Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Understanding Clay And Its Media Properties Through The Expressive Therapies Continuum, Anne Geisz

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

For centuries, clay has been used by civilizations to hold food, memories, and records of history. To this day, it is used by engineers, hobbyists, artists, art therapists and many more. This art based, heuristic study explores clay through the researcher’s ongoing practice with the material, within the framework of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) and examines how its unique media properties make it such a versatile material for both ceramic artists and art therapists. Results exhibit these unique media properties and clay’s ability to reach all levels of the ETC through collected data of images, journals, critiques, and notes. …

Melting Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder/ Premenstrual Exacerbation Symptoms With Metalsmithing: A Group Process, Maureen Bella Russo

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

People experiencing Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder/Premenstrual Exacerbation, PMDD/PME, frequently live with debilitating symptoms that can arrest their daily life functions (Barker-Smith, 2020). Finding art to process and transform painful emotions that align with PMDD/PME hormonal depression/anxiety, may assist in supporting people to keep choosing life, especially when these art practices involve group settings and community artmaking (Phillips & Rosal, 1989; Robb, 2022). Metalsmithing requires significant cognitive awareness and promotes mind/body connections in its elemental art form (Carlson, 2015). This proposal outlines a group process involving 8-12 people who will receive a beginner’s metalsmithing, 12-week studio art program at Hyde Park Arts …

How Can Pastors Who Are Working With Youth In Tanzania Help Youth Resolve Christian-Muslim Tensions?, Ombeni Martin Ulime

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.

Theological Foundations For Shobi's Table Extending Hospitality In Hunger Ministry, Esther Kristianti Sianipar

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.

Love And Politics: A Convergent Reading Of Hegel’S Philosophy Of Right And Kierkegaard’S Works Of Love, Andrés Roberto Albertsen

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This dissertation got its start when I realized that a convergent reading of Hegel and Kierkegaard may be possible on the topic of love and politics. That is not a capricious topic, but one that has become central in contemporary political philosophy besides being at the heart of what Christianity is about, and I will address it with the goal of making love politically operative today. So, before I immerse myself into Hegel and Kierkegaard, I will investigate some contemporary political philosophers who, although with different perspectives, agree that love is a significant concept for philosophy and politics: Roberto Mangabeira …

Reading Karl Barth's Trinitarian Theology Of Freedom In The Sociopolitical Context Of Chin Christianity, Tawk Lian

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This thesis argues that the act of reading Barth’s Trinitarian theology of freedom in the Chin context helps the Chin to acquire a new understanding of the Trinity, which reminds them of how the triune God stands in solidarity with them in their hard situation and how the triune God gives them freedom, which empowers them to engage their sociopolitical environment in a positive way. The sense of this Trinitarian logic requests the Chin evangelical and ecumenical Christians to appropriate the implications of Barth’s Trinitarian theology for reshaping their Trinitarian misperceptions underlined by the tendency to perceive the Trinity in …

Conflicting Ethe In _Anna Karenina_: A Reexamination Of Tolstoy’S Complex Female Protagonist, Hannah Diles

Honors Theses

Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina depicts the world as an endless array of choices and experiences to which one assigns meaning to. His characters, like real people, must navigate their world of complex ethical systems using their own moral ethos. Readers and critics alike critique Anna as a heroine for living out her moral ethos, pitting it against the social and feminist ethos of late 19th century upper class Russian society. Anna’s story is either interpreted as a cautionary tale or Anna is portrayed as a feminist heroine who tragically died for love. Throughout this paper, I argue that Anna is …

Little Cricket On The Hearth: The Quiet Feminism Of _Little Women_, Caroline Anderson Klein

Honors Theses

Since the advent of the cult of domesticity, the stakes for female characters in domestic literature have been notoriously high. There was no room for flaws, rebellious decisions, and certainly no room for mistakes—whether of the woman’s own accord, or simply as collateral damage of a male character’s immorality. In this shallowly Calvinist domain, women were never more than one broken guardrail away from social ruin or death. In writing Little Women, Louisa May Alcott breaks these molds through unflinching kindness to her female characters from childhood to adulthood, even unto death. Alcott achieves this quietly feminist feat by …

Eliciting A Syncopated Response From An Ensemble, Thomas Trautman

Dissertations

This dissertation began the process of aggregating available knowledge on the subject of eliciting a syncopated response from a musical ensemble from professors of conducting and conducting textbooks, searching for commonalities, and distilling them into several independent variables which can then be quantitatively tested in an experimental or quasi-experimental setting in future research.

