Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Author-Centered Approaches In Ela Instruction: A Multiple Case Study Of Secondary English Teachers, Jennifer M. Lockhart Mchugh

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Literary authors are often neglected in secondary ELA (English Language Arts) literary instruction. Teachers are unsure how to teach about the author and how much time to spend on establishing the context for the text when the goal is to “cover” a variety of literary texts as part of a planned curriculum during the school year. Acknowledging the role of authors’ intentions as well as their experiences and aesthetic decisions in the production of literature may provide new entry points into literary texts for students. This multiple-case study of secondary English teachers and their high school students in a “bounded …

Rethinking Rural Identity: Reimagining Rural Politics, Matthew B. Kirk

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This work chiefly consists of a genealogical critique of rural identity. Tracing the development and deployment of the concepts of rurality and rural consciousness, I argue that our current depictions of rurality as “spatial other,” replete with its harmful stereotypes, stem from a misconception about the nature of power. Political theorists’ and political scientists’ appraisals of rurality suggest that the set of actions that define rural politics are a product of their relative powerlessness. Rural locales’ removal from the center of power in urban spheres means that rural politics is reduced to reactionary, violent, and conservative political thought and engagement. …

Y’All Means All: Pro-Choice Abortion Activism In West Texas Post-Dobbs, Hannah S. Noblewolf

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In the spring of 2021, a six-week abortion ban passed by popular vote in the city of Westerburg, Texas. It had a civil enforcement mechanism, allowing someone to collect a reward of $2,000 if they successfully sued someone they reported for “aiding and abetting” abortion. The ban, called the Westerburg Sanctuary City ordinance, was referred to as “bounty hunting.” When the ban passed it became the template for the state-level Texas Heartbeat Act, which provides a greater financial reward for a successful civil suit, with a minimum of $10,000 plus legal fees. In the face of this ban, pro-choice activists …

Pitch Identification In Musical Dyads That Vary In Harmonic Quality And Pitch Register, Edward E. Smith

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Seror and Neill (2015) found that consonant dyads are processed more fluently than dissonant dyads. Their finding suggested that this advantage in fluency accounts for the generalized preference for these chords. Recently, Eerola and Lahdelma (2021) found that the pitch register of the chord also affects consonance judgements of musical chords. This may suggest that chords in higher registers are processed less fluently than chords in the middle register. The present study combines these two studies by investigating processing fluency for musical dyads that vary in harmonic quality and pitch register. Participants were tasked with identifying whether an initially presented …

Nola 2150, Kristopher Ferber

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Abstract

Speculative fiction often takes a dystopic approach where authors envision what will be lost from books being banned in Fahrenheit 451 to us losing our civil liberties in 1984 to most of humanity being wiped out by an engineered virus in Oryx and Crake. This creative thesis takes a more optimistic approach by the act of preservation. In this case the city of New Orleans thriving as an underwater city protected by a glass dome in the year 2150. The city’s vibrant culture remains the same despite being almost too close to comfort to marine life. This work …

If I Can’T Dance It’S Not My Revolution: Rhythms Of Resistance, Christina Zogopoulou

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines dance not as a strategic tool for persuasion or visibility, but as an inherently meaningful political practice that shapes how protest is experienced, sustained, and lived by participants. Drawing on global dance-protests, from feminist protests in India to anti-ICE protests in the United States, it demonstrates that dance emerges across conditions of celebration and mourning, safety and repression, and hope and despair.

The paper advances a conceptual framework organized around three interrelated themes: energy, body politics, and community. Grounded in interdisciplinary theory from social movement studies, dance studies, feminist and Black radical thought, and supported by qualitative …

2slgbtq+ Contact As A Vehicle For Promoting Alternative Sexual Scripts Through Exposure To Queer And Trans Ways Of Knowing, Sophie R. Landry

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Research on the Traditional Sexual Script (TSS) suggests it can have harmful repercussions, such as sexual violence, gender inequity, and the undermining of communication. My research explores the novel idea that intergroup contact with 2SLGBTQ+ individuals can promote CisHet (cisgender, heterosexual) individuals to value alternative sexual scripts that emphasize communication, authenticity, and equity, and to question the TSS. In Study 1, I found that CisHet people who had more 2SLGBTQ+ contact reported greater concern for consent and were less likely to agree with traditional gender norms relative to those who made less contact. In both Study 2 and Study 3, …

Stop Suffering For Your Art, Amanda Bryers

Theses and Dissertations

What does the process look like for an actor to disconnect from a circumstance that they take on during the course of a rehearsal or performance? And how does this disconnection process affect the actor’s mental, physical, and emotional health? This project consists of interviews of CSU student actors about their personal experiences in letting go of imaginary circumstances immediately following a performance, rehearsal, or actor’s exercise. The purpose of this project is to determine whether or not actor’s training provides sufficient tools for an actor to disconnect. Interviewees detailed their own personal methods, as well as whether or not …

