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A Summoned Life: Vocation In The Analects, Teng-Kuan Ng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article explores the concept of vocation in the Analects. While most treatmentsof vocation focus on the Christian tradition, and while Confucian thought is oftenviewed as categorically nontheistic, Robert Merrihew Adams’s Finite and InfiniteGoods (1999) presents an illuminating comparative framework for tracing outKongzi’s religious ethical vision of how persons think, act, and feel when graspedby a sense of divine calling. I argue that in the Analects a vocation is compositelyconceived as: (1) a special divine imperative to an individual or a community (2) tolove particular goods within one’s actual circumstances (3) with nonconsequentialist,noncompetitive, and potentially counter-cultural commitment (4) such that …

This Is How To Shoot A Gun., Rene Camarillo

Masters Theses

The textile work I have developed for my thesis is a curated exposing of the social interactions and violent phenomena of underprivileged realities. It investigates the theatrics of community violence, mechanisms of survival both through labor and bullets. Elements of my work are inspired by setting a scene through minimalistic installation and allowing you, the audience member, to become a spectator. With an emphasis on the injured form, the work incorporates identity-driven artifacts of my neighborhood back home. My garments in this graduate collection which are hand-patterned and self-sewn aim to represent victims, perpetrators and spectators of violence.

Subtle moments …

Volume Cxliv, Number 24, May 30, 2025, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of The Congruence Between Environmental Concerns And Eco-Spirituality Programming At Retreat Centers As Experienced By Participants, Jean Golicz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple-embedded case study was to explore the role of environmental awareness and concerns in influencing engagement in retreat practices that were organized around the theme of eco-spirituality and the impact on organizational leadership and program development at two retreat centers in the northeastern region of the United States. Roman Catholic retreat centers were the focus of the study as they endeavored to fulfill leadership directives reflected in the papal encyclical Laudato si’. The centers examined offered immersion in nature, reflection on the interdependence of organic systems, and the development of action plans to address environmental issues. …

Crafting Myths In Modern Times: Essentialising Duty, Obligation And Exchange In Religious Tourism, Anuja Jose, Vinita Chandra, Uday Pratap Singh

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper aims to study the factors that contribute to the success of present-day myths in religious tourism. It also seeks to investigate the factors that compel modern pilgrims to accept a certain myth and the role played by stakeholders of religious tourism in the creation of a myth. In order to explore these research questions, Kauḍī Mātā temple in Varanasi, a popular religious tourist spot for Southern Indians, was chosen for Case Study. Qualitative data have been generated through in-depth interviewing. Simultaneously, several myths of goddess Kauḍī Mātā were recovered from textual and digital sources in addition to the …

Worship Through Miniature Gesture: The Tell Asmar Hoard As Ritual Role Models, Libby Bush

Art History Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues for a new approach to hand gesture in the Early Dynastic period, and more broadly, the Ancient Near East. I use the Tell Asmar hoard, a group of twelve miniature sculptures that were found buried in a temple in ancient Eshnunna in the Diyala region of Iraq, as a case study. The sculptures are dated to the Early Dynastic (2900-2334 BCE) and belong to the larger corpus of sculptures of Mesopotamia. I argue that the Tell Asmar hoard act as role models and mediators for the temple worshiper. My argument is built upon miniaturization theory, as the …

Concerned Philosophers For Peace, Vol. 33 (2025), Concerned Philosophers For Peace

Concerned Philosophers for Peace

In addition to organizational information, honors, and awards, this issue contains the following articles:

• "The Nature, Ethics, and Politics of Uncivil Obedience," by Jennifer Kling
• "Hegemonic Gamblers Playing with Nuclear Fire," by Edward Demenchonok
• "The Truth Will Set Us Free: A Reflection and Response," by Angela Walter
• "On ‘The Post War Dream’: 80 Years Since the Nightmare," by Court Lewis

‘Amazigh Literary Space’: Intersection And Hybridity Across Languages And Media, Daniela Merolla

Journal of Amazigh Studies

My contribution will focus on multilingualism and multimedia in the ‘Amazigh literary and cinematographic space’ (Merolla De l’art, “Amazigh/Berber Literature”). Examining this notion coined in the 1990’s (Merolla “Gender and Community”) allows us to reflect on ongoing debates regarding North African literatures in postcolonial contexts. It also helps to see that Amazigh/Berber literature solely defined as Amazigh-language production tends to isolate works and performances that engage with multiple languages and literary traditions, cultural intersections, and hybridization in North Africa and its diasporas. The discussion is contextualized within the historical development of what is sometimes referred to as the “North …

