Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Ragtime Then And Now: Composers And Audiences From The Ragtime Era To The Ragtime Revival, William Martin Mcnally

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The works from ragtime's revival era, including those by William Albright, William Bolcom, Eugene Kurtz, George Rochberg, and more recently Carter Pann, stand as some of the finest examples of ragtime composition. Yet these works were not generative of the ragtime age, but followed a lengthy drought of compositional interest in the ragtime style. Instead, they were the result of the amalgamation of formal and idiomatic gestures common to the ragtime style and of serious and extensive training in classical styles. In an effort to determine what distinguishes these works by the classical composers of the ragtime revival from the …

Creating Digital Art History: Library, Student, And Faculty Collaboration, D. Russell Bailey

Library Faculty and Staff papers

Over the last two decades, teaching, learning, and research in higher education have developed a growing digital presence. Digital development in the humanities has been slow relative to most other areas in academia, and with some exceptions, art and art history have enjoyed slow digital growth within the humanities. Within this environment, the article here presents one collaborative model for digital art history, rare in its exclusive focus on undergraduate “junior scholars”. Undergraduate senior-level art history and studio art students at Providence College collaborate annually with art history and studio art faculty to publish their senior theses in print format …

Music And Islamic Reform, Amanda Pierce

Senior Theses

Music in the Islamic world is being used as a tool for change. Islam is going though a period of major reform, and music is a way to get people all over the world to listen. Though music is prohibited among conservative groups, the Sufis and Islamic youth are spreading ideas of nonviolence and love both to audiences within the religion and to outsiders. The introduction of music has been met with heavy resistance by orthodox members of the religious community, but it has also brought change and success.

My Family Breast Cancer Story: The Power Of Personal Narratives Over Cause Marketing, Jennifer Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is everywhere. The disease has touched the lives of most people. This thesis includes a description of my family's personal breast cancer journey, my grandmother died of the disease at age 42, and my mother was diagnosed at age 53. By sharing our personal story, I hope to provide my children with our history. Another goal in sharing is adding to the public breast cancer narrative. This thesis also discusses the use of breast cancer in cause marketing campaigns and the lack of advancements in screening technologies. I link my views with those who feel frustration with the …

A Game Of Thrones Or A Crown Of Thorns: Louis I, Duke Of Anjou And Political And Messianic Implications In The Angers Tapestry, Michele Hernandez Barrows

Theses and Dissertations

The fourteenth century Angers Apocalypse Tapestry crafted in the tradition of the thirteenth century English Apocalypse manuscripts, is an enigma. This interdisciplinary thesis will address two interrelated questions: why did Louis I, Duke of Anjou and second son of Jean II, commission the tapestry and why were changes made to key aspects of the tapestry which do not reflect established iconographical models. I will suggest that a primary motivation for Louis I was the acquisition of a throne, particularly France and the Holy Roman Empire, and Louis may have suggested changes to key facets of the iconography associated with the …

Frontal Faces On Archaic And Classical Greek Vases, Ann G. Beck

Theses and Dissertations

This study considers the rare depiction of frontal faces on ancient Greek vases. Research reveals that most situations where faces appear frontally involve a change of state, either physical or psychological. These experiences are discussed, under the broad divisions of "Changes of State" and "Gorgo and Death." (Gorgo is another name for the gorgon Medusa.) the discussion focuses on Medusa as well as Dionysos and his companions because of their prominence among figures with frontal faces. An overview of disagreement among scholars about the apotropaic power of Medusa's mask-like face is condensed, with notes indicating sources for further reading. A …

The Problem Of Infinity In Meditation Iii, Peter B. Creech

Global Tides

In Meditation III, Rene Descartes’ main argument for the existence of God hinges on our perception of infinity. All ideas or beings must have as much formal reality, according to Descartes, as those that they in turn create or produce. Because we as human beings can perceive of infinity, yet we do not observe anything that is actually infinite, this perception must come from a God who has at least as much formal reality as we. In this paper I argue that the human mind is incapable of perceiving anything that is actually infinite. We hold a concept of infinity, …

