Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Acceptable Time, Crystal Mccallie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This scholarly work is my interpretation of the art in the exhibition, An Acceptable Time, which ecompasses a diversity of media that varies as much in material and process as the span of my life as mother, a steward of the domestic home, and a spiritual child-at-heart myself. At the center of the work is a contemplative beauty inviting the viewer to linger with the art and reflect upon the echoes of the past as they might affect the present. The formal delivery of illustrative realism, a mirage of pattern, and abstract layering draws out major themes of memory, nostalgia, …

"A Changed Understanding Of Our Present": Moby-Dick As Prophetic Ecological Activism, Katie Ann Schini

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Moby-Dick: Or, The Whale is a classic of American literature, spanning multiple genres and remaining culturally relevant nearly 175 years after its original publication. Though on the surface Moby-Dick reads as an adventure story of a man who experiences the whaling industry firsthand, Herman Melville’s text continues to invite new generations of readership through the framework of the twenty-first century climate crisis.

In this thesis, I position Moby-Dick as a text that can be used to understand our modern society’s current dispositions of ecological grief. My thesis operates at the intersection of three main literary critical theories: ecocriticism, affect, and …

Tenaciously Curious, Joe Mark Taylor

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this thesis paper, I will outline the journey I’ve taken throughout my graduate studies at the University of Montana and how it has culminated in my thesis exhibition, Tenaciously Curious. I’ll begin with an Introduction that speaks to the importance of finding ways to connect to nature, and the benefits we gain by recognizing our bodies as extensions of the organic world.

In the following section, Influences, Theory and Lineage, I’ll explore the themes that drive my research, highlight artists who have influenced my work, and discuss why this inquiry feels vital within our contemporary moment.

In the section …

America's Highest Stage: Utopians, Capitalists, And Trail Runners On Pikes Peak, Mitchell Morris

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Since ancient times, Pikes Peak’s prominence on the land has endowed it with prominence in the minds of all who have lived around it. This ancient dynamic was reinforced in the nineteenth century by the famed expedition of Lieutenant Zebulon Pike in 1806 and the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush in 1858. Since then, the mountain has become a stage. Standing tall, visible from hundreds of miles around, and known from coast to coast, Pikes Peak is a platform that has attracted diverse historical actors to come and perform, elevate their endeavors to new heights, and demonstrate what they, and people …

Challenged: A Practice-Based Analysis Of Simulating The Realities Of Teaching Through Play, Shanel Lara Locke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ChallengED is a classroom simulation game designed to explore the emotional and procedural realities of teaching through interactive play. Rather than attempting to manufacture empathy, the project focuses on conveying the unpredictability, humor, and fatigue that shape daily classroom life. Drawing from my own teaching experience, the game uses experiential realism and embodied interaction to communicate how educators navigate constant interruptions, shifting demands, and limited control. The development process also became a therapeutic practice, offering a way to reinterpret professional challenges through creative experimentation. Situated within practice-based research, ChallengED demonstrates how game design can function as both artistic inquiry and …

The Hardheaded Got To Feel It To Believe It, Magdalene Eden Luna-Buckelew

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Memoire short stories about the author’s experiences in Southern California working as an artist, exotic dancer, and going through various 12 step recovery programs and therapies to heal from childhood trauma.

An Overview Of Nagpra And The 2024 Revisions, Emily V. Owens-Barber

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Section 11 of the National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAIA) was added to public law in 1989. This required the Smithsonian Museum to repatriate any human remains or funerary objects associated with Native American Ancestry back to their tribes. In 1990, The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was added to federal legislation expanding on this section and requiring that every federally funded institution in the United States that held Native American Remains or funerary objects in their collection must follow this regulation to continue to receive federal funding. Nearly 33 years later in the autumn …

