Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Something To Say: Nativism, Prohibition, And The Loss Of Political Alignment In Davenport, Iowa’S German-American Community 1848-1922, Clayton R. Schuler

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis ends with the municipal elections of 1920 in Davenport, Iowa. Amid the First Red Scare, the Socialist Party was swept into power. The party won under inauspicious national conditions thanks in part to a successful campaign on local concerns; the party had something to say. An examination of the years prior to the election, however, reveals that other factors contributed to political unalignment for the city’s large German descended population. Frustrated with Republican and Democratic parties that seemed to have no place for them, these voters had something to say as well. Ultimately the opportunity that this unalignment …

Policies Of Pain: Neoliberal Rhetorics Of The Opioid Epidemic In Culture And Policy, Gina Arlene Stinnett

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation outlines and examines the Neoliberal rhetorics of choice and responsibility, and how these rhetorics are utilized in policy and culture related to the Opioid Epidemic in the United States. Through this examination of neoliberal rhetorics in policy and culture, I unpack the circular influence these two have on each other—i.e., cultural assumptions inform policy decisions, and established policy can slowly influence cultural assumptions. The key area in which these two influence each other is through rhetoric, therefore I argue that in addition to an economic and cultural structure, neoliberalism is a rhetorical structure—it shapes our society specifically through …

Unveiling Devin Morrison’S Modern Jazz By Analyzing His Musical Techniques And Influences From Early 90s Gospel Music, Rashad C. Sylvester

Recital Papers

Unveiling Devin Morrison’s Modern Jazz by Analyzing His Musical Techniques and Influences From Early 90S Gospel Music

The Nonlinguistic Factors That Predict Spanish Oral Proficiency, Merrie Kay Ames

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the predictive power of self-assessment and nonlinguistic factors in determining Spanish oral proficiency among university learners. Drawing on data from 2,475 undergraduate students enrolled in a third-year Spanish course at Brigham Young University, the research examines how self-assessed speaking ability and experiential background variables--including age of acquisition, mission service, dual immersion, and study abroad--influence Oral Proficiency Interview - Computer (OPIc) scores. A one-way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant but modest relationship between students' calibration (self-assessment minus actual ability) and their OPIc ratings, suggesting that learners can generally approximate their speaking proficiency within two sublevels. A multiple regression …

A Warm Embrace Amongst Isolated Tears, Gia Dreyer

Theses and Dissertations

a warm embrace amongst isolated tears behaves as an ekphrasis of Paula Rego’s triptych The Pillowman (2004). An anecdotal interpretation of Martin McDonagh’s titular play The Pillowman (2003), Rego addresses the story of the Pillowman through her father’s depression. This piece effloresces from the trace of the Pillowman into considering the remnants of suffering exhibited in both works by Rego and McDonagh.

The trumpet has been ontologically oriented to fanfare and pomp by peripheral structures of imperial order. The trumpet and the nation-state are intertwined through militaristic imposition. What does it mean to strip away the power of juridical dominance …

Bread And Circuses, Rosie Thomas

Capstones

This project documents clowns and their props and performance and rehearsal spaces in New York in the fall of 2025. The photos explore the surreality of practicing performance and indulging in art. I am asking what it means to have and explore creativity - queerness, weirdness, community, and play - while acknowledging that a community that gathers to exhibit their own freedom of expression is making an active choice and a prioritisation at every moment.

The Other Side Of Rousseau’S Political Theology: The Influence Of Plutarch And Calvin On The Profession Of Faith Of The Savoyard Vicar, Thomas Daniel Moore

Yale Divinity School Theses

This thesis examines Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar, paying particular attention philosophic influences of the Vicar, especially as pertains to metaphysics. It fills a void in the scholarship, as there is not much work in general–and especially in recent years–on the relationship between Plutarch, Calvin, and Rousseau. Indeed, although Rousseau’s love for Plutarch is often acknowledged, it is seldom explored; and, when it is explored, it is typically only with an eye to the political realm, and never the metaphysical dimension. Calvin, when mentioned in association with Rousseau at all, is typically interpreted as a minor …

(Post-)Colonial Shakespeares: Macbeth In South Africa, Mahmoud T. Kholeif

Theses and Dissertations

The history of Shakespeare in South Africa is that of an often contested cultural battleground, with meanings fought over across a colonial boundary. In Chapter One, we examine some of the many cultural intersections between Shakespeare and South African rewriters. In the process, we can see how Shakespeare came to the region as a tool for colonial domination, but would eventually be used to rebuke the colonial narrative that was conservatively ascribed to him. He was used to enforce racial and political hierarchies, particularly through missionary education and institutions like the “Kaffir Institution.” The anxieties surrounding the ‘overproduction’ of Western-educated …

