Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Ghostbusting Black Women And Media Representation: A Qualitative Content Analysis On Leslie Jones And Twitter, Ebonee Jackson

Honors Theses

Media representation plays a huge role in how people form their views about certain groups of people. Even when one has particular personal experiences with said group, images in the media can reinforce those views or help to shape new ones. Social media are more recent when compared to other forms of media such as television, magazines and even music videos. Social media are fast paced and always advancing, and therefore, provide more opportunities to analyze a certain group’s media representation. In this thesis, I will discuss the media representation of Black women on Twitter. Specifically, I will look at …

Indicted Knights: Female Agency And The Adjudication Of Rape In Arthurian Romances, Jessica Carrell

Honors Theses

Although Arthurian Romance is a genre often thought to provide a somewhat idealized portrayal of the relationship between the sexes, there are a surprising number of instances of sexual assault represented in Middle English texts. In a genre styled towards women, it is appropriate to consider what cultural or social function the representations of such episodes serve. How, then, do such imaginative representations relate to the historical record of sexual assault accusations and adjudication? As this thesis demonstrates, examining past literary representations of the adjudication of sexual misconduct in Middle English romances such as Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and Chaucer’s …

Who Is The Fairest Of Them All? Disney’S Depiction Of Non-Normative Embodiment In Its Villainesses, Caroline Bradley

Honors Theses

The world of Disney has long been criticized for the lack of empowered princesses, racial representation, and unrealistic body images in its princess films. While steps have been made to provide a fairer representation through the bodies of the princesses, there has not been much progress in the way villains’ bodies are depicted. Most Disney villains exhibit a form of disability or non-normative embodiment including missing limbs, old age, or fatness. This thesis will analyze the bodies of three well-known Disney villainesses from three different eras—The Evil Queen, Ursula, and Mother Gothel—and will demonstrate how their bodies reflect the historical …

Distance And Sympathy In Public Argumentation On Hb 1523: Four Pastoral Letters Creating Value Frameworks, Jonathan Eugene Bridenbaker

Honors Theses

HB 1523, otherwise known as the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act, is Mississippi’s contribution to a larger national conversation surrounding the duty and obligation that states have to protecting individual liberty and freedom. Even further, though, lies a conversation about how rights and constitutional freedoms can be used to negatively harm and marginalize people on the basis of “freedom of speech” and, more specifically, “freedom of religion.” By examining four pastoral letters published by different Mississippi churches and religious bodies, I aim to show how both sides of this public debate are advancing themselves as the victims of some sort of …

The Gold Metalist: An Examination Of French Horn Mouthpieces Used By College Horn Players, Brittany Ann White

Honors Theses

College horn players struggle to find the “perfect” mouthpiece. Students spend time and money in their pursuit of mouthpiece perfection. Unfortunately, the perfect mouthpiece does not exist, but this study is designed to find ideal mouthpiece characteristics. It is the goal of this experiment to give college horn players a better understanding of mouthpieces. Participants were asked to try and score eight experimental mouthpieces in addition to their primary mouthpiece. It was determined that comfort was one of the most important aspects of a mouthpiece. If participants found the mouthpiece uncomfortable, all scores for that mouthpiece would suffer. While the …

Naturalism And The New Woman: Fated Motherhood In Kate Chopin's The Awakening And Edith Wharton's The House Of Mirth, Lindsay J. Patorno

Honors Theses

Proto-feminist novels have garnered great critical attention in recent decades, largely owing to the reclamation efforts of feminist scholars from the 1960s onwards. These feminist scholars have remarked the fin-de-siècle emergence of a recurring narrative archetype: the unabashed New Woman, whose exploits in what were traditionally male-dominated spheres distinguished her from the domesticated matrons and sentimental bachelorettes of past literary paradigms. While the New Woman is now a commonplace among feminist critics, the following thesis uniquely interprets this feministic archetype in conjunction with the concurrent movement of American literary naturalism—a genre that proffers a deterministic worldview and is often regarded …

Becoming Evil: The Shaping Of A Nazi Female Consciousness From Weimar Through The Third Reich, Maria T. Murphy

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

From Perfect Daughter To Feminist: How Culture Disguises Disney’S Recycled Formula In Mulan And Moana, Aricelia Arcadia

