Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Unangan Orthodox Christianity: Conversion Through Similarity, Robert Daley

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

Between 1741, when Russians first entered the Aleutian archipelago, to 1867, when Russia sold Alaska to the United States, virtually the entire Aleutian indigenous population, the Unangan peoples, having been minimally missionized and influenced only by traders, had subsumed their ancient religious beliefs and practices into a new framework and converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity. This, despite the fact that by 1800, murder, disease and forced labor at the hands of the Russian traders were major causes of a near-extinction-level Unangan population decline of eighty percent.

This thesis will argue that, despite the injustices suffered by the Unangax at Russian …

Cultivating An Ecospiritual Imagination, Brighid Fitzgibbon

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

Ecospirituality synthesizes aspects of ecology, spirituality, and feminism, emphasizing reciprocity and relationship. It can be seen as a spiritual expression of environmentalism, offering hope and ways to cope during the Anthropocene. During this era of heightened uncertainty and grief related to ecological collapse, one key capacity, imagination, will serve humanity as it recalibrates and restructures in response to the climate crisis. This textual analysis, creative research, and reflection will explore the process of cultivating anecospiritual imagination, a relational mindset supported by embodied experiences such as rituals and contemplative practices that honor a reciprocal relationship between humans and the …

Helpless, Hunter Bosnick

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Helpless is a creative thesis featuring a series of illustrations that metaphorically represent instances of abuse and trauma through the use of mythological and supernatural creatures.

Artemisia: A Reflection Of Women’S Rights, Julie Mcgrath

Theses

This thesis will analyze and document the historiographic perspective of Artemisia Gentileschi and the changing perspective of the artist and her artwork since the 1960s. The research will explore the changing of perception of Artemisia through various methodologies to understand the evolution of her story. By looking at the change from modernism to postmodernism, I will explain how the latter opened up the feminist movement and methodology, and how the four waves of feminism have directly impacted the perception of her life and her body of work. Without these changes, scholarship would not have developed a greater understanding of Artemisia …

An Evaluative Framework For The Improvement Of Religious Practice In The Context Of Pluralism, Benjamin Ford Dardas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pluralism presents a troubling epistemic problem in that the inability to determine whether or not significant portions of a given religion’s cosmological and metaphysical belief set actually correspond to reality. Within this standstill there seems to be no way to prove yet alone maximize the epistemic rationality of continued religious practice, as each religion will claim to have a unique source of knowledge the others do not. However, if we set aside these unverifiable disputes, there remains an often underemphasized common thread: religions each have a conception of how this world ought to be. These conceptions involve how members of …

When They Sing A Song Of Joy With Sorrow, Ziba Rajabi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As an Iranian female artist, my work revolves around my desire to reconcile my relationship with two distinctive places, Tehran (my native land) and Arkansas (where I reside now). In my paintings and installations, I re-create intimate moments culled from my home and neighborhood in Iran. Due to a situation where I am far away from my homeland and not allowed to return without being forced to remain in Iran, I can feel my memories of home fading away. By utilizing memories from my past, I take aspects of images that are no longer recognizable and, therefore, are abstracted into …

The Museum Of Experiential Living Art: Strategic Plan, Danielle D. Delia

Museum Studies Projects

How can a museum support the new work of artists? Can a Tri-fold business plan offer a sustainable way to support an artists in residency program? Will the local community welcome a new museum into their town? What will be the benefit to the local economy? This capstone project presenting a strategic plan proposes the development of a new art museum located in Buffalo New York called, the Museum of Experiential Living Art (MoELA). The purpose of MoELA is to support practicing artists through an artist in residency program; by providing dedicated time, space, tools, materials, housing and nourishment while …

The Nineteenth Century British Workhouse: Mission Not Accomplished, Brenda Derin

Senior Theses

How to correct poverty in a society is extremely complex. In the nineteenth century, the British struggled to house, feed and care for the unemployed and destitute men, women and children created by the Industrial Revolution. Many in the upper classes considered poverty a moral failure, yet they had little impetus to end it. Poverty, as defined by an inability to provide for one’s needs due to a variety of factors, was seen as necessary, for without it there would be no motivation for the lower classes to work and provide a luxurious life for the wealthy.

