Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Black Students With Disabilities In The Virginia Community College System, David Jerome Sultzer

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The advancement of policies and laws to support students with disabilities has increased the roles of students with disabilities in post-secondary institutions. There remains a significant disparity between the population of abled and disabled students and even a more significant disparity between Black and other students with disabilities on post-secondary campuses in the United States. Research has uncovered a fair amount of qualitative literature that speaks to the disparity between Black and other students with disabilities on post-secondary campuses with most of the qualitative literature from the perspective of the Black student with disabilities.

This study examined the perceptions of …

Gatekeeping Girlhood: Tiktok As An Agent Of Gender And Racial Socialization, Kennedy Elyza Davis

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis uses qualitative methods to study and analyze how TikTok users and the platform’s algorithm work together to redefine girlhood. By examining individual posts and the origins of the trends that they belong to, I will show why some users reject this new definition, as others have embraced it, and what this means for the future of girlhood. This research will complicate the question of what it means to be a girl on the Internet and the challenges that accompany this experience. Ultimately, I expand on the study of gender roles and the impact of social media as an …

Integrating Traditional Chinese Aesthetic Culture With Contemporary Music Through Violin, Fan Kai-Yi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the integration of traditional Chinese aesthetic principles with contemporary music through selected violin repertoires. It examines the rich tradition of Chinese aesthetics, emphasizing the distinctive musical styles that, despite their variations, share a common cultural foundation. The research combines a comprehensive review of classical Chinese literature, musicological analysis, exploration of pitch materials, harmonic language, and performance-based interpretation to blend and expand the technical and expressive possibilities of the violin with the essence of Chinese music. Rooted in an analysis of key traditional Chinese aesthetic concepts—he (harmony), tianren heyi (the unity of nature and humanity)—and the two major …

The Impact Of Ballet Techniques On Singing Performers, Julie H. Welch

Theses and Dissertations

Singing performers are tasked to being a multifaceted artist using their acting and even dance skills in a performance. Voice teachers have long incorporated physical activity into training, but traditional ballet techniques—such as core tension and neck elongation—can contradict healthy singing practices. Given ballet’s deep historical connection to opera and stage performance, this study aims to examine whether integrating ballet into vocal training enhances or hinders a singer’s technique and overall performance. This investigation surveyed forty subjects who identified as teachers, singing performers, or students earning a performance degree and interviewing select subjects for further information; results will be discussed.

A Conductor’S Rehearsal And Performance Guide To Christopher Tin’S The Drop That Contained The Sea, Augusto Gil

Theses and Dissertations

This document serves as a research resource regarding composer Christopher Tin and provides a conductor’s analysis for his large choral-orchestral work, The Drop That Contained the Sea. Christopher Tin is an American composer of film, television, and video game soundtracks. Though he is most likely best known for his choral-orchestral piece, “Baba Yetu”, written for the video game Civilization IV, Tin has written several choral-orchestral works that have premiered on international stages over the course of recent years, such as his large-scale song cycles Calling All Dawns, The Drop That Contained the Sea, To Shiver the Sky, and The Lost …

Transcrite Par L'Auteur: Analyzing And Performing The Piano-Vocal Scores Of Maurice Ravel's Operas, Jordan Knapp

Theses and Dissertations

The two operas of Maurice Ravel, L’heure espagnole and L’enfant et les sortilèges, are, like most of the composer’s works, known for their innovative orchestrations and instrumental flourishes. However, the piano-vocal scores of the operas have their own unique qualities worthy of study. With the piano writing at times fiendishly difficult—standing toe-to-toe with Ravel’s solo piano music—the score demands simplification, particularly for less experienced performers serving as accompanist or rehearsal pianist for these works. Many sections of the music are impractical or even impossible for a single pianist to perform, but this study offers alternate solutions and simplifications for pianists …

Reclaiming The Body: Gender Politics And Embodied Meaning In Piano Performance And Pedagogy, Rachel Misheff

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of the mind-body duality and its gendered metaphor on the lived experiences of historical and contemporary female pianists. Specifically, it explores how the principles of mind-body dualism have constructed gendered practices in piano performance and pedagogy that have both marginalized female pianists and engendered distinct embodied relationships to music. The study draws upon research from other disciplines, such as phenomenology, theories of embodiment, feminist theory, psychoanalysis, and Embodied Music Cognition, to examine how these gendered musical norms resulting from mind-body dualism functioned as forces of social inscription. This research, therefore, suggests that the body’s lived …

“Plenty Of Heart And Plenty Of Hope”: An Analysis Of Social And Historical Implications In Post-Wwii Western Musical Films, Katelyn N. Lister

