Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Alyosha The Christian Hermeneut, Eddie Li

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Presentation Abstract: Alyosha as the Christian Hermeneut

This presentation is adapted from my essay Alyosha as the Christian Hermeneut, written under the supervision of Dr. Paul Contino. In the essay, I gave an analysis of the character Alyosha in Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, in light of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics, and Dr. Contino’s book on Incarnational Realism. I discussed how Alyosha adapts from an inexperienced Christian disciple to a mature interpreter capable of conducting the hermeneutical fusion of horizons with different horizons. Within this capability, Alyosha develops his unique Christian horizon, enabling him to understand and reconcile the …

Pirates And An Acadian Huguenot, Elizabeth Starkey

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

A discussion of a piracy trial in 1726 Boston and an Acadian merchant.

The Effect Of Study Music Tempo On Short Term Memory Retention In Reading And Verbal Comprehension, Payton Ballinger

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This study experimentally investigated the effect of background music on retention as it relates to short term memory. Eighty undergraduate participants from various fields of study at Pepperdine University were randomly assigned to either listen to or read a preselected passage while listening to preselected excerpts of fast or slow tempo music. All participants were then asked to complete a 10 question test covering the material presented. There was a main effect specifically for music tempo in that participants who were exposed to background music at a slower speed while either reading or listening to a passage scored higher on …

Textual Variants In Eudora Welty’S "A Piece Of News”, Brooke Derrington, Abby Choe

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Eudora Welty’s “A Piece of News” presents the question, how does one achieve self-actualization? For the protagonist Ruby Fisher, the answer is language, although that answer is not clear in the original 1937 published version of the story. That story’s focal point is Ruby’s tumultuous and complicated relationship with her husband, Clyde. In contrast, the revised 1941 version from Welty’s collection A Curtain of Green shifts the focus from Ruby’s abusive marriage to her interiority. The subsequent increase in word count, shifts in narration, and emphasis on Ruby claiming her name when she reads it in a newspaper elevates the …

Unheard Melodies: The Songs And Sorrows Of German Female Composers, 1700-1900, Brittany Weinstock

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

German classical music is known for its prolific composers who changed Western music as we know it, such as J.S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, and Robert Schumann. However, music history does not place as great an emphasis on their sisters and wives who were also incredibly gifted musicians. The goal of this study is to create a paper that elaborates on their lives and music while emphasizing their struggles when it comes to gender limitations.

For my research, I chose to focus on Anna Magdalena Bach, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Clara Schumann. I compiled a biography of each woman, with particular emphasis …

Songs Of Wartime: An Anthology Of Music Composed By Women During The Second World War, Brittany Weinstock

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

During the Second World War, female European composers wrote a prolific amount of music which often goes unrecognized in favor of their male counterparts. The composers that I focus on are Elsa Barraine, Ilse Weber, Josima Feldschuh, Germaine Tailleferre, and Grażyna Bacewicz. The goal of this study is to collect an anthology of five pieces, one piece by each composer, in order to highlight and celebrate their contribution to the musical canon, as well as to understand how the conflict in Europe affected them.

For my research, I first found five female composers who were in some way affected by …

A Feminist History Of The Roland Mc-505, Cameron Davis

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

A Feminist History of the Roland MC-505

Abstract

Roland’s MC 505 is a small portable music production instrument also known as agroovebox that functions as a programmable sixty-four note polyphonic synthesizer and drummachine with twenty-six interchangeable drum kits to use in various combinations. (1) The groovebox is equipped for both audio recording and live performance, both of which are analyzed in this research. The machine has many innovative elements that have carried over into modern music technology as well as some limitations that have since been left behind. This study acts as a historical evaluation of the growth and improvements …

Wisdom's Folly: Analyzing Fools As Agents Of Truth In Shakespeare And Dostoyevsky, Tatum Shackelford

