Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Week 1: Introduction, Calvin University

Campus Ministries Resources

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Under The Sign Of Suicide, Theodore Emmanuel Prassinos

Wayne State University Dissertations

“Under the Sign of Suicide,” examines modernist writers’ intense and sustained preoccupation with and representations of suicide. Beyond numerous essays on the topic, we also find many fictional characters such as Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Svidrigailov and Kirilov both taken by gunshot, Stavrogin and Smerdyakov both by hanging. We also find Franz Kafka’s George Bendemann who takes his life by drowning, and Virginia Woolf’s Septimus Smith by impaling, Her character, Rhoda, dies off a cliff. In American literature, we find Edna Pontellier, Quentin Compson, Clare Kendry, Semour Glass, Teddy McArdle, Willy Loman, Tod Clifton, and on and on. This list is surely …

A Rhetoric Of Zaniness: The Case Of Pepe The Frog, Sean Milligan

Wayne State University Dissertations

A Rhetoric of Zaniness: The Case of Pepe the Frog argues that Sianne Ngai’s aesthetic category of zaniness is an essential concept for understanding and studying digital rhetoric in the post-truth era. To illustrate how zaniness has come to define online discourse, the dissertation traces the character of Pepe the Frog through various moments of, what Laurie Gries calls, “rhetorical transformation.” Specifically, the dissertation focuses on his initial appearance in Matt Furie’s Boy’s Club comics and transformation into a meme, his appropriation by the alt-right, and his adoption as propaganda for the Trump presidential campaign.

Gender And Work: An Analysis Of Mid-Level Women Administrators In Student Affairs, Eboni Turnbow

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research has examined the experiences of women faculty in higher education. However, the experiences of non-faculty mid-level women administrators within higher education continues to be understudied. Women are often the majority in non-faculty positions, yet men dominate senior level positions. Instead, women are frequently clustered in entry and mid-level administrative roles within student affairs divisions or departments, often with limited access to career ladders. Drawing on the theoretical framework of gendered work organizations, this study explores the experiences of women working in non-academic departments, and analyzes how these experiences impact their career advancement at four-year public universities. More specifically, I …

Cultivating Transmedia Storytelling: Real World Perceptions Derived From Popular Media, Tabitha Lynn Cassidy

Wayne State University Dissertations

With continued interest in media convergence, transmedia storytelling is as prevalent to communication studies as ever. However, research into the effects of transmedia storytelling remains scarce. Looking at the difference between heavy and light viewers, cultivation theory purports that those who more frequently view violent programming on television are more likely to think the world is a violent place. As of writing, such effects have not yet been extended to transmedia storytelling. This dissertation fills in those gaps in research by examining the cultivation effects of transmedia storytelling usage on participants. First, the main themes or messages of content within …

The Use Of Cultural Algorithms To Learn The Impact Of Climate On Local Fishing Behavior In Cerro Azul, Peru, Khalid Kattan

Wayne State University Dissertations

Recently it has been found that the earth’s oceans are warming at a pace that is 40% faster than predicted by a United Nations panel a few years ago. As a result, 2019 has become the warmest year on record for the earth’s oceans. That is because the oceans have acted as a buffer by absorbing 93% of the heat produced by the greenhouse gases [40].

The impact of the oceanic warming has already been felt in terms of the periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean as an effect of the ENSO process. The ENSO process is a cycle of …

The Center Of All Beauty: Radical Democracy, Materiality, And The Poetic Subject In Twentieth-Century American Poetry, Marcus Merritt

Wayne State University Dissertations

In The Center of All Beauty, I trace a strain of poetics in twentieth-century American poetry from William Carlos Williams through Frank O’Hara, Alice Notley, and Amiri Baraka. This poetics is founded in a radically democratic conception of the poetic subject and in the use of poetry as a tool for developing critical knowledge about the material conditions within which the poetic subject is constituted. In Spring and All and The Embodiment of Knowledge, Williams articulates a poetics that denies the authority of any grounds upon which any poetic subject would be considered inadequate to poetic speech and outlines a …

Self-Defined: A Womanist Exploration Of Michelle Obama, Viola Davis, And Beyonce Knowles, Idrissa Nichelle Snider

Wayne State University Dissertations

Intersectional research that focuses on the experiences and representations of Black women should place emphasis on examining the communication of resistance. This dissertation builds upon the work of Womanist (Walker, 1983) and Black Feminist scholars (Collins, 1991; Harris-Perry, 2011) in order to identify and interrogate the harmful systemic nature of various stereotypes and controlling images of Black women. These controlling images historically include representations such as the Mammie, Sapphire, Jezebel, tragic mulatto, and even newer images like the angry black woman. Through a close reading of Josephine Baker’s “Danse Sauvage" performance, the research points to modern day examples of when …

