Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Perspective, Invention, And Metatheater In Renaissance Literature, William Roudabush

English Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation challenges the misconception of post-Reformation England as iconophobic. On the contrary, it argues that early modern English poets and playwrights adapt Continental theories and techniques from painting, translating them into their own poetic and dramatic forms. It explores how allusions to contemporary perspectival images serve as governing metaphors and structural devices for the works in which they appear. Particularly in the genre of the Elizabethan epyllion and in works by Shakespeare, it suggests that texts are designed to be read “perspectively,” to borrow Shakespeare’s coinage, so that they are open to ambiguity and multiplicity, and capable of being …

The Implications Of Venus In The Interwar Oeuvre Of James Guy, Emily Cooper

Theses

American Social Surrealist James Guy was a Communist proletarian artist who created works of art that depicted the social inequities he witnessed and experienced during the Great Depression. As a working-class artist, Guy painted images of daily life with recognizable and accessible iconography that allowed his fellow manual laborers to relate to the depicted scene. Guy distorted commonplace experiences through the filter of Surrealism to create absurd, illogical, and nightmarish environments to critique contemporary society. Guy worked to spark the realization of the viewer that they were subjected to the same injustices as the figures in his paintings. In this …

An Analysis Of The Suitability Of Philosophy As A Core K-12 Public School Subject, Mark Christopher Blythe

Doctor of Education (EdD)

In 2005 Michael Katz invited philosophers of education to reinvigorate the inquiry into what is required to provide a proper education for everyone to lead a productive life. In the literature review, I analyze the suitability of philosophy in teaching K-12 students how to think and reason logically—essential abilities for a productive life. I also examine the educational landscape through the philosophy of Nicholas Rescher’s Cognitive-Values Theory and address the value of learning philosophy. I present a Philosophical Dialectic that shows how epistemic diversity (aporetic clusters) justifies making philosophy a K-12 core subject while analyzing philosophers’ reasons for including philosophy …

Dong Qing Fang’S Musical Depiction Of Lin Chong: An Analysis Of Chinese Traditional Music Elements In His Cello Composition Of 2009, Congcong Bi

Doctoral Projects

Dong Qing Fang (b. 1981) is a prolific composer of cello music. His contribution includes twenty compositions, many of which have been performed around the world.[1] While Fang is the most famous composer in China as well as a leading figure of recent music, his compositions have not been recognized world-wide. This project focuses on his representative cello composition Lin Chong (2009). Lin Chong is a significant character in Chinese literature, known for his role in the classic novel, Water Margin (1524). Fang's musical portrayal of Lin Chong's life incorporates elements of Chinese traditional music.

The methodology for this …

A Historic Supernova: The Paintings Of Fernando De Szyszlo, 1959 To 1973, Samuel Rushing

Art History Theses and Dissertations

With a career spanning seven decades, Peruvian artist Fernando de Szyszlo garnered domestic and international acclaim for his specific of abstract art, which melded together a multitude of source materials, from the techniques and compositional structures of European and American modernism to pre-Columbian indigenous visual and material culture and other Latin American modernists, such as Rufino Tamayo and Joaquín Torres-García. This thesis will focus attention on a specific time period, 1959 to 1973, during which he stridently applied this melding process, in combination with titles that specifically related indigenous subject matter. What that melding or synthesis process and its many …

Best Bible Study Methods For Discipleship Formation: How Bible Study As A Spiritual Discipline Shapes Believers, Sandy Chery

Master of Divinity (MDiv)

Because the Christian faith depends upon Christ's life, teachings, death, and resurrection, believers should strive to become more like Him daily. In this regard, the late theologian C.S. Lewis would argue that every Christian should become a “little Christ.” According to research conducted by Barna Research Group, four of five Christians list personal spiritual development and having a deep commitment to Christ as a priority. However, only one in five Christians is involved in any spiritual development activities outside of attending church services. Thus, few Christians are actually investing energy into their spiritual growth. Discipleship formation, known interchangeably as spiritual …

Church Campus Enhancement For Maximum Ministry Effectiveness: Research Project, Denny R. Duron Jr.

