Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Perpetual Foreigner: Modeling Cycles Of Asian American Discrimination, Philip Min

Honors Projects

Through an Asian American perspective catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this research investigates the concept of the state of the perpetual foreigner for Asian Americans and the subsequent cycling of race-related tensions. To define the state of foreignness for Asian Americans, this is understood first through Kim’s model of Racial Triangulation, which intends to model the relationships of racial groups in the United States – namely between Black, White, and Asians – through concepts of civic ostracization and relative valorization that relate directly to foreignness and hierarchy. This is then further expanded upon through the creation of a separate model, …

Researching & Designing Marketing Materials For Rachel Messer & Connor Dale, Isabelle Bauer

Honors Projects

Isabelle Bauer’s Honors Project, “Researching and Designing Marketing Materials for Rachel Messer and Connor Dale” is split into two components. First, the research paper titled "The American West as a Cultural Phenomenon" explores the fascination with the American West and its integration into various aspects of American culture, particularly in music, film, and art. The essay discusses the historical significance of the West and its transformation into a cultural obsession. Focusing on the resurgence of Western aesthetics in modern country music, the project’s second component involves the creation of marketing materials for country artists Rachel Messer and Connor Dale.

The …

The Author And Apartheid: Building Pro-Blackness At Bgsu Through James Baldwin And The Anti-Apartheid Movement, Noah C. Fitch

Honors Projects

The stories of anti-apartheid and James Baldwin at BGSU provides a basis for a building of pro-Blackness in the on-campus community. Through the contextualization and narrative building through a historical sociological framework, these two events show the extent of activism in the 1970s and 1980s rather than the traditional narrative that is discussed. By expanding that narrative, it also expands the narrative surrounding the history not just of BGSU, but the way universities frame their own histories. Additionally, these events take place in the era when the transition from looking at Civil Rights to Human Rights is more prevalent and …

A Cryptid For Catholics And Communists: The Asuang As An Apparatus For Socio-Political Control In The History Of The Philippines, Alexandra Eckhart

Honors Projects

This essay explores the utilization of folklore beliefs in psychological warfare through a comparative analysis of General Edward Geary Lansdale's tactics during the Hukbalahap insurgency at the beginning of the Cold War and the historical exploitation of the asuang myth by Spanish Catholic missionaries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While both instances involved leveraging local superstitions to influence behavior, their motivations and approaches diverged significantly. Unlike the missionaries, Lansdale's actions stemmed from a strategic imperative to combat communism rather than a sense of racial superiority or religious domination. Drawing parallels between Lansdale's methods and centuries-old patterns of oppression, this …

The Women’S Committee Of The Council Of National Defense In Maryland, 1917-1918, Savannah Scott

Honors Projects

During World War I, the United States created the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense to organize and coordinate women’s war work. The Women’s Committee had a federalist structure of national, state, and local committees to organize the different levels of women’s societies in the country. This paper uses the Maryland Section of the Women’s Committee as a case study to argue how how the centralized organization of the Women’s Committee and its flexibility with the local committees led to more productive efforts at mobilizing women. It will expand on the formation and organization of the Maryland Women’s …

"Know-Nothingism, Abolitionism, And Fanaticism:" An Analysis Of The Collapse Of The Second Party System In Maine, Justis Dixon

Honors Projects

The 1850s were a tumultuous period in American politics, with a complete partisan realignment fundamentally shifting the balance of power away from the status quo and toward possibilities for change. This paper focuses on the collapse of the Second Party System in Maine, and understanding how we can explain this stunning and rapid shift. The varying factors can be placed into two broad categories First, ethnocultural issues were primarily responsible for much of the growing turmoil within and between the major parties throughout the 1840s, and accelerating greatly in the early 1850s with rising levels of immigration and the increasing …

Is Faith The Ultimate Divider?: The Intersections Between Religion And Political Behavior In The United States, Ryan Supple

Honors Projects

This thesis examines the complex relationship between religiosity and voting behavior in the United States. In a country where religion has diminished in importance over time, it seems rather fascinating that it still plays such a large role in the inner-workings of American politics. Chapter One analyzes the varying ways in which scholars have approached emergent political trends between religious groups, particularly with regards to political parties, voting behavior, and government representation. Chapter Two extends this analysis to the American National Election Studies (ANES), a national survey distributed to random samples of Americans during election seasons. The information from the …

From “This Revolution Is Neither Communist Nor Capitalist!” To “Long Live The Socialist Revolution:” The Deterioration Of U.S.-Cuban Relations From 1958-1961, Julia Lyne

