Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Pursuit Of Perfection, Jacob Perry

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Both Hinduism and Buddhism contain a specific characteristic that sets them apart from each other, but at the same time ties them together. Buddhism was born out of Hinduism and contains many of the same aspects, but where they differ most comes through how each religion defines dharma. Dharma can be applied to almost any religion in some way, most in similar forms, but how it is represented in these two religions is what makes it especially intriguing and intricate."

I Would Not Be The Woman I Am Today, Brianna Ferranti

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"My name is Brianne Ferranti. I graduated from St. John Fisher College in May of 2013 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Religious Studies. As an enthusiastic student eager to learn, I enjoyed every minute of my time spent on campus. Whether I was in class, the library, the dining hall or a teacher's office, every minute had something valuable to offer. Knowledge, wisdom, and a variety of personal and professional skills, are among the valuables I acquired during my time at Fisher. It was always …

Can A Lightning Rod Of Grace Short-Circuit Stress?, Ellen Weber

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"How can we break through the many pressures faced daily, to find that rare gem of divine love that leaves us free of anxiety? I'm referring to an adrenaline of sorts that gets us going again after we slip or fail. Let's face it, most people expect stress to slap back when criticized, and we feel its sudden sting whenever we judge others unfairly. Or have you battled the pressure to repair a broken relationship lately? If so, you've likely noticed how stress blurs your vision and leaves you …

A Discussion Of Shiguang Cui’S Piano Concerto No. 2, Focusing On A Stylistic Analysis And Traditional Chinese Musical Elements, Yuting Ji

Dissertations

Shiguang Cui (崔世光) (b. 1948) is a Chinese composer and pianist. To celebrate the 2008 Summer Olympic Games held in Beijing, his work Concerto for Ten Concert Grand Pianos and Orchestra was commissioned by the Dean of the National Center for the Performing Arts, Mr. Ping Chen. Ten internationally-renowned pianists were invited to give the world premiere on August 19, 2008. The pianists were Claude Frank, Phillippe Entremont, Vladimir Feltsman, Louis Lortie, Yunyi Qin (秦云轶), Shikun Liu (刘诗昆), Lang Lang (郎朗), Cyprien Katsaris, Guillermo Gonzalez, and Sha Chen (陈萨).¹

This piece was originally conceived as Concerto for Ten Concert …

Burmese Nationalism And Christianity In Myanmar: Christian Identity And Witness In Myanmar Today, Zam Khat Kham

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The dissertation first considers the historical and cultural settings of a rising Burmese nationalism that embraces Buddhism as an essential component and seeks to enforce a cultural homogenization known as “Burmanization” on all citizens of Myanmar. For the minority Christian church in Myanmar, this ardent and pervasive nationalism presents a serious challenge, for which the church has yet to present an adequate response. After evaluating the few efforts made by Christians to address the problems confronting the church in the context of a culture of aggressive Buddhist nationalism, the study offers a way forward. Drawing on the resources of Reformation …

"Let Me Tell You What I See" Creating A Culturally Relevant Arts Based Education Through The Use Of Photography And Storytelling, William Tran

Master's Projects and Capstones

There are many constructs that can hinder the ability of students of color to succeed in a classroom environment. Factors such as the construct of whiteness, microaggressions, the banking method, as well as cuts in arts based classes create a learning environment where oppression occurs on multiple levels. The construct of whiteness creates an environment in which only the ideas, values, lived experiences, and knowledge of whites are considered valid. Microaggressions uphold the construct of whiteness by insulting and invalidating any ideas, values, lived experiences, languages, and knowledge that are outside the construct of whiteness. The constructs of whiteness as …

Lotuses Rising: Fostering Southeast Asian Community Cultural Wealth Through Arts Based Culturally Specific Programming, Rhummanee Hang

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores how Banteay Srei, a community organization in Oakland, California, works with young Southeast Asian American women using arts based and culturally specific programming to make visible the community cultural wealth that exists in this community. Through cooking and telling stories about their elders' refuge and resettlement experiences, the young women gain a better sense of their own history, culture, and identity. This intergenerational project allows participants to learn, feel empowered, and begin to heal. The result is a cookbook for the young women of the organization. While this project and program is not meant to be replicated …

Love Sex God, Magdiel G. Alfonso

Theses and Dissertations

As a result of the absence of a father-figure and the repulsion of machismo, a love for that masculinity and a void within grew from the missing father-son/male-male interaction; this is the drive to codify my work with homoerotic imagery bathed with guilty religiosity through a torturous sadomasochist context to display a life-mirrored desire to punish and love the male simultaneously while feeling guilty doing it. The work is inspired by homoerotic and religious art history and at times the blending of the two.

