Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Enduring The Elements: Civil War Soldiers’ Struggles Against The Weather, Cameron Boutin

Theses and Dissertations--History

This dissertation is an environmental history that studies the variety of ways that soldiers in the American Civil War experienced the pressures of weather over the course of their military service. For the troops of the U.S. and Confederacy, the weather was more than simply a passive backdrop to their time in the military, but a central preoccupation. This dissertation analyzes how weather intersected with some of the most central experiences of soldiering – tent camping and winter quarters, marching, bivouacking, manning sentry posts and field fortifications, and fighting in battles. Life in Civil War armies consisted of all of …

From Displaced To Displacers: Scottish Crofters, First Nation Peoples And Commons Enclosure From The 1700s To The 1800s, Anna Herrington

Theses and Dissertations--History

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the enclosure of common systems shaped the displacement of people on a global scale whilst bringing the people---Scottish Highland crofters and Mi’kmaq First Nation Canadians from the margins where they have dwelled for centuries in historical scholarship to of the centre of not just their history, but our collective history. Both populations experienced attacks on their ties to their lands, resources, and culture through enclosure. The enclosure process lasted over two centuries and was interspersed with violent protest, proactive resistance, interspersed with periods of acceptance and determination against their forced removals. Investigating …

The Virtue Of Sōphrosunē In Plato’S Gorgias And Phaedrus, Kristian Sheeley

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

This dissertation argues that the substantial differences in Plato’s accounts of virtue in the Gorgias and Phaedrus are best understood as adjustments that Socrates makes in order to have the most pedagogically and ethically valuable impact on the different interlocutors (each of which represents universal type of person) with whom he speaks. While Plato has Socrates give arguments about virtue, love, happiness, and so on that are strong when taken on their own, he also depicts Socrates tailoring these arguments with the aim of persuading his interlocutors to pursue a more virtuous life. The central example I focus on is …

A Survey Of Current School Orchestra Directors' Incorporation Of Alternative Styles In The 6-12 String Curriculum, Haley Fye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study collected a representative sample of current grade 6-12 school orchestra directors' incorporation of alternative styles in the curriculum. It examined directors' repertoire selection process and their potential influence on student engagement, motivation, and retention, with a specific interest in alternative styles. Alternative styles in string education that are included in this study are contemporary pop, folk, bluegrass, rock, Irish fiddle, jazz, and world music. Participants were recruited in the study through two private Facebook groups for school orchestra directors (School Orchestra and String Teachers, and Orchestra Teachers) and two communities on Reddit pertaining to music teaching (r/MusicEd and …

Generational Theory As A Lens For Approaching Musical Theatre History, 1943-2023, Or A Strange Loop, Ben J. Lundy

Theses and Dissertations

In 1991, William Strauss and Neil Howe published generational theory in Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584-2069. Though critiqued, Strauss and Howe’s generational theory suggests that American history occurs in cycles characterized by four distinct generational turnings or moods that occur approximately every eighty years, roughly the span of a human life. Though the theory has been applied to American history, usually through a political and economic lens, this thesis will focus on the most recent Millennial Cycle and apply the theory to the development of Broadway musical theatre history. Innovative musicals such as Oklahoma! (1943), Hair (1968), Rent …

A Study Of Jacob Druckman’S Reflections On The Nature Of Water, Paul Lansky’S Three Moves For Marimba, Emmanuel Séjourné, Concerto Pour Vibraphone Solo Et Orchestre À Cordes, Joseph Tompkins, March, And Kevin Volans, She Who Sleeps With A Small Blanket, Ethan Martin

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Ethan Martin presented a full graduate percussion recital on Friday, April 28, 2023. The recital was performed at 8:00 p.m. in Davis Hall in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. Mr. Martin was accompanied by Hanna Stolper, piano. This recital was given in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance. The program consisted of works by Jacob Druckman, Paul Lansky, Emmanuel Séjourné, Joseph Tompkins, and Kevin Volans. This abstract contains further discussion of performed works.

