Arts and Humanities Commons^™

From The Battlefield To The Archive: Tracing Testimony In Holocaust Memory, Tiana M. Taliep

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

This thesis portfolio examines the evolving role of testimony in shaping public memory of World War II and the Holocaust. As the last generation of eyewitnesses passes, societies increasingly rely on preserved, mediated forms of testimony to understand and remember traumatic pasts. Testimony, whether handwritten, oral, visual, or digital, is not a neutral historical record but an interpretive act shaped by cultural, political, and technological forces. This portfolio argues that testimony functions as evidence and expression: it transmits trauma across generations while simultaneously reflecting the changing frameworks through which war and genocide are remembered.

The portfolio explores testimony in personal, …

The Lived Experiences Of Navajo Nurses During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Stephnie Ann Leeson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When COVID-19 was diagnosed on the Navajo Nation, the impact on the people and the healthcare system was not understood. For almost three years, Navajo healthcare workers battled what was known to the Navajo as Dikos Nitsaaígíí Náhást’éíts’áadah, translated as The Big Cough. The Navajo Nation President, Jonathan Nez, referred to it as a Monster, as did many people in the Navajo Nation. Navajo nurses on the frontlines battled the monster daily as they saw friends and relatives succumb to the insidious disease. Much has been written about nurses off the reservations working on the frontline during the pandemic. However, …

0895: Whear Family Papers, 1909-2019, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Dr. Paul W. Whear was a noted composer and Marshall University professor and founded the Huntington Chamber Orchestra. Nancy Robinson Voiers Whear was a renowned musician who worked in Morrow Library at Marshall University and wrote several articles that were published. Their children were Allen Whear, violoncellist, brother Bill, a prominent photographer, and Cynthia, another distinguished musician.

The Whear Family Collection includes original compositions and musical scores by Paul W. Whear, research materials used by Nancy Whear, photography by Bill Whear, and documentation of the musical career of Allen Whear. Also included are programs and other materials from the Huntington …

Child Abuse In Colonial America, Brian Allen

Graduate Masters Theses

Child Abuse in Colonial America is an investigation of the extent to which colonial societies were aware of child abuse and how they responded. Historians often assert that awareness of the problem did not exist in America until the mid-nineteenth century; however, the evidence uncovered suggests that cases of child abuse were recognized during the colonial period and that the societal responses differed widely. Historians of childhood document myriad social, economic, political, religious, and other cultural influences that dictate how children were treated at different times and locations, and this framework is used to interpret why the responses to child …

End Times: American Mortality, Death Materiality, And Social Death In The 1990s, Jordan A. Savage

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States in the 1990s was marked by pervasive representations of death in popular culture. As death imagery became increasingly visible in entertainment, there was a growing detachment from the embodied, biological realities of death, a tension intensified by the ongoing AIDS crisis. This project explores how death is politicized and how decisions about who lives and dies are shaped by power. I draw on a constellation of theoretical frameworks that collectively illuminate the operations of state-sanctioned death and social abandonment. These include Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics, which examines the management of life by state power; Giorgio Agamben’s …

A Pastoral River: Reimagining The Narrative Of Buffalo National River, Thomas Andrew Medford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the creation of Buffalo National River (BNR) from the perspective of dispossessed landowners. A unit of the National Park Service in the Arkansas Ozarks, BNR has garnered little scholarly attention in this light, despite present-day resentment of the federal government by locals. The park was signed into law in 1972, capping a years-long debate about the fate of the river. Some had supported a tenacious U.S. Army Corps of Engineers effort to dam the river, others backed a well-organized, preservationist-led campaign to create a park, while on-the-river landowners typically preferred the status quo of private ownership. Many …

The Abduction Of Juan Manuel Fangio And Its Impact On The Cuban Revolution, Shalom Nissi Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

On February 23, 1958, Juan Manuel Fangio, the five-time Formula One Champion, was kidnapped by the 26th of July Movement (M-26) in Havana, Cuba, during the Cuban Revolution. The kidnapping took place on the eve of the Havana Grand Prix as an act of sabotage against Fulgencio Batista's government. Fangio's abduction became a symbol of political resistance, challenging Batista's authority and raising the profile of M-26 as a revolutionary group. This thesis examines how the incident, amplified by worldwide media coverage, influenced international perceptions of the Cuban Revolution. It argues that using Fangio’s fame strategically helped accelerate awareness of the …

Resemblance In Meaning Between Explicit Linguistic Evidence And Omitted Word: An Approach To Syntactical Recognition Pattern, Emad Ahmad Alzabin

