Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Bird, The Oak, And The Stories That Build Us, Alicyn Newman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This is a project combining creative writing and oral history research surrounding the life of my late grandfather, Kenneth Wesley Newman. In its pages, I delve into memory, history, and storytelling, seeking to identify which stories have held meaning for my family over time, and why. I have written my way chronologically through my grandfather’s life and interwoven his narrative with what I know now, what I remember, and the stories we continue to tell as a family. The interdisciplinary nature of this project led to a combination of creating writing and research, which included reading war-era letters, watching home …

Factors Contributing To Continuing Democratic Victories In Some Southern House Districts, 1994–2008, Dillon Mccormick

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The American South went through a period of political transition in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This transition reached its climax after the 1994 elections, after which Democrats ceased to hold the majority of House seats in the South, never to regain that strength. However, Democrats continued to win a decent share of House seats in the South after 1994, with about 40% of Southern House seats being won by Democrats until the 2010 elections, after which Democrats shrunk to a much smaller minority.

This paper analyzes the factors that allowed some Democrats to continue to be elected …

Female Cartographers: Historical Obstacles And Successes, Eva Llamas-Owens

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For much of history, women have lived in male-dominated societies, which has limited their participation in society. The field of cartography has been largely populated by men, but despite cultural obstacles, there are records of women significantly contributing over the past 1,000 years. Historically, women have faced coverture, stereotypes, lack of opportunities, and lack of recognition for their accomplishments. Their involvement in cartography is often a result of education or valuable experiences, availability of resources, a supportive community or mentor, hard work, and luck regardless of when and where they lived.

This research divides women before and after the turn …

Listening Back: A Podcast About Encouraging Social Change Through Theatre Of The Past, Madison Rose

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This CE/T explores the nature of theatre as a tool to encourage social change. Theatre is an important art form that can influence audiences into considering contemporary societal concerns and taking action. This capstone specifically addresses theatre prior to the 2000s as effective commentary on modern issues in America, such as police brutality, discrimination, reproductive rights, and religious hypocrisy. I have created a podcast as a resource for young dramaturgs and activists about existing and accessible plays that can be used to address important societal issues. This project is a culmination of my interest in theatre, history, communication and social …

Zephyrus, Western Kentucky University

Student Creative Writing

The fine arts magazine of Western Kentucky University at Bowling Green.

Ua37/44 Faculty Personal Papers Gordon Wilson, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Personal papers of Gordon Wilson.

Ua19/16/2 Tennis Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU tennis teams in 2020.

Ua19/16/2 Softball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU softball team in 2020.

Ua19/16/2 Athletic Media Relations Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

General WKU athletic press releases for 2020.

Ua19/16/1/1 Hilltopper Baseball 2020 Media Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

2020 baseball media guide produced by WKU Athletic Media Relations, includes athletic records and statistics, photographs, schedule and information regarding opponents.

Ua19/16/2 Track & Field Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU track & field teams in 2020.

A Political Perch: A Historical Analysis And Online Exhibit Of The U.S. Senate Clerk's Desk, Olivia Bowers

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience aims to highlight the importance of the historical object and accurately document the complete history of the former United States Senate Clerk’s Desk, placed in the newly built chamber in 1859 and removed in 1951. The desk’s first and last occupants were Kentucky natives and civil servants, and its current resting place is in Western Kentucky University’s Kentucky Museum. Through research that began in the nation’s capital, and a journey to follow the desk’s paper trail, the object’s massive historical legacy and close ties to the state of Kentucky may live on. Along with …

Baudrillard And The Viral Violence Of Cyber Security, Alex Rivera

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This paper explores Jean Baudrillard’s theorization on war and communication, connecting it to recent developments in the field of cyber security. With the important elevation of military forces such as the United States Cyber Command, critical theory needs to interrogate the increasing stature and seriousness of the cyber domain in global military strategies. Baudrillard’s critique shifts the focus from simple military strategies to the globe’s consumption of the information that is offered by the global information complex. This paper explains the nuances of violence surrounding the exchange of media surrounding war, criticizing both pro-war and anti-war stances, to examine the …

Dark Magic Part 1, Rachel Quaid

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Dark Magic is a novel that mixes old folklore with fantasy and a splash of modern day. This first part of the novel readies the readers to enter the world of the old Irish Aos Sì. Ophelia is a witch, living in the land of the fae. She signs up to help with a research study to better her chances at succeeding as a healer. Rhea is a member of the Tuatha de Danann, the fae folk who rule the land from their courts of old. She is sent by her caretaker to observe this study. Everyone knows witches and …

An Ethnic Cultural Landscape: German Breweries And Social Institutions In Covington, Kentucky, 1860-1920, Andrew Jones

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A useful marker for recognizing the impact that ethnic groups make to the social and cultural characteristics of a city are the institutions and material landscapes created by those groups. In northern Kentucky, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, German immigrants and their descendants in the city of Covington established institutions such as breweries, saloons, social associations, and churches that became the heart of ethnic neighborhoods and shaped the form of the landscape. This research examines institutional and cultural landscape markers of German cultural identity in the city of Covington, Kentucky, from 1860 to 1920. Demographic and spatial data …

Discussion On 'A.R. Wallace In The Light Of Historical Method' By John Van Whye, Charles H. Smith, George Beccaloni, James D. Williams, Derek Partridge

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

The recent article by historian John van Wyhe purports to identify seventeen ‘myths’ concerning the life and work of naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Here we briefly describe what we feel is wrong with them, and refer to published literature that extend these arguments. Our objections do not extend to the ‘historical method’ van Wyhe adopts, but instead to the way he has ignored the criticisms of peers to the extent of not even acknowledging their scholarly articles.

