Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Examining The Effect Of Climate Change Denialism In American Christianity On International Climate Policy, Hope Mcbride

Selected Honors Theses

While 53% of Americans say anthropogenic climate change is happening, only 32% of American evangelical Protestants share that belief (Alper). Key reasons for this gap include the values and political affiliations held by religious Americans. Historically, there have been dissenting opinions on the role of Christianity in global warming, but ultimately data have demonstrated that the opinions of American Christians can influence major global political decisions, such as President Trump’s executive order pulling the United States out of the keystone Paris Agreement.

Aphantasia And Religion: Exploring The Impact Of Imageless Cognition On Spiritual Experience, Reagan J. Pletcher

Selected Honors Theses

This study examines the intersection of aphantasia – the inability to consciously visualize mental images – and religious experience, here Christianity. Taking a phenomenological approach, qualitative interviews were conducted with three self-described aphantasic Christians to examine how they conceptualize, practice, and experience their faith. Thematic analysis revealed that participants employ abstract thinking, propositional thinking, and moral reasoning rather than visual imagery when engaging with religious texts, prayer, and worship. They valued intellectual and moral aspects of Christianity more than imaginative visualization, demonstrating that religion is not necessarily dependent on mental imagery to participate spiritually. While participants did refer to challenges …

2025- The Twenty-Ninth Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the 29th Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 16-18, 2025. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Ivy Leaves, Volume 100, Anderson University - South Carolina

Ivy Leaves

The 2025 edition of the Anderson University journal of art and literature, Ivy Leaves.

The names of the known editors for this issue of Ivy Leaves were Jaylee Koon, Jenna Martin, Rachel Riddle, Milena Ulrich, Emma Brightman, Corinne Lowe, Torie Johnson, Anna Leigh Avant, Darcy Hseih, Kaylie Sheriff, Claudia Sarmiento, LIly Gregory, Ethan Wright, Elise Frauenholtz, KJ Lian, Ellie Gramm, Iley Gramm, Kenzi Miller, Ellie Ruperto, Miriam Cabrera-Santana, Ashlee Keller, Mateo De Los Cobos, Jacob Enzor, Claire Nunes, Abby McDonald, Heidi Dillow, Derek Updegraff and Tim Speaker.

Art And Craft: The Interconnectedness Of Artisans And Fine Arts In Post-Colonial Morocco, Ursula Junker

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship and overlap between fine arts and traditional crafts in Morocco. The central questions of this study are: how do museums represent, or fail to represent, Moroccan art? What role have traditional crafts, in particular textiles, played in the creation of a modern Moroccan artistic identity, and where do craftspeople see themselves in the canon of Moroccan art? How has colonialism shaped craft, art, and the relationship between them? How do tradition and modernity interact and coexist in art spaces? The study was conducted in Marrakech, Tangiers, and Fes. It consists …

We Are The Cemetery Of Talents: Amazigh Reality In The Anti Atlas, Morgan Lee

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

This paper seeks to explore a dynamic in which the Amazigh people of the Anti-Atlas Mountains are forced to decide between stability and success at the expense of their cultural identity. The Imazighen are deeply prideful of their culture and history. But in Morocco, being Amazigh often comes with burdens that disproportionately encumber this culture when compared to general Moroccan society. I will discuss literature on linguistic dynamics with the Tamazight language, literature regarding Amazigh art, and Pan-Africanist literature in order to gain a well-rounded insight into the Amazigh situation. I will then synthesize this information, along with some of …

The Familiar Stranger An Ethnographic Account Of Khamlia Berhane, Lidya, Lidya Berhane

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

This ISP is an autoethnographic exploration of Khamlia, a small rural village settled in southeastern Morocco at the edge of the Sahara Desert. Conducted over two weeks, this study engages with themes of indigeneity and identity, Gnawa music and culture, and the complex dynamics of tourism, particularly heritage tourism, and its effects on a town like Khamlia. Particular attention is given to how Gnawa music is performed and utilized as a tool of cultural heritage. The autoethnography also delves into gender roles, family dynamics, and the environmental consequences of tourism on both Khamlia and the surrounding Sahara. Additionally, it reflects …

From Hope To Frustration: The Impacts Of The Withdrawal Of Usaid On Education And Development In Morocco, Kathryn Koss

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

Following a series of executive orders administered by the Trump administration in January 2025, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID abruptly withdrew from Morocco, leaving an impact on education and development. Using qualitative methods, including six semi-structured interviews with USAID personnel, partners, and local NGOs, the study captures the personal, financial, and operational effects of this sudden cessation. The paper highlights how USAID's localized, inclusive approach had catalyzed significant educational initiatives and collaborative development models, many of which were disrupted or completely dismantled. Key findings reveal that the termination of USAID activities not only jeopardized active programming—such as …