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

As Shakespeare’s King Lear concludes, “the weight of this sad time we must obey; speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.” Although speaking emotionally seems to be the impetus for uncivil discourse, it is the dangerous “ought to say” that truly prevents constructive dialogue. Society’s oughts — to have wealth, knowledge, security — dominate characters by isolating them from each other and from the true value of human relationship. In King Lear and The Brother’s Karamazov, those who see through the pretense of “ought” and are courageous enough to voice the truth are considered fools. Characters such …

Suicide And Neoliberalism: An Imminent Critique Of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Noël Ingram

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In her paper, “Suicide and Neoliberalism: An Imminent Critique of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy,” Noël Ingram, following the tradition of scholars such as Philip Cushman and Mark E. Button, challenges the dominant discursive framework of suicide through an examination of one of the dominant psychological therapeutic frameworks used to understand and treat suicidal ideation, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Ingram argues that CBT assumes the site of disorder is situated in the atomized neoliberal subject whose failure to think and behave rationally has led to their suicide attempt. Further, Ingram discusses how the framework of CBT is influenced by inherent neoliberal assumptions with its …

Pastors And Politics: Considerations For Missional Church Leaders Addressing Political Matters, Matthew Stinson

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

We live in a politically divided time. Long-standing questions about the political role of the church have taken on a renewed interest for American Christians who see this political divide widening and have trouble reconciling their beliefs with the platforms of either major party. How ought Church leaders, seeking to lead missional congregations, speak to our current political context?

This paper lays out a framework for political engagement by missional Church leaders. It first offers a definition of a missional church and a missional church leader. Second, it surveys some of the various approaches to Church and State relations in …

Alien Lands, Carissa Mosley

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Alien Lands has been an academic year-long study and cross-media art endeavor, researching the history of palm trees in Los Angeles and documenting their current presence. I photographed and made videos of the palm trees in Los Angeles and ended the project with a ceremonial installation/performance, grieving the colonial history and unsustainability of palm trees by ironically commemorating them. This body of work is meant to provoke discussion of palm trees' iconicization, their ubiquitous invisibility in our environment, their colonial history, and their likely nonexistent future.

Romola: The Failure Of A Husband And Triumph Of A Wife, Ryan Harding

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

George Eliot’s fifteenth century romance Romola follows the coming of age and independence of the titular character, an Italian noblewoman during the Renaissance. This essay examines the development of the relationship between Romola and her husband Tito’s common law wife, Tessa, specifically through the impact of Tito’s personal failures on both women. Throughout the novel, Romola struggles with her failed marriage, her need for personal connection, and Tito’s poor treatment of Tessa. Using the knowledge gained from her experiences and Tito’s poor behavior as an example, Romola transforms herself into the proper husband figure for Tessa: a provider, protector, and …

The Sonic Sacrament: An Emerging Sacramental Theology Of Music In Contemporary Evangelical Churches, Joshua Altrock

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This essay contends that in contemporary liturgies, a sonic sacrament of Eucharist is emerging through the medium of contemporary worship music. After laying out a theology of worship, sacrament, and participation, the article examines three major churches in Los Angeles: Hillsong LA, Mosaic LA, and Reality LA, and analyzes their liturgical practice. Based on this analysis, the author contends that American churches are exchanging the traditional sacrament of Eucharist with Contemporary Worship Music. The remainder of the article considers the implications of this shift.

Mysteries Of Paradise Revealed & Concealed, Brittany Bryant

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

No abstract provided.

Philosophy And Politics Perfected: Aristotle’S Greatness Of Soul Embodied In Plutarch’S Alexander The Great, Raquel Grove

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In this paper, I examine the value of Aristotle’s “great-souled man” and the narrative structure of Plutarch’s Life of Alexander as political and philosophical exempla designed to lead men to virtue on a large scale. The confusing, apparently contradictory nature of Aristotle’s virtue “greatness of soul” must be read in the context of the Ethics as a deeply political work. Likewise, Plutarch’s description of Alexander the Great demands examination from a narrative, as well as historical, perspective. Despite their differences in emphasis and method, Aristotle and Plutarch produce writings characterized the same end––each work unites ethics and politics to create …

Transcribing And Editing The Selected Works Of Robert Fleming Through Sibelius Music Software, Annaleise A. Lee

