Nextgen Humanities: A Digital Art History Pedagogical Revolution, Analisa Soverns-Reed

Theses

In response to the urgent need for more accessible, inclusive, and technologically relevant humanities education, the NextGen Humanities project was conceived as a digital initiative to reimagine pedagogical practices within art history and the broader humanities. Traditional perceptions of humanities disciplines as elite and static have contributed to declining engagement, necessitating innovative solutions that integrate open-access resources, digital tools, and inclusive frameworks. This project developed a publicly accessible platform curating free, vetted resources grounded in artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and open educational resources (OER), emphasizing critical engagement, cultural inclusivity, and technological adaptability. Methodologically, NextGen Humanities combined extensive literature …

Summit Disease: The Ecological Horror Of Empire, Nicholas Moore

Theses

This project focuses on the use of insect imagery in art and media and the theories and concepts that have been instrumental in understanding the cultural and political significance of insect species extinction and decline. I center my work on the concept of ecohorror and highlight several artists whose work depicts insect species and conveys anxieties over ecoprecarity and climate dysfunction. I argue that depictions of insects in art and media can be interpreted in two ways - insects as destructive, monstrous contaminants and insects as constructive, beneficial terraformers - and I rely on Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley …

Presence Through Absence: The Ark Of The Covenant And The Aniconic Image Of God In Early Israelite Religious Art, Natalie Rivas

Theses

This thesis investigates the Ark of the Covenant as a paradoxical visual and theological artifact within early Israelite religious art. While the Israelite tradition has long been characterized as aniconic (eschewing anthropomorphic representations of the divine) the Ark occupied a central role in ritual, worship, and religious identity. Prior scholarship has focused either on the Ark’s narrative function in biblical texts or its formal attributes as a cultic object. However, limited attention has been given to how the Ark embodies divine presence through the visual strategy of absence. This study argues that the Ark does not merely avoid figural representation …

The Queen Of Heaven: Evelyn De Morgan's Transcendence Of The Soul, Sarah Victoria Eller

Theses

This thesis examines the religious iconography in three key paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Evelyn De Morgan, The Angel of Death, The Undiscovered Country, and Lux in Tenebris, and explores how they draw on Early Italian Renaissance visual traditions to depict themes of death and the soul’s transcendence. Recent scholarship has assessed De Morgan’s oeuvre through the feminist lens and emphasized her engagement with Spiritualism and the nineteenth-century revival of Swedenborgian philosophy. The Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli has also been recognized as an influential reference for De Morgan, particularly in her mythologically themed works. This study expands on that scope …

20th Century Graphic Design Development: Bridging Theory, History, And Practice Through Russian Constructivism, Oscar A. Gonzalez Jr.

Theses

This project centers on examining Russian Constructivism as a design movement and its influence on contemporary graphic design practices. It focuses on bridging historical theory and visual style with modern studio work, particularly through the creation of LGBTQ+ advocacy posters inspired by Constructivist aesthetics. The aim is to analyze the formal visual elements of Russian Constructivism while producing original designs that engage with current issues of identity and inclusion. Additionally, the project explores how the integration of analog and digital techniques can elevate visual messaging and creative expression.

A Kind Of Myth: Infallible Abstraction In The Work Of Perle Fine, Shannon Hadfield

Theses

Unavailable.

Kentucky History Is Native History: Decolonizing Native Portrayals In Kentucky Museums., Mandala Gupta Verwiebe

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Utilizing prominent decolonial museums scholarship, interviews conducted with anthropology and museum professionals, and Kentucky museum exhibitions, this research explores the history of Kentucky’s public institutions’ Indigenous representation and recommends guidelines to improve their portrayal of Native people. Through a historical analysis, this research finds factors that influence Kentucky institutions’ portrayals of Native history, such as early harmful grave looting of Indigenous ancestral remains, the prominence of the Myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground, and a weakened state governmental Native American Heritage Commission. After considering both decolonial theory and the experiences of Kentucky heritage professionals, this research recommends three methods …

Populism And Religious Rhetoric In Spain's Right-Wing Vox Party, Ainsley Taylor

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis examines the intersection of populism and religious rhetoric in Spain’s right-wing political party, Vox. By analyzing Facebook posts from Vox’s national and regional accounts in the months leading up to the 2019 and 2023 national elections, as well as key regional elections in Andalusia and Cantabria, this study explores how the party strategically employs religious themes to shape its populist discourse. The findings indicate that Vox primarily uses religious rhetoric to construct an exclusive national identity, framing perceived external threats such as immigration, secularism, and leftist politics. While the party's use of religious rhetoric declined slightly between 2019 …