Participants (n = 11) were Directors of Choral Activities, or any other job title with similar responsibilities, at universities which confer doctoral degrees in Choral Conducting. Each participant was required to have a different educational background than every other participant. Participants were given 15 examples of …

Camp À La Campagne: Francis Poulenc’S Les Animaux Modèles, C.J. Everett

Dissertations

Francis Poulenc’s ballet Les Animaux modèles [The model animals] premiered in 1942 at the Paris Opéra during the German occupation of Paris to favorable reviews from prominent voices in the Parisian musical scene. Set in the French countryside (la campagne) in the seventeenth century, the ballet is a seemingly honest depiction of quaint rural life. To create the short vignettes that comprise the work, Poulenc (1899–1963) adapted well-known fables of the poet Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95). Existing discussions of Les Animaux modèles primarily focus on the ballet’s conception during World War II and the political implications of …

Final Master's Portfolio, Savannah Packman

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio uses Marxist and feminist film theory to analyze various forms of visual media. It analyzes Mark Mylod's film The Menu (2022), Julie Taymor's film Across the Universe (2007), the historic V-J Day Kiss photograph, and popular TikTok videos. This portfolio focuses on the impact of capitalism in the political and economic sphere. It also analyzes images of women throughout history and critiques how these images have been used to formulate the American body politic.

Navigating Identity Through Education In Literature And In The Classroom, Sofia Sakzlyan

English (MA) Theses

This thesis explores the intricate relationship between education, identity formation, and oppression, drawing from psychosocial and sociocultural perspectives. I delve into how education serves as a critical arena where individuals encounter various internal psychological conflicts and external social influences that shape their sense of self. By analyzing the perspectives of writers such as Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Kate Chopin Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Erin Gruwell, the thesis seeks to answer how education impacts the self and how it intersects with systems of oppression. Furthermore, I explore the role of education in fostering critical consciousness and empowerment, particularly in the face …

Gentile Foods: Rabbinic Prohibitions And The Fear Of Intermarriage, David Raab

Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a history of halakhah which looks to evidence from both within and outside of rabbinic literature to explain the provenance of a particular phenomenon. It suggests, contra traditional and academic understanding, that the original rationale behind the rabbinic prohibitions of eating Gentile bread and certain Gentile cooking was concern over the possible admixture of biblically impermissible ingredients, including idolatrous wine. It was only in Babylonia, possibly around the end of the amoraic period, that the rabbis added mišum ḥatnut, the fear of intermarriage, as the rationale for the prohibition of eating Gentile bread (but not cooking), thus …

The New Westward Expansion: Settler Colonialism And Gentrification In Paula Fox’S Desperate Characters And Kali Fajardo-Anstine’S Sabrina And Corina, Miranda Roberts

English (MA) Theses

This thesis explores two underexplored works of gentrification literature—Paula Fox’s novel, Desperate Characters (1970) and Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s short story collection, Sabrina & Corina (2019). Desperate Characters offers a nuanced and critical examination of characters with privilege who move into Brooklyn in the 1960s, which involves the displacement of Black and Latinx communities; Fajardo-Anstine’s collection introduces Denver as a site of dramatic gentrification in the new century, by portraying Latinx characters from older neighborhoods who must adjust to the disintegration and cohesiveness of their communities in the face of gentrification. In my discussion of these works, I draw from pre-existing scholarship …

Einstein's Dream By Cindy Mctee: An Analysis And Transcription For Wind Ensemble, Kyle Aufderhar

Dissertations

Cindy McTee’s 2005 composition for strings, percussion, and computer music is an exploration in pluralism, combining newly composed music and computer-synthesized sounds with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles Ives. McTee’s initial use of Bach’s music comprises the complete harmonization of the chorale “Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott.” In later sections of the work, McTee creates entire textures from the chorale’s soprano line, subjecting it to a variety of treatments including augmentation, diminution, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion. In addition to the inclusion of his music, McTee reiterates the importance of Bach through composition that relies on …

The Saudi Government's Response To Covid-19: A Social Media Analysis, Raghad Sonbul

Dissertations

In 2020, COVID-19 invaded the world and caused massive losses, materially, morally, and psychologically. Countries worldwide tried to mitigate the damages by taking strict precautionary measures. The response of governments to this pandemic varied. This study explored the Saudi government’s response to the pandemic by examining its official Twitter accounts. Saudi Arabia holds an important position, economically, politically, and religiously. Thus, its response to COVID-19 affects its international image and reputation, as well as the tremendous number of people who visit the country annually during the Umrah and Hajj seasons. A qualitative content analysis was conducted, and 1,007 tweets posted …

