Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Arts and Humanities Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 31 - 60 of 83

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

The John Allen House And Tryon’S Palace: Icons Of The North Carolina Regulator Movement, H. Gilbert Bradshaw Aug 2020

The John Allen House And Tryon’S Palace: Icons Of The North Carolina Regulator Movement, H. Gilbert Bradshaw

Masters Theses

A defining feature of North Carolina is her geography. English colonists who founded the first settlements in the east adapted their old lifestyles to their new environs, and as a result, a burgeoning planter and merchant class emerged throughout the Tidewater and coastal regions. This eastern gentry replicated the customs, manners, and traditions of the Old World: donning the latest London fashions, hosting lavish balls, horseraces, and foxhunts, and erecting homes furnished with luxurious appointments. In the Piedmont, in what was then the western frontier, German and Scots-Irish immigrants streamed down the Great Wagon Road in search of similar opportunities. …


The New Left In American Evangelicalism, Jonathan E. Harris Aug 2020

The New Left In American Evangelicalism, Jonathan E. Harris

Masters Theses

In the late 1960s and early 1970s a new kind of evangelical emerged as a result of interaction with New Left ideas. The evangelical left gained strength until the mid 1970s, only to reemerge in the 2010s.


Political Hebraism’S Involvement And Significance In The American Founding, Mitch Wardell Aug 2020

Political Hebraism’S Involvement And Significance In The American Founding, Mitch Wardell

Masters Theses

Ideas influence the way people think and eventually how people act. Ideas were integral in both sparking the American Revolution and informing those who crafted the founding documents. It is a contested position to state that the United States had a Christian founding. An overlooked and under appreciated aspect of the American founding is the influence of political Hebraism on the founders view of republicanism. This thesis will explore why Hebraic studies is valuable in the American founding.


Diversity In Worship: The Integration Of Historic Works Into The Contemporary Worship Service, As Illustrated By The Oboe, Bethany Eileen Butler Aug 2020

Diversity In Worship: The Integration Of Historic Works Into The Contemporary Worship Service, As Illustrated By The Oboe, Bethany Eileen Butler

Masters Theses

Since the times of the New Testament, the church has inevitably found itself entangled in “Worship Wars,”1 sparked by the introduction of new styles of music. Today, contemporary churches often only present one style of music while neglecting the rich history of sacred, instrumental music. When a single style of worship is exclusively offered in worship, the service can neglect to be multigenerational and multicultural, only relatable to some of the congregation, rather than the whole Body. If contemporary churches took a blended worship approach and integrated historic works into their worship services, the church would see growth in outreach, …


‘Remember The Deeds Of The Lord:’ Collective Memory’S Role In A Reasonable Faith, Baily Ray Mcdaniel Aug 2020

‘Remember The Deeds Of The Lord:’ Collective Memory’S Role In A Reasonable Faith, Baily Ray Mcdaniel

Masters Theses

Faith has long been regarded by secular scholars as unreasonable and unjustified. One of the largest issues that Christians face today is working against the notion that faith is blind. Best-selling author Richard Dawkins states, “religious faith is an especially potent silencer of rational calculation, which usually seems to trump all others.” The irrationality of faith is echoed consistently by other scholars including Bertrand Russell. As Kelly James Clark points out, “Bertrand Russell was once asked, if he were to come before God, what he would say to God. Russell replied, ‘Not enough evidence God, not enough evidence.’” The claim …


Pulpits And Pews—Professors And Pagans: A Grounded Theory On Worldview Development And Integration Within Christian And Secular Culture, Luke Charles Moen Aug 2020

Pulpits And Pews—Professors And Pagans: A Grounded Theory On Worldview Development And Integration Within Christian And Secular Culture, Luke Charles Moen

Masters Theses

The fragility characterizing the faith of young believers is nothing new to Christianity. Doubts as to whether or not Christianity is actually true continue to pose challenges to Christian youth as they grow into adulthood in an increasingly secularized culture. This study explores the concept of worldview development and integration within Christian youth, and addresses the growing problem of youth apostasy. Utilizing a methodology based on constructivist grounded theory, this study explores the relevant research on worldview integration and development through six worldview elements (Origin, Purpose, Value, Morality, Nature, Destination) to catalog the available data. The analysis of the research …