Although some in …

Asian-American Visibility: Movement Toward Authenticity And Exposing The White Gaze, Nora Tsou

Senior Theses

Asian-Americans have a historical legacy and a multiplicity of narratives that are often rendered absent in American culture. Our oppression is not commonly spoken about, but it is relevant. By decentering Eurocentric thought as the only valid philosophy, herein this study I perform Asian-American philosophy through an analysis of philosophical and sociological texts on race. I continuously echo George Yancy and Gloria Anzaldua, philosophers of race, respectively, on the African-American and Latin-American experience, for their philosophy has greatly lead me to understanding my own. In order to conceptualize what oppressive struggles Asian-Americans face, I delve into research that exposes these …

Sex At Any Cost: How Gender Inequality, Capitalism, And Pornography Are Driving A $99 Billion Industry, Gina Vucci

Senior Theses

There are more slaves today than at any other time in human history. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are more than 40 million slaves worldwide. This paper accompanies a 6-part webinar series of the same title that explores how gender inequality, capitalism, and pornography are driving a $99 billion illegal industry. The paper begins by defining what human trafficking is and includes both forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Six primary forms of human trafficking are explored, including domestic servitude, bonded labor, child slavery, sex trafficking, and forced marriage. Next, the paper explores who the victims of …

Verb Usage In Egyptian Movies, Serials, And Blogs: A Case For Register Variation, Michael G. White

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contributes to the discussion of register variation within Egyptian Arabic by focusing on the usage of verbs in blogs and transcripts of movies and television. Register variation has been extensively researched for English as well as several other languages; yet, the lexical and grammatical features that distinguish registers of Egyptian Arabic have not been analyzed. Several challenges have prevented such an analysis, among them the perceived lack of an automatic annotator and the uncertainty of results. In order to overcome these challenges, two corpora were compiled: one containing texts from blogs and the other transcripts of movies and …

The Ascension Of Jesus Christ: Its Role In Redemption From A Latter-Day Saint Theological Perspective, William Perez

Theses and Dissertations

Mosiah 18:2 lists the ascension of Jesus Christ as one of the atoning acts that brings about redemption. Although many faith traditions have developed a theology about the significance of the ascension, the topic has not been covered at length within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This thesis explores the ascension of Jesus Christ and its implications for humanity from the perspective of Latter-day Saint beliefs.The ascension of Jesus Christ can be considered the culmination, even the capstone of His atonement. There are sufficient sources within Latter-day Saint canon and the teachings of general authorities to support …

Is Binge Watching Bad For You? Escapism, Stress, Self-Controland Gratifications?, Weipu Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The relatively new phenomenon of binge watching presents a dramatic shift from the norm of traditional television viewing. However, is this ubiquitously popular media marathon that contains negative connotations really bad for you? A survey administered to 157 television binge-watchers identified the role of stress and self-control in influencing both the gratifications sought and the consequences of binge watching through the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The current study found that binge watching to avoid problems is a commonly employed strategy for individuals to cope with stress. However, engaging in binge-watching behavior as a coping mechanism to purposefully avoid problems …

Yea, Yea, Nay, Nay: Uses Of The Archaic, Biblical Yea In The Book Of Mormon, Michael Edward De Martini

Theses and Dissertations

This work examines the word yea in the Book of Mormon, the Earliest Text and enumerates the usages found therein. Already recognized definitions in addition to new definitions are given with examples. Also included are textual variations from the Earliest Text and the current Book of Mormon used generally as scripture in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Impact Of Intercultural Competence On Communicative Success In L2 Environments(With Reference To Missionaries Of The Church Ofjesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints), David Milford Lucero

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact of cultural competence on success in completing key missionary tasks. Qualitative survey results are supported by data from an intercultural effectiveness assessment and a Mandarin Chinese listening proficiency test to describe themes related to missionary communicative success and to explore correlations between intercultural effectiveness and listening proficiency. Missionary communicative tasks are clarified into themes:"obtaining referrals,"obtaining teaching opportunities," and"helping people make and keep commitments." Factors perceived as associating with communicative success include"feeling and communicating love" and receiving"spiritual guidance." The effect of training on intercultural competence is also described. The intercultural effectiveness subcategory of positive regard is …

A Stylistic Analysis With Performance Suggestions Of Robert Muczynski’S Selected Late Piano Works: Maverick Pieces, Opus 37, Masks, Opus 40, And Dream Cycle, Opus 44, Ji Hyun Kim

Dissertations

Robert Muczynski (1929-2010) was a composer, pianist, and educator whose work is starting to garner more attention and interest from scholars, performers, and audiences.

