Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Poverty And Homelessness : A Content Analysis Of Children's Nonfiction Literature, Christine Newell

Graduate Research Papers

Units taught in social studies and language arts that address family issues, neighborhoods, communities, economic diversity, and social issues need to address the struggles, challenges, and fears of children living in poverty or who are homeless. Depictions of poverty and homelessness should be handled with accuracy and sensitivity. Connections made through the use of literature can help all students develop an understanding about the world around them and help them begin to realize the struggles of those who live in poverty.

This study of K-6 nonfiction books about poverty and homelessness investigated how these social problems were depicted in the …

Turkish Identity In Poetry Before And After The 1928 Language Revolution, Angela Marie Wrage

Honors Program Theses

The 1928 language revolution in Turkey involved the change of the Turkish writing script from the Arabic to the Latin alphabet, as well as the elimination of Arabic and Persian loan words and associated imported grammar. In this study, we assessed the impact this language revolution had on Turkish identity by examining it through the lens of Ottoman and Turkish literature and poetry. To achieve this, we compared literary and poetic themes from before and after the language revolution; we also studied the activity of prolific writers from before and after the transition to determine what effect, if any, the …

The Disintegration Of Yugoslavia And Football, Adnan Kajtezović

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a multi-national state, consisting of six republics and two autonomous regions. However in 1991, the country descended into a tragic and bloody civil war, causing over two hundred thousand deaths and the migration of thousands. The disintegration of Yugoslavia produced seven independent countries: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo.

The disintegration of Yugoslavia has been analyzed from different analytical perspectives. This project utilizes the analytical context of Yugoslavian popular culture, and focuses on the most popular sport in the country, football. Football is analyzed in two historical periods of …

Danish Cedar Falls : The Immigrant Experience, Carrie L. Eilderts

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Danish were the largest immigrant group in Cedar Falls. They immigrated to Cedar Falls and the nearby rural village of Fredsville in large numbers between 1870 and 1900. There they formed an immigrant community. The lived near each other, worshipped together, spoke the same language, and carried on Danish traditions. They farmed, found jobs in Cedar Falls businesses, and opened businesses of their own. By the 1930s, as the first generation of Danish immigrants grew old, the younger generations began to identify more as Americans than as Danes. The elements that characterized the Danish immigrant community began to disappear. …

Does Religion Affect Economic Growth?, Parash Upreti

Honors Program Theses

A majority of the people in the world are affiliated with a religion. A study about world’s major religious groups found out that there are about 5.8 billion religiously affiliated people, which is about 85% of the world’s population (Pew Research Center 2012). It is important for people to understand how religion affects people’s daily lives, especially how religions affect spending and income. In this study, we are interested in finding whether or not religion has an impact on the economic growth of a country. Past studies have suggested that religion, in specific forms and activities, affects the people’s income …

Resurrecting The Hip-Hop And Christian Cultures: Lecrae's Unashamed Use Of The Rap Narrative, Persona, And Language, Marci Swank

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Hip-hop and Christian cultures do not overlap too often, or do they? As a rapper, Lecrae is able to share his narrative through his lyrical content, which includes his Christian faith. This thesis examines the history of hip-hop, Lecrae’s personal influences, and the overarching movement within the two cultures. Lecrae’s persona, use of the hiphop and Christian platforms, and rhetorical decisions reveal him as an example of how the American culture both resists and embraces the less-likely artist. Some view Lecrae as the one bringing hip-hop back to its original origins, but others believe that he is tainting both cultures …

Reconciling The Two Cultures : A Case Study Of The University Of Northern Iowa, Elizabeth Ann Collins

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In 1959, chemist and author Charles Percy Snow gave a Rede Lecture at the University of Cambridge in which he named “Two Cultures”—the sciences and the humanities—which, according to his experience as someone who worked in both, were at odds with one another. His words elicited impassioned responses from critics who either agreed with Snow, believing this to be a detriment to society, or vehemently disagreed, believing Snow’s statements to be unfounded, and even antagonistic. This conversation, which had also found relevance in the United States, continues to be important today, and has changed over the years as institutions of …

