Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Polarization: A 21st Century Challenge To Global Democracy, Tim Biocic

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this paper is to identify the issue of political polarization as it relates not only to American politics, but also to see how the issues in political polarization that exist in the United States are also experienced in other democracies around the world. The paper takes a look at what some of the different theories are about where polarization originates, who some of the leading scholars are in the debate over polarization, what institutional mechanisms contribute to the problem of polarization, and then finally what polarization looks like elsewhere in the world.

When it comes to the …

Catholic Voting: The Influence Of Abortion, Benjamin O’Brien

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Throughout the history of the United States, voting trends in American elections have evolved. One example of this is how the Catholic vote has changed since the 1960s. Factors such as race, gender, economics, and religious values may impact voting trends. These factors may have some impact on the shift in the Catholic voting trend. To determine this, I studied how Catholic voters feel about certain issues and how their responses may differ by income level, race, and gender. In my analysis I used data from the Congressional Campaign Election Study, which was gathered by a survey of voters in …

Elara's Wave, Sarah Huizar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A cautionary story rooted in themes of autonomy and identity, Elara's journey begins when she joins the MM (Martian Marines) to follow in her late father's footsteps. Along the way, she learns he essentially pioneered an on-going femicide mission on Mars by kidnapping vulnerable women and replacing their reproductive organs with alien wombs. The MM's aim is to weaponize these women to form a militarized coalition after they transform into strong alien creatures. When Elara investigates the MM's goings on, she is kidnapped, too. However, the alien womb she is implanted with provides her with adverse effects, giving her the …

The Intrinsic Values Of Confucian Democracy And Dewey's Pragmatist Method, Sor-Hoon Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Given the historical association of Confucianism, or rather the Ru school of thought, with autocratic government since the Han dynasty, one of the challenges for contemporary scholars of Confucianism is to interpret and reconstruct Confucianism to guard against authoritarian tendencies without surrendering its distinctive ethical-political vision. Confucianism is incompatible with the conventional understanding of democracy as liberal democracy best represented by the United States, focused on limiting government with checks and balances, prioritizing protection of the civil and political rights of individuals, regular elections of representatives in which partisan competition for power offers citizens very little real choice, and it …

Book Review: The Learning Cycle: Insights For Faithful Teaching From Neuroscience And The Social Sciences, Nathaniel Veltman

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Courageous Endurance: The Lived Experiences Of Trans Folx And The Criminal Legal System, April Carrillo

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The field of criminology and criminal justice have widely ignored the experience of being a trans person and interacting with the criminal legal system, despite the reality that trans folx experience discrimination and harm at the hands of criminal legal practitioners. This dissertation explores these experiences, as well as how trans folx navigate a myriad of other issues to include their identity and institutional discrimination. Trans folx are not guaranteed many protections or rights in the United States which leaves them at an especially vulnerable position when entering the criminal legal system. Essentially, trans folx are forced to navigate a …

Aerial Terror: The Shift In American Daylight Bombing Over Europe During World War Ii, Joseph Sullivan

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In the final two years of the Second World War, the United States abandoned daylight precision bombing for terror bombing. During the interwar years, the United States cited international norms and laws to speak out against unjust air attacks by Germany and Japan. Even during the United States’ period of neutrality, President Franklin Roosevelt criticized Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for their tactics. But, as the war dragged on, the ferocity and persistence of the Nazis forced the United States to change their approach to strategic bombing. With fewer military industrial targets remaining and Allied casualties rising, the US …

Re-Thinking Pandemics: State, Society, And Disease In British History, 1830-1960, Meghan Walsh

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper began in an attempt to understand why, after 100 years since the most devasting pandemic in modern history, the world was faced with yet another, but more importantly how people responded to this new normal. In order to understand better how society today responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to know the past and see what has emerged with each new pandemic. For the purpose of this thesis, I examine the cholera epidemics of 1831-1866, the 1918 influenza pandemic, and the polio epidemics of the mid-twentieth century in British history. The thesis …

Waning Imperium: Valentinian I’S Projection Of Power, Philip Piscopo

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In my thesis, I argue that the reign of Valentinian I (364-375) was marked by two main themes. First, as the founder of a new dynasty, Valentinian was obsessed with legitimizing his reign and safeguarding it for future generations. Second, because of poor subordinates and poor communication, he was unable to adequately govern the provinces leading to instability and chaos.

