Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Nature Of Love, Loss, And The Plague: The Reign Of Filostrato In Boccacio's The Decameron, Jessica Lynn Perez

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Many scholars have discussed the symbolism of love and loss as well as the imagery of the plague in Giovanni Boccacio's the Decameron. In this paper, I discuss Boccaccio's plague narrative in the introduction to the text. Then, I examines the introduction to Day Four to show the inability of language to hinder nature. I also show how the meaning of Filostrato's name, its correlation to the somber theme that he has chosen, and Pampinea's reaction to Filostrato's theme demonstrate that these are emblematic of loss as part of the human condition. Lastly, I closely analyzes the story of …

Camus, Existentialism, And The Absurdity Of Tyler Durden, Jordan William Reece

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In this paper, I make an argument that Albert Camus was not an existentialist despite the common stance that he was. I then examine Tyler Durden of David Fincher's "Fight Club" to show what an absurd hero looks like.

The Failings Of Foreign Aid And Our Obligation To Consume, Gaetano Venezia

Senior Honors Theses

In his well-known 1972 article, "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," and in subsequent books, Peter Singer argues that we can and should prevent the needless suffering and death of the global poor by giving to foreign aid. This call for charity and assistance is mostly uncontroversial. However, foreign aid's effectiveness is highly contested among the aid literature. As the first part of this paper shows, all aid encounters inefficiencies, with the major problems being diversion of funds and perverse incentives. I look at each of these in turn, concluding that most aid is ineffective and sometimes even harmful—with the possible exception …

Aberration, Virginia Leslie Clark

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This portfolio contains an author's note and three creative pieces: the first is a work of poetry, the second is a work of fiction, and the third, a work of nonfiction. Together, these pieces examine the intersections of culture, religion, and gender. They survey the function of the narrative frame, and raise questions in regards to story-telling and re-telling. The poem, entitled "Asclepias syriaca," explores identity, spirituality and self-infliction. The historical fiction piece, "In the Telling," provides a re-investigation of the execution of Misha'al bint al Fahd al Saud, a Saudi princess condemned, allegedly, on the basis of adultery. The …

Success, Failure, And Obedience In Georgics Book Iv, Julie Kinsella Gavin

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper explores the concepts of success, failure, and obedience as seen in the Orpheus-Aristaeus story in Vergil's Georgics IV. Through their contrast, along with the juxtaposition of bees, Vergil's Georgics IV demonstrates that obedience in pre- Augustan Rome truly enables success, instead of the widely held notion that hard work does so. It is through the examination of love, toil, obedience, and the separate paths Orpheus, the bees, and Aristaeus take to achieve their goals, that the reader is able to understand Vergil's message in this last book of his masterpiece.

The Effects Of Expository Text Structure Instruction On The Reading Outcomes Of 4th And 5th Graders Experiencing Reading Difficulties, Janet J. Bohaty

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a standard protocol supplemental expository text structure intervention (i.e., Structures) on 45 4^th and 5^th graders experiencing reading difficulties. Students were enrolled in six K-8 parochial schools located in a Midwestern suburban city. Within classrooms, students were randomly assigned to Structures intervention or a business-as-usual control condition. Students in the Structures condition were taught to identify and discriminate among the five text structures used by authors of expository text (Meyer, 1975, 1985): description, sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and problem/solution. Students in the business-as-usual control condition participated in the …

Exploring Colonial Identity And A Growing Ecoconsciousness On The Great Plains, Charles Hiebner

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis is an exploration of my journey from an unapologetic industrial agriculturalist to a more environmentally sensitive citizen. I now recognize the inescapable relationship between colonialism and environmental issues surrounding water resources on the Great Plains and how these intertwined issues affect both the planet and its inhabitants. Specifically, I look at literature as both the catalyst and sustainer of my still-growing environmental and social consciousness. From important literary works encountered as a youth to the ecocriticism and explorations of social justice of the readings I engage in today, I examine how these literary choices have led me to …

Using Embedded Institutes As Professional Development To Create A Culture Of Writing Excellence, Melanie K. Farber

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The following thesis addresses the problem of creating a culture of writing excellence at a large, urban school. I will show how the Embedded Institute model helped our school to reconsider our professional development model and to create writing leaders across the content areas. The thesis will make the argument for something larger than test scores through qualitative feedback from teacher participants.