A Master’S Recital In Wind Band Conducting, Stephen Seaberg

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Stephen Seaberg conducted three performances that constituted a recital in partial fulfillment of a Master in Music in Wind Band Conducting. The performances took place on the evenings of Tuesday, November 15th, 2022; Thursday, February 23rd, 2023; and Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 in the Great Hall at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. The recital program included four works that relate to historical music in different ways, and three of which are part of the standard repertoire. The works included: Paul Hindemith’s Geschwindmarsch by Beethoven (1946), Percy Grainger’s Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon (1936), Li Chan’s Folksong of …

Masters In Tuba Performance Recital Abstract, Daniel Sanchez

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Daniel Sanchez, a student from the studio of Dr. Stephanie Ycaza, presented a solo recital on March 6, 2023 at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Sanchez was accompanied by Ms. Natia Shioshvili and a chamber orchestra composed of members of the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra and Northern Iowa Youth Symphony conducted by Dr. Stephanie Ycaza. The recital showcased a diverse range of composers and contrasting music, including Igor Martinez’s Romanza for Solo Instrument (a premiere in the United States), a beautiful lyrical piece that showcases the tone quality of the instrument; Arild Plau’s Concerto for Tuba and String Orchestra, composed …

A Graduate Recital In Piano, Heather Gillis

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Heather Gillis presented a full graduate piano recital on Friday, March 10, 2023. The recital was performed at 8:00 p.m. in Davis Hall in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. This recital was given in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. The program consisted of works by Sergei Prokofiev, Robert Schumann, and Joseph Haydn. This abstract contains further discussion of performed works.

Tblt: Authentic Tasks Designed For Second-Language Learners, Salma Ahmad Khan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Thesis proposal structure: My thesis, which will be an alternative style thesis, will be organized as follows: I will define what TBLT is in my own words and how scholars define this term 2.) I will review research other scholars have done on TBLT 3.) .) I will describe the class I intend to teach, including the texts assigned, writing projects, and supporting TBLT tasks.

La Floresta; An Appreciation And Reimagination Of My Barrio, Ana Rodríguez

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis is a love letter to my barrio, La Floresta in Quito, Ecuador. I have divided it into three different sections: a creative writing piece where I walk readers through my barrio and my life in it, a historical section where I analyze its history and the reasons for its uniqueness and current identity, and finally a project proposal for a community center called "Casa La Floresta".

Translating "La Parola Ebreo": Rosetta Loy And A Child's-Eye View Of Italian Fascism, Amelia Muniz

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis is a translation of an excerpt from the 1997 memoir of Italian author Rosetta Loy, La Parola Ebreo, and an accompanying paper which explains my translation process, gives historical context and provides an argument for the continued relevance of the text. La Parola Ebreo recounts Loy’s memories of growing up in Rome, Italy, under Benito Mussolini’s Fascist rule. This translation is not meant to be an official English version of the memoir, as it is only a short excerpt, and was not done in collaboration with Loy’s estate or publishers. Instead, it is intended to bring attention to …

From Prison Zooms To Hospital Rooms: Unmasking The Positives Of Remote Education, Molly Chao Yeselson

Scripps Senior Theses

From Prison Zooms to Hospital Rooms: Unmasking the Positives of Remote Education is the culmination of a seven-year battle for my life and my education. Remote and hybrid education are perpetually identified as the cause of pandemic-era learning deficits. My project seeks to challenge such rhetoric by detailing the positive educational experience I, a student with a disability, along with my incarcerated peers, have had thanks to distance learning. I argue that as the world shifts from a pandemic to an endemic approach to COVID-19, higher education must keep its virtual doors open to nontraditional students.

Of Monsters And Men: Deconstructing Patriarchal Relationships While Redefining "Family" In Seville, Annika Johnson

Scripps Senior Theses

After growing up with an abusive, alcoholic, narcissist for a father, I did not realize how abnormal my perception of family was until I studied abroad in Spain at age 19. The healthy family dynamics of my hosts–a Sevillan family of five who mirrored the structure of my childhood family unit of Mom, Dad, my sister, brother, and me–challenged my notion of home as a place of survival and of paternal figures as monsters. This experience led me to the questions: Do patriarchal societies inherently create monsters that we have to face or are the monsters the exception? How do …

“My Purpose Is To Assist”: How Chatgpt Can Push Liberal Arts Institutions To Think Critically About Themselves, Clare B. Martin

Scripps Senior Theses

Since its release, ChatGPT, a chatbot specialized in writing content and answering questions in response to user prompts, has posed an unclear threat to liberal arts institutions. Can it serve as an effective tool for cheating? Can its responses replace work done in the liberal arts? This thesis argues that ChatGPT’s limitations—particularly its inability to think critically—prevent it from replacing real liberal arts work, which involves questioning, critique, and re-examination. If anything, this thesis suggests, ChatGPT can push liberal arts institutions to better promote critical thinking by serving as a litmus test for liberal arts-level work.

