Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"Le Bone Florence Of Rome": A Critical Edition And Facing Translation Of A Middle English Romance Analogous To Chaucer's "Man Of Law's Tale", Brendan O'Connell

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Royal And Elite Households In Medieval And Early Modern Europe: More Than Just A Castle, Elena Woodacre

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Mind To Mirror To Life: Sexual Health From A Body Positive Lens, Kacey Richardson

Honors Theses

Body image and sexual health are inextricably linked. It is crucial for college students to understand the importance of body image within sexual health in order to capture the full scope of sexual well-being, although most existing sexuality education resources for college students fail to make this connection. This thesis demonstrates the necessity for comprehensive sexual health education that incorporates a focus on body image to promote the health and wellness of college students. Using an intersectional outlook, the thesis evaluates existing resources and presents the contents of an original workshop titled “Mind to Mirror to Life: Sexual Health from …

Atlantic Abolition In The Borderlands: The Interesting Narrative Of Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua, Alexandra Bicknell

Honors Theses

In 1854, the Geo. E. Pomeroy & Co. published An Interesting Narrative. Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua, a native of Zoogoo, in the interior of Africa (A Convert to Christianity,) with a Description of That Part of the World; including the Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants in Detroit, Michigan. Baquaqua’s narrative did not gain as much attention as others in the genre published around the same time. The narrative only survived in eight copies though it was published by an editor that was able to sell hundreds of thousands of copies of an essay to a similar audience. This …

The Effects Of Involvement In Religious Practices On Recovering Substance Users., Taylor Currier

Honors Theses

This paper reviews empirical studies focused on spirituality and its effects on those in the recovery process from substance abuse. This paper will look at qualitative studies as well as quantitative research to see which form has derived the best results on how spirituality has affected substance abuse recovery. Prolonged recovery is the goal for those that struggle with substance use. Behavior change is an important in sustaining sobriety with those dealing with addiction. It is predicted that those who engage in spiritual growth within their community have a higher likelihood of prolonged recovery than those that do not believe …

Scott Boerma: A Study Of His Musical Compositions And Conducting Career, Qiuxian Lu

Honors Theses

Scott Boerma is a well-known wind music composer and conductor. In this paper, I will examine his career development as a composer and conductor. I will include brief analyses of some of his musical compositions based on form, orchestration, usage of harmonic and melodic devices, etc. I will also talk about his conducting methods when he conducts different pieces and conveys various musical ideas. There are three sections in this thesis: 1) Scott Boerma’s musical journey (how he became a successful composer and conductor); 2) Analyses of his compositions: Fanfare for a Golden Sky, Bora Bora, Shadows, Poem, and Cityscape …

Formulated Ataxia, Alexandra Renner

Honors Theses

Formulated Ataxia is an athletic and vigorous choreographic work based on the overall theme of recognizing order within chaos. With a cast of eleven dancers, I created a world that depicts the cycle of anxiety and how I seek organization within chaos. Choreographically, I toyed around with aspects of my neurological condition, synesthesia. Synesthesia can be described as a way of organization people and situations with numbers. Part of my research involved delving deep into the theory of chaos, as it mirrors the cyclical nature of my mental and emotional instability. This work invites a thrilling and exhausting experience for …

Graduating Presentations 2020: Six Point Convergence - Inner Workings, Jasmine Clark

Honors Theses

This portfolio serves as the fulfillment of both my honors thesis for the Lee Honors College, and my Department of Dance capstone for DANC 4800: Graduating Presentations. The typical process for DANC 4800 involves producing a concert in collaboration with the rest of the senior B.F.A. class, in which each member presents an original piece of choreography. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 crisis and the switch to distance education, our concert was cancelled, and we were forced to abruptly stop rehearsing. In this transition, my project shifted from the creation of a new work to the revisiting of a solo …

Bridging The Gap: An Academic Recital For Solo Voice Featuring The Music Of Underrepresented Female Composers Throughout History, Keiley Vieau

Honors Theses

Keiley Vieau, mezzo-soprano, presented her honors thesis senior academic voice recital on Friday, April 19th, 2019 at 3pm. The performance took place at the Lee Honors College in the lounge. This recital was put on in collaboration with pianist Molly Sanford. Music performed included works by all female composers, such as Barbara Strozzi, Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Nadia Boulanger, Augusta Holmès, Liza Lehmann, and Amy Beach. This abstract will provide a brief overview of the theme of this recital as well as address the basic musical characteristics of certain pieces from the repertoire programmed.

The recital was based solely …

The Art Of Making Paper, Kristen Theys

Honors Theses

The Art of Paper Making is an exploration into an overlooked field. My goal was to learn not only how to make paper, but how different materials and processes can change the final product. The process was not only for me though. I wanted to create a fun and informative way to document the papermaking process to present to those who aren’t familiar with it.

