Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Objective, April L. Startzel

Student Projects

This thesis presents a body of paintings that explore the tension between lived experience, memory, and digitally constructed identity. Through layered narrative compositions, the work examines how individuals navigate and internalize multiple versions of themselves within an increasingly image-driven and digitally mediated world. Familiar objects, childhood references, and symbolic imagery serve as accessible entry points, while distortions in scale, composition, and material disrupt immediate recognition and invite active interpretation.

By integrating vivid color, dense compositions, and tactile elements such as polymer clay, the paintings emphasize the contrast between physical materiality and the flatness of digital screens. The recurring square format …

The Rem Series, James W. Conkis

Student Projects

James Conkis is a film photographer who blends traditional photography with modern

digital methods. James’ work is a way to consolidate memories from past experiences from

growing up in the Midwest. He strives to take timeless images that make people question when

they are taken. James takes photos with medium format 120 film, and 35mm film cameras. He

develops his own film, makes his own darkroom prints, and edits scans in Photoshop. James

Conkis is currently attending Northern Illinois University to receive a BFA in Photography. His

current series of dreams, The REM Series, is a continuation of night film …

An Autism-Centered Analysis Of The Aesthetics And Narrative Of Gene Wolfe’S Book Of The New Sun, Sebastian Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of the recent work published within the literary neurodiversity studies field focuses on how certain writing techniques can be viewed as representing the experience of being autistic by influencing the reader so that they experience distinctly autistic patterns of cognition. Likewise, the Book of the New Sun series employs many such techniques within the narrative and prose. This is in addition to the fact that the plot contains elements that mirror the relationship and conflict between those with autism and neuronormative hegemony (that being the ways in which societies oppress, mistreat, and belittle those not deemed “neurotypical”). The goal …

The Catalan-Speaking Linguistic Landscape Of Spain: A Comparative Analysis Of Commercial Signage In Barcelona, Valencia, And Palma De Mallorca, Kyle Reasons

Honors Theses

The present study is a linguistic landscape of the Catalan-speaking region of Spain. Linguistic landscaping is a relatively new survey technique in the world of linguistics first developed in a study by Landry & Bourhis (1997) and has a focus on addressing the languages present on various forms of signage within a given area. Catalan is a Romance language with approximately 9 million speakers where it is recognized as a co-official language in 3 communities included in this study (the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, and the Valencian Community). This study looks at 3 cities in Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, and Palma de …

"Chinese" And Chinoiserie: Exoticization And Orientalism In The West During The 19th And 20th Century And Its Effects On Museum Practices, Janine Salapantan

Honors Capstones

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the west experienced a keen interest in the lives of the east. In an era of mystery, the people of the west relied on furniture, textiles, and objects to fill in the gaps of their fantasy of the mystical east and its people. This led to the boom of East Asian export and attempts of replication through Chinoiserie, the west’s interpretation of East Asian aesthetics. Chinoiserie and exportquickly filled the homes of affluent families in the west, such as the Ellwood family in Dekalb. This study aims to investigate the origins of various East …

Any One & Every One, Sarah V. Dumitrascu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a predictable job, a rent-stabilized apartment, and stellar dental insurance, still, Ever E. Whan does not like her office job any more than she did on day one. Nothing about it suits her—not the work, the hours, the team, not the break-room coffee machine. She thinks of quitting every day, but something she can’t name, but feels overwhelmingly, keeps her there. While she fantasizes about her grand resignation, she isn’t moved to act until a tragedy occurs on the job.

Hoping to do just about anything else, Ever isn’t quite prepared for the offer she’s given: to work as …

Regional And Temporal Variation In The Function Of The Castles Of The Norman Conquest, Leah A. Perdue

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, a castle-building project of unprecedented scale transformed the landscape of England. This paper investigates how these structures supported the establishment of Norman rule over England, and how their role changed over time. Through examining case studies, the paper concludes that in the early years following the Conquest castles were primarily used in military operations, but in the following decades became essential administrative sites and seats of local government, as well as symbols of Norman power. The paper also concludes that castles on the border with Wales have a more complicated history, fluctuating in function …

The Role Of Otto In Indecent By Paula Vogel, Ben Turchiarelli

Student Theses

Between December 5th and 9th, 2025, Brooklyn College’s Department of Theater presented Indecent by Paula Vogel, directed by MFA directing candidate Sam Plattus. It was my privilege to play the role of Otto, a member of a troupe of dead actors, tasked with presenting a nearly coextensive play-within-a-play describing the controversial Broadway production of The God of Vengeance, by Sholem Asch. Otto presents several older male characters, including real-life figures; among them author I.L. Peretz, and actor Rudolph Schildkraut. Some of these scenes are depicted in the story as a play-within-a-play-within-a-play, and there are numerous musical interludes throughout wherein Otto …

