Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Heritage And Archaeological Knowledge Dissemination Strategies: A Kurd Qaburstan Case Study, Myli R. Sangria

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis addresses the long-standing absence of community archaeology initiatives in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by designing and implementing a pilot public archaeology program at the site of Kurd Qaburstan, a large Middle Bronze Age city (ca. 1800 BCE) located on the Erbil Plain. In summer 2024, the author implemented a community archaeology activity designed as a first step toward sustained engagement with the village that partially overlaps the site. The program—a hands-on lesson in archaeological stratigraphy for K–5 students, followed by a guided site visit—was intentionally simple, affordable, and easy to carry out alongside ongoing fieldwork. The activity …

“Some Small Kiss From Your Sweet Lips”: Navigating Hierarchy In Eastern Roman Letters, Nicholas Elijah Raffington

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The presence of homoeroticism in the letters of elite Byzantine men was both the product of long-term literary developments and was employed for many purposes. As a medieval society which saw a unique level of social mobility, an individual’s connections and how they managed and negotiated them within the competitive elite milieu was of utmost importance to their relevance. Letters naturally emerge as a suitable literary genre to affirm and recognize relationships, to ask for favors, or introduce a new member to the group. As the evidence suggests, homoeroticism was employed within the male-centered world of business and politics as …

Sports And Rhetorical Marginalization: A Case Study Of Angel Reese & Caitlin Clark, Diamond R. Williams

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the manifestation of racism, sexism, and capitalism in the language and rhetoric of sports media through a case study of WNBA players Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. This study theorizes that sports media has referred to Reese and Clark with damaging language tied to the intersections of their respective identities. This thesis also identifies and analyzes the presence of repeated themes throughout select sports media that mirror relevant theories surrounding stereotypes, biases, and marginalization in sports. Examining and analyzing the subtle nuances at play allows one to understand how language implicitly reinforces harmful narratives and, thus, how …

The Deception Of A Metamorphosis, Heidi A. Hernandez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

With the historic fascination of Roman and Greek mythology, it is easy to get caught up in the epic the tales of the ancient era provide. A price must be paid for the powerful figures of these stories to rise to such heights, and the ancient world finds women to be their preferred form of currency.

Behind these deceptive chronicles are the trials of women left behind, abandoned, abused and subjected to cruel sexual abuse and the elements reduced to their physical value serving as nothing more than a pawn. One woman, a nymph, is amidst this trial, Ovid brings …

Threading The Needle: Chinese American Adoptees And The In-Between, Annalee Johnson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Threading the Needle is a short documentary that investigates the relationships between Chinese American adoptees, their families, and their heritage. The film features two primary participants, Mia Nails and Annalee “AJ” Johnson as they reflect on their Asian American identity, experiences with racism, and their struggles with cultural estrangement. The similarities and differences in their perspectives shed light on both the wonderful and the heartbreaking circumstances of adoption. The contemporary value of the film lies in how it challenges popular representations of the Asian American experience: Though in recent years, Asian American media has become more present in popular culture, …

My Body, Your Choice: Exploring Reproductive Abuse Among Undergraduate Women In A Post-Roe America, Riley H. Alvero

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June 2022 overruled Roe v. Wade (1973) and held that abortion access is not a constitutionally protected right. The overturn of Roe v. Wade has had notable impacts on women’s overall sexual behavior and reproductive choices, and it highlights a macro-level infringement on women’s reproductive agency. Coercive condom use resistance violates reproductive autonomy on a micro-level, but can have equally harsh effects. Previous literature has studied these occurrences singularly; this research investigates connections between them. This study recruited 14 undergraduate women with a history of reproductive coercion, in the form of …

Healing Through Art: An Exploration Of Art History Influences On Contemporary Art Therapy For Practices In Oncology Care, Nicole Van

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Art therapy has emerged as a vital practice in oncology, offering patients a means of emotional expression and healing during their treatment journey. This project will explore how integrating art history into therapeutic settings, particularly through virtual classes, enhances the emotional well-being of cancer patients. By examining the impact of engaging with historical artworks, this research aims to illustrate how these artistic narratives can facilitate self-consciousness and foster flexibility in individuals facing significant health challenges. Research indicates that exposure to art can evoke emotion and promote psychological healing, serving as a therapeutic outlet for patients. This study will synthesize therapeutic …