The End Is Upon Us: Attila The Hun And The Christian Apocalypse, Nathan Landrum Aug 2020

The End Is Upon Us: Attila The Hun And The Christian Apocalypse, Nathan Landrum

Masters Theses

Since their arrival onto the European landscape from beyond Scythia, the land north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, the Huns were originally perceived by the Roman world as a seemingly unknowable, uncivilized barbarian group that instilled fear on the unfortunate peoples in their path. As the Huns migrated further south and eventually permanently settled in the Great Hungarian Plain, the Romans’ original perception largely remained intact, but with great alterations. By the campaigns of Attila in the mid-fifth century, as numerous cities and towns were utterly destroyed across the Balkans, Gaul, and northern Italy, Attila and the …


Turning The Page: A Design Thinking Approach To Increasing Literacy Advocacy In West Alabama, Justin C. Walters Aug 2020

Turning The Page: A Design Thinking Approach To Increasing Literacy Advocacy In West Alabama, Justin C. Walters

Masters Theses

Through the problem/solution lens of design thinking, this research critically analyzes the promotional activities and materials used by the Literacy Council of West Alabama (LCWA) to determine their effectiveness in reaching both functionally illiterate populations as well as the fully-literate population aiming to work the advocacy front with this nonprofit organization. Qualitative data was gathered through the utilization of a web heuristic evaluation, as well as the evaluation of current marketing materials for LCWA; these insights were used to guide the design and creation of new print and digital marketing materials for the organization. Results of this research aimed to …


The Knowledge Of Lazarus And Raskolnikov: Expansive Epistemology And The Moral Argument For Theism, Josiah Lee Yates Aug 2020

The Knowledge Of Lazarus And Raskolnikov: Expansive Epistemology And The Moral Argument For Theism, Josiah Lee Yates

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to present a moral argument for the existence of God. This thesis deals with themes from epistemology, philosophy of religion, and ethics. It is about what and how we can know about God. The main premise of this work is that there is knowledge that goes beyond propositional knowledge (or is deeper than propositional knowledge), and further that this knowledge points toward something or someone supernatural or transcendent. This task begins with illustrating some expansive epistemological concerns, particularly as displayed within the works of John Henry Newman and Eleonore Stump. Following this is an …


The Value Of Assessment For The Inclusive General Music Classroom, Mary Elizabeth Quigley Aug 2020

The Value Of Assessment For The Inclusive General Music Classroom, Mary Elizabeth Quigley

Masters Theses

This project contains an analysis of the current inclusion and assessment practices of the middle school (7th and 8th grade) general music classroom. There are many studies concerning inclusion of students with special needs and the importance of assessments in teaching music. However, there are very few studies that connect assessment techniques with inclusion, demonstrating that music teachers are teaching to each student’s ability. This study used the case study methodology in the qualitative approach with teacher interviews, surveys, and several classroom observations to analyze the data. The data was coded, and names of people and the school district were …


Identifying Risk Factors For And Responding To Religious/Spiritual Distress In Transplant Patient Populations, Amber Nicole Ryman Aug 2020

Identifying Risk Factors For And Responding To Religious/Spiritual Distress In Transplant Patient Populations, Amber Nicole Ryman

Masters Theses

Due to the advancement of organ transplant technology, more people are able to receive a second chance at life through organ donation. In 2019, the United States conducted close to 40,000 transplants and this represents close to 40,000 people experiencing various states of healthcare crisis. Chaplains have the opportunity, and responsibility, to care for the religious/spiritual well-being of these transplant patients and their caregivers as they navigate the unique processes and challenges that transplantation entails. It is the argument of this thesis that risk factors for spiritual distress in transplant populations need to be identified as early as possible, in …


