Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Hegemonic Peter?: A Critical Analysis Of Hegemonic Masculinity In Family Guy, Justin Danowski

Masters Theses

Hegemonic masculinity is a constantly evolving and highly nuanced theory. The original definition was designed to study the oppression males exert over females. Later definitions expanded on the original to include young, effeminate or gay men. In the realm of television, hegemonic masculine forces are perpetuated by not only male characters but marginalized groups as well. This creates gender stereotypes to be accepted and embraced as the norm in a culture. This project takes a critical look at the animated television comedy Family Guy and explains how hegemonic masculinity is portrayed throughout the episode "Family Gay". To accomplish this, the …

A Study In Micro Discourse Community Learning: The Subject-Driven Micro Discourse Community Session Model, Philip Brandon Gallagher

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the development and testing of a new collaborative learning model that uses new media informed practices to teach modem students who are familiar with today's digital learning environments. Often, modem students have difficulty learning from traditional classroom practices. The Subject-Driven Micro Discourse Community Session model is an answer to this problem for collaborative learning. The Micro Community Model, for short, engages participants in small, collaborative groups as experts that have valuable knowledge to contribute. By using organized role switching and knowledge recording techniques, the model draws on current new media attributes to appeal to student competencies and …

Genre Awareness: Effectively Teaching Composition Through Genre Awareness At A Community College, Ashley D. Klinginsmith

Masters Theses

This thesis outlines the history of rhetorical genre theory and how the evolving definition of genre has influenced current genre awareness pedagogies. The survey of literature examines implicit and explicit pedagogical approaches to teaching genre theory and closely examines genre awareness as an alternative approach. Through exploring genre awareness, the thesis highlights the specific scene of the community college writing classroom in comparison to the scene of the university ,:vriting classroom in order to detennine how to best instruct students. After a thorough examination of the scene, the study progresses into a useful guide for comm1mity college instmctors to gain …

Five People Like This: How Writers Perceive And Interact With Their Facebook Audience, Luke E. Kingery

Masters Theses

This study is a mixed methods approach to exploringa udience-awarenesso n Facebook.B y conductinga survey of l O l students enrolled in Composition II, observing the status updates posted by 21 Facebook users for one month, and conducting 5 individual case studies, it is evident that the level of audience awareness varies among users. This study found that some users are learning audience awareness through the feedback they are getting from, and they frame their messages in ways that imply audience awareness. Finally, more research needs to be conducted on Facebook writing and discusses and scholars should continue to explore …

Nonprofit Visual Identity: Evaluating The Needs And Wants, Whitney R. Noland

Masters Theses

Visual identity originates within the internal structures of both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Establishing this visual identity is necessary for any organization, so it can gain mvareness in a community and even develop a relationship with its potential clients and donors. For many nonprofit organizations, the identity should be the central component of fundraising and marketing procedures; however, nonprofits, at times, disengage with their needs and instead focus on their wants, losing sight of the importance of standardizing their image. Through this client-based project, which focused on audience relationship, social responsibility, and ethical awareness, 1 partnered with a nonprofit organization …

Sketching As An Ally In The First-Year Composition Classroom, Kenneth P. Webb

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the possible use of sketching as a pedagogical tool in the first-year composition classroom. The digital age has brought with it a wealth of new (and culturally significant) multimodal compositions, that is, compositions that use multiple modes of communication. In particular, visual modes of communication are growing increasingly important. Furthermore, new ways of sharing information has lead to an accelerating proliferation of new media that increasingly blends visual and verbal elements in the creation of compositions. College students, in the midst of grappling with these new challenges, and with the promise of unforeseen multimodal genres in the …

Johannes Brahms' Liebeslieder Walzer Op. 52 And Hector Berlioz' "Hungarian March" From La Damnation De Faust, Sarah Todd

Masters Theses

Johannes Brahms, known for his love of serious music and archaic forms, was indelibly influenced by residence in lively Vienna. During his Vienna years he composed some of his most "popular" works, both in terms of style and reception, among these the Liebeslieder Walzer Op. 52. These masterful "love song waltzes" are settings of folk poems from Georg Daumer' s Polydora. Brahms skill in songwriting lies in his subtlety. Not bound to overt text painting, the composer uses rhythmic and textural clues along with characteristically rich harmonic language to musically reflect the love, longing, and loss found in Daumer' s …

