Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Performance Perspective: Un'aura Amorosa From Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, Laney Benson

Honors Theses

There are common themes that performers investigate in evaluating a character. They include: the history surrounding the opera, especially of the composer and librettist; devices employed in the opera; the relationship between its characters and, of course, examples of past performances. Each of these will be equally applicable to a performance of the aria "Un 'aura amorosa" from Mozart's opera Cosi fan tutte. All of these elements form a cohesive template for observation of how to give a performance of the piece.

Western Culture And The Spread Of Serial Murder, Angela Pilson

Honors Theses

Serial murders may have occurred in non-Western cultures, like Japan, South Africa, and Pakistan, before the introduction of Western ideals. These murders would have gone unnoticed and unreported if the populace did not know or understand the significant differences between serial murder and other types of violence and death. The people and authorities in non-Western cultures would not know of these differences unless they were made known to them or if they started to investigate the murders more closely. People from Western cultures who move to non-Western areas or communicate with non-Western natives may introduce these differences and familiarize the …

Freedom In Education: The Movement To Educate The Freedmen In The Pee Dee Region During Reconstruction, Aliyyah Willis

Honors Theses

The current scholarship on the education of the freed slaves in the South during Reconstruction is not so much one of differing points of view, but of specialization within the broader topic. Most of this scholarship focuses on the Southern region as a whole, rather than limiting the scope to just one state or smaller geographic area. Instead of arguing for or against a particular point of view, today's historians are focusing on one part of the larger topic to analyze. Whether studying the people themselves and their motivations, the teachers who educated them, or the system of education that …

The Whimsy And Woe Of Youth: A Senior Voice Recital, Samantha Downes

Honors Theses

My Senior Voice Recital/Honors Thesis is called "The Whimsy and Woe of Youth." Each song in the repertoire can fit into this theme. The voice recital counted as both a Senior Voice Program requirement and the Honors College Thesis requirement.

The recital began with "Ei! Wie schmeckt der Coffee suBe" from Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Coffee Cantata) written by Johann Sebastian Bach, represented the Baroque era. Next, two lieder composed by Hugo Wolf were performed. They both tell cute little stories that can be enjoyed by a child's mind. The recital continued with two arias sung by Gretel in Engelbert …

At First Glance, Laura Baker

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

La Malinche Como Símbolo De La Nación: Las Exploraciones De La Malinche Como La Madre Que Se Traiciona, Que Se Vende Y Que Se Abandona, Nicole A. Abrams

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the different interpretations of the Malinche related to her role as the translator and lover of the Spaniards during the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the sixteenth century. Centuries later, during the period of Mexican independence in the nineteenth century, Malinche became the traditional symbol of the nation as the mother who betrays, sells and abandons Mexican independence from Spain when Mexicans tried eradicate Spanish influence in your country. In addition, these negative representations of the Maliche as the evil mother, serve to show her as the scapegoat of all conflicts of the Malinche during the Spanish …

Motivations And Consequences Of Jewish Participation In Social Movements In Argentina, Jaclyn B. Aruch

Honors Theses

The Jews of Buenos Aires form the second largest community of Jews outside of the US and Israel. Because the Argentine Jewish community has become increasingly secular over the past century, their activism pertains to economic, political, and social issues, rather than to religion. Importantly, conflicts of interest between Jews and the traditions of the Argentine society and government have helped the country demarcate its own values and the values of the Jewish community. This thesis considers the Jewish community of Argentina, specifically within Buenos Aires from 1890 to the Present. It examines Jewish involvement in social movements and the …

Les Catholiques Et Les Huguenots Au Seizième Siècle En France: Un Conflit De Religion Ou Une Lutte Pour Le Pouvoir?, Olga M. Borodulina

Honors Theses

Although the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew and the French Wars of Religion are well-known historical events, there remain some mysteries as what led to such violent tensions between fellow French people. Were religious differences to blame, or was the bloodshed caused by the political intrigues of nobles like Catherine de Medici? Perhaps the economic climate of the age added to the discontent of the common people and the Huguenots were a convenient scapegoat? Then again, it might have been all of those factors and more than led to decades if not centuries of tension in France. This thesis explores the …

La Dernière Reine: L’Histoire D’Anne De Bretagne, Andrew N. T. Churchill

Honors Theses

The king, Charles VIII, is dead. The year is 1498. In Brittany, people are delighted that their sovereign Anne will return. Long live the duchess! In France, there is a new king, Louis XII. Long live the king ! In the eyes of the Britons, Anne was enthralled in France after the defeat and death of her father, Francis II of Brittany, in the hands of the French armies at Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. The Treaty of the Orchard, signed after the battle, gave the King of France, Charles VIII, the right to decide the fate of Anne of Brittany. After some attempts …

