Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Advertising The West: The History Of La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros, Monique Davila

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

In February 1925, Tucson celebrated the first La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros with a three-day rodeo that ended with a huge parade through the city center. Created by Philadelphia-born and new resident of Tucson Frederick Leighton Kramer and other Tucson city boosters, the event became an annual fiesta with the hopes of not only promoting Tucson and a fundraiser for the University of Arizona’s newly established polo team, but also a way to share Kramer’s newfound enthusiasm for Tucson’s beauty and history. However, the history the fiesta presented centered around the Anglo-American pioneers of southern Arizona. This approach ignored the …

Legend Trips And Vernacular Film Theory: Spooky Encounters In Tiktok Mediated Legend Trips, Drew Holley

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

In this thesis I looked at how legend tripping is mediated through the affordances of new social technologies and apps, specifically TikTok. Short video formats allowed for folk cinematography to spread legend narratives and at the same time create more visual online landscapes for people to interact with. I defined folk cinematography as the way in which people make videos based on a vernacular level. This has been based on people having more access to video making tools and learning from informal patterns such as trends on sites like TikTok. Because of this, I explored how audiences participate in a …

The Community Connections Of St. John's Episcopal Church, Connor Murphy

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

St. John's has been an institution that stands for service and community in Logan, Utah for the past 150 years. During this time, many things have changed, but some have stayed the same. The goals of this exhibit are to show both the changes and consistent features of St. John's in its history and to share the story of a church that has done so much for the community. The attached paper is meant to engage with the academic community and the linked exhibit and digital archive collection is meant to provide a resource to the public where they can …

The Rise And Fall Of Elizabeth Holmes: Investigating Myths Within Media Coverage, Charlotte Emelia Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

When Elizabeth Holmes became the youngest female billionaire in 2014, news media framed her as the next Steve Jobs due to her similarities as a dropout, a passionate industry disruptor, and a visionary. When she was discovered as a fraud in 2018, coverage framed her as a feminine, seductive monster who duped everyone. I analyzed the media coverage in both years to uncover myths that guided these narratives and argue that these news frames contributed to the large interest in her rise and fall while also reinforcing harmful ways of thinking toward success and female leadership.

Righting Reproductive Wrongs: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Special Topoi In Alberto Fernández’S Pro-Voluntary Interruption Of Pregnancy Speeches, Kymberlie Crosby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The reproductive rights movement argues that abortion rights are fundamental and necessary for women to enjoy their human rights. Politicians opposed to abortion rights around the world have made it clear that they plan to ban abortion both statewide and nationwide. A country that has proven to be successful in defending its reproductive rights is Argentina. In 2020, the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill (Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo; IVE) democratically passed and legalized abortion throughout Argentina. Argentine President, Alberto Fernández, supported IVE and delivered a series of speeches over four years highlighting IVE and the progress that has succeeded each …

An Evaluation Of Authenticity: A Content Analysis Of K-6 Mandarin Matrix Textbooks For Chinese Dual Language Immersion Programs, Hsiaomei Tsai

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Authentic texts are suggested for building practical language skills that go beyond the classroom, helping language learners to communicate with native speakers. This study used content analysis and a teacher survey to examine how the Utah Chinese Dual Language Immersion (DLI) literacy curriculum, featuring the Grades K-6 Mandarin Matrix textbooks, reflects realistic Chinese language and culture. Additionally, this study explored the pedagogical value of these textbooks in Utah’s Chinese DLI programs via a teacher survey. The results showed high linguistic authenticity in word usage, order, and situations, consistently above 99% across Grades K to 6 books. Cultural authenticity, particularly in …

Siwa's Influence On Alexander The Great's Self-Presentation, Luke Boardman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis analyzes the changes in Alexander the Great’s public image and how his visit to the Oracle of Ammon was a catalyst for these alterations. Examining moments of Alexander in isolation, his adoption of ostentatious habits, and enrobing himself in foreign attire and culture reveals a connection to his time in the Egyptian desert where Alexander was promised eventual authority over all mankind. The post-Siwa Alexander used these tools to leave behind the Hellenistic leader and become the Lord of Asia.

