Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Critical Veganism: A Posthuman Understanding Of ‘Becoming With’ Others, Kensey Dressler

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis lays the groundwork for a critical vegan orientation to posthuman communication research. Critical veganism attempts to do the least amount of harm to nonhuman beings, a shift that decenters the human in scholarship and focuses on the material realities of nonhuman beings. This orientation helps create a praxis for posthuman research that is in line with a new materialist approach to ontology, is anti-capitalist, and strives to do the least harm. Previous research methods tend to be anthropocentric in nature, thus leaving out nonhuman experiences from communication research. Using both autoethnography and multi-species ethnography as my methods, I …

A Path Unfolding, Sarah Lucille Parris

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

A selection from A Path Unfolding, an original young adult fantasy novel about a girl named Al, who strives to fulfil a prophecy in order to restore the natural order in the magical land of Anthe. Preceded by a critical introduction detailing the genre and craft influences on the work. The novel explores themes of truth and deception, and asks the questions of what, exactly, it means to be a ‘chosen one’.

Battlefield Of Bandages: A Case Study On Sanitation Policy, Medical Reform, And Disease Prevention During The War Of Rebellion, Ashley L. Simpson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The American Civil War was a devastating conflict costing over 750,000 lives and millions of dollars in the aftermath. However, the most urgent threat was not musket balls, cannons or grapeshot. Afflictions such as typhoid fever, malaria, smallpox, measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea contracted from crowded, unsanitary camp and hospital conditions were responsible for two-thirds of all Civil War casualties. In April 1861, a group of Union women met at church to organize a relief agency whose goal was to aid the thousands of Union soldiers dying from disease. Armed with enlightenment ideas about medical care and sanitation, the Women's Central …

The Third Truth, John Paul Chapman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This composition, scored for a full symphonic orchestra, is based on the theory of truth discussed by Bertrand Russell. Objective truth, he states, must satisfy three criteria. The first element of truth is to acknowledge that it has an opposite. The second element of truth is a property of belief, statement, and perception. The third requisite is to acknowledge that truth consists in coherence. The introduction to this composition invokes the confluence of the three elements by utilizing discordant harmonies. In the next two movements, a theme is developed for each element. The First Truth, representing conflict, possesses a dark …

Under The Radar: The Everyday Resistance Of Anarchist Punks In Bandung, Indonesia, Steve Moog

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Amidst a current resurgence of hypernationalism across the globe, resistance movements and counterhegemonic ideologies are becoming increasingly visible and more common elements of broader socio-political discourses. While high-profile protests have ignited public interest in resistance movements—turning relatively unknown groups such as Antifa and Black Bloc into household names—little attention has been paid to the behind-the-scenes networks undergirding many of these organizations. Translocal do-it-yourself (DIY) punk rock networks are spaces in which alternative and subversive ideologies are enacted through the everyday implementation of anarchist philosophies and DIY ethics. Here, ‘under the radar’ modes of resistance are found in the lived realities, …

The Magic Circle: An Essential Experience Through Virtual Theatre, Brandon Roye

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the similarities of video game design elements within the world of theatrical scenic design. Using my 2019 scenic design of Marc Camoletti’s bedroom farce Boeing Boeing as the backdrop, I discuss the core concepts of game design. I then describe the scenic process of the production and the journey from concept all the way through to a virtual reality recreation of the design. The study of game design in theatre has the potential to open a wide new world of opportunities in the scenic design industry. This paper examines how the theatre can benefit from game design …

Gynocentric Apuleius: Female Agency In 'The Golden Ass', Kelsey Schalo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through a close reading of Apuleius’ Golden Ass, I argue that characters such as Byrrhena, Photis, and Psyche function as positive examples of female sexual authority and autonomy and effectively challenge the phallocentric theories commonly applied to Greek and Roman gender and sexuality, the Penetrative Model associated with Foucault, and structuralism, associated in classics with French historians Marcel Detienne, J-P Vernant, and Pierre Vidal-Naquet. While still penetrated, many of these women actively claim their agency in sex through pleasure and narrative. Additionally, in correlation with Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject, while Apuleius’s female witches behave in horrific and chaotic …

A Lesson In Art: Understanding And Questioning Distraction, Play, And Human Nature, Joshua L. Newbend