Voicing The Violence: Carmen Maria Machado's Contribution To A Queer Archive, Audrey C. Bryant

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This project analyzes In the Dream House (2019) alongside “The Husband Stitch” and “Eight Bites” from the collection Her Body and Other Parties (2017) by Carmen Maria Machado. The first, a memoir, details Machado’s personal experience with domestic abuse between partners who share a female gender identity; the latter is a collection of short stories outlining everyday violations made against women. Scholars have discussed these works with specifications including female domestic horror, Machado’s use of retellings, and domestic violence and abuse. This project fills a gap in the discourse by intersecting and connecting queer theory with archival studies to support …

Reconciling Theory And Praxis. Defending Subjective Agency Against Althusser's Structuralism - Daniel Guerrero, Daniel Guerrero

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Louis Althusser labels Marx’s early works as humanist, pseudo-materialist, and self-contained within the ideology of German idealism. Therefore, all attempts to develop a Marxist theory based on these works are futile and ideological. Instead, Althusser proposes a ‘scientific’ reading of Marx developing a structuralist theory based on dialectical materialism. I argue that his interpretations deny individual agency and reduce social relations to mechanistic processes, which directly conflicts with fundamental Marxist ideas like alienation, production, and species-being. By discussing authors within the Marxist Humanist tradition, I argue that a theoretical framework based on Marx’s early works is not only possible, but …

Remedios Varo: Peregrinaciones, Julia Condes

Honors Undergraduate Theses

At the time of her death, the artist Remedios Varo (1908–1963) left behind over 500 works of art, the majority of which were created in her adopted country of Mexico. Known for her meticulously crafted fantastical paintings, Varo underwent exile and displacement due to first the Spanish Civil War, and later World War II, which led her to relocate to Mexico, where she would create prolifically for the remainder of her life. This paper will examine the effect of those experiences on the artist and the work she produced, attesting to Varo’s ability to translate complex emotions regarding the human …

Community Music, Counter-Stories, And Social Inequality In Central Florida's Music Spaces, Katia Destine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Black working-class musicians have shaped American popular culture for centuries. Despite their contributions, they have faced decades of marginalization and exploitation by record companies, executives, and consumers. While systems of exploitation affect musicians of all backgrounds, Black working-class musicians are in a double bind, susceptible to both economic and social exploitation. Musicians who live within the subdominant groups of race, gender, and class frequently face obstacles that place them at a disadvantage. Through semi-structured interviews, the research draws on the lived experiences of Black working-class musicians in Central Florida. I argue that community music serves as a vital resource, offering …

Spirituality In Place: Assessment Of Spirituality, Place Attachment, And Locus Of Control In College, Chloe Armand

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore how spirituality in place shapes college students’ cognition. While spiritual development is recognized as an important aspect of student affairs, its influence on cognitive factors such as locus of control and place attachment remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between spirituality, place attachment, and locus of control, as well as students’ perceptions of spiritual design elements on UCF’s campus. To assess these perceptions, a Quality of Place Questionnaire for Spirituality was developed. This instrument aims to measure humanity, sensuality, and sustainability in the built environment. This research uncovers the connections between …

The Stigmatization Of Autism – Why It’S Still Present And How It Affects Women And Individuals Assigned Female At Birth (Afab), Emma Drauer

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explain some key factors (the theory of mind notion and the narrow perception of autism) that contribute to the stigmatization of autism and the impact this has on autistic women. Autistic women are heavily underrepresented, especially in the scholarly discourse, so this thesis collected first person accounts of autistic experiences through a survey and interviews. This data revealed important information such as the benefits of a diagnosis, how stigma can prevent this and have consequences, and the struggles autistic women face. Unmasking these struggles can help make the general public aware of their …

The Truth And Their Versions: Florida Lawmakers And Academic Freedom Across K-12 And Higher Education, Kassandra Faylun

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Florida’s HB 7 and SB 266, enacted July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, respectively. HB 7 controls how certain race-related concepts, like critical race theory, are taught in K-12 classrooms and higher education. SB 266, apart from prohibiting expenditures for DEI programs, provides new requirements for general education core course curricula, including the disallowing of teaching identity politics and barring any classes that are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.” Both HB 7 and SB 266 …