The Making Of Jewish-American Progress In Gertrude Stein’S, The Making Of Americans: Being A History Of A Family’S Progress, Rochel L. Gasson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides a comprehensive reading of Gertrude Stein’s The Making of Americans (TMOA), situating the novel at the intersection of literary modernism, Jewish American identity, and feminist thought. It argues that Stein reconceives American progress not as linear advancement but as a recursive, relational, and culturally grounded process. Through experimental form, repetitive syntax, and a sustained present tense, TMOA dramatizes the psychological and social complexities of immigrant families navigating assimilation while maintaining heritage. Characters such as the Old Man, his son, and the Dehning and Herland families reveal generational tensions, moral labor, and the ambivalences of upward …

An Ancient And Future Model Of Ecclesial Ministry: Exploring Insights From African Ecclesiology For A Revitalized Understanding Of The Catechist In The Amecea Region, Fortunatus Mugisha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ministry of the catechist has historically been an enduring and transformative ministry in the life of the Church in Africa, particularly in the AMECEA region. Within the AMECEA region (Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa), catechists have ministered not merely as transmitters of the faith but as the “unsung heroes and heroines” and vital agents of evangelization, pastoral care, and community leadership serving as the local face of the Church. This dissertation, relying on the insights from African ecclesiologies, proposes a renewed theological and pastoral understanding of the catechist as an ancient and future model of ecclesial …

Language Attitudes And Maintenance Within Latino Families In Utah County, Megan Elise Magleby Townsend

Theses and Dissertations

While there has been research done on Latino individuals' and parents' language attitudes and maintenance practices, there is little known about children's language attitudes and their perceptions of their parents' views towards both Spanish and English. This thesis looks at what the current picture is in terms of Spanish maintenance in Utah County's immigrant families as well as those factors that affect the parents' language attitudes and maintenance efforts. This study also seeks to fill the gap in the literature concerning what children (ages 8-13) think of English, Spanish, their respective cultures, as well as their possible plans to pass …

Nontoxic Paints Using Cornstarch As Binders, Maile Prater

Honors Projects

For this project, paints were created using different metal compounds which interacted with cornstarch and pectin to determine whether the metals would coordinate with these polysaccharides to create new types of watercolor paints. The paints that were created were ran through an RGB analysis to determine how much of each RGB color is present in a solution and then were ran through a rheometer to determine how the viscosity differed between each solution.

Ice In Nyc, Student Interfaith Walkout, And Bronx Night Market Bid Farwell: Reporting For Newmark’S “Audio Files”, Rebecca Raghunath

Capstones

Audiofiles is a news magazine podcast powered by students at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Students produce stories that seek to explore and explain the core issues defining the lives of New Yorkers through in-depth reporting, hosting interviews, and personal narratives. This capstone includes a collection of news stories that address immigration, politics, and food tourism. The first feature is about the chilling effect ICE enforcement has had on immigrant owned businesses in East Harlem. The second feature focuses on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. This story examines how a student walkout at an interfaith workshop led to …

Inside The Gen Z Vote Across Gender And Race, Juliet La Sala

Capstones

This capstone examines how two people from two different Gen Z groups are navigating the 2024 U.S. election. One story revolves around a young woman adopting a U.S. version of South Korea’s 4B Movement and another reflects on a Gen Z Arab American responding to the Israel–Hamas war. Through reported stories and interviews, it explores how personal experience, gender and ethnic violence, and political disillusionment shaped these young voters’ choices and activism. Sierra Bee's story is in light of Trump's election and Liam's is right before the 2024 election took place. Together, the pieces highlight how global events and identity-based …

The American Eye And Greek Music: How Greek Artists Are Changing To Become Palatable To The Non-Greek Listener, Andriana Kourkoumelis

Capstones

International artists are trying to successfully bridge into the U.S. music industry, and Greek pop singers are finally making a dent. This year, some of the biggest names in Greece, along with a couple new faces, were working with their labels to rebrand as a means to connect with the American listener and expand their listenership. With three notable tours happening across the states from muscians like Konstantinos Argiros, Anastasia, and Marina Satti playing venues like the Barclays Center and Sony Hall, it's safe to assume that there is a shift happening in the world of Balkan and Hellenic entertainment. …

Enduring The American Dream, Edward Grattan

Capstones

Martha and Rene - both Colombian nationals – have made the difficult decision to self-deport from the United States in the midst of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented immigration crackdown and deportation campaign. After working as day laborers in The Hamptons, New York for nearly eight years, the couple shares their experience of leaving their current life behind as anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy escalates across the country.

