Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Brides Of Christ: An Examination Of Female Sainthood, Zachary J. Ridder

Honors Theses

The history of the Catholic Church is replete with examples of virtuous men and women leading holy lives as an inspiration to others. While male saints certainly outnumber women it is impossible to read through the list of canonized individuals without noticing the large number of women who have been acclaimed as saints. What led the male dominated church to raise these women to stand as equals with popes and apostles? The answer lies in virtue and the means by which these women acquired it. Some were mystics like Hildegard of Bingen, others were martyrs like St. Perpetua but all …

Funny Or French: How Humor Varies Across Cultures, Audrey Mefford

Honors Theses

This paper examines the works of four cartoonists (Saul Steinberg, Jean-Jacques Sempé, Roz Chast, and Claire Bretécher) in order to determine similarities and differences between French humor and American humor. It incorporates compiled data from each of the above artist's lifetime works, as well as knowledge from the fields of cartoons and comics, sociology, and cross-cultural psychology, to answer the question "What is funny?" in each of these two disparate cultures.

‘Liberty Is The Word With Me’ The Ideologies And Allegiances Of Civil War Soldiers In Hamilton County, James J. W. Scott

Honors Theses

This case study of Hamilton County, Tennessee investigates Civil War soldiers to determine how the county was divided and why men chose to fight for the Union or the Confederacy. Using descriptive statistics and Grounded Theory Method, this study analyzes census data, military records, and personal correspondence to show that Confederate soldiers were concentrated in urban areas as wealthy businessmen or poor laborers, while Unionists dominated rural areas mostly as middleclass small farm owners. This research reveals that Confederates adopted an identity and ideology similar to other states in the Confederacy through railroad and business connections, and Unionists resented a …

Imperial Masculinities From Late Victorianism To Early Global Modernism., Michael Anthony Phillips

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Promoting Diversity In The Universal : Rethinking Universal Design For Learning., Jill Sadowski

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Graphic Design In The United States Targeting Hispanic Consumers., Chelsea Vaal

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

One in six United States citizens (almost seventeen percent of the population) identifies themselves as Hispanic.1 As this demographic continues to grow in numbers and expand its influence on the country, it is worth exploring how to better target this audience. Many advertising and design agencies are already reaching out to U.S. Latinos, but are they doing so effectively? Although more companies are attempting to reach out to this demographic, their attempts may be unsuccessful. Understanding what makes these advertisements successful or unsuccessful can be extremely effective in determining how to better target the Hispanic market. An analysis of Hispanic …

E-Volving Information Literacy Tutorials With E-Maginative And E-Ngaging Design, Damecia Donahue, Axa Liauw, Rebeca Peacock, Jill Wurm

Library Scholarly Publications

Presentation on May 22nd, 2014, at The Workshop for Instruction in Library Use (WILU), at Western University, Ontario, Canada.

Bat Boy: The Musical, Sarah Carlson Cassell

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

When I began the process of producing my Capstone Project, Bat Boy: the Musical, I had no idea what I was about to do or how much work it was going to be. I ultimately learned that the key tools I needed were passion, confidence, and creativity.

I originally had a very difficult time deciding what show I wanted to do. I changed my mind several times between other shows, but once I landed on Bat Boy I never second-guessed my choice. I found a show I was passionate about, and subsequently poured myself into every second I spent …

Musicianmaker An App For Teaching Musicality To Beginners, Jamie Yavorsky

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The purpose of this paper is to support and defend my senior capstone project, which takes the form of an educational app for iPad called MusicianMaker. The paper is split into two main sections: a rationale for the necessity of the app, and a justification for the educational benefits it provides. Over the course of my undergraduate career I have studied available resources for music education and found a disappointing majority that make no attempt to teach musicality. Teachers and scholars debate that music learning is either absolute or relativistic, but regardless of their opinion I have found no pedagogy …

Personal Roots Of Representation: Applying Burden's Model To Female Leaders In State Legislatures, Lindsey Juszczak