Honors Projects

This thesis studies the deterioration of U.S.-Cuban relations from 1958-1961. Mainly drawing from primary sources from the National Archives, it seeks to answer and understand how and why relations deteriorated so rapidly. It pushes against the common belief that U.S.-Cuban relations were doomed from the start, instead highlighting in Chapter One Fidel Castro’s rise to power (and Fulgencio Batista’s fall from power) and revealing that the U.S. government was not entirely against Castro’s seizure of power. Chapter Two explores Castro’s first year in power and the (futile) attempts made by both governments to keep relations alive. Finally, it closes with …

Growing Pains: Toward A Coalition-Based Theory Of State Land Use Policy, Patrick Rochford

Honors Projects

In the decades following World War II, mass suburbanization remade the American landscape. While suburbs accounted for 83% of the nation’s growth between 1950 and 1970, cities bled their populations and natural resources dwindled. Treating the postwar era as a critical juncture, this thesis examines the political history of twentieth-century state land use policy to illuminate how competing interests have shaped policy outcomes across the United States. Specifically, the paper seeks to explain the passage of statewide growth management and smart growth programs. After providing a history of American suburbanization, the paper considers an emergent challenge to the postwar growth …

Puritan Patriarchal Construction Of American Sexual Morality And Woman's Worth: A Daughter's Response, Savannah Mather

Honors Projects

While modern conceptions of Puritanism regard it as an artifact of American history, whose woman-killing theologies are long buried and forgotten, the bible in my father’s closet and the recently leaked Supreme Court draft to overturn Roe. Vs. Wade would argue otherwise. Cotton Mather’s favorite book Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion outlined both the ideals and detriments of the Anglo-American female identity. In this text, white women were taught to absolve themselves of the “nakedness” in dress Puritan settlers associated Indigenous people with. A woman’s ability to align herself to the ideals of chastity determined her own and her …

Issues Of Right To Legal Counsel In Immigrant Removal Proceedings: Due Process Framework And Applicability, Cambria A. Judd Babbitt

Honors Projects

Immigration removal proceedings suffer from a lack of procedural due process protections for non-citizens facing deportation charges. This research examines constitutional due process framework, what it entails, and how it is to be fairly applied to non-citizens in the United States. Special attention is paid to ways the immigration court system is subject to unjust and biased procedures that make it difficult for immigrants to succeed in their removal cases. The main focus of this study is on the importance of direct legal representation in removal proceedings to support non-citizens and keep courts accountable for upholding the due process of …

Title Ix: An Analysis Of Its Effects On Collegiate Athletics, Hanna Laube

Honors Projects

Title IX has had a monumental impact on the development of women’s opportunities in sports. I conducted three interviews with women athletes who competed in college from 1967-71, 1995-99, and 2009-2014. I also analyzed some primary research on how female athletes remember Title IX and some secondary research on remembering Title IX. In the interviews I found that all the athletes were very appreciative of Title IX, but did not know much about it and therefore could not think very critically about it. In contrast, scholars were very critical of Title IX and pointed out the shortcomings in the law. …

Building Home In Diaspora: New York’S Jewish Left And The History Of The Bronx Housing Cooperatives, Micah Benjamin Wilson

Honors Projects

This thesis investigates three predominantly Jewish housing cooperatives that emerged in the Bronx in the late 1920s. The Amalgamated Housing Cooperative, the United Workers Cooperative Colony (the “Coops”), and the Sholem Aleichem Houses offered garment workers utopian retreats from the drudgery of Lower East Side tenements where Jewish immigrants arrived in droves between 1890-1920. With each cooperative housing a distinct faction of the Jewish Left––from socialists to communists to Yiddish nationalists––the Bronx housing cooperatives, more than experiments in communal living, were the site of a highly contested battle over competing Jewish cultural and political worldviews across the 1930s and 1940s. …

Folklore Of The Shenandoah Valley, Heather Good

Honors Projects

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia has a long and storied history, which has resulted in the development of a rich folklore unique to the area. Stories and traditions have been passed down through generations, often by family and community members but also through the few texts that have been written on the subject. As a writer and local of the area, this cultural tradition has played a significant role in helping me to discover my own voice through looking at the voices that came before me.