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The modern church in America needs to recapture the sacredness and significance of its facility to enhance its message, ministry, and mission in the community. The goal of this research study is to explore the benefits of church facilities designed to inspire and influence people to follow Christ. Jesus promised us, “For where two or three gather in my name, I am there with them” (Matt 18:20). In one sense of the word, a church campus is a representation of Christ in the community. Therefore, facilities management is the proper stewardship of our ministry. The mission that Jesus gave the …

Pentecostal Health: The Intentionality Of Being A Spirit-Filled Ministry, Johnny L. Manning

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The premise of this research project asserts that a disconnect exists between what Pentecostal churches profess to believe and what is experienced and practiced by their congregations. The purpose of this project was to discover if this disconnect exists. Secular philosopher Franz Brentano popularized the concept of intentionality. Jesus demonstrated intentionality regarding the partnership with the Holy Spirit and his followers, expecting them to be empowered with the Holy Spirit for Christian living and witness. Jesus always intended for his Church to be filled with Pentecostal people. Jesus’ intention can be perceived by observing what He said about the Holy …

Appropriated Voices: William Blake’S “The Little Black Boy” And British Antislavery Poetry, Brett J. Mattson

All NMU Master's Theses

British antislavery poetry in the late 1700s is well characterized by the first stanza of William Blake’s poem “The Little Black Boy” when his black speaker says “o! my soul is white; … But I am black as if bereav’d of light” (2-4). These statements that seem to exclude each other exemplify the discussions and arguments that antislavery poets had been publishing and would continue to deliberate after “The Little Black Boy” was printed in 1789. Other poets, while appropriating the voices of enslaved people or Africans, as Blake does in “The Little Black Boy,” often emphasize differences between their …

Lifting The Postmodern Veil: Cosmopolitanism, Humanism, And Decolonization In Global Fictions Of The 21st Century, Matthew Burchanoski

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation traces the shared concerns of globalism, cosmopolitanism, humanism, and decolonization through a selection of 21st century Anglophone Literature while I explore what each says about a contested contemporary literary era. I analyze four novels – Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost (2000), David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas (2004), Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010), and Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013) – and consider how they wrestle, implicitly and explicitly, with the history of the 21st century and its effect on formal innovation and literary periodization. To do so, I look at humanism, cosmopolitanism, …

Nepantla And Mestizaje: A Phenomenological Analysis Of The Mestizx Historical Consciousness, Jorge Alfredo Montiel

Dissertations (1934 -)

My dissertation consists of two main Parts. Part I draws from Edmund Husserl’s notion of the “historical a priori” and from seminal decolonial thinker Anibal Quijano’s formulation of “coloniality” to offer a framework for what I call the “coloniality of history.” Chapter 1 draws from Husserl’s and from contemporary analyses of the “historical a priori” as a historical horizon of conceivability for subject and truth formation. Chapter 2 brings this phenomenological analysis to interpret Quijano’s formulation of “coloniality” as a historical horizon of conceivability and to offer a framework for what I call the “coloniality of history.” This framework shows …

Existential Thomism And The Ecstasy Of The Sexed Body, Kathleen Cavender-Mccoy

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation assesses the relevance and significance of Norris Clarke’s existential Thomism to critiques of John Paul II’s theology of the body. I argue that using existential Thomism as a basis for Catholic metaphysics opens the door for an existential theology of the sexed body, a theology of the individual on a unique spiritual journey towards union with God which amends, expands, and nuances the existing theology of the ecstatic body developed by John Paul II. Chapter One situates my thesis within its historical context by tracing philosophical and theological developments which inform the current status of embodied sexual difference …

The First Peoples Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of Texas And Northern Mexico: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Defining The Paleoindian Period, Starr Elena Hein

Theses and Dissertations

The archaeological record of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and northern Mexico is poorly understood. There are few excavated sites at which Paleoindian cultural materials have been found, and in these cases the context is uncertain. In order to better understand the Paleoindian period, projectile points that reside in private collections are documented, and the time period they are assigned to, based on absolute dating from surrounding regions, is used to cross-date local materials. This is limited by the lack of named typology for Upper Paleolithic materials in the Americas. Clovis is well represented in the Lower Rio …

The Universality Of God In Amo’S Oracles And Creation: A Historical-Critical Approach Within A Catholic Context, Alexandra Bochte

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In the Old Testament, the Israelite nation is identified as a chosen people of God and in a covenantal relationship with him. This thesis will argue that the Noahide covenantal relationship extends to more than just the Israelites such that all creation is in a covenant with the universal God. This is supported through an exploration of Ancient Near Eastern literature and its similarities with biblical stories. Exegetical analyses of Psalms and prophetic biblical literature will further demonstrate God’s universality and will elucidate what it means to be in a covenantal relationship with God. When there is relationship there must …

Ecumenical Traditions: Byzantine And Franciscan Theology In Dialogue, Gino G. Grivetti

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis investigates the convergences between the Byzantine and Franciscan traditions in the areas of hagiography, mysticism, and dogmatic theology. Historically marginalized in the neo-scholastic synthesis of the nineteenth century, the closeness of Patriarch Bartholomew (b. 1940) and Pope Francis (b. 1936) has symbolized the significance of this dialogue in the modern ecumenical movement. The anonymous bios of St. Nilus of Rossano (d. 1005) and the first vita of St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226) by Thomas of Celano (d. 1260) are representative of the hagiographical traditions of the Italo-Byzantine monks and the early Franciscans. The traditions came into direct …