From Talking Softly To Carrying A Big Shtick: Jewish Masculinity In Twentieth-Century America, Miriam Eve Mora

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation follows the progress of American Jewish men in the difficult and often backsliding process of acculturation into American life. Jewish men have historically been held to a different standard of masculinity, one which both Jews and non-Jews throughout American history have ascribed in both positive and negative ways, often depicting Jewish men as bookish, gentle, weak, and even effeminate. Those Jews who strove to attain American manhood engaged in masculine American endeavors to the extent of their access and ingenuity. Their struggle to enter institutions of American masculinity reveals a great deal about Jewish acceptance in the United …

Introduction: Connecting Histories: Jews And Their Others In Early Modern Europe, Francesca Bregoli

Publications and Research

Introduction to edited volume Connecting Histories: Jews and Their Others in Early Modern Europe (ed. by Francesca Bregoli and David B. Ruderman)

Care In The Workplace:The Employer’S Role In The Alleviation Of The Eldercare Problem, Joseph Michael Duda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Center for Disease Control has referred to the group of people, aged 18-35, who have an elderly dependent they care for (by which I mean physical, emotional, or mental assistance necessary for the elderly dependent’s continued living) and are entering the workforce as the “sandwich” generation. These people are at the age where they may be simultaneously raising a child and taking care of an elderly family member. It has been estimated that, as of 2006, 17% of the U.S. workforce belong to the sandwich generation. In addition to the sandwich generation, there are 44 million people in the …

The Temporal Conatus And The Problem Of Motion From Eternity, David Harmon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinoza’s theory of persistence is articulated through the conatus (EIp7) and the ratio of motion and rest (EIIp13). Section I explores Spinoza’s usage of “motion,” and illustrates that the conatus is essentially temporal. From this claim and Spinoza’s conception of eternity, the problem arises. I explain this as a contradiction between Natura naturata and Natura naturans. Section II features an evaluation of the potential acosmist solution and reveals how it contradicts other Spinozistic commitments. I construct an alternative solution in Section III. Temporal passage is not an adequate idea for Spinoza. However, Spinoza considers duration to be a feature of …

Road Trippin': Twentieth-Century American Road Narratives From On The Road To The Road, Scott M. Obernesser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Road Trippin:’ Twentieth-Century American Road Narratives and Petrocultures from On The Road to The Road" examines late-twentieth century U.S. road narratives in an effort to trace the development of American petrocultures geographically and culturally in the decades after World War II. The highway stories that gain popularity throughout the era trace not simply how Americans utilize oil, but how the postwar American oil ethos in literature, film, and music acts upon and shapes human interiority and vice versa. Roads and highways frame my critique because they are at once networks of commerce transportation and producers of a unique, romantic …

Rambling Blues: Mapping Contemporary North American Blues Literature, Josh-Wade Ferguson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“Rambling Blues: Mapping Contemporary North American Blues Literature” revises the methodological assumptions that have underwritten our understanding of blues literature and the politics of race and region that surround it. Where previous commentators have defined blues literature primarily through its formal and thematic connections with blues music and with the sociohistorical contours of black southern life more generally this dissertation expands the boundaries of how we conceive blues literature by examining Langston Hughes’ poems “The Weary Blues” (1925) and “Po Boy Blues” (1926) August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984) Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones (2011) James Hannaham’s Delicious Foods …

A Balm For The Times: The Origins And Evolution Of The Lost Cause In The South Carolina Low Country, 1830-1876, Andrew Patrick Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the concept of civil religion as a framework through which to examine the origins and early development of the Lost Cause in the South Carolina Low country. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as American colonists severed their ties with Great Britain and established an independent republic they likewise began forming a civil religion or a set of beliefs regarding the relationship between God and their incipient polity. Prophetic in nature the central tenets of this civil religion held that the Almighty proved actively involved in human history and that Americans represented an especially chosen …

Decolonial Resistance In Latinx Writings From Peru To The United States: A Portfolio, Isabel Norwood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This collection begins with the premise that colonial relationships manifest in ways beyond exploitation of one nation by another. It relies on the decolonial theory of Walter D. Mignolo in its assumption that imbalances of power in the realms of race gender sexuality and class are fundamentally colonial. With this more expansive understanding of coloniality in mind I examine resistance to colonial exploitation in a range of texts from across the Americas. The first essay in this collection explores the role of the guinea pig in Andean food culture arguing that the continued consumption of guinea pig represents a form …