The Impact Of Rap Music On White Youth, Freddie J. Dantus

Honors Theses

Music is a primary source of entertainment for American adolescents. Hip hop culture and rap music, in particular, have become the dominant genre of music among American youth. Hip hop rose primarily from the disadvantaged African American neighborhoods of New York City. Perhaps not surprisingly, though, it is White, middle class, suburban adolescents who drive the rap music industry with their disposable income and desire to resist the cultural norms of their parents’ generation. While sophisticated analyses of hip hop itself are appearing, the connection to white youth has not been well-studied. This project begins to fill this void, specifically …

Ordinary Explorations, Amelia M. Endo

Honors Theses

In her poem “Poetry” Marianne Moore gracefully states the physical reactions people experience as a result of reading poetry, such as eyes dilating and hair rising. Moore asserts, “these things are important not because a/ high‐sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because/ they are/ useful”. For this reason, I not only read but also create poetry. I wrote this collection of poems intending to trigger reactions from my readers that would be “useful” to them. I decided that the most tactful way to do so was to write about my own personal experiences. Inspired by notable poets such …

The Mythic Space Of The New Frontier: The Façade Of The White House Tour And Visual Culture Of The Jfk Library And Museum, Marissa R. Gentile

Honors Theses

The motivation for this project came from my desire to investigate the substance behind President John F. Kennedy’s careful self‐presentation during his presidential campaign and incumbency, and to demonstrate how his memory is still prevalent in today’s society. I applied Robert Slotkin’s language from Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth­Century America as a framework to my discussion on the language Kennedy conveyed to the American public, starting with his creation of the New Frontier at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. By establishing an image evocative of the American Frontier and hero‐tales, Kennedy constructed a site for which …

Féminisme Français : Fait, Fiction, Jennifer Granina

Honors Theses

What gives power to an idea? What makes it real in the hearts and minds of people who believe in it? What creates the desire to struggle for this idea, an ethereal and elusive conception? These are the questions that must be considered by philosophers, by those who believe enough in an idea to make it a reality. It was the mission of feminists in France since the beginning of the 19th century. For them, feminism was not a movement that had a beginning and an end, it was a force, present in the world since the creation of the …

An Introduction To The P-Adic Numbers, Charles I. Harrington

Honors Theses

One way to construct the real numbers involves creating equivalence classes of Cauchy sequences of rational numbers with respect to the usual absolute value. But, with a different absolute value we construct a completely different set of numbers called the p-adic numbers, and denoted Qp.

La Malinche De Rascón Banda: Deconstruyendo Un Símbolo Colonial Y Recreando Una Imagen Nueva A Través Del Anacronismo, Alicia E. Jones

Honors Theses

La Malinche has been a popular figure in the national culture not only of Mexico but also beyond its borders. Since its image is so ambiguous, it is used very frequently to symbolize popular ideas of an era. As a result, the symbol of La Malinche continues to transform. Historically, his image has characterized the traitorous woman, prostitute, and mestizo Mexican mother. In some ways this symbol has been maintained over the years, but there are also clear efforts to deconstruct this colonial image and create a more modern Malinche that is consistent with a growing interest in feminism. Introduced …

Quiet Moments: My Artistic Exploration, Neena Jube

Honors Theses

I believe that fate led me to dive into my artistic study on the human form. I firmly believe all things happen for a reason. Every year, every day, every hour, every minute, and every second of my life play a significant role in how things turn out. Looking back on the past two decades, there have been numerous accounts that have brought me to where I am today. The classes I have taken and the interactions with various artists have led me to pursue art, one of my strongest passions, and have influenced the development of my current collection …

Governing Religion: A Study Of Religions Function Across Three Distinctly Different Societies, Sky Kochenour

Honors Theses

Religion’s place in political order is a controversial subject. How does the function of religion compare to that of political order? Can it support a society in the same way? My research attempts to answer these questions by investigating three distinct time periods and cultures. I first examine the primitive people of the Azande tribe in Africa, an example of a society based mainly on religion. My research then turns to the fifth and sixth century Greeks, a society in flux, attempting to hold on to religion in the throes of a logical revolution. Finally, I turn to America to …

To Be Alive - Is Power: Fullers Feminine Ideal Realized In Dickinsons Poems, Emma A. Krosschell

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between nineteenth-century American feminism, transcendentalism, and poetry through an analysis of Margaret Fuller’s essay Woman in the Nineteenth Century in tandem with Emily Dickinson’s collected poems. Fuller presents an original type of feminist optimism influenced by the precepts of the American transcendentalist movement. Her essay employs the transcendental belief in the possibility for human semi-divinity in order to proclaim that women, rather than men, possess unique potential for transcendence. As a result, Fuller theorizes that with women’s social, sexual, and intellectual liberation, a certain ideal woman will be able to transcend not only women’s limited …

Retributive Justice And Standing: A Critique Of State Punishment, Benjamin H. Lawrence

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the philosophical justifications of punishment, focusing in particular on the idea of standing to punish, and how the state can have standing. The two main doctrines of justifying punishment, retributivism and consequentialism, are considered. According to retributivism, punishment is justified by the desert of the wrongdoer, whereas consequentialism contends that punishment is justified by the good consequences that follow from punishing wrongdoers. This thesis concludes that retributivism better captures the moral intuitions associated with punishment, and is better suited to articulating the concept of standing to punish. Standing to punish can be seen as the “moral authority” …

