Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Teacher-Development Curriculum: Encouraging Community Discipleship Through Faith And Learning Integration At Bracken Christian High School, Denice F. Knight-Slater

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The title of this project is “A Teacher-Development Curriculum: Encouraging Community Discipleship through Faith and Learning Integration at Bracken Christian High School.” The purpose of the project was to create a seven-part curriculum that would empower educators to form an interconnected teaching community centered upon the practice of faith and learning integration. The development team hoped our work would articulate good practices and equip teachers to engage in faith conversations with their students. We utilized Parker Palmer’s classic, The Courage to Teach, as the scaffolding for our curriculum. The development team modeled faith and learning integration by creating a …

Art For The Heart; Elevating The Annual Gathering For Women Art Fair, Melanie Verga

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Homelessness among women in Monterey County has many women facing mental health challenges, social isolation, and financial instability. Gathering for Women, a local nonprofit, serves homeless and at-risk women by providing essential services, including opportunities for creative expression. The project focused on expanding art media workshops and hosting an Art Fair and Artist Showcase to amplify the voices of marginalized populations. Workshops introduced diverse artistic mediums including jewelry making, painting, knitting and design. The Art Fair showcased participants' work online and at a local gallery, promoting community connection and support. The project successfully engaged nine participants, creating opportunities for artistic …

Breaking The Grid: Metamorphosis And Materiality In Meret Oppenheim’S An Evening In The Year 1910, Jacklyn Meyer

Theses

This paper analyzes Meret Oppenheim’s painting An Evening in the Year 1910 from 1972 and its exploration of the theme of metamorphosis and materiality. Looking at certain biographical information about the artist’s crisis period and time spent with the Surrealist group is crucial in understanding what can be discerned from viewing this work. Other works with the theme of metamorphosis within her oeuvre are studied as they provide further context for Oppenheim’s artistic philosophy and her penchant for revisiting themes repeatedly. Other works with the theme of metamorphosis are studied as they provide further context for Oppenheim’s artistic philosophy and …

A Funerary Rite: A Visual Ethnography Of Climate Change, Threatened And Endangered Coral Species, And The Impact Of Coral Reef Death On Coastal Communities, Jason Uhl

Theses

This directed project includes research on a selection of the 24 coral species currently listed as threatened or endangered, these being at high risk of extinction. Climate change of the Anthropocene era and associated human-induced pollution impacts have resulted in most of the Earth’s coral reefs experiencing increased coral bleaching and coral death events. Our planet’s coral reefs are the main habitat to 25% of the world’s fish population. These coral habitats have also supported innumerous coastal communities in cultural, economic, social, and spiritual respects for millennia. This directed project includes the creation of an exhibition of 22 lidded ceramic …

Postermania: The French Advertising Poster Of The Fin-De-Siècle: An Art History Course, Erin Quirk

Theses

This project presents a comprehensive exploration of illustrated advertising posters at the fin de siècle highlighting their multifaceted role as artistic works, commercial media, and cultural artifacts. Designed as a three part course for a museum education department, the study integrates art history, visual culture, and social history to analyze the impact of these posters on the modernizing city of Paris. Focusing on artists like Jules Chéret, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Alphonse Mucha, the project traces the aesthetic evolution of the poster that blurred the lines between fine art and mass culture. The course examines the broader socio-historical context, exploring …

The Intersection Of Interactive Narrative And Flow State Immersion: An Exploration Of Trauma, Resilience, And Post-Traumatic Growth, Tiffani Barner

Theses

This work investigates the benefits of interactive narratives in conjunction with flow state immersion for individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A specific focus is placed on narratives that contain dark or horror-based themes. In addition, the importance of selfauthorship, representation, and empowerment are explored. Accompanying the examination of flow state, concepts such as challenge, failure, and the motivation to succeed at challenging tasks are analyzed. This work also includes a survey pertaining to user preferences regarding media and genre preferences. The goal of this project is to design an interactive user experience that activates flow state while also providing an …

Jacqueline Marval: Référence Sans Révérence Art History Lecture And Activity Series, Michelle Erickson

Theses

The painting Les Odalisques (1902-03) anchors the investigation of French artist Jacqueline Marval’s presence and contribution to the modernist art narrative. The painting is composed of five women who share a face and features, set in a private female space. The canvas is complete with bold strokes of color, and their skin is painted in the unrealistic tones that Fauvists will embrace, yet naturally – these women are still fully and complexly human. From a distance, they are sculptural.