Interpretations Of Aesthetic Experience And Its Enactment In High School Visual Arts Education, Kenneth Albert Dore

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation sought to identify interpretations of Aesthetic Experience (AE) of high school visual arts teachers and purposes of its facilitation in their classrooms. Five high school visual arts teachers within a large school district in West Texas were interviewed. A qualitative Hybrid Phenomenological Method was utilized to analyze the data consisting of a descriptive and an interpretive approach. The descriptive approach highlighted common and unique characteristics of aesthetic experience as interpreted by the teachers. An interpretive approach was also employed utilizing Aesthetic Critical Pedagogy, Feminist Theory, and Aesthetic Theory frameworks along with my 20-years-experience as a visual arts teacher. …

Border Soundscapes: Latinidad, Belonging, And Sense Of Place In The Paso Del Norte Region., Josã© Manuel Flores Fuentes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores the acoustic ecologies of the Juárez-El Paso border, investigating how soundscapes shape and reflect the cultural identity, sense of belonging, and sense of place within this unique transnational region. Guided by the theoretical lenses of belonging (Kohut, Tajfel, Turner, Hooks), sense of place (Feld & Basso), and habitus (Bourdieu), the research takes a phenomenological approach, informed by Merleau-Ponty's concepts of perception and Ceraso's notion of embodied listening. The study analyzes soundscape samples through Krause's categories of biophonies, geophonies, and anthropophonies, uncovering how these sounds contribute to the development of Latino identity and cultural cohesion in the borderlands.Focusing …

On An Unshakeable Foundation: An Archaeological Investigation Of The Postemancipation Black Community Of Bass Street, The Church They Built, And The Lasting Identity They Formed In Nashville, Tennessee, Clélie Elizabeth Cottle Peacock

Master's Theses

The Bass Street Community lived along the northern base of St. Cloud Hill in Nashville, just below the Civil War-era Union fortification, Fort Negley. The fort was built and defended by conscripted free, enslaved, and self-emancipated Black/African Americans and soldiers from the U.S. Colored Troops; some of whom stayed, built residences, founded a church, and established a shared community identity. The objects they left behind reflect a time of transition in the postemancipation urban South.

The former Bass Street Community enclave is a subset of the Fort Negley archaeological site (40DV189). My thesis examines artifacts from the Bass Street Baptist …

La Viuda Del Panamá -- A Sixteenth-Century Novel, Maria Cecilia Herrera Astua

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

La Viuda del Panamá es una novela histórica acerca de Sir Francis Drake y su amante, María Isabel Domínguez--una viuda mestiza de quien él se enamora cuando ella lo salva de una muerte segura. Isabel oculta su ascendencia india porque, en el pueblito Nombre de Dios, esa circunstancia es un pecado social. Mas al corregidor don Pedro—un viudo quien ha tenido un matrimonio infernal—no le interesa la pureza de sangre. Nacido en un hogar judeo-musulmán, don Pedro se enamora de Isabel desde el día en que ella lo atiende en la posada La Costeña y decide ofrecerle un futuro impensable …

Celebrating The Texas Centennial: A National Register Nomination For The Stone Fort Museum, Melanie Caddel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the 1920s, the idea of commemorating one hundred years of Texas independence sparked an interest in Texas history. Texas boosters held meetings leading up to the 1936 Texas Centennial and planned how to celebrate and bring public awareness to Texas history. In addition to the exposition in Dallas, many towns and cities across the state celebrated the 1936 Texas Centennial with smaller fairs, erected monuments, museums, restored historic buildings, and completed other projects. As a testament to local and state history, the Stone Fort Museum has lacked the national recognition it deserves as a representation of early Nacogdoches history …