Seeking Refuge: Aid, Community, And Motivations Among Traveling Women In The 1711 Swiss Anabaptist Migration, Kailey M. Freeman-Depelisi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the logistics of travel, connections between women, and the motivations of Swiss Anabaptist women who were part of a forced migration from Bern to Amsterdam in 1711. In the early eighteenth century, Anabaptists, religious dissenters who were persecuted heavily within the canton of Bern, were aided through the intervention of the Dutch Anabaptist Committee for Foreign Need (Committee). The Committee commissioned Johann Ludwig Runckel, to deescalate the situation and organize the migration of Anabaptists the Bernese government expelled. Following negotiations, Anabaptists, (Amish and Reistian) took part, as well as people with loose connections to the faith. The …

Rhythm Against Poethics, Jayvyn Dacas

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis stages an auto-poetic ethnography that listens to, and moves with, the anterior spaces of Black life. Those murmurs, hums, musical hesitations, and infrastructural vibrations that refuse capture by dominant epistemic regimes. Drawing from Ramon Amaro’s reading of Sylvia Wynter, Katherine McKittrick and Alexander Weheliye’s reflections on sound, Fred Moten’s insights on displacement, and Tendayi Sithole’s attention to the phonographic, the project situates music production as method and unworlding. Through engagements with the 808, sampling, sound systems, and embodied listening across Florida. Spaces like the warehouse, the party, record stores, and community become the work of Black voices, and …

A Story Of Oppression A Psychological And Creative Approach, Juan R. Morillo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The aim of this project is to survey the manner in which oppression is expressed in selected works of literature. It is a topic that not only am I familiar with through my studies of literature and psychology, but one that I, as well as every Venezuelan expatriate has witnessed and felt for their country. The project focuses on social and political oppression, using the current Venezuelan crisis as a focal point, and selected literary sources as a framework. I will analyze dystopian classics such as George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, as well as Margaret Atwood’s The …

Crises, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The last two weeks have seen a number of crises in college sport and one massive money drop in baseball.

Golden Baseball, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

We are now well into baseballs off season. Baseball fanatics are already into their annual countdown to the day pitchers and catchers report for spring training. As for me, I am beginning the countdown to one billion dollars, the figure that the Dodgers seem to be aspiring to, once again, as they seek to guarantee their right to another World Series win. There is little doubt they can find a way to spend that much and perhaps even more.

Human-Machine Relations And Relational Autonomy, Hendrik Kempt, Camilla Colombo, Saskia K. Nagel

Human-Machine Communication

The ever-growing use of interactive technologies and digitization processes in decisionmaking contexts raises key challenges to the conceptualization of autonomy. Starting from the shortcomings of individualistic models, we argue that relational accounts of autonomy provide a more adequate characterization of human beings as socially embedded and integrated. By introducing a decision-theoretic framework, and further theoretical elaboration, we suggest a substantial account of relational autonomy incorporating machines and technologies within the significant relations entertained by agents. Besides optimizing decision-making performances, human-machine interactions could genuinely support and enhance individual autonomy, by fostering human connections, expanding the individual’s social context with additional perspectives, …

Four Notions Of Autonomy. Pitfalls Of Conceptual Pluralism In Contemporary Debates, Roman Wagner, Bert Heinrichs

Human-Machine Communication

The concept of autonomy is indispensable in the history of Western thought. At least that’s how it seems to us nowadays. However, the notion has not always had the outstanding significance that we ascribe to it today and its exact meaning has also changed considerably over time. In this paper, we want to shed light on different understandings of autonomy and clearly distinguish them from each other. Our main aim is to contribute to conceptual clarity in (interdisciplinary) discourses and to point out possible pitfalls of conceptual pluralism.

The World Series Begins, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It seems that the biggest news in baseball this week is off the field. Usually, that is not a good thing. Yesterday, the Commissioner of Baseball, Rob Manfred, announced that Pete Rose and sixteen other players have been re-instated from baseball’s  “permanently ineligible” list. Among the sixteen others are several players caught up in the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

Helen V. Stelle And The Tampa Public Library: A Case Study In The Development Of Florida Public Libraries During The 1920s, Rachel E. Trnka

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Presentation at the Florida Historical Society Annual Meeting and Symposium.

