Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Environmental Systems And Patterns Applied To Design, Aaron Cooper

Honors Theses

Looking at the variety of organic form in a natural setting is always an eye opening experience. Seeing how those forms are based on a common system in the environment is even more amazing. Applying the concept of form driven by ratios in the environment to design layout seems like a common sense approach to functional design, yet this is not a common solution in modern design.

Organic form looks organic because it is a product of the environment it is from. If a page is the originating environment for content with a specific function, the content should look like …

Stacy Busch Senior Honors Recital: Composer, Stacy Busch

Honors Theses

The works that I selected to be performed on my senior recital are pieces that I’ve written over the course of the past year. Most of my work is predicated on the exploration of the human condition. Rather than focusing on technical and cerebral complexities that abstract music aims to explore, my work is grounded in the emotional realm. This foundation, I hope, provokes the listener to experience and question the characteristics of their own self. The largest piece on my program, “Creature”, is a 20 minute multi-­‐media production that includes video, electronic music and live performance. The piece is …

Project Moda, Emma Forster

Honors Theses

After graduating High School, I attended Kendall College of Art and Design, majoring in Industrial Design. A little background history ... sophomore year of High School, I missed two months of school due to serious medical issues (still live with these issues). During this time I found art as a comfort and something I could turn to when I felt nothing was there. Hence, this is why I attended Kendall College of Art and Design.

However, I really struggle my first year of college questioning if! was majoring in something I was truly happy with or was I majoring in …

Senior Voice Recital, Sarah Mikulski

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

Investigating Adolescent Bullying Programs: Bridging The Gap Between Theory And Practice, Amanda Waligora

Honors Theses

Recently, substantial research has been conducted towards the widespread concern of adolescent bullying. Definitions and qualifications of bullying incidents have changed as studies and factors relating to bullying have evolved. Extensive amounts of resources can be found and made available for schools, parents, and adolescents in relation to bullying, but the question stands if these theories and resources are being used in the schools, and if so, how. This study focuses to examine current bullying program implementations within school districts of the Southwest Michigan area. Qualitative analyses on interpretive interviews were conducted to determine what school districts are actually doing …

Centering The Right: Mapping The Queer Discourse Of The Family Research Council And Focus On The Family, Stephen C. Brown

Honors Theses

Religious Right organizations like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council have been known for their vitriolic discourse when it comes to the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) community. The ways in which they have discussed queer rights have characterized the LGB community as especially sinful and a threat to American society. Specifically targeting Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, this paper looks at rhetorical strategies they have used when discussing gay rights. The paper identifies a significant shift in their discursive practices such that recently the LGB community is portrayed in a more sympathetic …

An Undivided Heart: How Mary Unites What Sin Divides According To John Paul Ii’S Theology Of The Body, Ann M. Michalica

Honors Theses

Today, personhood is often threatened by the tendency to divide the human person into two contrasting parts: body and soul. Many times, this causes the human person to be reduced to a disembodied spiritual being or a disposable object rather than a whole person called to love and be loved. In his teachings known as Theology of the Body, John Paul II uses a personalistic approach to illuminate the human person as the integration of body and soul. Scripturally based, Theology of the Body is the study of God’s reflection in the human body and human sexuality. Using John Paul …

The Disney Evolution: Princesses As Positive Role Models, Alexandria Irene Lueke

Honors Theses

The Disney Corporation has strategically captivated the attention of audiences worldwide with their iconic animated motion pictures and, as a result, has an impact on children in most nations. Due to their iconic popularity, these works have been discussed and analyzed in great detail by many scholars. Many have criticized the films for their seemingly sexist and oppressive gender messages and find fault with the princesses serving as role models for young girls; they argue that oppressive characteristics and ideas are presented. However, when one closely examines the films and compares the characteristics of the princesses to the progressive female …

The Dayton Food System: Current Access To Food In Dayton And Future Possibilities, Katherine A. Liutkus

