Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Black Liberation Theology In The Civil Rights Movement: Contextualizing The Works Of James H. Cone, Ella Cox

Honors Theses

In recent years, the need for racial reconciliation within the American Church has become increasingly apparent. In order to move toward justice and promote diversity, however, White Americans must first develop a greater understanding of the Black struggle for equality and equity, which has been largely shaped by liberation theology. James H. Cone, known as the Founder of Black Liberation Theology, has authored many books on this topic, but his works lack the understanding and attention they merit in predominantly White circles. This thesis seeks to shed light on the importance of liberation theology to the Black American experience by …

Rex And Root: An Original Documentary, Chase Hartsell

Honors Theses

Two iconic voices. Four decades on the air. Hundreds of games. One unforgettable friendship.

"Rex and Root" details the broadcasting partnership of the Ouachita Football Network's Rex Nelson and Dr. Jeff Root: best friends who grew up together on the same street in the small college town of Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

This film was completed as part of a thesis project for the Carl Goodson Honors Program at Ouachita Baptist University.

Scholars Day 2024 Program Of Events, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2023 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

Under The Sun: Songs From Ecclesiastes, Emma Kay Smith

Honors Theses

Historically, artists in all spaces have gleaned inspiration from the text of the Bible in order to communicate meaningful stories. The book of Ecclesiastes is particularly rich in its images and themes, and it warrants profound creative contemplation. This project documents the process of crafting 1960s-style folk songs based on this often confounding and ever-beautiful text. This process included close, meditative listening to the works of great songwriters from the 1960s folk era such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and culminated in the live recording of four folk songs, compiled in the demo-EP Under the Sun: Songs from Ecclesiastes. …

Hot Springs' Hidden Heroes: Jim And Leander Tugerson, Chase Hartsell

Honors Colloquium

This is the poster for the honors colloquium, "Hot Spring' Hidden Heroes: Jim and Leander Tugerson," given by Chase Hartsell. The presentation took place on February 26, 2024, in the Walker Convention Center.

Preserving Your Family Treasures, Natalie Moore, Chloe Jamora, Emma Dennis, Makena Munger, Isaac Lawson

Scholars Day Conference

Students of the Museum Studies class in the Public History program Spring 2023 - Emma Dennis, Chloe Jamora, Isaac Lawson, Natalie Moore, and Makena Munger - researched proper care and preservation for common household materials and family treasures. Their research was presented on April 29th at a workshop they planned in conjunction with Dr. Lisa Speer, the professor of the course. On Scholars day they presented a preview of the workshop. This is that preview.

Scholars Day 2023 Program Of Events, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2023 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

Caddo Nation Chemistry: Art, Commerce, Pottery, And Tools, Joe Jeffers

Articles

The Caddo Nation grew out of the Mississippian culture, the mound builders found throughout what is now the American Southeast and into the Midwest. By 2000 BC, the Caddo or their progenitors had moved up the Mississippi River tributaries as moisture drew them westward. They stopped short of the Great Plains and remained in forested areas. They were primarily hunter-gatherers until 500 BC when Mesoamerican horticultural practices allowed them to establish permanent villages. They raised corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, watermelons, sunflowers, and tobacco. They gathered nuts, berries, roots, and seeds. They continued to fish and hunt deer, bear buffalo, and …

Of Spies And Assassins, Haddon Smead

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the possibility of a connection between the Shinobi of Japan and the Order of Assassins from the Middle East. There is evidence that these two secret societies of antiquity are related and that there might have been some level of interaction and/or connection between them. The aligning methodologies, the geopolitical circumstances, the transmission of culture, and the other organizations resembling these two groups establish a frightening level of similarity between them and support the existence of a historical connection. It is hoped that additional study will be undertaken with regards to this subject, and the author of …

Cemetery Preservation Workshop: Public History At Work, Emma Dennis, Dakota Furr, Natalie Moore, Makena Munger, Sarah Spakes, Hannah Webber

Scholars Day Conference

The Ouachita Public History Program conducted a grant funded workshop in cemetery preservation for the public as an exercise in public history.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2022, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2022 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

Memory And Memoirs: A Study Of Civil War Soldiers' Perspectives On The Battle Of Shiloh, Brianna Taylor

Honors Theses

The most acceptable answer in today's political climate is that the Civil War was fought over slavery. Even in the rural South where I grew up, academics cast a wary eye when it is suggested that the Civil War was fought for any other reason. Historical writing is often careful to mention that other causes of the war are still interrelated with slavery, thus adding nuance. Yet still, slavery was the central cause of the Civil War, as there would have not been a war without the presence of institutionalized slavery in America. What history may remember as the spirit …