Framing Jane: Film Adaptation And Jane Eyre, 1934-2006, Joy Wohlman Boyce

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

African American Students' Perceptions Of The Campus Climate At Eastern Illinois University, Tynisa R. Collins

Masters Theses

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate African American undergraduate students' perceptions of the campus racial climate at Eastern Illinois University. Quantitative research was utilized through the use of the TOCAR Collaborative Campus Climate Survey. The survey addressed perceptions of campus climate, perceptions of campus racial climate, perceptions of academic experiences, and specific experiences that the students have undergone that have contributed to their overall perception of the campus climate.

Findings showed that African American undergraduates perceived the campus climate at Eastern Illinois University to be somewhat welcoming. The data revealed that African American students would like the …

The Anglicization Of Ælfric's "Passio Sancti Eadmundi Regis Et Martyris", Benjamin W. Potmesil

Masters Theses

While depicting Christian saints is certainly not unique to Old English literature, the presence of a hagiographic tradition within its corpus offers a variety of possibilities for academic investigation by editors of Old English texts. Of particular interest is JElfric's "Passio Sancti Eadmundi Regis et Martyris." This hagiography, which focuses upon an Anglo-Saxon king of the ninth century, is acknowledged by JElfric to be a translation of Abbo of Fleury' s Latin account of Edmund's death. Fortunate! y, copies of both JElfric's Old English version and Abbo's Latin original have survived to the modern day. As a result, the modern …

A Neighbors' War: Provost Marshals, Desertion, The Draft And Political Violence On The Central Illinois Home Front, 1861-1865, Jason A. Miller

Masters Theses

This thesis argues that violence associated with the Copperhead movement during the American Civil War mainly sprung from local rather than national tensions. Viewing political violence within the context of one of the most divisive political regions in the nation-central Illinois, this thesis utilizes an unprecedented comprehensive reading of the region's provost marshal reports as its window into community life in postEnrollment Act central Illinois. From this newfound perspective this thesis uses those reports to create a framework to reinterpret traditional sources such as newspapers and government officials' correspondence. It finds that the upsurge in violence in postEnrollment Act central …

"I Am Not Minor": Characters' Apparent Autonomy In J.M. Coetzee's Fiction, Brigid Erin O'Malley

Masters Theses

J.M. Coetzee's most recent works of fiction have become increasingly experimental with form (e.g., metafiction, diary, fictionalized memoir). These various forms illuminate the subject-object split present in Coetzee's recent work and its transcendence of race and gender. Indeed, the gender and racial tensions present in his novels seem to be mere representations of the subject-object split at work - the split that exists between those with power and those without. Thus, I believe Coetzee is attempting to make a more universal, even spiritual statement regarding the body and soul ( our corporeal selves representing the objective self and our soul …

Bridging The Cultural Gap: Using Commonwealth Young Adult Literature In American Secondary Schools, Jennifer Hrejsa-Hudson

Masters Theses

Commonwealth Young Adult Literature (CYAL), or Y AL written in English speaking countries other than America, can help American secondary students become more globally aware while fulfilling many of the Common Core Standards. CY AL offers a variety of literary and multicultural/intercultural opportunities not always available in Ameri-centric YA. In this thesis, prize winning examples of CY AL and intercultural CY AL are analyzed for what cultural knowledge students can gain from reading them. Also included is a discussion about what is lost when American publishers "translate" CYAL into American vernacular. Finally, specific examples are given of how American secondary …

Advocacy Coalitions In Iowa And Illinois: Examining Same-Sex Policy Subsystems, Heather (Aiden) Ethington

Masters Theses

Literature on LGBT politics and rights has been limited. at best. Little information exists as to how coalitions form and build on successes and failures. Seeking to expand the body of research. this study examined the interest group coalitions active on either side of the highly divisive issue of same-sex marriage. Through a comparative case study, the research showed that at the subnational level many issues affect coalition success, including political culture, divisiveness, and in what arena policy change is occurring. Unsurprisingly, the study shows that perturbations in the subsystem led to the greatest response from coalitions, which led to …