Moral Agency: A Philosophical Inquiry Into Its Scientific Foundations, Makensey Sanders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a longstanding discussion of what the criteria are to distinguish science from non-science. In section one of this paper, I will focus on four demarcating criteria of a scientific theory: (1) value neutrality; (2) verifiability; (3) falsifiability; and (4) reproducibility. Keeping these criteria in mind, I will turn to the notion of moral agency (focusing on psychopathy, autism, and personal identity) and the question of whether the current way we conceptualize and research it can be deemed as scientific according to the four criteria.

In section two, I will discuss the role psychopathy and autism play in understanding …

Subverting The Patriarchal Panopticon: Challenges To Eugenics Rhetoric In The Novels Of Mccullers And Welty, Regina Marie Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis takes into consideration the scope of eugenics ideologies and their influence on literature specifically two mid-twentieth century authors from the U.S. South Carson McCullers and Eudora Welty. I contend that both writers engage with eugenics rhetoric challenging and subverting the prevailing ideology of the day albeit in differing ways. McCullers and Welty address different facets of eugenics rhetoric in their novels— namely the nature of “defect” and the criteria for “fitness” for “citizenship.” This thesis interrogates the ways in which these writers develop rhetorical strategies for resisting eugenics ideologies in their respective novels Reflections in a Golden Eye …

Content Analysis Of The Journal Of Historical Research In Music Education: 1980-2019, Gail Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive study is to explore the trends in historical research over a period of forty years (1980-2019) as presented in peer-revieJournal of Historical Research in Music Education (JHRME). This content analysis is geared towards examining categories of research conducted particularly within the last decade (2010-2019) with comparisons to previous studies. Adopting categories and definitions from Heller (1985), McCarthy (1999, 2012), and Stabler (1986), five questions guide the focus of investigation to include historical periods of study (e.g., 20th century), individuals, events, outcomes, and process variables, i.e., the teacher, the learner, the interaction of the teacher and …

The Long And Short Of It, Ciera Mcelroy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Long and Short of It is a collection of ten stories, spanning centuries and continents, illustrating the universality of loss. Here is a war-haunted Korean vet, brainwashed Nazi brides, a neurotic Soviet ballerina, and a re-imagined Ethan Frome. In these stories, anxiety waits in the wings: will Ethan's wife discover his affair? Will the brides acknowledge the dark truth behind their training? Will a mother recover her kidnapped baby? Characters grapple with grief and anxiety in various ways. Two mothers mourn missing babies: one turns to the occult, the other heads to Mars. Children reel with abandonment: one obsesses …

The Relationship Of English Language Scores On International Students' Academic Success, Rebekah Shbeeb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

International graduate students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are not completing graduate programs at the same rate as domestic graduate students. One of the main differences in the admissions process for international graduate students compared to domestic students is the English language test requirement. The purpose of this study was twofold: to test if the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the (International English Language Testing System) IELTS scores have any statistically significant linear relationships to international graduate students' academic success as defined by their cumulative grade point average (CGPA). Secondly, this study sought to …

“I’Ve Always Had A Voice, Now I Want To Use It”: The Working Women’S Movement And Clerical Unionism In Higher Education, Amanda Lauren Walter

Wayne State University Dissertations

“I’ve Always Had a Voice, Now I Want to Use It”: The Working Women’s Movement and Clerical Unionism in Higher Education, examines the intersection of the labor movement and the women’s movement through the working lives and organizing of clerical workers in higher education in the United States beginning in the 1970s. Through an examination of UAW, SEIU, AFSCME, District 65, and AFT clerical organizing campaigns in higher education, I contend that women found their lack of collective bargaining power in the higher education workplace limited their effectiveness. Working women’s organizations and clericals in higher education, dealing with university budgetary …

Sonic Motion And Heaviness In Black Media, Kevin Dwight Ball

Wayne State University Dissertations

Sonic Motion and Heaviness in Black Media investigates music videos that imagine alternative black futures through the embodied motion of sound or, more directly, “bodies of sound.” It analyzes videos by contemporary artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, Flying Lotus, and Beyoncé that raise the question: How would it feel to have a body made of sound? To move with and through sonority against the epistemic, spatial, and omnidirectional pressure of antiblackness? This “sonic motion” manifests as levitating bodies, haunted choreographic sequences, and black feet on the run, with each visual motif elaborating the timbral and rhythmical dynamics of …

