Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Gender, Intertextuality & Market Demands: Publishing Children's Picture Books, Mackenzie Scott

Honors Theses

Children’s literature in the U.S. has long since reflected, and also influenced, the nation’s societal and cultural identity. The genre’s representation of gender has historically aligned with traditionally distinct and separate sex-typed roles of domestic or non-domestic behavior. Through textual analysis of 80 New York Times bestselling picture books between 2009 and 2019, this research seeks to determine if publishers and consumers are selecting titles that support or subvert stereotypical gender roles. Prior studies on gender representation in children’s literature have concluded that the prevalence of static, passive female characters and active male characters negatively impacts the identity development of …

Complex Conversations: A Creative Exploration Into Language Used Over Direct Messages On Social Media Platforms, Arden Craft

Honors Theses

This paper details a series of paintings that explore how the language used virtually over direct messages (DMs) on social media platforms can allude to how complex notions of gender, violence, and behavior function in reality. This research questions how forms of communication or interaction exist within different spaces and contexts, as well as how the recontextualization of language can disrupt power and produce new forms of interpretation. This paper acts as a secondary source of knowledge in relation to the paintings under review and provides further explanation of their conceptual motivations. In particular, the paintings engage with Sara Ahmed’s …

Reframing Severed Representations: From Biography Towards A Psychoanalytical Reading Of Caravaggio’S Self-Portraiture, Alyson Mcgowan

Honors Theses

Perhaps one of the most celebrated artists of all time and responsible for ushering in a new style of art during the Baroque period, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio continues to emerge from the pages of history and captivate art historians and art lovers alike. He has been the focus of countless scholars and art critics since his emergence as an artist in 16th century Rome. This research will provide a fresh analysis of two of the artist's verified self-portraits, The Young Sick Bacchus c. 1593 and David with the Head of Goliath c. 1610, using Lacanian psychoanalytic theory. By doing …

Living Document: An Exploration Of “Self” Through Lyric & Hybrid Forms, Shannon Sweeney

Honors Theses

In the famously confessional field of creative nonfiction, the question of preserving one’s privacy is perhaps best explored by means of lyrical or hybrid essays; an explorative piece found at the intersection of poetic form and prose, between objective fact and creative presentation, which “sets off on an uncharted course through interlocking webs of idea, circumstance, and language - a pursuit with no foreknown conclusion, [and] an arrival that might still leave the writer questioning,” according to Noam Dorr. This pursuit without strict purpose allows for writers to dissect and discover the intricacies of seemingly straightforward topics: truth, memory, even …

Entre Países, Jared Steiman

Honors Theses

This collection of original poems deals with the unique experience of transnational family, particular to the international and interracial tensions of the years 2014-2020. The works focus on intimate portraits of life in the United States South, the Mexican South, and the relationship between. Love and loss feature prominently. Injustice is sewn throughout. Accompanying the original poems are a number of translations of Octavio Paz and Rosario Castellanos, as well as a craft essay detailing the process of creating this body of work.

Reconciling Flourishing Egoism With Common Morality, Mark Lamb

Honors Theses

It is a common critique of moral theories focused on the agent that they are selfish and immoral. Selfish here typically carries a negative connotation. Morality is supposed to show how we ought to treat people outside of ourselves; and this is true to a degree. But so often it seems, at least to me, that the more “selfless” moral theories seem to forget that the agent is as deserving of the good as those that the agent interacts with are. Egoism, broadly, reverses this and places the agent at the forefront of ethical decision-making. Unfortunately, this has historically led …

Embracing Écriture Inclusive Students Respond To Gender Inclusivity In The French Language Classroom, Rebecca Lynn Garbe

Audre Lorde Prize

In 2017, the French Academy published a declaration opposing the official integration of écriture inclusive into the French language for fear that it would put it in “péril mortel.” Specifically, the Academy targeted a newly proposed punctuation, le point milieu, or the middot, that would allow those writing in French to express both the masculine and feminine endings of words with a dot between the two. This addition would disrupt traditional gendered interpretations within the language and make space, not only for the goals of French feminists, but also for visibility of non-binary French-speaking people. The Academy argued, however, …