Muczynski’s musical output covers a variety of genres from works for solo instruments to orchestral works and film scores. He was especially devoted to writing for piano. This is well represented in his musical output. Among his forty-eight compositions with opus numbers, seventeen works are for solo piano. He also wrote a piano concerto (No.1, Op.7), and twelve chamber works featuring the piano. Although his music has increased in popularity, it is less discussed when compared …

Authenticity And Practicality: Evaluating And Performing Multicultural Choral Music, Jesse Noote

Dissertations

Many choral music educators believe that multicultural music is a vital part of any choral curriculum. However, the research shows that these same choral directors are reluctant to select multicultural octavos because they lack training in non-Western music, which prevents them from effectively teaching and performing this music authentically. The purpose of this dissertation is to equip choral directors with the necessary tools for bridging the gap between desiring to perform and actually performing multicultural octavos.

Six authors have provided authenticity checklists that are designed to help music educators evaluate and perform multicultural music. This research synthesizes those lists to …

Johann Strauss Ii's Die Fledermaus: Historical Background And Conductor's Guide, Jennifer Bruton

Dissertations

Students pursuing graduate degrees in conducting often have aspirations of being high school or college choir or band directors. Others want to lead orchestra programs in educational or professional settings. Sadly, many colleges and universities do not have systems in place that provide avenues for those choosing this career path. The curriculum should go beyond teaching the rudiments of baton technique. Students should receive instruction and practical experience, applying what they have learned. Lab bands and choirs are a helpful tool, but I believe opera programs provide an ideal and essential venue where conductors can not only improve and hone …

An Analysis Of Western Art Music Arrangements For Steel Pan Chamber Ensemble, Ian Meiman

Dissertations

This dissertation is an analysis of western art music arrangements for steel pan chamber ensembles. Specifically, this dissertation will analyze how certain arrangers have adapted western art music for steel pan chamber ensemble while discussing the possible methods the arranger used to create this adaptation. The analysis will observe the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and other significant alterations made in the steel pan chamber arrangement, and discuss any changes made, whether due to the adaptation of the instruments or otherwise, from the original works. The dissertation will also include a brief historical discussion on western art music’s influence of early steel …

Unveiling Identities: A Cultural Study Of The Portrayal Of Leading Women In Zhang Yimou Films, Patrick Mcguire

Dissertations

It is imperative to recognize the ongoing collaborations of filmmakers from different countries. Film director Zhang Yimou, cited in this work, has reached out beyond his Chinese borders in recruiting both cast and crew on many of his latest features. But the field of film studies appears to have limited their investigations of such cross-cultural analyses, in particular the subjective analysis of the female lead character in film. Subjective and culturally wired as such, researchers bring forth conscious observations from their socialized unconscious minds.

This textual analysis begins with a comparison of two Chinese films, particularly observing their similar female …

Solo Trombone With Electronic Accompaniment: An Analysis And Performance Guide For Three Recent Compositions, Joshua Mize

Dissertations

This dissertation examines three solo trombone works, each with a different electronic accompaniment–fixed media, live electronics with a computer, and live electronics with a loop station. A historical and cultural background establishes a context for each accompaniment type, followed by a brief introduction of the selected composition and its composer. Then, an analysis of the piece explores how the electronic accompaniment functions within the context of the solo. Finally, a performance guide addresses rehearsal techniques and important aspects of performing with the different electronic accompaniments. The final product is a pedagogical resource representing current literature for the trombone and electronics …

The Changing News Paradigm Of South Mississippi’S Sun Herald As Seen Through The Eyes Of Its Journalists: 1968-2018, Judy Day Isbell

Dissertations

From the earliest days of the American democracy, one of the key tenets of the new government was rule by an informed electorate. This notion of rule of the people, by the people, for the people was established in the first article of the United States Constitution when the houses of Congress were carefully designed, and the idea of a knowledgeable constituency was emphasized in the first amendment when among such basic freedoms as speech, religion and assembly was freedom of the press.