Theses and Dissertations

In making artwork using stuffed animals and video performance, I have been able to construct visual means of questioning society and its focus on interaction in nature and adolescence and adulthood. The videos in the body of artwork seek for the viewer to question the repetitive, distracting, and anxiety-inducing notions within the artwork. From Dadaism to artists like Bruce Nauman and Mike Kelley, the art world has changed and grown from times of crisis and absurdity. This set of artworks not only fits within this area of the art world, but also seeks to expand it into a contemporary light …

Staying In The Moment: Acting Methods Through Video For The Novice And Veteran Actor, Cortland D. Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

High school is a great place to start acting and learn about theatre, but it can also be a place where actors develop substandard practices. Nevertheless, there are several acting methods that can be used to combat these habits. By delivering videos that focus on these techniques and are tailored to both young and seasoned actors, actors can obtain a better understanding of acting and can be more well-equipped as they approach their work. In order to create these videos, research into the different acting methods and their respective creators was conducted. The information gained from this inquiry was then …

The Spirit Of Columbus: Civil War Memory In The Fountain City, 1865-1880, Kevin Fabery

Theses and Dissertations

During the Civil War men and women from Columbus supported the Confederate war effort through direct military service and the Ladies Soldier’s Friend Society. After the Civil War, the women of Columbus organized the Ladies Memorial Association to beautify Linwood Cemetery and build a Confederate monument. Their efforts between the years 1865 and 1880 was marked by organization of military parades and speech readings during Confederate Memorial Day, and fundraising projects for the creation of the Columbus monument. No research has been done on the work of Columbus’ Ladies Memorial Association. This work is a historic narrative on the efforts …

Baby Loved, Gilbert Hu

Forces

No abstract provided.

Initiate, Becca Anderson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

After the sudden death of her father, sixteen-year-old Cal Townsend is sent to live with her estranged maternal grandmother on one of Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands. She soon learns that she is descended from a long line of practicing witches.

Putting It Together: Musical Theatre As An Academic Discipline, Madison Finney

Honors College Theses

Musical Theatre is an art form that integrates singing, acting, dancing, and production for the purposes of storytelling. It is an artistic field that is extremely interdisciplinary, and it draws upon many different areas of knowledge for performance and education. Additionally, Musical Theatre has evolved into a viable academic field of study. It incorporates artistry and academic analysis as a way to enhance performance and higher education. This paper will use Practice as Research theory, creativity theory, and disciplinary discourse theory to explore the ways Musical Theatre successfully functions as an art form and an academic discipline.

Picasso For Preaching: The Demand And Possibility Of A Cubist Homiletic, Sunggu Yang

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

The purpose of this article is to propose a cubist homiletic based on the Picasso-originated art movement known as cubism. To that end, I explore the twofold question: What is cubist preaching, and why do we need it today? It is a critical inquiry into a theology and methodology of cubist preaching and its contextual rationale. In particular, I adopt cubism’s artistic-philosophical routine of transcendental deconstruction and multi-perspectival reconstruction as the key hermeneutical and literary methodology for cubist preaching. This cubist way of preaching ultimately aims for the listener to encounter the Sacred in what I call an ubi-ductive way—a …

Presence / Absence, Porscha D. Banker

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Presence / Absence is a visual and conceptual l exploration of language and issues surrounding experiences of interpersonal relationships. In it I look at various approaches in which artists and writers have approached the subject of intimacy and coexistence as both a context and foundation for my own work addressing relationships. This body of work is specifically looks at experiences of the personally revolutionary presence of an other and the impact of their absence.

The Path Of Devotion: Religious Ecstasy In Hindu And Christian Mystics, Jessica Leu

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

What comes to mind when one hears the phrase, “Religious ecstasy”? Images of well-known Christian saints in states of bliss worthy of being artwork come to mind, especially in the West. However, this association of ecstasy with Sainthood specifically distances the lay person from the idea that they too can experience the Divine as these mystics once did. In Bhakti Yoga, a branch of practices within Hinduism, this same association that religious ecstasy is only a characteristic of mystics does not exist. Rather, states of documented religious rapture are not only strived for but believed to be universally accessible. In …

Stress And Coping In Food-Insecure African Americans In Clark County, Nevada, Johanna Andrews