Spatial Narratives: Women’S Roles, Agency, And The Evolving Concept Of Womanhood In Contemporary Morocco, Jazmine Iriqui Sanchez

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

This study explores how young Moroccan women experience, interpret, and reshape spatial environments in contemporary Morocco, focusing on the capital of Rabat. Using a qualitative methodology that includes semi-structured interviews, anonymous surveys, participant observation, and photographic field notes, I examine how public and private spaces reflect and reinforce gendered expectations. Findings reveal that while women have increased visibility and public life, their presence is often conditional, structured by norms. Findings reveal that while women have increased visibility in public areas, their presence is often conditional, structured by norms that dictate how they should move, communicate, and appear. Across spaces like …

Strategies Of Animal Rescue Organizations In Agadir, Morocco: Addressing Cultural, Biological, And Government Challenges, Jacey Lynn Ramos

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

Animal rescue organizations in Agadir, Morocco, play a critical role in confronting the intersecting challenges of stray animal overpopulation, zoonotic disease risks, and insufficient government support. This research examines how these organizations respond to cultural perspectives, public health concerns, and state-endorsed culling policies through a combination of field observation, social media analysis, and interviews. Focusing on two major NGOs (Non- Government Organizations) including Sunshine Animal Refuge Agadir (SARA) and Morocco Animal Aid (MAA), the study compares their outreach strategies, operational transparency, and organizational effectiveness. Findings reveal that while SARA offers a structured, humane model centered on TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) and community …

Authoritarian Practice, Liberal Rhetoric: Journalism, Surveillance, And The Paradoxical Architecture Of Silence In Morocco, Grace Sullivan

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

This research study explores the perceptions of Moroccan journalists on issues related to press freedom, human rights, and freedom of expression, and how these topics are repressed in Morocco’s political, social, and economic context. The goal of this paper is to provide a contextual analysis of the current state of press freedom in Morocco through a historical and contemporary lens by addressing the distinct institutional, social, political, and cultural spheres of society. This study uses a qualitative approach using the methodology of individual interviews with Moroccan journalists, activists, and researchers. The findings of this study illustrate a direct alignment between …

The Healing Power And Commodification Of Gnawa Music And Black Identity In Southern Morocco, Isabel Rodriguez

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

This project explores the contemporary role of Gnawa music in Morocco through an ethnographic study in the village of Khamlia in the Southeast region of Morocco. Gnawa people are known for their spiritual traditions, specifically their musical rituals. The Gnawa have used music as a tool for healing, remembrance, and expression. This research investigates how Gnawa music is practiced today and how it functions as a form of commodification and racialized tourism. The study draws from both field observations and heavy literature analysis in various fields including research in colonial trauma, Black identity in Morocco, and clinical applications of music …

Instrumentalizing Aid: U.S. Foreign Policy, Civil Society, And Democracy Prevention In Morocco, Madelyn Halperin

Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

This paper examines the implications of the United States’ withdrawal of USAID development funding from Morocco, analyzing how this decision reflects broader U.S. foreign policy priorities and impacts the viability of Moroccan civil society organizations. Despite official rhetoric centered on democracy promotion and human rights, U.S. policy in Morocco has consistently privileged strategic and regional interests—particularly military cooperation and counterterrorism—over long-term democratic development. Using interviews with Moroccan NGO staff, along with analysis of USAID history, policy documents, and secondary scholarship, this study demonstrates how the loss of USAID funding may disrupt civil society networks, undermine sustainable development programs, and narrow …

Holy Grounds And Coffee Grounds: Tourism, Authenticity, And The Adaptive Reuse Of Sufi Shrines In Tunisia, Leanna Baker

Tunisia and Italy: Politics and Religious Integration in the Mediterranean

This study explores the transformation of Sufi shrines in Tunisia into café spaces that cater to tourists while maintaining traces of religious significance. Through historical research, site visits, and interviews, I examine how these hybrid spaces navigate the tension between sacredness and commercialization. Using theories of authenticity and religious tourism, I analyze how Islamic aesthetics are repurposed to attract visitors, often without their awareness of the shrine’s spiritual role. An additional case study of a shrine now functioning as a ceramics studio offers an alternative model of adaptive reuse rooted in cultural sustainability. Rather than viewing commercialization as simple erasure, …

Setting The Scene: Young Tunisian Women, Hip-Hop Liberation Theologies, And The Issue Of Identities, Brandon Hicks