This project will fist focus on two significant periods in the history of the …

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story? A Marxist Analysis Of "Hamilton" And Its Relationship To The Broadway Economic System, Alana Ritt

Honors Projects

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s mega-hit Hamilton: An American Musical has been both a critical and academic darling since its premiere in 2015. A historical retelling of America’s inception through the eyes of an oft-ignored founding father, the musical weaves together a diverse cast and hip-hop musical stylings in order to tell the story of “America then, as told by America now.” While many critics and scholars alike have praised the musical for putting an exciting and accessible twist to American history, others have argued that the musical is not nearly as “revolutionary” as it claims to be. This essay is designed to …

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story? A Marxist Analysis Of "Hamilton" And Its Relationship To The Broadway Economic System, Alana Ritt

Honors Projects

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s mega-hit Hamilton: An American Musical has been both a critical and academic darling since its premiere in 2015. A historical retelling of America’s inception through the eyes of an oft-ignored founding father, the musical weaves together a diverse cast and hip-hop musical stylings in order to tell the story of “America then, as told by America now.” While many critics and scholars alike have praised the musical for putting an exciting and accessible twist to American history, others have argued that the musical is not nearly as “revolutionary” as it claims to be. This essay is designed to …

Teaching The Lessons Of The Vietnam War And Applying Them To The War In Afghanistan: Lesson Plans For A Sophomore Us History Class, Zoe Bond

Honors Projects

This project is a series of lesson plans for a 10^th grade US History class detailing the lessons of the Vietnam War and how they have and haven’t been used by President Obama in his decisions during the War in Afghanistan. The lesson plan uses Differentiation and Universal Design for Learning to accommodate every student in the class. The goal of this project was to teach original research in a way that promotes inquiry even if there is no correct answer at that time.

History, Nationalism, And Public Opinion: The Memorialization Of George Mason, Kasandra Fager

Honors Projects

The George Mason Memorial , built on the National Mall in 2002, captures the accomplishments of George Mason, a Founding Father, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and he refused to sign the U.S. Constitution. Identifying Mason's history and exploring the motivations and struggles of the creation of the memorial opens a conversation for public opinion regarding the memorial's physical manifestation. The height of the Jefferson Memorial, the height of the George Washington obelisk, and the beauty of the Lincoln Memorial is seen as a testament of their god-like status in American history. So, where does this leave Mason’s …

Promises Unfulfilled: Integration And Segregation In Metropolitan Philadelphia Public Schools, 1954-2009, Nina Nayiri Mckay

Honors Projects

Even though Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in public schools in 1954, many American children still attend schools that are racially and, increasingly, socioeconomically segregated. Philadelphia, a northern city that did not have an explicit policy of segregating children on the basis of race when Brown was decided, nevertheless still has entrenched residential segregation that replicates in public schools. The metropolitan area became a segregated space in the years around World War II, when housing discrimination, employment discrimination, lending discrimination, suburbanization, and urban renewal started the years-long trajectory of growing white suburbs surrounding an increasingly non-white and under-resourced …

Brutal Encounters: Primitivity, Politics, And The Postmodern Revolution, Archer Thomas

Honors Projects

The switch from late modernism to postmodernism in Western aesthetic theory and criticism took place in the mid-to-late 20th century, radically changing the face of cultural criticism. Much has been written on how postmodernism broke from modernism, but what factors paved its way in the decades following the Second World War? This paper argues that postmodernism represents both a reaction to and a necessary evolution of late modernism, specifically as it manifests in architecture, politics, and the politics of architecture. It focuses on the crisis of confidence among Western left-wing circles following the upheaval of the Second World War and …

Jigs, Reels, And “Realness”: An Investigation Of Ideas Of Authenticity And Tradition In New England French Canadian Music, Lowell Ruck

Honors Projects

Franco-American culture is increasingly recognized as an integral part of the heritage of Maine and New England, and has attracted growing academic attention in recent years. But while many scholars and cultural promoters focus on the French language in their work on this subject, few studies have considered the position of traditional music in Franco-American communities in the 21^st century. This thesis examines French Canadian traditional music as it is played in New England and the ways in which musicians think about authenticity and tradition in their art. Using material from ethnographic interviews, it illuminates how musicians draw from …

Steam Vs. Stem: A Study And Program Proposal For Monticello, Micaela Deogracias

Honors Projects

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and art programs have long been struggling for dominance in the education system. This fight overshadows the fact there are synergistic educative capabilities when these two schools of thought are combined, allowing scientific and artistic persons to work in tandem and be exposed to a wider variety of problem-solving options and opinions. This study aims to focus on museum education practices specifically and how implementing STEAM programs (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) versus STEM could raise the perceived value of arts in society, as well as create a more enriching educational experience by …