Listening, Looking, And Learning: An Exploration Of Musical Influence On The Narratives And Characters Of Call The Midwife, Mary Claire Buchanan

Theses and Dissertations

Call the Midwife has distinguished itself among British period dramas through its commitment to telling women’s stories with emotional depth, historical and medical accuracy, and nuanced character development. Unlike many period dramas based in the United Kingdom that center on the aristocracy, Call the Midwife connects the audience with ordinary people, particularly women, navigating life post-World War II and the early days of government healthcare by portraying their struggles, triumphs, and evolving identities. One of the most compelling ways the series achieves this is through its use of music, particularly recurring motifs that signify personal growth and transformation. This thesis …

The Liminal South : Explorations Of Black Time, Space, And Memory, Kennedy Buckner

Theses and Dissertations

This project is composed of two analytical essays and a three-dimensional art exhibition that tangibly extract and display the ways I view the U.S. American south and my interactions with it. Inspired by the narrative photography of Carrie Mae Weems and her “Kitchen Table Series,” the project focuses on multiple generations of my own family in order to document my family's experiences in the south while theorizing how our experiences provide greater historical understanding of southern black communities over time. The first essay theorizes time, space, and memory in Toni Morrison's narrative novel Song of Solomon, with a focus on …

Rompiendo La Cultura Del Machismo A Través De La Música: Bad Bunny Y La Nueva Era Del Reggaetón, Bianca Rodriguez

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how Benito “Bad Bunny” Antonio Martnez Ocasio, a groundbreaking artist in the reggaetón and Latin music industry, uses his music to challenge machismo norms in Latinx culture. Historically, reggaeton has perpetuated hypermasculine ideals, emphasizing dominance, aggression, and rigid gender roles. In contrast, Bad Bunny disrupts these conventional stereotypes of machismo behavior by embracing vulnerability, advocating for gender equality, and rejecting toxic masculinity. Through his lyrics in “La Canción” y “Haciendo que me amas”, Bad Bunny normalizes emotional expression and critiques societal expectations of men. Additionally, in tracks such as “Yo Perreo Sola” …

The Danger Of Deepfakes: Information Pollution And Epistemic Insecurity, Camille Doherty

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the dangers of deepfakes to democratic stability, emphasizing their capacity to pollute our information ecosystem and undermine trust in media. Beyond the immediate political harms from deepfake incidents, deepfakes are troubling for their impact on our collective relationship to media, truth, and one another. As exposure to deepfakes becomes more common, discerning fact from fiction will become increasingly difficult. Over time, this could foster widespread skepticism of all media and, worse, apathy toward truth itself. With eroded trust and shared truths, democracies risk losing epistemic security – the foundation for informed deliberation, decision-making, and accountability in democratic …

Engines Of Division: The Trabant, Economic Lag, And Cultural Fragmentation In A Unified Germany, Maria Carolina Auerbach

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the Trabant, East Germany’s iconic yet inefficient automobile, as a critical lens through which to explore the enduring socio-economic and cultural disparities between East and West Germany in the aftermath of reunification. By tracing the Trabant’s trajectory from its inception within the GDR’s command economy to its rapid obsolescence in the face of Western market forces, this study reveals how the vehicle served as both a product and a symbol of East Germany’s industrial ethos, resilience, and identity. The Trabant, once a ubiquitous artifact of socialist life, embodied the constraints of a resource-scarce economy but also cultivated …

Terms, Conditions, And Responsibility: Who Is Responsible?, Dara Schoolcraft

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis I explore the dynamics of responsibility in the context of terms and conditions agreements between corporations and consumers. I begin by highlighting how the burden of understanding terms and conditions has been shifted onto consumers and examine real-world conflicts arising from this shift, such as the wrongful death lawsuit involving Disney and data-sharing practices by General Motors. I argue that consumer responsibility, rooted in Kant’s Categorical Imperative, is not a reasonable solution due to barriers like low literacy levels and information asymmetry. Instead, I advocate for a corporate-centered approach, emphasizing the ethical duty of corporations to ensure …

A Multiple Perspective Analysis On Urban Poverty In Developing Nations: A Case Study On Nigeria, Colonial Implications, And Modern-Day Outcomes, Julian Rivera-Williams

CMC Senior Theses

This paper will dissect urbanization and poverty in Nigeria as a case study of the challenges of underdevelopment and the lingering effects of colonialism in Africa. To draw a complete understanding of challenges faced by developing nations facing systemic underdevelopment, high poverty, and low productivity– nations like Nigeria, my research will uncover colonial impacts and post-colonial policies that initiated urban poverty and underdevelopment outcomes we see today. The purpose of my thesis is to encompass existing fragmented academia on the causes and consequences of underdevelopment and connect historical implications to current impacts of global development today including the influence of …