Frederick Douglass And The Patriotic Imperative, Kaitlyn Stoddard

English Class Publications

In today's post-Civil Rights era, I believe that America has lost sight of what patriotism is and where it belongs. Patriotism, as it is understood today, has become mistakenly merged with nationalism. In the minds of the public and media, patriots are supposed to exhibit undying loyalty and dedication to their country. This sentiment is better aligned with nationalism, a concept that I would argue should ideally be distinct from patriotism. While the execution of the two concepts may ultimately seem similar from the outside, the foundation of each concept is different, leading to varied execution thereof. To regrasp true …

History Of The Pruet School Of Christian Studies/Department Of Religion At Ouachita Baptist University/Ouachita Baptist College (1886-2021), J. Daniel Hayes

Articles

This is a short history of the Religion Department/School of Christian Studies at Ouachita Baptist University. This document includes a historical overview, faculty publications, the theological and educational philosophy of the school, history of Bible-related CORE courses, curriculum, and lists of faculty/staff with some biographical information.

Alexander Hamilton: Underdog Or Overrated?, Caity Hatchett

Honors Theses

This thesis uses the conflicting information about Alexander Hamilton as seen in Ron Chernow's biography "Alexander Hamilton" and Jessie Serfilippi's essay "As Odious and Immoral a Thing" as a case study showing why the analysis and evaluation of historical claims is important for building the most complete historical picture.

Scholars Day Program Of Events 2021, Carl Goodson Honors Program

Scholars Day

This is the program of events for the 2021 Scholars Day Conference, where undergraduates across disciplines present their scholarly and creative works.

"Meeters In Secret": The History Of Freemasonry And Its Influence On Conspiracy Culture In The United States, Emily Mcgee

History Class Publications

George Washington. Theodore Roosevelt. John Wayne. Henry Ford. Booker T. Washington. Mark Twain. Lewis and Clark. Harry Houdini. Buzz Aldrin. The names, initially, seem to have no correlation. These men come from different centuries and economic backgrounds. They are presidents, authors, entertainers, inventors, and adventurers. They are important symbols of American culture, but their connection reaches deeper even than that. All of the men listed above, and countless others, were part of the Freemason Society. For some, this might be a shocking revelation, but, for others, this may not be surprising. Freemasons have permeated American politics and popular culture since …

Dream Visions As A Safe Space For Purgatorial Speculation, Tucker Douglass

History Class Publications

People have believed in something like purgatory for thousands of years. Their specific ideas reflect their cultural environments and their personal feelings about the human condition. By looking at the dream vision genre over the past 2,000 years we may get a better idea of the development of the doctrine of purgatory and, with it, how people have understood themselves in history.

African American Service In The United States Civil War: The Forgotten Ten Percent, Jacob Roberts

History Class Publications

Throughout the early years of the development of the United States, the outright discrimination and prejudice directed against African American men, women, and children unfortunately became widely accepted, specifically in the southern regions of the country. Even in today’s society, in the 21^st century, instances of racism and hatred towards people of color are still prevalent. Despite over 200 years of growth and progress, many individuals in the United States still hold true to the beliefs that were consistent with racists and bigots of the pre-Civil War era. African Americans continue to experience the same trials and judgment that …

Knights Of The Middle Ages, David Sikes

History Class Publications

As humans began to grow in numbers, they began to create civilizations for themselves in order to better survive, and as those civilizations grew, there came to be a divergence of roles for people to perform. The most universal of all these was the Warrior Elite, a class of people who were part of the lesser nobility and would function as officers and generals in times of conflict. For Japan it was the Samurai, for Iran it was the Persian Immortals, and for Europe in the 9^th to late 15^th century, there were the Knights. Let us look …

Meeters In Secret: The History Of Freemasonry And Its Influence On Conspiracy Culture In The United States, Emily Mcgee

Scholars Day Conference

The aim of this thesis is to explain why individuals believe in conspiracy theories and why they have become so popular, discuss three of the most widely spread American historical conspiracies, and analyze the phenomenons effect on the discipline of history.