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

African Americans have the highest rates of food insecurity than any other racial/ethnic group in the nation as a result of poverty, low household income, unemployment, food injustice, food mirages, and racial segregation. This consistent uncertainty in food access demonstrably results in poor mental health outcomes for food-insecure African Americans. Thus, the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping provides a theoretical framework to investigate how African Americans cope with food insecurity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate processes of coping with food insecurity and determine their impact on emotional well-being for African Americans in Clark County, Nevada. A …

The Fabric Of Civil War Society: The Effect Of Uniforms, Badges, And Flags, 1861 To 1939, Shae Cox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The story of the American Civil War is usually told though a chronological framework and the author typically selects an event or place for focus, but this dissertation uses the lens of uniforms, flags, and post-war badges to travel through chronology and highlight new negotiations of well-known stories. While uniforms might just seem to be articles of clothing to wear on the battlefield, both the Union and the Confederacy used uniforms and flags as specific representations of identity during and after the war to present their “true history.” Citizens and veterans from the former Union used the uniforms and the …

The Impact Of Culturally-Tailored Education On Knowledge And Behavior Related To Screening And Lifestyle Management Of Blood Pressure In African Immigrants, Sarah Erskine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The number of African Immigrants in the United States is increasing. The prevalence of hypertension among Blacks, including African Immigrants are high. In addition to the increased susceptibility to hypertension, lack of disease awareness and unhealthy lifestyle are documented barriers to achieving adequate blood pressure control. The purpose of this project was to determine the impact of implementing a 30-minute, culturally-tailored, evidence based educational session on hypertension to promote knowledge and initiate behavior change in African Immigrants. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Blood pressures were measured and survey instruments such as the Hypertension Evaluation of Lifestyle and Management scale …

Escaping Time: Messiaen’S Musical Language, Religious Symbolism, And Undermining Time In Quatour Pour La Fin Du Temps, Sarra Elizabeth Hey-Folick

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scholars, including Robert Fallon and Wilfred Mellers, understand Olivier Messiaen’s Quatour pour la fin du Temps through the lens of war and captivity. Written during Messiaen’s imprisonment in the German prisoner of war camp Stalag VIII A during World War II, Quatour portrays the biblical “end of time” described in the book of Revelations. Messiaen drew connections between Quatour and the apocalypse with references to the angel of the apocalypse, the abyss, and the end of time. Messiaen, along with Étienne Pasquier, Jean Le Boulaire, and Henri Akoka premiered Quatour on January, 15th 1941, for their fellow prisoners and guards …

The Child Dreams: An Examination Of Gil Shohat’S Adaptation Of Hanoch Levin’S Play, Karin Hochman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

On January 18, 2010, Gil Shohat's operatic adaptation of Hanoch Levin's 1993 play, The Child Dreams, had its world premiere at the Israeli Opera. The opera was commissioned for the opening of that company's twenty-fifth season. Levin's play holds a central place in Israeli culture; given the play's stature, Shohat's musical work raises a number of essential questions about adaptations and their consequent reception. This document will examine the critical perception of the effort: did the critics reviewing the production understand Shohat's intentions and did they "read" the work in the same way that he did?

We possess a wealth …

The Musical Style And The Cultural Connotation Of Bright Sheng's Opera 'Dream Of The Red Chamber', Xirui Huang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

When people speak about the book Dream of the Red Chamber, their hearts soften. This novel is one of the Four Great Classical Novels in China, and the best-known one. Commissioned by the former director of San Francisco Opera David Gockley, the composer Bright Sheng and the librettist David Henry Hwang adopted the novel into the opera version of Dream of the Red Chamber. Since it premiered at San Francisco Opera house in September of 2016, there is no doubt that the opera was aimed for the Western opera audiences. The original book Dream of the Red Chamber is a …

Shattering The Glass: Will Gen Z Bring Us Closer To Gender Equality In Us Hospitality Leadership?, Denise Holly Ramirez Molintas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The continued underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions has impaired the hospitality industry’s capacity to achieve the fifth UN Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality. Although the industry has initiated programs to establish gender parity, the innate gendering through traditional leadership prototypes and gender-role stratification requires investigation. Scholars have noted the limited focus on gender-aware issues in hospitality research. Further, as gender is a socialized construct, historical shifts in gender ideologies have enabled changes in gendering at the individual, interactional, and institutional dimensions of society. Grounded in gender as a social structure theory and role congruity theory, this dissertation …

Thatcherism In The Contemporary British Novel, 1978-2012, David Mowatt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Thatcherism in the Contemporary British Novel, 1978-2012