Tunisia and Italy: Politics and Religious Integration in the Mediterranean

This paper explores how hip hop culture functions as a liberating theological and political force for young Tunisian women navigating questions of identity, faith, and belonging. Situated at the intersection of post-revolutionary Tunisia, gender politics, and global hip hop culture, this study argues that hip hop offers a critical space where young women resist traditional religious structures and patriarchal norms while forging new modes of spiritual and political expression. Drawing on original interviews, survey data, and theological frameworks such as liberation theology, Marxist critique, and process thought, the paper presents hip hop as both an aesthetic and ethical practice that …

Preserving First Amendment Values: Social Media And The Harmful Content Test, Liam Watts

Undergraduate Honors Theses

We live in a world in which the internet is unavoidable. It is used for our everyday tasks (such as sending business emails) and is even used to communicate with other individuals around the world (through messaging services, for example). Another unavoidable aspect of the internet is social media; it is used for communication, news gathering, and engaging in discussion, inter alia. Sometimes, the way individuals use social media is quite aversive. Thus, social media companies have rightfully tried to govern their platforms in a way that attempts to reduce the harm that comes from aversive content. However, social media …

An Exploration Of The Differences Between Male And Female High School Athletes Becoming College Athletes, And The Reasons For Their Successes And Failures; Combining Sociological And Philosophical Perspectives., Lilli Horn

Gender Studies Student Scholarship

College sport is reaching a new high, however the gender disparities remain consistent throughout all aspects of elite athletics. From funding to media representation, and recruiting opportunities, women remain at an extreme disadvantage compared to their male counterparts. Despite a recent surge in the attention to women’s athletics, the main issues behind the gaps are still not being addressed or changed. Some reasons for gaps in attainment can be obvious, however other reasons may be deep rooted in social stereotypes as well as structurally. In a society where the patriarchy is seemingly indestructible, the fight for equality is ongoing.

This …

Painting Stories And Filming Change, Coralynn V. Davis

Faculty Contributions to Books

Mithila Art has helped illuminate various aspects of the relationship between gendered Maithil social roles and Maithil women’s narratives in connection with a feminist participatory action research project conducted primarily in 2016-2017 in and around the northern Bihari town of Madhubani. While participatory action research philosophically and methodologically attends to process as much as product, Mithila Art played a role in the process and product of making a documentary film and in our capacity to understand and communicate with varied audiences about shifting Maithil gender norms. The research and filmic project provided insight into the complex relationship among the stories …

Kate 2025: Trans*Cendence, Marlo Young, Sage Reliford, Julia Tenbusch, Zahara Rahi, Karina Streeter, Katie Deeter, Kyle Miller, Ellyse Gallagher, Ava Borromeo, Morgan Smedley, Charlie Ryan, Julia Zetlmeisl, Evie Reed, Ahjay Cody, Kit Mccall-Crum

Kate

Each year, kate seeks to:

• explore ideas about normative gender, sex, and sexuality
• work against oppression and hierarchies of power in any and all forms
• serve as a voice for race and gender equity as well as queer positivity
• encourage the silent to speak and feel less afraid
• build a zine and community that we care about and trust

Muzibogun Research Symposium Poster, Serena Parra, Maurissio Gonzalez, Renee Alonzo, Cj Spears

Team - Muzibogun - Documents

This is the research poster which we presented at the 2025 Research Symposium

Vital Language Practices And Attitudes Among The Lumbee, Deven A. Hull

Senior Theses

The longstanding interest among linguists and linguistic anthropologists in Indigenous languages has increasingly adopted a Critical Indigenous framework, which has been promoted by Indigenous scholars and community leaders as a means of decolonizing “salvage” collection of Indigenous language materials. An important aspect of Critical Indigenous theory is the framework of vitality—that is, an emphasis in literature and community practice on the everyday living and lived elements of culture. One means of promoting Indigenous language within this Critical framework of vitality that is community-centered is centering vital language practices in community-based archives, which seek not to document the language as it …

Murder On Music Row: A Narrative Analysis Of Mass-Mediated Country Music And Independent Texas Red Dirt Music, Jennifer A. Worley

Communication Theses

This project employs Roland Barthes' narrative codes as a framework for textual analysis to examine the underlying structures and meanings within song lyrics from two contrasting traditions of country music: mass-mediated Nashville country and Texas Red Dirt. With a sample spanning a five-year period, the study explores how narrative forms reflect broader socio-cultural dynamics and economic forces. Drawing upon the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, particularly the works of Theodor Adorno and Karl Marx, the project concentrates on the commodification of cultural products and implications for authenticity and truth in cultural expression. Through a comparative analysis, the research reveals …

El Desarrollo Integral En La Escuela De Formación De Independiente Del Valle, Faith Specter

