Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Volumes, Matthew Brooks Stark

Theses and Dissertations

Volumes is a book-length work of poetry in three parts. Volumes investigates the process of art, wherein the creative act constructs both the created object and its creator the artist. I use the term "creation" rather loosely: I propose such an act to be present within one's self-recognition, imaginative contextualization of oneself within a setting, or performance of a role. Volumes, through Ars Poeticas, struggles with ideas of self-awareness, wherein the artist achieves a unique determinacy before and after a creative act because the artist is necessarily changed by the act of creation. The project struggles against the opaqueness of …

The Development And Production Of The Comodo Keeper, Ashley Cook

Senior Theses

As a musician of large ensembles, I have seen the destruction the harsh sound of a metal mouthpiece cap falling onto the cold, hard floor can do to both the concentration of the members of the rehearsal as well as the mood of the conductor. Many saxophonists and clarinetists keep their mouthpiece caps on the edge of their flimsy music stands because during periods of rest, it is best to preserve the reed with the cap. However, with virtually every rehearsal I partake in, shuffling one’s music and grabbing pencils off the stand results in an accident. Witnessing this interruption …

Live Musical Steganography, Latia Hutchinson

Senior Theses

Live Musical Steganography is a project created as a way to combine the two typically unrelated fields of music and information security into a cohesive entity that will hopefully spark one’s imagination and inspire further development that could one day be beneficial in the world of security. For those who are unfamiliar with the term steganography, it can be defined as the art and science of preserving the integrity and confidentiality of a message by hiding the existence of that message within some larger body of data. In the field of steganography, much research and development has gone into methods …

Your Guide On Learning How To Play The Piano, Jankiben Patel

Senior Theses

I’ve had a strong desire to learn how to play a piano ever since my first music class in elementary school. I asked my parents if I could receive piano lessons. They saw how extremely excited I was and they agreed to seek out a piano instructor for me. Unfortunately, my parents soon realized that they simply could not afford the fees. I brought up the topic a few more times, but to no avail. In middle school, I joined the band to play the clarinet. Although my hopes of playing the piano were put on hold, I grasped this …

Una Exploración Del País Vasco, Carter Goman

Senior Theses

For my senior thesis, I knew that I wanted to explore a topic dealing with the Spanish language. I have been taking Spanish classes for 8 years, and have always loved the language. I completed my minor in Spanish after my sophomore year and was looking for a way to continue improving my knowledge of the language, as well as to learn more about the cultures that speak it. The senior thesis project for the University of South Carolina Honors College provided me with the perfect opportunity to accomplish these goals.

In the summer of 2012, I studied abroad in …

Love And Marriage: Domestic Relations And Matrimonial Strategies Among The Enslaved In The Atlantic World, Tyler Dunsdon Parry

Theses and Dissertations

"Love and Marriage: Domestic Relations and Matrimonial Strategies Among the Enslaved in the Atlantic World" argues that the cultural and sociopolitical dimensions of slave marriage were primary issues for diasporic Africans, abolitionists, and proslavery apologists whose lives were intertwined by the cultural and economic connections that framed the Atlantic World throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Through analyzing the interplay between legislation, cultural practice, and political discourse in the early periods of colonial slavery, I first show how matrimonial patterns from Atlantic Africa and Britain were re-imagined by diasporic Africans enslaved in Bermuda, the British West Indies, and colonial …

The Spiritual Is Political: The Modern Women's Movement And The Transformation Of The Southern Baptist Convention, Laura Joy Foxworth

Theses and Dissertations

"The Spiritual is Political" argues that feminist politics were central to Southern Baptist Convention's notorious schism, which began in 1979, and posits that its new conservative leaders launched the nearly fourteen million member denomination into partisan politics in the 1980s in reaction to their perception that the women's movement was dangerous to the nation's moral and spiritual character. By evaluating both religious and political primary sources from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, I trace grassroots mobilization and denominational reactions to contentious issues like women's ordination, abortion, homosexuality, and the Equal Rights Amendment. Though the Southern Baptist Convention favored moderate …

To Hell... And Back? An Examination Feminism And Its Consequences, Kaylee Mahaffey