Food Packages That Make Choosing Better, Easy, Shelley Tate Garner Aug 2020

Food Packages That Make Choosing Better, Easy, Shelley Tate Garner

Masters Theses

Food packaging with persuasive design components and information can help us make better food buying decisions when it matters most- as we are scanning the grocery aisle. The correct packaging design could make it easy for consumers to determine a healthy choice from a lesser option and be attractive enough to sway decision making, thus leading to a healthier public. Research has been produced in many categories that relates to the dynamic of packaging design and its impact on buying and consumer response. However, no one study seems to bring together the most common elements that influence “healthy” choices at …


Jesus's Son Of Man Strategy In Mark: The Allegorical "Idiomatic Vs. Messianic" Chess Match And Lessons For Christian Apologetics, Toni Evelyn Perry Aug 2020

Jesus's Son Of Man Strategy In Mark: The Allegorical "Idiomatic Vs. Messianic" Chess Match And Lessons For Christian Apologetics, Toni Evelyn Perry

Masters Theses

Played out against the background of a chess game allegory, this thesis argues two key components to discovering Jesus’s self-identity in the Gospel of Mark. The first is that Mark’s depiction of Jesus’s Son of Man self-designation as a messianic interpretation is more plausible than its contemporary idiomatic interpretation. The second is that Jesus reveals His hidden Son of Man identity in Mark via a threefold strategic approach, which not only embodies His intent and mission through serving, suffering, and glorification, but also serves as a paradigm for the Christian witness and discipleship. The fourfold purpose of this study is …


Moral Rivals: The Intersection Between Puritanism And Piracy In The 17th And 18th Centuries, Amy Stewart Jul 2020

Moral Rivals: The Intersection Between Puritanism And Piracy In The 17th And 18th Centuries, Amy Stewart

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to explore the relationship between American colonial Puritans and Atlantic pirates in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Due to their conflicting views on morality and faith, Christianity and piracy consistently tested the other’s resilience for what they believed. Their contrasting moralities intersected in countless ways throughout the colonies, evident through an increasing pattern and shift towards piracy and seafaring in the subject matter of Christian sermons, as well as the introduction of execution sermons that presented an opportunity for preachers to minister to pirates, giving them a final chance at redemption before they were sentenced …


King James Vi And I: Witch-Hunter And Protector Of The Realm, Joni Raylene Creed Jul 2020

King James Vi And I: Witch-Hunter And Protector Of The Realm, Joni Raylene Creed

Masters Theses

After the discovery of a conspiracy to kill the king at sea, King James VI of Scotland became frightfully consumed with stamping out witches in his kingdom. He believed that witches were in league with the devil and that they were an imminent threat to his life and sovereignty as king. In the early 1590s, he bypassed legal precedent by directly interrogating and judging Scottish witches. He wrote a treatise in 1597 to warn of the existence of witches and the danger that witchcraft possessed. His involvement in the North Berwick witch trials was an interesting chapter in Scottish history. …


Traumatic Clergical Ministry Leads To Vicarious Trauma, Ptsd, And Ministry Burnout, Teresa Denine Hanson Jul 2020

Traumatic Clergical Ministry Leads To Vicarious Trauma, Ptsd, And Ministry Burnout, Teresa Denine Hanson

Masters Theses

The exodus of clergy leaving their positions of ministry incites the need to identify the cause; to probe the question of “why?” Though the topic of burnout is proliferous within ministry circles, the writer’s thesis is that the cause of departure lies within three areas, not isolated to the topic of “burnout.” Diversification of causes exist, broken down into three primary causes: Vicarious Trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Burnout. Following diversification of cause, personality traits are identified in the section Contributing Factors. From this point, the writer first addresses external supports for those with these primary areas, followed by …


Originality, Decorum, And Fantastic Sight In Dostoevsky's The Idiot, Richard A. Decker Jul 2020

Originality, Decorum, And Fantastic Sight In Dostoevsky's The Idiot, Richard A. Decker

Masters Theses

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “fantastic realism” penetrates reality’s surface to reveal what he refers to as the “moral center” of reality and, in the process, transfigures readers. In Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, the novel’s main protagonist, Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, embodies this fantastic realism. This process provides Myshkin with a “fantastic sight” that allows him to see past the immorality of the manners—or “feigned decorum”—of Russian society as represented in the novel. In so doing, Myshkin serves his peers as a “Nouwenian minister,” classifying him as a “wounded healer” archetype as presented in Henri J. M. Nouwen’s The Wounded Healer. This …


