Arts and Humanities Commons^™

American Conservatism: The Evolving Role Of Social Issues In American Politics, Justin Rostad

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In American society there are certain controversial issues that have been debated for the better part of the past century. Same-sex marriage, abortion, gun ownership laws, divorce laws, and the legalization of marijuana have all come under fire on the political stage. Yet the role of these issues in recent elections is far different than just a few election cycles ago. I analyze the role of social issues among different groups of conservatives to assess the continuing impact of them on their political behavior. To do so I have analyzed the GSS 2012 from the University of Chicago. I have …

Concerns Of A Fifteenth Century Gentry Woman: A Study In Letters, Grace Allen

Tenor of Our Times

No abstract provided.

The Indian Rebellion Of 1857, C. Claire Summers

Tenor of Our Times

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Women’S Roles In Modern Warfare, Sarah M. Schroeder

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2015

Beginning with the Mollies of the Revolutionary war, women have participated in American warfare since the nation's inception. More recently, a key development in women's roles took place two years ago when the United States lifted the ban on female combat. This has resulted in modifications to the military’s approach to war fighting and this process is ongoing. This study focuses specifically on the role of women WWII and the Iraq War, for these wars mark two particularly pivotal moments in their participation in warfare and evolution of their role. Using sources from American military history, especially of WWII and …

Black Box 2015, Gini Norgard, Michelle Zanolin, Trentin Post, Tiyo Rowe, Paul Adelgren, Zachary Spahr, Christoper Rosamond, Jordan Jones, Katherine Minott, William Stark, Savannah Bonty, John Bordini, Isaiah Martinez, Destiny Cochrane, E. Groom

Black Box

The Black Box is a creative publication dedicated to displaying the talented work of ERAU. Creativity and ingenuity flow throughout ERAU and we want to put it on display!

Body + Power + Justice: Movement-Based Workshops For Critical Tutor Education, Beth Godbee, Moira Ozias, Jasmine Kar Tang

English Faculty Research and Publications

In this participatory article (with suggested activities, check-ins with the body, and freewriting), we use collaborative narrative inquiry to unpack considerations that underlie the planning, facilitation, and processing of a series of movement-based workshops. Critiquing liberal multiculturalist approaches in writing centers, we argue against the all-too-common flattening of differences and think through how embodiment helps us "work the hyphens" (Fine, 1998) or find "third ways" (Soja, 1996) that break open new possibilities for working and learning together toward equity and racial justice. In contrast to role-playing scenarios that characterize many tutor education practices, we suggest that centering the body through …

Holy Cross Choirs Newsletter (April 2015), Choir, College Of The Holy Cross

Holy Cross Choirs Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Ncod E-Newsletter, April 2015

NCOD E-Newsletter

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in USA

NCOD E-NewsletterFinding Aid

Floral, Victoria J. Reynolds

Student Publications

Floral is a personal essay that explores the speaker's relationship with different flowers and floral elements, ranging in time from early childhood to present day.

The American National Exhibition And Kitchen Debates: How The World's Superpowers Portrayed The Events Of The Summer Of 1959 To Meet National Needs, Kevin D. Bardin

Student Publications

An undergraduate research paper centered on the investigation of American and Soviet propaganda efforts during and immediately after the Kitchen Debate of 1959.

The Effect Of Women In Government On Government Effectiveness, Abigail L. Tootell

Student Publications

A critical factor of gender and development is the political empowerment of women. Beyond this equality, however, what are the effects of women in government? This paper investigates these effects by examining the relationship between the percentage of women in parliament and overall government effectiveness. The research strongly supports the theory that women are more effective political leaders than their male counterparts.

Business, Education, And Enjoyment: Stakeholder Interpretations Of The Gettysburg Museum And Visitors Center, Ava M. Muhr

Student Publications

An anthropological study of the Gettysburg Museum and Visitors Center undertaken to understand the ways in which the visitor experience is conditioned by their own personal background, as well as filtered through the carefully constructed historical narrative created by museum historians, National Park Service rangers, and administrators. The Gettysburg Museum and Visitors Center is a site in which multiple stakeholders contend to ensure that their interpretations of the museum’s purpose is being upheld. This paper will examine the ways in which these various stakeholders – primarily NPS rangers, Civil War historians, and history buffs – interpret the catalyst(s) for constructing …

Assessing Reconstruction: Did The South Undergo Revolutionary Change?, Lauren H. Sobotka

Student Publications

With the end of the Civil War, came a number of unanswered questions Reconstruction would attempt to answer for the South. While the South underwent economic, political and social changes for a short period, old traditions continued to persist resulting in racist sentiment.

