Arts and Humanities Commons^™

And They Shall Be Men: An Original Anthology & Analysis Of The Modern Male Bildungsroman, Margaret Cox

Senior Honors Theses

The stories that boys have been told about what it means to be a man change throughout history. This study considers the postmodern effect of masculinities, female empowerment, as well as the canon of Western bildungsroman in an attempt to understand how the narratives have changed over the past 50 years. Additionally, an anthology of original fiction illustrates how universal stories persist within the changing social narratives.

The Bible, New Life, And The Christian Historian, Joshua Toth

Senior Honors Theses

The Christian historian operates in the larger historical profession. This thesis begins to consider the influences of the Bible and new life on the Christian historian. It first looks at the historical profession, interpretations of history, and categories of Christian history. Such should promote a greater understanding of the position of the Christian historian. Then come explanations of a biblical worldview and new life aspects, both potential influences on Christian historians. Since the extent of their influence is potentially broad, this thesis narrows to looking at 1) the biblical metanarrative and 2) evangelism as part of new life. It considers …

The Southern Homefront In The United States War For Independence, Lindsay Vanderwey

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the struggles ordinary Americans faced during the War for Independence. Drawing from memoirs, local news reports, and secondary sources, this thesis covers topics such as the broken communities, refugee crises, disease, and shortages caused by war in the American South. It will also describe the hardships endured by enslaved people during this period, with both sides fighting over a freedom that did not apply to them. This thesis will argue that that rather than being passionate idealists willing to voluntarily sacrifice for a great cause, the bulk of the American southerners were ordinary people who made …

The Prevalence And Importance Of Ethnic Diversity In Children’S Literature, Rose Schewe

Senior Honors Theses

Despite the complicated past of ethnic censorship, ethnic diversity has a prominent role in children’s literature published in the United States because diversity is accurately representative of the culture in which today’s young readers live. Children’s literature has advanced in terms of ethnic diversity in recent decades, but obstacles that prevent the stories of various minority groups from being told continue to exist. In order for all children to feel properly included in the literary world, children must be given the opportunity to see both people who are different from them as well as people who bear similarities to themselves …

Equal In His Sight: An Examination Of The Evolving Opinions On Race In The Life Of Jerry Falwell, Sr., Kathryn Legg

Senior Honors Theses

The late Reverend Jerry Falwell, Sr., founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church and president of the Moral Majority, was a prominent figure in conservative politics beginning in the late 1970s. His opinions regarding preachers and politics changed throughout his life, as did his beliefs about race in America and the church. His views on race affected his preaching and political involvement, and in his later life he retracted from the segregationist beliefs he held at the beginning of his ministry. While Falwell’s prominent roles in the Religious Right and Moral Majority have previously been explored, this paper seeks to present …

Developing Foundations Of Instrumental Music And Collaboration Through The Orff-Schulwerk Approach To Music Education, Felicity Jenkins

Senior Honors Theses

The Orff-Schulwerk approach to music education focuses on teaching children music through movement, repetition, and learning to play instruments. Educators who utilize the Orff-Schulwerk approach often teach students through child-sized instruments, including recorders and percussion instruments. A strong foundation of instrumental music, achieved through the usage of the Orff-Schulwerk approach in elementary music classrooms, can accelerate the learning of students as they pursue more advanced instruments and skills in band or orchestra classes during their secondary education.

Margaret Chase Smith's 1972 Election: The Fall Of An Institutional Giant, Allison Kobzowicz

Senior Honors Theses

Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress and was well-known by her constituents in Maine as a principled, integrous public servant. In 1972, after 24 years in the Senate, Margaret Chase Smith lost her first ever election to democratic challenger, William Hathaway. An examination of the primary source documents available at the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine, as well as local and national newspaper coverage, finds three main reasons that Smith suffered defeat: Smith was unwilling to let go of her traditional way of campaigning, she was berated by a press …

The Moral Argument, Existential Problems Of Evil, And A Non-Existential Alternative, Jonathan Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Within this paper, it is shown that certain ethical assumptions are implicit within the claim that certain kinds of evil exist. When taken in tandem with the moral argument for the existence of God, these assumptions can be arranged in such a way as to provide a contradiction. To avoid this contradiction, I posit a non-existential alternative to direct inductive arguments from evil, but the non-existential alternative gives rise to novel objections. When considering their respective ethical implications, both the existential and non-existential variations of direct inductive arguments fail. Since any direct inductive problem of evil must be either existential …

Lyrics In Congregational Song: A Biblical And Historical Survey, Michael May

Senior Honors Theses

Is there a standard as to what constitutes biblical, God-honoring congregational song lyrics? In this paper, I will seek to address this question through a review of relevant biblical principles and positions of prominent leaders throughout church history. The Bible provides a language of worship in the Psalms and includes some information regarding singing in the New Testament. Biblical principles have been applied throughout the centuries by various church fathers. The synthesis of biblical principles and historical contributions will produce a set of guidelines by which congregational song lyrics may be evaluated for the purpose of contextual application in modern …