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Transcribing and Editing the Selected Works of Robert Fleming Through Sibelius Music Software

Cultural Diversity In Student Ministry Leadership, Steven Zhou

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In an attempt to contribute to how ministries and Christian academia is addressing issues of diversity, I am conducting a study to analyze correlations between ethnicity and styles/values of leadership. The goal is to uncover whether or not a particular ethnicity generally prefers one style of leadership over another. Past research on the subject has already seen that, in the business world, certain practices work better than others. For example, those from an Asian culture are more likely to prefer formality and authority as opposed to the collaborative and relationship-oriented style of leadership found in America. I will contribute to …

The Giving Trees: The (Un)Sustainability Of Palm Oil In Indonesia, Amber Rosche

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Palm oil is the main source of cooking oil for much of Africa, Asia and Brazil. Due to the increasingly high demand for palm oil, countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have cleared millions of acres of tropical rainforests to create space for oil palm plantations. This deforestation has led to extreme environmental and social concerns such as the burning of peatlands, the endangerment of a number of species, including the Sumatran Tiger, rhinos and orangutans, and the displacement of native populations. Indonesia is the world’s largest consumer and producer of palm oil, producing almost half of the world’s supply …

Standing Up For Standing Rock: Environmental Racism In Modern America, Lizzy Lebleu

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In this essay, I explore the implications of environmental racism among our national and global neighbors.

Simulations Of The Androgynous Society: Shattering Gender Stereotypes In George Eliot’S Silas Marner, Jessica L. Wall

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This paper examines George Eliot's novel Silas Marner and the compelling argument it asserts against Victorian gender stereotypes. Through the contradictory successes of characters that fail to conform to their expected niches, Eliot presents her revolutionary vision for an androgynous society. Most notably, Silas’s accidental motherhood redeems his purpose while saving Eppie's life, Priscilla's ability to protect the well-being of her family stems from her avoidance of a husband and assumption of a “masculine” managerial position, and Eppie’s idyllic life with Silas is preserved by her refusal to be treated as a possession by male authority figures. Through the experiences …

Hollywood, The Media, And The Alteration Of Image In The 1940s, Sean M. Conrad

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

I am currently writing a feature-length screenplay entitled Klara based on true events and people surrounding the rise of Nazi Germany and the exile of Jewish-German intellectuals to America during 1933-1945. The narrative is grounded in the work of the European Film Fund (1938-1948), the Paul Kohner Talent Agency, and the various agents of propaganda at work both in Nazi Germany and America during this time period. Through my research I hope to explicate how Jewish-German exile in America influenced not only those exiled, but also the burgeoning American film industry and how the cross-cultural intersection of media propaganda, both …

Spiritual Formation As A Method Of Leadership Training: A Case Study At Pepperdine University, Steven Zhou

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Dallas Willard, Professor of Philosophy and Christian spiritual formation at USC, was known to define spiritual formation not as the summation of one’s good works and talents, but rather as a continual pursuit in modeling the character of Jesus Christ. This understanding of spiritual formation was applied to a group of first year students at Pepperdine University who were selected as students with high potential of becoming future leaders at Pepperdine. Most training programs on campus, such as Resident Life Formation and Volunteer Center training, currently focus on teaching students lessons of what to do in their job. In Spring …

Life At The Meridian: The Subjectivity Of Ethics In The Works Of Albert Camus And Friedrich Nietzsche, Clancy E. Robledo

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This paper endeavors to respond to the questions: can ethics can be unbound from its traditional rootedness in religious systems? If so, what contributions did Nietzsche make to liberate value from the shackles of Western morality? To what degree is Camus one of the “new philosophers” Nietzsche calls for in On the Genealogy of Morals?