Honors Theses

Downtown Dayton and its surrounding areas are considered to be a food desert by the USDA, which means there is limited access to healthy foods within a .5 mile radius. The implications of this include driving further for groceries or turning to convenience stores for highly processed foods. This has created health concerns for the residents of Dayton, including obesity and diabetes. The purpose of this study was to understand the food system issues, their complexity and implications, and to understand what groups are currently doing to support the food system, and what is necessary to push the issues forward …

Developing Social Consciousness Through Multicultural Young Adult Literature, Megan R. Abbate

Honors Theses

In this study, the novels We Were Here and Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, works which feature male protagonists struggling tolocate their multicultural identities, will be analyzed. This research will legitimize the use of multicultural young adult literature, specifically these three texts, in the classroom, despite the presence of controversial themes. This research will demonstrate the value of these texts due to their potential to foster social consciousness and aid the establishment of identity within a global context. This thesis will demonstrate ways in which young …

Story Telling: A Comparative Analysis Of Three Works By Michael Colgrass, Joseph Schwantner And Ross Lee Finney, Erick C. Von Sas

Honors Theses

This research project examines music by twentieth-century American composers Michael Colgrass, Joseph Schwantner, and Ross Lee Finney in order to compare how different composers present an aural conception to their audience through the wind ensemble medium. An aural conception is the subject upon which the music is commenting; sight (subject) through sound. The study includes an analysis of soundscapes- collections of sounds that form an acoustic representation of an action or objectin works created by Colgrass, Schwantner, and Finney. The project involves analyses of form, orchestration, and of the text, or story, about which the composer is writing. The works …

A Hero’S Journey: Aegean’S Destiny, Olivia J. Ullery

Honors Theses

A young woman named Aegean is summoned by the Oracle of her village to go on a journey to defeat an evil civilization at the center of the Three Villages. Though Aegean is independent, strong-willed, and assertive, she does not know her way. With the accompaniment of Maeve, a warrior woman, and Fumito, a cloistered sage, Aegean has a model of femininity and a model of masculinity to guide her in creating her own identity. They face perils on their quest, such as deadly creatures, private struggles – even death. Yet, while they travel they learn about the history of …

Tissi, Anna Demmitt

Honors Theses

Tissi is a series of short stories depicting the lives of children living in Sudan through the genocide. There are three stories of pain and suffering that depict the lives of Yaya, Abit, and Tahir. Each child is forced to deal with the ill effects of the genocide. The stories conclude with a story of hope of one child who was able to get help in a refugee camp located in Tissi.

!Que Aproveche! An American Student's Encounter With The Culture And Language Of Spanish Food, Amanda Mills

Honors Theses

As a language teacher, culture is one of the most challenging things to convey to students. It is relatively straightforward to introduce grammar and vocabulary, but culture is an entirely different topic, one that adds a level of complexity that is difficult to describe and harder to convey. I wish I could give students a living, breathing experience of what it is like to visit or live in a Spanish-speaking country, but school budgets and instructional hours typically do not allow for that. To apply my knowledge of Spanish and make it accessible and meaningful to students, I designed a …

Tenor Trombone Recital, Rebecca Haines

Honors Theses

This Lee Honors College Thesis consisted of approximately 180 hours of preparation of performance materials, research of compositions to be performed, and composition of program notes. The recital was held on Sunday March 16, 2014 at 5:00 pm in the Dalton Center Recital Hall at Western Michigan University. Works performed included solos for trombone accompanied by student pianist J.J. Treadway and a trio featuring student trumpeter Bonni Lee Beebe. Repertoire included works for trombone by von Weber, Hindemith, Blacher, Jørgensen, and Šulek. Works performed were composed during the Romantic and Modern eras. Approximately 50 audience members were present, including members …

A Series Of Paintings Inspired By Italian Statuary, Crystal Shaulis

Honors Theses

Artist’s Statement

Vibrant art has always evoked a sense of awe within me. Thinking back to August of 2010, I was still in recovery from a stroke when I first visited the Richmond Center for the Visual Arts; Yinka Shonibare’s works were on display. I knew not of who he was, but I was struck by the brilliant colors that comprised Shonibare’s Victorian-inspired costumes, made from Dutch wax-printed cotton. They drew me in like a moth to flame. I toddled and wobbled around each figure, looking up — some were on stilts— I couldn’t pull my eyes away, and the …

Failures Of Chivalry And Love In Chretien De Troyes, Adele Priestley

Honors Theses

Although chivalry and courtly love have been imposed upon society as a framework for social interaction, Chrétien’s five stories ultimately promote the idea that the individual is top priority, and when involved in courtly love and chivalry each person should remember that they are using these ideals simply as a way to promote themselves.