A Little World In Ruins: Rosamond Vincy And The Insufficiency Of Performative Gender Roles In George Eliot’S Middlemarch, Allan Spencer

Global Tides

In George Eliot’s Middlemarch, Rosamond Vincy in many ways represents the conventional Victorian woman and takes on the limited roles that are permitted for women in her society. However, none of these proves sufficient to bestow upon Rosamond any sense of fulfillment or power, both of which she persistently desires and pursues throughout the novel. This essay explores these roles, specifically the “The Angel in the House,” who is exemplified in the poetry of Coventry Patmore, and the myth of the courtly lover, a symptom of the medievalism that was revived and romanticized in nineteenth-century England. Her performance as …

A Close Look At The Relationship Between Poverty And Political Violence In Nepal, Lauren C. Griffin

Global Tides

Today, one quarter of Nepal’s population of 27 million lives on a daily income of less than two dollars (Sharma 8). Villages are deprived of an ample water supply, and some areas still lie in ruins from the aftermath of the Maoist insurgency. This paper will seek to understand the role of poverty in the historically and presently unfolding political environment of Nepal. Several factors show direct correlation between poverty and insurgent activity, such as land ownership, level of education and socio-economic standing. Nepal has had a volatile and bloody past in the midst of medieval dynasties, an authoritative monarchy …

Against A Process View Of Divine Patience, Luke Asher

Global Tides

When one chooses to tolerate suffering, waiting calmly without reacting emotively or physically, he is demonstrating the virtue of patience. Process theology claims that the patience of God is more or less identical to the experience of human patience. That is, when we sin and rebel against God, He refrains from smiting us, that we might repent and return to Him. In other words, God demonstrates patience when he restrains Himself temporally from interfering with or punishing mankind, waiting for their repentance. Such an explanation of divine patience may seem intuitive, but the patience of God is much greater, much …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Civilizations Of Fukuzawa Yukichi And Sun Yat-Sen, Matthew Jones

Global Tides

This essay will explore the different theories of civilization for two major Asian political philosophers Fukuzawa Yukichi, and Sun Yat-sen. Both men wrote during the late 19^th and early 20^th century just as their respective countries, Japan and China, were facing immense pressure to subordinate themselves to the West which threatened the collapse of their historical structures of civilization. The two men’s theories reflect the transitory nature of the times by drawing heavily from both Eastern and Western traditions to create a unique blend of the two which would have an immense impact on the modern course of …

C.S. Lewis And The Struggle For Existence, Callaghan R. Mcdonough

Global Tides

Man exists upon a continuum of existence and nonexistence. Throughout the works of C.S. Lewis, one unearths the notion that God beckons man higher into a greater reality, one in which man is both more independent and more united with God; meanwhile, Satan attempts to drag man downward into increased nonexistence. Man is called into a higher existence, but God is not calling us to be Him. God is calling us to be more human, the humanity that He intended.

Leaping Off The Page And Melding Modes: The Multimodal Space Poem As A New Form Of Poetry, Todd J. Erickson

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper develops and makes an argument for a new form of poetry referred to as a space poem, defined as a poem that is composed with an awareness of multimodality during its creation in such a way that results in a poem in which multiple modes work together symbiotically to create the poem. I trace the development of this concept over the course of my experience as a student in the Critical and Creative Thinking Master’s degree program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning with a consideration of my past artistic multimodal projects created at different moments during …

They Both Prayed To The Same God, Scott Culpepper

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The influence of faith in the American Civil War was complicated. As Lincoln so astutely observed, both sides prayed to the same God. Both sides believed that God heard them and supported their cause."