The Hagiography Of Trinity Sparkle, Emma Marie Schwartz

Theses - ALL

Through painting and soft sculpture, I create a theoretical realm intertwined with my lived reality pushing against norms perpetuated by religious and secular heteronormativity. I mobilize my desire and dualistic experiences to initiate and recognize the uneasy and necessary conversations surrounding the ways we search for and live out our sexualities and identities in relationships and communities. Themes of acceptance stem from my personal life and are applied in the fictional realm through figuration, cropped imagery, and highly saturated colors in my paintings and soft sculptures. I rewrite art historical Biblical imagery and interweave them with my personal experiences, in …

A Raced Theology Of The Human Person: An Expanded Theological Anthropology, Cary W. Dabney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on race as a critical, yet largely unaddressed, topic in Catholic theological anthropology. In Catholic colleges and universities that are recognized as members of the Cardinal Newman Society, theological concerns about race are deemed irrelevant for theological education in the faith and are altogether absent from the theology of the human person. As a result, this collection of institutions treats race as a specialty within pastoral theology, one that is significant to groups, but not a part of the fundamental theology of the human person. This ‘un-raced’ theological anthropology results in the institution’s inability to respond effectively …

God Who Crafts: An Appalachian Theology Of Making And Community, Gwendolen Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Appalachia has been the subject of much speculation and often disparagement since it first became distinct as a part of the United States in approximately the 1860s, but it is more than just its reputation. This dissertation discusses the history and modern myth of Appalachia, and then it considers Appalachia on its own terms through what the people who live there have said about it and about their own lives.

This work focuses on the continued prominence of craft and its place in the spiritual lives of mountain people as it examines interviews that I conducted with mountain crafters. I …

Controlling Women’S Sexuality: The Rise Of Emotional Abuse Among Indian Husbands, Puranjay K. Vedi

Journal of International Women's Studies

In ancient Hindu literature, marriage is regarded as the most sacred institution while adultery—known as vyabhichāra (व्यभिचार) in Hindi—is considered one of the gravest sins. Ancient practices still have impact in 21st-century India, where internal household sanctions meant to ensure Indian wives’ chastity continue to be seen as sacred. This study describes six different types of Husband’s Controlling Behavior (HCB) that are used to preserve wives’ chastity. HCB can either take the form of emotional violence (accusing/suspecting a wife of being unfaithful) or physical violence (hitting or beating a wife out of a suspicion she is being unfaithful). This study …

Gender Equity As Partnership In The Religious Training Of Christian Leaders In Africa, Marilyn Naidoo

Journal of International Women's Studies

Religion has shaped society’s patriarchal attitudes and related sociocultural values and norms. Religious and theological institutions should be held accountable for tackling gender injustice and discrimination as trained religious leaders are key players in fostering social change. Scholar-activist Mercy Oduyoye, known as the mother of African women’s theology, advocates for gender transformation that engages both men and women in the struggle. Through a literary analysis, this article expands on the idea of shared responsibility and the need to engage men as allies in gender transformation. It integrates a range of theoretical perspectives, including feminist theology and gender studies theory, providing …

The Influence Of Christianity And Islam On Educational Attainment In Africa: Using Literacy Rates As An Indicator, Natalia A. Castaner

Journal of African Policy Studies

This is a quantitative research study using current data from the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Member States through its Institute for Statistics (UIS) annual data collection for the 57 countries in Africa. This study shows that a religious factor, i.e., Christianity and Islam, has a significant effect on the levels of educational attainment within each specific country in Africa. This study illustrates the need to consider the impact religion has on educational attainment in Africa.

Shepherds Of Loss: Religion And Grief In The Shenandoah Valley, Ewan Benjamin

Honors Projects

This study explores the relationship between faith leaders and religious communities with the human experience of grief, death, and loss. Inspired by the researcher's own experience, this paper argues that the United States has a generally uncomfortable relationship with death and hypothesizes that religious traditions can serve to assist with grief in a positive way. After interviewing six religious leaders in the Shenandoah Valley, two themes arose: the mystery of death and the concept of "making space" for the grieving, dying, and dead. In the paper's conclusion, the faith leaders make known their own concerns with death in the United …

Guide To The Linfield University Outdoor Plaques Collection, Linfield Archives

Linfield Archives Finding Aids

This finding aid represents a collection of outdoor plaques found throughout the Linfield University campus in McMinnville. It includes information about stone/bench engravings, plaques, and other memorials, with new material added since the initial inventory created in 2020. There had been no previous inventory of these plaques.