Not Exceptions: Historic Views Of Women In Art And The Impact On Contemporary Women Artists, Abby Leal

Scholars Day Conference

The misconception that artists of centuries past were almost exclusively men is no accident. It is a direct result of institutional inequity that kept women artists, though they lacked neither the talent nor the initiative of their counterparts, in a less advantageous position. They were denied the same opportunities for education and employment as men, and many women artists, even those with successful careers, have been lost to history. With this essay, I hope to give women artists the credit they deserve for their diversity. Not all women experienced their position in the art world the same way. Some sought …

Spiders In A Window: How Dangerous Stories Lead To Dangerous Women, Mattie Mae Motl

Scholars Day Conference

Christian women have been marginalized, suppressed, and forgotten by Christian men for centuries. In many cases, these actions are polite when compared to the horrors which self-proclaimed Christ-followers have afflicted on women. Countless sexual abuse cases have been discovered within the walls of the Southern Baptist Church, and the headlines have not stopped printing. Articles from major news outlets such as the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News have revealed that Southern Baptist pastors, youth leaders, and deacons have assaulted hundreds of women over the past twenty years—and those numbers only include the women who are confident enough to bring …

Chivalry And The Knight, Kyle Burrow

History Class Publications

What does it mean to have honor? Cultures from across the world have asked this question for millennia, and most of them have come up with very violent answers. Probably the most recognizable form of honorable conduct that we see in history is the idea of chivalry. Born in the Middle Ages, this idea bloomed in a troubled time, when wars were a pretty common occurrence, and the upper class was starting to need to justify their existence-- or distract the population with another shiny crusade. This is where chivalry comes in. At first, it was little more than a …

What Can People Learn About The American Revolution Through "Assassin's Creed Iii"?, Katie Kitchell

History Class Publications

Video games have been a source of entertainment for people of all ages since the creation of the first video game, Pong, in 1958. Over time, video games have been improved upon to provide better graphics, better stories, better gameplay, and more fun for the family. Careers are now based on the creation of video games and their development, leading to the rise of companies such as Ubisoft, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Sony Computer Entertainment, and many others who base their entire company on the creation and selling of video games. Today, they have been integrated as an almost essential …

A God Of Unity And A People Of Division: Segregation In The Christian Churches Of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Zackary Kelley

History Class Publications

Arkadelphia, Arkansas is a small town that suffers from the great divide on Sunday morning. In this paper, I attempt to unravel why churches in town are segregated, what is being done about it, and what the church leaders have to say about the topic.

Public Verses Private Desegregation: A Comparison Of Integrating Into Arkansas' Public And Private Education Systems, Kaleb Mcadams

History Class Publications

It was May 17, 1954, when the Supreme Court issued its decision ruling the segregation of public schools to be unconstitutional. The case, Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, has maintained its significance in American history due to the way it brought about cultural change in the south. Before then, many southern states were dominated by white democratic state legislatures and had mandated Jim Crow laws which forced African American and white children to be enrolled at separate schools.

There was an uproar after the court ruling, which led many states to resist the push for integration. …

Inside Jobs: Historical Conspiracies And Their Effects On The Discipline Of History, Emily Mcgee

Honors Theses

Conspiracy theories have been a captivating facet of American culture for decades, grasping at the tail end of any horrifying or momentous event in order to make sense of mindboggling circumstances or loss of power. However, these theories seem to have grown intensely in popularity even in the last decade. Some credit this unprecedented growth to the internet and social media sites, and some even blame particular political leaders. But researchers, political scientists, psychologists, and historians have come to the same consensus: conspiracy theories have been gaining more traction among the public, to the point where these ideas cannot be …

Visual Arts Education For Grades 6-12 In Arkansas And Its Changes Since The Twentieth Century, Callie Anna Dunlap Oxner

Honors Theses

The field of education in the United States has changed greatly in many ways since its foundation. No longer do students meet in small log cabins with all ages together to learn the basics of a few practical subjects before returning to regular life. The federal government seeks to provide consistently updated standards for how children of all ages should be instructed and have frequently modernized the education system. From creating mandated subjects of learning, such as math, science, reading, writing, foreign languages, and art, raising teacher salaries, and instigating assessments to ensure complete subject literacy, America has shown in …

Spiders In A Window: How Dangerous Stories Lead To Dangerous Women, Mattie Mae Motl

Honors Theses

Christian women have been marginalized, suppressed, and forgotten by Christian men for centuries. In many cases, these actions are polite when compared to the horrors which self-proclaimed Christ-followers have afflicted on women. Countless sexual abuse cases have been discovered within the walls of the Southern Baptist Church, and the headlines have not stopped printing. Articles from major news outlets such as the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News have revealed that Southern Baptist pastors, youth leaders, and deacons have assaulted hundreds of women over the past twenty years—and those numbers only include the women who are confident enough to bring …