Senior Theses

The goal of this thesis is to give an in depth analysis of the feminist movement and the effects it has had on society and the family unit. The first portion of the thesis will be allotted to a historical account of the feminist movement and the various feminist theories that it spawned throughout the three waves of the movement. After the account of the movement itself, a description of the four categories of feminist ideologies will be explained and mildly critiqued. Once the historical stage has been set, a thorough criticism feminism will be performed and particular emphasis will …

Receiver Of Wreck: A Memoir, Brandi Lynn Perry

Theses and Dissertations

Receiver of Wreck: A Memoir is a third-person, present tense narrative that covers the span of my graduate program at the University of South Carolina. This point of view was chosen as it provides a level of separation between the author, me, and the abuse and also the reader and the abuse - this serves the dual purpose of not retraumatizing the reader and allowing me more of a removed perspective to focus more on the exterior and less on the interior. The memoir has dual narrative trajectories: while I am recovering from sexual abuse and depression and becoming a …

Linguistic Support For Non-Native English Speakers: Higher Education Practices In The United States, Norman W. Evans, Maureen Snow Andrade, K. James Hartshorn

Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions in English-speaking nations host significant populations of non-native English speakers (NNES), both international and resident. English language proficiency is a critical factor to their success. This study reviews higher education practices in the United States related to this population. Findings indicate weaknesses in how institutions identify NNES, measure their English language skills, and track their success. These issues must be addressed to support the needs of this population, fully benefit from their contributions, and achieve educational parity.

Fearless Friday: Chelsea Broe, Chelsea E. Broe

SURGE

Consistently speaking up for social justice issues around campus, finding innovative ways to promote peer understanding, and making our campus a more welcoming, accepting, and open place, Chelsea Broe ’14 is a fearless leader who advocates for others.

2013-2014 Master Of Music Recital - Ricardo Pozenatto (Collaborative Piano), Ricardo Pozenatto, Yalyen Savignon, Carlos Ortega, Josiah Coe, Jennier Lee, Kelsey Maiorano, Sebastian Castellanos

Master of Music Recitals

No abstract provided.

Lawrence (Laurence) Family (Sc 2838), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2838. Genealogy chart on rolled paper that was cut into sections for the Lawrence (Laurence) family and allied families of Virginia and Kentucky. The chart begins with Edward Laurence (d. 1786) of Fauquier County, Virginia. A portion of this family moved to southeastern Warren County, Kentucky in the nineteenth century.

Richey, Nancy Carol, B. 1959 - Collector (Sc 2837), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2837. “Freedom, Kentucky Story,” a narrative of John Robert Miller primarily concerning his grandmother’s family and life in Black Walnut Barren County, Kentucky. Miller explains that the geography of the area offered hiding places for escaped slaves on their way to the North; as a consequence, the community was renamed Freedom in 1866.

Basra's High Hope: An American Missionary School In Iraq During The World War Era, Israa Alhassani

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Basra, on the eve of WWI, was an Ottoman wilaya with a diverse society. During this period, Basra became a platform for two major British military campaigns. In 1914, Britain occupied the city as a precautionary measure to protect British interests in the region after the declaration of war against the Ottoman Empire. After eleven years of a British mandate, Basra became part of an independent country in 1932. In 1941, upon the success of a German-supported coup in Baghdad against the British-aided monarchy, Britain moved its forces to occupy Basra for a second time. During this period of imperial …

From Swamps To Swamping: The Usage And Perceptions Of Swamps By African-Americans In Antebellum And Postbellum Arkansas And Louisiana, Tessa Annette Neblett Evans

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This project is a landscape study that examines how different members of the antebellum and postbellum community in Arkansas and Louisiana perceived and used the swamplands, and how this changed over time. This project suggests that the swamps played an absolutely crucial role for individual slaves and free blacks both before and after the Civil War. Unlike Europeans and the white community who viewed the swamps as static, physical spaces on the plantation without value, African-Americans viewed them as fluid places filled with value. Religious practices were often performed near swamps, and even so-called aberrant religions practices, like voodoo, happened …

"Young Bloods Of The South:" The Confederate Use And Efficacy Of Irregular Warfare In The American Civil War, Lucas Allamon