The Death Of The American Dream: How Inequality, Injustice, And Individualism Shatters Its Promise As A Unifying Force, Shaira Busnawi

CMC Senior Theses

The American Dream has long been celebrated as a unifying ideal, promising opportunity, upward mobility, and success to all who work diligently. However, this thesis argues that the Dream no longer fulfills its role as a cohesive organizational mechanism for American society. Instead, it perpetuates inequality, fosters competition over cooperation, and fails to address systemic barriers faced by marginalized communities. The analysis begins with the historical evolution of the American Dream and its transformation in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, exposing structural flaws that have eroded public trust in its attainability. Case studies on rural Appalachian communities and …

“Google Is Free:” The Harm In Deferring To Information Technology And The Reimplementation Of Interpersonal Connection As A Solution, Nicole Cepeda

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, I confront the phenomenon that is information technology and the epistemological issues that it raises. I address how we should engage with the online resources allotted to us by media conglomerates, given both the variety of epistemic perspectives that they relay back to the user, from disenfranchised affinity to fake news, and the respective biases of the user. I propose that by reintroducing an interpersonal communicative framework, we are able to create a system that allows users to work deconstruct their biases and learn new information more effectively, all while users are able to flag information as …

A Guide To Creating Trans And Gender Variant Inclusive Film Sets: For Directors And Department Heads On Non-Union/Low Budget Film Sets, Perce Alvarez

CMC Senior Theses

The following thesis explores transgender and gender-variant inclusivity practices in film production. It conducts an overview of information on lgbtq+ and transgender populations, discrimination, and filmmaking practices. From there, a baseline of definitions for terms and worldviews adopted by transgender and gender-variant communities is established. Primarily, this thesis focuses on establishing reasoning for and presenting practical applications of transgender inclusivity that can be implemented throughout the film production process. It accomplishes this by focusing on specific parts of the production process and how the leaders of those subprocesses can put these inclusivity practices into action.

The Rationality Of Cooperation In One-Shot Prisoner's Dilemmas: A Defense Of David Gauthier's Constrained Maximization, Carlos Hernandez

CMC Senior Theses

For moral skeptics and self-interested individuals, it is difficult for them to recognize the need and benefit for cooperation. That is, there is an intrinsic conflict in claiming that constraining one’s self-interest when cooperating with others serves to promote an individual’s self-interest. Even so, David Gauthier provides constrained maximization as a rational choice theory that addresses this conflict and balances the concepts of rationality and morality. Constrained maximization demonstrates to the moral skeptics and self-interested individuals that cooperation is in their self-interest when using the situation of the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Yet, as Holly Smith highlights, constrained maximization does not provide …

Should Students Pull The Plug?: How Ai Redefines Creativity In The Classroom, Labiba Hassan

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI) tools, specifically ChatGPT as a tutor for students (ChatGPTt), reshapes creativity in the classroom. Does AI undermine or enrich creativity by altering its relational and self-disclosive dimensions? Engaging with Lindsay Brainard’s critique that AI erodes creativity by disrupting human connection and self-expression, I argue for a redefinition of creativity as a dynamic process sustained by emotion, intention, novelty, risk, and spontaneity — conditions adaptable to AI-mediated contexts. The paper challenges the premise that creativity depends on interpersonal connection, showing that self-disclosure can emerge through meaningful engagement with external systems, such as ChatGPTt. By …

The Black Spectacle And Oppressive Double Binds: What Rap On Trial Reveals About Race, Exploitation, And Criminalization In The Music Industry, Giovanni Pierre

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I investigate the paradox revealed by the Young Thug trial where certain portrayals of Blackness in rap music are simultaneously praised and punished by white institutions. I propose that the theatrics of the Young Thug trial and other instances of rap lyrics used in criminal trials are emblematic of what I call the Black Spectacle. The Black Spectacle is the role Blackness plays in American entertainment. It has three elements: (1) It entertains white audiences because of Black people’s perceived otherness, (2) it provides white people, particularly white men, with a vehicle through which they can …

We Are All Mestiz(Ç)Os: An Exploration And Deconstruction Of The Myth Of Mestizaje/Mestiçagem In Mexico And Brazil, Michelle Garcia

CMC Senior Theses

Different from the United States, racial-mixing was permissible in Latin America throughout its history. Furthermore, race-mixing has been cemented into the national identities of LatAm states through Mestizaje, thus painting these states as racial democracies. This thesis examines the construction and maintenance of Mestizaje as a myth and sign for racial democracies as well as the racial disconnect created within those in “Mestizo” nations. This thesis contributes to existing literature by utilizing Mexico and Brazil due to their different socio-historical contexts. They will serve as case studies to evaluate the mechanisms that allow this myth to persevere. First, I will …

Six Faces Of Love: A Collection Of Short Stories, Anna Werts

CMC Senior Theses

Six Faces of Love is a collection of six original short stories that explore love in its many variations. Set across time periods and perspectives, these narratives examine the quiet, complicated ways love persists through grief, memory, distance, and change.