This project is intended as a Club de Lecture series for adult learners of French culture and language at the Alliance …

Reframing The Canon: Black Contemporary Artist Shaping The Western Narrative, Elaysha A. Bazil

Theses

Reframing the Canon is an exhibition and thesis project that centers on Black Contemporary artists and their pivotal contributions to the Western art canon. Curated by Art BaziL, the exhibit challenges traditional narratives and biases, creating a space where Black art is celebrated as integral rather than supplemental. Through a collection of multi-medium works—from abstract paintings to digital art and handcrafted jewelry—the exhibit invites viewers to experience Black creativity beyond themes of struggle, highlighting resilience, innovation, and beauty. This project responds to the historical exclusion of Black voices within mainstream art institutions, advocating for a more inclusive and representative canon. …

Social Justice In Dance: The Exploration Of Dance As A Tool For Promoting, Recognizing And Influencing Change, Michelle O'Konis Linnehan

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to prove that dance could be used as a platform for representation and to foster change within the community and beyond. This purpose aligned with the goal, which was to measure the impact of a structured choreographic curriculum on student engagement with social justice topics. The goal of this study was to answer the following research questions:

Q1 Can dance be a tool in promoting social justice?

Q2 How will students in the classroom respond to an integrated social justice theme through dance and production components?

Q3 How will these topics be interpreted to …

Cultural Memory And The Search For Identity In Victorian Fantasy Fiction, Sadie Boggs

Honors College Theses

Fantasy literature's origins can be traced through myths and folktales, medieval romances, enlightenment fairy tale fantasy, and Romanticism, before finally taking firmer root in the Victorian period and blooming into its own genre in 20th century modern fantasy. Victorian thinkers reacted to the Enlightenment’s realism and technological innovation by “rediscovering” the Middle Ages as a time of beauty, simplicity, and moral virtue. Simultaneously, Psychology developed as a recognized field of study, and theories emerged about the psychological process of memory formation and retrieval, as well as its reliability and relation to identity.

Considering these psychological theories, Victorian fantasy's cultural memory …

Letters Between Lovers: A Wartime Woe A Romantic Seven Scene Dance, Rachel Gruszecki

Graduate Thesis Collection

Letters Between Lovers: A Wartime Woe is a ballet that tells the tragic tale of Genevieve and Raymond. Once childhood best friends, their bond grew into a romance that is quickly ripped apart when Raymond is drafted into World War II. Genevieve must fight for her love of Raymond, as well as within the war itself to get him back. This ballet instrumentation features a brass quintet, strings, piano, and various percussion.

Understanding The Performance And Perception Of Odawa Warfare, 1615–1700, Eric P. Morningstar

Masters Theses

This research employs the ethnohistorical method to explore how the Odawa people perceived and carried out warfare from 1615 to 1700. While historians have examined the Odawa, these Native peoples have frequently not been the central focus in the secondary literature. Many primary sources also offer a vague answer as to how the Odawa conceived and carried out warfare. This study aims to clarify historiographical inconsistencies by quantitatively analyzing a database, constructed by the author, of specific primary references to known hostilities between the Odawa, other Native groups, and Europeans. The analysis includes specific variables germane to hostilities such as …

Phosphene Or 233 Reasons Why I Never Listened To Abba, Matt Edwards

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A hybrid collection about gods and fathers, saviors and sons

*MFA theses don't have abstracts. My critical preface is 20 plus pages.

Perspectivas De Liderazgo En La Frontera: Un Anã¡Lisis De Las Experiencias De Los Presidentes Y Cónsules De El Paso Y Ciudad Juã¡Rez, Horacio Estavillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ciudad Juárez y El Paso son el reflejo de México y Estados Unidos a nivel municipal, sin embargo, esta unión de ciudades a nivel fronterizo abre las puertas a oportunidades únicas al igual que desafíos significativos, los cuales pueden ser el resultado de las relaciones macro de ambos países, pero también de ambas ciudades. Por lo tanto, las ciudades fronterizas son el ejemplo de una amalgama de representación local y binacional, ya que los líderes que se encuentran en estas ciudades; como cónsules generales, y presidentes municipales, reflejan no solo la personificación de la ciudad, sino también el símbolo e …