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The role of women in politics is not a new concern in the United States. However, the number of women being elected into leadership positions at all levels of government is growing. Reasons for women's political drive and ambition stem from various aspects of their life. Barry Burden believes that the roots of personal representation like a representative's religion, education, and home life are important factors that drive politicians in their careers. Burden's model can be used to understand why women in leadership roles are motivated in a certain way to represent and respond to constituents. Specifically, this research studies …

The Moldovan Identity Crisis: A Young State, An Old Nation, And The Search For A National Identity, Joshua D. Rogers

Honors College Theses

The question of national identity in modern states is one that is both elusive and ever-changing; however, the fate of a young state could very well depend on grasping this concept. This study focuses on defining national identity, and solving the dilemma of an absent, or otherwise unarticulated national identity in the Republic of Moldova. Moldova, a former member of the Soviet Union and independent since 1991, has already been through a civil war due to their lack of cohesion. The country’s history of numerous invaders, conquerors, and acquisitions starting in the 14^th century has led to an eclectic …

Elsie: A Screenplay, Eileen M. Spath

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Elsie is a 57 page, one-hour screenplay. A modern adaptation of a true story, Elsie tells the tale of Elsie Whitman, a young housewife unhappy in her marriage and looking for a way out. When her estranged sister arrives, she finally finds the strength to do the unthinkable.

Our story opens with the arrival of Elsie's sister, Marianne, and the departure of her husband, John. Alone in the house together, the sisters relationship grows complex. Marianne begins to see Peter, a young man with a mysterious past. However, when Elsie is wronged by John, she jumps into bed with Peter. …

How To Be Alice: A Feature-Length Screenplay With Production Package, Alison Joy

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This Capstone consists of a feature-length dramatic screenplay of 110 pages along with a production package including schedule and budget. The production documents, created using Movie Magic software, detail a shooting schedule of 21 days and a budget of $890,979.

The film centers on a successful magazine editor who loses her job and her fiancé in the same day. Professionally disgraced, financially stunted, and unexpectedly hearbroken, she is forced to take on a “How To” blogging gig to pay the bills while she gets back on her feet. She begrudgingly accepts mentorship from an eccentric older neighbor to help her …

Motivation And Learning: Toward An Intrinsic Approach, Wÿnanda Armas

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Having always been fascinated by students’ attitudes towards learning, for my Honors Capstone and for my Industrial and Interaction Design Thesis, I took the opportunity to research motivation in education. Everyone is born intrinsically motivated but this can be conditioned out of us by extrinsic motivation. Despite the known benefits of intrinsic motivation and perils of extras at motivation, extrinsic motivation is continually used, devaluing intrinsic motivation in all kinds of settings, including our schools. While intrinsic motivation cannot be taught, it can be fostered by removing the obstacles that prevent someone from motivating him or herself.

Reading is the …

What Floor?, Claire Rose Pedulla

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

What Floor? was the title of my capstone project, which was a temporary installation located in the Comstock Art Building (Comart) at Syracuse University. Comart, one of the university’s art facilities, is located a mile away from the main campus. What Floor? was built within the elevator of the building. For my installation, I transformed the elevator into a living room. I did this by installing carpet, constructing and painting wooden walls to fit within the space, installing those walls, and then furnishing and decorating the space until I felt it was complete. In its finished state, it looked like …

Millennial Rust, John Mcgowan

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Millennial Rust is a one-artist anthology comic, consisting of the first chapter of a serialized story, The Turkey Avenger, a series of autobiographical comic strips, and a collection of developmental material from the two projects.

The Turkey Avenger follows the exploits of the Turkey Avenger, a self-styled superhero with no discernable superpowers who hopes to “do good” in the best way he knows how: fighting crime. Unfortunely for him, the Turkey Avenger has no idea where to begin his quest for justice, stumbles into what appears to be a kidnapping, and is soon drawn into a conspiracy that’s clearly over …

180 Degrees Away, Megan Daniels

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

180 Degrees Away is a novel that started as a capstone project for the honors department and further developed into a work that will later be submitted to literary agencies and publishing houses.