Becoming A Man: Concepts Of Writing Witness And Masculinity For Black Adolescent Males In Children’S And Young Adult Literature, Chelsea Danielle Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the black male has had the world at his back, from the moment he stepped onto American soil, kidnapped and enslaved, the pressures to be a “good man” as a student or eventually as a father, to the need to “be somebody” as a proud American citizen, a human. In my dissertation, I evaluate further the position of the adolescent black male through the lens of young adult literature. The framework of a young adult novel is grounded in the experience of youth and adolescence rather than in adulthood and its nostalgic tendencies. The young black male experience and …

A Girl And Her Knife: A Feature-Length Screenplay, Alyssa C. Sandoval

Theses and Dissertations

A Girl and Her Knife is a dramatic screenplay written to promote inclusivity and empowerment of U.S. Chicanas in mainstream Hollywood. Once her grandmother dies, the protagonist, Luisa Fregoso, learns about her family’s history through her grandmother’s journal entries. Luisa’s grandmother, Ana, ensured Luisa became successful as an independent woman who understood she didn’t need love from a man. Luisa learned self-autonomy and self-liberation at a young age, but always struggled with love. Ultimately, her deceased grandmother continues to guide Luisa, but in a dangerous and dark way. The screenplay defies Hollywood’s traditional gender and cultural standards through distinctly written …

Analysis Of The Appointment, Experiences, And Job Satisfaction Of Leaders In Large Schools Of Music, Claire Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about how male and female middle-level leaders in schools of music come into their leadership roles, how they distribute their time among responsibilities, and how the distribution of time or other factors impact their professional identities, creative activities, and job satisfaction. Quantitative, self-reported survey data collected on music leaders in large schools of music and qualitative data collected from a panel discussion with representative leaders were used to analyze the five research questions in this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study. An analysis of the relationship between the two variables, gender and method of entry, showed a weak association. …

Injury Prevention Exercise Guidelines For Flutists, Ziqing Guan

Theses and Dissertations

Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) have long been a common topic among performing musicians. There are studies of PRMDs specific to flutists, but not much detailed guidance of playing-related injury prevention has been provided. As increasing numbers of students have taken up the flute in recent years, PRMDs in flutists have become more of a concern. However, large numbers of flutists are still lacking education on prevention of PRMDs. The purpose of this document is to help flutists better understand the major muscle groups that we use in playing the flute, how these muscles are affected by flute-playing, and to introduce …

Archetypes Revisited: Investigating The Power Of Universals In Soviet And Hollywood Cinema, Iana Guselnikova

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the concept of archetypes in Soviet and Hollywood films, drawing perspectives from ancient philosophy and the thought of Carl Jung and post-Jungians. While psychoanalysis provides a valuable framework for understanding the human psyche and the idea of archetypes, it has its limitations and gaps that require further exploration. To address these issues, this paper proposes the adoption of a structuralist approach, with reference to the work of Vladimir Propp on the morphology of the fairy tale. Incorporating Propp's ideas can complement psychoanalytic theory and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying patterns and structures that shape …

Disco Murder City, Caleb Bethea

Theses and Dissertations

Disco Murder City is a slasher detective story haunted by sleep paralysis demons. The plot, characters, genre conventions, and prose blur, bend, rotate, and break as an animation artist named Netti sets out to pin down the killer knifing kids down at the disco—by catering to his addiction of stealing masks from demons. The trauma of a sleep paralysis demon outbreak across the city has sent the youth to revive dead clubs. Through Netti’s meandering through the mystery, he grapples with addiction recovery, past trauma, and arbitrary guilt. He ends the novel by trading in his eccentric fur coat for …

Teaching About Transfer: Making The Invisible Visible Through Explicit Instruction, Brittany Morgan Capps

Theses and Dissertations

Transfer of learning—or the act of adapting previously learned knowledge to new contexts—is an inherently complex process made even more mystifying by its often unconscious and therefore “invisible” occurrence. Writing, too, is a complicated activity that depends on and responds to a number of internal and external factors. Transferring writing knowledge, then, is a challenging task for writers of all experience levels. Researchers in writing studies have designed curricula intended to help college students transfer writing skills, knowledge, and practices from the writing classroom to other disciplinary and workplace contexts. Those teaching for transfer (TFT) and writing about writing (WAW) …

Breaking Down The Human: Disintegration In Nineteenth-Century Fiction, Benjamin Mark Driscol