The Long Road: Eisenhower’S Inter-American Highway: The Path To Economic Investment, Political Stability, And Collective Security In Central America, Jacob A. Ross

Student Publications

This paper explores the anti-communist Cold War tactics of public diplomacy as undertaken by the Eisenhower Administration. The focus of this paper is the Inter-American Highway: a program which the U.S. government funded and constructed to develop Central America economically, politically, and beyond. Funding for this program was increased and supported by the president because it fit the axiom of spending as little money as possible in the Cold War, but spending it in a way to be effective in the battle against Soviet communism. The stance of the U.S. government was to provide Central America with increased infrastructure development …

Liberation Through Domination: Bdsm Culture And Submissive-Role Women, Lisa R. Rivoli

Student Publications

The alternative sexual practices of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism (BDSM) are practiced by people all over the world. In this paper, I will examine the experiences of five submissive-role women in the Netherlands and five in south-central Pennsylvania, focusing specifically on how their involvement with the BDSM community and BDSM culture influences their self-perspective.I will begin my analysis by exploring anthropological perspectives of BDSM and their usefulness in studying sexual counterculture, followed by a consideration of feminist critiques of BDSM and societal barriers faced by women in the community. I will then address the …

Seato Stumbles: The Failure Of The Nato Model In The Third World, Louis T. Gentilucci

Student Publications

NATO as an alliance has stood the test of time since the early post-war years. Yet similar alliances such as SEATO passed into history long ago. The problem with the NATO model of alliance was its inability to be applied to the Third World. The particular circumstances of Southeast Asia prevented SEATO from becoming a true successor to the NATO alliance system. In addition, the approach of Eisenhower and his administration to Southeast Asia and anti-communist alliances was undermined by their own political needs and personal experiences. Southeast Asia was fit into the mold of the post-war period and the …

Investigating Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War In The Democratic Republic Of Congo (Drc) Through Critical Discourse Analysis, Amanda R. Kaste

Student Publications

This paper addresses the large-scale sexual violence that has taken place (and still continues) within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using critical discourse analysis. Disturbing statistics have resulted in the identification of the DRC as the "rape capital of the world," and a variety of national, regional, and international actors have employed sexual violence as a weapon of war. Victims frequently receive little assistance, perpetrators act without fear of serious repercussions, and the government of the DRC fails to successfully implement relative legislation. Through an investigation of the discourse surrounding victims, perpetrators, and political institutions respectively, I will develop …

The Semantics Of Repression: Understanding The Continued Brutality Towards Lgbtqa Individuals In The Russian Federation, Joseph C. Recupero

Student Publications

This work serves to examine the linguistic style and choices used by Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin as it pertains to issues of the LGBTQA community in the country and the Anti-Propaganda Law. Using the methodology of Critical Discourse Analysis, the author compares the speeches of Vladimir Putin to those of Western leaders Barack Obama and Ban Ki-moon, drawing conclusions as to why brutality towards LGBTQA individuals in Russia has been allowed to continue relatively unopposed. The author suggests that it may be Vladimir Putin's careful choice in words and speaking styles that allows the issue to persist.

Biophily: Five Musical Episodes For The Revolutionary Educator, Edward J. Holmes

Student Publications

"Biophily: Five Musical Episodes for the Revolutionary Educator" is a composition meant to reflect, through music, some of the key concepts and ideas of authors like Paulo Freire, William Ayers, Neil Postman, and Charles Weingartner in their works that we covered in Social Foundations. Each piece aims to deconstruct poor teaching habits and practices, and musically express a better way to go about education.

Beyond Rodin: Revisiting The Legacy Of Camille Claudel, Shannon R. Callahan

Student Publications

French sculptress Camille Claudel has gained recognition in the past 30 years due to a focus on her tragic life rather than her artistic talent. Despite critical acclaim and respect amongst her peers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, her affair with Auguste Rodin and her struggles with mental illness have cast a dark, dramatic shadow over modern interpretations of Claudel’s oeuvre. Considering how difficult it was for a woman to be working as an artist at this time, Claudel’s sculptures should not be outweighed by her personal life. In order to challenge the reader not to accept …

“Welcome To The Feminist Cult”: Building A Feminist Community Of Practice On Tumblr, Sarah M. Connelly

Student Publications

Over the course of the last twenty years, the internet has become a powerful tool for the mobilization of social movements because of its ease of access, its allowance for greater control of organization and communication, and its rapid spread and dissemination of ideas. Tumblr, a micro-blogging site that is comprised of 227.6 million blogs and 106.3 billion posts by March 2015, is one of the most significant locations of social activism online. In recent years, Tumblr has become a platform for highly involved feminist dialogue because of the ability for like-minded users to follow and reblog posts regarding feminist …