The Creative Front, Aleksandr O. Barrett

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract

In this paper, I will discuss my thesis exhibition, The Creative Front, focusing on my materials, content, and context as they relate to each piece or body of work. This exhibition is the culmination of my work, which centers on my experience with the Russo-Ukrainian war. My work can be interpreted metaphorically, poetically, and directly through sculpture, installation, sound, and film. I am portraying very human stories and experiences from a full-scale war raging in Europe. My work is immersive, placing the viewer in an atmosphere of war, and conveying a sense of urgency and compassion for those who …

Frederick Crews: An Ode To Joy, Stewart Justman

Global Humanities and Religions Faculty Publications

Even critics of Frederick Crews seem to recognize that there is something wonderful about his biography of Freud. Unlike the skepticism which is simply intellectual negativity, Crews’ skepticism is affirmative in character, delighting in the burden of argument. Crews celebrates a world in which reasoned inquiry is possible. His work breathes joy.

A Case Of Insularity: Diana Trilling On In Cold Blood, Stewart Justman

Global Humanities and Religions Faculty Publications

In 1966, exactly fifty years before Hillary Clinton vilified middle America as racist, sexist and all the rest, Diana Trilling poured scorn on the “virtuous, substantial, Republican, churchgoing, civicminded citizens of the Middle West” in a commentary on In Cold Blood (1965) in Partisan Review. Not only, however, did Diana Trilling deride these citizens. She held one of them in particular, Herbert Clutter of Holcomb, Kansas, responsible for the murder of his own family even though he was murdered himself. How was it possible to arrive at such a perverse reading of Capote’s “nonfiction novel”? This essay argues that …

Where Does Common Sense Come From? "A Modest Proposal" And The Inoculation Controversy, Stewart Justman

Global Humanities and Religions Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

'My Body Is Fertile Ground': Exploring Relational Agriculture Through Gender, Body, And Local Food Policy, Erin M. Tansimore

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This master's portfolio, "'My Body Is Fertile Ground': Exploring Relational Agriculture Through Gender, Body, and Local Food Policy," explores the concept of relational agriculture through multiple forms of practice. It comprises three parts: a personal essay discussing the author's experiences with the land as a young woman with a turbulent relationship with her own body; a literature review on gender dynamics in alternative agricultural spaces; and a survey report and a USDA Census of Agriculture data brief produced during an internship with two local food entities.

The first piece, "My Body Is Fertile Ground," details the author's experience with an …

The Environmental Craftsfolk: Making Things In A World Full Of Stuff, Zoey Ballard

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This Civic Engagement Project (CEP) proposes a transformative approach to addressing the complex challenges of environmental degradation and disconnection from nature through the establishment of the Eco-Craft Cabal in Missoula, Montana. The project seeks to reframe environmental consciousness through the lens of craft, fostering improved connections with the local environment and promoting community resilience. By repurposing both natural and artificial materials in inclusive, accessible crafting activities, the Eco-Craft Cabal aims to empower participants to confront feelings of despair and hopelessness with tangible, meaningful actions.

Unbalanced, Kaisha Gerhardt

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Hibernal Haze, Lindsay Hause

The Oval

No abstract provided.

An Interlude In Portland, Oregon, Naiya Warren

The Oval

No abstract provided.

18, Lee Nims

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Peter Rabbit's Pastries, Josie Miller

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Chloe, Lee Terrance Running Crane

The Oval

No abstract provided.

February 25th 12:26 A.M., Finn Sexton

The Oval

No abstract provided.

View Of The Grand Canal, Venice, Italy, Jan. 3, 2024, Chris Lodman

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Margined Leatherwing Beetle, Nicole Emlen

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Forest Stairs, Lukas Prinos

The Oval

No abstract provided.

The Oval, 2024

The Oval

This issue includes creative work from undergraduate students at the University of Montana.

Introducing: The Bryan Di Salvatore Award In Nonfiction Writing, Micah Fields

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Vedbæk Grave 8: The Swan King Burial, Joe Glick

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Bi Partisan, Nathan St. Onge

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Girls On Drugs, Sophie Kotz

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Robot Pilgrims, Sebastian Ambriz

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Natural Perspective, Leah Welch

The Oval

No abstract provided.