The purpose of this work is not only to show the love for the celebration of …

The Subjugation Of The Texas Indians From The 17th–19th Centuries, Erhard M. Vandeventer

Theses and Dissertations

The Americas have long been a center of conflict as European powers competed for control of the resources of these untapped lands. Spain, France, and England contributed to the turbulent era of colonization. Each left their mark on the Western Hemisphere. Spain couldn’t know that an Independent Mexico would emerge from the actions of the first Spanish conquistadors. The Republic of Texas was actually a stepchild of Spain created through its Mexican land grants and missions. The lands they colonized were not empty. Spain, Mexico and the Texas Republic, found their new holdings populated by Native Americans who were not …

Boricua Type: Intersectional Hybrid Transcultural Art Concepts And Illustrations, Isaac Santiago

Theses and Dissertations

The concepts and artworks contained in this thesis embodies most of the research that I did in and outside the University. My particular experiences as a Puerto Rican, born and raised, and as a migrant artist in Mexico and Texas. Most of the research was made by trail and error independently or with little to no guidance. In conclusion I found my artistic self: technically, personally, and reached a high level of commitment to our community as a prepared professional.

Virginia Woolf’S Fictional Biographies, Orlando And Flush, As Prefigures Of Postmodernism, Jacob C. Castle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the way in which the fictional biographies of Virginia Woolf, Orlando and Flush, prefigure central tenets of postmodern fiction. To demonstrate the postmodern elements present in Orlando and Flush, this thesis focuses on how the fictional biographies exhibit three postmodern characteristics: concern for historiography, extensive use of parody, and the denaturalization of cultural assumptions. Born from Woolf’s desire to revolutionize biography by incorporating elements of fiction alongside historical fact, these two novels parallel later works of historiographic metafiction in several key respects. Woolf’s extensive use of parody in Orlando and Flush prefigures how postmodern parody …

Twice Heard, Paradoxically (Un)Seen: Walking The Tightrope Of Invisibility In Palestinian Translated Fiction, Mona Nabeel Malkawi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the translators’ invisibility in postcolonial translated Palestinian fiction. On one hand, this analysis revolves around the ethical stance of translators towards authors in a postcolonial theoretical framework. On the other, it brings postcolonial translation scholars’ approaches into practice and examination. Therefore, this study provides a critical analysis of reading novels in translation as both a channel of decolonization from Oriental and imperial discourses and an aesthetic catalyst for freedom in exile, specifically translated by Trevor LeGassick, Elizabeth Fernea, Salma Jayyusi, Adnan Haydar, and Roger Allen. The intriguing paradox of the translator’s invisibility is inherent in the contradiction …

Meridians 15:1, Karsonya Wise Whitehead

Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism

With the increasingly high stakes nature of teaching and the ongoing push to teach within the adopted Common Core, there appears to be very little room for teachers to incorporate the voices and experiences of anyone whose life is not already embedded within the curriculum....

“Her Name Was Not Seher, It Was Heranuş…”: Reading Narratives Of Forced Turkification In Twenty-First Century Turkey, T. Elal

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The process of Turkish state formation coincides with systematic large-scale massacres, persecution and exclusion of certain groups - namely Armenians, Rums, Jews, Assyrians and Kurds. However, accounts of the process of Turkish nation-building which deal with its destructive side often overlook the “Turkification” of many non-Muslim women and children in the wake of the First World War. This study aims to fill this gap by drawing on personal narratives and testimonies of forceful assimilation published in the last decade in Turkey. As any discussion on the Armenian Genocide was one that was silenced until not so long ago in Turkey, …

