Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Synthetic, Julia L. Prince

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Throughout her life, the poet May Swenson concerned herself with communicating pathways to personal improvement and self-discovery by navigating the distinct social and psychological challenges specific to her historical context, personality, and gender. Though deceased, Swenson is still able to communicate these notions successfully, as many of her poems’ speakers do not conceal their intentions, but rather “force the truth.”

Synthetic, a poetry chapbook, similarly “forces the truth,” as the speaker – like Swenson’s – craves to bare all and discover more about who she is, as she contends with her own social and psychological challenges regarding beauty-gestures, practices, …

Two Cases Of Intellectual Continuity Between Mental Philosophy And Psychology: William James And Charles Grandison Finney, Zachary Zschaechner

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The history of American psychology was once dominated by a narrative that emphasized the unprecedented nature of psychology at the expense of its relation to mental philosophy. Contrary to this narrative, this discussion offers two cases of intellectual continuity between 19th century Protestant mental philosophy and the new psychology as it emerged in the United States in the last quarter of the 19th century.

Dayananda Saraswati And The Colonial Machines: Vedic Reformation, European Science, And Modernity In Colonial India, David Tauber

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The relationship between European science and religion has varied considerably through time and among different traditions. This monograph attempts to catalogue one such variant by exploring the context entrance of European science into the Indian subcontinent, at the beginning of the British colonial period, by focusing on how a single religion leader drew upon European notions of science in building his reformed Vedic theology. Dayananda Saraswati (1824-83) spent much of his life traveling northern India as an itinerate ascetic and ultimately founded an intellectual lineage that was instrumental in the Indian Independence movement. Despite having no formal British education included …

In Search Of America: One Barbershop At A Time, Keith M. Buswell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Barbershops are a mainstay of the American tradition and have served as an anchor to main streets across the country. They have a colorful history and play an important role as community gathering places for men and boys. Before our society became more mobile, a boy may have grown up in the same barbershop, in the same barber chair, getting his hair cut by the same barber, from his years as a toddler, a teenager, and into his young adulthood. Many old school barbers have cut the hair of multiple generations, grandfathers, fathers, and sons, while standing in the same …

Mergers Of The Utah Cooperative Association In Post-War Utah, 1940-1970, Emily Gurr Thompson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Agricultural historians have long grappled with the causes leading to the dissolution of the farming community and their disassociation with their lands. Cooperatives were key to maintaining this relationship. The cooperative economic model sustained farmers to shape, negotiate and create a place for themselves in the 20^th century agrarian landscape. Long time agricultural leaders like W.B. Robins worked to bolster cooperative ideologies and prevent integration into large scale American agribusiness between 1940 and 1970.

This plan B paper examines a series of failed mergers that Robins had intended to thwart the decline of the Utah Cooperative Association (UCA). W.B. …

Texas In The Southwestern Fur Trade, 1718-1840., J. Ryan Badger

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Much has been written about the North American trade dealing in beaver and otter pelts. The drive to acquire valuable hides drove the early colonial economy and served as one of the industries which pushed Americans to expand their national reach beyond the Rocky Mountains, the British, Scots, and Russians to move southward from Canada and Alaska, and the Spanish to assert their claim to the North. Admittedly, the Spanish were latecomers to the fur trade and often lacked the population and practical experience to pursue trapping as a nationalized industry, however, the portion of North America they laid claim …

Home To Harlan: African American Miners' Children Celebration Of Homecoming, Jessica L. Cushenberry

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

For decades, Harlan County has been studied for its unique characteristics—coal, class, power, and segregation, which have allowed many fields to understand the deeply rooted history of the region. It has become increasingly clear that Harlan County is unlike many other mining regions in the Appalachian area. Harlan County mines developed “model towns” with schools, hospitals, stores and housing for their workers, thus, drawing in migrant workers, native Appalachians, and immigrants. Among these people were African Americans.