The Fig Tree, Christopher Guevara

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

THE FIG TREE is a sonic representation of Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel The Bell Jar. Within the story, the character of Ether Greenwood describes a vision of a fig tree, a representation of all that was and can be. Within THE FIG TREE are the representations of Plath’s text. The piece is broken into three distinct parts, held together by the soloist bass clarinet line. The first section is a slow buildup, an arrival to the fig tree. The ostinato in the low brass and reeds represents a steep incline to the tree itself. The middle section is within the …

The Riddle Of Religious Language, Luke Hillman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following project analyzes religious life through the lens of religious language. Motivated by ideas of Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinians, religious language is shown to be nonsensical, and yet significant. Wittgenstein connects how we understand language with how we understand life, and this connection extends to religious life. This project offers an answer to how religious language is unique by comparing religious language to riddles and the process of answering riddles. In addition, religious language becomes understandable with imagination, a relationship with the transcendent, and an understanding of the kinds of language present in religious discourse. These ideas are solidified with …

Exploring The Dark And Gothic: An Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe And Nathaniel Hawthorne’S Gothic Elements In American Literature, Alejandra Serna

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the significant contributions of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne to the development of American Gothic literature. Poe’s stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat” are renowned for their psychological elements and exploration of the human psyche, while Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” questions the nature of evil as a universal human experience. By examining the ways in which these authors engage with themes of mental disorders, symbolism, and science versus nature, this thesis explores how such work by Poe and Hawthorne play in shaping the readers' understanding of the darker elements of American Gothic literature and its …

Itagaki Paru's Animalized Japan, Adoria Shanelle Walker

Dissertations and Theses

In the earlier works of manga artist and author Itagaki Paru, animal characters are used to prompt a discussion of the uchi/soto ("in-group"/"out-group") dynamic present in Japanese society. Throughout her most popular work, Beastars, and its supplemental short story collection Beast Complex, Itagaki tackles binary thinking and in-group versus out-group social politics using a blatantly obvious, yet nuanced and subtle herbivore-versus-carnivore, predator-versus-prey metaphor. The world she depicts in these works is full of misunderstandings caused by hastily made assumptions, sometimes instinctually quick. With her animalized characters, she explores human stigmatization and the poor treatment of those who do not want …

Mathematical Concepts And Coding Theory In Kumārasambhavam Of Kālidāsa, Bhuvaneswari K

Theses and Dissertations

Kālidāsa, a renowned Sanskrit poet and playwright from ancient India, is known for his profound understanding and depiction of various aspects of human life, nature, and the universe in his works. While his writings primarily revolve around themes of love, romance, and human emotions, there are several instances where he incorporates mathematical concepts and astronomical references.

His meticulous usage of such abstractions and symbolism adds depth and richness to his poetry. These elements serve as tools to enhance the imagery and aesthetics of his literary works, reflecting the interplay between art and science in ancient Indian culture. These subtle allusions …

Verlorene Heimat, Gefundene Leere - Michael Hanekes Trilogie Der Emotionalen Vergletscherung Und Die Nicht-Orte Des Alltags, Amber Lane

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

This work examines the incorporation of the concept of non-place in Michael Haneke's Trilogy of Emotional Glaciation (1989-1994) and its connection to elements of the Heimatfilm. The trilogy introduces the concept of non-place in urban or domestic settings while exploring the decay of human relationships and societal alienation. Despite individual stories, the films share a dark atmosphere and question human existence in an alienated world. Haneke's unique film style, characterized by long takes and minimalist aesthetics, is used to examine human behavior with emotional distance. This work sheds light on Haneke's contribution to the Austrian film tradition and contributes to …

Composition Portfolio, Axel Norman Velazquez Retif Altmann

Music ETDs

This composition portfolio consists of a series of works written during my master’s program at the University of New Mexico. Each chapter in this collection includes a brief description of its corresponding piece. The compositions featured in this portfolio are: 5 de mayo: La Batalla de Puebla (2023), Alir (2023), Taos (2022), and Atok (2023). Each composition in this portfolio not only represents a unique artistic vision but also illustrates the evolution of my compositional voice throughout my graduate studies. Through these works, I aim to contribute to the ongoing dialogue between tradition and modernity in contemporary music.