Charting The Stars: Hypatia Of Alexandria For Solo Violin And Chamber Wind Ensemble, Amanda S. Ellery

Music Graduate Theses

This is a score and analysis of Charting the Stars: Hypatia of Alexandria which is for Solo Violin and Chamber Winds. This piece is a single movement tone poem representing Hypatia of Alexandria’s life. The piece has six sections, and each represents a different part of Hypatia’s life, leading to her violent murder. The first section represents Hypatia’s childhood learning. The second section represents Hypatia growing into a respected philosopher. Next represented is Hypatia’s connection to Neoplatonism, followed by a section that represents Hypatia’s life as a public philosopher and political advisor. The fifth section shows political and religious conflict …

Into The Center: A Descriptive Study For Understanding The Post-Pandemic Tutor Experience At Butler University’S Writers’ Studio, Hannah Salsbery

English Graduate Theses

University writing centers have become an important part of higher education, as the peer-to-peer tutoring model allows for student writers and tutors to collaborate throughout the writing process in ways that promote individualized learning. The Butler University Writers’ Studio is no exception; however, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic can still be felt on it, as on many university campuses and student populations. This descriptive project uses focus groups and survey data to suggest ways the tutoring experience at the Butler University Writers’ Studio has changed since the pandemic. While the tensions that may find their way into a writing …

Music In The Sky Like Bombers: Representations Of Airplanes In Interwar Futurist Music, W. E. Cooke

Music Graduate Theses

Since its founding in 1909 by F. T. Marinetti, the artistic movement of futurism gathered momentum as a politically charged avant-garde that challenged tradition and day-to-day life while promoting nationalism, war, and complete artistic expression. Marinetti and his artistic movement followed fascisms’ slow march to power through multiple aesthetic phases, beginning with the study of movement through plastic dynamism (1909-1919), engaging with speed and controlled power through machine aesthetics (1920-1929), cumulating with the more mystical aeroaesthetics (1929-1944), which Marinetti described as “the daughter of fascist aviation and Italian Futurism.”

This posturing was not done merely in support of fascism. In …

A Zipfian Distribution Of Sets In Honor Of The James Webb Space Telescope, Timothy D. Blaisdell

Music Graduate Theses

A Zipfian Distribution of Sets in Honor of the James Webb Space Telescope is a trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano. The piece aims to celebrate the accomplishments of several international teams responsible for the completion of the JWST, as well as honor the spirit of human space exploration as it works to reveal the universe to us. Each movement is titled after one of the images that NASA released in July 2022. The first is The First Deepfield which captures the broad expanse of space full of speckled galaxies twisting under the effects of gravitational lensing. The second is …

Faith Seeking Understanding: A Comparative Study Of Herman Bavinck And Wolfhart Pannenberg On The Doctrine Of Revelation, Jin Li

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation builds upon John Bolt’s suggestion that Wolfhart Pannenberg’s work can be utilized to extend and further elaborate upon Herman Bavinck’s efforts in outlining the fundamental contours of a philosophy of revelation. It focuses on various themes related to the doctrine of revelation to examine the theological and metaphysical frameworks of Bavinck and Pannenberg. Through a comparative analysis of their theoretical approaches, this study aims to offer a fresh, comprehensive perspective on the doctrine of revelation, highlighting their shared metaphysical foundations and the synthesis of orthodox and modern thought.

In this research, I explore the motifs and frameworks of …

To Excavate An Absence, Margaret Compton

Graduate Theses

This thesis is an exploration of memory’s fluctuating aspects, utilizing natural materials and casting processes to create a sculptural body of work deeply rooted in materialized metaphor. Examining the relationship between mold and cast, part and whole, and interior and exterior, I utilize casting as a framework to understand the duality of remembering and forgetting. Memories, much like the natural landscape, are ephemeral, fading, and fracturing over time. Both external environments and internal mental landscapes share the common language of erosion, existing as present or absent, remembered or forgotten. Conestee Nature Preserve in Mauldin, South Carolina, serves as my “site” …

Girl Rot, Maddie Foss

Graduate Theses

Does individual identity curate our personal environments, or do environmental variables infiltrate the idea of selfhood? My work is a journey of questioning the origins of selfhood while simultaneously trying to understand identity through the lens of the physical world and online landscapes that influence me. Through an examination of identity work, the history of pop culture icons, and online aesthetics, my artwork is immersed in gender, sexuality, and media study conversations that help me better understand myself and others that heavily engage online. I am an interdisciplinary artist working in digital drawings, collages, and installations with my media reflecting …