This dissertation reveals a nuance to contemporary British texts that have thus far been almost homogenously categorized as contributing to a negative portrayal of the political, cultural, and social policies of the 1980s. A study of texts and criticism of the contemporary British novel highlights the disproportionate number of depictions that could be considered anti-1980s and, as a representation of that decade, in turn anti-Thatcherite. There is an apparent consensus in the damaging effects on almost all aspects of British society during the decade because of the many policies enacted by the Thatcher …

Love In South Korea: Transformations Of Intimacy And Gender Relations In Korean Romantic Relationships, Alex Joseph Nelson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Romantic love holds a central place in South Korean imaginaries, animating television dramas and pop ballads, but has been largely overlooked in Korea's ethnographic record. Drawing on data collected through 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork, survey research, interviews, and analysis of folklore, the present study investigates how South Koreans conceptualize romantic love, how those conceptions have changed over time, and the ways they are transforming with the Korean field of gender relations.

This study documents love's entwinement with marriage in South Korea. Koreans are developing companionate ideals of marriage that shift the focus of kinship from the parent-child relationship to …

Beyond Maidens And Mothers: A Study Of Till We Have Faces, Tamar Peterson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines how C.S. Lewis’ final novel, Till We Have Faces, demonstrates a significant diversion from the author's typical writing habits, especially regarding his depictions of women. Progressing through the novel chronologically, this thesis studies sixteen notable scenes that demonstrate this diversion. It tracks the development and depiction of women characters who exemplify a more realistic, complex, egalitarian writing style—one that allows women to wield legitimate power, excel in military combat, operate as conduits to the Divine, and enjoy their sexuality in affirming ways.

This thesis begins with an introduction to Lewis' position as a lay theologian and popular …

Exploration Of The Intersection Of Social Identities Of Female Leaders In Postsecondary Education: A Phenomenological Approach, Sara Shaw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of female leaders currently in leadership roles in postsecondary education. This hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted to explore intersecting identities and how the identities affected female leaders’ leadership experiences and decision-making processes. Through the theoretical framework of intersectionality, I explored the relationships among females, leadership, career decision-making, and other categorical social identities. Data gathered from semi-structured one-on-one interviews and demographic surveys with 11 female postsecondary leaders sought to understand how gender and selected social identities affect career decision-making of women in postsecondary leadership positions. The researcher identified seven themes: …

The Cello Concertos Of Karl Davydov (1838–1889): Historical Context And Pedagogical Rol, Adam Matthew Stiber

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite the large quantity of music produced by the outstanding cellists of past eras, the range of repertoire regularly used in teaching advanced cellists in the US is fairly limited. In particular, though the virtuosic compositions of Karl Davydov (1838–1889) are common fare in Russia and Eastern Europe, cellists in the US perform them only rarely. Davydov rose to the highest echelon of performers in his generation. Today, scholars widely credit him with founding the Russian school of cello playing. Members of Davydov’s pedagogical lineage achieved prominence as artists and teachers, and his compositions are proven instructional pieces. In this …

Excavating Gender: The Embodiment And (Re)Presentation Of Social Relations In Mierzanowice Communities Of The Early Bronze Age, Mark Paul Toussaint

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The construction of gender in a society is based on a discursive relationship between culture and biology. Ideological components are often translated into structural factors, which condition access to social and biological resources and exposure to risk. Cumulative differential health outcomes for groups can become embodied in ways that affect the skeleton. By conducting population-level analyses of skeletal markers of health and trauma, bioarchaeologists work backwards to attempt to reconstruct social conditions. Archaeological and mortuary context is an important part of this process.

Cemeteries of the Mierzanowice Culture (MC) in southern Poland (2300-1600 BCE) offer a unique opportunity to study …

Beginning The Baroque Bassoon: A Contemporary Approach, Elizabeth Ellen Valvano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

“Beginning the Baroque Bassoon: A Contemporary Approach” is an introductory method for bassoonists who are interested in learning how to play the baroque bassoon or transitioning from the modern bassoon to its baroque counterpart. This method begins with a history of the development of the bassoon before delving into specific performance techniques. This approach includes bassoon history, information on reed making, instructional examples, fingering charts, solo suggestions and playing examples, and resources for further study. While emphasizing beginning the baroque bassoon, this method also includes resources for the more advanced bassoonist. The goal of this text is to widen the …