Beyond Our Conscience: A Proposal For An Improved Model Of Self-Forgiveness, Kelsey M. Park

Honors Theses

The common saying forgive and forget does not do justice to the deep understanding we can gain of ourselves and of others by pursing genuine forgiveness. Philosophers Charles Griswold and Margaret Holmgren propose two models of forgiveness that differ in terms of how we should view our humanity. Griswold suggests that the foundation of genuine forgiveness is recognizing that we are all fallible human beings while Holmgren suggests that our being human makes us all worthy of respect. Both Griswold and Holmgren focus primarily on cases of interpersonal forgiveness and give significantly less attention to cases of self-forgiveness. The lack …

La Puerta A Europa: Percepciones De La Inmigración En Andalucía, Kristin Glasheen

Honors Theses

A lo largo de los últimos veinte años, España ha experimentado un incremento tremendo de inmigración, lo que ha contribuido a nombrar España “la puerta a Europa.” Esta tesis examinará la inmigración contemporánea, particularmente en la comunidad autónoma de Andalucía, y el impacto de factores como identidad nacional y regional, género y la actual crisis económica en las percepciones que tienen los españoles de la inmigración. El análisis se basa tanto en entrevistas personales con directores de varias organizaciones no gubernamentales en las ciudades de Córdoba, Sevilla y Almería como en obras literarias y cinemáticas.

Feminicidios En Cd. Juárez: Sombras Del Evanescente Olvido; Luces De Lucha, Fuerza Y Resistencia, Amber Ramirez

Honors Theses

Desde principios de los años noventa, mujeres y niñas en Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, México han sido raptadas de día y de noche mientras se dirigen al trabajo, a sus casas, o a la escuela. Después de días, semanas y a veces hasta años, muchas han sido encontradas brutalmente asesinadas, calcinadas, mutiladas, violadas y torturadas; sus cuerpos han sido abandonados para luego ser localizados completamente desnudos o parcialmente vestidos, en completo estado de descomposición o solamente en huesos en las calles en las zonas desérticas de Cd. Juárez. El paradero de muchas otras mujeres y niñas aún se desconoce y a …

Illusion Of Control: The Struggle For History And Humanity, Samantha R. Nystrom

Honors Theses

Through the increased amount of documentation occurring in the individual’s everyday life, through the government, through social media, etc., the question of history’s place in contemporary culture arises—who is the author of history, how is the struggle over authorship played out within contemporary literature, and where does humanity fit within this struggle? I argue that the struggle for authorship within contemporary society has suspended history. Contending authors constantly rewrite the pre-narrative, the event history records, prohibiting society from moving forward. Whoever gains the ultimate authorial role, whoever becomes the author of history, controls humanity. To examine this occurrence within contemporary …

Moon Jellies, Christina Garbarino

Honors Theses

A collection of short poems.

The Specter Of Franco, Alexandra L. Jones

Honors Theses

Human rights violations that occurred almost seventy years ago are still a social issue in Spain today. This project analyzed five post- Franco films that dealt with the issue of the Spanish Civil War or Franco regime to determine if they were a counter to official political discourse on the subject. In addition to analyzing the films themselves, research was also done on a variety of official discourse pertaining to the recovery of memory in Spain. Upon examination it became clear that the overarching discourse in Spain is a refusal to address the issues of the past. Films which resurrected …

A Yen Saved Is A Yen Earned: Deconstructing The Japanese Savings Rate, James Smith

Honors Theses

Since the 1990s, Japan's savings rate has been in decline. In this thesis, I posit two theories to explain this phenomenon. The first, the Demographics Theory, states that the savings rate is declining due to Japan's aging population, but that this effect is less than in countries with similar demographics. The second, the Employment Theory, states that the savings rate is declining due to a decrease in the number of permanent employees in the Japanese economy. To test these theories, multiple regressions are run using data obtained from governmental agencies and the World Bank. The results for the Demographics Theory …