The First Of Its Kind--The Impact Of Wher-Am And Wdia In Postwar Memphis Radio., Emily Stucky

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

In 1947, WDIA Memphis became the first radio station in the U.S. to switch to programming featuring only Black performers and announcers. Eight years later in 1955, WHER-AM became the first all-female radio station in the country, also originating in Memphis, Tennessee. This thesis will discuss the ways WHER and WDIA have both contributed to and reflected social change movements between 1947 and 1970, from civil rights to feminism. Substantive sources include media perceptions of both stations through local newspapers, interviews with early participants, and various secondary scholarship on the impact of both stations. Ultimately, I argue that Memphis’s racialized …

Moving The Goalposts: American Sports Coverage In Newspapers And The Construction Of Gender, Race And Sexuality In The Olympics In 1928, 1932, 1936., Jacob Havers

All Theses

This thesis takes an in-depth look at the media coverage of women in the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936. Specifically following the track athletes Kinue Hitomi, Louise Stokes, Tidye Pickett and Mildred “Babe” Didrikson the thesis explores how by being athletic women they had their identities as feminine figures heavily questioned and scrutinized in newspapers at the global level. The harshest of these critics was often the American media, who held strict standards of race, gender and sexuality in the late 1920s-mid 1930s. They sought to uphold these standards at the global scale, and the American media’s interrogation of …

Sacred Grounds: A Risk Assessment Framework Developed For Historic African American Cemeteries Threatened By Sea Level Rise In Georgetown, Sc, Jocelyn Patterson

All Theses

ABSTRACT

This study acknowledges historic African American cemeteries as vital cultural and historical landmarks that preserve the stories and traditions of often overlooked communities. However, coastal cemeteries, particularly in Georgetown, South Carolina, face increasing environmental threats. These burial sites risk severe damage or complete loss as climate change accelerates from sea level rise, flooding, storm surges, neglect, development pressure, and land development.

This research develops and considers a risk assessment framework to address the risks of cemeteries proximity to water, elevation, flood risk, and cultural significance. The research employs Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping, historical records, and site analysis to …

After Midnight: Analyzing Legacy Business Programs' Potential To Capture Patron Perspectives Through A Case Study Of Four Charleston, Sc Nightlife Spaces, Shawnya Peterson

All Theses

Within historic preservation, Legacy Business Programs (LBPs) are increasingly popular initiatives to support and celebrate businesses that have contributed to the history and culture of their communities and reached a certain operational age. LBPs are important to their communities and are part of a growing trend towards vernacular study and democratization within the preservation field. In particular, LBP application processes have the potential to document significant aspects of these important community businesses. Different LBP application questions can capture different types of business information from a range of perspectives. Within the movement towards greater inclusivity in historic preservation, understanding and documenting …

Reviving Baybayin: The Pre-Hispanic Writing System Of The Philippines, And Raising Awareness In The United States, Richana K. Stone

Honors Thesis

Baybayin is an Indigenous system of writing in the Philippines that has been preserved, but has seen rapid decline in usage throughout the centuries. This paper explores the history of Baybayin and the methods of reviving the written script that have been suggested and used to reimplement Baybayin into the daily lives of Filipinos. Furthermore, this paper will look at how Lakota and Peruvian recording systems, the winter count and the khipu, respectively, have been preserved and used in modern times. Viewing the history of these groups and how they preserved these writing systems sparks a potential for the adoption …

Looking Back While Moving Forward: Four Musical Works That Signify Complex Emotions Regarding The Passage Of Time Through Ambiguous Endings, Bailey Griggs

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

Defying expectations is a useful and overlooked tool in music composition. Despite all their differences, the final movement of Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, Joe Hisaishi’s score to the 2001 film Spirited Away, Joni Mitchell’s popular song “Both Sides Now,” and electronic artist The Caretaker’s album set Everywhere at the End of Time all share similar programmatic content. Each presents a protagonist who is coming to terms with the passage of time and is conflicted about how they should cope with change. Upon examination of these four works, they all use unexpected and ambiguous endings to signify complex ideas about time through …

Poets, Pioneers, And In-Betweeners: Musicians Of The South Asian Diaspora, Kancana Preetika Kathiravan

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sid Sriram, Arooj Aftab, and Ganavya Doraiswamy are three Asian American musicians who have experienced a meteoric rise over the past five years. These artists are signed to major labels, receive mainstream media exposure, have multiple Grammy nominations, and tour internationally. Through different avenues, they have built up diverse audiences that include members of the South Asian diaspora who see their own stories and music represented. Rather than being a single part of a cross-cultural collaboration, these musicians belong to both worlds. With backgrounds both in South Asian and American musical styles and grammars, these musicians are like their work: …