University Theatre Guild Guide, Maria Perez

Honors Theses

The WMU Theatre Guild Assistant position is one of the primary assistantships in the Arts Administration department. The Theatre Guild Assistant works alongside Emily Duguay, the Director of Arts Administration, Joan Herrington, the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance, and the WMU Theatre Guild Board to manage their daily operations and help develop donor events. The University Theatre Guild Guide explains the details and processes this position follows. This guide is broken down into four sections. The first section is the Introduction. The Introduction includes congratulations from the past Theatre Guild Assistant and a short breakdown of the …

Forget-Me-Not: Facilitating Social Vibrancy In Spaces Designed For Alzheimer's Disease, Torilyn Mossner

Honors Theses

The objective of this capstone project is to create a foundation for vibrant community interactions and connections that support those living with Alzheimer’s disease, their loved ones, and the broader members of the community through interior design. This work is relevant because Alzheimer’s disease affects 1 in 9 people over the age of sixty-five worldwide. Without a cure, as people continue to age, there is going to be a constant need for development of care. Additionally, design should go a step further than healthy living and begin to prioritize creating a vibrant life and community integration for those living with …

An Alignment Of Absences: The Medicalization Of Death And Its Implications On Archaeological Methodology, Makayla J. Bowman

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Absence describes something that is "expected, wanted, or looked for [but] is not present or does not exist," (Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2026). The archaeological discipline interacts with absence in many profound ways, largely in its study of the past dead. This paper focuses on the ways in which the medicalization of death has influenced, limited, and misaligned archaeological methodology, and how the result of those methodologies produces archaeological analysis that is absent of or misrepresents our understanding of life, personhood, and our position within a greater, interconnected biosphere. Thus, I present an anthropological critique of the ways in which death and …

Communist Yugoslavia: Non-Alignment, Solidarity, And Webs Of Diplomacy, Morgan Dillon

Honors Projects

The Non-Alignment Movement has been covered extensively in Cold War scholarship, yet the relationship between Yugoslavia and Indonesia is often underexplored, especially in the realm of IR theory. This project examines Yugoslavia and Indonesia between 1945 and 1966 to propose an imagined community, as conceptualized by Benedict Anderson, that serves as a microcosm for a wider Non-Aligned community in the Third World. This is achieved by using Social Constructivism to synthesize the histories, foreign policies, and national/political identities of these two nations, and then placing the theoretical community against Yugoslavia’s relationships with the U.S and the USSR for contrast. Through …

The Influence Of The Japanese Language On Gender Perceptions, Jasmine Bishara

Honors Projects

This study aimed to understand the how the Japanese language impacted people’s gender perceptions of women. Previous research showed that there are words and phrases in the Japanese language that are devaluing towards women, and that there are different societal expectations of women in their speech style. There are also different expectations of women’s behavior, which has impacted them in the workplace. Due to a lack of participants, no conclusions can be drawn about how language and social expectations impact how women are perceived in society. However, based on previous research it can be assumed that these issues still remain …

"Principle Before Party": Samuel "Golden Rule" Jones And The 1899 Ohio Gubernatorial Election, Connor Hand

Honors Projects

As partisan loyalty declined and resentment grew against American social, political, and economic conditions at the end of the nineteenth century, political reformers saw an opportunity to spread their ideals for a better society. Most reformers opted against running for office, and those who did often used standard or newly formed political parties. Mayor of Toledo and progressive businessman Samuel Jones differed from the standard reformer by seeking office while embracing a non-partisan ideology. By analyzing Jones’ writings, the partisan response to his movement, and contextualizing him amongst reformers, this essay explores how Jones stood out from the standard political …

Local Angst To National Fear: New Media And The Spread Of Xenophobia, Bryce Weber

Honors Projects

This paper examines the evolution of xenophobia in the United States, arguing that its core themes of fear of outsiders, economic anxiety, and threats to national identity have remained consistent. However, the mechanisms of its spread have transformed alongside developments in media. The paper uses a qualitative historical methodology supported by quantitative data to trace anti-immigrant sentiment. It examines anti-immigrant attitudes toward Irish immigrants in the 19^th century, and reactions to undocumented immigrants in the late 20^th and early 21^st century. The paper focuses on key case studies, including California’s Proposition 187 and Arizona’s SB 1070, to …

Design For Future Discourse: Creating The Speculative Design-Inspired Exhibition Modulation: Rewiring The Self, Ryan Bridgforth