As has been discussed by many historians, the nineteen twenties were a complex period in Florida, marked by the promise of the great land boom and increased migration to the state, which was countered by the challenges of the land bust, two major hurricanes, and the subsequent depression. The career of Helen V. Stelle, who served as the director of the Tampa Public Library from 1917 to 1949 and helped to establish the Florida Library Association (FLA) in 1922, provides one example of how Florida libraries were affected by these …

Beyond Gaming: Using Discord To Increase Communication In Your Courses, Christine I. Kugelmann, Carolyn Glasshoff

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Discord is a versatile, free communication platform that supports text, voice, and video interactions within customizable servers. This tutorial shows how to integrate Discord into educational settings, highlighting its ability to facilitate instantaneous communication and secure information sharing. By organizing course-related discussions into distinct channels, educators can enhance student engagement and collaboration. The platform’s compatibility with various devices, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, ensures accessibility for all users. Additionally, Discord’s web-based option provides flexibility for those who prefer not to download the app. To comply with FERPA regulations, educators can set clear guidelines on the appropriate use of …

Zork Reimagined: Interactive Fiction In The Age Of Ai, Aleksey Tikhonov

ELO (Un)linked 2024

Classic interactive fiction has unique charm but faces known limitations; early IF games have complex user interfaces that are not intuitive for new players. They also often fail to understand user commands, leading to immersion-breaking default responses. Modern neural network-based games offer more flexibility but suffer from hallucinations, incoherence, and lack of overarching story structures. To address these issues, we propose a system that combines the strengths of both classic and modern approaches. It transforms the classic game Zork (Blank et al., 1979) into smoother narration with a controllable literary style while preserving the original plot and game logic. It …

Caitlin Clark And History, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past several weeks one of the major stories in sport in the United States has been Caitlin Clark’s quest for the all-time scoring title in women’s college basketball. Clark with her high-level skills: shooting, passing, rebounding, and defense were a source of amazement to many, especially those for whom women’s basketball and women’s sport have been of marginal interest.

Empowering English-Language Learners Through Acting, Translanguaging, And Collaborative Devising, Natasha L. Yannacanedo

Journal of English Learner Education

The author explores the transformative potential of using acting, translanguaging, and collaborative devising as tools for linguistic and personal development among English Language Learners (ELLs). Through a reflective narrative of teaching Acting I to ELL students, the paper delves into the challenges and successes encountered in integrating acting, translanguaging, and devising into the curriculum. Emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between acting and language learning, the author discusses how expressive language development, vocabulary acquisition, and enhanced pronunciation skills were cultivated. Additionally, the paper considers the role of translanguaging in creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment, where students' linguistic diversity is celebrated …

The Courts And Intercollegiate Athletics, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the past several weeks, the world of college sports has witnessed considerable turmoil and the prospect of major change. The future of the NCAA is in doubt, at least in its current form. The myth of the “student athlete” under the banner of amateurism is dead. The term should be laid to rest and never be seen in print again. It was a fabricated term created by former NCAA president, Walter Byers, designed to allow the NCAA to keep the money earned from intercollegiate athletics for itself, and out of the hands of the athletes.

Willie Mays, Ray Dandridge, And Me., Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It has been a very busy last six weeks or more for me and in the world of sport. There have been any number of things that have attracted my attention and normally would have prompted some comment here. At some point, I will return to some of those issues and events. Today, I will concentrate on one.

Feminist Cybernetic, Critical Race, Postcolonial, And Crip Propositions For The Theoretical Future Of Human-Machine Communication, Paula M. Gardner, Jess Rauchberg

Human-Machine Communication

The authors review theoretical trends in HMC research, as well as recent critical interventions in the HMC journal that usefully reshape and expand our research terrain. Conventional research such as positivist and quantified approaches are identified as restraining research questions and delimiting understandings of concepts including subjects, agency and interactivity. Feminist cybernetic, critical race, postcolonial and crip theoretical approaches are offered, examining how they fill research gaps in HMC, expanding content areas explored, and addressing diverse intersectional pressures, situated, and time/space dynamics that impact human machine interaction. The authors suggest these shifts are essential to expanding HMC research to address …