I worked to add two aspects to the scholarly discussion of Valentinian’s reign. Most scholars have individually pointed out that it was important for Valentinian to cement his legitimacy and budding dynasty. I show that this was not merely an …

Reagan’S State Of Grace: J. Peter Grace And The Effort To Cut Government Expense At The Public’S Expense, Kevin Michels

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Ronald Reagan’s ideological basis in neoliberalism and the difficulties with cutting out programs to which the citizenry had grown accustomed prompted him to change the narrative on government expenditures, focusing on the rooting out of wasteful and inefficient government agencies and programs as a means by which to lower taxes. In doing so, Reagan created a private sector survey for cost control that placed the responsibility of identifying such waste and inefficiencies under the purview of J. Peter Grace and the private sector—a group of corporate businessmen who shared Reagan’s deregulatory ideology yet were accountable to their own shareholders rather …

Bringing “Justice To Every Man’S Door”: John Jay’S Struggle To Build The Supreme Court, Sean Gray

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In December of 1800, as his presidency concluded and he became desperate for the Federalists to maintain power, John Adams nominated John Jay for a second term as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Days later, Jay unequivocally rejected the job. “I left the bench,” he responded, “perfectly convinced that under a system so defective, it would not obtain the energy, weight, and Dignity which are essential to its affording due support to the national government, nor acquire the public confidence and respect, which, as the last resort of the justice of the nation, it should possess.” Adams then nominated …

Spymaster Of Setauket: The Impact Of Benjamin Tallmadge And The Culper Spy Ring On The American Revolution, Kyle Burgess

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Despite the staunch support that British occupiers enjoyed in New York and Long Island amongst Anglicans, there still remained plenty of citizens whose disdain for their new overseers provided Tallmadge with a large pool to recruit agents. In Patriot super spy Benjamin Tallmadge’s home of Suffolk County, Presbyterians endured an oppressive occupation at the hands of the British Army as many became wartime refugees following the destruction of their farms. This made many of them eager participants in Tallmadge’s schemes and some would even accompany Tallmadge on his whaleboat raids. Although none of these skirmishes proved decisive in tipping the …

Complete Issue, David R. Dunaetz Editor

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Misreading Scripture With Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, And Shame In The Biblical World By E. Randolph Richards And Richard James, Brent H. Burdick

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Undivided Witness: Followers Of Jesus, Community Development, And Least Reached Communities Edited By David Greenlee, Mark Galpin, And Paul Bendor-Samuel, David Bahena

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Honor, Shame, And Gospel: Reframing Our Message And Ministry Edited By Flanders, C., And Mischke, W., Cameron D. Armstrong

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

My Pilgrimage In Church Growth, Charles Arn

Great Commission Research Journal

As a key leader in the church growth movement, Chip Arn was invited by the journal to share his story.

Book Review: A Testimony To All Peoples: Kingdom Movements Around The World Edited By Dave Coles And Stan Parks, Gene Wilson

Great Commission Research Journal

No abstract provided.

China’S Belt And Road Initiative: Mission Opportunities And Challenges, Paul Lee

Great Commission Research Journal

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an infrastructure project proposed by China to improve transportation in Eurasia. This will bring both mission opportunities and challenges in the regions affected. God is perhaps giving Christians a unique opportunity for evangelism through this project which facilitates the movement of not just humans and products, but also the gospel.

Values Of Young Adults In An Increasingly Secular World, Joseph Daniel Eichenlaub

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines data from a religion and values survey entitled Young Adults and Religion in a Global Perspective (YARG) conducted in the spring of 2018. The data for this research comes from a sample of college undergraduates from diverse nations, Portland State being one of the sites sampled. This research investigates three main research questions: Do the values of college-age youth tend to be more individualistic, the less religious that they are? Do the irreligious still maintain moral values? And is irreligiosity related to a cosmopolitan-humanitarian outlook? This research finds that the overall sample is individualistic while still holding …

Visiting Jane: Jane Austen, Fan Culture, And Literary Tourism, Brianna Surratt

Senior Theses

People have been visiting sites associated with Jane Austen for two centuries now, and there have been fans of her work for even longer. Austen inspires unique devotion among her fans for an author about whose life we know very little. Furthermore, these fans have been fighting among themselves for as long as fans have existed over who loves her the right way – the academics or the amateurs? This work explores that unique fan culture in detail through the lens of literary tourism, going into detail about two sites in particular – Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, England, and …

Warhorses Amongst War Machines: The German Army's Use Of Horses And Cavalry During World War Ii, Katherine V. Mcfarland

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the role of the horse as used by the German Army throughout the Second World War. Contrary to the propagandic image of a mechanized Germany and of the blitzkrieg, the reality of warfare at the time remained primarily dependent on the horse, as man and beast continued to engage in conflict side by side. Horses served a variety of uses within the German forces, from mounted cavalry to hauling artillery, with disasters and successes throughout the war. Employing vast numbers of horses, the Germans allocated extensive resources, and often found themselves relying on the animal when vehicles …

American Absurdity: Reconciling Conceptions Of The Absurd In European And American Literature, Benjamin Spencer

Senior Theses

This thesis aims to examine the development of the concept of the absurd in literature across different time periods and cultural contexts. The absurd, as defined by Camus, is the gap between humanity’s desire to understand the world and the impossibility of doing so.