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation brings together nineteenth-century texts written by Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Gustave Flaubert, Benito Pérez Galdós, Rachilde, and Oscar Wilde in order to trace a common thread weaving in and out of literature produced during this period: the theme of corporeal disintegration and its psychic and social ramifications. Each of the analyzed works considers the human condition from diverse perspectives and portrays the breakdown in interpersonal relationships as characters become estranged from society and each other. Of course, the examples considered here are canonical ones widely discussed in criticism—some of them as forebears of literary Modernism, for which …

Colored Lawyer, Topeka: The Legend And Legacy Of Elisa Scott, Jeffery Scott Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Attorney Elisha Scott’s reputation for fighting injustice grew so large he received letters addressed only, “Colored Lawyer, Topeka, Kansas.” He was born in obscurity in 1890, but his death made national news in 1963. Scott’s story may not be known at all if his name was not often listed as counsel in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that desegregated public schools. But it was his sons who filed the case and helped fight it from Topeka to the United States Supreme Court. He was never officially part of the legal team. He had, however, won a …

Comprehensive Method For Clarinet Latin American Music Heritage Case Study – Venezuela, Carmen Teresa Borregales

Theses and Dissertations

Latin American music and music-making have much to offer in their performance traditions and richness of genres, which demand technical proficiency and musicianship. In particular, some contemporary new music for clarinet carries traditional elements, including rhythmic patterns, accentuation, articulation, harmonic progressions, and instrumentation, among others. This study proposes an innovative approach to technical practice and skill development for clarinet, based on twelve etudes for clarinet, commissioned from twelve outstanding Venezuelan composers who explore Venezuelan traditional music genres. The results represent a comprehensive method for clarinet, appropriate for advanced-level players, and its application to pedagogical and performance practices.

From Roland To Gawain, Or The Origin Of Personified Knights, Clyde Tilson

Theses and Dissertations

Though there is a lot of work on the development of the novel, there has not been sufficient analysis of how it was formed, especially the shift towards the modern protagonist. By analyzing two medieval works, one from the early medieval period and one from the middle of the medieval period, the seeds of this shift can be seen. The works chosen were La chanson de Roland and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as both have knights with fairly similar expectations, and both have been enduring characters in their respective national identities and literatures. Both Roland and Gawain, being …

Luis Abraham Delgadillo: A Rediscovery Of His Piano Music, Fanarelia Auxiliadora Guerrero López

Theses and Dissertations

Luis Abraham Delgadillo (1884–1961) is one of the most representative Nicaraguan musicians from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Works such as his Sinfonía Indígena (Indigenous Symphony), Suite Teotihuacán (Teotihuacán Suite), and Sinfonía Incaica(Incaic Symphony) positioned him as one of the most important composers and pianists from Latin America. He had great success during his career as a composer and toured North America and South America extensively during the 1930s and 1940s. During these visits, he had many of his works performed, and met other influential composers and musicians such as Carlos Chavez, Amadeo Roldán, Aaron Copland, Arthur …

The Post-Tonal Evolution Of David Diamond: A Theoretic-Analytical Perspective, William John Ton

Theses and Dissertations

David Leo Diamond (1915–2005) was a prolific and highly esteemed American composer whose works were premiered by such notable conductors as Dimitri Mitropoulos, Eugene Ormandy, Serge Koussevitzky, Leonard Bernstein, and Gerard Schwarz. In addition to his significant output and a large circle of famous friends and professional acquaintances, his sphere of influence also included his tenure as professor of composition at the Juilliard School where he worked from 1973 until 1997. His impressive roster of students includes distinguished composers such as Lowell Liebermann, Eric Whitacre, and Vivian Fung. Despite his stature as a composer, however, there is a surprising lack …

Trinitarian Theology As A Resource For The Theology Of Education, Anne Bullock

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The character of Catholic education has been variously described but is often associated with educating the whole person, a statement that is usually inadequately explored. In the first place, this “holistic” approach is often reduced to character education, which is an insufficient explanation of what makes Catholic schools distinctive. Moreover, the approach relies on a dense theological account of the human person, which can make it difficult to integrate into the daily reality of school life. This thesis critiques some insufficient approaches to Catholic education in light of the Church’s vision for education, beginning with Vatican II and Gravissimis Educationis …

Effective Leader Development Within A Church-Planting Organization For A Changing And Chaotic World, Jeremy Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A challenge in cross-cultural church planting is developing leaders. Cross-cultural church-planting organizations like Latin American Mission (LAM; pseudonym) that lack a leadership development strategy struggle to form lasting leaders, sending missionaries with Biblical training but not leader development training. Additionally, developing leaders in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment creates specific challenges that missionaries must address. The purpose of this qualitative, Delphi method study was to investigate the leadership development perceptions and experiences among existing LAM missionaries in the regions of Latin America (Colombia, Cuba, Mexico City, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador) to provide suggestions for improving effective leadership …