Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Using Visual “Bait” To Hook, Engage, And Empower New Community College Writers, Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

This reflective article focuses on a series of semester-long activities conducted with developmental writers in an urban community college classroom. It builds on the research of John Berger (1972) and Sondra Perl (1994) who highlight seeing and perception as key components of self-composition. The article showcases assignments where students created photo journals as a way to share their lives, thoughts, and experiences. The use of structured prompts allowed students to actively engage with their neighborhoods -- a sort of text to be read, captured, and ultimately decoded through written explanation. The examples will be useful to practitioners who may be …

Religion On The Dance Floor: Afro-Dominican Music And Ritual From Altars To Clubs, Angelina M. Tallaj

Publications and Research

In this essay, I examine the current New York scene and the emerging discourses surrounding the recent visibility of Dominican Voodoo (Vudú) and its music. When Dominicans migrated, they brought with them these marginalized genres of music including the music of Vudú, and, since the 2000s, this music (palo) has moved from the religious arena to the popular music world, in turn changing the nature of the religious rituals. In New York City, Vudú ceremonies can now publicly feature drumming and possession and are practiced in commercial venues rather than in private homes and altar spaces. While this move of …

A Method For Determining Damage Within Historic Cemeteries: A First Step For Digital Heritage, Justin E. Malcolm

Honors Undergraduate Theses

While it is true that historic cemeteries are places that contain a wealth of knowledge about the history of a community they are sometimes not well maintained. The information within can be lost as grave-markers are damaged either by natural causes or human interaction. In larger cemeteries preserving these significant places can sometimes be difficult due to a number of different factors. Therefore focusing preservation efforts on specific locations where damage is more likely to occur is crucial to ensure that the monuments that are the most at risk are preserved. One possible way of accomplishing this is through the …

Obsidian Sourcing Analysis From Chiquiuitan, Guatemala, Sutherland X. Fertig

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to analyze obsidian artifacts from Chiquiuitan, Guatemala to see if the samples can be traced to known obsidian sources in the Maya region based on their unique chemical elements. Another aspect of this analysis is to determine the accuracy and validity of the Handheld XRF instrument on small and irregular obsidian samples. Furthermore, sourcing analysis allows researchers to acquire information about trade, exchange, and acquisition patterns of the material and gives researchers indications to prehistoric, social, and economic features.

How Can The Humanities Treat Hiv/Aids? An Interview With Dale Smith, Amita Rao, Emily Furlich, Dale Smith

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Geometric Serendipity, Dakota Becker

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

The central focus of my practice is the serendipitous exploration into geometry, symmetry, design, and color. I have found more and more that the affinity I have for hard-edge geometric abstraction is a deeper reflection of the way in which I process my thoughts and surroundings. In the past year, I have sought to challenge myself by questioning the core of my practice and pushing it to go beyond its individual elements. In this way, I seek to create work that is more than its parts. As a result, I have become more purposeful with my designs and push both …

Hip Hop, Religion And The Youth Of Romania: A Preliminary Study, Oana Alexandra Chirilă, Cassandra D. Chaney

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

For the past two decades, Hip Hop has attained a significant presence in Romania. The fall of Communism as well as growing social unrest has led a growing number of Hip Hop artists to incorporate strong Orthodox and nationalist messages into their lyrics. However, not all Hip Hop fans advocate this stance. This essay argues for an investigation of how Romanian youth respond to the religious and spiritual lyrics in Hip Hop. This mixed-methods study examines whether Romanian youth gravitate toward "spiritual-oriented messages or religious-oriented messages" and are thus, "hardcore listeners" or "casual listeners." The results of the study highlight …

"Is There A Heaven For A Gangsta?": Hip Hop, Spirituality, And Heaven, Cassandra D. Chaney

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

A content analysis was conducted on the lyrics of 24 Hip Hop songs to identify how Black male Hip Hop artists discuss heaven. The songs were released between 1993 and 2015 and phenomenology was the theoretical foundation on which the themes were identified. I propose that Black Hip Hop artists create a heaven that reflects their own experiences, values, and traditions, envision a heaven where the weak and oppressed receive vindication from the indignities suffered on earth as well as a way to connect with dead loved ones. Essentially, Black Hip Hop artists’ expressions of heaven acknowledge racial experiences, demonstrates …