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 10: The Impact Of A.R. Wallace's Sarawak Law Paper Resurrected, Derek Patridge, Charles H. Smith Editor

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Six assertions that relate to the impact of Wallace’s Sarawak Law paper1 on the development of evolution theory have been proposed and analyzed by John van Wyhe.2 He concluded that they were all erroneous. The analysis presented a valid criticism of some casual and over-confident pronouncements with respect to interpretations of history. More significantly, it is a misguided attempt to expose “original historical meanings,” and thereby dismiss all other interpretations as necessarily incorrect. A re-analysis reveals that, contrary to van Wyhe’s analysis, much of the conventional wisdom is plausibly correct, and it remains the case that “the past is a …

Narrative Chronology Of Tatian's Diatessaron, James W. Barker

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

The Synoptics narrate a single Passover during Jesus’ ministry, whereas John’s Gospel spans three Passovers. The Diatessaron harmonized the Four Gospels, but previous scholarship has misapprehended Tatian’s chronology of Jesus’ ministry. The Diatessaron included all the Johannine festivals, but Tatian rearranged the order of events. Distinctively resolving a significant disagreement between John and the Synoptics, Tatian innovated a narrative sequence wherein Jesus’ temple disruption occurs at the second of three Passovers.

Ua1c11/105 Phi Mu Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs created by and about Phi Mu sorority.

Tap For The Times: A Study Of Contemporary Tap Dance, Elise Wilham

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Tap dance is an American art form that began with the blending of traditional dance styles from English and Irish immigrants and African slaves. Throughout the 20th century, tap dance developed many styles in response to cultural changes that took place. Contemporary tap dance emerged in the latter half of that century and continues developing today with the fusion of other dance genres and new technologies. This research examines tap dance history to create an understanding of how it developed through a historical lens and analyzes the current approaches applied to the artform along with the characteristics and creative processes …

Keeping Faith: A Qualitative Study On Religiosity Among Young Catholics In Ireland, Michael A. Clements

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Ireland is a country that is well-known for its Catholic heritage. Despite its global perception as a Catholic country, the Emerald Isle has experienced rapid secularization within the last 30 years, during which rates of Church attendance and Catholic self-identification have fallen dramatically. Likewise, the legalization of abortion, gay marriage, and divorce, concepts contrary to Catholic teaching, further reflect the island's departure from Catholic Orthodoxy. Should the Catholic religion have a future in Ireland, it will lie in the hands of its devout youth: a demographic with relatively little representation in the literature.

Using a hybrid interview and survey format, …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 11: Wallace, Darwin, Education, & The Class Question, James D. Williams, Charles H. Smith Editor

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

In a recent paper by John van Wyhe (2020), the issue of class was discussed and whether Wallace came from a “working class” background. As a result of class differences could or should Wallace be considered differently from Darwin, who supposedly came from a higher class? An additional “myth” highlighted was whether Wallace left school, aged 14, due to difficult family financial circumstances. Van Wyhe contends that Darwin and Wallace were both middle class, and Wallace left school at the “normal” school-leaving age. This article shows that both contentions are mistaken. Class in the 19th century was complex and difficult, …

Ua19/16/1 Hilltopper Football 2019 Bowl Guide, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Media guide for the First Responder Bowl, WKU vs. Western Michigan University.

Ua94/6 Gemini 13 Memories, Eddie Key

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

Answers given by Eddie Key to WKU Gemini jazz bands questionnaire in winter of 2019. See Gemini Jazz Bands online exhibit for more information.

Ua45/6 Commencement Program, Wku Registrar

WKU Administration Documents

Commencement program listing graduates with order of exercises for all WKU campuses.

Ferrell, Ann Katherine, B. 1972 (Fa 1381), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1381. Interview conducted on 11 December 2019 by Ann Ferrell with Michael Ann Williams, who discusses her education and academic career as a folklorist and vernacular architecture historian. From 1987-2018, Williams was a faculty member in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University.

Tichenor Collection (Mss 678), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 678. Correspondence, papers and photographs of the Tichenor family of McLean County, Kentucky, and related families, especially Cherry, Short, and Hutchison. Much relates to the home front during World War II during the Navy service of high school teacher Thomas Cherry Tichenor.

Eagles, Annabelle Deane, 1873-1967 (Sc 3495), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3495. Family letters to Annabelle (Mrs. Hawes B.) Eagles, Owensboro, Kentucky. Her widowed mother describes her sewing, household decorating, illness outbreaks, and the activities of mutual friends. Her husband writes to her while she is in Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, and Buena Vista Springs in Logan County, Kentucky. He also writes to her from Dawson Springs, Kentucky and from hospital in Louisville. Annabelle’s sister-in-law writes from East Orange, New Jersey, with family news and urges her to visit; she also quizzes Annabelle about her bowel ailment in order to secure recommendations for treatment. …

Madden, Cornelius J., 1842-1903 (Sc 3494), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript of letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3494. Letter, 17 November 1862, to his mother from Cornelius Madden, serving with the 102nd Ohio Infantry at Bowling Green, Kentucky. He describes an increase in patrols and fortifications precipitated by rumors of guerrilla leader John Hunt Morgan’s presence in the area. Anticipating an encampment for the winter, he suggests his mother and other “widows” send a box of provisions, prepaid in order to save expense. He reports hearing nothing of his father, also in military service, who he believes to be at Nashville, Tennessee. …

Cassidy, Paul S., 1908-1998 (Sc 3497), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3497. Letters written by Paul S. Cassidy, likely in the 1950s, soliciting clients for the sale or purchase of small rental houses on behalf of a company called "The Rental Pool" in Bowling Green, Kentucky.