Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Women's Army Invades Nacogdoches, Sarah Ebert, Courtney Wooten

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

An Artists Enemy: Explorations Into The End Of Artmaking, Dhalia Galdamez

Undergraduate Research Conference

Art has never been a simple thing to do for many people. This paper will touch on the difficulties that people face when making art, and the many reasons that make people stop. Fear of being judged is a very normal human feeling, but it has constantly stopped people from realizing their potential. There was a time when, as children or adolescents we would make things and show them off proudly. We lost that innocence as we began to grown up and this is a very crucial part of why as adults, we let our fear get in the way …

Frontier Theory And The Omission Of Native Americans, Bayley Deaton

Undergraduate Research Conference

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the issues and implications of Frederick Jackson Turner’s “Frontier Theory” proposed at the 1893 World Fair, and research the long-term effects that this theory has carried into the modern century. Through content analysis, this paper will examine the role that Native Americans currently and historically have in American Textbooks and literature, as well as the differential treatment of Native Americans at the hands of this thesis. This paper will examine the retelling of American history and the United States’ involvement with Native American tribes during the expansion of the nation. This paper …

The Use Of Naturalism In Tennessee Williams’ The Night Of The Iguana, Brittany Tennis, Inga Meier

Undergraduate Research Conference

This project examines the connections among setting, themes, and character development in The Night of the Iguana and explores the transformative potential contained within and revealed by these connections.

Led Lighting For The Arabian Nights, Brittany Tennis, Skyler Moore, Travis Wilson, Brian Steele

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

The Faust Figure’S Unattainable Utopia, Christina Kramer, Jacqueline Cowan

Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper compares three manifestations of the Faust figure found within Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus (1592), Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe’s Faust (1808), and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) to explain why the Faust figure’s strictly individualized utopia will never reach fruition.

Sexual Assault Prevention & Education Within Purity Culture: A Process Evaluation Of An Intervention Conducted With Community Partners At A Christian University, Kate Hendricks Thomas, Maggie Shields, Alycia Johnson

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Background & Purpose: Many victims of sexual assault are rising to advocate for sexual assault prevention on college campuses, including Christian college campuses. Some reports indicate that Christian campuses shy away from the topic and refuse to allow needed programs on sex or sexual assault to be introduced to their campuses, even though it is so adamantly needed. The purpose of this study was to increase the promotion of sexual assault awareness and prevention to students on the campus of Charleston Southern University.

Methods: A one-day seminar was offered in partnership with a community health organization on campus. Over 75 …

From #Blacklivesmatter To #Sayhername, Aitza B. Burgess

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

Sanford, Ferguson, Long Island, and Baltimore are all cities that have become known nationally and internationally in households. This attention has not been about their nature of offering reasonably priced hotel lodging for tourists visiting the neighbouring major cities, but due to the killings of black men in America. Since the election of President Barack Obama in 2009, the notion of a post-racial America has circulated. With Congress members referring to the president as a tar baby to the numerous killings of black people by law enforcement and civilians these actions contradict this notion.

Between the years of 2012-2015, America …

The Three Graces Of Intersectionality: A Curious Journey Across Cultures And Time, Jennifer C. Solomon

SEWSA 2016 Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society

No abstract provided.

Kings, Wars, And Duck Eggs: Interpretations Of Poetry In Egil’S Saga, James C. Daughton

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper examines the function and cultural implications of poetry in Egil’s Saga, an Icelandic saga written around the thirteenth century A.D. The title character, Egil Skallagrimson, is a renowned warrior and obstinate maverick, but perhaps his most singular trait is his gift for crafting poetry—a talent reflected in the nearly sixty sets of his verse that appear throughout the prose text. Obviously, these poems allow the reader to tap into Egil’s psyche, but they also fulfill the more profound purpose of illuminating the values and experiences of medieval Icelanders. Egil eternalizes the heritage he shares with his countrymen, explores …

The Regendering Of The White Savior, Brett Seekford

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Filmmakers have long employed white characters that serve to lift African American characters out of destitution or hardship through inherently benevolent qualities; these heroes have been branded the central figures in the “white savior model” that has come to dominate films about race relations. The white savior centers whiteness while relegating blackness to the margins. In an analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Help (2011), however, this paper will argue that gender also plays a significant role in the development of a white savior. Through discussions of characterization, narrative structure and setting, it becomes clear that the …

Holly Martins And The Impartial Spectator: The Economics Of The Third Man, Alexander W. Pickens