Review Of Michèle Vallenthini, “Sade Dans L’Histoire: Du Temps De La Fiction À La Fiction Du Temps,” The French Review, 93, 4, May 2020, 216., Olivier M. Delers

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications

"Vallenthini offers an in-depth study of three historical novels written by the Marquis de Sade towards the end of his life while he was confined at the Charenton mental asylum. Sade started drafting La marquise de Gange in 1806 and published it in 1812, around the same time when he began work on Adélaïde de Brunswick and Histoire secrète d’Isabelle de Bavière, two works that only became available in print in the twentieth century. These novels have generally received limited critical attention."

The Politics Of Colonial Authenticity: Food In A Galaxy Far, Far Away, Katelyn Juerjens

University Honors Program Senior Projects

In August 2015, The Walt Disney Company announced its plans for two new 14-acre additions to their already expansive theme parks: Galaxy’s Edge. The new additions, which opened in the Summer of 2019, are themed as a never-before-seen planet within the multi-billion-dollar Star Wars franchise. Each park was designed to transport fans and tourists to a galaxy far, far way to experience foreign topographies, activities, adventures, and even food. This project looks at the representations of food and consumption across the Star Wars multimedia galaxy. Through exploring the menus circulating inside the Galaxy’s Edge theme park alongside Galaxy’s Edge tie-in …

Non-Muslim Integration Into The Early Islamic Caliphate Through The Use Of Surrender Agreements, Rachel Hutchings

History Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this honors thesis, I discuss the role of surrender agreements in the early Islamic caliphate and their evolution through the ninth century. Seen as a window into the developing relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, surrender agreements shed considerable light on the evolving conceptualization of non-Muslims’ place in dar al-Islam from the point of view of Islamic legal tradition and political theory. By defining the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in a framework that was agreed on by all parties and one that preserved the basic rights of non-Muslims, these agreements were remarkably effective in facilitating the incorporation of …

The Atomic Bomb And The Birth Of Manga: Collective Memory In Post-Wwii Japan, Bethany Harris

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the ashes of post-World War II Japan and among the widespread poverty and devastation, cheap entertainment in the form of manga flourished on an unprecedented level. Manga was used not only to reenact and process war trauma, but also as a tool that helped usher in a new era of pro-American democracy and science. Manga in support of Japan’s new image quickly became popularized and embraced by the public, such as Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, but this was only one lens that captured Japanese memory of WWII. Keiji Nakazawa published the first documentary form of manga in his …

Poser: The Nexus Of Chicanx And Punk Cinema, Christian Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

By bridging together formal characteristics from Chicanx and Punk cinema, my screenplay “Poser” follows the traditions of many filmmakers, including Jim Mendiola, Efrain Gutierrez, Luis Valdez, and Alex Cox. This thesis first distinguishes the traits that characterize each individual style, followed by the films that inspired my script, to finally how these techniques fit within my own work.

The creative decisions in my screenplay are thus examined through a lens informed by the underlying value of writing a story about marginalized segments of society. Additionally, I offer a close analysis behind the restrained approach of my story, along with the …

Seton Writings Project: Chronological List 5 (January 1821 - December 1821), Regina Bechtle S.C., Judith Metz S.C. Ph.D.

Seton Writings Project

The fifth list of correspondence to or about Elizabeth Seton, including materials from January 1821 - December 1821.

French Exceptionalism: The Impact Of Laïcité, Rachel Culp

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the impact of citizens’ attitudes toward religious freedom on their attitudes toward four socio-political issues: abortion, same-sex marriage, importance of Christianity to nationality and whether Islam is viewed as incompatible with nationality in a Western European context. I focused specifically on France, Germany and the UK as these countries represent three distinct approaches to the separation of religion and government. I aim to isolate and investigate the impact of the concept of laïcité, the French interpretation of secularism, and see if laïcité and attitudes toward laïcité impact citizens’ attitudes differently toward socio-political issues. My research found that …