Honors College Theses

Humans have long combined speculation and design. Early examples like General Motors’ Futurama at the 1939 World’s Fair introduced Americans to the idea of expressways and invited them to imagine possible futures. While intriguing, this mix of design and future thinking stood to benefit corporations overall, which is where speculative design comes in. Pioneered by design duo Dunne & Raby, speculative design uses design not as a way to engineer solutions to difficult problems, but “as means to explore the cultural and technological potentials of design, effectively blurring material and conceptual boundaries” (Mitrović et al. 2021, 175). Designing objects or …

Radio As War: An Exploration Of Kalamazoo Black Radio In The Vietnam War Era, Amelia Koch

Honors Theses

Kalamazoo, Michigan’s black history runs deep. This thesis aims to trace that black history, and situate it within the realm of black radio as a cultural phenomenon. Rising to its provenance in the mid-1960s, black radio has been, and continues to be, a rallying point for African American communities across the U.S., particularly in Chicago and Detroit. Kalamazoo, a halfway point between these two major cities, has a lack of such stations. Exploring the lack of black radio in Kalamazoo during the 1950s through 70s, this work presents a connection between the existence of black programming and the experience of …

We Are Not What We Think: Solipsism & The Concept Of Mind, Michael Marcoux

Student Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that the persuasiveness of solipsism—understood as skepticism of the existence of anything or anyone outside of one’s own private mental life—rests not on its intrinsic argumentative force, but on the degree of commitment to a certain philosophical dogma. I use the problem of solipsism to tease out this dogma, which I dub the Primacy of Privacy. It is characterized by the conviction that in dealing with what there is and what we know, the mental, be it construed in terms of perceptions or thoughts, is the only certain datum from which most if not all …

Americana Marketing Campaign, Shaela O'Keefe

Undergraduate Theses

Americana World Community Center has served as a beacon of hope and justice within the Louisville, Kentucky community for over 30 years. The nonprofit organization provides “holistic services to Louisville's refugee, immigrant and underserved population to build strong and healthy families, create a safe and supportive community and help every individual realize their potential” (Americana, 2024). Americana creates opportunities for families to thrive through “education, family support, youth achievement, and career & financial development” (Americana, 2024). To further Americana’s mission and assist immigrant families, the organization is currently undergoing the process of gathering narratives of Americana’s impact on their staff, …

Islam And Acculturation: The Presence Of Shamanism And Indigenous Ritual Practice In The Post-Conversion Ilkhanate,, Miranda H. Lenihan

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Devin Deweese's book Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde: Baba Tükles and Conversion to Islam is a keystone work in the study of post-Mongol invasions Central Asia. He explores how Shamanism, the indigenous religion of Mongol tribes, remained culturally relevant in the Golden Horde following the widespread conversion to Islam in hagiographical narratives.

This study investigates the presence of indigenous Shamanic traditions within the post-conversion Ilkhanate and how Deweese's argument for the Golden Horde applies to other Mongol successor states.  Following the widespread adoption of Islam, formerly polytheistic Mongol and Turkic tribes did not abandon their native culture; …

The Ethical Ramifications Of Using Insects In Art, Madalynn Lundy

Honors Projects

Artists have been in collaboration with living and dead beings since the beginning of time. Whether it be in the supplies used to create a piece of art or as the subject itself, insects are and have been a key part of art-making for many artists throughout history. This begs the question regarding the ethics of using insects in art and whether this is morally acceptable. I take interest in this topic as an artist who takes inspiration from insects in my own art. This paper explores various qualitative research methods in an effort to bridge the topics of environmental …

Foreign Language Experience Effects On L2-Accented Speech Attitudes In College Students, Jordan L. Ellington

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to test whether knowledge of a second language in college students can affect perceptions and prejudices towards speakers with foreign accents. The testing was completed through both implicit and explicit attitudinal measures in regard to recorded audio stimuli. The explicit attitudinal testing was performed through participant self reporting of attitudes. Participants were presented with first (L1) or second (L2) language accented English samples and then rated that speaker in terms of various characteristics or traits that represented the speaker's solidarity and status. The implicit testing was performed in an Auditory Implicit Associations Test on …

Final Report For Clas 485 Capstone Vōx Antīqua, Aaron Moreno

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This report summarizes and details the process of creating the capstone project Vōx Antīqua, a Greek and Latin pronunciation web course. The site layout, methodology, and creative process are all covered with detailed endnotes, followed by a complete bibliography of all primary and secondary sources consulted. This Digital Humanities resource contains hundreds of audio files covering Greek (in Classical Attic and Post-Classical) and Latin pronunciation, along with sixteen examples of Greek and Latin literature with full audio and original translations. Introduction to syllabification, accentuation, and prosody in both languages is also included.

