Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Pastor Self-Perceived Preparedness And Training To Model And Lead Sensitivity In Their Congregations And Spiritually Lead Lgbtq Individuals: A Qualitative Study Of Pastors Of The Potomac Ministry Network Of The Assemblies Of God, Tina L. Boswell-Stickley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Pastors are responsible for creating welcoming atmospheres within their church buildings and congregations. Societal changes have raised questions about pastors’ preparedness to do so, particularly regarding the LGBTQ community. This qualitative study interviewed lead pastors from the Potomac Ministry Network (PMN) of the Assemblies of God regarding their self-perceived preparedness to model sensitivity and minister to the LGBTQ community. It explored pastor training, experiences, perceptions, and needs to serve this population better. Interviews were transcribed, indexed, coded, and analyzed to identify themes and better understand the dynamics regarding this issue. Results are reported, including limitations, discussions, recommendations, and identified needed …

Finding The Middle Zone; Redefining Spirituality Through Contemporary American Literature, Mickey Mcpoland

Master's Theses

In this essay, I investigate the intersection of post-postmodern literature and postsecular thought. I examine Jonathan Franzen’s novel Crossroads (2022) as a means to examine a religious conception of goodness and how goodness becomes rooted in what we worship. I also look to Infinite Jest and “Good People” by David Foster Wallace. The latter illuminates the conflict between traditional forms of worship and contemporary calls to worship one’s own desires, which results in stagnation, frigidity, and indecisiveness. Characters follow their internal compass, which leads them only further away from a sense of stability. Franzen’s work shows what replaces traditional religious …

The Church Surviving Crisis An Examination Of Leaders' Disaster Response, Joel A. Tudman

Doctor of Ministry

In March of the year 2020, the church would change drastically and quickly. In-person gatherings shifted to online worship. The pandemic fostered change for the church and it had to adapt to a digital era overnight. Abrupt change of such for churches and other organizations called for business meetings and a change in the application of the vision. Some churches upgraded audio and video equipment to facilitate their vision effectively and some closed their doors. The world has seen many crises and the church has always long suffered right along with the world. When a crisis strikes the world like …

Developing A Lay Ministry Of Caregiving Skills To Parents And Families Who Grieve The Death Of A Child At Zion Hill Baptist Church, Cherryville, N.C., Roger Fuller

Doctor of Ministry Projects

This project aims to educate those who minister to people who may experience the difficult misfortune of the grief and loss of a child. The concentration and intent of this work are to cultivate a ministry of caregiving skills for the members at Zion Hill Baptist Church of Cherryville, North Carolina. This caring ministry of the church will serve all who grieve, but the general focus of this project is to offer specialized care in aiding those who grieve the death of a child. This training is of great necessity because most church members, having not experienced losing a child, …

Developing A Shared Ecclesial Identity Utilizing Story-Based Elements With First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Georgia, Jeremy T. Shoulta

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The Body of Christ is challenged to, “be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” (Philippians 2:2). How then could a congregation, comprised of individuals harboring diverse cultural worldviews, discover and live into this reality? Through various individual and group exercises, participants sought to determine whether story elements have the power to serve as a true sense-making device within an ecclesial setting. The results indicate that that a majority of participants found the story-based framework beneficial in regards to their personal understanding of the work of First Baptist Church.

Learning To Cope With Grief Through The Use Of Biblical Creativity With The Community Of First Saints Community Church, Patricia Watson

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Supporting those who are grieving has long been a complicated process for church communities and pastors. This project investigated whether introducing a creative activity to a grief support group could help participants view their loss through a lens of faith and clinical aspects of grief. Although further studies will strengthen this hypothesis, a four-week curriculum was conducted with five participants at First Saints Community Church in Leonardtown, MD. Results from quantitative and qualitative analyses showed that there was a benefit to those participants.

Between Kedusha And The Sitra Achra: Factors That Contribute To Individuals Leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy, Batya Weinstein

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

The purpose of this study is to understand the most frequently cited factors contributing to individuals leaving ultra-Orthodoxy, as well as the psycho-social implications of doing so. Indeed, there is a dearth of quantitative research on the factors and implications of leaving. Previous research has shown that contributing factors include intellectual contradictions, gender inequality, lack of acceptance of differences, and experiencing physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. The psychosocial implications of leaving include social and educational barriers to integration into secular life and increased depression and loneliness. The current study employed a quantitative, descriptive design to examine the hypothesis that emotional …