The Trump administration has transformed the landscape for immigrants living in the United States, regardless of documentation status, by eliminating paths for legal residency, charging The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency with …

The Bmt: Will This Time Be Different?: Red Hook Braces For A Mega-Project On The Waterfront. Can It Avoid The Mistakes Of Atlantic Yards?, Steve Kastenbaum

Capstones

"The BMT: Will this time be different?" investigates how New York City's push to rapidly build housing is reshaping communities. A $3.5 billion mega-project at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal promises transformation through 6,000 apartments, a modernized port, and waterfront improvements, but residents are split on whether it represents progress or displacement. The development uses a controversial "general project plan" process that bypasses normal community review, the same approach that enabled the still-unfinished Atlantic Yards project. Local voices in Red Hook range from excitement about investment, jobs and amenities to fears about gentrification and broken promises. This pilot episode launches a …

The Neverending Manifestations Of Gambling In Children’S Spaces, Brandon M. Malave

Capstones

The pervasiveness of gambling in American culture has gotten out of control. Unlike traditional casinos of that are easily recognizable by their slot machines and blackjack tables, these contemporary forms of gambling lurk in spaces that children frequent, specifically within popular culture. My experiences in contemporary gambling within the computer game Counter-Strike and trading card games like Magic: The Gathering, is following along the century long trend of exploiting culture to generate wealth. Should this continue, gambling will continue to manifest in spaces that it should never be allowed to exist in.

Project Link: https://www.the-analog.net/blog/the-never-ending-manifestations-of-gambling-in-childrens-spaces

Github: https://github.com/brandonmalave/Magic-The-Gathering-Card-Price-Analysis

Wild Robots: Humans, Wilderness, And Technology In Becky Chambers’ Monk And Robot Series, Melissa Moore

Honors Theses

As technology advances and the environment deteriorates, the way people view the relationships between technology, wilderness, and humans becomes essential for society to move forward. To investigate perceptions about technology’s place in an environmentally conscious society, this project examines manifestations of wilderness/wildness and technology in Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot series through the lens of ecocriticism. Using Timothy Morton's concept of the ecological thought as a framework for analysis, the circumstances present in the novel suggest that the triangle separating humans, wilderness, and technology has actually collapsed, replaced by an enmeshment of technology, wilderness, and humanity.

The Impact Of Absent Parents And Harsh Parenting In Forensic Mental Health Settings, Jamcelia M. Jackson

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone paper explores the impact of absent parents and harsh parenting practices on children and adolescents within forensic mental health settings. Informed by recent peer-reviewed studies on trauma-informed, attachment-based, and resilience frameworks, this paper synthesizes evidence linking disrupted caregiving, inconsistent discipline, and punitive practices with emotion dysregulation, externalizing behaviors, and justice involvement. Special attention is given to the interaction of family processes with factors such as poverty, racism, service access, that shape risk and protection across development. Key findings suggest that early adversity is associated with delinquency, substance use, and poorer mental health, whereas supportive relationships, culturally responsive parenting …

An Analysis Of Ukrainians' Language Attitudes And Ideology: A Conflict-Catalyzed Language And Identity Shift, Kateryna Kravchenko

Theses and Dissertations

On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine. According to Vladimir Putin's speech, the main goal of the war was to protect the Russian-speaking population of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Many Ukrainians indeed speak Russian on a daily basis, largely due to the long and complicated history between the two countries. Recently, there has been an increase in pro-Ukrainian ideologies (Kulyk 2016); however, as the full-scale invasion began, people started advocating for Ukrainian usage in all public domains, and many even vowed to never speak Russian again. Since then, there has been a profound change in language …

Visible And Invisible Empires: The Revival Of The Ku Klux Klan 100 Years Ago, Christian Molina

Theses

Hatred and violence breed division, and division breeds more hatred and more violence. In an America where our politics has become name-calling, finger-pointing, scapegoating, and whataboutisms, and violence, unfortunately, it is safe to say our nation has entered this self-perpetuating cycle. A place for malicious groups concerned with growth, power, and profit to capture the angry, the stressed, and the less informed in their webs of elaborate lies and misleading, misinterpreted numbers the way they have in decades past.