The Beautiful Game On A Muslim Pitch: How Football And Religion Are Shaping Identity And Society, Aaron W. Hughes, Leif Stenberg

Exploring Muslim Contexts

Examines how football and religion act together to shape both identity and society in Muslim contexts.

This book showcases how football and religion are becoming increasingly interlinked in Muslim contexts in order to interact with and influence both identity and society. The first part of the volume is devoted to issues of identity, showing how football aids in its construction, maintenance and subversion. The second part reveals the deep-rooted connections between football and political and religious establishments by demonstrating how these organisations frequently use the game to disseminate or propagate their larger messages.

Altogether, the contributors reveal how football has …

Maria Sabina And The Wise Ones, Robin Bruce

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Maria Sabina was born Maria Sabina Magdalena Garcia in 1894, in the principality of Huautla, located in Oaxaca, Mexico. She’s known as a healer and poet, though she would most likely refer to herself as a woman doctor, whose language becomes beautiful with the help of the psylocibin mushroom, which she affectionately refers to as little saints or holy children. In 1953, American banker, R. Gordon Wasson and his wife, pediatrician Valentina Pavlovna, were the first non-Indigenous people to witness one of Sabina’s ceremonies. Novice ethnomycologists and anthropologists, the couple traveled to Southern Mexico to witness a ceremony in which …

Horror Films And Why We Enjoy The Genre, Jessica Thomason

Theses

This project focuses on the research of horror films and why certain individuals enjoy the genre despite having taboo subjects. The primary focus is to find the answer to the research question “why do some individuals enjoy horror?”. The aim of this research was to identify a connection between why individuals enjoy horror through the content. The research then informed the creative process behind the painting series that accompanies this project.

Unveiling: The Exploration Of The Self And Ego Dissolution, Joseph Gonzales

Theses

This project explores self and ego dissolution through painting, engaging with Buddhist notions of no-self (Anatta), Christian Mystical union, and Jungian psychology to challenge the idea of a fixed identity. Through portraiture and figurative representation, the work visually explores impermanence and the tension between the individual and the collective consciousness, utilizing transparency, multiplicity, and symbolism. This research is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach, synthesizing visual art, philosophy, and psychology. By integrating Eastern and Western philosophies, this work expands the discourse on identity in contemporary art, contributing to broader conversations on the self and the ego within wisdom traditions and psychology. …

Presence Through Absence: The Ark Of The Covenant And The Aniconic Image Of God In Early Israelite Religious Art, Natalie Rivas

Theses

This thesis investigates the Ark of the Covenant as a paradoxical visual and theological artifact within early Israelite religious art. While the Israelite tradition has long been characterized as aniconic (eschewing anthropomorphic representations of the divine) the Ark occupied a central role in ritual, worship, and religious identity. Prior scholarship has focused either on the Ark’s narrative function in biblical texts or its formal attributes as a cultic object. However, limited attention has been given to how the Ark embodies divine presence through the visual strategy of absence. This study argues that the Ark does not merely avoid figural representation …

I Am (Me)Dicine: An Analysis On The Influence Of Humanities Courses Within The Construction Of Internal And External Identities Within Pre-Med Students At Uno, Alix Barnes

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The purpose of this project is to investigate how arts and humanities coursework may enhance the development of internal and external identities for premedical students beyond their traditional scientific coursework. A literature review shows positive findings on identity development and the influence of arts and humanities coursework on medical education. This investigation will take place through a mixed-method survey distributed to UNO premedical students and will explore themes of self-reflection, personal and professional growth, and understanding of external perspectives. An optional question prompts respondents to reflect further on their work within arts and humanities courses and their impact on these …

Trembling At The Threshold: Zurbarán's Saints And The Crisis Of Masculine Virtue, Andrew T. Epsilantis

Theses

No abstract provided.