The New Anthropocentrism: The Problem Of Water Conservation And Water Justice, Benjamin Stuart Milam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My objective with my thesis is to argue for and reinforce a type of anthropocentrism that is both environmentally conscious and consumable for an audience that is not necessarily well versed in philosophical literature. In the first chapter I go over philosophical frameworks, such as Anthropocentrism and Biocentrism, and why I believe they do not meet both of those criteria listed. After that I discuss New Anthropocentrism, coined by Clive Hamilton, and why I believe that a slightly modified version possesses qualities that I believe are needed for the crisis at hand. In chapter 2 I use that framework and …

“Don’T Bring Your Feminism Here!”: The African Hair Braiding Salon As A Rhetorically Charged Space For Feminist Activism, Efe Plange

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project extends scholarship on Black beauty and hair care spaces in the US as rhetorically charged for various forms of activism. It specifically explores the nature of work, conversations and feminist ways of being among a group of braiders working together in an African hair braiding salon to legitimize the African hair braiding salon as a site with unique contributions to this body of work. Grounded in Feminist Geo-criticism and Conversational Rhetoric, the study seeks to make contributions that are relevant to the field of Rhetoric and more specifically the sub-field of feminist rhetorics, African and non-Western feminist rhetorics, …

Blood And Ink: Revenge In Contemporary Fiction, Shadia Sobers

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold and that it is sweet, but what about the flavors in between? It is sweet at times, with a hint of saltiness following close behind as you pucker your lips and swish your tongue around. Soon after, a sour taste comes out of nowhere before a tang of umami hits you at the end. The flavor varies from person to person, just as if seeking revenge in and of itself is morally correct.

We’ve seen revenge in countless forms of media: books, movies, and plays. Each takes a slightly different …

Bloc 27, Makani Speier-Brito

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bloc 27 is set in the early 22nd century in a severely overpopulated and competitive world. The society is run by OX, a highly controlled powerhouse government. OX controls the citizens through hierarchy and a vast divide between the rich and the poor. The poor citizens, derogatorily termed "roaches," are controlled not through currency but by a highly specialized points system. This system is tracked through body tech called "Seed Trackers," implanted at birth and operated through the wrist. All data is tracked through these embedded devices, including their currency mode. Citizens gain points for fulfilling monthly initiatives, and points …

The Flexible Pathways Model Of Writing Assessment: A Plan For Equity And Agency In The Writing Classroom, Matthew Varel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project is a qualitative study in which I seek to understand how my new model of writing assessment, The Flexible Pathways Model, or FPM, functions when piloted in three First-Year Writing classrooms at a border and Hispanic-Serving Institution. This research builds on the work of composition scholars Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff, Elbow and Jane Danielewicz, Asao B. Inoue, Ellen Carillo, and Edward White as well as education scholar Benjamin Bloom. The model also incorporates concepts from Universal Design scholarship of Tara Wood, Stephen Dolmage, and Anne-Marie Womack. In the FPM, students learn about four different methods of writing …

Not Plato's Closet: The Dialectic Of Embodied Counterstory Through Fashion On The Us/Mexico Border, Brita M. Arrington

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is best understood as a journey about identity that took place over more than eight years. The journey was an exploration that began in one frame of mind and ended in a very different place. I fully anticipated this research to reflect the racial tensions surrounding my participants who are predominantly Latine students at UTEP, a "Hispanic serving" institution on the US/Mexico border, but we ended up a place more deeply personal to them. From a sample of 2000 FYC students and their instructors, 65 participants engaged in taking a survey about their dress practices, and 4 of …

La Dos Espíritus, Alfredo Avalos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A través de la novela La dos espíritus se examina la representación de las masculinidades diversas, disidentes de la heteronormatividad. El texto dialoga con la novela El vampiro de la colonia Roma (1978) de Luis Zapata y otras representaciones del personaje queer. A través de la protagonista Cayetana, una mujer transgénero y mediante el formato de una larga entrevista que le realiza el periodista Josué, la novela explora temas de identidad, marginalización y resistencia.

