Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Warriors Of The Skyline : A Gendered Study Of Mohawk Warrior Culture, Anthony Patrick Curtis

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This analysis provides a better understanding of how members of the Mohawk tribe strived to maintain their cultural and gender identity within a white male-dominated high steel industry. This thesis examines traditional Mohawk warrior culture, meaning traditional Mohawk rites of passage and Mohawk male gender roles, through analyzing the role of Mohawk skywalkers in the late 19th and early 20th century. In tribal Mohawk society, the passage from adolescence to manhood was representative of a boy becoming a warrior. By exhibiting bravery, he earned the title of warrior and, consistent with his new tribal stature, increased his chances at marriage …

J.A.C. Redford's A Psalm Triptych As Sonic Altarpiece, Erin Jones Kishpaugh

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

J.A.C. Redford’s love of music for the voice and the importance of his faith, key factors in understanding this composer who is best known for his film and television scores, are displayed through the song cycle A Psalm Triptych. This study examines the structure of and inspiration behind this song cycle as a means to determine its function. Redford’s approach to text setting is motivated by a desire for the meaning to be more clearly understood when illuminated by his music. Inspired by visual art, he generated a textual structure resembling triptych altarpieces, through which the listener hears the psalmist’s …

Roosevelt’S Monetary Policy, Steven Napier

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This qualitative analysis of the monetary policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration covers his entire presidency. Through scholarly research based on arguments presented in major scholarly publications, great questions are raised as to the primary causes of the economic successes of the Roosevelt administration. Some of the most conservative and reputable scholars in history, while disagreeing with most of the measures taken by Roosevelt to regulate the economy, agree that the goals by the administration to raise the prices of basic commodities was generally achieved. The thesis demonstrates that almost all of FDR’s economic successes were the direct …

The Description Of The Characters In Herman Melville's White-Jacket, Or The World In A Man-Of-War, Toru Nishiura

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Many characters who have various personalities app ear in Herman Melville’s White-Jacket . However, few critics have comprehensively examined the action and the characteristics of them in detail. In this thesis, I explore Melville’s depiction of the battleship world in this novel by clarifying the narrator ’s standard to judge ot her characters. In White-Jacket, the whole story is narrated by White-Jacket; therefore, the characteristics of his narrative clarify the theme of this novel. I start with an analysis of his narrative and examine whether he is a reliable narrator or not. Then, I explore the relationship between the battleship …

Accent, Linguistic Discrimination, Stereotyping, And West Virginia In Film, Teresa L. O’Cassidy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examines connections between accent, linguistic discrimination, and stereotyping in portrayals of West Virginia film characters. Ten films featuring West Virginia characters were examined for accent and stereotyping: The Right Stuff (Kaufman, 1983), Matewan (Sayles, 1987), Blaze (Shelton, 1989), The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991), October Sky (Johnston, 1999), Hannibal (Scott, 2001), A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001), The Mothman Prophecies (Pellington, 2002), Wrong Turn (Schmidt, 2003), and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (Luketic, 2004). Coders were employed to score character accents. Stereotyping data was gathered by comparing portrayals with stereotypical traits associated with Appalachian and/or hillbilly characters. …

The Segregated Distribution Of Middle Class African American Households In The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, Jay L. Newberry

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research analyzes the residential distribution of middle-class African American households in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area to determine if the "middle class" status affords them greater integration with the dominant white group. Using 1990 and 2000 census income data for white and black households in the Pittsburgh MSA, lower, middle, and upper class categories were created in both groups for comparison against the black middle class category via five segregation indices. This research found that, although the African American households experience varying degrees of segregation by class, all are highly segregated from the white group with middle class African American …

The Samuel Smith Land Grants: A Historical Study Of Land Ownership And Use In Southern West Virginia, Stephen M. Porter

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study intends to illustrate the history of several tracts of land granted to General Samuel Smith, of Baltimore, Maryland by the state of Virginia in the years 1796 and 1797 containing, in totality, 300,000 acres (more or less). This research attempts to untangle some of the tangled web of ownership (both surface and mineral) that has affected this tract in particular and reflects the general trend of corporate land ownership in southern West Virginia.