The Storying Of Colombian Writing Centers, Jennifer Erin Pretzer Jul 2020

The Storying Of Colombian Writing Centers, Jennifer Erin Pretzer

Masters Theses

Using the results from a study conducted on Colombian writing centers, this thesis applies principles from narrative theory to posit a grand narrative for Colombian writing center professionals. The study was modeled on one Jackie Grutsch McKinney used to examine US writing center professionals’ descriptions of their work, and the thesis includes a comparison with her results. Respondents were asked to answer seven questions, two of which were multiple choice and five of which were short answer. The questions asked respondents to describe their tutoring staff composition, their center’s operations, writing centers in general, and ways their center resembles and …


Mother Heart, Elisa Miriam Palumbo Jul 2020

Mother Heart, Elisa Miriam Palumbo

Masters Theses

This memoir tells the story of a girl who lost her mom to cancer when she was eleven and how she learned to cope with her loss through writing.


God Sees And God Rescues: The Motif Of Affliction In Genesis, Emily Christine Page Jul 2020

God Sees And God Rescues: The Motif Of Affliction In Genesis, Emily Christine Page

Masters Theses

The book of Genesis mainly centers on the fulfillment of God’s patriarchal promises. However, the book presents characters who first experience hardship before they receive blessings from God. Many of the hardships are described in Genesis as “afflictions” (√ענה), the same word used to describe Israel’s suffering in Egypt (Exod 3:7). Although the motif of affliction receives attention for its appearance in Exodus, few scholars note the significance of this motif in Genesis. The purpose of this thesis is to trace the motif of affliction in Genesis and to determine the pattern of its appearance. The motif serves the larger …


English As A Lingua Franca: Improving Technical Writing And Communication Methods For International Audiences, Lauren Alyssa Serrani Jul 2020

English As A Lingua Franca: Improving Technical Writing And Communication Methods For International Audiences, Lauren Alyssa Serrani

Masters Theses

This thesis centers on the role of English as a lingua franca in global communication, particularly as it pertains to technical written communication. Over the 20th century, English emerged as the primary language used in global communication. As a result, efforts have been made to standardize the language and teach this standardized English in schools and writing programs around the world. Standard American and British English are dominant in academic and professional fields, which inhibits both native and nonnative language learners from reaching their full potential. This project focuses on the most prominent language acquisition methodologies - Standard English, translingualism, …


United Hispanic Congregations In Worship Of Christ, Ronald Alexis Carias Lopez Jun 2020

United Hispanic Congregations In Worship Of Christ, Ronald Alexis Carias Lopez

Masters Theses

United Hispanic Congregations worshipping in Spirit and Truth. Churches gathered to offer a relevant and Biblical worship. They carried out a seasonal ministry project.


Board Game Under Construction: Putting The Design In Game Design, Cory S. Gurley Jun 2020

Board Game Under Construction: Putting The Design In Game Design, Cory S. Gurley

Masters Theses

The contemporary design landscape is informed by the need for interactive design, yet not all interactive media is digital. Technology has transformed the way many people receive information, and thus the way that they interact with graphic design, and the impact of user interfaces in creating a positive interactive experience is more important now than ever. However, while this phenomenon is usually identified with the digital environment of smartphone apps, websites and video games, user interface is equally important in analog design, and few media illustrate this better than board games. Board games have enjoyed a surge in popularity over …


A Musically Embedded Curriculum For Rural Elementary Schools, Rachael Marie Dubay Jun 2020

A Musically Embedded Curriculum For Rural Elementary Schools, Rachael Marie Dubay

Masters Theses

Rural school districts across the nation have been at a crossroads for decades. The amount of funding and resources provided to these small towns is often meager and falls short to provide the schools and students with the proper education, teacher training, curriculum, building maintenance, and other necessary educational materials. School officials and board members in these areas across the nation each year have had to make the hard decisions of what to prioritize and what will have to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, cuts in budgetary and educational reform have regularly faced music education programs and it has become …