Posting about religious views during the American Civil War from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/they-both-prayed-to-the-same-god/

Establishing A Department Wiki To Construct Knowledge And Community In A University Setting, Jasmine Chanel Williams

Theses and Dissertations

To navigate graduate school, students rely on a social network from instructors to peers, this network is not omnipresent. In a nontraditional university setting, synchronous physical meetings can disrupt social engagement. At a commuter campus like the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), the Professional and Technical Writing (PTW) MA students need an accessible, online community enabling asynchronous collaboration to improve understanding of important theoretical concepts in rhetoric. The web 2.0 technology, wiki, is a knowledge management tool and social software that may aid students in understanding rhetoric. Because there is not currently a rhetoric wiki available, one must …

Tolkien’S Poetry (2013), Edited By Julian Eilmann And Allan Turner, Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Tolkien’s Poetry (2013), edited by Julian Eilmann and Allan Turner. Book review by Andrew Higgins.

Beyond The Blinds: On Power And Subversion, April N. Baca

Art 525/Art History 5290 Papers

No abstract provided.

A Dialogue Of Literary And Art Theory By The Public Table: Sidelights On The 12ThAnnual Meeting Of Chinese Association Of Literary And Art Theory, Yichuan Wang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The 12th annual meeting of Chinese Association of Literary and Art Theory is the best thanksgiving and blessing to the centennial birthday of its founder, Mr. Xu Zhongyu. Compared with the first National College Literary and Art Theory Conference held in 28 years ago, this annual meeting presents many differences, such as venue, time consumption, modes of academic exchanges, objectives, and the age of the presenters and participants, in a reasonable and harmonious way. Focused on core issue of "Chinese discourse in literary theory of the last century," the meeting explores multiple academic levels, including classical theories alive in today, …

In Defense Of Hu Shih's Revision Of The 81St Trial In A Journey To The West, Hongbo Zhu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

There has been no agreement in evaluating Hu Shih's revision of the 81st trial in A Journey in the academic circle. This paper takes the perspective of reception aesthetics and hermeneutics to approach the issue and claims the reasonability of Hu's revision. In the reader response in the process of reading, the agency of the reader's subjecthood should be fully acknowledged to be legitimate, while the merits or demerits of the revision may be subjected to individual evaluation. Hu's revision of A Journey to the West, even if breaking up the novel's unity as perceived by many readers, implicates creative …

Modernist Imagination Of Space And The Hardship Of Returning Home: An Investigation Centered On The Literature Of Minority Nationalities In Contemporary China, Changzhong Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The capacity of cultural bearing of the minority nationalities in China is relatively weak, their ecological environment relatively fragile, and vehicles of cultural heritage relative scarce, which contributes to the two-sided problem comprising of existential and cultural spaces. These spaces are gradually invaded in the process of modernization by the foreigners who, as the cultural Other, have not only contaminated the aboriginal space of existence with their physical presence but also undermined the indigenous cultural tradition through their representation. The imagination of the Other's space helps confirm the construction of selfhood, but the question "where is home" becomes the modernist …

Remembering Memorial Day, Liz Moss

Staff Work

"Every once in a while it is good to stop and to remember."

Posting about a broader perspective on Memorial Day from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/remembering-memorial-day/

Memory On Parade: The Gallipoli Centenary And Anzac Day Commemoration, Kevin P. Lavery

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On April 25, 2015, record crowds were drawn from across Australia and New Zealand to the annual Anzac Day celebrations. This year’s commemoration was extra special, for it marked the one hundredth anniversary of the First World War’s Gallipoli campaign. Several of my primary news sources reported heavily on the festivities and it all got me thinking again about how people rally around these patriotic, semi-historical holidays even if the holidays are often distorted reflections of the historic events that they are meant to commemorate [excerpt].