Linking Genesis To Modern Day Castaway Narratives, Shawndra Russell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis analyzes two castaway novels, Lord of the Flies and John Dollar, and compares these novels to segments of Genesis, focusing primarily on the story of Adam and Eve. To compare and contrast these three works, I pulled out eleven similar ideas found in each text which formed eleven different chapters. This project evolved into offering an alternative way to interpret these castaway narratives as retellings of the creation story. The characters in John Dollar and Lord of the Flies become Adam and Eve type figures as they try to survive on Edenlike islands. At the same time, this …

Canary In The Dark, Andrea Fekete

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

I began researching Appalachian culture in 1998. I wanted to tell a story about conflict and beauty while revealing my vision of who my people were/are. I strived to create a fiction not unlike poetry with realistic and minimalist features to give Appalachia the most accurate face possible as perceived by me through my own lens.

I wanted to explore the idea of beauty: Virginia’s (the main character) ideas about her beauty, her culture and other cultures. What is beauty? Who defines it? Can it be found everywhere? How? What does it look like when it is somewhere you wouldn’t …

Malory’S Maladies: Determining Intention And Influence Through Editorial Theory In Sir Thomas Malory’S Le Morte Darthur, Lisa Ann Stuchell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

By examining both William Caxton’s edition and the Winchester manuscript of Malory’s King Arthur tales, readers can begin to understand the editorial theory issues associated with these dissimilar texts. Questions concerning authorial intention, final intention, versions, and scholarly editing arise as scholars and readers try to negotiate which is the better version. However, each version offers advantages and disadvantages of Malory’s work, culminating in the need for both versions to exist and to be studied.

A Place Between Heaven And Hell, Holley Barker

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

After twenty-some years of marriage, routine, and living life without feeling, time finally catches up to Effie Crunkleton, giving her the opportunity to confront a haunting past (her hell) which thwarts peace of mind (her heaven). As inner and outer voices lure Effie to a nearby cemetery (actually found at Twin Falls State Park), she exposes herself to a lifetime of suppressed memories and emotions that have taken place in the fictional Appalachian town of Coal Hollow.

Capers Island, A Novel, Jennifer J. Cavender

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Capers Island is a creative thesis about a woman named Delaney who has been having problems sleepwalking ever since her grandparents passed away. She decides to spend the summer on Capers Island, visiting an old college friend. While there, she visits a hypnotist to uncover repressed memories from her childhood. She begins the novel alone in West Virginia, and in the end, winds up on Capers Island in a tightly knit community. The novel contains elements of magical realism, the supernatural, and the psychological.

Woman At War: How I Won My Battle With Domestic Violence, But Continue To Fight The War, Krista R. Holcomb

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Woman at War: How I Won My Battle Against Domestic Violence But Continue to Fight the War, is a depiction of my experience in an abusive relationship. The project presents the initial experiences that draw the victim to her future abuser, the forming of a bond between the couple, the feelings of fear and desperation that overwhelm and often paralyze the victim in the midst of abuse, and the final escape and eventual advocacy for other victims. While most of the project is presented as personal narrative, letters, journal entries, and lists appear in order to show the mindset of …

Irish Representations In The Films Of Jim Sheridan And Neil Jordan, Jeffrey K. Jack

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis explores four films from "second wave" directors Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan: The Crying Game, The Butcher Boy, The Field, and The Boxer. In these films, Sheridan and Jordan add complexity to previously static film representations of Irish society and culture. The study analyzes the modifications Sheridan and Jordan make to the cultural and political representations of the "first wave" of Irish films, relating theoretical developments more traditionally used in literary studies, including "postcolonialism" and "postmodernism." It also explores how these four films have influenced more recent developments in Irish cinema, including the recent shifting of the settings …

Complexity Of Character In Jonson’S Sejanus, Jennifer Dawn Jones

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Critics claim Jonson’s Sejanus, the first of his only two surviving tragedies, lacks the emotional elements of more popular tragedies because Jonson relies on historical sources and simplifies his characters. This study first establishes Jonson’s own unique requirements in tragedy that affect his character development, then it provides textual evidence of complex characters and offers a reading of the play with Rome, or the body politic, as the tragic hero.