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The film The Third Man is often critiqued for its portrayal of post-war Vienna and the abusive nature of totalitarian regimes in a nearly-anarchic state. However, this film does something that few other films do: it tackles the primary dilemmas facing economists using a visual medium and featuring some of the debates that have been plaguing economic thinkers for years (what is a just allocation of resources, competition in free markets, what happens when corrupt governments control resource allocation). Ultimately, the film is a unique analysis tension between the costs and benefits of the philosophies of Keynes and F. A. …

Useful By Nature, Defensive On Demand: Topography And Sieges Of Rome In The Gothic War, Peter Francis Sian Guevara

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This project shows how the use of topographical elements impacted the development of siege warfare during the Gothic Wars in the 6^th century A.D. Scholars studied topography and archaeology within the context of warfare in Late Antique Italy but they omit non-natural topographical features such as tombs, bridges, and aqueducts. Analyses undertaken include comparison and contrast of the sieges that the city of Rome endured during the Gothic Wars of a contemporary eye-witness, the Greek historian Procopius of Caesarea. The analysis includes other sieges such as Ravenna and Rimini. Christopher Lillington-Martin’s essay Procopius on the Struggle for Dara in …

The Death Knell For Jim Crow: How African-American Soldiers’ Experiences Abroad Impacted The Modern Civil Rights Movement, Richard J. Sipe

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper examines African-American soldiers’ experiences abroad in Europe during the Second World War and the occupation of Germany, and how these experiences affected their fight for Civil Rights on their return to the United States. The paper argues that the experiences of African-American soldiers in Europe, where they were free from Jim Crow Laws and treated with respect and equality by Europeans, created a new consciousness of equality that led to the demand for equal rights at home. The paper challenges traditional historical interpretations of the Civil Rights Movement by emphasizing the Movement’s international aspect. It accomplishes this by …

The Land Of Steady Habits: Anti-Abolition And The Preservation Of Slavery In Connecticut, Griffin R. Watson

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper explores the history of slavery in Connecticut from its inception during the Pequot War in the 1630s to its abolishment in 1848. The research pays particular attention to the reasons for the persistence of slavery as a formal institution in Connecticut while so many other northern states had abolished it. What was uncovered is that slavery was not supported as much in Connecticut as abolition was opposed. The people of Connecticut saw immediate abolition as a threat to the preexisting social order, despite their view of slavery as immoral. Slavery persisted as a means of preventing social upheaval.

Eve's Feminist Wave, Heather S. Higgs

BYU English Symposium

Paradise Lost has been around since the seventeenth century, and yet there is still something readers cannot agree on: what is up with Eve? I propose that Eve’s role in Paradise Lost can be understood through the lens of third-wave feminism, the United States’ current feminist wave. Eve matches well with third-wave feminists in her independence and complexity of character, but what distinguishes her from feminists today is more potent in understanding her role in Paradise Lost. When faced with decisions of the self, Eve ultimately looks outward to Adam and her future posterity and chooses selflessly, exercising restraint …

Early American Need For Christ, Baylee S. Vasquez 6161151

BYU English Symposium

A war torn land of the early Americas created a want for the relief that Christian sects sought when originally retreating from Europe. These early colonists relied on the belief of savior that would redeem them in an eternal sphere, but the absence of an immediate savior in the midst of terror inspired the idea of characters that could act as flawed, yet effective Christ-like figures in the present moment. Mary Rowlandson, Hannah Dustan, and Olaudah Equiano each follow a path that mimics that of Christ’s: death, resurrection, and providing the redemption of others through their tribulation. Dustan redeemed fellow …

Return To Virtue: Defining Moral Strength, Melissa A. Weigeshoff

BYU English Symposium

No abstract provided.

Riot Grrrl’S Legacy: The Medium Is The Message, Rosemary Larkin

BYU English Symposium

Riot Grrrl appropriated traditional, even “feminine,” media platforms to encourage third wave feminism. They ignored a central message on purpose in lieu of loud mediums meant to disrupt the status quo instead of assert a new one.

The Scandal Of Sources Of Henriette-Julie De Murat’S Histoires Sublimes Et Allégoriques, Jared Willden

BYU English Symposium

Henriette-Julie de Murat claims in the foreword of Histoires sublimes et allégoriques (1699) that the only source for her tales is Straparola’s Facetious Nights, yet this claim seems to be misleading. Taking “The Savage” as an example, this essay first assesses the reasons we should doubt Murat’s claim. It then explores other possible literary sources for “The Savage,” such as Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Straparola’s “Guerrino and the Savage Man,” and the Breton folktale “Georgic and Merlin,” as well as biographical elements, both from details surrounding her exile by Louis XIV in 1702 and from her fictional …

The Sewing Room, Madeline L. Tracy

BYU English Symposium

A short horror story delving into the depths of family relationships. After Charlotte's mother dies, she goes to live with her grandparents. She has entered her mother's childhood world and what she witnesses could become emotional baggage- or something that could define her forever.