Baba Yaga: An Ecofeminist Analysis Of The Witch Of The Woods, Maya Lozinsky

Scripps Senior Theses

In this thesis, I will argue that Baba Yaga’s prevalence in Russia’s culture and media provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into the junctures between the climate crisis and gender inequality in Russia. Despite the persistent gender inequities present in current Russian society, ecofeminist frameworks and ideologies are already deeply embedded in Russian culture. Women, as a group, have always been politically active in Russia, from resisting the introduction of Christianity in the 9th century, to the feminist resistance group Pussy Riot founded in 2011. I will examine Baba Yaga’s history, her role in the Russian folktale, and her …

Dementia And The Fragility Of Self: Navigating Ethical Considerations In Medical Decision-Making, Grace Sauers

Scripps Senior Theses

As the global population ages, the incidence of degenerative memory disorders such as Alzheimer's and dementia is expected to rise. The frequency of complex medical decision-making challenges for these patients will subsequently increase. It is now common practice for patients to provide advance directives outlining the care they wish to receive; in the case they are deemed incompetent to perform adequate decision making. However, patients with dementia occasionally express wishes contrary to those stated in their advance directives. This divergence creates ambiguity about which wishes should be honored and for who those wishes are being honored for. I aim to …

This Is How I Heal: Reclaiming Pleasure And Safety In The Body After Trauma, Rosalie Weber

Scripps Senior Theses

I’ve used this project as an opportunity to continue my personal healing journey in the wake of a sexual assault a number of years ago, using the guiding question: how do I reclaim pleasure and safety in my body after trauma? My work explores the process of healing through experiences of joy, playfulness, and connection, asserting that pleasurable experiences are possible in the same body that has experienced trauma. My work involves and celebrates the relationships that have supported me in my healing journey.

These tapestries were created in intimate events between myself and one other person, chosen for the …

Guidebook On Making A House A Home, Alana Stallings

Scripps Senior Theses

This is a collection of poems by Alana Stallings that translates emotional trauma into fictional landscape and character. Both of these operate within the energetic structure of a home, at once pushing against and obeying this enforced confinement. Within that tension, Stallings explores questions of family, selfhood, belonging, displacement, and cycles.

The Burden Of Artificiality: Always The Servant, Never The Patron, Alia Biswas

Scripps Senior Theses

I examine three robots in Science Fiction, Data from the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, David from the movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and Deckard from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? to examine how they are analogous to marginalized bodies. I analyze how the marginalization of robots works to disorient robots so their labor can be extracted, as I focus through their embodiment of a happy object, and how their desire is directed towards the narrative of the good life, the myth that a happy life is achieved through adhering to heteronormativity. I use heteronormativity as …

Why Have There Been No Rich Women Artists? Examining The Gender Price Discount In The Contemporary Auction Market For Early Twentieth Century Mexican Avant-Garde Art, Lucy P. Bloomstran

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper examines the gender price discount for early twentieth-century Mexican avant-garde art in the contemporary auction market. A premium for art by men is established through the econometric analysis of a dataset of auction transactions taking place at major American and Mexican auction houses between 2000 and 2022. After this price discount for women’s art is established, a deep delve into gender discrimination in the creation and exhibition of Mexican Muralism and Surrealism is presented to provide possible art historical explanations for the results of the regression analysis.

An Autistic Spine: The Importance Of Disability Representation In Theatre, Ella S. De Castro

Scripps Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to discuss the ways in which the current theatre industry is alienating disabled actors and creatives. The stigmatization around disability in any field is contributing to the added misunderstanding and misrepresentation of disability on stage and in film. This is done through a dramaturgical exploration of the history and present of disability representation in theatre; followed by the summary and analysis of a live theatrical recital with scenes from plays with psychological themes. To add to the message, the recital was also performed and run entirely by people with cognitive or physical disabilities.