On Visual Representation And Richard Wollheim's Concept Of Spectators' Seeing, Manting Yin

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The term "representation" has been translated into two Chinese phrases "zaixian” and "biaozheng." The former refers to the direct and intuitive visual perception, while the latter focuses on the social factors which deconstruct the knowledge systems, social institutions and meaning systems. Under this context, this paper discusses the value of visual representation. The paper observes that the contemporary studies on visual perception per se accept both the validity of intuitive perceptual experience and the predetermination of visual experience by cultural systems. First put forward by Ernst Gombrich, this question was advanced by Richard Wollheim through his discourses on the spectators' …

Reflections On Gombrich's Art Theory In The Postmodern Context, Baoqing Mu, Guangsheng Zou

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The fundamental principle of Gombrich's art criticism lies in his adherence to the "golden mean" between innovation and tradition. The sensible art criticism relies on the impartial evaluation of the expressiveness of artistic works and artists' contribution to the establishment of paradigms and norms. However, some contemporary art theorists and critics argue that Gombrich's "golden mean" has actually been out of balance, due to his overemphasis on tradition and his critical attitude towards modern art. Accordingly, a critical survey of Gombrich's rational principle in the postmodern context, with a reflection on the tension and dialogue between traditional thoughts and modern …

The Construction Of Literary Theory Centered On Literary Criticism, Xilin You

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The crisis of contemporary literary theory does not lie in literary theory itself or in its logic; instead, it is a structural crisis rooted in the divorce between theory and literary experience. Compared with the effort to re-establish the fundamental link between literary theory, criticism and experience, the debate over the theories between Chinese and the Western and between the classical and the contemporary does not hold much significance. Literary criticism connects literary theory and experience as it is not only the hinge between them but also the essential measurement to evaluate the crisis of literary theory. The construction of …

Playthings Of History, F. Jones Andrew, Dun Wang, Yiren Zheng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The 1930s Republican China exhibited a historically determinate and pervasive cultural logic in which children and commodities were consistently linked together as part of a larger narrative of national development. This is attested by the visual and narrative logic of Sun Yu's film Playthings. Often lauded as a classic of Shanghai cinema, Sun Yu's film narrates China's national salvation by way of a seemingly unlikely figure: toys. Released on National Day in 1933 and promoted in the popular press as a call to arms, this particular "toy story" — which focuses on a Chinese toy maker's struggle for survival in …

Reflection And Prospect: How To Construct Chinese Literary Theory Discourse — A Synopsis Of Chinese Literary Theory 12ThAnnual Academic Symposium On "The Chinese Discourse Of Literary Theory Research In The Past Hundred Years", Ali Yu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

No abstract provided.

Sound And Listening As A Figurative Narration, Yuhui Jiang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The study of pictorial images could follow two different approaches. One is the Panofskian iconology, which intends to bring the visual images to the higher modes of meaning. The other is the downward approach, which tries to return to the image itself. Deleuze and Focillon are the two advocates of the latter one. The sound metaphor Kandinsky introduced in his explanation of visual elements provides another important path for us to trace the potential motivation of deformation of images. With these crucial clues, the sound and listening as a kind of figural narration could be explained, especially within the reference …

The Concept Of Witty Humor In The Poetry In The Qianlong-Jiaqing Reign Of The Qing Dynasty, Jieling Liang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the period of Qianlong and Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty with the relative social stability, the leading poets pursued a style with witty humor, which led to the social fashion in poetry. Though Yuan Mei's taste was looked upon as poetic objective, it would be an interpretation to theoretically generalize it into the doctrine of a poetry school. The connotation of witty humor was the author's poetic sentiments toward social phenomena, which showed the poet's artistic craft. The denotation of the concept was relative to the poetics emphasizing moral function of literature. While the concept of witty humor …

The Motivation And Practice Of The Rise Of Classical Aesthetics Research In The 20th Century's China, Wei Han

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Chinese classical aesthetics research began in the 1980s, in an effort to establish the discipline of Chinese aesthetics under the complicated historical context. It was spurred by both the trend of cultural root-seeking against the background of enlightenment modernity and the pursuit of discourse power. In practice, studies on Wang Guowei and Zong Baihua formed the earliest mode of research, which in turn displayed the charm of ancient Chinese aesthetics. The studies had also constituted a potential model for and established a foundation stone for the classical aesthetics research in the years that followed.