Imitation And Text Relationships In Tomás Luis De Victoria's Missa O Magnum Mysterium, Natasha Ann Monroe

Master's Theses

Unusual musical relationships surrounding the compositions of Tomás Luis de Victoria have intrigued scholars for decades, but their purpose remains hidden. Robert Stevenson has suggested that textual connections can be found alongside these musically similar passages. I revisit this suggestion by analyzing an imitation mass by Victoria: Missa O magnum mysterium based on his motet O magnum mysterium. When trying to understand any intentional textual connections, it is necessary to consider the composer's broad perspective. In the case of Missa O magnum mysterium, the logical starting points are Victoria's life-long involvement with the Catholic Church and the feast …

James Baldwin's Classroom And What He Can Teach Educators About Queer Representation, Matthew Callahan

Honors College Theses

This is an extended analysis of James Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers" about how to bring representation into the classroom. I use Baldwin's other essays and fiction along with educational research to look into the way Baldwin understands education and the importance of bringing healthy queer representation into the classroom. I provide both theoretical observations along with practical implications of what this means for educators in the classroom and what they can do to help all their students feel seen, represented, and welcome in the classroom.

Koxinga: The Catalyst Of Taiwan's Current Geopolitical Conflict, Lauren Masterson

Honors College Theses

Taiwan, strategically located in the South China Sea, has long faced challenges in asserting its sovereignty. While much of the existing scholarship focuses on the 20th-century conflict between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party, this study turns to the mid-17^th century to trace the roots of the island’s contested status. It centers on Zheng Chenggong (1624–1662), also known as Koxinga, who established the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan (1661–1683) following the fall of the Ming dynasty. By examining Koxinga’s actions and the legacy he left behind, this research draws parallels between his retreat …

The Sound Of Young America/The Soul Of Young America: A Sonic Rhetoric Inquiry Into 1965 And The Music Defining A Generation In Crisis, Jessica Dyche

All Dissertations

The Sound of Young America/The Soul of Young America: A Sonic Rhetoric Inquiry into 1965 and the Music Defining a Generation In Crisis builds a case for sonic rhetoric theory that sees sonic rhetoric move outside of pedagogy, becoming a valuable tool for rhetorical analysis outside the classroom. To this end, The Sound of Young America/The Soul of Young America employs sonic rhetoric concepts and methodology grounded in cultural rhetorics, social history, and sociomusicology to inquire into the cultural and social relevancy of rock music, specifically to this project, in 1965. Sonic rhetoric sees sound and music as underexplored, but …

Sidewindings, Jeff Marvel

Graduate Thesis Collection

A memoir cataloguing the impacts of my late-onset Type 1 diabetes diagnosis at the age of 26, in which I attempt to realize the ways in which my sense of self, and sense of the world around me, has been altered or disfigured by this hardly-visible disease.

Songs Through Statues: The Mask Of Sorrow For Baritone, Accordion, Guitar, Piano & Wind Duo, Alexander T. Schmidt

Graduate Thesis Collection

The Mask of Sorrow is a twelve-minute song written by me, Alexander Schmidt, that utilizes a variety of techniques that I have learned over the course of my study in graduate school. The piece utilizes leitmotives in a unique and interesting way via the usage of set theory to represent the text in musical form, produce a constant development of material, and encourage a musical narrative to supplement the text. This analysis moves through the whole of the form and documents its usage of timbre, motive, harmonic set, and much more, to showcase the means of which all the techniques …

Social Connections: The Role Of Community In Johannes Brahms's Viola Writing, Alex Beauchamp

Graduate Thesis Collection

Despite a negative opinion of the viola held by musicians and audiences alike in the nineteenth century, Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) wrote orchestral, chamber, and solo pieces that highlight the viola. We can trace an affinity for this black sheep of the string instrument family beginning with his Serenade No. 2 in 1859—which uses the viola as the primary melodic voice—and extending through his Clarinet Sonatas in 1894, which Brahms also authorized for viola performance.