African American coal miners’ have been heavily discussed in literature, especially in West Virginia and Alabama. This work focuses on African American mining …

Reading Female Identity Creation: Self-Realization In Colonial And Postcolonial African Literature, Katie Johnson Jorgensen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The thesis, Re-defining Madness: Reading Female Identity Creation and Self-realization in Colonial and Postcolonial African Literature, compares female identity creation in three novels by African female authors. It reveals how the colonial texts represent extreme female identity formation (stagnation vs. transcendent life) juxtaposed with the dynamic and interconnected identity formation represented in postcolonial writing. The analysis begins with The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria), to detail how identity stagnation results when the protagonist faces oppression in her culturally defined role as mother, yet returns to this role without further opposition. The second section focuses on Efuru by Flora …

Confluence: A Braided Essay, Kathryn Christian

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Confluence: A Braided Essay seeks to examine three distinct topics: the trauma of my parents' divorce, the controversial decision over Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah, and Aileen Wuornos, the first documented female serial killer in the United States. The braided essay's unique format allows the author to select three different topics and weave them together. As the author braids the strands through the essay, the implications of the strands arise and begin to vibrate together on the page. Confluence is a response to the rage of a serial killer, the pain of losing Bears Ears, and the angered …

Design And Motion Media For Modern Theatre, Patrick W. Mathis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This report describes the work completed for three plays: Dogfight, Next to Normal, and Three Sisters.

Suspense Radio Series, Gothic Literature, And The American Family, Kelly Kirkham

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

My plan B thesis argues that the Suspense radio series, which aired from 1942-1963, served as a cathartic release for Americans during the Golden Age of Radio; the program accomplished catharsis by borrowing characteristics originating in 19th century gothic literature: sound effects, domestic space as setting, and the uncanny. The evidence I use in my argument includes radio show recordings, magazines, and published works from prominent radio scholars to analyze the effects of the Suspense program, specifically the 1960 season. Scholarly works include books and articles from Neil Verma, author of Theater of the Mind and assistant professor in Radio/Television/Film …

An Analysis Of Murals Painted By Students At Intermountain Indian School In Brigham City, Utah, Carlos Junior Guadarrama

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

My plan B thesis argues that Intermountain School in Brigham City, Utah was a progressive development, especially when placed within the context of other Native American boarding schools. I argue my point by conducting a close examination and analysis of several murals painted by prominent indigenous artist Allan Houser and students at the school as well as several other forms of art from Intermountain. In the first chapter of my thesis, I present evidence that demonstrates how damaging Native Boarding schools were for generations of students. I then present evidence which showcases how certain changes paved the way for Intermountain …

Participate!, Michael Kettinger

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Hands-on art projects that directly reference scientific information may be a good outreach tool to generate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Stories Behind The Berlin Wall: Lesson Modules, Nicholas Redmon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I have grappled with my primary collection just as scholars and popular authors have with bringing these stories together with political histories. My goal is to create a digital map and analysis on specific themes like education and guard duty from the lives lived behind the Wall and their discourse with the government. I would like to explore how the divide impacted lives in 1961, created a GDR Society, and produced a division still felt in Germany today. The target audience of this project is U.S. students in high school and higher education. Students will be able to access timely …

Anticipation Of Subsequent Days, Christopher Watt

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis exhibition is a presentation of my research into historic and autoethnographic analyses of social, material, and technical practices that support the production of atmospheric-fired stoneware and porcelain vessels. My work examines contemporary ceramic processes of wood-firing, salt-glazing and wood ash glazes and how they continue craft practices of historic traditions.

By critically examining the ceramic studio as a ground for material and ethnographic research, I aim to better understand the social conditions that support and produce atmospheric-fired ceramic practices in the 21st century, as well as how and why we continue to create such pots. My practice-based research …

Constraints Of Haunted Heritage Tourism In Logan, Utah, Kylie Schroeder

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

It has become common in Salem, Savannah, New Orleans, Edinburg, or Gettysburg, to witness groups of people being led through the darkened streets as part of a ghost tour or haunted history walk. An altered form of commercialized legend tripping, these companies offer guided tours, feature spooky stories, and often showcase local history. However, the trend of haunted heritage tourism, especially in the form of ghost walks and haunted history tours, has spread beyond places with national or international reputations for hauntings and is now growing in small towns whose stories are rarely shared beyond the local populace.

This thesis …

Luminous, Antra Sinha

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As an observer, I have enjoyed the momentary happenings of the world. In India, I have watched shimmering waves from the shores of the Bay of Bengal. In Utah, I have admired gleaming sunlight on freshly fallen snow on the mountains. Peering into the kiln at peak temperature I have been in awe of the bright white light. Close to my heart I hold the significant memory of my dog’s passing, who laid in my lap as the ball of light escaped her. I gather these fleeting moments, and carry them into my studio. I relive these happenings in my …