A Critical Conversation On Indigeneity, Colonialism, And Feminism In Natsuo Kirino's The Goddess Chronicle, Tegan Rosso

English (MA) Theses

Natsuo Kirino’s novel The Goddess Chronicle has received little attention in regard to Western scholarship. However, Kirino’s other works in her literary canon are well renowned for their gritty and uncensored feminist commentary on contemporary Japanese society. This thesis aims to bring forth the discussion of not only feminism, as is so often the focus of Kirino’s works, but Indigeneity and Japanese imperialism within The Goddess Chronicle as well. In order to do so, this thesis analyzes Kirino’s novel in an effort to highlight the ways in which the narrative is both forward-thinking in its feminist critiques of modern and …

Fighting For The Right Of The People: The Case Of The Catholic Church In Korea During The Democratization Movement, Martin E. Perez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In July of 1987, after almost a decade of military rule, President Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea agreed to resign as acting president, thus allowing the first democratic elections to take place in the country for the first time in 27 years. The citizens of South Korea rejoiced at hearing the news that democracy has finally come to the country and they no longer would have to live in fear from an authoritarian government. People were now free to express their frustrations, concerns, and not having to worry about being detained by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency or the anti-communist …

Making Peace Among The People: The Development Of Brigham Young's Political Thought And Activity, 1838-1846, Garrett R. Elkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Brigham Young assumed the role as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1838, as the Church began to face extreme persecutions by the state of Missouri. Although he was a mostly apolitical individual preceding his new role, over the next eight years Young would hold political office and help the Church navigate challenging relationships with local, state, and federal governments. By the time he led the Latter-day Saints to the Great Basin and became president of the Church in 1847, Young had gained significant experience over several years …

Women’S Evolving Roles: Gender, Authority, And The History Of Latter-Day Saint Patriarchy, Zachary Brady

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This project aims to further understand contemporary women’s issues within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by answering three questions. 1) What social and doctrinal factors have influenced the development of patriarchal structures within the LDS Church, and how have these factors evolved? 2) What are the current leadership and decision-making roles available to LDS women, and how does church membership feel about them? 3) What ideas exist for progress in gender equality and women’s leadership? This discussion provides relevant historical context, outlines current issues regarding LDS women’s authority challenges and theological interpretations, and numerous proposed solutions from …

Ua12/2/2 Talisman: Connection, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Spring 2025 Talisman:

• Alali, Cecilia & Ragan Harrington. Connection
• Hardesty, Emma. On a Roll – Dungeons & Dragons
• Muscutt, Carson. Grinding Through Life – Molotov Skateshop
• Cox, Kate. Stopwatch
• Harrington, Ragan. 1 Campus, 7 Strangers – Logan Hesse, Nicholas Basile, Spencer Winterbottom, Alliyah Jones, Alex Gehring, Annie McClurg, Rowan Finley
• Vickers, Abigail. Forged in Combat – Mixed Martial Arts
• Wood-Morris, Oli. Survivors to Neighbors – Bosnian Refugees
• Jordan, Shylin. Severed Roots
• Bivens, Emily. Behind the Screen – Social Media
• Dean, Clarissa. Shear Talent – Shake Rag Barbershop
• Sutton, Avery. For the Love of the Old – Thrift Shopping
• Phelps, Maggie. …

"Talaqqi" In The Age Of Bureaucracy; Symbiosis Of Pedagogical Cultures In West Javanese "Pesantren", Julian Millie

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

Since Indonesian independence, the Republic’s Ministry of Religion has steadily become more deeply involved in the overseeing and monitoring of the country’s internally diverse system of Islamic education. This involvement has changed the pedagogical texture of Islamic education. The bureaucratized education system of the modern nation state aims to achieve policy goals such as quality at scale, equality of access, and standardization of curricula and teacher qualifications. In contrast, many Islamic institutions, and especially the pesantren (Islamic boarding school), structure their pedagogy around spiritual and genealogical hierarchies, and maintain teaching methods that affirm those hierarchies. This research asks about the …

Cuju: The Ancient Chinese Game That Held An Empire Together, Enzo H. Smith

Young Historians Conference

This paper explores how cuju, an ancient sport known as the predecessor of modern football, evolved from the Han to Song dynasties (206 BCE–1368 CE) as a unifying force in imperial China. Calling upon primary sources such as ancient cuju manuals and various art pieces suggests this sport's importance went beyond a leisurely practice. Using academic journals about Chinese history and the development of cuju from different academic fields and, most notably, the FIFA museum’s online exhibit of cuju, the reason cuju had such a strong place of value in Chinese society was apparent. Beginning as a combat exercise in …