Adviser: Robert Brooke

The Roman Conquest Of Britain, Jason Delaney

HIM 1990-2015

In 43 CE, Britain became part of the Roman Empire and was systematically conquered for nearly half a century. The province had valuable natural resources to plunder, but the decision to invade was based upon more than its material wealth. Prestige through warfare was paramount in Roman society, and that is just what Claudius sought to achieve when he launched his invasion of the island. The Romans pushed all the way into Caledonia before stopping and securing the frontier with the construction of Hadrian’s Wall. Britain had become just another component in the colossal machine that was the Roman Empire.

Controlling Randomness: Using Procedural Generation To Influence Player Uncertainty In Video Games, Travis Fort

HIM 1990-2015

As video games increase in complexity and length, the use of automatic, or procedural, content generation has become a popular way to reduce the stress on game designers. However, the usage of procedural generation has certain consequences; in many instances, what the computer generates is uncertain to the designer. The intent of this thesis is to demonstrate how procedural generation can be used to intentionally affect the embedded randomness of a game system, enabling game designers to influence the level of uncertainty a player experiences in a nuanced way. This control affords game designers direct control over complex problems like …

The Death Penalty Debate: A Critical Examination Of The Moral Justifications For Capital Punishment, Whitley Mann

HIM 1990-2015

Capital punishment is a forceful moral issue that is frequently overlooked. This is possibly due to the reverence many have toward the rule of law or a passive acceptance of the status quo. In this thesis I will begin with a discussion of context to the topic of the death penalty in order to address potential biases. Then I examine not only the ethical merit of the death penalty but the foundational justifications for a system of criminal justice to show that the special relationship between the state and its citizens does not lend itself to or allow for the …

Between Psyche And Reality: An Investigation Of Contemporary Landscape, Shanna Stiles

HIM 1990-2015

This body of work explores the emotional aspects of my life through the metaphor of landscape. It is a contemplation of the genre of landscape in the contemporary art dialog. By exploring the materiality of paint and the physicality of working large I discovered the question of contemporary relevancy is no longer my primary reason for this investigation. My growth as an artist has come from exploring historical and contemporary influences and how they have affected my processes and visual aesthetic. Thus, a large series of work has emerged from an unexplainable desire to connect and share the crucial moments …

The X Patents: Patents Issued Under The Patent Acts Of 1790 & 1793, Robert Berry

Librarian Publications

The earliest United States patents— sometimes called “name and date patents” because they were not numbered—are distinctive in many respects. Patent specifications were not required to include claims until the Patent Act of 1870. Moreover, while the 1790 Act required a substantive examination by a Patent Board, that requirement ended with the 1793 Act, when it was deemed too burdensome. Thereafter the evaluation of the sufficiency of patent specifications was left to the courts.

Gaps And Barriers: Division And Revelation In Michel Butor’S La Modification, Mary L. Bauer

Languages Faculty Publications

Gaps divide things that can’t quite come together, while cracks warn that something that was a coherent whole is coming apart. Michel Butor implants images of these two powerful symbols within his narrative of Léon Delmont’s troubled relationships with his wife, Henriette, and his lover, Cécile Darcella in his novel, La modification (1957). Some are obvious physical manifestations, while others are figurative, yet no less real. Butor then turns the concept of gap literally on its head by using its inverse, the barrier, to emphasize the self-imposed obstacles to a healthy relationship on both sides of Léon’s not so-secret double …

Espousal A La Mode, Jessica Meyer

Theses

This thesis describes the creation of sculptural wedding gowns with the ultimate goal of highlighting the realities of marriage in a society where divorce is almost as common as sustaining said unions. These realities are represented by six marital problems visualized by the use of sculptural textures. The collection is built upon the concept that the foundation of the gown must be strong in order to support the fabric manipulations, just as the relationship of the couple must be strong in order to overcome the marital problem that each gown represents. The use of contemporary structures, mixed with traditional elements, …