Graduate Recital In Viola, Nichelle Probst

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Nichelle Probst performed her graduate recital on Friday, April 24, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. in Davis Hall at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. This recital was given in partial fulfillment of requirements for her Master of Music degree, with an emphasis in viola performance. The recital program consisted of Suite No. 6 in G Major (transcribed from the original for cello in D major), BWV 1012 by Johann Sebastian Bach; Romanze for viola and piano by Ralph Vaughan Williams; Sonate for viola and piano, Op. 25 No. 4 by Paul Hindemith; and Le Grand …

A Master's Recital In Flute, Natalie Mahree Neshyba

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Natalie Neshyba presented a graduate flute recital on Friday, March 6th, 2015 at 6:00 pm in Davis Hall of the Gallagher‐Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. This recital was given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Music degree in flute performance. Dr. Polina Khatsko, pianist, performed alongside Ms. Neshyba on two selections. The program began with an unaccompanied work, Les Folies d’Espagne, by Marin Marais. Next on the program was Claude Debussy’s Sonata in G minor L140 for flute and piano, which was recently transcribed from the original violin version by Dr. …

A Graduate Recital In Voice, Marie Sorenson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Marie Sorenson, soprano, presented her graduate voice recital on Friday, November 6, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. in Davis Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on the University of Northern Iowa campus. The program consisted of three sets of music by Reynaldo Hahn, Johannes Brahms, and Jake Heggie, in collaboration with pianist Polina Khatsko. This abstract discusses musical and historical features of the recital pieces in the order of the program.

Stars, Stripes, And Swastikas : The American Turners And National Identity, 1935-1945, Amy Rekward

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Although German Americans were unable to completely recover from the discrimination endured during World War I, the American Turners proved to be a resilient group. Despite the insistence of some scholars that the German-American community in the United States lost the battle for cultural pluralism, from 1935 to 1945, the American Turners continued to craft and foster a unique Turner identity. Composed of what members perceived to be the best aspects of their German and American identities, the Turner identity allowed American Turners to both valorize their German heritage and present themselves as devoted Americans. My research into the American …

In Connection With All Things : The Memory Of Alexander Humboldt And His Works In The Context Of 19th Century Thought In Europe And America, Ray Joseph Werner

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis explores the memory of Alexander von Humboldt, the explorer and philosopher who was known for his travels throughout Europe, Asia, South America, and North America. This paper will examine primary and secondary sources throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries that mark a change in just how Humboldt was remembered, once as a great thinker, philosopher, and romanticist, then eventually as little more than an empirical scientist. This thesis will contribute to modern understandings of this man by looking at popular publications and writings that track this change over time. It will contribute to the modern understanding …

“Our Navy” : Women Accepted For Voluntary Emergency Service At Iowa State Teacher's College, 1942-1945, Marissa Krein

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

During World War II, Iowa State Teacher’s College (now known as University of Northern Iowa) was host to the first indoctrination school and later yeomen school (naval secretaries) of the United States Naval Women’s Reserve or the Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES). The first class of 1,500 WAVES arrived at Iowa State Teacher’s College (ISTC) in December 1942. The women endured five to six weeks of an intensive introductory training. In April 1943, the indoctrination school was replaced by a yeomen school. The yeomen school remained in operation until it was closed in April 1945. During its twenty-nine …

“God Will Deliver Us” : Human Rights Abuses From Guatemala To Iowa And Back, 1980-2014, Raeann Lillian Swanson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Guatemala’s long internal conflict, the lack of justice, the general poverty, and continued violence since the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords prompt many people to migrate to the United States in search of jobs and opportunities for their family. Since the 1980s, Guatemalans have settled in Postville, Iowa, a small town that is nationally recognized for the ethnically diverse populations that live and work there. In 2008, it was also the site of the largest Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) worksite raid to date and the following criminal trials were unprecedented. Because of the tragedy in Postville, sources that detail …

A Technical Method For The High School String Classroom: Priorities And Presentation Of Essential Skills, Nicole Elizabeth Cody

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis and its accompanying appendices synthesize pedagogical information from classroom method books, classroom pedagogy texts and individual instrument methods presenting new manuals for technique acquisition on violin, viola, cello and double bass in the secondary orchestra classroom. After reviewing the literature, the following categories were determined to be most important for this level of student: 1) Finger Patterns/Tetrachord Exercises, 2) Scales, 3) Bowing, 4) Shifting, 5) Position Etudes and 6) Chorales/Tonal Development. This paper focuses on these categories reporting on how different texts teach the various skills and creating a guide that encourages both a vertical and horizontal understanding …