In Search Of Murmurings (Full Score), Luke Martin

Honors Theses

"In Search of Murmurings" is deeply indebted to my reading of Marcel Proust's Swann's Way and explores his concept of recombining lost memories in the liminal space of our inner selves. Certain moments in the piece act as aural triggers for memory eruptions into my lost and fragmented experience of past composers' works. As much as this piece is an exploration of Proust, it is also an exploration of myself. By following these memory eruptions, I am departing from the convention, expected, and narrative path; I am asking: what happens when I allow the illogical and non-linear to take control?

Big T-Shirts And Running Shorts: A Female Uniform And Southern Womanhood On The Ole Miss Campus, Abigail Abide

Honors Theses

This thesis attempts to understand why white female sorority members wear oversized t-shirts as a uniform to their classes and how this outfit affects the construction of white southern womanhood on the Ole Miss campus. In this exploration, I have interview male and female, black and white, undergraduates. I also used an online survey that I separated by sex. I have found that oversized t-shirts are related to ideas of social status, sexuality, class, constructions of ideas about the female body, and southern identity with in the Greek community. These ideas intensely affect the daily lives of Ole Miss students …

In Another Day: The Historical And Cultural Relevance Of Gone With The Wind, Cody Rentz

Honors Theses

Although it was a massive success in its time and won a Pulitzer Prize, critics today tend to discard Gone with the Wind as a piece of low-quality, racist, historically inaccurate literature. However, the novel, through no intent of its author, parallels the Great Depression in many ways, a fact that likely contributed to its popularity. As such, the novel can be a useful tool in studying the culture of the 1930s. To study the cultural connections, I began by reading the novel, watching the film, and speculating as to the connections to Depression-era culture. I then researched the author, …

The Chamberlain Estate Or: How Investors Will Learn To Stop Worrying And Give Me Money To Make My Movie, Connor King

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to have developed a competent pre-production packet for a feature length indie movie set in the South that would pique the interest of potential investors, while having ascertained the knowledge and skill set to fully realize the script as a leader of the project. Methods to achieve this goal include working on movie sets from all angles to gain first hand experience—from directing to holding sound equipment—and researching the market potential from films of a similar genre to see if this venture is worthwhile financially for myself and other stakeholders. After working on sets …

The Case Of "Who's Looney Now?" : Psychologists, Psychiatrists, The Public, And Contested Notions Of Insanity In Turn-Of-The-Twentieth Century America, Amanda Lynn Haislip

Honors Theses

No doubt, “eccentric” is one word that describes John Armstrong Chaloner, a lawyer, entrepreneur, anti-Spiritualist, “scientific” medium, millionaire heir to the fur-trading fortune of John Jacob Astor, and, at one point, an incurably insane paranoiac. After he married and amicably divorced the Virginian novelist Amélie Rives, in 1888 and 1895 respectively, Chaloner discovered he could communicate with his subconscious, his “X-Faculty” as he named it, using a planchette, an early form of a Ouija board. He claimed to have changed his own eye color from brown to grey using this strange X-Faculty and boasted about winning $600 off of a …

Queering La Politique Lgbtq En France : Entre L'Universalisme Et La Particularité, L' HéTéRosexualité Et Les IdentitéS Non-Normatives, Le Mariage Et La LibéRation Totale De La Communauté Queer, Erik Lampmann

Honors Theses

Après avoir institutionnalisée une diversité des sexualités et genres à travers le système du pacte civile de solidarité (PaCS) et – plus récemment – avec l’adoption du projet de loi pour le mariage des personnes du même sexe, la Ve République a rompu avec beaucoup d’autres pays en offrant à ses citoyens l’accès aux différentes types d’unions consacrés par l’état. En évoquant la libération des communautés des personnes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuelles, trans*, et queer (LGBTQ), la France s’est dit prête à élargir sa conception de citoyenneté ; elle a décidé de valorisé une nouvelle Marianne – celle d’une auto-identification qui …