Racial Prioritization In Black-White Relationships, Nia Tariq

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

The utilization of race as a proxy for evaluating different characteristics of others contains risk because it results in stereotyping and potential alienation of individuals from negatively judged groups. This concept motivated me to uncover the extent to which race affects intimate relationships amongst the historically opposed groups of blacks and whites in the United States. I am studying the historic racially-driven marginalization of blacks and the resulting relationship to recent dating and marriage patterns between black-white interracial pairs. I want to find out why the socioeconomic advantage held by whites is transmutated into dating culture, in order to understand …

Researching The History Of Hiv/Aids: An Interview With Christopher Ewing, Emily Furlich

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Abjection And Vision, Brianna Perry

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

I am currently researching medieval Christian mysticism and Black Hoodoo. Both traditions are founded upon a more involved relationship with the body and spirit. The herbalism, magic and superstition involved in the Black Hoodoo tradition have served as means of resistance among Black Americans. In light of the Tuskegee Airman incident, Black Americans’ doubt of the white medical establishment has increased. In a world dominated by reason and logic, magic makes less and less sense. The role of mystics provided new opportunities and fulfillment for medieval women, who found their voices through articulating and illustrating their visions. Visions primarily served …

Jesus The Rabbi And Teacher In John's Gospel: The Gift Of Divine Instruction, Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Records Of Asbury College Revival Collection Arc1983-004 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Papers Of Ernest F. Ward Arc1988-004 - Finding Aid, Ats Special Collections And Archives

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

"Lily-Brick" Peripheral Documents, Benjamin Holda

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The peripheral analysis of the composition of the novel Lily-Brick, by Ben Holda

Thinking About The 'Ming China' Anew: The Ethnocultural Space In A Diverse Empire-With Special Reference To The 'Miao Territory', Yonglin Jiang

East Asian Languages and Cultures Faculty Research and Scholarship

By examining the cultural identity of China's Ming dynasty, this essay challenges two prevalent perceptions of the Ming in existing literature: to presume a monolithic socio-ethno-cultural Chinese empire and to equate the Ming Empire with China (Zhongguo, the “middle kingdom”). It shows that the Ming constructed China as an ethnocultural space rather than a political entity. In essence, China was defined as a Han domain that the Han people inhabited and where Han values were produced, practiced, and preserved in contrast to those of non-Han “barbarians,” be they domestic or foreign. The “Great Ming”—the dynastic title—cannot be confused with China, …

The Common Place: The Poetics Of The Pedestrian In Kevin Huizenga’S Walkin’, Shiamin Kwa

East Asian Languages and Cultures Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Still Moving: Gabrielle Bell’S Graphic Auto-Fiction, Shiamin Kwa

East Asian Languages and Cultures Faculty Research and Scholarship

In Lucky, The Voyeurs, and Truth is Fragmentary, cartoonist Gabrielle Bell adopts comics panels of approximately the same size as a passport photo. The comics draw a kind of auto-fiction that marries the fantastical and the autobiographical, frequently eliding musings on her status as a woman writer, a comics writer, and a traveler. These are all categories that share the distinction of being “threshold” or liminal categories. This chapter takes Bell’s presentation of identity as an object of formal and phenomenological inquiry. It considers how the hand-drawn rendering of the autobiographical self ironically draws attention to the irregularity of identity …

Lang And Law: Analyzing Representations Of Law, Justice, And Violence In The Films Of Fritz Lang, Dante Fresse

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the representations of Law, Justice, and Violence in the German and American films of Fritz Lang. Through an overview of legal and social unrest in Germany and courtroom drama, criminal conviction, mob violence, and police corruption in America, Lang challenges the legitimacy of Law and shows how it is subverted by outside forces. At other times, Lang shows Law working in collusion with criminal agencies or against the interests of the public. In doing this, Lang’s films present images of legal decay in the urban sphere, prompted by anxieties which come about through spatial alienation, city structure, …

Destruction, Reconstruction, And Remembrance: Exploring 'Memory' And 'Environment' Through Pennsylvania World War I Memorials In France, Amy Collins

Honors Theses

After examining the substantial efforts at land reclamation and environmental mitigation accompanying the State of Pennsylvania’s construction of memorials after World War I in France, I discovered a strong relationship between post-war memorialization and environmental mitigation in the areas in which the environmental consequences of WWI continue to affect humans and wildlife. My research illuminates how cultural impulses to build memorials that acknowledged the vast losses, acts of valor, and victories heavily influenced mitigation of France’s ecologically damaged Western Front. Many of France’s former battlefields, particularly in the devastated area known as the Red Zone, weren’t accessible to visitors before …