Honors Theses

Film is a relatively young art form and industry compared to others, such as music and dance. Its origins go back no more than 150 years, yet criticism surrounds film over the lack of originality. The Walt Disney Company, or Disney, is one of the most well-known companies in the industry, and it too is accused of recycling some of the same narrative elements and images in its films. This recycling of themes, characters, animation, plot points, and more are known as formulas that Disney uses to ensure financial success. In recent years, the film industry, but more specifically Hollywood, …

Myriad Routes Out, Madison Etheridge

Honors Theses

Myriad Routes Out is an original collection of poems exploring abandonment and loss, including both interpersonal and extrapersonal situations. The majority of the poems are written in free verse, but the collection also includes several formal poems. Myriad Routes Out is accompanied by a critical preface.

Moving And Grooving: A Nine-Week Curriculum Of Beginning Modern Dance Theory And Technique For The Intermediate Dancer In Secondary Education, Katherine Brooke Jerome

Honors Theses

The learning of modern dance theory and technique is one of the most certain practices to ensure high school dance students are meeting college and career readiness standards. This study focuses on crafting a nine-week curriculum that introduces secondary dance students at the intermediate level to modern dance technique and theory. The aim of this study is to create a curriculum that not only makes certain that standards for creating, performing, responding, and connecting are being met and exceeded, but provides a guide in planning, instruction, and assessment to foster motivation in intermediate-level students as they delve into a new …

The Art Of The Dress: How Getting Into Costume Affects An Actor’S Self-Perception, Ella Embry

Honors Theses

Both actors and psychologists devote enormous amounts of time to understanding how people think, act, and respond even if for completely different reasons. While there are psychological studies that look at the way clothing influences attraction, aggression, and attitude, none of it looks critically at theatrical performance. Costuming is a vital part of the theatrical process that has yet to be studied empirically. As such, my study is an inter-disciplinary endeavor dedicated to developing an understanding of exactly how and whether costuming affects an actor’s personality perception as a way to contribute to the field of psychology, future theatrical performances, …

Drama As A Tool For Addressing Cultural Stereotypes, Elizabeth Smoak

Honors Theses

In children’s drama and literature, Native Americans are rarely represented fully and accurately. Generalizations and stereotypes have lead to severe misunderstandings and an underappreciation for Native American cultures, even in areas rich with their history. This research study sought the efficacy of classroom drama strategies on classroom learning, particularly using storytelling to further children’s understanding of Native American culture. The results show that drama and storytelling can be effective ways to teach children about other cultures by keeping students engaged, promoting participation, and allowing students to make connections and explore learning on their own.

Madness As "The Divided Self" In The Works Of American Female Authors, Katherine Sweat

Honors Theses

When R.D. Laing wrote The Divided Self in 1960, his goal was “to make madness, and the process of going mad, comprehensible.” Laing argued that psychosis was, at its core, an existential problem, driven by a sense of disconnection from the world and in turn, a fragmentation of the self. This thesis uses Laing’s theory of “the divided self” as a framework for examining how madness is constructed in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper (1890), Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1963), and Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962). Each of these works offers a unique …

The Rhetoric Of Landscape: Through Oil And Water, Alexandrea Davis

Honors Theses

“The Rhetoric of Landscape: Through Oil and Water” analyzes five water resources—Lake Erie, Lake Powell, the Aral Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Barrier Reef—and uses the visual rhetoric introduced by an accompanying series of oil pastel illustrations to compare how the beauty of the landscapes equates to their true states. This project discusses the harmful effects of human activities on water bodies, first through direct pollution and ultimately through anthropogenic climate change. Furthermore, a final summary covering the history of environmental initiatives in the United States and the idea of “wicked problems” offers an overview of reasons …

Waxing, Waning, Waking: A Collection Of Poetry And Prose, Brook Vanbruggen

Honors Theses

Waxing, Waning, Waking: A collection of poetry and prose is a digital magazine featuring a body of creative writing pieces that were written during my undergraduate career. The written word is powerful and adaptable and can accomplish any number of difficult tasks. The pieces included here were chosen from a number of genres, including poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, to reflect and explore some of the countless ways that we use words. The title of the collection reflects the elements of space, light, and darkness that appear as motifs throughout the larger body of work, which discusses:

• Family
• Nature …

The Role Of Social Media In Small Museums In Michigan, Kaitlin Mcgrath

Honors Theses

Social media is now firmly ingrained in the daily life of many people. In order for museums to remain relevant in society, institutions like museums need to learn how to integrate this new technology into their practices. Small museums especially may have the most to gain from utilizing this technology in their institutions. These museums usually do not have access to as many resources as their larger counterparts. The challenge for museums is knowing how to use social media effectively. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social media in museums with a focus on small …

American Muslim Women: Feminism, Equality, And Difference, Amber Coniglio

Honors Theses

American Muslim women face constant surveillance, stress, and pressure to change and adapt to mainstream society. In the United States, Muslim women find ways to negotiate their identities, express their concerns, and learn through their faith by means of Islamic scholarship, Islamic feminism, and reinterpretations of the Quran. They are reconciling their multifaceted identities with better understanding of sacred text as well as solidifying their desired gender roles within their communities. They are challenging norms and creating new spaces for themselves within the ummah as well as the United States. American Muslim women find courage, strength, and autonomy through Islamic …

Perennial: An Undergraduate Thesis In Poetry, Austin Wines

Honors Theses

A chapbook of poetry that explores sexuality, gender identity, mental illness, naming, and the experience of the contemporary non-binary, male bodied, Queer. "Perennial" functions as a force of resistance to hegemony, celebration, mourning, and eroticism. Through the cultivation and implementation of a personal and/or familial folklore, the poems culminate a century of inter-generational knowledge as the author draws upon the symbols of their childhood to explicate the violence and tenderness of their own Queer experience. These poems serve as a poetical feminist history and reclamation of the author's matrilineage, and the simultaneously paramount and arbitrary nature of language as it …

Guide To Understanding Catalonian Dissent: From Proclamation To Referendum, Andrew Larkin

Honors Theses

"Guide to Understanding Catalonian Independence Efforts: From referendum proclamation to 1-O" explains and chronicles key events from June 9 to October 1, 2017 that have impacted Catalonia's ploy for independence. The northeastern region in Spain is situated on the Mediterranean coast and plays a strong role in the Spanish economy. Although the region is well situated and prosperous, some push for an independent Catalonia. The guide is written with readers from the United States of America in mind and includes excerpts translated into English so that the struggle between Spain and independence-minded Catalans can be easily understood. Official statements, speeches, …

Hollywood Dreams: Postcolonial Nationalism And Gender Oppression In Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeatersp, Andrei Wayne Kyrk Defino

Honors Theses

This paper addresses how gender, sexuality, and resistance affect personal and national identity construction in Dogeaters. This 1990 novel traces the lives of Filipino characters during President Ferdinand Marcos's dictatorial regime--a period that reshaped the Philippines' national identity. Using gender theory and nationhood studies, I highlight how women and queer individuals who challenge masculine norms attempt subversion by creating communities outside of patriarchal constructs but ultimately fail. Specifically, I read Joey Sands's and Daisy Avila's marginality and failure to comply with societal expectations as futile pushbacks against the larger system. Furthermore, their embrace and use of violence as a means …

Implications Of Theory Of Mind, Feelings Of Connectedness, Flow State Of Mind Through Active And Passive Music Improvisation Experiences, Rebecca Lint

Honors Theses

This study is an introduction examining the relationship between a performer and the audience in a musical improvisation context. Current research exploring performer-audience interaction in improvisation experiences is scant and typically framed in a purely narrative context. This study seeks to evaluate four different components of the performer and audience relationship; amount, or level, of experience with improvisation and comfort levels, flow, theory of mind, and emotional connection. A survey was generated and given to students in an improvisation class to collect results based on these four components. This study found that improvisation experience levels were low but comfort with …

17th Edition Of The Laureate, Jessie Fales

Honors Theses

The Laureate is an undergraduate literary journal sponsored by the Lee Honors College at Western Michigan University. As Editor in Chief of the 17^th Edition, I coordinated the journal’s publication over the course of an academic year. The editorial process follows methodical stages, which have become standard over The Laureate’s lifetime—recruiting submissions, selecting submissions, coordinating with the design center, and hosting a launch party, etc... Of course, every editor has a unique experience, but we must honor the journal’s entity as something larger than ourselves—this journal has existed long before my time, and I hope it keeps on …