Destruction And Resiliency: Decolonizing Settler Knowledge In Native American Literature Through The Peoplehood Matrix, Renissa R. Gannie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the complex dynamics of settler colonialism and the construction of peoplehood within the Laguna Pueblo, Lakota, Jemez Pueblo, Anishinaabe, and Blackfeet culture through a comparative analysis of literary works focusing on Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, Frances Washburn’ Elsie’s Business, N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn, Gerald Vizenor’s The Heirs of Columbus, and Stephen Graham Jones’s Ledfeather; these authors employ narrative strategies to depict the destructive impacts of settler colonialism on indigenous identities and communities. Drawing upon postcolonial and indigenous literary theories, this research uses a comparative framework to analyze the diverse …

Til Valhall: The Formation Of Nordic Neopagan Identity, Religiosity, And Community At A Norwegian Heavy Metal Festival, Padraic M. Fitzgerald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A major draw of Nordic Neopaganism is the great degree of personal freedom practitioners have in the construction and performance of their spiritual identity. Nordic Neopaganism has no central hierarchy or unifying dogmatic system to dictate such endeavors. Instead, practitioners draw from the tradition’s body of “lore” -- the historical accounts, archaeological records, pre-Christian myths, folklore, and folk traditions from the Nordic cultural area -- to inform their religiosity. The works of visual artists, musicians, and scholar-practitioners inspired by elements of this body of lore serve to further constitute it. This lore provides the basis and inspiration for religious identity …

Queer Is Here, Hopefully To Stay: The Incorporation And Reception Of Lgbtq+ History At The History Colorado Center, Madeline Ohaus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the documentation of LGBTQ+ histories, struggles, and accomplishments has been absent from museum collections and exhibitions. Scholars argue that given the authoritative nature of museums and their influence on the public, exclusions of LGBTQ+ history can mount to institutional erasure of queer identities. However, in the past decade, there has been an increase in attempts to document and curate exhibitions highlighting and encouraging the public to engage with LGBTQ+ history. While this history is imperative to preserve and display, it can be met with controversy, leading some LGBTQ+ history exhibitions to be relocated or even removed. During the summer …

'They Were Known Accordingly’: The Journey Of The Land Otter Pole And Memorial Pole At The Denver Art Museum, Penske Stranger Mccormack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2019, two Kaigani Haida (Alaskan Haida) totem poles (Xaadas Gyáa’ang) were re-raised in the renovated Northwest Coast gallery of the Denver Art Museum. Lee Wallace and his family, descendants of Haida carver Dwight Wallace and Dwight’s son John Wallace, led a ceremony that publicly acknowledged the Wallace family’s connection to the two poles, reintroduced Haida cultural protocols into their care and viewing, and set the stage for future collaborations between the museum and family. This study explores the history of the poles and the intersecting forces that shaped their journey from Sukkwan, Alaska, to Denver, including shifting ideals of …

The New Motion Picture: Can Interactivity In Mobile Ar Enhance Storytelling In Modern Filmmaking, Olaoluwa John Alake

Selected Full-Text Master Theses 2021-

The title of the thesis Is - The New Motion Picture: Can Interactivity in AR Enhance Storytelling In Modern Filmmaking?

For the theory, I will be exploring how AR has developed from the history of its many applications to its current implementation in smartphones and how current filmmakers are working with this technology to produce new content.

For production, I will create one or multiple spatial AR scenes using real-world locations that incorporate elements of a short film story for users to interact with. This may include 3d assets, paths and destinations e.t.c.

The theory paper will introduce readers to …

Direction Of The Play: The Giver, Allison Knoll

All Graduate Projects

This project encompasses the selection, pre-production research, casting, production and post-production process of the play The Giver for the Lakeland High School Drama Department. This documentation includes analysis of the play as a production vehicle, research, script analysis, scenic and technical processes, reflections on rehearsals and a post-production evaluation.

Chains Shall He Break: A Vision For Reconciling Worship, Kyle Joseph Harmon

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

In the Evangelical church, there is a disparity between the worship of the church and a lack of care for the marginalized and oppressed in American society. Though their worship proclaims freedom, chains being broken, and captives set free, the church does little to advocate for the actual poor and disenfranchised. Because of these and other reasons, the American evangelical church has come to resemble something other than both its heritage and the Body of Christ described in Scripture. Instead, it has become a cloistered, segregated, echo chamber for those who agree on orthodoxy to retreat into and sense the …

Seeing The Unseen: Bridging Realities Of Experience Through Dependent Origination, Shubham Sapkota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Overall, this project looks into the problem and history of colonialism, the impact of it on the people and knowledge coming from South Asia, and offers an alternate view to understand our world. The notion of seeing the unseen acknowledges that there are facets of our day-to-day reality that we are often unaware of when thinking about our communities and ourselves. Yet, being able to fully acknowledge and understand the seen and unseen aspects of our community is necessary if we are to work towards improving our communities for the long run. By relying on the Buddhist teaching and discourse …