The novel tells the story of eighteen-year-old Ames Treadway, who has been nothing but a punching bag to his father for years. After walking in on a particularly horrifying event involving his father and younger sister, Layla, Ames nearly kills his father before taking his sister and running away. Layla, Ames, and three of Ames’ friends journey from their home in New Jersey to Nashville, where he …

Syracuse University Los Angeles: A Promotional Video, Bradley Slavin

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Created in 2009, the Syracuse University Los Angeles Semester Program has allowed students interested in the media and entertainment world to spend a semester working, living, and playing in Los Angeles. Despite being a well-constructed and impressive experience, the SULA program is still very much in its infancy. The purpose of this Capstone was to film, edit, and distribute a short promotional video that may be used by the program for recruiting initiatives.

The target audience for this project is current Syracuse University students considering the Los Angeles Semester Program, prospective Syracuse University students seeking additional benefits of studying at …

Forward, Together, Yuki Mizuma

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

With 12,000 refugees and former refugees currently living in Syracuse, N.Y., there is so much more to the city than being just a college or basketball city. Refugees from Burma, Bhutan, Somalia and nearly 40 more countries have come to Syracuse because of the low cost of living, job opportunities and the strong relationship that refugee organizations have with the Syracuse City School District. Nearly 800 new individuals arrive each year and, yet, many people are unaware of the diverse population living in Syracuse, N.Y. “Forward, Together” uses photographs, informational text and captions to depict the lives of two refugees …

The Design Of Compelling Narratives, Miasha K. Vicino

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

While storytelling is an essential form of communication and has been used to help humans make sense of the world and prepare for the future for thousands of years, compelling narratives are designed storytelling systems that encourage the audience to get involved and make active thought and behavioral change. Another significant aspect of compelling narrative design is that they are not resolute. While stories have definite endings, the end of a compelling narrative should be a “call to action”, an opportunity to engage further and invest time, effort, or aid back into the narrative’s cause. The challenge for designers is …

The Surrealist Woman: The Art Of Remedios Varo, Jacquelyn Yvonne White

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Surrealism—a literary and artistic movement that has often been criticized for being misogynistic—stemmed from the idea of representing the unconscious mind, unburdened by societal norms. Several female surrealist artists and writers did emerge during the movement, including Remedios Varo, a Catalan surrealist painter. Throughout the early stages of her career, Varo was barely recognized by her male surrealist counterparts. Varo’s gender and background influenced her interpretation of femininity. When comparing Varo’s paintings with those of another famous Catalan surrealist, Salvador Dalí, the difference in the representation of women is striking. Unlike Varo, Dalí conformed to the typical depiction of the …

The Evolution Of The Legend Of King Arthur, Krista Dayle Staropoli

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In all versions of Arthurian legend, the content, while encompassing adventure, magic and politics, is mainly focused on the nature of human relationships. These relationships are nearly always complex and emotional, intended to elicit certain reactions from the audience. The reactions to Arthurian legend depend on the relationship being explored; for example, when explaining a story about knighthood, the author hopes to impress upon the audience the importance and admiration of chivalry, duty and honor. Whereas, when explaining a story about the love triangle of Guinevere, Arthur and Lancelot, the intent is not only to tell a captivating and enthralling …

A New Approach To The Restoration Of Cimabue’S Santa Croce Crucifix, Isaac Messina

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

On November 4, 1966 floodwaters submerged Cimabue’s late thirteenth-century Santa Croce Crucifix in Florence and stripped off nearly half of its original paint. Soon regarded as a key symbol of the flood’s catastrophic effects on the city’s rich artistic legacy, the crucifix was carefully conserved, but no attempts were made to hide the extensive scars left by the disaster. Instead, lead conservators Umberto Baldini and Ornella Casazza adopted an abstract approach to filling the work’s loss that claimed to honor the flood while providing a seamless viewing experience for the contemporary audience. This thesis shows that their theory and practice …