Enfrentando El Patriarcado: La Voz, El Espacio Femenino Y Lo Sobrenatural En Mexican Gothic De Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Raquel Macias Del Valle

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the crossroads of gender, space, and the supernatural in Mexican Gothic (2020) by Silvia Moreno–Garcia, examining how the novel challenges patriarchal structures through its protagonist, Noemí Taboada. Utilizing feminist theory, spatial analysis, and studies on the supernatural, this research demonstrates how Moreno–Garcia constructs a narrative in which female expression and connection are central to reinstating the feminine self as a subject. The novel presents High Place, the ancestral mansion of the Doyle family, as a space that embodies patriarchal control. Drawing on Gastón Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space and Marc Olivier’s Household Horror, this study examines how …

Faith’S Midwest Modern Forms: Midcentury Catholic Churches In St. Louis By Murphy And Mackey, Architects, Mary Reid Brunstrom

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This project originated in my research on three modernist churches commissioned by the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis from 1948-54 which was then under the progressive leadership of Archbishop (later Cardinal) Joseph E. Ritter. What factors accounted for these unprecedented forms for sacred architecture? The architectural partnership of Murphy and Mackey designed the churches in accordance with the new liturgical reform protocols that were embedded in the designs of the German architect, Rudolf Schwarz and his colleagues and disseminated through Catholic pastors of German origin in the St. Louis parishes. Other strands of modernism were also implicated in Murphy and …

Authentic Relationships Among The Body Of Christ: Naming The Obstacles That Hinder Authentic Relationships And Expressing A Gospel-Centered Path Toward Overcoming Them, Luke J. Anderson

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Anderson, Luke J. “Authentic Relationships among the Body of Christ: Naming the Obstacles that Hinder Authentic Relationships and Expressing a Gospel-centered Path toward Overcoming Them.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2025. 157 pp.

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grafton, Wisconsin, recently underwent a vision process in which they proposed five values to define their congregational living. One of these values is authentic relationships. Those who crafted this vision, as well as the entire body who adopted it, recognized this value as primarily aspirational in nature. While some relational connectedness existed, all sought to better define this value …

Enabling Constraints In Artmaking: Developing Creative Confidence Through Discarded Materials, Lydia Romney Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

This design-based research thesis explores the possibility of fostering creative confidence in students and examines how a project-based curriculum can help them rediscover their artistic abilities. It investigates two guiding questions: How does working with repurposed materials shape students' artmaking, creative confidence and sense of ownership in their artwork? And, in what ways do enabling constraints serve as a catalyst for student engagement? As a teacher-researcher, I designed and implemented a quarter-long curriculum in which 21 junior high students were challenged to create a collaborative public art installation using only discarded materials. The methodology blended qualitative and quantitative data, including …

"The Yellow Wall-Paper": Decoding Medical Patriarchal Structures (A Common Theme Within Gothic Literature/Horror), Yvonne T. Samuels

Masters Theses (Archived)

This paper makes the claim that Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-Paper” encoded the medical system as part of the patriarchy used to control and harm women, especially within the 19^th Century, and how this is a common theme within gothic literature and modern-day horror. Through the Feminist Literary Criticism framework and the methodology of textual analysis, certain literary devices Gilman uses, including the Gothic trope of the narrator’s environment in “The Yellow Wall-Paper” is analyzed to reveal women living in a patriarchal society during the 19^thCentury and the medical system being a source of power. “The …

Wales In Ww1: Soldiers, Home, And Memory, Remington J. Hill

History Theses

Much of the history of Wales during the First World War discusses the fighting Welsh soldiers endured during the war years. There is also some fairly sparse information that discusses events on the home front. Historiography of the United Kingdom and World War I is dominated by England and the English battle and home front experience, with some attention paid to Scotland and Ireland. Yet, Wales has received little academic attention despite the Welsh having fought and helped on the home front in relative equality with their English counterparts. In examining Welsh soldiers battle experience against the Central Powers forces …

Rewriting The Monster: Carmilla As Laura's Gothic Double And Subversive Prince Charming In Le Fanu's Queer Gothic Fairy Tale, Annalee Tanner

English Theses

Rewriting the Monster: Carmilla as Laura's Gothic Double and Subversive Prince Charming in Le Fanu's Queer Gothic Fairy Tale

From Transparency To Complexity: Enhancing English Reading Skills In Turkmen-Speaking Adults, Mahrijemal Taganova

Education Dissertations

The recent increase in Turkmen immigration to the United States has highlighted

significant challenges these immigrants face due to language barriers, despite their high

educational qualifications and professional backgrounds. This study investigates whether a linguistics-based approach to reading instruction can improve English literacy among Turkmen-speaking adults.

Drawing on a comprehensive review of empirical studies, this paper evaluates the impact

of phonological awareness on reading and listening skills, the role of orthographic knowledge in

decoding and spelling, and the importance of morphological awareness for vocabulary

development and reading comprehension among EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. The analysis reveals that …