Prayers Of Obligation And Well-Being: A Study Of The Effects Of Orthodox Jewish Prayer, Charles T. Coleman

Masters Theses

In a study to explore the effect of concentration during Orthodox Jewish obligatory prayer on well-being, ten Orthodox Jewish prayers were rated by experts (Rabbis) for the inclusion of the five identified prayer types of adoration, thanksgiving, confession, supplication, and reception. The ratings were used to establish a prayer type score for each of the ten prayers studied. Other Orthodox Jewish males (non-Rabbis) were then surveyed about their individual level of concentration during the same ten prayers and about health and psychological well-being. Although the multiple regression analyses showed no link between degree of concentration and well-being, it was determined …

Project In Grant Proposal Writing, Betsy Wells

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the process of grant proposal writing from beginning to end. It includes research and theory on preparing a feasibility report, searching for funding opportunities, using narrative in proposal writing, and repurposing text in the medical field and grant proposal writing. Documents included in this thesis are a feasibility report and two grant proposals written as a project for a small community hospital.

"Through The Keyhole Of His Eye": The Restoration Of Jack Kerouac's Duluoz Legend, Gina Marie Lobianco

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Sickness And Health, Anthony Smith

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Book Production In The Medieval West Midlands: The Case For Organized Bookmaking, Rashelle Spear

Masters Theses

My thesis project, Book Production in the West Midlands: The Case for Organized Bookmaking, takes into consideration the geographical factors of the medieval manuscripts of the West Midlands in England from the mid-fourteenth to the early fifteenth centuries. The medieval manuscript is an artifact: it is a piece of the past that, if examined carefully, will present a narrative about bookmen, bookmaking practices, and the reading public of a specific period and, in this case, a geographical area.

To discover a more coherent picture of bookmaking and the way books were prepared and received in the West Midlands, I closely …

Expanding The Jazz Repertoire: Reimagining Modern Popular Music, Chad Edwin Mathis

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

African American Male Student Leaders And Matriculation: A Qualitative Evaluation, Alexandra Leann Finley

Masters Theses

The current study was designed to identify the correlations between leadership, academic success, and matriculation within the African American male community at a predominantly White institution. Within separate one-on-one interviews, six participants were asked a set of pre-determined questions regarding their involvement and educational experiences at their university. Through coding and analyzing participant responses, five themes emerged, including: 1) academic success as an African American male student leader, (2) leadership skills learned and developed, (3) skills obtained for general success as an African American male student leader at a PWI, (4) the importance of mentoring on shaping an African American …

The Maturation Of Pulse: The Rhythmic Evolution From Swing To Bebop, Sam Weber

Masters Theses

The musical style that came to prominence in US in the 1940s, known as bebop, is a style that is remembered and discussed in terms of its harmonic characteristics and its notable soloists. This is the view that is taken in most scholarly writing on the music and also the view that is taught to most students of jazz today. However, there is arguably an equally if not more profound evolution in the rhythmic language of this music which is almost totally un-discussed. By digitally analyzing recordings, tracing musical and personal influence, and by examining related technological developments, it becomes …

Murder With A Penknife: Individual Identity Formation In Charles Brockden Brown's Ormond, Patrick Prominski

Masters Theses

Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Ormond (1799) is in many ways a typical Gothic novel. However, stripping away its Gothic trappings reveals a more complex tale than Brown’s European Gothic inspirations. Brown seems to have been keenly aware of the struggle to form a distinctly American identity in the wake of the Revolution. Reading Ormond as an attempt by Brown to outline a potential American identity reveals a complexity far beyond Ormond’s Gothic kin. Furthermore, examining Brown’s works Alcuin (1798) and “Walstein’s School of History” (1799) alongside Ormond exposes the basis for Brown’s position on women in the new Republic …

Seven Seas Without, Ambereen Siddiqui

Masters Theses

In my work I explore dislocation within a diasporic experience. I use personal and familial accounts of migration, assimilation and reverse culture shock to examine and add to the collective narratives that underlie national as well as individual identities. In reconciling my own sense of loss in having moved away from Pakistan, I appropriate histories, recreate memories and envision futures to mould the present. Investigations of personal experiences inform an analysis of the larger social, political and historical contexts. In my practice I use video, animation and new media technologies to “re-view” archives. My sources include audio and text from …