"The Quality Of Women's Intelligence" : Female Humanists In Renaissance Italy., Julie Myers-Mushkin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how the advent of humanism in Renaissance Italy impacted women, namely those who were raised within intellectual families and granted educational opportunities not before afforded to members of their sex. In quattrocento Italy, learned women began to circulate their writings and participate in the humanist milieu, and the intellectual lives and published works of these female humanists all in some manner contested Renaissance patriarchy and gender perceptions. As such, this thesis challenges the conception that the Renaissance further disenfranchised women and offers a framework for analyzing and appreciating the ways in which women participated in the academic …

If This Heart Had A Mouth: A Forbidden Romance Narrated Through Mimesis: Poems, Julieta V. Corpus

Theses and Dissertations

If This Heart Had a Mouth consists of forty-two poems where love is the catalyst for a multitude of emotions, ranging from falling in love, to hopelessness, to a begrudging kind of acceptance at losing the beloved to somebody else. To create all forty-two poems, 23 written in Spanish, and 19 poems written in English, I employed the literary device called Mimesis which entails deriving an original poem from someone else's work.

To create each poem, I followed another poet’s original work, line by line. I imitated that poet’s rhythm through their use of meter. I counted the number of …

The Artists Journey- Strolling The Edges Of The Universe, Mary P. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Space exploration has always fascinated me, and so has the idea ( so far fictional) that humankind may someday encounter extraterrestrial life. My series of paintings and prints are a visual expression of the awe and wonder I feel as I follow our species’s unending drive to expand the boundaries of its known world.

But the unknown is not just out there in interstellar space. And there are other lifeforms to encounter right here on our own planet. Another series of my paintings documents Earth’s flora. Our ties to the microorganisms, animals, and plants on our planet, and the life …

Heritage Tourism In Washington County, Tennessee: Linking Place, Placelessness, And Preservation, Chad F. Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the formation of spatial theory and the linkage between space and place and their relationship with historic preservation and heritage tourism. First, this thesis analyzes the terms space and place, and how scholars define each term. Second, this thesis focuses on the concept of placelessness. Third, this thesis examines historic preservation as a strategy to help alleviate placelessness and as a crucial link to heritage tourism. This thesis also will use regional examples of preservation and tourism as exemplified by the preservation efforts of private organizations, citizens, and government officials in Jonesborough,Johnson City, and Washington County,Tennessee. This …

Recasting The White Stereotype Of Southern Appalachia: Contribution To Culture And Community By Black Appalachian Women, Sherry Kaye Ms.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The myth and image of Southern Appalachia spun by local color writers of the early nineteenth century and, later, by local elites in privileged positions of power have long cast the historiography of the region in tones of Caucasian lineage and remediation. The production of culture, contribution to community, and service to church and, family long considered to be the domain of women has predominantly been viewed from the privilege of a white perspective. Prescriptive definitions of a monochromatic culture in the Uplands of Southern Appalachia has written out the cultural contribution of diverse ethnicities who continue to call the …

Descendants, Katie J. Sheffield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The photographer discusses the photographs in Descendants, her Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition which was held at Tipton Gallery, Johnson City, Tennessee from October 31, 2016 through November 23, 2016. The exhibit consisted of 19 large format color photographs. This body of work visually represents the artistʼs interest in those who participate in Civil War re-enactments.

The historical and contemporary influences discussed are in accordance to Sheffieldʼs photographs. Historical influences include Matthew Brady, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Walker Evans, and Helen Levitt, as well as those of contemporary artists; Martin Parr, Stacy Kranitz, and Anderson Scott.

Restoring Relationship: How The Methodologies Of Wangari Maathai And The Green Belt Movement In Post-Colonial Kenya Achieve Environmental Healing And Women's Empowerment, Casey L. Wagner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effects of the colonial project in Kenya created multi-faceted damages to the land and indigenous people-groups. Using the lens of ecofeminism, this study examines the undergirding structures that produce systems such as colonization that oppress and destroy land, people, and other beings. By highlighting the experience of the Kikuyu people within the Kenyan colonial program, the innovative and ingenious response of Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement proves to be a relevant and effective counter to women's disempowerment and environmental devastation in a post-colonial nation. The approach of the Green Belt Movement offers a unique and accessible method for empowering …

