Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Underground Iowans, Cyrus Emmet Cummings

Research in the Capitol

Underground Iowans is a project undertaken by myself and two other undergraduate students (under Prof. Thomas Connors's guidance) to catalog the graves of notable people buried around the state. This geodatabase will be developed as an app allowing Iowans and tourists to locate the graves and learn more about those who contributed to Iowa's history. Individuals cataloged include political leaders, writers, actors, musicians, Medal of Honor recipients, and Tuskegee airmen, among many others. This free app identifies hundreds of mainly unknown historic sites found in every part of the state.

Her Story, Her Right: Narrative As A Basic Human Right, Karlee Colby

Research in the Capitol

This research is an investigation of narrative as a basic human right. Specifically, it looks into what exactly it means for a person to be able to have an accurate life story or account of an event without fear of manipulation and non-consensual distortion. The narratives being analyzed are narratives of violence against women. In this analysis, multiple factors are examined. The first is the idea of narrative as a whole, and the specific uniqueness that surrounds narratives of violence against women. The second is a dive into the legal system and its impact on both the definition of what …

Poisons In Romeo And Juliet, Jenna Bauch

Research in the Capitol

Throughout this experience with dramaturgy, I plan to extensively conclude the identity of the type of poison that Romeo used to kill himself in Shakespeare’s classic play, Romeo and Juliet. I plan to do this based on four essential qualities of the poison. Due to evidence from the text, the poison must be fast acting, readily available in the 16th century, contain a high toxicity within a low amount (enough to fit inside a small vile), and water soluble. Another challenge will be determining the level of importance of each quality as it pertains to the poison. I will be …

Base & Summit: American Women's Right On Either Side Of The Passing Of The 19th Amendment, Abigail Fer

Research in the Capitol

The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 --allowing women to vote in the United States--was a watershed moment in the history of women's rights, but what were the rights of women before this important amendment? My project compares the legal rights of women across the United States from 1900 to 1920 in three key areas: wages/industry, family law & divorce rights, and property law. Because I conducted this research project for the Carrie Lane Chapman Catt Girlhood Home and Museum, this analysis gives special consideration to Midwestern states--particularly Iowa women and property rights. My project sheds light on the …

Informed Hearing Loss Prevention At Theatre Uni [Poster], Mallory Park

Research in the Capitol

Theatre workers face many dangers which could impact their quality of life and ability to work. One such risk is hearing loss. Given the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss, some theatre workers may already be living with hearing loss. My purpose with this study is to discover the current conditions and attitudes toward hearing loss at Theatre UNI then provide the information necessary to theatre workers about the signs and significance of hearing loss as well as methods for prevention.

Hegelian Political Theater, Cade M. Olmstead

Research in the Capitol

What could politics, theater, and the project of German idealism all hold in common?This research seeks to explore the usage of comedy in modern political discourse through the perspectives of theater and German idealist philosophy.

It begins with an analysis of ancient Greek theater by the philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, applies this reading to the 2013 Turkish Gezi Park protests, and ultimately makes a normative claim about comedy’s use in public discourse and proper democratic politics.

She's Not Allowed To Do That: Two Actors Embody Female Same-Sex Sexuality [Poster], Orion Lee Risk

Research in the Capitol

The art of acting requires the authentic embodiment of another being; what happens in this process when a performance requires taking on a stigmatized sexuality? In summer 2018, an emerging theatre company in Cedar Falls, Iowa, produced Stop Kiss by Diana Son: a show that required its two female leads to embody same-sex sexuality. Guided by scholarship from Judith Butler, Jill Dolan, and Jerzy Grotowski — and following principles of practice-as-research — interviews and observation were used to explore and interpret how the actors in Stop Kiss experienced similarities and differences between their characters’ experiences and their own. Findings led …

La Discriminación Contra Latinos (Discrimination Against Latinos), Lauren Swan

Research in the Capitol

This study examines the types of discrimination Latin@ college students in Iowa face in day-to-day life. The study focuses on both covert discrimination (i.e. microaggressions) as well as direct discrimination. Based on the analysis of ethnographic interviews with 8 undergraduate students at UNI, Latin@s face discrimination in three primary ways. The first is due to people making assumptions about them. The second way is through exoticizing Latin@s. These types of discrimination are often not recognized as offensive or derogatory by the wrongdoer. Lastly, Latin@s are often the recipients of language-based discrimination. This form of discrimination has to do with the …

Kleine Harlequinade: Synthesizing A Directing Education, Alexandra Saulsbury

Research in the Capitol

As my undergraduate education in opera stage direction comes to a close, I have designed my own final project: It is my intent to research and direct an original production of Antonio Salieri’s short opera Kleine Harlequinade. The opera will be performed in English by UNI School of Music students, with full scenic and costume production values. Salieri, though well known during his lifetime as a contemporary of Mozart, is rarely performed today. This research project will involve a complete analysis of the script and score, a literature review on the operas of Salieri, and the creation of a directing …

“Long Cold Days”: The Natural Ice Industry, 1880 To 1940, Andrew Olson

Research in the Capitol

On January 30, 1908, ice harvester Frank Osgood, who was hard at work on the Cedar River during a viciously cold day taking ice blocks cut from the river then up the elevator to the ice house, “froze his eye lids.” Common tasks in the natural ice industry required workers to be out in the coldest winter conditions to produce blocks of frozen water for sale to those who kept food fresh year-round. Hard physical labor permeates the natural ice industry’s fascinating history and is often overlooked, but the story of Osgood and those like him offers insight into the …