In an attempt to demonstrate that ethics can and do exist vividly in the realm of the non-religious, this paper will begin by illustrating the metaphysical door Nietzsche opens through his use of aphorisms in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and his investigation of the history …

An Approach To Undergraduate Research - Developing An Understanding Of The Musical Process Through The Editing Of Early Music, Jared Chance Taylor, Gary W. Cobb

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This project is an outgrowth of a larger project that involves the eventual compilation of a series of Italian madrigals into a modern performing edition. The purpose of this project was to transcribe and edit a madrigal from Carlo Grossi’s L’Anfione musiche da camera or per tavola (Venice, 1675) in order to better understand and be able to perform an Italian madrigal as it might have been done in the late seventeenth century. Through a process of research, examination and transcription, I was able to not only to transcribe Grossi’s music into modern notation but was also able to also …

“Against The Ebony Of Her Skin”: The Impact Of Harlem Renaissance Blues Culture And Literature On The Development Of Womanism, Maia Y. Rodriguez

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This paper will investigate the ways in which the music and writers spurred by the explosion of African American culture that was the Harlem Renaissance were responsible for propagating the rhetoric and fresh representations of African American womanhood that would later be incorporated into the theoretical framework of black feminism championed by critics like bell hooks and brought into fruition as the recognizable school of womanism by Alice Walker. I will argue, using the literature of “proto-feminist” Harlem Renaissance writers Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston as well as the literature of womanist writers like Walker, that without the Harlem …

Beyond Pow! Wam! Stan Lee's Hand In Revolutionizing Comic Books, Kathrine Kuhlmann

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

After World War II, comic books spiraled downward in need of a true hero. Their low literary value left them with a very limited audience because adults found them too simplistic. The hero that finally brought comics out of their slump was seventeen-year-old Stanley Martin Lieber, president of Marvel and creator of famous Marvel characters. Lee, inspired in part by his wife and his desire to be a novelist, created a new form of influential literature that dared to branch out from the elementary writing that was previously used for comics, bringing comics back into a positive light. In this …

Drowning In Sacrifice: Maggie Tulliver’S Role In George Eliot’S The Mill On The Floss, Kami E. Bates

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Upon examining the personal rejection and eventual demise of Maggie Tulliver, the protagonist of The Mill on the Floss, it becomes evident that her death is a sacrifice through which she demonstrates the morality of George Eliot’s religion of humanity. Maggie is a headstrong, intelligent, and memorable character who does not fit into her community and ultimately drowns in a flood while attempting to save her loved ones. The story begs the question: why must such an endearing main character perish? One possibility is that her character flaws make her downfall inevitable. The high-class and hypocritical members of the …

Imagination And Reality: Landscape And The Folk Culture Of Joseon Dynasty Korea, Matthew Finley

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The Five Peaks Screen of Korea’s Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) is one of the most iconic works of its time. Nevertheless, the remarkable visual impact and cultural significance of the Five Peaks Screen evades systematic scholarly study, partly because of its generic classification as folk art. In this paper, I will resituate the Five Peaks Screen in the artistic tradition of East Asian landscape painting. When considered in the context of literati painting traditions and relevant popular landscapes, it becomes clear that the design of the Five Peaks Screen coheres to traditional aesthetics to emphasize the ability of artwork to inform …

X To Expression, Louis Philip Delaura

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Art allows for the exploration of human life in a visual form. Over the summer I explored, through art, ideas regarding opposites and how they are more alike than we assume them to be. The purpose of this project was to reveal to the viewer that what we may think of as complete opposites actually achieve the same thing. The secondary purpose of this project was to explore these ideas in a non-representational form. I wanted to take this idea and present it through abstract art. I would observe two things that people seemed to think were opposites. I would …

Hemingway’S Flapper Transcending Hollywood Norms: Brett Ashley And The Sun Also Rises, Sam Vaughn

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Hemingway’s portrayal of the “new woman” of the 1920s, namely Brett Ashley in The Sun Also Rises, is more strikingly complex than those portrayals in popular films of the time. In Brett, Hemingway develops a complexity and depth of the “new woman” portrayal by utilizing Brett’s tumultuous past, which is in stark contrast to her filmic counterparts. Her conflicted characterization sets her apart from the typical flat representation of the woman of her time in film. Hemmingway provides a glimpse into a “real new women’s” complex way of being in the new 1920’s metropolitan world.