"Videbantur Gens Effera": Defining And Perceiving Peoples In The Chronicles Of Norman Italy, Jesse Hysell

Masters Theses

The goal of this project is to analyze the ways different cultural groups in Sicily and southern Italy were depicted in a set of historical texts associated with the Norman takeover of those regions in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. To achieve that aim, I consider social vocabulary applied to three distinct peoples (native Italians, Greeks, and Muslims) in five sources written by Amatus of Montecassino, Geoffrey Malaterra, William of Apulia, Alexander of Telese, and Hugo Falcandus. Although recent scholarship has posited that medieval identity was often felt through a "self versus other" or "Christian versus non-Christian" dichotomy, I have …

Nutrition And Stature: The Residents Of The Island Of Gotland, Sweden Killed In The Battle Of Wisby, 1361, Michelle A. Miller

Masters Theses

This research examines stature in order to assess the socio-economic status of Gotland, an island (and municipality) off the coast of Sweden, before the 1360's. Gotland was known as a wealthy and autonomous peasant republic although it was loosely ruled by the Swedish Crown. In 1361, the Danish Army laid siege on the seaport city of Wisby to obtain its riches. Three days after the battle, the approximately 1800 dead Gotlanders were tossed haphazardly into five common graves. Archaeological excavations took place from 1905-1930 by Bendt Thordeman, among others. The human remains were analyzed in 1937. Osteological analysis in the …

A Position Of Strength: Arms Dealing As Diplomacy Under The Reagan Administration, William D. Watson

Masters Theses

My thesis is an examination of the Cold War during the 1980s, with a focus on arms dealing and diplomacy under President Ronald Reagan from 1981-1989. I chose to write about three specific case studies based on the unique intersections of American diplomatic goals in relation to geography, the sophistication of weapons technology involved, and geopolitical considerations. The purpose of this thesis is to explain why and how the Reagan administration was able to carry out three separate arms deals, and in turn, how those deals fit into the broader, global Cold War between the United States and the Soviet …

Kevin Volans' She Who Sleeps Witha Small Blanket: An Examination Of The Intentions, Reactions, Musical Influences, And Idiomatic Implications, Peter D. Breithaupt

Masters Theses

Using and expanding upon a theoretical model for examining the meaning of music presented by ethnomusicologist Timothy Taylor, one of the leading scholars on composer Kevin Volans and his music, this research will attempt to properly position Volans' percussion solo, She Who Sleeps witha Small Blanket, composed in 1985, within Volans' African Paraphrase classification. It will also attempt to dissociate She Who Sleeps from the claims of hegemonic cultural appropriation that are attached to Volans' African Paraphrase pieces. In his model, Taylor talks about the "inseparable metatext" that surrounds a piece of music and includes the composer's intentions, the listener's …

The Great Commissioning: An Exegesis Of Matthew 28:16-20, Ryan Kendall Phelps

Masters Theses

Throughout the history of Christianity, evangelism has been an often-discussed topic. At certain times the discussion has revolved around the question of whether or not there is a command to actively seek out unbelievers for the purpose of evangelism in the Bible that applies to Christians in the world they live in. One of the most common verses cited as a command for evangelism is Matthew 28:18-20, commonly called the "Great Commission." However, some Christians argue that this is a command for discipleship and not evangelism. While it is hard to make a distinction based on this verse alone, Matthew …

Language And Identity In Postcolonial African Literature: A Case Study Of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Abigail Guthrie

Masters Theses

Sociolinguists often research the development of language attitudes and the state of language within speech communities. Individual speakers reflect the status of their L1 language in both speaking and writing (Wa Thiong'o 1986, Showalter 2001), and the idea that writing can be used as a set of data that reflects an author's language attitude is the motivation for this research. Salikoko Mufwene (2001), one of the leading experts on creolization and the ecology of language, has argued that individual speakers of a language make daily choices that affect the future of their native tongue. Using the novel Things Fall Apart …