Narrative Traditions In Francophone Africa And The Caribbean, Elizabeth Kill

Honors Projects

This research paper explores the cultural significance and the roles of folktales in francophone countries in Africa and the Caribbean. By analyzing recurring themes and character types in folktales, this study argues the importance of storytelling and traditional folklore in the shaping of a culture. Through close reading of a selection of folktales from a variety of francophone countries in Africa and the Caribbean, the research highlights themes of wisdom, greed, and explanations of the natural world, among others. Additionally, this paper touches on the historical importance of storytelling in cultures around the world. The research draws on information from …

“…You Lost Your Way On That River As You Would In A Desert…”: Spec Ops: The Line As A Post-Imperialist Adaptation And Response To Heart Of Darkness, Logan Grime

Honors Projects

As an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the military shooter video game Spec Ops: The Line grapples with adapting the themes and the narrative of an imperialist work into a modern post-imperialist context. By swapping England in Africa for America in the Middle East, the game criticizes America’s conduct of war in the Middle East by showing its similarities to the novella’s imperialism. Furthermore, Spec Ops: The Line focuses on America’s imperialism by adapting Heart of Darkness to an interactive format. “The horror” of violent imperialist action is placed upon the player as Spec Ops: The Line …

Attend The Tale: Scenic Design For Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Andrea Imsland

Honors Theses

I designed the set for Western Michigan University’s 2026 production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street written by Steven Sondheim and directed by Jay Berkow. My thesis advisor was Prof. Dave Nofsinger and my thesis chair member was Dean of the College of Fine Arts Dan Guyette. I began my design process in September of 2025. The show ran from April 10th through April 25th. This was my final scenic design as a Theatre: Design and Technical Production undergraduate student at WMU.

Preserving The Untold Stories: Leveraging Emerging Technologies (Ai And Machine Learning) For Archiving Hidden Histories Of Children And Families Impacted By The Little Rock School Integration Crisis, Oluseyi Noah Adebanjo

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis challenges the dominant narrative of the Little Rock School Integration Crisis by recovering the hidden histories of families and siblings who made integration possible but have been systematically overlooked by historians. While existing scholarship focuses on the Little Rock Nine as individual heroes, this research demonstrates that integration was fundamentally a family crisis requiring collective decision-making, economic sacrifice, and multigenerational support networks. Through close reading of published memoirs, newspaper clippings, school board minutes, and original oral history interviews with Phyllis Brown and Dr. Sybil Jordan Hampton, this study reveals how approximately 200 eligible families were systematically reduced to …

Cultivating The Future: The Similarities Between Thomas Jefferson And Voltaire's Candide, Natalie Craft

Honors Theses

Thomas Jefferson and Voltaire’s character Candide (the main character in his 1759 novella, Candide), possessed striking similarities in both their lives and their characters, and the understanding of one man is ultimately enhanced by studying the other. This thesis analyzes three of these similarities in three separate sections, which includes internal conflict, utopia, and gardening.

Jefferson and Candide both battled an internal conflict, represented by the head and the heart for Jefferson and pessimism and optimism for Candide, but their responses in the midst of it were the same as well, most notably when they both acted impulsively in their …

Recognizing Metaphorical References To Sexual Assault Resistance And Represented Rape Myths In Coraline (2009), Braden Slater

Theses and Dissertations

Is there any value in children’s horror literature and film? Literary theorists have shown that children’s horror is uniquely positioned to be not only captivating and accessible, but also educational and hopeful for some young audience members. Like most fictional monsters, those presented in children’s horror can be read as metaphors for the fears and experiences people face in real life. Scholars have argued that engaging with this type of frightening media may help people confront challenging ideas and feelings from a place of safety. Building on this theoretical foundation, I perform a close reading of the 2009 film Coraline, …

The San José De Laguna Mission: Christian Iconography Through The Lens Of Pueblo Oral Traditions, Natalie Sims Rasmussen

Theses and Dissertations

The San José de Laguna Mission was constructed in 1699 in modern New Mexico. Following on the heels of the second Pueblo revolt, it stands as a testament to the Pueblo adoption of Christian symbols in the portrayal of their own oral traditions. A central theme in the Laguna oral tradition is the complementary nature of masculine and feminine forces that make up the universe. The Christian figures of the altar screen, such as Saint Joseph, Saint John Nepomuck, Saint Barbara, and the Trinity, can be interpreted through the lens of the Pueblo oral tradition regarding a 19th century Laguna …