Ecuador: Development, Politics, and Languages

Esta monografía trata del método de desarrollo integral en la escuela de formación del club de fútbol profesional Independiente del Valle, ubicada en Sangolquí, Ecuador. El club se concentra mucho en la formación desde una perspectiva holística, enfatizando el crecimiento personal y académico en conjunto con la superación deportiva. A través de observaciones de las actividades cotidianas dentro del club y entrevistas con personas que trabajan para ello, se presentan varias manifestaciones de estos métodos holísticos. En particular, se destacan la autonomía y la individualidad como fundamentos de los procesos educativos. Luego, las distinciones entre las experiencias de los chicos …

La Lucha Palestina En El Muro: Archivando El Arte Callejero Propalestina En Santiago, Chile, Sofia Nikté Lopez-Aleshire

Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development

Chile is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora community outside of the Arab world. This cultural presence is heavily reflected in Chile’s visual culture, particularly through politically charged street art. This paper contextualizes the history of the Palestinian diaspora in Chile as well as evolution of muralism as a political tool in the country to analyze how Santiago’s contemporary street art expresses solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for territory and self-determination. While pro-Palestinian art is gaining recognition in the Chilean academic sphere through gallery and institutional spaces, street art remains significantly underrepresented. Due to its physical vulnerability as an impermanent …

Reimagining The Rijksmuseum: A Decolonial Future, Paige Abrey

Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender

This paper explores how the Rijksmuseum is practising decoloniality and to what extent it is sincere. Through evaluating exhibitions, curatorial choices, and community engagement, I examine how the museum navigates questions of colonialism, responsibility, and representation. Ultimately, while there have been clear efforts to engage with decolonial practices, such as rethinking the labelling of artworks and creating space for previously ignored narratives, these changes also highlight the challenges of making meaningful steps forward within the dominant structures and frameworks that reinforce the colonial narrative. This research highlights the complexities and nuances of practising decolonial work in a museum space, and …

The Mikvah And The Menstrual Other: Shame, Spirituality, Sexuality, And Contradiction In Jewish Ritual And Modern Art, Molly Greenwold

Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender

The Amsterdam Jewish Museum’s exhibit “Sex: Jewish Positions” creates a crucial space for modern art to reflect, comment, and expand on ancient Jewish rituals. One such ritual is the ideologically fraught space of the mikvah: a Jewish bath house for spiritual cleansing. This ritual deals with the abject Menstrual Other who is both unclean and infectious, but also spiritually elevated. The Menstrual Other is cleansed by the mikvah and then brought back into society via prescribed but pleasurable sex. Using three pieces of contemporary art on display at the Amsterdam Jewish Museum, Five Plus Seven by Hagit Molgan, Kit for …

Take Me To Church: Transmasculinity In Gay Male Erotic Space, Kurt Mclaughlin

Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender

No abstract provided.

The Gaps Between The Pillars And Practice: Prevention Of And Responses To Gender Based Violence In South Africa, Madeleine Morrison

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates how gender-based violence (GBV) is understood, prevented, and responded to in South Africa, with a focus on national frameworks, institutional practices, and broader sociopolitical dynamics. Grounded in feminist, decolonial, and intersectional methodologies, the research draws primarily from document and discourse analysis—centered on the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP on GBVF)—alongside a written interview with a professional working in the gender justice field. Despite outreach to over 40 individuals and organizations, direct participation was limited, reflecting wider issues of burnout, institutional gatekeeping, and resource constraints in the GBV sector.

The findings reveal that while …

Understanding The Born Free Generation: Perceptions Of Freedom And Identity, Ashley Grandberry

South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

The end of apartheid promised unity and justice, but many South Africans born after 1994, known as the Born Free generation, feel those promises were mostly symbolic (Malila, 2015; Bowers et al., 2021; Statistics South Africa, 2021; Jordaan et al., 2022). Despite growing up in a "free" South Africa, the Black and Coloured population has inherited deep economic and social inequalities, faces high unemployment, and is often dismissed by older generations as lazy and ungrateful. For many, freedom feels more like a performance by the government than a lived reality. In this project, I interviewed two Born Frees and found …

What Is Order? An Exploration Of Exchange And Mobility Within The Streets Of Yaoundé, Cameroon, Quentin L. Messer Iii

Cameroon: Development and Social Change

This paper explores how order materializes as people, vehicles, and resources exchange on Yaoundé’s streets. Using qualitative and descriptive research approaches, it draws on primary data from interviews with prominent groups of informal sector actors, street vendors, and taxi drivers, as well as observations conducted throughout Yaoundé. The study also includes a literature review of twelve scholarly articles that assemble a robust foundational understanding of how “order” has been influenced and adapted within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the past fifty years. The study reveals that kinship as a basis for urban order arose due to state distrust and mismanagement of …