One of the biggest things that impacted my studies was the amount of time I would beat the paper pulp. The amount of time the pulp runs through the beater drastically changes the texture of …

Charting A New Course Through Meaningful Occupation, Jennifer K. Fortuna

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Rory Odom, an artist and United States Marine Corps Veteran based in Florida, provided the cover art for the Spring 2020 issue of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). “Turtles All the Way Down” is an 8”x10” oil painting on canvas. After a tragic accident changed the course of Rory’s life, painting gave him hope. During rehabilitation, Rory sought opportunities to challenge himself and build technical skill as a painter. His bold use of color and signature impressionist style convey emotion and movement. In the face of adversity, meaningful occupation helped Rory chart a new course in life.

Somos Y Estamos, Primavera/Spring 2020, Western Michigan University

Somos y Estamos

For Friends of the Department of Spanish at Western Michigan University. In both Spanish and English.

Convents And Novices In Early Modern English Dramatic Works: In Medias Res, Vanessa L. Rapatz

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

Convents and Novices in Early Modern English Dramatic Texts: In Medias Res attends to the religious, social, and material changes in England during the century following the Reformation, specifically examining how the English came to terms with the meanings of convents and novices even after they disappeared from the physical and social landscape. In five chapters, it traces convents and novices across a range of dramatic texts that refuse easy generic classification: problem plays such as Shakespeare's Measure for Measure; Marlowe's comic tragedy The Jew of Malta; Margaret Cavendish's closet dramas The Convent of Pleasure and The Religious …

Roman Women In Shakespeare And His Contemporaries, Domenico Lovascio

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

This volume highlights the crucial role of Roman female characters in the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries by exploring with an unprecedented thoroughness and variety of perspectives the diverse issues connected to female identities in the early modern English plays set in ancient Rome. Roman Women in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries puts Shakespeare’s Roman world in dialogue with a number of Roman plays by writers as diverse as Matthew Gwinne, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Thomas May, and Nathanael Richards. Thus, the collection seeks to challenge conventional wisdom about the plays under scrutiny by specifically focusing on their …

Cross Language Information Transfer Between Modern Standard Arabic And Its Dialects – A Framework For Automatic Speech Recognition System Language Model, Tiba Zaki Abdulhameed

Dissertations

Significant advances have been made with Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) applications. Yet, dialectal conversation ASR is still trailing behind due to limited language resources. As is the case in most cultures, the formal Modern Standard Arabic language is not used in daily life. Instead, varieties of regional dialects are spoken, which creates a dire need to address dialect ASR systems. Processing MSA language naturally poses considerable challenges that are passed on to the processing of its derived dialects. In dialects, many words have gradually morphed from MSA pronunciations and at many times have different usages. Also, …

Our Shared Vision: Representations Of The Trans-Mississippi American West, Joshua D. Koenig

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role played by museums in shaping our understanding of the American West. The history of the American West holds a place in American popular culture, evidenced by music, movies and television shows, novels, art, architecture, clothing, and numerous other examples. However, such examples raise questions of authenticity depending on medium and setting, Representations of the American West depict certain images or beliefs held by society. At the same time, the United States houses nearly 1,500 historic sites and museums focusing on the American West. These museums and sites are found scattered throughout thirty-eight states, in addition …

Anacalypsis, Kristopher David Bendrick

Masters Theses

The title of this piece, Anacalypsis, takes its name from the text Anacalypsis: An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil of the Saitic Isis or an Inquiry into the Origin of Languages, Nations and Religions, written by Godfrey Higgins in 1836. The word anacalypsis is an antonym to the word apocalypse and comes from the Greek word ανακάλυψης which translates to find or discovery. In his two-volume treatise, Higgins attempts to unveil "a most ancient and universal religion from which all later creeds and doctrines sprang.”

Reading through Higgins’ text brought me to the intriguing idea of a time before …

Undergraduate Educational Research Experiences In The Study Of Interior Design, Julia Virginia Pimentel Jiménez

Dissertations

Designers create social constructions (experiences and interactions) for human beings among themselves and with and within interior environments to enhance meaning in people´s lives (Poldma, 2011). Those social constructions are created through the design process developed by the interior designer; that process relies heavily on design research. Therefore, it is at the undergraduate level that the passion for research should start for interior design (ID) students. Faculty in ID programs need to encourage that passion by engage students in meaningful learning experiences such as how to ask questions about users, functions, activities, and aesthetics.

This study explored what types of …

Metal Mayhem To Music Theory: The Use Of Heavy Metal Music In Collegiate Music Theory Instruction, Weston Michael-Andrew Bernath

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Creating A Transformative Visual Art Curriculum, Alison M. Marchbanks

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the process of creating transformative learning experiences within a visual art curriculum that emphasizes individual reflection, creative expression, and community involvement. The strategies and philosophies discussed will facilitate student engagement with big ideas and complex messages that will inform their social consciousness beyond their formal school career. Examples of how these practices are being used in K-12 visual art settings are presented to provide an in-depth roadmap for implementing a community-based, social justice learning opportunity.