Scare If You Dare: A Look Into Scare Acting, Hana Goss

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Scare acting has always been the unsung villains of the entertainment industry. For three months of the year, for about five minutes of a haunted house, they get attention. However, the work scare actors do to is way more than just a five second “boo.” Scare actors have been at the beginning of theatre and continue to influence modern entertainment. Even though the patrons may be the ones feeling the danger, scare actors may be even more in danger than them. Each scare actor is unique from their looks to their moves. It might be take a lot of nerve …

Chat Is This Real? Perceived Authenticity Of #Naturecore Via Tiktok Comments, Anna Madison

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand how people perceive the authenticity of nature-based TikTok content by analyzing the comments left on videos that featured the hashtag #naturecore. Comments posted on relevant videos were observed using qualitative content analysis to evaluate how people use comments to express perceptions of authenticity. Prior literature on the perceived authenticity of mass-oriented computer mediated communication was used to inform decisions made during data analysis. Of the 138,389 comments collected as data, 1,031 were identified as relevant for this scope of this study. The final sample was analyzed using constant comparison to establish codes …

The Effects Of Student Choice On Motivation And Writing Skills, Laura Annunziata

Master's Theses

This mixed methods action research study investigates the potential effects of student choice on motivation and academic performance in writing-based assignments in a fourth-grade classroom. Baseline data was collected prior to implementation of student choice writing activities and then used to compare writing samples collected post intervention. The baseline data suggests that students’ attitudes towards autonomy are positive. Having choices was important to them and helped them learn better. However, data also indicates that while students were motivated to write using choice, many of the reading and writing competency scores dropped during journal entry writing samples. Data shows that while …

Implementing Music To Increase Elementary Student Focus, Kathryn Garceau

Master's Theses

This action research project used a mixed methods design to address the effect of different types of music on student focus while performing an independent task. Despite its success with memorization, does music work equally as well on student focus? Data was collected over a period of three weeks for 30 minutes each morning for 5 days each week. The music played while students completed the task changed each week. This included lyrical songs during week one, classical music during week two, and instrumental versions of songs students knew the lyrics to during week three. Four behavior markers were observed …

An Exploration Of Procedural Methods In Game Level Design, Hector Salinas

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Video games offer players immersive experiences within intricately crafted worlds, and the integration of procedural methods in game level designs extends this potential by introducing dynamic, algorithmically generated content that could stand on par with handcrafted environments. This research highlights the potential to provide players with engaging experiences through procedural level generation, while potentially reducing development time for game developers.

Through a focused exploration on two-dimensional cave generation techniques, this paper aims to provide efficient solutions tailored to this specific environment. This exploration encompasses several procedural generation methods, including Midpoint Displacement, Random Walk, Cellular Automata, Perlin Worms, and Binary Space …

We Who Are Not As Others: Costuming The Godspell Ensemble As Historical Circus Performers, Anderson Palmer

Theatre Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the Bible as well as circus history and American history to determine the most effective way to design costumes for the musical Godspell by John-Michael Tebelak for a modern audience. The aim of all of this research is to re-center Tebelak’s original inspiration: The Feast of Fools by Harvey Gallagher Cox. Over the years since the premiere of Godspell in 1970, it has become heavily associated with hippies rather than clowns, despite the importance of clowns and clowning to the play’s inception.

Taking inspiration from primary research of circus performers, religious iconography, and early 20^th century …

Identity And Contextual Theology In Late Twentieth Century Taiwan: A Study Of Huang Po-Ho’S Chhut-Thau-Thin Theology And Chow Lien-Hwa’S Chinese Indigenous Theology, Yu-Huei Huang

Yale Divinity School Theses

The historical context of twentieth-century East Asia led to divergent national identities among Taiwanese people, shaping the contextual and indigenous theologies developed by Taiwan-based theologians during the latter half of the century. These theologies were grounded in distinct historical narratives, inherited diverse theological visions, and employed varied motivations, goals, and methodologies. This thesis examines the theological contributions of Dr. Huang Po-ho (b. 1952) and Rev. Dr. Chow Lien-hwa (1920–2016), two key figures from Taiwan’s two major Protestant communities, to illuminate the theological landscape of late twentieth-century Taiwan. Huang’s Chhut-Thau-Thiⁿtheology reflects Shoki Coe’s emphasis on theological decolonization and C. …