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

The study aims to address a scientific problem in Elision that can be summarized with a central question: Is the resemblance required in the meaning between the explicit linguistic evidence and the Omitted Word? The subject of this study interviews a question on the issue of Elision that is decided in two levels: Theoretical level, and Procedure in the of efforts of ancient grammarians. This contrast is undoubtedly generating a grammatical argumentation that clarifies the issue. And the importance of this attempt comes from the impact of its results on Theories of text reception, this study also relates to the …

The Cultural Significance Of The Architecture Of The Umm An-Nar Culture Tombs (2700–2000 Bce) In The Omani Peninsul, Khaled Douglas

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

Umm al-Nar tombs considered one of the most significant architectural landmarks of that period. Despite the diversity and variation in the plan and size of the tombs, they are considered homogeneous in their architectural style and components spread across the Omani Peninsula. These tombs distinguished by a special architectural system that differed from the rest of the other buildings mainly by their external appearance. The builder of these tombs made a great effort to highlight the external appearance of the tomb, which was represented by the using limestone in its construction, which was used exclusively in the construction of the …

The Role Of Social Media In Cultural Change In Saudi Society (From The Woman’S Perspective), Huda Abdulaziz Aldegheiy

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

The study aimed to identify the role of social media in cultural change in Saudi society from the point of view of women. In light of the nature of the study, the researcher used the descriptive analytical approach, and the study tool was the questionnaire, and the sample size reached (709) of women in Saudi society. The study found several results, the most important of which were: (45.7%) of the study sample believe that TikTok is the most influential social media on cultural changes, while there are (26.7%) who believe that Snapchat is the most influential, and that there is …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Lives Of Individuals In Kuwaiti Society During Curfew, Hend Batel Al-Ma’Seb, Maha Meshari Al-Sejari

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

The main aim of this study is to assess the extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic has affected individuals in Kuwaiti society in its various aspects, such as economic conditions, social relations, personal hygiene, and physical health, which are determined by demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status, and level of education. The study employed a descriptive approach and recruited 703 individuals who lived in Kuwait during the pandemic. The main tool used was an online questionnaire. This questionnaire consists of several sections, including an introduction, demographic information about respondents, and a scale of the impact of the pandemic …

The Role Of Service Quality In Enhancing The Brand Image Of Sports Clubs In The Sultanate Of Oman, Amain Gaafar, Ali Al Yaaribi

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

The study aims to identify the dimensions of service quality in improving the Brand image in sports clubs - in the Sultanate of Oman, and the descriptive approach was used in the survey method. The study sample was randomly selected from Club boards of directors, club managers, players, coaches, clubgoers, and escorts, and their number was (39). The study recommends focusing on developing appropriate strategies that help improve the brand image of sports clubs among members and beneficiaries.

Girls Of Riyadh Narrating The “Velvet Class” In Saudi Arabia, Yahya Hassan Al-Wadhaf

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

Banat al-Riyadh, translated as Girls of Riyadh, is a Saudi controversial novel which was initially published in 2005 and appeared as an English version in 2007. The narrative gives a detailed and an inside view to the domestic and ‘private’ part of the Saudi society. It gives an access to that ‘velvet class’ as the narrator describes the women that occupy the narrative space of Girls of Riyadh. The novel addresses in a revolutionary manner issues pertaining to women’s rights, dreams, hopes and aspirations The novel addresses in a revolutionary manner issues pertaining to women’s rights, dreams, hopes, and aspirations …

Socioeconomic Inequality In Child Malnutrition In Sudan: Results From The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2014), Huda Mohamed Mukhtar Ahmed, Mutaz Fikri Mohamed Osman Digna

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

This study investigates the association between nutrition indicators such as height/weight-for-age and weight-for-height with socioeconomic variables in Sudan, using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data, 2014. These variables include Household's wealth quintiles, mother's highest education level, head of household's highest level of education, place of residence, age and gender of the child, region, and access sanitation facilities A concentration index and curve and a probit model used were to measure the socioeconomic inequality in under-five children malnutrition. The findings showed that the child's age (P = 0.000), mother's education of secondary and above (P = 0.046), and households’ richest quintile …

Building Toward A Timbral Tool-Kit: A Practice-Led Exploration Of Timbre As An Inspirational Tool In The Composition Process, Kailan O’Dell

Postgraduate

This exegesis is a practice-led investigation into the role of timbre as a tool of inspiration and musical expression in the composition process, with a specific focus on keyboard instruments. Two contrasting compositions for grand piano were recorded, then recorded again using four other distinct keyboard instrument timbres. The composer’s emotional perception of each keyboard instrument timbre was evaluated through reflective analysis, and with the use of the Geneva Emotional Music Scale. Knowledge of the emotional associations of the various timbres was used in the creation of four new compositions, one for each of the four distinct keyboard instrument timbres. …

A Study Of The History, Repertory And Instrumentation Of The Band Of The Corfu Philharmonic Society From 1840 Until 1920, Foteini Angeli