Peering Into The Jezebel Archetype In African American Culture And Emancipating Her From Hyper-Sexuality: Within And Beyond James Baldwin’S 'Go Tell It On The Mountain' And Alice Walker’S 'The Color Purple', Zakiya A. Brown

Student Publications

Literary authors and performing artists are redefining the image of the Jezebel archetype from a negative stereotype to an empowering persona. The reformation of the Jezebel’s identity and reputation, from a manipulating stereotype to an uplifting individual may not be a common occurrence, but the Jezebel archetype as a positive figure has earned a dignified position in literature and in reality. Jezebel archetypes wear their sexuality proudly. Her sultriness may be the first aspect of her identity that readers see, but readers must be cautious not to overlook her merit and moral standards as a character that has the potential …

The Stakes Of Spinoza’S Language: A Moderate Necessitarian Understanding Of 'Ethics' And Spinoza’S Conception Of Freedom As Both Positive And Negative Liberty, Jeffrey J. Horvath

Student Publications

This paper explores different readings of Spinoza's "Ethics" with a specific focus on Spinoza's understanding of the relationship between infinite and finite modes in his constructed universe. These different readings suggest that Spinoza's conception of human freedom can be read both as examples of positive liberty and negative liberty.

“Strength Shed By A New And Terrible Vision:” The Organic Evolution Of The Blues And The Blues Aesthetic In Richard Wright’S 'Uncle Tom’S Children', Jeffrey J. Horvath

Student Publications

An exploration into the development of the "blues aesthetic" in the African-American literary tradition.

Gerhard Richter: Recovery And Memory In Postwar Germany, Devin N. Garnick

Student Publications

Gerhard Richter explored themes of memory and national identity in a society with a controversial past and a difficult recovery. He broke the silence that permeated the country and created a dialogue about remembering, memorializing, and politics.

After World War II, Germany had difficulty facing the atrocities of the war and ignored the flaws in the country’s recovery. Richter witnessed first hand the social and political struggles of the country as a citizen of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic, societies that required strict conformity to their ideologies. Upon his escape to West Germany, where he was exposed to …

"Era(C)Ing The South: Modern Popular Culture Depictions Of Southern History", Bryan Jack

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

There has been significant research on various interpretations of the American South, and the relationship between Southern and American identity. However, there has been little investigation into how modern popular culture depicts and constructs the Southern past and how this shapes Southern identity. This article interrogates the relationship between modern films, race, and Southern history to ask, has the challenge to codified Jim Crow segregation changed filmic portrayals of Southern history? How do these portrayals affect both Southern and American identity? Using race as a lens, the article argues that the end of the Civil Rights Movement has created a …

Ever-Present, Matthew Oberski

Photography Senior Thesis Projects

This series is a contemporary interpretation of post-mortem photography, depicting the relationship between the physical and metaphysical remnants of life. The scenes are absent of a resident, showing only what remains, while the fabric portraits represent the ethereal vestige, the intangible memory friends and family hold on to. The corresponding paper reviews my photographic journey and details my processes necessary to create this body of work. Death is not always an easy subject to confront; with this project, I ask viewers to examine their own mortality and accept death’s inevitability.

Unlocking The Question, Kelly E. Reymann

Student Publications

Educators are constantly seeking ways to establish equity inside and outside of the classroom. This presentation explores ways in which an inquisitive mindset can make steps toward achieving this goal, and how questioning is essential for creating the optimal learning environment.

What's Below The Peak? Perceptions Of Media From Those That Live Below The World's Most Famous Mountain, Jonah P. Lucas

Student Publications

This research seeks to explore the perceptions the Sherpa people in the Khumbu region have on the media that has been created about them and their communities. Interviews conducted in the Khumbu region of Nepal with a variety of individuals gave insight into how different socio-economic and educational backgrounds affect these perceptions. This research found that all Sherpa are aware to some extent of the media about them, and its biggest effect is the international tourism trade that it promotes. Furthermore, journalists visiting the region are regarded as normal tourists, and the work they do is considered accurate and suitable …

A Savage Journey To The Heart Of Literary Freedom: Gonzo Journalism As A Vehicle For Social Criticism In The Literary Nonfiction Of Hunter S. Thompson, Jeffrey J. Horvath

Student Publications

As a professional journalist Hunter S. Thompson made it his mission to expose and defy structures of American society which he believed inhibited the exercise of personal freedom and, consequently, made realizing the “American Dream” impossible. Through his unique voice and style of literary nonfiction known as “Gonzo Journalism” Thompson is able to debunk the myth of the American Dream by attacking false conceptions of it, thereby highlighting the failures of both these conceptions and the structures of society, politics, class, and authority which give rise to them. This thesis traces the genesis of Gonzo Journalism’s formal features and themes …