Working The News: Preserving Professional Identity Through Networked Journalism At Elite News Media, Jenny Hauser

Doctoral

The concept of journalism as a profession has arguably been fraught and contested throughout its existence. Ideologically, it is founded on a claim to norms and a code of ethics, but in the past, news media also held material control over mass communication through broadcast and print which were largely inaccessible to most citizens. The Internet and social media has created a news environment where professional journalists and their work exist side-by-side with non-journalists. In this space, acts of journalism also can be and are carried out by non-journalists. Through the new news distribution channels offered by social media, non-journalists …

Mobilizing Genre, Revising Politics: The Intersection Of Audience, Author, And Allusion In Contemporary Latinx Fiction, Jason Klus

Master’s Theses

This thesis examines contemporary Latinx authors’ use of popular cultural and generic allusions to challenge limiting labels that audiences place on their fiction. Confronting readings that privilege Latinx literature as either imbued with the political rigor of the 1960s’ Civil Rights Movement or an assimilationist attitude, I argue that these writers deliberately appropriate images and tropes familiar to Anglo-American readers to assure success in the literary marketplace while challenging their readers’ expected conclusions. My first chapter analyzes Sandra Cisneros’s reimagining of popular U.S. figures in light of ethnic storytelling practices in her 2002 novel Caramelo. The second chapter examines …

Teaching Information Literacy And Writing Studies: Volume 2, Upper-Level And Graduate Courses, Grace Veach

Purdue University Press Book Previews

This volume, edited by Grace Veach, explores leading approaches to teaching information literacy and writing studies in upper-level and graduate courses. Contributors describe cross-disciplinary and collaborative efforts underway across higher education, during a time when "fact" or "truth" is less important than fitting a predetermined message. Topics include: working with varied student populations, teaching information literacy and writing in upper-level general education and disciplinary courses, specialized approaches for graduate courses, and preparing graduate assistants to teach information literacy.

Desarrollo E Implementacion De Un Programa De Entrenamiento Para Predicadores Laicos En Las Iglesias Adventistas Del Distrito De Fort Washington, Nueva York, S. Yeury Ferreira

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The task of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a training program for lay preachers in the Seventh-day Adventist churches within the district of Fort Washington, New York, where the author of this document has served as pastor since 2014. Given that this missionary district comprises three churches (Fort Washington, Washington Avenue, and Luz y Esperanza), it is impossible for the pastor to always preach in every one of those congregations, Therefore, the preaching responsibility falls on the shoulders of church elders and other lay preachers. Pastoral observation indicates that, out of the 400 church members who …

Improving Family Satisfaction Through Conflict-Management Training For The Immanuel Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Toronto, Canada, Anthony M. Reid

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Immanuel Seventh-day Adventist Church is a multiracial congregation with members from over 35 countries, with approximately 200 families in regular attendance. Twenty percent of these families are interracial families, while 80% are a balanced mix of ethnic makeup. Reports from leaders and members, as well as pastoral observation, led us to the conclude that many families were affected by family squabbles and separation due to unresolved conflict. Consequently, there was a high level of stress and family dissatisfaction. This resulted in declining participation in ministry and mission.

Methods

A 10-hour conflict-management education-training program was developed and implemented. The …

Ministering To Youth And Young Adults Through A Sports Initiative In The Normandie Avenue Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Michael S. Jenkins Jr.

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The Normandie Avenue Seventh-day Adventist church is centrally located among other nearby Seventh-day Adventist churches in south Los Angeles, California. The presence of youth and young adults in worship services has diminished. Ministry participation among this group at Normandie has also diminished. Adventist and non-Adventist youth and young adults are not being attracted to the church or its ministries. Youth and young adults who do attend worship service and or participate in ministries do not have a strong relationship with the pastor or other spiritual figures. A 2008 study shows the median age of Adventist congregations is 51 while …

A Collaborative Leadership Strategy To Develop A Missional Focus At The Anderson Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Murray L. Miller

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The problem addressed in this project was the lack of missional focus at the Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church. Four symptoms were correlated to this problem. First, from 2010 to 2013 the Anderson Seventh-day Adventist Church witnessed a slight decline in tithe and a drop in mission offerings. Second, conference archive data from 2003 to 2013 showed that the membership had remained steady while attendance had gradually been in decline. Third, though no formal surveys were available at the initiation of this project, anecdotal evidence from the conference to the local level showed varying opinions concerning the focus of the …