To Know Grief Intimately, Alexandra Francom

BYU English Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Revolution Of Bath: The Writing And Re-Writing Of Social History In Jane Austen's Persuasion, Erica L. Pratt

BYU English Symposium

Hidden beneath the structure of Regency England lies a society near eruption. In Persuasion, Austen brings her characters on a journey through the landscape of social revolution. Bath serves as pinnacle of this journey –the battlefield where characters are invited to perform according to their social training.

The initial skirmish takes place before the book begins and uses social fighting techniques of the pre-Napoleonic war. It is fought within an aristocratic structure, and defeats our heroine. The second battle, however, is conducted under completely different training mechanisms. This second skirmish follows the fall of aristocracy and the rise of meritocracy. …

The Lives And Deaths Of Flora Mac-Ivor And Rose Bradwardine: Romance And Reality In Sir Walter Scott's Waverley, Monica D. Allen

BYU English Symposium

In Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley, Scott presents the problem of romance versus reality. He does this by personifying romance and reality through Flora Mac Ivor and Rose Bradwardine. Flora, with her passion, represents romance. While Rose, a more mellow character, represents reality. Waverley finds that he must choose between them. Rose is a “kindred spirit” to him, while Flora resembles “one of his daydreams.” They embody these ideas through a physical location. Flora’s location is the romantic Scottish Highlands, and Rose’s location is simply her father’s home. Besides location, the figurative deaths of Flora and Rose embody romance and …

Who Wears The Pants: The Unraveling Of Gender In "The Things They Carried", Zoe Meyer

BYU English Symposium

In this paper, I analyze gender roles in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried arguing that war causes American society to shift, and as a result, expected gender roles and the understanding of expected behavior change. Correlating the soldiers’ understanding of what it means to be American directly to their understanding of gender, I explain that changing what it means to be men alters their idea of what it means to be citizens of the United States. Because the soldiers can no longer be identified by their gender, nor can they identify themselves as Americans, they lose their understanding of …

Katniss Everdeen: Feminist Fighter Or Teen Bride?, Baylee S. Vasquez

BYU English Symposium

Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games, can be read as a strong female character that represents the Third Wave of Feminism. She has become a measuring stick for strong female characters that have appeared after her. It is even argued that she has taken the place of the stereotypical male hero while her cohort, Peeta Mellark, plays the stereotypical female role. However, in spite of all of the things that she accomplishes during her time within the dueling ring, the main debate amongst teenagers—for whom the book was written—is who will Katniss Everdeen, goddess of the hunt and champion …

Almost Normal, But Not Quite, Benjamin L. Featherstone

BYU English Symposium

This is a non-fictional essay focusing on the author’s personal experience with the process and result of receiving a cochlear implant. This essay neither promotes nor discourages the usage of cochlear implant. Instead, it simply reveals the experience of the author. This written form shows the inner storms that come from trying to find a balance between two worlds, which the author lives in—the Deaf world and the hearing world.

Just The Secretary, Belen Jackson

BYU English Symposium

When a voice is silenced, can it ever be restored?

Violence And Identity In Native Son, Anna M. Gee

BYU English Symposium

Abstract: “Violence and Identity in Native Son” examines the cycle of violence that begins with white objectification of blacks and ultimately results in extralegal black violence and legislated white violence. Richard Wright’s Native Son details this cycle as it is initiated by white objectification of blacks, creating owner-object relationships between members of the two races. Objectification leads to loss of identity and blindness, cultivating indifference and shame among members of black society. For the novel’s main character Bigger, shame produces violence. Violent acts become acts of creation that enable him to formulate identity in meaningful ways. This new understanding …

Beyond Reason: Ophelia's Quest For Truth, Jacob K. Nielsen 9443167

BYU English Symposium

In this paper, I explore Ophelia's supposed descent into 'insanity' in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Using Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, I conclude that instead of descending into insanity, Ophelia moved beyond reason in order to acquire personal truth that wasn't available to her within the realm of traditional reason. In the end, instead of assuming a passive role, Ophelia's character actively rejects the limitations of reason, allowing her to become more than just a passive object of tragic circumstances. Variations within the Quarto and Folio versions of the play support the conclusion that Ophelia actively sought to …