Selected Honors Theses

World War II had a profound and significant impact on American life and culture. Hollywood and film production was one area that was notably different after the war with themes and settings that promoted patriotism and American values being seen more frequently. Film lends itself to analysis due to its recorded and preserved nature that allows audiences today to view the same thing that audiences in the early 1950s were seeing, albeit with a different worldview. Western movies made in the late 1940s and early 1950s perfectly encapsulate the feelings of most Americans during the postwar period. Additionally, a new …

Aphantasia And Religion: Exploring The Impact Of Imageless Cognition On Spiritual Experience, Reagan J. Pletcher

Selected Honors Theses

This study examines the intersection of aphantasia – the inability to consciously visualize mental images – and religious experience, here Christianity. Taking a phenomenological approach, qualitative interviews were conducted with three self-described aphantasic Christians to examine how they conceptualize, practice, and experience their faith. Thematic analysis revealed that participants employ abstract thinking, propositional thinking, and moral reasoning rather than visual imagery when engaging with religious texts, prayer, and worship. They valued intellectual and moral aspects of Christianity more than imaginative visualization, demonstrating that religion is not necessarily dependent on mental imagery to participate spiritually. While participants did refer to challenges …

Effects Of Digital Music Production On The Music Industry And Genre Evolution, Levi M. Williams

Selected Honors Theses

Innovation and invention have often marked turning points in large industries and cultural movements, and music creation is no different. Many innovations have been made within music recording and production, and each one has reshaped the industry. Digital music production methods, being the latest in this chain of innovations, are relatively new and unstudied in their effects on the music industry and the ways they may be shaping major genres. This review is a collection of literature and information concerning the advent of digital music production and its effects on the music industry and major genres.

An Examination Of Karl Barth’S Critique Of Natural Theology: The Epistemological Shift Post-Salvation, Luke D. Pelkey

Selected Honors Theses

This thesis reexamines Karl Barth’s rejection of natural theology, specifically if his Christocentric framework allows for a limited, post-salvific engagement with natural revelation. While Barth is adamant in his denial of the source of knowledge of God being found solely through reason, logic, or nature, this thesis argues that Barth does not reject the possibility of natural revelation but rejects its accessibility. But, due to the effects of salvation on not just the soul but the whole of one’s being, the mind is also renewed, allowing for the noetic effects of sin to be overcome. Drawing from Church Dogmatics I/1, …

Chiral Collapse In William Gaddis’ The Recognitions, Drake Roth , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

What is the purpose of art? What is the relationship between such complex binaries as: art and science, art and artist, music and musician? How do forgeries or fraudulent creativity complicate such relationships? And how (mechanistically) does art allow for a more holistic understanding of self and imagination? This thesis attempts answers chiefly using William Gaddis' The Recognitions, a gargantuan post-modernist American fiction novel published in 1955. By underpinning his book with themes of hands, binaries, and mechanized art Gaddis proffers an apparatus for understanding the relationships between opposing forces. Carl Jung’s theory of enantiodromia, or the process …

Trespassers Of Space: Rewriting Female Narratives In Mexican Cinema, Andrea Ruvalcaba

Undergraduate Theses in Art History

How have Mexican cultural figures such as Maria Novaro and Adela Sequeyo made space for themselves in the male-dominated film realm? How and why have these women dared to become “contrabandistas,” or trespassers, in a social fabric defined and governed by men? The same questions apply to the world of Mexican cinema — more specifically Mexican Feminist cinema. Throughout these pages, I will explore how the film Los Pasos de Ana (1991), by the Mexican filmmaker Marysa Sistach, integrates women’s perspectives into Mexican film culture to counteract the neutralization of powerful female representations played out across various facets of Mexican …

Women Overcoming Barriers In Stem: How Mentors, Allies, And Sponsors Assist Career Trajectories In Higher Education, Leila Marie Romeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the personal narratives of women in STEM in both public and private higher education institutions within various roles. Specifically, the researcher aimed to determine the following: (a) if mentors/allies influence the career trajectories of women in STEM in higher education institutions and (b) if mentors/allies aid in the support of women in STEM in higher education institutions. The researcher used semistructured interviews with a narrative analysis to determine areas of struggle for the sample within their careers and how mentors, allies, and sponsors were present throughout their careers to help the women overcome these challenges. Data …

Jaded Poison, Taylore Huxford

English Theses & Dissertations

Jaded Poison is, at its heart, a modern fantasy love story novel that starts when two different worlds collide. It is a novel in which Evelyn Beaumont receives a bag from her best friend, Jordan. From that point, she soon discovers that the bag teleports things, which starts with her bank statements, to another world—a high fantasy world. The receiver is Valerie Aeris, the Princess of the Valaros kingdom. The two women begin exchanging letters and find solace in each other; Evelyn feels lonely and that her life has no direction, and Valerie feels suffocated in the high society culture …

Compulsory Sterilisation And Reproductive Injustice In India: The Global Impact Of The American Eugenics Movement, Marina Cortez