Newspapers in America have changed significantly since the writing of that constitution, but most particularly in the …

Analysis Of Nation-Building During Insurgency In U.S. Defense Policy Strategy, Joseph Valles

MSU Graduate Theses

U.S. defense policy has often relied on a strategy of nation-building to reform the local government and address the root causes of the instability in a given nation or region. This strategy has, in recent years, been criticized for being ineffective and a wasteful drain on American resources. This paper will determine if such criticism is valid by analyzing the performance of four security environments where such a strategy was used: Vietnam, El Salvador, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The paper will determine if such a strategy was effective in these conflicts by analyzing the progress of reforms and, when possible, the …

In Defense Of Security, Liberty And Property: The English Origins Of An Individual Right To Bear Arms, Allan I. Morris

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Does the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provide for an individual or collective right to bear arms? My thesis addresses this question by examining the development of seventeenth and eighteenth-century English common law and political and legal philosophy to support an individual right to bear arms and demonstrates how the founding fathers were greatly influenced by this English precedent.

As the records of the Boston Massacre trials demonstrate, the English common law and natural rights theory firmly established a fundamental right of self-preservation, which under the exigencies of the situation might be exercised through the use of firearms. During …

Women And Fiber: The Role Of Craft Traditions In The Transmission Of Cultural History., Brooks Vessels

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the role of fiber and historic craft processes in the documentation and transmission of women’s history. It has inspired an original body of artwork that employs such traditional techniques as weaving, quilting, sewing, and dyeing in addition to the contemporary processes of performance art, installation, and video documentation as a means of connecting with a matrilineal line. The research conducted provides examples of women who have used fiber processes as a way to process grief, enact religious rituals, and perform domestic tasks, as well as contemporary artists and art historians who have considered the role of fiber …

An Uncertain Line: Making Art About Photographs Of American War And Violence., Cassidy Meurer

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Photography’s power in capturing a moment in history is indisputable, but inevitably flawed. Assumptions of objectivity and truth are made that do not count for the bias of the photographer, or the bias of the viewer. These assumptions do not explain the warped effect of freezing life at a fraction of a second. Information is left outside the frame; stories are fragmented in their retelling. Certain historical photographs have become iconic over time. My interest lies in images of American battle, violence, and trauma; those that have political and propagandic weight. Coded, controversial, and inherently emotional, these photographs have become …

The Player Character's Journey: The Hero's Journey In Moldvay's Dungeons & Dragons, Robert Leopold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the archetypes, motifs, and stages of the Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey as they are found in the Moldvay revision of the rules to Basic Dungeons & Dragons, that emerge from playing the game using the seven adventure modules printed for these rules. Using narratological concepts, the definition of what makes narrative is expanded to include the narrative that emerges by playing story-based roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons. These narratives, based on the seven adventure modules, are the analyzed using Campbell's monomyth as an interpretive tool, showing that these types of narratives are up to …

Splinters From The Bamboo Ceiling: Understanding The Experiences Of Asian American Men In Higher Education Leadership, Jerald Adamos

Doctoral Dissertations

Asian Americans continue to confront perceptions connected to the perpetual foreigner and model minority concepts which challenges their acceptance as leaders in mainstream American culture. Asian men have recently been able to attain higher levels of education that opens doors to higher level positions and organizations yet still face barriers to career advancement opportunities. In consideration of the American higher education system, Whites continue to exceed their proportional representation in areas of the institution while Asian Americans do not. The purpose of this study is to understand how the intersection of racial and gender identity has influenced leadership through the …

Guides And Guidance: Subverting Tourist Narratives In Trans-Indigenous Time And Space, Shanae Aurora Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation is a study of the ways in which Indigenous writers and theorists suggest we decolonize the sites of knowledge production through our pedagogical and methodological practices. Ultimately, my dissertation is about the power of story and finding the necessary strategies to change the narratives that do harm in our daily lives. I focus on the sites of knowledge production because these are the institutions and practices with which I am the most familiar. The purpose of this work is beyond metaphorical as I strive to forefront the narratives that change the ways in which settler-Indigenous relationships are formed …

Acadecomic: How Visual Rhetoric And Effective Teaching Combine To Create Multiple Literacies, Michaela Vanoeveren

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This article, intended for educators, encourages the use of comics in the classroom alongside traditional alphabetical texts. It uses modern comic theory, as well as various works on visual rhetoric, to prove the benefits of comics, as well as how they can be implemented. Teachers can use this as a guide for their own classrooms to inspire classroom libraries, curricular choices, and student recommendations.