Fermented Resistance: The Role Of Kimchi In Preserving Korean Identity Through Colonialism And Modernization, Francis M. Ferreira

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis began with a simple observation during my year abroad in Seoul: kimchi was everywhere. It appeared at every table, in every household, and soon, in every question I had about Korean identity. What started as a personal curiosity evolved into a deep historical inquiry into how this single dish — made of fermented cabbage, radish, and spices — came to represent the soul of a nation. This thesis traces kimchi’s journey from a humble survival food in agrarian Korea to a symbol of resistance during Japanese colonization, a tool for reclaiming identity after liberation, and ultimately, a globally …

Wearing Our Values On Our Sleeves: The Intersection Of Fashion Leadership, Values, And Sustainability, Cayman Chen

CMC Senior Theses

Fashion leaders are social leaders who derive their power from what they wear and how they influence others. There are three types: 1) fashion innovators, who are early adopters of trends, 2) fashion opinion leaders, who legitimize new styles and influence others, and 3) innovative communicators, who exhibit the behaviors of both fashion innovators and fashion opinion leaders. This study investigates motivational differences between different fashion leaders through their values. We then investigate how fashion leadership and value-based advertising appeal predicts intention to purchase sustainable fashion products. 213 student participants were administered the Portrait Values Questionnaire, the …

Invisible No More: Looking And Listening Locally To Build Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Resilience, Anjali Thakore

CMC Senior Theses

The ubiquity of sexual violence, with its devastating physical and psychological consequences, has rendered conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) one of the most effective and enduring “invisible crimes” of war. Despite receiving growing attention across academic, political, and activist circles, wartime sexual violence remains pervasive in contemporary conflict zones. Against the backdrop of these frequent and recurring violations, this thesis explores the dissonance between high-level rhetorical commitments to preventing and punishing CRSV and on-the-ground realities. What soon emerges is a troubling pattern in which gendered violence—and women’s lived experiences more generally—while increasingly visible in theory, remains marginalised in practice. By investigating …

The Paradox Of Pleasure: How Sex-Positive Feminism Constrains Female Freedom, Katherine S. Lanzalotto

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis critiques popular sex-positive narratives that espouse sex as the path to female liberation and empowerment despite ideological and material constraints that tailor female sexual expression to male desires. It interrogates sex-positive feminism's evolution and impact on female freedom. Despite its progressive intentions, mainstream sex-positive discourse has paradoxically constrained female freedom. This thesis analyzes how sex positivity inhibited female freedom, developing a nuanced framework of negative, positive, and republican freedom. This framework elucidates new constraints introduced by pro-sex thinking, such as compulsory female sexuality, the commodification of women under capitalism, and intersectional oversights in sex-positive thinking that particularly affect …

Nothing Gets In The Way Of A Good Argument, Kai Fine

CMC Senior Theses

For much of Western history, the prevailing process of creating a proof for the existence of a thing (often suggested to be God) outside the causal chain was done by following that very causal chain. One of the most well known of these theories was created by Avicenna. Through following his classification of objects, one was thought to be able to “prove” the necessity for a thing that was necessary in and of itself, and separate from all other things. In this paper I outline the strongest section of Avicenna’s argument, illustrating his classifications. I then turn to Graham Priest’s …

Faltered States: The Rise, Fall, And Containment Of Psychedelic Science In The United States, Baxter Brew

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis traces the history of psychedelic science in the United States and its implications for policymaking. In the postwar period, psychedelic researchers were enabled by a unique convergence of optimism in medical science and structural flexibility. But their hope blinded them to the deeper tensions of their field. As institutions grew increasingly rigid and risk-averse, the space for psychedelics began to close. Some scientists responded by fortifying the walls around them, developing socially and professionally acceptable research methods. Others tried to escape these walls entirely. But neither approach could prevent psychedelics from being squeezed out of formal inquiry. Yet …

Symbols Of Sovereignty And How They Speak To Us: Reading Contemporary Wampum Artwork In New York State Museums, Marie Peterson

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Contemporary Haudenosaunee artworks in exhibit spaces across New York State are bringing cultural information and counter-historical narratives to the public that they might not encounter otherwise. Artwork that includes wampum depictions or materials has heuristic qualities that can engage viewers with Haudenosaunee ways of knowing and relating. Wampum heuristics and Haudenosaunee scholarship are employed to interrogate how wampum materials were collected, categorized, and researched by the New York State Museum during the salvage anthropology era. The narratives embedded in wampum artworks are traced from this salvage era history, throughout the century between the salvage era that began at the end …