The Electoral Victory Of John Bell And The Constitutional Union In Kentucky, 1860., Samuel Thomas Whittaker

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

A New Tradition : Understanding Othello Through The Performance Of Emilia., Megg Ward

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Holocaust Etiquette, Myth, And Metanarrative : Representations Of Nazism In Contemporary Comics., Tessa Withorn

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

James Wilson And Anglo-American Customary Constitutionalism., Sean Allen Southard

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

An Act Of Creation : Solo Storytelling Of Greek Mythology., James Thompson

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Goodnight Moonshine : The Lasting Effects Of Prohibition On The United States., John Slack

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Alcohol constitutes an integral part of societies across the world. This pattern can be seen in the United States where conflicts over alcohol’s place in the country have permeated the social landscape since the beginning of the nation. From colonial times to the modern day, society has viewed alcohol as a deplorable vice, an enjoyable indulgence, a rite of passage, an inherent freedom, and the reason for many of society’s woes. To better understand alcohol’s role in United States history, one needs to examine a key event and public policy that dealt with alcohol: Prohibition. Spanning from 1920 to 1933, …

The Mankurt Remembers : The Politics Of Language In Kazakhstan., Paige Brewer

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Making Theatre Special Without Special Effects : You Better Sit Down : Tales From My Parents' Divorce., Anna Neikirk

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Finding A Resolution : Religion's Role In Resolving Man's Internal Dyad., Marianna Michael

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Facing Technology : Creative Solutions To Real-World Problems., Taylor Juanita Beisler

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

We are shaped by technology. This simple idea has become more familiar to social scientists, technical engineers, and some tech users. The first section of this thesis finds unfavorable consequences of constant social media usage, such as unawareness, behavioral and cogitative modifications, and disconnection as societal ills. The second part of this thesis explains how these social side effects can be best ameliorated by “serious” designers, or those whose work is conceptual with real world applications (McLuhan, 8). The final section proposes a creative expression as it relates to bringing awareness to the social side effects of tech usage, linking …

Artist-Oriented Surfacing Workflow, Virginia Bailey Nearing

All Theses

Surfacing is the art of creating materials for digital objects, and it is an incredible technical and artistic challenge. Creating materials and textures for 3D meshes involves managing potentially hundreds of image files, moving data between multiple software packages, and building shaders that will work consistently through a digital production hierarchy. All while attempting to create a piece of art that will tell a story of what an object is, how it was made, and where it has been. Balancing these technical and artistic components is an extraordinary challenge, and it is easy for an artist to get overwhelmed or …

The Domestic Interior, The Female Body, And The Metaphorical Irish Nation In The Works Of James Joyce, Ellen Scheible

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Melodic Metaphors For Dreams In Three Classic Songs From The Disney Catalog, James Bohn

Bridgewater Review

Three of the most-valued songs from the Disney catalog are “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” All three songs come from animated feature films created during Walt Disney’s lifetime (1901-1966). Furthermore, all three invoke the idea of dreams or wishing. The melodies of these songs feature delayed resolution or a lack of resolution. Such approaches to resolution are symbolic of the intrinsically unresolved nature of dreams.

Development Of The Sonata, Christine Annie Hsu

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

Program: Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Sonata in d minor K. 9 Sonata in E Major K. 20 Sonata in A minor K. 54 Sonata in A Major K. 24 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Sonata in C Major I. Allegro II. Andante III. Scherzo: Allegro molto e con fuoco IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco Intermission--------------------------------- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Sonata in D Major Op. 28 I. Allegro II. Andante III. Scherzo-Trio: Allegro vivace IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non Troppo Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) Sonata in f minor Op. 1

John Owen, Scott Culpepper

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

One of seven articles written by Scott Culpepper for the book Encyclopedia of Christian Education, George Kurian and Mark Lamort, editors. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 3 volumes (xxxv, 1630 pages). ISBN: 9780810884922.