Institute for the Humanities Theses

On 8 November 2014, Dr RK Gupta performed eighty-three tubal ligations at a makeshift clinic in Bilaspur, India — thirteen of which resulted in death. The women, most of whom belonged to the Dalit or “untouchable” caste, were recruited by family planning agencies, lured in by cash incentives or other gifts in exchange for sterilisation. Sadly, however, the Bilaspur tragedy does not exist in isolation — but rather belongs to an extensive history of government-sponsored abuse, the majority of which has been directly led by white, Western powers. Funded by the New York-based Population Council, India was one of the …

Identifying Contributing Factors Of Black American Females’ Long-Term Persistence In Stem Education: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Chandra T. Oaks-Garcia

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain insights into contributing factors that have shaped the experiences of eight Black American females who pursued STEM education as they persisted from the secondary education setting to their collegiate setting in a STEM major. This qualitative phenomenological study collected data through in-depth semi-structured interviews with Black American female juniors and seniors studying at four different four-year institutions, all pursuing degrees in STEM-related fields. Demographic surveys and memo writing were incorporated to enhance the data analysis. To explore the lived experiences of Black American females in STEM education and identify factors that contributed …

Audience Participation Structures In The Concert Hall And D, Me, You, We, A Non-Opera For Actor, Chatbot, Musicians, And Audience, Treya Michelle Nash

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Audience participation in the concert hall space has developed into a rich participatory practice with specific characteristics and challenges. Though composers—especially since the 1960s—have written many pieces involving audience participation, asking the concert hall audience to participate remains uncommon. Attempting to shift the role of the audience in such a traditionally spectator-oriented space can lead to tensions that undermine the efficacy of the experience. This research categorizes participatory pieces into the structural elements of performance and facilitation forces, audience groupings, audience roles, and communication types. These structures are used to discuss the complicated relationship between control and agency within participatory …

The Passive-Active Interaction (Pai) Model: Redefining Audio Interactions In Video Game Music, Morgan A. Weeks

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Scholarship on music in video games has focused on the player in two main ways: the psychological effect music has on the player and the physical, kinesthetic relationship between the player’s inputs and the game’s music. This dissertation builds on this work by exploring gameplay moments in which the music informs the player’s inputs through rhythms, tempo, harmonic relationships, and changes in the musical texture. Using “analytical play” (Summers 2016), rhythmic analysis, looping analysis, and harmonic observations, alongside a variety of different video games, consoles and genres, I have developed an analytical Passive-Active Interaction (PAI) Model that is applicable to …

From Civic Duties To Democratic Mandates: The Theoretical Framework Of Mill And Tocqueville On Compulsory Voting In The U.S., Olivia Claire Luttrell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the treatment of jury duty and voting in the United States through the philosophical framework of John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville. While jury duty is legally mandated, voting remains optional, despite both civic responsibilities being foundational to democratic participation. This research explores the historical, theoretical, and practical implications of voting becoming compulsory in the United States, as it is in other democratic nations. The analysis includes a comparative case study of the impact of Australia’s mandatory voting to evaluate whether it could become compulsory in the U.S. Both philosophers offer insightful knowledge on the role …

Community Engagement For The Children's Theatre, Lindsey R. Guilford

Undergraduate Theses

Community Engagement for the Children’s Theatre examines how children’s theatres across the United States build and sustain mutually beneficial relationships with their surrounding communities. In a field where community support is essential, but resources are often limited, long-term success depends on meaningful, reciprocal engagement. This research draws on surveys and interviews with theatre professionals to investigate strategies used by organizations of varying sizes to connect with local audiences, educators, and families. Findings highlight key practices such as sharing resources, aligning programming with community needs, valuing both internal and external stakeholders, and maintaining transparent, ongoing communication. By consolidating these insights, the …

Tonality Without Function In Lee Hoiby's The Shining Place: Five Poems Of Emily Dickinson, Anne Millspaugh

LSU Master's Theses

Lee Hoiby’s life and style are discussed, and his song set The Shining Place: Five Poems of Emily Dickinson is analyzed. A small biography of Emily Dickinson and of the set itself is provided. The song set is analyzed through how Hoiby set Dickinson’s dashes in the music, how diatonic collections are used within the songs, and how motives are used within the songs. Interviews conducted between myself and Lee Hoiby’s partner Mark Shulgasser are transcribed at the end in Appendix A.

"En Clave" Tania León And Roberto Sierra: Autochthonous Music Of Cuba And Puerto Rico, Contemporary Music Composition And The 'Puente' In Between, Omar A. Ramirez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This document is in two parts. The first examines selected works of Latin-American composers Tania León and Roberto Sierra. Both composers cite their cultural background as a force that shapes their artistic expression. Many of their works are titled in Spanish, with compositions referencing their homelands in subject and narrative, and incorporate the autochthonous music(s) of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Elements of these afrodiasporic musical traditions can be found in their works: Alegre, Batá, Stride, (Leon), Loiza, and Concerto for Viola (Sierra), each examined here.