However, the ways in which the absurd is recognized as an aspect of existence depends heavily on the sociological contexts in which an individual lives. By analyzing the works of absurdist authors, filmmakers, and artists across time, we can track the development of these absurdist conceptions in both Europe and American literary movements.

Looking at these …

The Female Sports Fan Experience: How Women Consume Sports And How Sports Are Marketed To Women, Natalie Elser

Senior Theses

This study analyzes the growing subsection of female sports fans. Through a review of scholarly research articles, this study examines female sports fan motivations and behaviors and how they differ from the classic male sports fan. Additionally, this study aims to investigate how sports marketing executives try to appeal to women as sports consumers and how these practices have begun to change in recent years. This study will provide a summary of existing research on female sports fans along with a review of marketing initiatives used to engage female sports fans.

The (Un)Holy Bible: Slavery, Female Objectification, And Harm, Natalia A. D. Martins

Senior Theses

This project further elucidates the ability that the Biblical text has of being used as a justification for immoral actions. By using a textualist approach, we find that analyzing the effects that the literal text could have if used to justify action, allows us to see what Scriptural-based morality is subject to at all times. We approach this matter by classifying Scriptural interpretations under a spectrum that varies by degree. This is useful to see that the lowest bar for an action to be theologically justifiable, is whether it is in accordance with a literal reading of the Biblical text. …

A Comparative Analysis Of Political Climates In Lithuania, Poland, And Ireland In The Early 1900s Related To Us Immigration And Media Culture, Annelise Silkaitis

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the process and experience of Lithuanian, Irish, and Polish immigrants during the late 1800s and early 1900s, as well as the role of media, specifically newspapers and books, in creating the representation and portrayal of these immigrant groups. These different ethnic groups left Europe for a variety of reasons, mainly economic and political, and sought a better life in the United States. Upon arrival, each group struggled with the Americanization process, learning English, building connections, and forming a new society. Although some immigrant groups formed stronger networks and communities upon arrival, each group faced poverty and discrimination. …

Feminist Ethicality In Child-Animal Research: Worlding Through Complex Stories, Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Mindy Blaise

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Thinking with feminist scholarship on ethicality, this article draws from two ethnographies with animal and young children to outline new questions for doing research in children’s geographies. Specifically, the article discusses how feminist ethicality within multispecies research challenges the masculinist idea that ethical research should focus on children’s story-making and ability to make meaning of the world. Instead, the authors call for an ethical focus on worlding processes or the making of worlds, and to seek possibilities for recuperation in the midst of children and more-than-human relations. The article concludes by reconfiguring the relations between ethics and research with young …

How Indigenous-Language Court Interpreters And Clients Navigate The U.S. Court System Under Strict Court-Interpreting Guidelines, Ashten Lehwalder

University Honors Theses

In Oregon, requests for court interpreters of languages indigenous to Latin America have increased within the last few years. However, the number of available indigenous-language court interpreters in the U.S. remains low. During the 2019 U.S.--Mexico Border Crisis, many refugees seeking asylum were from Mayan communities; indigenous-language court interpreters struggled to meet the demand. Even though court interpreting is a civil right in the U.S., many individuals have been afforded inadequate language services, or have gone without interpreters altogether. This study seeks to understand the experience of indigenous-language court interpreters, who must operate according to a code of ethics, through …

Department Of Catholic Studies Newsletter, Spring 2021, Michelle Loris

Catholic Studies Newsletter

Highlights: From the Chair --Meet the faculty: Charles (Charlie Gillespie, Ph.D., Jillian Plummer, Ph.D., Emily Bryan, Ph.D., Chelsea King, Ph.D. --Department scholarship: Publications and conference presentations.

Buddhist Environmentalism: How Buddhist Values And Practices Offer Hope For Escaping The Climate Crisis, Alexa Rae Rohrkasse

Honors Theses

The 2015 United Nations' Paris Climate Agreement signed by 191 parties and the 1997

The Kyoto Protocol currently agreed to by 192 international parties, state that the fate of

humanity depends on its ability to recognize its self-destructive actions and act rapidly to reverse

their effects (UNFCC, 1). Throughout our time on earth, the same internal struggles and external

battles have persisted and continue to repeat. It is only recently that these battles have begun

impacting everyone and everything on earth in way that must be urgently addressed for survival.

These events have always been detrimental to our internal struggles …