Prudery And Perversion: Domination Of The Sexual Body In Middle-Class Men, Women, And Disenfranchised Bodies In Victorian England, Ashley Barnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research argues that with the rise of the middle-class, Victorian England saw the development of a power model in which middle-class men, middle-class women and disenfranchised bodies of children and lower-class women suffered from the demands of bodily domination. Because the bodily health of middle-class men was believed to represent national health, it was imperative that he dominate his body, particularly with regard to sexual urges. Consequently, the bodies of women with whom he sought sexual release suffered from forms of bodily domination as well. Through an analysis of journals and private writings of those living in Victorian England, …

Reconciling The Past In Octavia Butler's Kindred, Haley V. Manis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses the observations of Nancy J. Peterson on historical wounds as a springboard to discuss Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred and its use of both white and black characters to reexamine the origins of the historical wounds and why they are so difficult to deal with even today. Other scholarly works will be used to further investigate the importance of each character in the story and what they mean to the wound itself. Specifically, Dana is analyzed alongside the other main characters: Rufus, Alice, and Kevin. Though Dana’s relationships with these characters, Kindred’s version of the past can be …

The Handweavers Of Modern-Day Southern Appalachia: An Ethnographic Case Study, Cathryn F. Washell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most prominent traditions associated with the Southern Appalachians is the art of weaving. Extensive research has focused on the history of Appalachian weaving, but there is little on the current weaving community. Today, the region still serves as an axis for weaving, and many practicing weavers, weaving instructors, and learning institutions can be found in Southern Appalachia. The core of this study is the interviews with ten weavers that reside and practice their work in Appalachia. Using concept coding, the transcripts of the interviews led to the development of four major themes that highlight the weavers’ discovery …

Developing Academic Literacy: What Novice Teachers Can Learn From The Case Of Teaching Latino/Bilingual Learners Science And Mathematics, Sandra I. Musanti, Sandra Mercuri

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Homeland, Homestead, And Haven: The Changing Perspectives Of Zion National Park, 1700-1930, Sara Black

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Zion National Park is a landscape that the American public celebrates as a unique and beautiful wilderness. However, Zion is much more culturally layered than what most tourists perceive. Numerous Native American cultures have ties to the canyon, including the Southern Paiutes, who used and interacted with this area on a regular basis for at least the last 500 years. For them, it served both substantive and cultural roles in their communities that reinforced their understandings of themselves and their place in the world. For Mormons, who came into the area in the 1860s and quickly dominated the landscape, Zion …

Efficient Strategies For Playing The Horn, Jon Allan Holloway

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In their pursuit of becoming accomplished performers, horn players spend a great deal of time studying proper brass playing techniques from the great pedagogues. The modern horn is a fairly young instrument (less than two hundred years old) and the most efficient pedagogical approach is still evolving. Because of this, horn players spend a great deal of time studying proper brass playing techniques from the great pedagogues. Books by Philip Farkas, Arnold Jacobs, Raphael Mendez, and more have many theories and exercises on how to breathe, the best way to perfect embouchure development, performance techniques, and more.

Modern pedagogues have …

From Access To Excess: Agribusiness, Federal Water Programs, And The Historical Roots Of The California Water Crisis, Tracy Marie Neblina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to show the link between water use, land consolidation, agribusinesses, and the water crisis that California began to experience in 2011. In order to better understand the relationship between the growth of agribusiness in the state and the evolution of water policy, this paper explores the historical context of land policy, the growth of farming in the San Joaquin Valley, and the development of federally funded water projects in the Central Valley. Years of expanding farmland and use of surface and underground water with limited regulation played an important role in exacerbating California’s water …

Stay Brave My Hercules, Ernie Wang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

“Stay Brave My Hercules” is a collection of nine original short stories separated into two sections: “Stay Brave My Hercules” and “Matsuri”.

In the first section, “Stay Brave My Hercules”, I explore the themes of hypermasculinity, loneliness, and insecurity, in particular the points in which they intersect. These stories are narrated by different male characters between the ages of seventeen and twenty-seven and who all struggle in different ways to conform to masculine norms.

In the second section, “Matsuri”, I explore the themes of family, loss, and devastation through the eyes of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans during World War II. …

Bare, Rachel Britton

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.