Autochthonous musical elements are highlighted in score excerpts and described using …

Senior Clarinet Recital, Canon Cochran

Honors Theses

My honors thesis was presented in the form of my senior clarinet recital. My recital was performed on Saturday, March 29th at 6:00 pm. The program of music consisted of the following: Introduction et Rondo Opus 72 by Charles-Marie Widor for Clarinet and Piano, Phoenix Rising by Stacy Garrop for solo Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, Zwei Concerstücke Opus 114, Number 2 by Felix Mendelssohn for Clarinet, Basset Horn, and Piano, and then the first and third movements from Concerto for Clarinet K.622 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for Clarinet and Piano. This recital contains music from different centuries such as the 18th, 19th, …

A Comprehensive Guide To A Trumpet Embouchure Change, Megan E. George

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to expand the literature related to the subject of trumpet embouchure change and provide a comprehensive resource that will assist both student and teacher in navigating a trumpet embouchure change. This resource will not only help them determine whether to go through with the process but will present them with multiple options regarding embouchure change starting methods. It can be used for a variety of ages but primarily intended for use with students high school age or older.

In current method books, one trumpet embouchure is usually presented and is often a “one-size-fits-all” …

Black Sonicism: Cultural Maintenance And Evolution Through New Orleans Bounce Music, Leandrea L. Clay

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

As a form of regional hip-hop, Bounce music operates as an expressive culture native to New Orleans with generational lineages of artists. Black sonicism is a regionally and digitally-sensitive theoretical framework that seeks to conceptualize how Black soundmakers and their audiences create a dialogic relationship through three components: responsive participation, spatial relatability, and expressed ratchetry. I catalog each of these components through three audience formations—origin, scope, and reception—to understand the tensions between Black music, regional identity, and technology. From this project, I propose a theoretical development to consider how Black artists continually pass down communal histories through their music while …

Voices Of Heritage And Resilience: A Performance Guide To Soprano Arias Celebrating The Black Experience In Opera, Imani S. Francis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Voices of Heritage and Resilience: A Performance Guide for Soprano Arias Celebrating the Black Experience explores a selection of soprano arias that illuminate the depth, complexity, and resilience of Black identity through opera. This study provides historical context, musical style, and vocal performance strategies for works that center around the African American experience, spanning both traditional and contemporary repertoire.

By examining the relations between text, music, and historical significance, this dissertation highlights how these arias convey themes of struggle, conflict, oppression, love, and perseverance. It also supplies guidance to the singer through the use of vocal methods, interpretation, and stylistic …

The Prideful Ass: Using Augustine's Neoplatonic Theory Of Sin To Investigate Curiosity In Apuleius' Golden Ass, Danielle E. Booth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ancient discourse about the beneficial yet predominantly dangerous role of curiosity inattaining knowledge was prevalent in the Roman Empire around the 2nd century C.E. when the North African author, Apuleius, composed his Latin novel, the Golden Ass. Although there is no shortage of modern scholarship that focuses on how Apuleius dramatizes obsessive intrigue by means of his protagonist, Lucius, contemporary publications seldom reorient the discussion to consider how unclear he is about the unstated source of curiosity, as I do in the following thesis. Approaching this topic through the context of ancient Neoplatonism, I argue Augustine of Hippo – a …

Awful, Yet Awe-Full: The Sublime Dystopia Of Blade Runner 2049, Charles E. Butt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Blockbuster dystopian sci-fi features stories of environmental collapse, authoritarian governments, out of control corporations, unbounded consumerism, and other awful possibilities. Scholars of science fiction broadly agree that this genre explores collective fears, anxieties, and speculations about the present and future. At the same time, film scholars have established that dystopian sci-fi cinema is compelling, and audiences respond to their effects-driven visuals, photorealistic mise-en-scene, and dramatic narratives. This creates an apparent paradox: Blockbuster cinematic aesthetics portray undesirable worlds desirably. I resolve this paradox by arguing that the worldbuilding of spectacle-driven, dystopian sci-fi cinema is Romanticized. That is, the provocative style of …

Exploring Pedagogical Approaches And Discussion For Young Beginner Double Bass Players, Jiaying Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, early childhood education for the double bass has gained increasing attention and plays a crucial role in shaping the future development of the instrument. However, compared to other instruments, research on early childhood education for the double bass remains relatively underdeveloped, with a lack of written materials on the subject. This thesis introduces the formation of early childhood teaching concepts and explains why parents play an irreplaceable role in a child’s initial exposure to music learning. By collecting and analyzing traditional double bass teaching methods and integrating common principles from other string instrument teaching approaches, this study …