The Military-Industrial Complex: Tracing The Effects Of Defense Production On General Electrics Growth Wwii-1970, Jeffrey Lounsbury

Honors Theses

This thesis examines General Electric's role within the Military-Industrial Complex from World War II to 1970, with a particular focus on how defense work affected General Electric’s growth during this period. The study relies heavily on two General Electric publications, the company's annual reports and The General Electric Monogram, and is also based on a number of secondary sources. For purposes of analysis, this thesis has been divided into three periods: WWII-1952, 1953-1961, and 1962-1970. Each section details General Electric's work as a defense contractor, indicates what portion of the company's total sales was from defense production, and describes how …

On The Eve, Katherine A. Macewan

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Sex Text And Screen: Kubricks Adaption Of Sexually-Explicit Scenes From Text To Film, Elsa A. Perushek

Honors Theses

Over the course of Stanley Kubrick’s career, he adapted three controversial novels into three of his most successful films. Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and Traumnovelle are all full of sexually-explicit content which, when adapted to film, caused even more controversy. Print and film are fundamentally different, and Kubrick faced a unique challenge by choosing source texts that were often uncomfortable for their audiences to read. Sexually explicit scenes in film are much more potent than those in novels; thus, for Kubrick to be successful he must find a balance between recreating the scene’s effect from the novel and allowing the …

[Silverpoint Drawings], Amanda G. Purner

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Identitat-Anlage Durch Warter Und Aussehen, C. David Robba

Honors Theses

The identity of a person is his most important aspect. It has a big impact on the way someone sees himself, and how other people recognize him. Without a unique identity, a person has no characteristic character. In their lives, everyone creates an identity. However, identity becomes most important when one is a foreigner or visits a foreign country. Because of this, many aspects of society and everyday life could be very different, and if one lacks what he knows, he can find solace in his identity. However, if a person's identity is not certain, they may feel lost afterwards. …

The Darker Side Of Americas Wonderland A Study Of The First Four Decades Of Yellowstone National Park, Elizabeth M. Sargent

Honors Theses

Those who first stumbled across the steaming, bubbling land of Northwestern Wyoming in 1860s and early 1870s described it as “Hell on Earth.” Over the course of a few decades, the land underwent a vast transformation, which replaced “Hell” with “Wonderland” in visitors’ minds. The year 1872 represents a turning point in environmental legislation and marks the conception of Yellowstone, America’s first national park. While creating a national park preserved, for the first time, the country’s natural wonders, the 1872 act included no direction for management, no allocation of funds for upkeep, and no system set in place to manage …

Robots Are People Too: Posthumanism In Battlestar Galactica, Rebecca Seel

Honors Theses

The science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica explores the differences between human and machine and the nature of identity. It expresses both our fascination with machines and our technophobia. In a society of explosive technological advances come technological anxieties. What will happen when we create life? As BSG posits, with autonomous machines come destruction and a new race of people who, not unlike us, are trying to define who they are. As the series progresses, an overarching question emerges: what is a "person"? Is personage determined by biology or by decision? Can machines have souls? This thesis approaches BSG through …

Rediscovering Prigg V. Pennsylvania, Andrew J. Trochanowski

Honors Theses

The concept of federalism serves as the foundation for the American political system. The framers laid a foundation for balancing state and national tensions; and during the antebellum era American political actors wrestled with the proper application of these concepts. This paper traces the evolution of federalist principles beginning at the founding and culminating with the commonly misperceived Supreme Court case Prigg v. Pennsylvania by analyzing transformative historical moments and political regimes. Prigg v. Pennsylvania currently exists within contemporary political and constitutional scholarly literature as a slavery case decided upon moralistic bias and the Court’s commitment to the institution of …

Evolution Of Flow In Games, Paul J. Tunison

Honors Theses

Every one wants to play a fun game, but ”fun” is a subjective quality. Flow, a psychological theory to define what ”fun” is, states that, for an activity to be considered fun, the chal-lenge it presents must correlate with that participant’s abilities such that the activity is neither too easy or too difficult. One of the biggest problems for game designers is balancing the difficulty of its content in such a way that it appeals to the largest audience possible. In order to broaden audiences, de-velopers need to invest effort into creating numerous, discrete balances that are aligned to varying …

Lyndon Johnson: A Psychological Character Study, Stephanie L. Vacchio

Honors Theses

This thesis centers on Lyndon Johnson and his character traits and how they are translated into his leadership abilities. The ways in which he handled issues as president, his personal relationships with others, and his own personality traits all define who Johnson was as a man. These aspects combined can be viewed as “character”, or the result of the environment someone has been exposed to for a prolonged period of time. In the case of Johnson, it is his childhood that has played the largest role in shaping his character and in turn his personality. My thesis explores the psychological …

Glitter Paintings, Hilary R. Zelson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.