August Becker And Traditional Vs. Modern Culture In The First Decades Of The Twentieth Century, Michelle Lea Becker Smith

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In the first few decades of the twentieth century, American culture changed drastically from the traditional agricultural culture that had sustained it for a century to one that was modern and revolved around the urban landscape, consumer culture, and manufacturing. In this thesis I explore this change in American culture through the life of August Becker, son of a rural German immigrant who chose a life of crime instead of staying in rural Iowa. His life choices are the lens used to explore the changes in American culture through the first decades of the twentieth century.

An Annotated Bibliography Of Materials Recommended For Middle School Classrooms Regarding The Multiple Perspectives On The Causes Of The American Civil War, Emma Folland

Graduate Research Papers

The Civil War is a topic that is taught at the middle school level. However, teachers are not necessarily teaching from both the Northern and Southern perspectives. They are also not always looking at the causes of the Civil War beyond slavery. The purpose of this project was to create a selective annotated bibliography of recommended resources for middle school teachers to use when teaching about the causes of the Civil War from both the Northern and Southern perspectives. The researcher considered what resources were available for teaching middle school students about the different causes of the Civil War from …

Caged Manhood : Office Culture And How Walter Camp's Daily Dozen Revitalized The Workforce, 1903-1940, Nick Sly

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis is examines how culture became a means to deal with the problems of over-civilization in the early twentieth century. The realities of a salaried position and corporate work spaces had dramatically changed how the middle class felt about work. Looking at the writings of Walter Camp, the human relations movement, and the exercise culture of the period one can see how the office space was not simply a place of work but a new context for constructing masculinity and a sense of worth.

The Public Library Experience: Choosing Books To Read From Predetermined Levels And Its Implications, Amy L. Seufert

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore the implications resulting from experiences in libraries that parents and children face when they come to the public library with externally identified reading levels that restrict their reading to materials with a particular numerical measure. The volunteer participants included 27 parents and their children who frequent the public library searching for books, particularly leveled books. Participants completed a simple, paper survey which was located at the library desk over a two week period. Based on their in depth answers to survey questions, three parents of first and second grade students were asked …

Annotated Bibliography Of Thematically Related Historical Fiction Picture Books And Nonfiction Pairs, Katherine Seibel

Graduate Research Papers

The Iowa Common Core requires students to read both fiction and nonfiction texts. Iowa teachers would benefit from a list of books that will allow them to meet school curricular requirements as well as the Iowa Core requirement. The purpose of this project was to create an annotated bibliography of paired sets of picture books and nonfiction books that correspond to one mid-sized Iowa elementary school's literacy curriculum. The researcher selected units from the school's literacy program that could be taught in a historical context, and then prepared an annotated bibliography consisting of pairs of a historical fiction picture book …

Closing The Knowledge Gap Between Virtual Design And Product Manufacturing : Using 3d Printing For The Ninth Grade, Jeremiah D. Cooper

Graduate Research Papers

This action research investigates the impact of using 3D printing for a Technology Education course in a ninth grade classroom in general, and the effectiveness of students' ability to connect virtual design and manufacturing concepts in particular. There is a current gap in 3D printing research involving the link between designing products virtually using CADD software and the manufacturing processes necessary to create real life products. This action research attempts to fill the current research gap between computer-aided design and product manufacturing for ninth grade students.

Within the three weeks of this experimental design research, as a teacher who teaches …

Rethinking The Conquest : An Exploration Of The Similarities Between Pre-Contact Spanish And Mexica Society, Culture, And Royalty, Samantha Billing

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Spanish Conquest has been historically marked by the year 1521 and is popularly thought of as an absolute and complete process of indigenous subjugation in the New World. Alongside this idea comes the widespread narrative that describes a barbaric, uncivilized group of indigenous people being conquered and subjugated by a more sophisticated and superior group of Europeans. There is also a common misconception that the Conquest resulted in a dominance of European culture and a loss of the indigenous heritage that had prevailed in the New World up until that point.