Forum Magazine, Fall 2018

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Review Of "What We Saw From This Mountain: Selected Poems 1976-2014" By V. Aristov, Translated By J. Trubikhina-Kunina And B. Hulick, Sibelan E.S. Forrester

Russian Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

"A Bunch Of Tough Hombres": Police Brutality, Municipal Politics, And Racism In South Texas, Brent M. S. Campney

History Faculty Publications

“Everybody knew the McAllen police were a bunch of tough hombres, especially the Boys on C shift,” reported the Dallas Morning News on March 29, 1981. “Working the midnight-to-8 a.m. shift along the border is like being at war, the cops said. You have to be tough. The Boys on C shift worked at being tough.” Many of the “Boys” wore black T-shirts with gold letters bearing “the legend, ‘C Shift Animals.’ They even had their own slogan: ‘Kick…and Ask Questions Later.’ ” Only days earlier, the public had become aware of their misdeeds, revealed in six years of booking …

The Resonance And Residue Of The First African American Newspaper: How Freedom's Journal Created Space In The Early 19th Century, Valerie Kasper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first African American newspaper, Freedom's Journal, has a historical, rhetorical, and spatial purpose. It not only showed the impact made by African Americans in the fight for their civil rights in the early 19th century, but as an artifact it illustrated and preserved that history allowing it to be studied centuries after the newspaper ceased printing. The purpose of The Resonance and Residue of the First African American Newspaper: How Freedom's Journal Created Space in the Early 19th Century is to provide an interdisciplinary approach to historical newspapers that illustrates an alternative history in this country — a history …

Emergent Narrative: Stories Of Play, Playing With Stories, Eric Murnane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emergent narrative, a phenomenon of unexpected contextual stories arising through play, has been researched in the field of game studies since 1999. However, that discussion largely lies in the realm of theoretical stories which are generated by either the system or the player. The purpose of this dissertation is to deepen our understanding of emergent narrative by examining real-world examples of the phenomenon. Four hundred player posts were gathered from forums relating to the video game Skyrim (a large, open world fantasy roleplaying game) and analyzed using a mixed-method framework which is informed by digital ethnography, fan studies, and game …

Drone Warfare And Just War Theory, Harry Van Der Linden

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This book chapter addresses two questions. First, can targeted killing by drones in non-battlefield zones be justified on basis of just war theory? Second, will the proliferation and expansion of combat drones in warfare, including the introduction of autonomous drones, be an obstacle to initiating or executing wars in a just manner in the future? The first question is answered by applying traditional jus ad bellum (justice in the resort to war) and jus in bello (justice in the execution of war) principles to the American targeted killing campaign in Pakistan; the second question is answered on basis of principles …

What We Mean When We Talk About Reading: Rethinking The Purposes And Contexts Of College Reading, Rachel Ihara, Ann Del Principe

Publications and Research

This study illuminates faculty beliefs about reading by closely examining their attitudes toward assigned readings and faculty professional reading practice. Drawing upon interview data from instructors teaching in a range of disciplines at a two-year college, we suggest that conversations about reading would benefit from greater awareness of the various contexts and purposes for reading. Rather than talk about reading as something students either "do" or "don’t do", or do well or poorly, we draw attention to the ways that different purposes for reading shape reading behaviors for students and faculty alike.

In A Gilded Cage, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

The Oxford history of the United States may be the most prestigious series of American history survey volumes in print. Originally launched under the aegis of C. Vann Woodward and Richard Hofstadter, it embraces at least three Pulitzer Prize-winners—James M. McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988), David M. Kennedy’s Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 (1999), and Daniel Walker Howe’s What Hath God Wrought? The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 (2007)—plus two other Pulitzer nominations and a Bancroft Prize in 1997 for James Patterson’s Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945–1974.

There …

Reconstruction As A Pure Bourgeois Revolution, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

The years between 1865 and 1877, which form the period in American history known as Reconstruction, compose a sort of coda to the traumatic opera of the American Civil War of 1861–65. Reconstruction embraces the twelve years of active effort to rebuild the American Union, though in some sense (because Reconstruction had no official starting or ending date) aspects of it spluttered on well into the 1890s. I use the word spluttered deliberately, because Reconstruction is also the ugly duckling of American history in the eyes of many American historians, and something the public considers vaguely awful if it thinks …

The Family History Of Mallory A. Riley, Mallory Riley

Your Family in History: HIST 550/700

No abstract provided.