Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Art Of War : Deconstructing The Monolith Of The World War Ii Poster, Sean Williams

Honors Theses

For most Americans, the introduction to World War II posters, or even the entire field of posters during wartime in general, comes in the form of an elderly, yet bold looking man wearing red, white and blue. He wears a striped hat, and stands with his finger pointed outwards. The message he gives is clear --"I want YOU!" This image has been faithfully reproduced in social studies and history textbooks for years. (Indeed, both generations of my family saw such an image in their school books).

Uncle Sam, though, dapper as he may be, is merely one example of hundreds …

The War On Inequality : Subtleties In The Perceptions Of Women Leaders, Adrienne Supino

Honors Theses

We studied whether the incongruity between the female gender role and stereotypically masculine leadership roles can lead people, particularly men and sex-typed individuals, to negatively perceive women in this type of leadership role. A study was designed to investigate whether the gender of a potential appointee to the historically masculine leadership role of Secretary of Defense, in either a time of peace or terror, affected people's perceptions of this person. Fifty-three participants read one of four articles containing biographical information about either a male or female candidate for the post, in either a peace context or a terror context. We …

Deficit Reduction In The U.S. Senate : The Search For Moral Leadership In The Budget Process, David Kendall Roberts

Honors Theses

Contemporary deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility are central to the economic wellbeing of future generations as well as their ability to freely decide their own policy priorities. Many scholarly publications and popular commentary on budget policy describe the obstacles to deficit reduction and political leaders' unwillingness to address the nation's long-term fiscal problems. However, current discussions of budget deficits and the national debt have not been informed by a comprehensive empirical analysis of attempts to reduce the deficit. This thesis examines all deficit-affecting floor amendments to budget legislation from 1975 to 2005 in order to assess whether the bleak account …

The Rise And Fall Of America's Education President : George W. Bush's Political Leadership And The Passage Of The No Child Left Behind Act, Ethan L. Mcwilliams

Honors Theses

On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush proudly signed the "No Child Left Behind Act," thus ensuring that H.R. 1 became Public Law 107-110. During the signing ceremony, the President triumphantly proclaimed that, "as of this hour, America's schools will be on a new path of reform, and a new path of results."1 The legislation, which totaled more than six hundred pages, was intended to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and expand its aim according to four central principles: accountability for results; state and local flexibility; focusing resources on successful methods; and expanding choice? Although substantively notable …

An Analysis Of Hip-Hop Theatre: From Roots To Performance, Jessica Dee Bocade

Honors Theses

Hip Hop theatre has the potential to be an extremely useful art form with the ability to bring younger audiences back to the realm of live theatre. However, several challenges have prevented it from becoming such a powerful influence in the theatrical world. These problems continue to stifle the potential power of hip-hop theatre to reach a greater audience, as well as the ability to be seen in the theatrical world as a legitimate, effective, and stable genre of theatre - not just a "fad."

Misalliance Scenic Design, Joseph W. Shoup

Honors Theses

As scenic designer for George Bernard Shaw's Misalliance, put on by the WMU department of theatre, I feel ready to graduate. I have gained deeper insight into the design process, and through a large quantity of research, preparation, and hard work, have accomplished a set that I can be proud of. I have also been awakened to a fashion of architecture that has become my favorite style.

The Mrs. Browns Of Modernism, Kathleen O'Donnell

Honors Theses

I begin with this literary critical parable because I am interested in arguments about and attempts to define what modernism was. I situate the following project after the fall of the modernist canon, in a literary critical context in which it remains doubtful that modernisms could be modernism again. As a response to that situation, I propose a way of defining modernism that may do justice to the complexity and variety of modernist texts, while seeking also to recognize that which they had in common. Although what follows might be called an analysis of literary form, it is not a …

Articulating Silence In The Postcolonial Indian Novel, Kaelin O'Connell

Honors Theses

Whatever is worth seeing or hearing in India can be expressed in writing. As soon as everything of importance is expressed in writing, a man who is duly qualified may obtain more knowledge of India in one year, in his closet in England, than he could obtain during the course of the longest life, by the use of his eyes and ears in India.

-James Mill, The History of British India, 1817.

This quotation, from the first philosophical history of India, posits the common British colonial notion that language, specifically the written word, might capture all that is "worth …

Complicating "Female Suicide Bombers" : Violence, Agency And Gender In The Rhetoric Of Shahida, Chelsea Rock

Honors Theses

Since 2002, popular Western news media has become fixated with the "advent" of the Palestinian female suicide bomber when a woman named Wafa Idris detonated herself on a busy Jaffa Road in Israel. Questions about gender, domesticity, violence, subjectivity, and technology arise as researchers, journalists and others confront culturally conceived notions about women and their roles in both Islamic and Western societies. Proposing a broader concept of violence that is cognizant of women's violent histories and struggles over agency, this essay suggests that analyses of women and violence are incomplete without critically thinking about the "female suicide bomber"--or shahida--within their …

Social Hierarchy In Leaderless Groups, Angie B. White

Honors Theses

The idea of social rank-ordering (indicative of status. dominance. or potential leadership capacity) was first extensively researched by Robert F. Bales in the early I 950's. Bales shaped group communication around the principle that groups inevitably evolve into unequal power structures and develop a hierarchy of participation and status (Bales et. al, 1951 ). This hierarchy is evident in many different areas of life, such as social interactions, socio-economic status, and task-related rank, and the idea of dominance is established early on in life. From 1961, when Gellert observed dyads of 4- to 6- year-old children and found that a …

Courting Disaster : Women, Romance, And Novels In Eighteenth And Nineteenth Century Britain, Beth J. Massie

Honors Theses

Society always fears that something is corrupting its youth and therefore dooming the future. In the late eighteenth century, British High Society believed that the sentimental and overly dramatic courtship novel was adversely affecting the actions of marriageable young women. In response to these fears, women writers of the early nineteenth century produced literature designed to guide young women safely and happily through the steps of courtship and marriage. The impact of British society's changing views on courtship and marriage combined with the fears raised by the courtship novel in the minds of older society transformed the courtship novel of …

John Coltrane: Jazz Improvisation, Performance, And Transcription, Garry J. Bertholf

Honors Theses

John William Coltrane (1926-1967) was a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist and prolific composer. The evolution of his mature career seems, from my perspective, to fall roughly into the following periods: (1) “Vertical” (ca.1955-59), (2) “Modal” (ca.1960-63) and (3) “Avant-garde” (ca. 1964-67). During this entire 12-year interlude, the artist was moving in several different directions.

Unfortunately, his working band was not well documented. However, a recording of this group in concert at Carnegie Hall in 1957 was discovered and issued in 2005 by Blue Note Records. The Blue Note compilation is the first and only full-length high-quality recording of the group. …

League Of Their Own: The Competition For Jewish-American Identity In The Novels Of Philip Roth, Rebeccah Amendola

Honors Theses

In his insightful and sometimes troubled contemporary writings, Philip Roth demonstrates a nuanced understanding of how the development of Jewish-American identity is a painful and often hilariously paradoxical journey of discovery as Jewish traditions intersect (and often collide) with the American ideal of vertical advancement. Since the successful fulfillment of the American Dream requires some measure of assimilation into the majority American culture known as Americanization, Roth's Jewish-American characters are continually and precariously ill-balanced between retaining and abandoning their Jewish heritage in favor of a new American identity. Thus, if Americanization necessitates Anglo-conformity and the abandonment of immigrant mores, the …

Literary Love Making In Nicholas Sparks Novels: Finding The Balance Between The Writer’S Life And The Writer’S Work In Bestselling Romantic Literature, Ryan Spanich

Honors Theses

For almost a decade now Nicholas Sparks has been writing love stories. Not only has he been publishing his stories, but they have received high acclaim in each of their installments. Several of his novels have been made into major motion pictures and increased his popularity quite significantly. His status as a successful romantic fiction writer is undeniable, but the question is, why? What is it about Nicholas Sparks that makes his novels so engaging, and personally, what do I need to do as an aspiring novelist to try and acquire the same literary status? Sparks’s novels reach readers at …

The Travel Imagination And The Hybrid Reality In The Wake Of Colonialism, James Mclaughlin

Honors Theses

The “traveling imagination,” is of paramount importance to both western and postcolonial travelers. Since both groups create “travel imaginations” by extensive reading, the nature of the books that inform them must directly affect their travels. A westerner, for example, who reads only colonial-era accounts has the “travel imagination” of a different generation. If all perspectives were represented equally in libraries, the “travel imagination” of a given person would be entirely his/her own. But usually the “traveler’s imagination” is biased by prevailing opinion. Libraries are not democracies, and sometimes extensive reading only indoctrinates the reader with the biases of the canon. …

Exploring Opportunity In America: Immigrant Entrepreneurship And Rags To Riches Success, Anna Erdheim

Honors Theses

The United States is, indeed, a land of vast opportunity. A diverse group of individuals continually benefit from the prospects provided by this inherently free nation. Although some constraints in America have prevented people from realizing their ultimate potentials, this nation offers immense possibilities overall to progress socially, economically, and culturally. America allows for people of all socioeconomic, religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds to take full advantage of the various opportunities offered by this mainly egalitarian land. I will demonstrate how various people have emerged from disadvantaged circumstances to succeed in the United States. In America, the majority of successful …

Modernist Success In A Postmodern Failure: Jackson Pollock And Abstract Expressionism, The Avant-Garde And The Ascension Of Late Capitalism, Art After 1945, Russell Gullette

Honors Theses

It is hard to imagine the magnitude of the events at the end of World War II. The thought produced in the face of a myriad of deaths is almost unfeasible sixty years after the fact, but the energy was integral to the changing social landscape. Because of the country's prominence in and fortitude after the war, the U.S. was left responsible for reshaping and rejuvenating the international landscape that was destroyed by the years of brutal fighting and vile contestation. The American establishment was granted a major opportunity to establish itself amongst the global leaders. Such a grand responsibility …

How Should Physicians Be Motivated To Fulfill Social Obligations?, Jackie Knupp

Honors Theses

Health is instrumental to the ability of individuals to fulfill their potential. The societal systems designed to nurture health are thereby particularly important both for the flourishing of the individual and that of society, for a society flourishes to the extent that each of its individual members flourishes. The medical professionals who strive to preserve good health in their communities through these systems are integral to the maintenance of a thriving society. They are the individuals most directly responsible for the quality of health care available to community members. It is their medical prowess and critical thinking skills that determine …

Pilgrimage Of Dignity : Pope John Paul Ii's June 1979 Visit To Poland, Przemyslaw P. Polaski

Honors Theses

Pope John Paul II's first visit to Poland took place in June of 1979. The pilgrimage was arguably one of the most important trips of his pontificate. Within a matter of days the Pope was able to transform Polish society, inspire hope, and ignite a sense of collective dignity. Through a series of rhetorically powerful speeches the pilgrim awakened the oppressed nation and questioned the foundations of Communist authority to rule. Talking about the inalienable rights of man, the Pope stirred up a longing for freedom that matured with the birth of the Solidarity Movement in 1980. His epical journey …

Kichi Mondai (The Military Base Problem) : A Study Of How American Bases In Okinawa Are Presented To The American People, Mark Carney

Honors Theses

Media representations play a role in how one perceives a particular space. The American media presented the American military bases in Okinawa during the period of American civil administration (1945-1972) as necessary and beneficial for the Okinawan people . Because the media linked the bases and the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR) as dependent upon one another, the media considered the benefits brought to Okinawa by the existence ofUSCAR a result of the bases as well. Despite Okinawan resistance to both USCAR and the military bases, the press presented the Okinawan people as actually wanting the …

The Impact Of Gender-Linked Tasks On Female And Male Leaders, Ashley Pyle

Honors Theses

Because gender inequalities still exist, research is needed to better understand the differences in leadership perceptions and preference between genders. This research examines the role of gender, sex role orientation, and gender-linked tasks in shaping leadership efficacy, perceived preference, and leadership persistence. It was predicted that men and women will have higher levels of leadership efficacy, perceive themselves as better leaders, have a stronger desire to attain leadership roles in the future and be more likely to persist in the leadership role for the gender congruent task than the gender incongruent task. I also predicted that sex role orientation will …

American Travelers In Palestine : Origins Of Holy Land Discourse In Nineteeth-Century America, Matthew R. Scutari

Honors Theses

Throughout the nineteenth century, American writers, journalists, explorers, and pilgrims traveled to the region then known as Palestine, publishing travel narratives upon their return to the U.S. Such narratives were wildly popular during this period, and the accounts of these travelers quickly made their way into the nation's collective consciousness. From personal libraries to Sunday school classrooms, their depictions of the Holy Land, which reflected a uniquely American biblical tradition, ultimately painted a picture of Palestine that closely conformed to popular preconceptions of what the Holy Land ought to be, stubbornly resisting contradiction and reinforcing stereotypes already held by many …

Courting Disaster : Women, Romance, And Novels In Eighteenth And Nineteenth Century Britain, Beth J. Massie

Honors Theses

Society always fears that something is corrupting its youth and therefore dooming the future. In the late eighteenth century, British High Society believed that the sentimental and overly dramatic courtship novel was adversely affecting the actions of marriageable young women. In response to these fears, women writers of the early nineteenth century produced literature designed to guide young women safely and happily through the steps of courtship and marriage. The impact of British society's changing views on courtship and marriage combined with the fears raised by the courtship novel in the minds of older society transformed the courtship novel of …

An Interview With Wendell Berry, Birkin Gilmore

Honors Theses

In choosing which questions to ask of Mr. Berry, I was interested in the environment, physical and spiritual, that gives rise to the poems. The Sabbath poems, for instance, come from the author's meditations as he passes through places and spaces of time where, as Mr. Berry has written, "the heart and mind are open and aware." As Mr. Berry is intimately concerned with cultivating land, so these are moments to be cultivated whose fruits are poems. I am interested in how the place in which the poems are written participates in their creation. If we are to keep alive …

Developmental Systems Theory: A Search For Human Nature, Erin Kenzie

Honors Theses

When trying to identify the driving forces behind the development of traits, 'nature' and 'nurture' are presented as the sole answers to a seemingly inevitable philosophical question. There must be reasons behind why an individual has a certain trait, so the rhetoric goes, and the line of reasoning has to go in one of two directions. Either factors in the individual's environment - such as parental care or life experience - are responsible, or the trait is an immutable characteristic of the individual's biological makeup. Although this dichotomy has permeated the public consciousness, it is dismissed by those who study …

The True Patron Of Ireland : Saint Brigit And The Rise Of Celtic Christianity, Autumn Dolan

Honors Theses

When Saint Patrick landed in Ireland in 432 AD, history says that he brought Christianity to the Irish. In actuality, though, Patrick's arrival was the beginning of a religious struggle between Rome and Ireland. Patrick's Church was based on Roman traditions and his mission in Ireland was not just to defeat paganism, but to intercede in the foundations of an already developing Celtic Church. To challenge Patrick and his Roman ways, Ireland exalted a saint of its own. Saint Brigit ( 452-525 AD) and the characteristics she represented in Irish hagiography clearly illustrated the ideal Irish saint. Ireland's reverence for …

The Effects Of Instant Messenger On The Undergraduate Experience, Kimberly Schaefer

Honors Theses

The use of Instant Messenger (IM) by American undergraduate students has grown rapidly over the past decade. As a result, IM has come to play an important role in the collegiate experience and daily life of today's undergraduate students. This study explores the effects of IM's growing popularity upon the academic efforts, relationships, and daily living habits of undergraduate students through an analysis of data obtained from surveys and focus groups at a small private university. The research concludes that students perceive IM to be a distraction, decreasing productivity; however, these disadvantages do not affect student IM-use, and IM is …

Eclipse, Jennifer Hall

Honors Theses

A collection of poems.

Art Is Dead?: A Criticial Analysis Of Arthur Danto's End Of Art Theory, Laura M. Ginn

Honors Theses

The idea of art as a reductive process is not new within the art world. In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg created the piece "Erased DeKooning" for which he erased a painting by DeKooning and displayed the end product (a blank canvas). The author found herself considering the way in which art has changed over the course of the twentieth century. The 20th century could be viewed as a time in which the main purpose of art was to destroy all artistic conventions and redefine art. Some would say art has come out unfocused and without a purpose. The author explores the …

Image Restoration And The "Black Sox" Scandal Of 1919: Corrective Action As An Ideal Image Restoration Model For Professional Baseball, Zachary J. Walsh

Honors Theses

After the previously indomitable Chicago White Sox lost the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, speculations of foul play abounded. With each suspicious game, the notion of a possible conspiracy to throw the Series became more widespread, reaching its pinnacle when the impossible happened and the Chicago defeat became official (Asinof, 1963). Finding it necessary to address the concerns of the public, Chicago White Sox President Charles A. Comiskey promptly positioned himself as spokesperson for his club. He immediately began to manage the pending crisis through public statements made via media outlets, primarily newspapers. At this point, the allegations …