On The Frontier Of American Cultures: Catholic Missionaries Among Native Americans And The Emergence Of Catholic American Culture, Anthony Falbo

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Perception Vs. Reality: The Influence Of Civic Experiences In High School On Adult Civic Engagement, Kaya Bottmeyer

Political Science & International Studies | Senior Theses

Research on political socialization has shown that individuals’ families and education play a significant role in their later political actions and attitudes, but more needs to be understood on how large the role of education is and, specifically, what impact secondary education has on people’s political socialization. Literature suggests that educational standards that require more civics or social science courses are more effective in creating civically engaged individuals, and curriculums that employ service learning and experiential learning techniques are even more effective at increasing civic engagement, but to what extent does a person's perception of their educational experience factor into …

The Decline In Black Men's Church Attendance: The Role Of Male Presence In Church And The Family, Gregory James Tate

Doctor of Ministry

The Black Church in the United States has historically played a significant role in the community providing a sense of belonging and purpose. However, there has been a significant decline in the attendance of Black men in the church. Despite being the largest ethnic group to attend a place of worship, 70-80% of Black men do not attend church services, either in-person or online. This trend is concerning, especially since over 80% of those who do not attend consider themselves religious and believe in a higher power. This paper explores the reasons for this trend and its effects. Chapter 1 …

The "Othering" Of America: How The Strategic Use Of Crisis And Ressentiment Succeeded In The Trump Era, Laura J. Franklin

Dissertations

The establishment of a crisis theme through public rhetoric often triggers widespread attention, resulting in public concern and media coverage of an issue that could potentially be overblown or deceptive. In right-wing political discourse, this crisis warning is typically delivered by a White male leader with ready access to the powerful news media. An “us versus them” theme often occurs. Within this mode of a hegemonic exclusion, a culture of immigrants or an American minority are often depicted, perhaps aggressively, as a threat: A threat used to motivate, enrage and create the frustrations inherent in ressentiment. This dissertation explores the …

Parables Of Our Talons: New Jewish Stories For Electroacoustic Voices, Eli Berman

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

This thesis is a creative portfolio of written and recorded experiments and performances from September 2022 to April 2023. The culminating piece of my portfolio is a ritual performance called GOLEMATRIAK. This ritual, along with the rest of my portfolio, weaves together khazonus (Ashkenazi Jewish cantorial singing), extended vocal techniques, and electronic dance music in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English. During a historic rise of global antisemitism and transphobia, GOLEMATRIARK is an exaltation of queer, diasporic Jewish power. The golem is a proto-robot made of inorganic matter that one animates through sacred Jewish texts. I have been creating my own golems …

Ethics In Kakadu (1988): Finding Djilile’S “True Tracks”, Natasia T. Boyko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tasmanian-born Peter Sculthorpe (1929 – 2014) was one of Australia’s most iconic modernist classical composers of the twentieth century. Kakadu (1988) seems to have sparked the most controversy of Sculthorpe’s works and has become one of his most well-known pieces. In the program notes provided in the score’s foreword, Sculthorpe asserts that “the melodic material in Kakadu, as in much of my recent music, was suggested by the contours and rhythms of Aboriginal chant.” Sculthorpe attributed this melodic material to the Arnem Land chant, Djilile. Consequently, Sculthorpe has been criticized for extracting Djilile from its authentic context as …

Reviving Heritage In A Historic Gem City: Examining The Management Of History At The Colonial Quarter In St. Augustine, Florida, Madeline Bonner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Colonial Quarter is a living history venue of Spanish and British colonial heritage in St. Augustine, Florida. Since 1966, the site has housed interpretive structures and programming related to St. Augustine’s colonial history. Over time, management of the site has fallen under the purview of the state of Florida, the city of St. Augustine, and the University of Florida Historic St. Augustine (UFHSA) Direct Support Organization, which functions as a managing agency for the state. In 2013, the UFHSA Board entered into a public-private partnership with the Colonial Quarter, LLC. This marks the first instance of private sector involvement …

Nadezhda Krupskaya And The Reinvention Of Culture In Revolutionary Russia: Populism, Women, And Education In The New Socialist Society, Michael Anthony Iasilli

Theses and Dissertations

Most historiography of the Russian Revolution underestimates the impact of the populists of the nineteenth century in shaping political decision-making that led to early Soviet national development as well as the women brought up within the movement. Populism and the legacy of the narodniki is often a separate body of research, or explained within a distinct political category of its own. Likewise, most scholars see the socialist movement at the turn of the century as a divergence away from the populists. However, through the writings and legacy of Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife, she demonstrates a political and cultural transcendence of …