Painting A Biblical Worldview In Children, Brook Blackwell

Senior Honors Theses

Children are impressionable beings shaped by the changing world around them; this has become increasingly more true as the years progress and the impact and prevalence of media rises. Television shows, movies, music and books, no matter how insignificant they may seem, can play a tremendous part in the growth of children’s worldviews. It is important for authors and artists to delve deep into the impact of media on the growth and development of children in today’s media-rich world. In doing so, they should hope to find the best way to implement a Christian worldview into the media a child …

Sickness In Storytelling: The Effects Of Chronic Illness On Memoir And The Author, Sarah Jackson

Senior Honors Theses

The thesis will be in two parts, research and creative. The first part will be a research-based paper exploring how the creation and content of memoir is influenced by authors with chronic illness, and the difficulties and unique perspective these authors bring to the craft of memoir will be investigated. The second part will be a short memoir that tells a personal story of living with an autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus. This first-person narrative will fluctuate between memories of personal experience, information on lupus, and self-reflection. Together, these parts will explore different aspects of chronic illness in memoir.

The Amygdala Era: Emotion And Experience In Memoir, Meagan Shelley

Senior Honors Theses

Amygdala Era is a culmination of short memoirs and brief poetry designed to express a stream of consciousness state of emotion over logic. The work utilizes base, primal parts of the mind such as happiness, sadness, and fear, and dissipates into the emotion and memory that is experienced daily. This is achieved through a focus on creative writing theory including stream of consciousness, interior monologue, and free indirect discourse. Amygdala Era synthesizes the techniques, strategies, and methodology of these three theories by examining past literary examples from world history. Analysis of the targeted market for Amygdala Era is detailed based …

The Process Of Creating A Successful Brand, Madison Fogarty

Senior Honors Theses

The contents of this thesis will explain the detailed process behind a successful brand campaign. It includes the most important aspects of a brand such as brand strategy, brand identity, color theory, and logo design. Successful brand campaigns were studied to determine if there was a common underlying process. The research process began by outlining the steps that are needed to accomplish a strong brand campaign. After outlining, identification of these steps can be further implemented into the creative brand campaign which will focus on product packaging. The results of this paper show that a comprehensive design process is crucial …

An Analysis Of Major Issues For Culturally-Minded Professionals In Women's Health Care, Victoria Clark

Senior Honors Theses

Women's health care professionals, such as general physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists, midwives, nurses, and doulas, in the US need to be aware of cultural issues and disparities. Minorities and migrant women experience cultural challenges and disparities when receiving health care in the US. Without cultural sensitivity, patient care is compromised. Pregnancy and childbirth practices vary widely by culture, and potential differences in perspectives, beliefs, and treatment of these are critical issues for women’s health care professionals to study. Female genital cutting (FGC), obstetric fistulas (OF), and female cancer are also discussed in this paper.

Martha Washington: The First, First Lady, Ashley Lamoureux

Senior Honors Theses

Martha Washington is best known for her marriage to George Washington and subsequently becoming the first, First Lady of the United States. Most discussion and research only mentions Martha in passing and focuses instead on her husband. Martha’s precedent-setting role as First Lady is both valid and important. However, Martha’s influence on history is not limited to that role. This work highlights and examines the often-overlooked aspects of Martha Washington’s life through an examination of both primary source writing and biographies. Her experience as a landowner and business woman, her dedication to her husband and the Revolution, and the standards …

Anthropology Embedded In Worldview Studies: Modernity’S Failure And The Response Of Christian Philosophy Of Life In A Postmodern Age Of Expressivism, Nathan Sexten

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis examines two divergent streams of thought in Christian philosophy of life represented by the works of Francis Schaeffer and James K. A. Smith in an effort to help Christians live in a postmodern culture. Schaeffer and Smith ultimately address differing, but complementary, realms of anthropology and the human experience. To see how these two authors might complement each other effectively, this thesis will analyze each author’s work and then explore whether or not the application of Smith's liturgical anthropology and utilization of phenomenology can improve Schaeffer’s system of thought and the worldview concept.

For The Culture: The Importance Of A Critical Social Theory Within The Music Education Classroom, Brianna Thomas

Senior Honors Theses

This paper will analyze the history of music education in the United States and discuss how the music classroom can contribute to and dismantle social inequalities including social class, gender, and race. Class effects music education by creating barriers to necessary resources and opportunities as a result of economic positions.[1] Gender is the second focus because music has historically been a male-dominated profession. As a result, many textbooks and curriculum highlight the achievements of men while erasing the contributions of women which has taught women to devalue their own work.[2] The last focus is race. While the arts …

Modern Misconceptions On The Wall Of Separation: An Analysis On The Influence And Misinterpretation Of Jefferson’S Separation Of Church And State, Marissa Swope

Senior Honors Theses

The symbolic concept of separation between church and state defines the relationship between government and religion. While Jefferson did not author the phrase, the third President of the United States promoted the philosophy of a wall of separation between church and state in his letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802. Jefferson’s support for a wall of separation stemmed from a strong belief in liberty of conscience and relied heavily upon the conviction to protect religious liberty. Through an analysis on the contextual history of the phrase, the original intent and application of separation of church and state becomes evident. …