Screening Revolution: Cinema As An Alternative Public Space During The Years Of Lead (1969 - 1994), Patrick Hayes

Honors Theses

1969 to 1988 was a period of social and political unrest in Italy known as the Years of Lead. Within this political foment, leftist directors produced films that dealt with topics that were of concern to the Left such as the condition of factory workers and police corruption. This thesis explores the role of cinema within the public sphere, whether it acted as an alternative space, and whether its role changed over time. Influenced by neo- Habermasian theory, I hypothesize that cinema served as an alternative public space in which directors critiqued the environment which drove students and workers to …

"Theology That Actually Works" : An Analysis Of Those Aspects Of Theological Formation Which Best Equip Church Planters For Their Work, John H. Valentine

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

What Are You Doing Here, Elijah? : The Influence Of Mentoring Relationships On Clergy Satisfaction, Charles A. Shoemaker

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Rope: An Original Piece For String Orchestra Played Concurrently With Alfred Hitchcock's Film, Douglas William-Solomon Espie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an original piece of music designed to be performed concurrently with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948). The film provides a canvas upon which a musically dominant multimedia experience is built. An accompanying analysis explains the variety of compositional techniques used, explaining their significance and how each deviates from a traditional film score. The objective of this work is to challenge the existing relationship between music and film, and add to the growing body of repertoire of live works featuring synchronized video, modeling example methods of live multimedia performance. In this exploration, the goal was not to be anti-cinematic, …

In Hindsight: Non-Visible Patch Points, Erik Ordaz Lozano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exhibition consisting of seven ceramic vessels. I constructed these objects on the potter’s wheel by throwing and joining sections together based on a set of loose measurements and visual guidelines I have developed using slips and underglazes for mark making and soda firing for final surface treatment. This work is the result of my reflections on the concepts of form, shape, balance, time, and connection.

Color Psychology Education In Western Culture, Jenna Leigh C. Ashbaugh

Senior Honors Theses

Color has always been communicative in nature. The human brain perceives meaning through color constantly, interpreting different hues based on implications assigned to them from various sources. Though these color-meaning associations can be used purposefully to generate specific reactions or change undesirable connotations with certain objects or situations, improving the mental and emotional health of subjects, the use of color therapy and color theory education are not widespread in modern Western culture. Including a study of color theory in mainstream curriculum could benefit the mental health of individuals due to the therapeutic, communicative, and psychological benefits of color.

Pottermore, A Case Study: What Publishers Can Learn About Developing Interactive Transmedia In The Post-Web Age, Megan Crayne

Book Publishing Final Research Papers

15 years after the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling’s magical world would be transformed into an interactive, playable website called simply Pottermore. It included all the elements that dominate successful interactive transmedia: exclusive narrative content that brought readers into the storyworld, spaces for members to create and build virtual communities, interactive gameplay, and additional forms of transmedia available for purchase. Then in 2015, Pottermore Publishing launched a major redesign of Pottermore in the face of declining eBook and audiobook sales.

By comparing and contrasting the three versions of Pottermore (Old, New, and now Wizarding …

Exercise As A Mitigator Of Poor Mental Health Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adults, Jennifer R. Pharr, Jason D. Flatt, Lung-Chang Chien, Axenya Kachen, Babayemi O. Olakunde

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Introduction: There is a positive association between exercise and improved mental health in the general population. Although there is a greater burden of psychological distress among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people, little is known about the association between exercise and mental health in this population. The authors explored the association between exercise and poor mental health reported by LGB adults in the United States. Methods: Our analyses used data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the association between exercising and mental health days adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Data …

The Wild Diamond Diaries: Healing Alongside America's Wild Horses, Megan Emily

All NMU Master's Theses

To some, America’s free-roaming Mustangs and burros symbolize liberty and beauty. To others, these equines are feral at best, invasive at worst. They have a reputation for being useless, destructive, and untrainable. Yet my childhood horse—gifted to my family when I was three—was a gentled Mustang, W.D. Through W.D., I first encountered these horses’ kind dispositions, composure, and hardiness. After my younger sister died in a riding accident with another horse, my parents rehomed W.D. The devastating loss of both my sister and horse sparked my lifelong interest in Mustangs’ lives in the wild and journey into domestication, especially via …