Binary, Jared Tubbs

Masters Theses

bInary is an interactive sound installation featuring seven stations that represent common aspects of modern life in the digital age. Most stations center around modern technology, and its central role in many aspects of society. Users engage with each station to do various tasks, including inputting personal data, manipulating touch screens, typing out social media posts, taking selfies, and recording greetings. The combined stations, done consecutively, take on a ritualistic nature, taking habitual aspects of everyday life and exposing them to stand alone. bInary takes data from interactions with the stations to create a sonic representation of those who interact …

Gower As Data: Exploring The Application Of Machine Learning To Gower’S Middle English Corpus, Kara L. Mcshane, Alvin Grissom Ii

Accessus

Distant reading, a digital humanities method in wide use, involves processing and analyzing a large amount of text through computer programs. In treating texts as data, these methods can highlight trends in diction, themes, and linguistic patterns that individual readers may miss or critical traditions may obscure. Though several scholars have undertaken projects using topic models and text mining on Middle English texts, the nonstandard orthography of Middle English makes this process more challenging than for our counterparts in later literature.

This collaborative project uses Gower’s Confessio Amantis as a small, fixed corpus for analysis. We employ natural language processing …

Standing In The Dark: Sloth And Stability, Paralysis And Perseverance In Book Iv Of The Confessio Amantis, Andrea Schutz

Accessus

In Book IV of the Confessio, things happen in the dark – the dark of night, of dreams, of despair, of secrecy, of treachery, of death. The medieval sin of accidia sets the pace for this beautifully constructed book, whose tales link and cross, as in a dance. Dido, Phyllis, the bad, the forgetful, and the obsessive lovers swing like slowing pendulums back to their starting points, and stop still. On the whole, their dance with Amans is a slow and stately pavane of the dead and desperate. This is Gower’s darkest book, though not the most bloody: Sloth is …

Narcissus In Queer Time, Lacey M. Wolfer

Accessus

Queer temporality has been studied in relation to the Middle Ages as a means of questioning the prevailing historiography for other modes of connection to the past, such as embodied or affective. Conversely, the other branch of queer temporality has been primarily interested in how queer lifestyles today disrupt the heteronormative plan laid out by society. Joining these modes, Gower’s revision of Narcissus questions our notions of historiography through showing us an example of a queer, transgender character and his struggles with heteronormative expectations—demonstrating that the medieval is not so disconnected from the modern.

One Voice, Ancient And Resigned, Will Rogers

Accessus

While we know, or at least can imagine, what Gower looked like in his old age, it is hard to imagine or hear his voice. And yet, given what we know about his old age and visual impairments, his voice necessarily was important to his old age and continuing revisions of his texts. In this article, I attempt to reconstruct from some of his later poetry what that voice might have sounded like, at least in-text, and piece together how later authors heard that voice of old age.

Dark Money: Gower, Echo, And 'Blinde Avarice', Craig E. Bertolet

Accessus

Gower’s poetic works show a consistent concern with the darkness and deceit associated with Avarice, the sin mostly associated with commercial transactions. In the Confessio, he calls Avarice blind. This blindness seems to work both ways. Avarice blinds humans to their humanity because it causes them to cheat and steal from others. Avarice also blinds the victims of the greedy since the greedy resort to deception in order to gain what they want. In the Confessio, Genius tells the tale of Echo as an example of the practices that he calls usury but who works as an amalgam …

“Als Wel The Lord As The Schepherde, He Broghte Hem Alle In Good Accord”: Harmonious Materialism In The Confessio Amantis, Roger A. Ladd

Accessus

Using R. F. Yeager's analysis of the figure Arion as a starting point, this article argues that in the Confessio Amantis, John Gower shifts his impulse toward social correction from direct estates satire to a more subtle approach encoding his social critique in the love stories of the Confessio. Examples of this approach include a variety of tales from Book 5, and the Apollonius of Tyre story in Book 8. Details of the poem's ending and later works like "In Praise of Peace" indicate that Gower still retained an interest in direct critique of social problems.

Global Gower: The Archer Aiming At The World, Joyce Coleman

Accessus

This article explores the Vox Clamantis’ famous image of the archer shooting an arrow at a globe. There are sources and analogues for all the elements of the picture, but their combination and reinvention have produced a unique iconography. Gower’s multispectral conception of the globe combines ecological features with human estates with divine justice. Huntington Library HM 150 extends this innovation further, possibly even linking the miniature to the Wilton Diptych via the cross and pennon planted on the top of its globe. The complexity of the ideas embedded in the archer images suggests that Gower himself, and not …

Introducing Gower Shorts, Eve Salisbury, Georgiana Donavin

Accessus

This essay provides an introduction to a special issue of Accessus, entitled "Gower Shorts," slightly expanded and revised versions of conference papers presented at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo in 2018-19 and the Modern Language Association Conference in Chicago in 2019.

Katie Short's Senior Voice Recital, Katherine Short

Honors Theses

For my honors thesis, I used my Senior Voice Recital. When starting the process, I met with my thesis chair, Dr. Karen Kness to discuss which repertoire I wanted to perform for the recital. We focused on picking song selections ranging from the Baroque musical era to the mid- 1900s. As part of my requirement, I needed to select at least thirty-five minutes of music to present and this music needed to be in at least five different languages. Half of my repertoire was selected from my previous semester of Applied Voice lessons and the other half I learned over …