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

During the American Civil War, a number of southern irregulars operated behind Union lines. Though often neglected by historians, many of these irregulars proved effective. This study evaluates the different types of irregular combatant found in the South, including guerrillas, partisan rangers, and cavalry raiders, who varied in their identity, legality, and operations. The effectiveness of these fighters is analyzed in terms of their propaganda value, their ability to divert enemy troops, and the defeat of offensives by attacking supply lines. Though the Union attempted to counter these irregular forces, the greatest impediment towards the Confederate irregular war effort was …

Interactive Instructional Technology To Bring Art Students Meaningful Museum Experiences, Sarah Elizabeth Brown

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purposes of this study are to: (1) investigate how pre-service art teachers are prepared to implement instructional technological tools for virtual museum experiences and art lesson plans; (2) determine the impact of preparing pre-service art teachers to use instructional technological deliverables to create a virtual art museum experience for the classroom; and (3) investigate the impact of using instructional technology in art teacher lesson plans and instructional delivery. I believe pre-service teachers need specific training on how they can use technology in their art classrooms. Technology is a necessary tool for teaching creatively and can enhance an art curriculum …

Creativity In The Elementary Art Classroom: Incorporating Strategies For Encouraging Creativity, Hannah Kim Sions

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Virginia art educators base their lesson plans on the Visual Arts Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Although creativity is implied in these standards, they are not directly mentioned; it is possible that lessons are not encouraging student creativity. Through a review of literature, this study explored the role of creativity in the elementary classroom, the role of creativity in the art education classroom, and strategies to encourage creativity in students. Findings suggest that creativity can be incorporated into lessons through a variety of strategies. Creativity is a lifelong process, and strategies that are incorporated into lesson plans, will …

The Effects Of Constructive Language Instruction And Cooperative Learning On The Quality Of Artwork At The Middle Level, Laura Allison Thompson

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This study investigates the effects of explicit instruction in constructive language and cooperative learning activities on the quality of art work produced by seventh grade art students. Data collection included pre- and post-intervention cooperative learning surveys, student and teacher rubric evaluations, artist statements, teacher observations of student interactions, and photographs of artwork. Rubrics included five criteria: 1) idea formation and development, 2) problem-solving, 3) openness to suggestions, 4) depth of theme, and 5) perseverance. Students completed a self-portrait project individually to provide base line data and samples with which to compare collaborative works after two interventions. During the interventions, students …

Violin Pedagogy Through Time: The Treatises Of Leopold Mozart, Carl Flesch, And Ivan Galamian, Steffany Ann Shock

Dissertations, 2014-2019

There is a strong oral tradition present in the field of violin pedagogy, in which the influence of a single teacher can be felt for many generations. Current violin teachers have a large responsibility to pass on to their students a strong foundation of technique and musicianship so that one day the students will be able to adequately teach both themselves and their own future students. Because of this responsibility, it is important for the violin teacher to be able to adequately pass on information in variety of ways in order to suit each individual student, thus enabling every student …

Before, Upon, And Beyond The Podium: Reflections By Retired Orchestra Directors, Joseph Daniel Austin

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the background, educational, musical and professional factors that may contribute to the career longevity of string orchestra directors. Nine retired orchestra directors from the state of Virginia served as participants for this study. The names and contact information of the participants were acquired by various means including a mass email announcement inviting retired orchestra directors to participate in a survey that was received by all of the members of the Virginia Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, and by word of mouth within the educational community. Participants (N = 9) completed …

Elementary Music Teachers In Urban, High-Poverty Schools Who Remain In Their Position: A Descriptive Study, Heather Marie Eberly

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

School districts across the United States face increasing numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Urban school systems, in which these students often reside, experience the highest levels of teacher attrition. The majority of literature in the area of teacher retention and attrition in urban, high-poverty schools has focused on general education while fewer studies specific to music education in urban, high-poverty schools exist. Little research has examined the experiences of elementary music teachers teaching in urban, high-poverty settings. Therefore, the investigator perceived a need to investigate elementary music teachers’ reasons for continuing in their positions in urban, high-poverty schools. The purpose …