Ephemeral Legacy, Allison Hall

Master's Theses

Recently, my thoughts have centered on the problem of legacy. How do we forge bonds with other humans? What happens on an interpersonal level when these humans pass away, or when we pass, and they continue in life? How do queer spaces consistently offer deeper phenomena of interpersonal legacies; how does death operate as generational catalyst? I am particularly interested in putting these questions in the context of queer spaces. In queer culture, kinship is formed in ways that break from typical western notions of kinship. Despite being incoherent to western notions of family, queer bonds are extremely strong (Bradway …

Effect Of Epistemic Cognition And Self-Regulation On The Evaluation Of Online Information, Devin T. Foschi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While research has shown that epistemic cognition plays an important role in self-regulation, the way in which it does so in online contexts needs further research. The objective of this dissertation was to examine the relationship between Internet-specific epistemic cognition and Internet-specific self-regulated learning, and to use a mixed-methods approach in order to expand upon the way learners undergo the evaluation of information in online spaces beyond the traditional method of only using self-report measures and other common quantitative techniques. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, Phase 1 (N = 117) used quantitative methods to first look at the relationship …

Westward Words: An Exploration Of Western Beats And Their Legacy, Brenna Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis examines the art, poetry, and experiences of western Beats or Beatniks. Also known as the Beat Generation, this literary movement is traditionally associated with East Coast writers. However, a prominent Beat culture was also present on the West Coast throughout the 1950s and 1970s. The thesis explores how the West influenced the literature and art produced by Beats during this time.

God's Laborers: Missionary Work And Imperialism In The Congo From 1878-1908, Ana Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In 1878, Henry Craven opened the first Protestant mission in the Congo. The Livingstone Inland Mission created multiple stations along the Congo River to reach the interior. It stayed active for six years before transferring its stations to Swedish and American missions. Five years after its closure, a sister mission, the Congo Balolo Mission, resumed efforts to teach the people living in the interior. This thesis explores the evolving reaction of the missionaries to state violence. It argues that these missionaries initially supported imperial violence that enforced laws that aligned with their beliefs, such as removing the slave trade. Once …

Before Ministry, Education Is Important (Bmei): A Comprehensive Enquiry About The Impact Of Education On Ministry, Mcclintock Acsmhour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ministry has a variety of fields ranging from churches, social nonprofit organizations, and government ministries in agriculture, health, education, lands, and many more. While this study did not focus on other ministries apart from Christian non profit ministries like church, to some extent, all leaders in these ministries avow that one requires some level of education to be in leading positions in these ministries. In other words, the qualified individual must have been trained in a particular field within the ministry of interest. This indicates the importance of education in ministry. Therefore, this study was conducted to uncover the impact …

A Rose By Any Other Name: Impressionism As Definition And Aesthetic In The Music Of Claude Debussy, Erin Smith

Honors Theses

The premiere of Parisian composer Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune created a link between his music and the artistic Impressionism movement, which began in 1874 as a rejection of Realism. Musical Impressionism, initially an ill-fitting title, would gradually shift to encompass the compositional techniques of Debussy, and would also inspire new musical styles as a rejection of musical Impressionism. This project compares the defining features of Impressionism across artistic mediums, analyzes Debussy's music in relation to Impressionist painting, and examines his resistance to the label within a broader dialogue on evoking sensation through abstract forms. In doing so, …

A Linguistic Analysis Of The Language Surrounding Witchcraft In France From The 16th To 20th Centuries, Kaleigh Landers

Honors Theses

While the history of witchcraft in France is a subject that has received significant scholarly attention, little research has been conducted on the linguistic implications of the language used in regard to the subject. This study attempts to analyze the texts written about witchcraft between the 16^th and 20^th centuries in order to draw conclusions as to how language and culture affect each other. The aim of this study was to conduct a discourse analysis of these texts to identify cultural connotations, language trends, and insights regarding how the French language has evolved to communicate complex, dividing concepts …

“The Wonderful Improvement”: Landscape And Morals In Jane Austen’S Mansfield Park, Montanah Middleton

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how Jane Austen uses depictions of landscapes and estates in her novel Mansfield Park to explore questions of morality, comment on society, and explore humanity's relationship with the natural world. While previous scholarship has analyzed Austen's symbolic use of places like Sotherton and Mansfield Park itself, this study provides a more comprehensive investigation by closely reading the descriptions and judgments passed on two other estates featured in the novel not analyzed by the scholarship explored. Developing a nuanced definition of "landscape,” the analysis is grounded in Austen's verbal depictions that imbue the physical settings with moral significance. …

Beauty Beyond Barbed Wire: Chiura Obata’S Perspective Of The Horizon, Bri Carlson

Theses

Depictions of the environment are an integral part of American art history because they convey cultural relationships of all who inhabited the land. The environment is often a stagnant force that harbors lifetimes of human history. One of these histories is the incarceration of about 120,000 Japanese immigrants and American citizens in 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They were forced to evacuate their homes, lives, and families to live in detention centers and prison camps where living conditions were subpar. Many turned to art making to cope, and some artists used their work to silently protest and visually …