(Dis)Connecting Incommensurable Relationalities: Aesthetics Of Desirable Citizenship & Interethnic Solidarity In Vietnamese/American Diasporic Media, Anh A. T. Nguyen

Communication ETDs

Employing critical diasporic rhetoric to articulate the pull and push glimmer of essentialist and nationalistic agendas of constructing Vietnamese diasporic subjectivities, I elucidate the complicated structure of diasporic nationalism that gives shape to ambiguities, paradoxes, and contradictions of Vietnamese diasporic withdrawal and regroupment in interethnic politics. Through three case studies explicating Vietnamese diasporic responses to the Chinese virus rhetorics, the appearance of the South Vietnamese flag on January 6 Capitol grounds, and the Atlanta shootings in Saigon Broadcasting Television Networks (SBTN), I highlight how Vietnamese diasporic authorities perform and enact citizenships of becoming desirable, which elevates oppressive forces of ideological …

Grievability And The Contingency Of Life Value In Twenty-First-Century Science Fiction, Emily A. Reiff

English Language and Literature ETDs

Using Judith Butler’s framework of grievability, this dissertation explores twenty-first-century science fiction by British, Irish, and Caribbean authors whose novels grapple with legacies of colonialism and imperialism that relied on dehumanization and subjugation. Beginning with Sarah Maria Griffin’s Spare and Found Parts (2016), chapter one explores neocolonial rationales—purportedly based on health—which recreate colonial divisions of class and labor and enforce systems of diminishing grievability in a post-apocalyptic Irish context. Chapter two contends that Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun (2021) illustrates the danger inherent to value systems that center “normative” embodiment in worlds that reconfigure hypercapacitated human beings as the …

Eugenics And Feminism: The Reflections Of Two Ideologies In The Reproductive Policies Of The Nazi Regime, The Reunification Period, And Present-Day Germany, Sydney Reil

Undergraduate Honors Theses

German abortion law is restrictive for a Western European nation of strong economic standing and with relatively liberal social policy. Additionally, Germany is one of few Western European nations without an embryopathy indication, which allows for exceptional abortions in cases of fetal defects. The law (as it stands in 2024), has been immeasurably shaped by two ideologies, eugenics and feminism, and by modern Germany’s consideration of both the ideologies themselves, and of how they influenced the reproductive policies of the twentieth century. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the influences of eugenics and feminism on German reproductive law …

The Logical Reasoning Dilemma Of Llms: A Mapping Deficit In Representation Acquisition, Yiling Wu

Theses

Currently, Large Language Models (LLMs) based on the Generative Pre-trained Transformer architecture have made breakthroughs in multilingual language processing tasks and performed similar language processing capabilities to humans. However, their performance in dealing with tasks involving reasoning, especially logical reasoning, show significant shortcomings. In this paper, we argue that logical reasoning competence requires a certain type of representation acquisition capability. Based on this, in order to assess whether LLMs have the potential to overcome the shortcomings of their logical reasoning competence in their subsequent development, this work compares the representation acquisition processes of humans and LLMs. This comparison reveals that …

Resisting Exploitation: A Study Of Karen Joyce Warren’S Ecofeminist Ethic In The Selected Indian Movies, Kogila S

Theses and Dissertations

According to Warren, “The exploitation of nature and animals is justified by feminising them; the exploitation of women is justified by naturalising them” (EPWP 27). Women and nature have the same right to live independently. They are not meant for exploitation. However, patriarchy has long exploited them.