The Status Of Middle And High School String Orchestra Programs In Virginia Public Schools Located In Midsized Urban Settings, Keara Lea Smith

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract The majority of literature about teaching in urban settings has focused on the experiences of educators and students in large urban settings (Costa-Giomi, 2008; Fitzpatrick, 2008, 2011), and has been general classroom focused (Elpus & Abril, 2011; Glenn, 2005; McEachin & Brewer, 2012; Young, 2007). A smaller body of literature about teaching music classes in urban settings exists (Kinney, 2010; Bernard, 2010), while less still exists about the status of orchestra programs in urban settings (Fitzpatrick, 2011, Hamann & Gillespie, 1998; Smith, 1997). Little research examines midsize urban educational settings by state, and less still has examined the status …

The Science Of Charity: The Social Network That Restructured Law And Order In Baltimore, 1881-1901, Hope Elizabeth Byers

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Social networks undeniably build more cohesive ideologies between its members. Historians can better understand the path that urban reform took at the end of the nineteenth by focusing on the social networks that participated in many different reform efforts. In Baltimore, a group of elite businessmen began a variety of association and societies to aid the poor in their midst. The Charity Organization Society best combined this group of men. The Charity Organization Society of Baltimore sought to uplift the poor through advice rather than monetary aid. The group’s campaign to remove alms distribution from the police department in the …

Haunted By Hitler: German Film Of The 2000s And The Discourse Of Germans As Victims, Christopher John Carlberg

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In the culture of official commemoration honoring the many victims of Nazi persecution there arose an older way of thinking about the National Socialist past following Germany’s reunification, one that identified Germans themselves not only as perpetrators and collaborators but also victims. Popular film constituted an important medium contributing to this way of thinking during the first decade of the twenty-first century. Looking at six German films made between 2001 and 2008, this project focuses on several questions: How did these German films reflect and shape public discourse about the National Socialist past, both inside and outside of Germany? To …

Tried It With Glasses Off Too; Sometimes., Nolan John Fedorow

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

I use a small wedge of wood as a tool to pick out food scraps that find themselves lodged between my teeth. I also use a small wedge of wood as a tool to keep a straight door from swinging freely on a crooked house. The small wedge of wood I stuff in between the floor and door as a tool is a controlling apparatus, much like landowners who use fencing to keep people from walking repeatedly through their land and inadvertently creating a path where they shouldn’t. A wooden door stopper will come to adorn a perpendicular-patterned patina across …

Student’S Achievement And Artistic Growth Through The Implementation And Enrichment Of The Visual Journal, Emily Nannette Quesenberry

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract This study investigates the incorporation of the visual journal as a learning tool within the art curriculum to understand how it contributes to students’ perception of themselves as artists, students’ understanding of art content, and how it can be used as a source of formative and summative assessment of student growth over time. This study was conducted with a control and a test group. Each group participated in the creation of visual journal pages throughout the course of one semester. However, the test group received additional information on visual journal artists and techniques as well as daily time to …

Demon Rum In The City Of Churches: A Spirited Fight For Alcohol Reform In Danville, Virginia, 1883-1933, Evelyn Dawn Riley

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Utilizing previous research of American alcohol reform movements, and specifically studies of alcohol in Virginia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this thesis explores the multi-faceted story of Danville, Virginia and its alcohol reform from 1883-1933. Contained within these dates are critical events and stories chronicling the complex history of conflict, and occasional cooperation, regarding alcohol in a southern town. The goal of the thesis, comprised of two parts--a context paper and an accompanying digital exhibit--was to explore how Danville’s community structure and public discourse affected the way alcohol reform was experienced and discussed in the city. Findings indicated that …

Four Seasons, Morgan Pearse

Theses and Dissertations

FOUR SEASONS By Morgan Pearse, MFA. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Art in Sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014. Major Director: Matt King, Assistant professor, Sculpture + Extended Media. Fantasy functions in a mental space. Cyberspace is a fantasy world. Cyberspace is a mental space mediated by the individual, but also through/into itself. What does an internal thought mean when it is directed towards strangers via online avatar? The Internet exists. Your body exists. There is something in between. There is no singular …