The Unstoppable Anthropocene Engine: Animal Studies In Literature And The Lack Of Individual Animal Study, Paul Spampanato

Theses and Dissertations

Animal studies is a growing field in the Humanities and, in particular, Literature studies. This dissertation, The Unstoppable Anthropocene Engine, focuses on canonical literature of the fin de siècle and Modernist eras that utilize animals in their narratives. Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, and Djuna Barnes’ Nightwood are the literary texts examined throughout the dissertation to discuss the importance of looking at specific animals that represent particular groups. Through these novels and poem, readers will see that when we …

Feminism And Identity In Victorian Novels Of Brontës, The Interchangeability Of The Binaries: Center And Margin, Reality And Appearance, Original And Copy, Mutsuko Takahashi

Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation approaches feminism and identity in the novels of the Brontë sisters, in which characters have struggled with the tension between outsider and insider. The study will discuss, in Part I, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) and Villette (1853), and in Part II, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847) and Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), seen through multiple lenses such as feminism, psychoanalysis, postcolonialism, etc. Various versions of powerless male protagonists in the Brontës are examined, for they help illuminate the situation of the female protagonists. Marginal males try to take over the central position by using …

The Monsters And Their Racial Identities In Frankenstein And The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde, Sara N. Rodia

Theses and Dissertations

By examining the monsters through a racial lens in Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, this thesis aims to show how the creature and Hyde can be reflective of the racial stereotypes in Britain in the 19th century. This thesis maps out how the monsters in the novels embody nonwhite races and how the narrative can either keep them in the category of monster, or humanize them. The creature represents nonwhite races, and Shelley critiques racist ideologies of the early 19th century through the creature’s narration in the novel. Further, Shelley demonstrates the monstrous nature …

Gender, Sex, And The Body In Medieval Armenia, Ashley Bozian

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates textual representation of the body, gender, and sexuality in Armenian chronicles produced between the fifth and eleventh centuries CE. In so doing, it reconstructs the development of Armenian somatology between Zoroastrian and Islamic suzerainties. Specifically, the dissertation examines the modalities by which the body functioned to medieval Armenian cognition as the locus of identity and alterity through the deployment of such devices as the following, to each of which is devoted a chapter: masculinity, femininity, archetypes of sexual morality, legislation of sexual conduct, sexual experientiality (in both temporal and eschatological dimensions), anatomy, and violence. As such, the …

Al-Sulami’S Kitab Al-Jihad: Spiritualizing Al-Jihad Al-Asghar To Motivate The Muslim Ummah To Jihad, Mosammat Zakia Sultana

Theses and Dissertations

‘Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami’s Kitab al-Jihad, The Book of the Jihad (1105), translated by Niall Christie, is a publicly dictated call to jihad in which al-Sulami attempts to motivate his listeners to go and fight against the Franj who have invaded Muslim lands and captured Jerusalem during the First Crusade. This paper examines how al-Sulami emphasizes the importance of al-jihad al-asghar through the merging of the ‘lesser’ and ‘greater’ jihads, which ultimately leads to him theorizing a reconfigured idea of jihad where he spiritualizes military jihad. Furthermore, this paper focuses on the literary choices al-Sulami makes while using Qur’anic verses …

The Idea Of Unconscionability In Equitable Adjudication And Its Variegated Manifestations In The Louisiana Territory, Pre-1900, Edad Mercier

Theses and Dissertations

The history of American law in the nineteenth century reveals how antislavery activism, Westward expansionism, labor, and women’s rights activism tested the boundaries, strength, and authority of the federal government over states and individuals. At the turn of the nineteenth century, as people resisted against their social position during one of the most turbulent periods in American history prior to the Civil War, American law simultaneously evolved to recognize and delineate the private and public rights of individuals and communities. My dissertation explains how informal and formal socio-legal customs were used to resolve major ethical, social, and contractual disputes arising …

Implications Within Interpretations And Legal Implementations Of The Fourteenth Amendment, Jillian Bartley

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The Fourteenth Amendment is not often thought about as one of the pillars of American freedom and citizenship, but it is indeed. The Fourteenth Amdendment establishes equal protections under the law, due process, and citizenship. This thesis seeks to look at how the Fourteenth Amendment and gender intersect in a way that establishes who gets what rights, and how those rights are able to be interpreted. The way in which the Fourteenth Amendement is interpreted establishes who gets protections and what equality under the law means within the context of American society. In using legal history, and the breifing of …