Volumetric Cloud Rendering: An Animation Of Clouds, Zhaoxin Ye

All Theses

This paper demonstrates a production workflow for a volumetric-rendering-based short animation about clouds. The animation is based on the concept of a giant fish swimming in the sky from Zhuangzi's philosophical story. The algorithm and implementation for the modeling and rendering of clouds are also presented. A renderer was developed that uses the OpenVDB library for data storage, fast retrieving and grid manipulation. A user-friendly pipeline was also developed for cloud modeling and rendering, which used Python and XML for adjusting rendering parameters. The pipeline includes Maya to build the rough cloud model and Houdini to calculate the interior light …

White Noise And Newer Media: The Prophetic Impact Of Jack's Avatars, Caleb Milligan

All Theses

In this paper, I analyze Don DeLillo's White Noise through a contemporary techno-literate approach that utilizes Internet and game studies to better understand its protagonist, Jack Gladney, and to reevaluate the novel's critical legacy. Jack is not a modernist living in a postmodern world, as critics like Tom LeClair, John Duvall, and Leonard Wilcox have claimed for the many years since the publication of this novel. Lacking the authentic consistency for such a title, he is instead a postmodern human simulacrum sampling different character types to avoid his lack of discernable self. In each role he plays, however, he is …

An Automated Build System For Articulated Characters, James Sledge

All Theses

Rigging is the process of designing and implementing the manipulation architecture for an animated three-dimensional character. Rigs that give the animator the most control tend to be the most difficult to set up and maintain. Due to the linear nature of some elements of rigging, the more complicated a rig, the more time-intensive--and therefore more expensive--to achieve a high quality rig. A solution to complex rig iterability is to automate as much of the process as possible. The topic of this thesis is a framework for modular rigging automation, with a focus on quick and efficient rig iteration. A rigger …

Without Words, Adrienne Lichliter

All Theses

My work seeks to question culture's occupation with the direct and conclusive, stirring the viewer away from immediate understanding in order to better grasp the pervasive vitality of the obscure. The thesis outlines the presence of the unclear in our lives and our lack of consideration of its importance due to an occupation with productivity. This argument is made with a body of non-objective artwork that presents visual and spatial ambiguities. By occupying paradoxes and indeterminate focal points, the art resists recognition and conclusion both formally and intellectually. The paper also discusses the importance of printmaking and restraint, requiring one …

Through Crimson Tides: Tarawa's Effect On Military Tactics And Public Perception Of War, Josh Hudak

All Theses

This study is on the battle of Tarawa, and how the battle altered military doctrine in amphibious warfare tactics and public perception of war. Tarawa was the first battle of its kind being the first amphibious assault against a fortified objective utilizing joint land, sea, and aerial attacks. It was also the first battle that was filmed from its beginning to its end and shown uncensored to the American public. This study will examine the historiography of the Battle for Tarawa, an overview of the fighting, and the aftermath of the battle. It will also examine the public's reaction to …

South Carolina Press Opinions Toward The Spanish-American War And Territorial Annexation Of 1898, Maria Cinquemani

All Theses

Historians have contested the origins and aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898 for over a century. Whether in pursuit of political, economic, or humanitarian goals, the nation entered the war with Spain enthusiastically and emerged victorious, with several new annexed territories in its possession. One of the most important factors to the success of the war was the overwhelming public support, driven largely by the popular press and the famous 'yellow journalists' of the time. Despite being a brief war, historians have praised it as the event that united the North and South following the tensions of the Civil …

Wartime Norms And Survival, Jeffrey K. Hass

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Ленинградская блокада является одним из наиболее трагических примеров лишений, опасностей и страданий, которые обрушивает на человека военное время. Важность её изучения заключается, во-первых, в том, что блокада может пролить дополнительный свет на советскую политику, экономику и общество в целом. В какой степени советская цивилизация была укоренена в повседневных практиках, интересах и понятиях? В какой степени советские институты могли реагировать на испытания, подобные блокаде? Во-вторых, изучение блокадных реалий помогает ответить и на более общие вопросы, которые беспокоят современные науки об обществе. Как ведут себя люди в экстремальных условиях? Продолжают ли в этих условиях иметь значение прежние нормы и традиции, и какие …