Freemasons: Patrons Of The Enlightenment Arts, Jacob Money

Honors Projects

The Enlightenment is known as a time of great advances in science, political theory and individual rights. What is often not given proper consideration are the advances made in the fine arts. Out of this time period came the Hudson River Valley School of painting, a return to Greco-Roman architecture, and the explosion in popularity of the performing arts. In each of these cases, the historically secretive organization known as the Freemasons had a role in the patronage of these artists, architects and composers. Most people are aware of the Masons through popular media and although countless conspiracy theories surround …

The Forgotten Immigrants: Effects Of The 1950s Quota System On Korean Immigration To The United States, 1950-1965, Dominique Seo

Honors Projects

This project focuses on the effects that the quota system, as stated in United States immigration policy, had on Korean Immigration between 1952-1965. There is a focus on the social and economic state of the United States that surrounded and effected the immigration policy at this time, as well as the effects that this policy had on Korean immigration to the United States immediately following the Korean War. In order to complete this both primary and secondary sources are used. Primary sources that are used include newspapers such as the Stars and Stripes and the Chicago Tribune, and immigration …

White Southerners Respond To Brown V. Board Of Education: Why Crisis Erupted When Little Rock, Arkansas, Desegregated Central High School, Abby Elizabeth Motycka

Honors Projects

What was the impact of Brown v. Board of Education on the United States and how did pro-segregationists in the South respond? In order to answer this question, I argue three key arguments over the course of three chronological chapters. In chapter one, I argue that segregationists from southern states responded to Brown by fighting to preserve segregation in order to protect a racial hierarchy they believed was essential. This racial hierarchy is magnified in the southern capital of Little Rock, Arkansas, which I argue in chapter two exposed segregationists’ political defiance and poor organization around racial integration of public …

Women In The White House: How Gender-Based Obstacles Affected Edith Wilson And Hillary Rodham Clinton While First Ladies, Hannah C. Monson

Honors Projects

While there has never been a female president or vice president of the United States, a comparison of First Ladies offers a good case study on how far women have progressed in American politics. Through a comparison of Edith Wilson and Hillary Rodham Clinton, this study seeks to compare the gender-based obstacles for a First Lady at the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of the twentieth century. The analysis of this study shows that despite the progression of feminism over the past one hundred years, it remains just as difficult to be a woman in politics due …

Haymarket & Immigration: A Legacy Of Anarchist Fear, Kaysie Harrington

Honors Projects

The 1903 Alien Immigration Act, more commonly known as the Anti-Anarchist Act, was the first United States immigration policy to exclude persons based on political ideology. The following research explores the evolution of anti-anarchist sentiment in the US, following one of the nation’s first experiences with anarchist behavior: The Chicago Haymarket Affair of 1886, an incident in which a pipe bomb thrown in midst of a labor riot ultimately led to the arrest and highly publicized prosecution of eight anarchists. After the Haymarket Affair, both the United States government and the public defined anarchism as being the domain of alien …

An Unchained Analysis Of Racial Tension In America, Moriah Angott

Honors Projects

Modern race issues stem not only from the past but also from a lack of understanding and empathy for each other. How we talk about race will not only inform how we are able to move forward as a society, but it will also say a great deal about how we are evolving as human beings. It is important, and has been recognized as such, that black Americans have the freedom to grapple with that past, to understand it, and to feel connected to those ancestors who suffered in order for the foundation of this country to be built. Is …

Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five: Making The Past Present, Rebecca Hoevenaar

Honors Projects

Art has the unique ability to create new meaning from past events. As a work of literature, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five has succeeded in doing this. Vonnegut took the bombing of Dresden and make it present and relevant in the minds of young Americans during the Vietnam War. Readers made connections between the two horrific events. In our contemporary world, Slaughterhouse-Five still remains an important work of literature. Violent conflicts and horrors continue to happen as with the recent Iraq War.

Reconsidering Operation Condor: Cross-Border Military Cooperation And The Defeat Of The Transnational Left In Chile And Argentina During The 1970s, Georgia C. Whitaker

Honors Projects

In this study of the roots of Operation Condor, I track the development of this unusual military alliance forged by six Southern Cone governments (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay) during the 1970s, as well as the push-and-pull relationship between the transnational migration of political militants and the military’s impetus for collaboration. While most accounts of Condor focus on the United States as the operation’s primary orchestrator, I contend that initial motivation for the type of cooperation that Condor would later formalize was driven not by the U.S., but by the Southern Cone militaries’ perception that Marxism had to …