Throughout his life, Brahms was close with several violists, three of whom inspired Brahms to write substantial music for the viola. Joseph Joachim (1831–1907), a famous …

I Am (Me)Dicine: An Analysis On The Influence Of Humanities Courses Within The Construction Of Internal And External Identities Within Pre-Med Students At Uno, Alix Barnes

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The purpose of this project is to investigate how arts and humanities coursework may enhance the development of internal and external identities for premedical students beyond their traditional scientific coursework. A literature review shows positive findings on identity development and the influence of arts and humanities coursework on medical education. This investigation will take place through a mixed-method survey distributed to UNO premedical students and will explore themes of self-reflection, personal and professional growth, and understanding of external perspectives. An optional question prompts respondents to reflect further on their work within arts and humanities courses and their impact on these …

Predicting Steroid Concern Through Tiktok Use And Self-Esteem, Adam Lorio, Brandon C. Bouchillon, Sisi Hu, Jennifer Mortensen

Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examined student perceptions of steroid use through a survey of 154 participants. While self-esteem did not directly predict steroid concerns, specific TikTok engagement patterns revealed complex relationships. Using TikTok to pass time correlated with viewing steroids as a public health issue, whereas surveillance-based use was associated with lower self-esteem. Using the platform to interact was positively related to self-esteem, highlighting how different modes of engagement can shape perceptions about individual and collective health.

To Turn To Wind, Savannah Butler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The thesis is a poetry collection, titled To turn to wind. Each poem is distinct but connected, in turn creating a narrative, serial poem that explores an individual’s relationship with poetry and nature. There are four sections where the speaker a metamorphic journey, and the end of each section leads to the beginning of the next. The poems are written in free verse, and each individual line is indicative of the poet’s breath and wind patterns to further develop the themes of unity and poetry, as well as “form as an extension of content”.

The poems are inquisitive and seek …

Some Sonnets, Caleb Merritt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis, titled some sonnets, is an exploration of generative practices, language gathering, and experimental fragmentation that manifests in a “cacophony of voices.” Parallel to and estranged from the traditional sonnet form, these poems emerge from a collaged and sculpted approach to Poetry, which places the work more on the side of conceptual art than traditional collection of verse.

The sonnets are recursive, referencing their own making, their own debatable status as “poems,” and the language that populates them. Here, meaning is offered in fragmented ways, inviting a small readership to attempt to parse these quasiautobiographical viewings and compositions. The …

The Wicks They Stimulate, Adam Ray Wagner

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Wicks They Stimulate is a collection of poems and translations. Through a variety of forms and images, the poems were written with a predominant attention to concentration, clarity, and persona. The poems use tone and rhythm to work through different phenomenological perspectives to see words or phrases from changing angles, often employing spare language and short lines, but sometimes using longer, more prosaic forms.

Engaged with the philosophies of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Emmanuel Levinas, these poems pair subtly changing rhythms with shifting pronouns to engage questions about rhythm and alterity. Fragmented syntax and heavy enjambment draw attention to the …

A Wicked Game, Andrew Nikonowicz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Wicked Gameis an installation comprised of a video game in an arcade cabinet, photographs, sound, and sculpture. The installation explores the complexity of play and personal memory. Working from the concept of “wicked” (Epstein) learning environments – domains with hidden rules, unstable structures, and inconsistent feedback – the project constructs a playable space, where players must navigate an inhospitable environment, echoing the experience of living in a world that resists accommodation.

The installation centers around an all-black arcade cabinet placed in a darkened gallery space, inviting visitors to play A Wicked Game. The game demands the player …

“But Where Are Those Good Old-Fashioned Values?”—The Racial Politics Of Animated Satire In Family Guy, Jordanne Greenidge

Master's Theses

Few animated shows have shaped American pop culture quite like Family Guy. Known for its rapid-fire cutaway gags and irreverent humor, the series has remained a television mainstay since its debut in 1999, despite frequent criticism and even two cancellations. Created by Seth MacFarlane and based on his 1995 student film The Life of Larry, Family Guy has built its reputation on pushing the boundaries of taste, especially when it comes to race, gender, and politics. Though often defended as satire, the show’s use of racial humor raises questions about its true impact: Do its portrayals of Black characters challenge …

The Adirondack Frontier: Reclaiming A Vital Role In Shaping The Nation, Peter Nelson

Master's Theses

The traditional version of Adirondack history from the revolutionary period to the middle of the nineteenth century, which portrays the region as unexplored primeval wilderness, is nineteenth-century romantic mythology. It ignores thousands of years of Indigenous habitation and misrepresents early Euro-American activity in the region as well. In fact, from the earliest days of colonial exploration of North America until the middle of the 19th-Century, New York's Adirondack region was a dynamic American frontier, as important in shaping the destiny of the nation as the Northwest Territory or, later, the West. Activities in the Adirondack frontier contributed to the decimation …