Crafting Fear: The Horror Film Trailer, Courtney Dreyer

Honors Theses

My research project investigates horror film trailers in an effort to define the characteristics of this genre and discuss its ideological implications. Focusing on theatrical trailers for American wide-release horror films between 2013 and 2017, I closely viewed a sample of forty trailers to inform my investigation. Horror trailers create an intense emotional experience of both dread and fear, tending to follow a similar narrative structure and employ a common set of stylistic techniques to achieve this emotional intensity. The shared stylistic techniques include elements such as tight framing, innocent imagery, and genre misdirection. The repetition of these elements promotes …

Implications Of Theory Of Mind, Feelings Of Connectedness, Flow State Of Mind Through Active And Passive Music Improvisation Experiences, Jessica Kociba

Honors Theses

This study is an introduction examining the relationship between a performer and the audience in a musical improvisation context. Current research exploring performer-audience interaction in improvisation experiences is scant and typically framed in a purely narrative context. This study seeks to evaluate four different components of the performer and audience relationship; amount, or level, of experience with improvisation and comfort levels, flow, theory of mind, and emotional connection. A survey was generated and given to students in an improvisation class to collect results based on these four components. This study found that improvisation experience levels were low but comfort with …

Comparisons Between Chinese And Japanese Characters, Ahmina Graves

Honors Theses

The complexity of the Chinese and Japanese writing systems has intrigued those in the West from their first encounter with the characters. Though the two languages are very different, they share components of their writing systems that have been adapted to each language. This paper looks at the differences and similarities between the two strikingly different languages, as well as the effects on literacy the complexity of the orthographies has had in East Asia. The reforms created by each respective government and the motivations behind these reforms is also explored, as well as the future of the use and form …

Implications Of Theory Of Mind, Feelings Of Connectedness, And A Flow State Of Mind Through Active And Passive Music Improvisation Experiences., Megan Nicodem

Honors Theses

This study is an introduction examining the relationship between a performer and the audience in a musical improvisation context. Current research exploring performer-audience interaction in improvisation experiences is scant and typically framed in a purely narrative context. This study seeks to evaluate four different components of the performer and audience relationship; amount, or level, of experience with improvisation and comfort levels, flow, theory of mind, and emotional connection. A survey was generated and given to students in an improvisation class to collect results based on these four components. This study found that improvisation experience levels were low but comfort with …

Implications Of Theory Of Mind, Feelings Of Connectedness, And A Flow State Of Mind Through Active And Passive Music Improvisation Experiences., Samuel Panicacci

Honors Theses

This study is an introduction examining the relationship between a performer and the audience in a musical improvisation context. Current research exploring performer-audience interaction in improvisation experiences is scant and typically framed in a purely narrative context. This study seeks to evaluate four different components of the performer and audience relationship; amount, or level, of experience with improvisation and comfort levels, flow, theory of mind, and emotional connection. A survey was generated and given to students in an improvisation class to collect results based on these four components. This study found that improvisation experience levels were low but comfort with …

Teaching Body Mapping In The Orchestra Classroom, Gretchen Clemans

Honors Theses

For young string musicians, it is easy to fall into the habit of playing with improper body alignment and unhealthy technique. In response, this study investigates the ways in which the teaching of healthy body techniques can be taught in the orchestra classroom, in order to prevent students from experiencing pain, tension, and muscle strain while studying their instrument. Overall, the results from the research group of students showed that over half of the students have experienced pain while playing their instrument. Furthermore, the results indicated that students responded positively to the content presented. After being introduced to the material, …

Mental Illness As Portrayed Through Art, Brianna Brown

Honors Theses

I was thinking of what to do for my thesis while taking classes with Vin about Anthropological Research and I realized how flawed it all was. Anthropology was born from colonialism where scholars from the United States would go to some far-off places to study the people there in hopes that they have found an interesting enough culture to get common people like you and me to want to read a book they later publish. The only way it would sell though is if this story, emphasis on story, read like a book of fiction, so far from what we …

Planning A Year End Formal, Anna Volkman

Honors Theses

The intended outcome of this project was to create an event not only to celebrate the successes of the Department of Dance at Western Michigan University, but also to gain visibility for the student-ran organization, Orchesis Dance Society while emphasizing the power art has to unify communities. This project is an example for the organization and the Department of Dance as to how events like this are important for visibility, community involvement, and the celebration of art’s power. I created a year-end formal as an example of how art brings communities of people together and should be celebrated in order …