Interpersonal Emotions As Emergent Phenomena: Social Neuroscience Beyond Western Cultural Constructions, Kaitlyn Penchina

Scripps Senior Theses

Because science as it exists today is a cultural construction of the West, studies of neuroscience have often been limited by Western perspectives. In particular, the Western proclivity towards individualism has led to a field of neuroscience which has historically focused on studying single individuals, as opposed to social or collective neuroscience. For the most part, it has just been assumed that collective phenomena such as interpersonal emotions must be able to be reduced in terms of individual phenomena such as individual emotions. However, closer review reveals that interpersonal emotions have emergent properties that individual emotions alone do not account …

Tragedy And Martyrdom: Greek Drama And The Passion Of Ss. Perpetua And Felicitas, Miranda J. Acuna

Scripps Senior Theses

A religion of the late ancient Mediterranean, Christianity evolved at the cross-sections of the Hellenic and Hebrew legacies as it gradually gained followers across the Roman Empire. Between attracting converts and resisting prosecution from imperial authorities, the Jesus movement was compelled to juggle the pagan world with its monotheistic convictions. This paper contributes to the growing scholarship that identifies how Christianity competed with the Greco-Roman world and its enduring pagan culture. Namely, it identifies characteristic similarities between early Christian martyrdom narratives and Classical Greek tragedy. Examining one of the oldest Christian martyrdom hagiographies, the Passion of Ss. Perpetua and Felicitas …

Hearth And Homefluencers: Aesthetics Of Digital And Domestic Labor In #Slowliving Content, Lena Kohls

Scripps Senior Theses

Slow Living is a philosophy that has grown in popularity as a social media “aesthetic” in recent years due to the growth of TikTok as a global platform and the increase of home-based content during the Covid-19 pandemic. Female creators following the trend, which promotes the rejection of high-speed capitalist life in favor of a slow, minimalist lifestyle, have documented their transition from career to homestead through highly aestheticized and romanticized content. This paper analyzes the slow living trend with focus on the gendered dynamics of both digital and domestic labor. It observes the ways in which “feminine” labor is …

Wine, Culture, And Economics: The Barolo Model For Small Historical Wine Regions, Ravenna June Lee

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the resurgence of the Barolo wine industry as a paradigm for small historical wine regions seeking to revitalize and assert their independence in the face of corporate domination. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the study blends economic analysis with cultural preservation, focusing on the unique circumstances of the Barolo region.

The Italian section of the thesis delves into the preservation of wine culture, emphasizing the role of tradition in maintaining the passion for wine among future generations amidst the threats of globalization. This section contributes to the broader discourse on regional identity, economic sustainability, and the intricate interplay …

(Re)Constructing National Memory In Neoliberal Chile Through Patricio Guzman's The Cordillera Of Dreams (2019), Mica Barrett

Scripps Senior Theses

One of the most renowned Chilean exile filmmakers is Patricio Guzmán. Best known for his documentary work regarding the Allende years, Guzmán has continued to make films regarding his homeland in the decades following his initial exile.

The Cordillera of Dreams is the concluding film in a trilogy exploring the natural lands of Chile and their relationship to physical remnants of the human past. The initial and most renowned film in the series, Nostalgia for the Light, centers the Atacama Desert and Chileans’ relationship to the geography as a gateway to revealing artifacts of Chile’s recent history of genocide …

Topographies And Counter-Topographies Of Social Reproduction At People’S Park, Sarah Weaver

Scripps Senior Theses

Created at a key moment in New Left political rebellion and organizing in 1969, the mythic People’s Park still stands today between Dwight and Haste St. in Berkeley as open multi-use green space made of and for community development on lawful University of California Regent property. Despite repeated attempts by UC to take back the land, the insurgent space continues to pull defense from various parts of the local community, students and not, have accessed forms of self-determined social reproduction and created material critiques of UC as a vehicle for capital. For 54 years, the park was maintained significance as …

Rabbit Hole, Olivia Wiebe

Scripps Senior Theses

Rabbit Hole explores an alternate reality which erupts within moments of insomnia, and posits it as a place of self-discovery. Though this Rabbit Hole is a personal one, the work implies that these worlds can be found within any person when they are alone. Digital spaces have become tools of absolute availability and distraction, capitalized on by companies who profit when our eyeballs are stuck to our screens. However, cyberspace was once dreamed of as a place of self-discovery and experimentation. Rabbit Hole is an attempt to reclaim digital space, and turn towards ourselves within technology. These individual “Rabbit Holes” …

What Lies Beneath, Eleanor Harrison

Scripps Senior Theses

In What Lies Beneath, I explore legacy, family dynamics, and the nature of exploration.