the LGBTQ+ community, who have faced consistent misrepresentation or utter erasure from children’s media in the recent past. While there have been marked improvements in both the quality and quantity of queer representation in children’s media since 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges case, there is still a significant need to acknowledge intersectional queerness and queer gender …

Servant Leadership And Adult Volunteers In The Boy Scouts Of America, Andrew Koontz

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) features several leadership theories and models in their trainings and programs for youth members and adult volunteers. Servant leadership was an integral model in BSA trainings, in the 2000 to 2021 timeframe, and influenced the attitudes and approaches of youth and adult leaders in the organization and beyond. However, there is only a small body of scholarly work on the relationship between servant leadership and the BSA. Additionally, scholarship on the topic has overlooked the key nature of BSA leadership trainings and the adult volunteer perspective in the overall relationship. Through a primary source …

Does "Good" Mean White?: Understanding The Complexities Of Refugee Resettlement In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Molly Shaddix

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Bowling Green, Kentucky is a relatively small town comparable to its counterparts across the South. However, Bowling Green has a significant population of refugee inhabitants that have resettled in waves since the late 1970s. This paper describes the lived experience of refugees resettling by analyzing community action and troubles faced while working for independence in their new homes. Some factors explored are access to affordable housing, language barriers, and trouble in education. In addition, this paper contextualizes their lived experiences with other resettlement communities across the United States to understand how Bowling Green fits into patterns of societal xenophobia, racism, …

Antitype: An Exploration Of Self And Poetry, Faith Harris

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Antitype is a collection of poetry that examines childhood and adolescence through a lens of place and loss, while exploring both poetry and creative processes. The work presented begins by contextualizing antitype within the history of poetry, assessing influences of specific poets and poetic movements on my own work. Next, I share excerpts from my poetry collection to illustrate connections from its five different sections, each investigating facets of this overarching theme: my childhood affected by loss and as it contributes to my development as a poet. Section one examines how my childhood was shaped by place and family heritage. …

Ladylike: The Necessity And Neglect Of Camp Followers In The Continental Army, Emma Ward

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The contributions of female camp followers to the Continental Army are often overlooked in the study of the American Revolution. The lower-class women who followed the army performed services absolutely necessary for its operation and created a vital support network for the fledgling army that could not care for its own needs. Camp followers were therefore integral to the success of the American Revolution, but they rarely receive due credit for their contributions because they acted outside the bounds of eighteenth-century feminine values.

The intent for this thesis is to pull camp followers out of the footnotes of history and …

The Effect Of The Pura Vida Lifestyle On Mental Health In Costa Rica, Gabrielle Sledge

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Costa Rica’s unofficial slogan “Pura Vida” (“Pure Life”) encapsulates how its people, Ticos, live. Ticos are known as a peaceful, homogenous people but a lack of mental health research limits assessment of Tico mental health status. The purpose of this study is to evaluate Ticos’ personal experiences and opinions to understand better how Costa Rica’s “Pura Vida” culture affects Ticos’ mental health and wellness compared to the United States. A 33-question survey addressing mental health experiences and perceptions was administered to a Costa Rican sample (n = 56) and a United States sample (n = 331). Additionally, 6 interviews were …

Cut Song Cabaret: Performing The Replaced, Rewritten, And Recycled Songs Of Musical Theatre, Claire Wilson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In musical theatre, “cut songs” are the pieces of music that are removed from a show, whether the cut occur in the early creative stages, a pre-Broadway run, minutes before opening night, or even for a major revival years after its initial debut. These songs easily go unnoticed, as some are never made public while some are sneakily recycled for other musicals. Cut songs, though greatly varying in quality, are still works of art that at one time fulfilled their sacred duty of entertaining an audience and required just as much artistic effort to produce as the songs that survived …

Maiden, Martyr, Sinner, And Saint: Performing The Narratives Of Joan Of Arc, Emma Cox