Queering The Curriculum: Establishing Equity For Lgbtqia Students And Educators In Michigan, Miranda Findlay

All NMU Master's Theses

This project examines the state of Michigan’s efforts in creating an equitable learning and working environment for LGBTQIA K-12 students and educators, explicitly focusing on 11^th and 12^th grade English Language Arts (ELA) standards. In the first chapter, I evaluate the relationship between queer theory and pedagogy and illuminate the need to implement queer pedagogy in teaching K-12 ELA classes. The following chapter reviews the progressive state of California for its promotion of culturally responsive pedagogy and its inclusion of LGBTQIA topics in its K-12 curriculum. The third chapter analyzes Michigan legislature and policies to highlight gaps that …

The Catastrophic Open Wound: The Application Of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In Linda Hogan’S Solar Storms And Eden Robinson’S Monkey Beach, Kawther I. Abbas

All NMU Master's Theses

This thesis argues that Judith Herman's theory of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can provide a lot of insight in analyzing the trauma of several characters in Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms and Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach. The analysis first employs the two authors’ Native American ideas of trauma and then adds Herman’s theory of CPTSD to help bridge the gap between the Native American and Western cultures and to create more understanding without undermining cultural differences.

I chose Herman’s theory for my analysis because it has many commonalities with the Native American trauma theories such as belief in the fact …

Goal Drought, Stephanie Oesch

All NMU Master's Theses

Goal Drought is a collection of free verse and prose poetry that focuses on the sport of soccer. The collection explores the roles of fans and players within the sport as well as the strategy, concepts, and controversies that make up much of soccer. Beyond just the game, the collection also engages with religious concepts and the more general themes of obsession, desire for community, and the act of participating and watching performances. Physicality and personal experience also play a large role in this work, and the collection mixes both jargon and more casual and conversational language to try and …

A Reluctant Icon: Letters To Neil Armstrong, James R. Hansen

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Artfully curated by James R. Hansen, A Reluctant Icon: Letters to Neil Armstrong is a companion volume to Dear Neil Armstrong: Letters to the First Man from All Mankind, collecting hundreds more letters Armstrong received after first stepping on the moon until his death in 2012. Providing context and commentary, Hansen has assembled the letters by the following themes: religion and belief; anger, disappointment, and disillusionment; quacks, conspiracy theorists, and ufologists; fellow astronauts and the world of flight; the corporate world; celebrities, stars, and notables; and last messages. Taken together, both collections provide fascinating insights into the world of …

Teaching The Empire: Education And State Loyalty In Late Habsburg Austria, Scott O. Moore

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Teaching the Empire explores how Habsburg Austria utilized education to cultivate the patriotism of its people. Public schools have been a tool for patriotic development in Europe and the United States since their creation in the nineteenth century. On a basic level, this civic education taught children about their state while also articulating the common myths, heroes, and ideas that could bind society together. For the most part historians have focused on the development of civic education in nation-states like Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. There has been an assumption that the multinational Habsburg Monarchy did not, or could …

Moratoria Antibirus: Un Grande Passo Verso La Sopravvivenza Dei Musei Americani, Maria Sancho-Arroyo

Faculty Articles

This article investigates the economic impact of COVID-19 and related policy decisions of the museum industry in the United States.

Ethical Tensions Of Library And Information Science Profession: Theoretical Perspective, Navneet Kaur Deol, Amandeep Kaur

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The present paper focuses on the issue of professional ethics and related problems in the field of Library and Information Science. The study, to begin with, reveals the dichotomy of professional ethics from the general social ethics through visible boundaries and jurisdictions. Further, some most general and universally found issues and reasons of ethical tensions are discussed. The study argues that unawareness about professional ethics, lack of universal patterns of ethics as well as universal mechanism for the implementation and the dilemma of social ethics versus professional ethics are the issues, which result in ethical tensions. Besides these, in certain …