The Peacemakers: Navigating The Intersection Of Biblical Justice And Contemporary Policing, Nathan Brown

Senior Honors Theses

For Christians seeking to enter the field of policing, the question of justice is answered by two separate sources. Conceptions of justice are presented by both the contemporary justice system and the Bible. The history and current state of American policing reveal a sense of justice that is concerned with fighting crime and defending the rights of the vulnerable. There are, however, inherent limitations when operating within a system made by man. Biblical justice goes further by prioritizing restoration and redeemed relationships within its conception of justice. Reconciling these two perspectives equips Christian police officers with a framework with which …

The Physio-Emotional Effects Of Audio In The Global Christian Church, Evelyn Hanks

Senior Honors Theses

Audio, specifically as researched by the film industry specialists, has physical and emotional effects on those exposed to it. These effects follow from manipulation of sound’s characteristics in specific and measurable ways. The responsibility of the Christian is to share the gospel with others and support the kingdom of God with his or her skills. In light of these truths, Christian audio specialists should have a thorough knowledge of the physio-emotional effects of audio. Further, they should not shy away from applying strategies from secular audio research to benefit local churches across the globe.

A Study Of Music: Music Psychology, Music Therapy, And Worship Music, Jessica Whittemore

Senior Honors Theses

There are three specific fields related to music: the psychology of Music and how it affects human brain and functions, the methodology of Music Therapy and how it affects individuals undergoing treatment, and the psychological effects of Worship Music and how it can be used in music therapy. Music therapy is a growing field in which the therapeutic outcomes greatly benefit the patients. The overall purpose is to create a greater understanding of music and music therapy in order to a provide a system for introducing group worship services into music therapy to ultimately bring spiritual healing to individuals.

Shaping Readers: The Moral Impact Of Narrators, Emily Bradley

Senior Honors Theses

Readers who consume stories have the potential to be changed and impacted by the content of narratives. The authors of stories hold a good deal of the influence when it comes to stories, and the characters of the stories—the ones the readers fall in love with or root for or dread—also play a part in reader development. The narrators of the stories, however, are the voices that are presenting the stories, and it is through their worldviews that the readers are most fundamentally shaped. The narrators of The Great Gatsby, The Awakening, The Things They Carried, and the Harry Potter …

The Role Of Compassion In Medical Ethics And Its Reintegration In Modern Practice, Hannah E. Borchers

Senior Honors Theses

Compassion has been an integral part of medical ethics since its origins, but as medicine progressed, compassion slowly disappeared from practice. The development of any industry results from many complex factors, but the decline of compassion in medicine can be largely attributed to the evolution of technology and role of medical ethics committees. Change is not always negative, but in this case, medicine neglected one of its foundational principles. This is seen by analyzing the history and progression of medical ethics and its four pillars. Plato and Aristotle defined justice in Greek philosophy, Hippocrates used the concept of non-maleficence in …

Homebound: Sts-M1301 A Study On Television Writing In The Science Fiction Genre, Matthew Crouch

Senior Honors Theses

This project is a scene-by-scene outline of an original television pilot script in the science fiction genre. The outline is based on research conducted in both the television and science fiction fields, providing the project with a firm foundation in television screenwriting structure as well as insights into the characteristics of the science fiction genre. Additional research was carried out on the topic of developing realistic, engaging characters for the screen. This project serves to broaden the writer’s portfolio upon graduation while giving him a chance to study the world of television, which contains numerous differences from the field of …

Enchantment: A Teleology, Nathanael S. Toth

Senior Honors Theses

Despite the highly developed nature of his fictional world, Middle-earth, Tolkien never formally laid out a tabulated magic system for his fantasy creation. Nevertheless, unlike many stories by others in the fantasy genre, the magic he does include is far from just a shallow, world-building mechanism. Instead, it encapsulates the core theme of his fiction and the purposes which Ilúvatar (the God of Middle-earth) has given to the story’s many characters.

This paper will examine the nature and function of this magic from many angles: the identification of good magic with art and evil magic with domination; the delineation between …

The Anxious Musician: Coping Strategies Used To Combat Music Performance Anxiety, Abigail Lockhart

Senior Honors Theses

Music Performance Anxiety, or MPA, affects over 20% of musicians, regardless of age, experience, or nationality. MPA is a form of social anxiety that causes the performer great distress before and during a performance experience, often causing the performance to have a less favorable outcome. As this is such a common occurrence in the field of music, it is important for teachers and students alike to understand the basis of anxiety as well as how to deal with its effects. Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to conquer anxiety, but through the implementation of various coping strategies, musicians can have …

Funding A Feature: Creating A Film Business Plan, Jordan C. Hunt

Senior Honors Theses

Every film, from the smallest indie to the biggest studio blockbuster, must be funded, and all investors who finance a movie expect that the movie will give them a return on their investment. In order to seek funding, many filmmakers create a business plan to present to potential investors. Beginning with the film industry as a whole, this paper will define a specific target audience and distribution plan for one film in order to create a business plan. The film, titled Intertwined, is an independent low budget family drama that will primarily raise funds through equity investors. This is …