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Capstone Experience/Thesis Project, made possible through the WKU Mahurin Honors College, is a study of historiography, or the way history is written. Joan of Arc is used to explore historiography because she is a figure that is written in many ways, each version giving us a snippet of the whole picture. The show written based on my research is titled Jehanne. I wanted to tell Joan’s story, but not just one version of it; I wanted to tell the whole story of who she is, not just what she did or what she believed. Not only does Jehanne …

Effective Community Engagement Programs In Contemporary Concert Dance Companies, Emily Caldwell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Arts education is extremely important yet underrated and underfunded in our country today. Some professional dance companies provide educational opportunities in dance and other areas of the arts for youth and others within the community as a means to combat this problem. This project is a compilation and synthesis of my research on how to most effectively create and implement children’s outreach programs in contemporary modern concert dance companies. The purpose of this research is to study how professional dance companies give back to their communities through engagement with children via classes, performances, workshops, etc. and to determine the most …

Landscape Analysis And Content Strategy For Covid-19 State Response Websites, Kaitlin Price

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

There is a massive flow of information about the COVID-19 pandemic from news coverage, daily announcements from local and national political leaders and health authorities, as well as social media. Because of this, a focus on providing clear, honest, and valid information is needed. One way to achieve this goal is through impactful state websites that can act as the main resource for COVID-19 related news.

This project will be analyzing three COVID-19 state response websites, kycovid19.ky.gov (Kentucky’s website), oregon.gov (Oregon’s website), and ldh.la.gov (Louisiana’s website) in terms of their use of website design and crisis communication strategies. I will …

From The Volga To The Mississippi: African Americans And The Soviet Experiment, Daniel Candee

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis investigates the role of African American Communists in the struggle for Black liberation during the interwar period. Making a vital intervention into the field, this work attempts to debunk the harmful Cold-War stereotype of African American Communists as “puppets of Moscow” while simultaneously engaging critically with the relationship between Black liberation and international Communism. Drawing on a vast array of secondary and archival sources, this work charts a course between a vision of the Comintern as an avenging anti-colonial angel, and a cynical force disinterested in Black Liberation.

Tracing the developing relationship between Black intellectuals and the Comintern …

Crafting Character: Exploring Elder Identity Through Story, Cameron Fontes

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The following thesis is a culmination of several key activities I have engaged in as a creative writer with a single focus: to create fiction that employs the perspectives, the voices, of persons at later stages of their lives, a population vulnerable to disease and, more insidious, loneliness. First, I discuss my experiences reviving the Western Kentucky student organization Companions of Respected Elders. C.O.R.E. allowed undergraduates to work with local residential centers (nursing homes) by engaging their residents in the collaborative act of creating stories from picture prompts and encouraging questions, following the training and paradigm of TimeSlips^TM. …

No Day But Today: The Social And Cultural Impacts Of Rent, Emily Lancaster

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

No Day but Today: The Social and Cultural Impact of Rent addresses how Jonathan Larson’s musical changed the theater industry and the lives of those living in the shadows. Rent gave struggling artists, drag queens, and those suffering from HIV/AIDS a voice during a time in which they were being pushed aside and disposed of by the mainstream media. Larson’s untimely death the night before his Off-Broadway premiere did not allow him to see his masterpiece soar, but the message of love that his show promotes is still being spread across the world by anniversary tours and interviews with original …

Centralizing The Purse: Why A More Centralized National Government Was Crucial For Managing America's Revolutionary War Debt, Ethan Berg

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Research on the American Revolutionary debt has particularly focused on the leadership of American financial figures: most notably Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris and U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. While scholars affirm their indispensable leadership, they also acknowledge institutional and political conditions that distinguish their tenures. This CE/T seeks to further analyze these conditions. It draws upon scholarly works while evaluating different aspects and time frames of Americas’ public debt, including the initial accumulation of debt, the tenure of Robert Morris, the formation of the U.S. Constitution, and the tenure of Alexander Hamilton. The CE/T also analyzes the papers of …