The changes are happening only in the ratio, not in the act of controlling. This research aims to study the undervalued state of women and others in nature concerning Warren's eight features of ecofeminist ethic in Indian movies, namely Harish Ram L's Thumbaa (2019), Amit Masurkar’s Sherni (2021), and Rathindran Prasad R’s Boomika …

A Friendship Of Two Prima Donnas: The Letters Of Adelina Patti To Giulia Valda, Jacquelyn Ancelet

LSU Master's Theses

Of the many prima donnas of the nineteenth century, Adelina Patti (1843–1919) stands out as one of the most successful, with a fifty-year international concertizing career. Biographers across multiple languages have covered her career in great depth, but devote little attention to her close friendships. Herman Klein (in The Reign of Patti [1920]) and John Cone (in Adelina Patti: Queen of Hearts [1993]), for instance, claim that Patti was known by many, but understood by few. One who does seem to have understood her and developed a close relationship with her was Giulia Valda (1850–1925), herself a professional singer, if …

Chinese Calligraphic Dance (Ccd) And Generative Arts: Phantom Of Utopia, Ka Hei Cheng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The intricate elements embedded in the pictorial, ideological, and semantic facets of Chinese characters find their origin in simple calligraphic gestures. This generative arts research and creative work elevates traditional two-dimensional Chinese calligraphy into a multidimensional realm in extended reality (XR) by translating it into a three-dimensional dance movement, integrating music and visual media. This transformation is achieved by decomposing the words into gestures and somaesthetic
movement/interaction, encoding the collective bodily expressions into a manifestation termed Chinese Calligraphic Dance (CCD). Within this dance form, the fusion of categorized and uncategorized gestures/movements is sonified through a motion tracking system, giving rise …

Imām Al-Baghawī (D. 516/1123): Tafsīr And Sunnism During The 11th-12th Centuries In Khurāsān, Nourhan Hassanein

Theses and Dissertations

A number of recent studies have focused on the intellectual trends and debates surrounding the formation of Sunnism in the 11-12th centuries. Academics have explored various currents within the intellectual and social context of Sunni Islam during the 11th-12th centuries. George Makdisi, Richard Bulliet, Jonathan Brown, Daphna Ephrat, Mohamed Eissa, and Ahmad Khan studied topics related to the educational system, the scholarly community, heresy and Sunni orthodoxy, legal studies, ḥadīth, and theology. However, the status of scholarship on works of tafsīr differs significantly. There are few studies concentrated on the classical period, such as works on the commentaries of al-Thaʿlabī …

Patriots Or Rebels: Ethical Debate Behind The American Revolution, Nicolette Falvo

History Department Theses

This paper, "Patriots or Rebels: Ethical Debate Behind the American Revolution," critically examines the justification and historical significance of the American Revolution. It argues that the motivations behind the revolutionary war and the colonists' outrage against British policies were complex and multifaceted, prompting scrutiny of the legitimacy of their actions. Central to this analysis is the colonists' deliberate choice to establish a democratic republic, diverging from the English monarchy, and an evaluation of the contemporary state of American governance. Drawing on Gordon S. Wood's "The Radicalism of the American Revolution," which highlights its transformative impact on American society and political …

Teeth, Chukwudaru Immaculata Michael

Dissertations and Theses

Teeth is an experimental novel draft that intricately weaves a non-linear narrative of the lives of two sisters, Lota and Jekein. Through their stories, the novel delves into the complex questions and experiences surrounding religious, patriarchal, and socio-political violence inflicted upon the female body and identity. Set in Nigeria, Teeth is presented by an omniscient narrator who offers critical perspectives on being, playing into the subtle nuances that define the lives of these women. The novel employs multiple points of view, echoing diverse perceptions of motherhood, nationalism, and belief in the context of authority and identity reclamation. Lota is depicted …

(Un, Made, Dumitru Michael Dobre

Dissertations and Theses

A novella length narrative experiment in form using the concept of the machine (and its operations) to constrain and arrange text visually in narrative spacetime. Through shifts in form and narrative content, the text addresses a variety of topics, including but not limited to: subjective versus objective experience; self conception and realization; deconstruction; relationality; human and non-human relationships; person and place; love; theories of societal acceleration and how the effects of this acceleration appear in 'daily life;' capitalist modes of production and commodification in late stage capitalism; hegemonic narratives and their disassembly; the question of the good life; resistance; refuges; …