Music Education Transformation: How Orff, Kodaly, And Suzuki Promote Academic Success, Michelle M. Angeli Jun 2020

Music Education Transformation: How Orff, Kodaly, And Suzuki Promote Academic Success, Michelle M. Angeli

Masters Theses

We all need Music in our lives. Music education is valued less in the education system, but present data from these literature sources of articles, books, and research, tells us another story. For decades school systems have struggled with whether or not to include Music in the education system. There are many values for Music, including individual growth and development. In this research study, I intend to showcase the central benefits of Music to help show there is a need for these programs and to help promote music programs based on their own merits and not just because of academic …


Moments Of Music: A Qualitative Case Study In A Metropolitan Community Chorus, Katherine Iooss May 2020

Moments Of Music: A Qualitative Case Study In A Metropolitan Community Chorus, Katherine Iooss

Masters Theses

Making music in collaboration with others has impacted the strength, development, and connection amongst people throughout American history. Community music ensembles can strengthen social bonds and improve collaboration between citizens. Developing interest and skill in choral singing can provide an avenue for social connectedness in adulthood, as well as reduce stress throughout adolescence. This qualitative study focused on participants’ professed benefits from voluntary participation in a community chorus and the effect of rehearsal participation on perceived stress and/or energy level. The study was situated in a non-auditioned community choir in a densely populated metropolitan suburb in Northern Virginia. Data was …


Imagined Spaces: Land, Identity, And Kuban' Cossack State-Building In Revolutionary Russia, 1917-1922, Grace Ehrman May 2020

Imagined Spaces: Land, Identity, And Kuban' Cossack State-Building In Revolutionary Russia, 1917-1922, Grace Ehrman

Masters Theses

In 1917, the February Revolution ended the Russian Empire and the Kuban’ Cossacks’ military obligations to the tsarist estate system. Kuban' Cossack ethnic identity existed and evolved within the estate system prior to the 1917 revolutions. When the estate system collapsed, the Cossacks declared their identity as a separate ethnic minority. Backed by the Cossack villages’ democratic votes, Kuban’ Cossack elites and politicians created the Kuban’ People’s Republic, an independent anti-Bolshevik state, in the North Caucasus region. Designed to preserve local autonomy, settle disputes over land given to the corporate Cossack body in exchange for military service, and to avoid …


Women In Ministerial Leadership Roles, Sherith Carline Gutzmer May 2020

Women In Ministerial Leadership Roles, Sherith Carline Gutzmer

Masters Theses

The literature shows that women in positions of leadership are more accepted in the realms of business and politics than in the church. There is an increase of women entering seminary programs and theological training centers in the pursuit of ministerial leadership roles yet, upon completion, job placement is challenging. There is still a polarized view of women in ministerial leadership that has led to inconsistencies, confusion, and the need for clarity. The purpose of this study is to identify the views of graduate students in Liberty University Rawlings School of Divinity on women in ministerial leadership roles. The most …


Teaching Elementary School Music: A Composition Approach, Lauren Amanda Hammer May 2020

Teaching Elementary School Music: A Composition Approach, Lauren Amanda Hammer

Masters Theses

The 2014 National Music Standards emphasizes the importance of the three artistic processes of creating, performing, and responding. The Massachusetts Music Standards follow both the 2014 and the 1999 standards. The 1999 music standards are as follows: singing, reading and notation, playing instruments, improvisation and composition, critical response, purposes and meanings in the arts, roles of artists in the communities, concepts of style, stylistic influence, and stylistic change, inventions, technologies, and the arts, and interdisciplinary connections. Both standards mention either creating, improvisation, or composition, but are music educators emphasizing the importance of these standards? In Massachusetts, following both sets of …


The Need For Christian Authors In Mainstream Fiction, Ashley Renea Starnes May 2020

The Need For Christian Authors In Mainstream Fiction, Ashley Renea Starnes

Masters Theses

Fiction is an effective and underutilized tool in Christian circles to implicitly illustrate Christian ideas and values to readers of other worldviews. By adopting the writing approach of authors like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, Christian writers can enter into the broad discussion of philosophy, morality, and theology going on in popular fiction.