This manuscript explores the period known as the …

All Fortune Is Good Fortune: The Role Of Fortuna In A Monotheistic Literary World, Kimberly Bridgewater

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The goddess Fortuna, who ruled over chance and the giving of worldly gifts was a pagan deity who survived through the conversion of Christianity in Europe. Her survival and inclusion in Medieval literature caused conflicts with the Christian religion, especially in relation to beliefs in free will and God’s Providence. Now, twenty-first century scholars are still attempting to figure out how the role of free will can co-exist with Fortuna, especially in regard to the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, who render Fortuna as a dominant entity in the lives of their Christian characters. …

A Graduate Recital In Voice, Branden D. S. Haralson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Branden D. S. Haralson, baritone, presented his graduate voice recital on Friday, April 3, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., in Davis Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on the University of Northern Iowa campus. The recital was presented in collaboration with pianist Dr. Robin Guy, and included works by Beethoven, Schubert, Mahler, and Duparc. This abstract discusses musical and historical features of the works performed.

Suggestions For Transgender Inclusion In Classical Music: A Mini-Cycle, Xavia A. Publius

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This interdisciplinary text examines the lack of transgender inclusion in Western classical music, especially through the lens of opera. By looking at the dearth of transgender characters, singers, and composers, as well as the author’s personal experiences as a transgender singer in classical spaces, this project develops a strong position on ways that Western classical music should work to incorporate transgender voices, both literally and figuratively.

Some of these methods are modeled in this thesis, such as consultations with other transgender artists, transgeneric devising, and trans-centric composing. The author worked with local transgender singers to understand their views on opera, …

Digital Action: An Exploratory Documentary Of Artistic Process, Dana Renee Potter

Honors Program Theses

Digital Action: An Exploratory Documentation of Artistic Process is a short documentary film of the creation of artwork for my Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition, titled Digital Action. In the exhibition titled Digital Action, I created visualizations of my daily computer use to explore how digital experiences are simultaneously overwhelming and wildly inspiring. The video presents video of the steps of my process in a linear fashion with my voice-order explaining the process and theory behind the artwork. The documentary was filmed from September 2015 to December 2015.

Similar But Different: An Analysis Of Differences In Clarinet And Saxophone Pedagogy And Doubler’S Misconceptions, Nicholas Jeremy Carlo

Honors Program Theses

Doubling, or the ability to play one or more secondary instruments, is an extremely important skill for the professional woodwind player to have. For a saxophonist, the ability to play clarinet can sometimes make the difference between winning an audition or not. On a more basic level, many clarinetists learn to play saxophone so they can participate in the school jazz band, while many saxophonists learn to play clarinet both as a double in jazz band or as a new challenge in the concert band setting. Many times a student will pick up an instrument and attempt to figure it …

Numuzart: An Original, Multi-Sensory, Creative Experience, Tori Christine Ovel

Honors Program Theses

NuMuzArt grew from a small seed planted in my brain over the summer of 2014, when I attended a few summer composition programs to experience and learn more about my compositional craft. While at the Charlotte Music Festival, I participated in a conversation about the sterile nature of music recitals in the academic and concert music world. This conversation stuck with me and became a no-brainer subject for my honors thesis. I would research the concert music world and construct an alternative which would solve a few of my personal vendettas against the standard recital format, while retaining a “serious …

The American Symphony Orchestra: Factors Affecting Concert Attendance And Predictions For The Millennial Ticketholder, Hayley Graham

Honors Program Theses

This research investigates the perception of live orchestral music performances among members of the American millennial generation, born between 1985 and 1997. Specifically, it describes the most common factors and trends affecting attendance decisions, looking at aspects such as past musical experience, marketing strategies used, and accessibility of performances. Current programming, marketing, and educational trends in several orchestras are also considered. Information for this study was gathered from a survey of University of Northern Iowa students, as well as from case studies of orchestras. This thesis provides predictions and recommendations for how to best reach this demographic as orchestras move …

Amanda Mccandless, Clarinet, December 1, 2014 [Program], University Of Northern Iowa. School Of Music.

Music Recital Programs

Program of a music recital given by faculty, students, or guest artists from the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa.