Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Why No Rallying Force? Factors Of Rassemblement National Underperformance In 2021 French Regional Elections, Amy Rhodes

Honors Theses

Marine Le Pen remains popular within national French politics. However, following the June 2021 French regional elections, her far-right party, Rassemblement National (RN), failed to win a single region. This thesis seeks to explore the factors behind the RN’s surprising lack of success through a comparative historical approach. This thesis also evaluates the applicability of the second-order model on these elections. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA) and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (PACA) serve as case studies for this research based upon their diverse electoral results. Regional newspaper articles, national newspaper articles, and candidates’ social media posts from the election cycles serve as the data …

Mercy Otis Warren’S Marcia(S) And Cornelia(S): A Case Study In Women’S Internalization Of Classicism In Early America, Brittany Ellis

Honors Theses

The connection between people in early America and classicism is a field of study that has been heavily documented, although it has remained a very male-focused field with little research done about how women in early America formed a relationship with antiquity. This thesis reveals that elite white women had a deep emotional and intellectual attachment with mothers and matrons from ancient Greece and Rome as a basis for expressing political thoughts and identity; classicism formed a common language that many women could relate to each other before, during, and after the American Revolution. This assessment is achieved through a …

“A History Of Heartache”: Korean Reunification Through The Eyes Of Giseong Sedae, Johanna Avalyn Cooper

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I analyze answers provided by middle-aged South Koreans (Giseong Sedae, ages 40 to 69) to determine what factors have influenced this generation’s perceptions of Korean reunification. Utilizing a survey and interviews, I first measure the general views of South Korean participants within this age range. The survey results show that the majority of respondents want Peaceful Coexistence reunification without foreign influence. In interviews, participants’ answers are divided into six main factors that affect their views of reunification which include hesitancies toward reunification, the tenacity of Han Minjok, familial ties to division, anti-communist education, political …

The North Mississippi Field Guide For Young Explorers, Olivia Wymore

Honors Theses

The North Mississippi Field Guide for Young Explorers is an interactive field guide to some of North Mississippi’s wildlife designed for a younger audience, ages six to twelve. The creation of this field guide is a culmination of my inspirations and interests as a child and my involvement and passions as a student at the University of Mississippi. Multiple times during my college experience I have had the fortunate opportunity to work with the local Montessori school, Magnolia Montessori School, by volunteering for various events and leading educational activities. After working with this school and learning about their teaching methods …

Pendulums Of Personhood? Exploring The Multitudes Of Immigrant Womanhood In Spanish-Maghrebi Literature, Kaitlyn C. Sisco

Honors Theses

Often considered articulations of in-between-ness and bearers of fraught selfhoods, the work of Spanish-Maghrebi authors has been widely debated in literary fields, with academics arguing that it constitutes a largely homogenous set of texts about the standard immigrant experience. However, by placing these texts in a single category, such arguments end up erasing the immensely varied identities expressed and represented by Spanish-Maghrebi authors. This thesis seeks to address this issue by paying particular attention to how Spanish-Maghrebi authors negotiate different types of immigrant subjectivities in their writing. Specifically, I analyze the works of three contemporary Spanish-Maghrebi writers, Najat El Hachmi, …

Crying In Public, Sarah Mullen

Honors Theses

Crying in Public is the culmination of a deeply personal body of work that has acted as a sort of diary documenting my journey of growing up and self-discovery. Over the last few years, I have found that there is meaning to be found in the parts of ourselves that we seek to hide, as well as in the constructions that we build to conceal them. This work seeks to move outside of the binary of one’s “true inner self” to explore the tensions found in the space between who we are and who we wish we were. This work …

Assembling Ideal Actualization In Viennese Social Housing, Jack Day

Honors Theses

The central aims of this paper are to create a potential concept for what an ideal social housing program could look like and then to determine the extent to which the social housing program in Vienna, Austria has brought this ideal to reality. The social housing program in Vienna was chosen due to its popularity as a program and its generally positive reputation. The paper proceeds by first offering potential definitions for social housing, its ideals, and potential indicators for ideal fulfillment. Then, I take influence from the frameworks of assemblage theory and path-dependency theory to analyze the material, temporal, …

Hey Queens!, Grace Temple

Honors Theses

Drag has been a part of society since as early as Ancient Greece. However, the art form has evolved throughout the centuries and is still evolving today. Modern day drag is commonly associated with RuPaul Charles and his achievements as a drag performer. He has helped pave the way for present and future drag performers to express themselves through the art form. The mainstreaming of drag has had numerous positive and negative impacts on the LGBTQIA+ community. This thesis documents the history of the art form and how it interacts with individual performers and society. This thesis consists of two …

It's Just Caring: Improving The Museum Experience For Visitors With Autism Through Social Narratives, Reagan R. Stone

Honors Theses

This project explores how museums can improve the visitor experience for visitors with disabilities, more specifically for visitors with autism. In general, museums are environments that have a specific set of rules, guidelines, and built-in social interactions that visitors are expected to understand and follow. These guidelines, as well as the sensory overload that exists within a new environment, can make visiting the museum a stressful, and even negative experience for individuals with autism and their families. A social narrative, a simple written and visual guide that explains characteristics of new environments and various aspects of social situations, is a …

The Dream Of The Common Good: Not A Nightmare, Jackson Gregory Dellinger

Honors Theses

This paper examines an emerging position in the philosophy of law, common-good constitutionalism. In the first two parts of the paper, I explain the position and constitutionalism more generally, examining how common-good constitutionalism fits within the definition of constitutionalism providing by a neutral scholar. In the next five parts, I attempt to show that common-good constitutionalism’s preference for explicit adherence to the common good does not violate constitutionalism. In doing so, I provide an examination of common-good constitutionalism’s relationship with three important constitutional principles and the separability of common-good constitutionalism as a whole and the infamous views of its most …

Politics And War In The Cannes International Film Festival: An Analysis Of The Festival’S Unifying Agenda, Julia Grace Wood

Honors Theses

Since its inception, the Cannes International Film Festival was envisioned as a means of using film as a method of diplomacy. In fact, the first two decades of the two-week long festival on the banks of the French Riviera sought to unify politically divided nations in the years following World War II and into the Cold War. My research seeks to identify the political agenda of the festival in the early years and how the Cannes International Film Festival promoted transnationalism and unity between divided nations. I argue that the festival was able to accomplish its unifying agenda through the …

Cultural Memory Conflicted In Post-Conflict Peru: Constructing Heroes And Villains La Hora Final And La Casa Rosada, Reed Peets

Honors Theses

Building on this same theoretical platform, this project uses two critically-acclaimed contemporary cinematic representations of the internal armed conflict—La hora final and La casa rosada—as reflections of the ways in which the Peruvian cultural products of today are leveraged to reorchestrate collective understandings of the past.

Lessons From The Aisles: A Collection Of Short Stories, Drew Jones

Honors Theses

This thesis is a collection of short stories, each set in a separate aisle of Walmart. By exploring the relationships and conflicts of these characters, I hope to illustrate that life’s complexity can be shown in a place as simple and mundane as Walmart.

Maybe The Real Prize Was The Connections They Built Along The Way: A Legal Analysis Of The Role Of Privateering In The Creation Of The Trans-Imperial Greater Caribbean, Daniel Hall

Honors Theses

While study of the eighteenth-century Caribbean has traditionally focused on the stark separation between the European empires of the region, this thesis seeks to reveal privateering’s role as an important force in creating what has come to be referred to as the trans-imperial or trans-national Caribbean. This will be based in an analysis of the legal structure of British privateering as a means of both drawing attention to the practice’s intrinsically legalistic nature as well as highlighting the fact that this regional creation was a result of colonists working within imperial guidelines as much as it was an act of …

Ipseity Vol. 1: An Artful Exploration Of Identity Formation In Emerging Adulthood, Lauren Alexis Taylor

Honors Theses

Ipseity is a multi-edition coffee-table style book that integrates digital and print design and incorporates handmade elements and processes such as die-cuts, letterpress printing, gold foiling, hand-sewn bindings, and embroidery. Its design is rooted in minimalism, yet the handmade aspects, eye-catching color palette, and bold illustrations make reading Ipseity a visual and tactile experience. The design utilizes typography and flat-color illustrations in a consistent layout, with a strong emphasis on the handmade elements and craftsmanship throughout the book. It is not only a publication to read and ponder, but it is an artful object with a physical presence to be …

Bee Pluribus Unum: Vergil As An Imperial Advisor, Oleander Reagan-Artemis

Honors Theses

All three of Vergil’s major works received patronage, although somewhat indirectly, by Augustus, the first Roman emperor, and they have been an integral aspect of education since they were given to the public. Research going back hundreds of years, from John Wesley of the late 1700s to the contemporary Peter White, has sought to address the finer details of the relationship between Augustus and Vergil, focusing heavily on Vergil’s attitude towards Augustus and the new imperial rule. In this paper, I will add to this controversy-steeped conversation from the perspective of an educator, highlighting the possibility that Vergil was a …

An Argument For Sensuous Revolution And Its Manifestation In The Food System, Anna Smith

Honors Theses

In this food system, we witness issues such as health disparities, social injustice, and environmental injustice, which all flow within one another. When seeking to address such issues it is essential to recognize their inherent interconnectedness and root causes; otherwise, intended solutions can perpetuate the issues they aim to solve when they do not encompass full-seeing. The greatest barrier to full-seeing is disconnection with experience, which occurs when what we are experiencing is obscured by static conceptions. This inhibition of holistic understanding, when occurring through such limited perspectives, makes solving issues such as health disparities, social injustice, and environmental injustice …

My Female Gaze, Sawyer Suerth

Honors Theses

My Female Gaze is a research paper that accompanies a two-year-long photographic study. I take back the disembodied power that the male gaze has over me in public space by taking photos of men that look at my body. For other works in the series, I have revisited the same areas and rephotographed the scenes, taking a forensic approach to the criminal potential of the male gaze. In this supporting paper, I expand on socio-political movements like feminism and internalized surveillance of the self, which contribute to my assertion that women have less visual, social power than men in public …

Beheaded: An Alternate Look Into The Life Of England's Most Notorious Queen, Marion Renee Burgess

Honors Theses

Beheaded: an alternate look into the life of England's most notorious queen is a craft paper and accompanying novel chapters. The craft paper focuses on dialogue and its use in historical fiction to build both character and setting. The novel Beheaded is a historical fiction that focuses on Anne Boleyn, queen of England and second wife of Henry VIII. Anne served as queen from 1533 until her execution on May 19, 1536. She is one of the most notorious royal women in history, and she was never formally charged, witchcraft is one of the many claims laid against her during …

A Cold War On The Dark Knight: Batman And American Culture 1939-1975, Angelica Cantrell

Honors Theses

In 1930, Batman fought the prevailing fears of urban America. With the addition of Robin in 1940, the comics changed to appeal to children and continued to follow the cultural trends of America during World War II and into the Cold War. Fear and paranoia during the Cold War influenced American culture and domestic policy. Anticommunism was ingrained in American social structure and initiated efforts at social containment in the 1950s. American culture shifted to emphasize morality and domesticity, and many Americans actively sought to protect traditional Christian values in their society.

Among the rising concerns, Americans became increasingly worried …

Andy Stewart, Andy M. Stewart, And Exonostalgia: The Draw Of Tartanry And Kailyard School, Sarah Tackitt

Honors Theses

Andy Stewart and Andy M. Stewart are popular Scottish folk and traditional musicians operating at different periods during the development of mass media. Andy Stewart’s career was marked by the introduction of the television into Scotland, and he made his career being compére of the Scottish television show The White Heather Club. After gaining international recognition, viewers and listeners associated his tartanry and stereotypically Scottish humor as representative of his culture and country.

Andy M. Stewart gained international recognition during the folk revival, in which he wrote songs both for his solo career and for the band Silly Wizard …

Creation, Craft, And Covid-19: A Documentary, Joshua Stockstill

Honors Theses

Creation, Craft, and COVID-19 is a documentary film that looks into the creation and development of a small jewelry business called Novi Creations based in Laurel, Mississippi. This thesis interviews Shauna Stockstill, the owner of Novi Creations, and presents the history of the business, its daily processes, and its struggles through the COVID-19 pandemic. This thesis also covers the planning and pre-production of the film and the performative method of approach. It breaks down different styles of documentary filmmaking and addresses ethical dilemmas found commonly in documentaries. I express my reason for creating this film and desire to share Shauna’s …

Lost Memories, Lost Colonies, Emma C. Smith

Honors Theses

The Roanoke Colony was the first English colony in America. The colonists were abandonded by the Governor shortly after the colony was established. In public memory, the fate of the colony is highly debated and has since become an American founding myth. As a result of the contested fate, the story of Roanoke has since become a blank slate upon which other legends can evolve. These legends become a window for historians into the insecurities of those who created them. This paper discusses why the English wanted to establish a colony, the popularization of Pocahontas, the history of marriages between …

Problematic Advocacy And Victorian Public Health In Gatherings From Graveyards By Dr. George A. Walker, Olivia Ladner

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the problematic advocacy of Dr. George A. Walker in his public health pamphlet, Gatherings from Graveyards. In his work, Walker calls for the removal of urban cemeteries from within London and other cities in Great Britain due to concerns about public health safety. He cites miasmatic theory as the reason for the spread of disease from rotting corpses and unkept cemeteries in the British metropolis. Though he blames Parliament for the state of urban cemeteries, he continuously cites poor communities and neighborhoods as the sole sources of disease and does not conduct investigations into the …

Once In A Lifetime: Designing Hair And Makeup For The Era Of Sound, Olga Goupalova

Honors Theses

This thesis describes the design process of an undergraduate theatre student creating hair and makeup looks for a production of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s Once in a Lifetime, presented by the University of Southern Mississippi in the Fall of 2021. This thesis involved a detailed analysis of characters, the collection of primary research from the Roaring Twenties period, and constant communication with both the production team and the performers in order to achieve the most functional yet aesthetically pleasing hair and makeup designs possible.

Keywords: Hair, Makeup, Design, Theatre, Once in a Lifetime, Roaring Twenties, George S. …

The Underrepresentation Of Women In Filmmaking, Paola Sandoval

Honors Theses

My thesis project seeks to bring awareness to the ongoing problem of the underrepresentation of women in filmmaking. During the initial stages of filmmaking, many women contributed to the developing Hollywood industry. As film-watching grew in popularity in the 1920s, filmmaking turned into a lucrative business. Consequently, this boost of film production pushed women to the outskirts, making the field male-dominated. This has continued into the present-day leaving women having to overcome the challenges of garnering positions on a film crew.

Existing research on this topic mostly focuses on Hollywood. However, the underrepresentation of women in film is not only …

No One Leaves The Stage: An Analysis Of How Queer Dance Strengthens Individual Identities And Communal Bonds, Katie Milligan

Honors Theses

The senior choreographic project Isolated Together focuses on the way in which creating a safe space to share individuals’ authentic selves allows for the growth and development of the entire community. Within the live performance of this work, all individuals are essential to the unified whole; therefore, once visible to the audience, no dancer leaves the stage. Along with the choreographic intentions, the choreographer develops a unique understanding of queer dance based on Clare Croft’s ideas to frame a proposal for how dance practices can be inclusive of all individuals. This paper explores how the project allowed the choreographer to …

The Implications Of Colorism On Black Women From The Early 20th Century To The Present, Allaija Briann Williams

Honors Theses

Colorism, a term first coined by novelist Alice Walker in 1983, is a systemic issue plaguing the black community because it demonstrates unequal treatment of people with different skin tones and hair. Although colorism is present among people of other races and black men, this thesis explores black prejudice towards dark-skinned black women in the 21^st century as compared to the 20^th. This study illustrates the historical continuity of the colorist narrative of dark-skinned women as ugly, angry, and incompetent. As a dark-skinned woman, I was inspired to write this thesis from my own experiences and observations. …

"To Control A Human Destiny:" Sound Design For Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, Allison Bucher

Honors Theses

This undergraduate thesis details the sound design process for the University of Southern Mississippi’s Fall 2021 production of Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Through analysis of the script style of the play, research of the playwright, and collaboration with the artistic team, this student created and implemented an effective sound design for this production.

Keywords: sound, design, theatre, Hedda Gabler, Ibsen

Transgender And Nonbinary Attitudes Toward The Choral Music Education Major Experience, Bailee Green

Honors Theses

Transgender and nonbinary individuals face unique challenges in the choral community because of their gender identity. The foundation of the choral ensemble and its methods are rooted in the gender binary, making it hard for gender-expansive singers to feel a sense of belonging.

The purpose of this thesis project was to gauge the experiences and opinions of transgender and nonbinary choral music education majors who participate in at least one choral ensemble. Data was obtained through a voluntary survey that asked participants how their gender affected aspects of their experience as a choral music education major. Survey results led to …