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The Corfu Philharmonic Society band was founded in 1840 and is still active today. It is considered the one of the oldest continuously operating music education organizations in Greece. The people, repertoire, and instrumentation of this band influenced all other wind bands in Greece. There are important resources available on the topic, but dedicated research to the organization is in its infancy. Focusing on the changes in instrumentation through original manuscripts from the inaugural band (1840) through the end of the First World War reveals significant multinational influences that continue to be felt to this day. This is the first …

Don't Settle For Less: Incorporating Postcolonial And Settler Colonial Perspectives Into The Sociological Canon, Eli Xavier Ornelas

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

For decades now, post-/de-/settler-/ and anticolonial scholars have advanced the argument that sociology has largely failed to incorporate critical insights from theories of empire into the sociological canon. In this dissertation, I argue that introduction to sociology textbooks offer an important vantage point from which to assess conventional sociological knowledge as textbooks are often thought to be “reflections of the discipline.” I analyze the social theory and race chapters of 21 of the most often used introduction to sociology textbooks in the United States to investigate two chapters where insights from theories of empire would be present if indeed incorporated: …

Carrying Light In The Shadows: Four Portraits Of Critical Literacy Teacher Agency In Unlikely Contexts, Cassandra Schroeder

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This qualitative study utilizes portraiture methodology to explore how educators in politically conservative and predominantly White schools enact critical literacy teacher agency. Using a theoretical lens of critical literacy and second-wave Whiteness studies, this research examines the lived experiences and instructional moves of four veteran English/language arts teachers. Through cross-case analysis, the study traces how teacher agency is contextually responsive and dependent on their professional identity, awareness of sociopolitical issues, and traditional school curricular expectations. The findings highlight how educators assess risk, navigate community norms, and maintain critical literacy through dialogic pedagogy and strategic adaptation. The four teachers in the …

Blood-Red And Flaming And True, Kate Gaskin

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Blood-Red and Flaming and True contains poems that explore the immense feelings of love and loss tied to the relationship between parent and child. They chronicle my experience raising a neurodivergent child, as well as undergoing infant loss and navigating a U.S. medical system that is renowned for putting women and people capable of giving birth—especially BIPOC—at greater risk than other countries with similar resources. Through poems that inhabit a variety of forms, I sift through grief and joy while attempting to tap into the sublime state that underlies extreme loss and love. Throughout, I investigate how lyric poetry is …

Rhetorics Of Encounter: Toward A Biocentric Theory Of Discourse, Matthew D. Whitaker

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Encounters with more-than-human identities are transformative moments that stand to affect dispositional and bodily change in individuals. From close brushes with wild animals in National Parks to everyday interactions with local ecologies, encounters invite us to feel and think differently about the nature of our realities. In Rhetorics of Encounter: Toward a Biocentric Theory of Discourse, I draw from interdisciplinary perspectives to disrupt the idea of rhetoric as a representational medium, arguing that rhetoric occurs not just through textual exchanges of words and symbols, but through embodied moments of contact with other responsive beings. Invoking George Kennedy’s theory …

From Classroom To Content Creator: Leadership Practices And Identities Of Female Science Teachers On Tiktok, Rachel M. Benzoni

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This qualitative multiple case study investigates how four secondary science teachers use TikTok to advocate for science education and how content creation shapes their professional identities as leaders. Using interviews and video content with a framework integrating constructivist leadership, Leader Identity Construction Theory (LICT), and the Social Change Model (SCM), findings show participants enacted leadership outside formal roles through distributed and relational practices leveraging social media's affordances. Five themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Reconceptualizing Teacher Leadership on Social Media, (2) Leadership Through Equity-Driven Practice, (3) Constructing and Leading in Online Professional Learning Communities, (4) Forming and Negotiating Identities in …

From Digital Natives To Ai-Natives: Rethinking Assessment And Instructional Design In The Age Of Autonomous Ai Tools, James Lipuma Ph.D., Cristo Leon Ph.D., Yi Meng Ph.D.

STEM for Success Resources

No abstract provided.

This Is Fine: A Reflexive Case Study On Beliefs, Institutional Rhetoric, And The Quiet Despair Of Capstone Completion, Dana Turner Blair

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For graduate students, capstone writing is often a stressful process that involves significant obstacles to progress. This dissertation presents an exploratory multi-case study of four graduate capstone writers to examine how institutional contexts and rhetoric shape students’ beliefs and related emotions and behaviors during the high-stakes, low-structure settings of capstone research projects. Data for this study was collected through interviews and reflexively compared with reflections from the principal researcher. To gather insights into the relationship between writers’ internal beliefs and institutional contexts, interview excerpts were analyzed according to both cognitive behavioral coaching and institutional critique frameworks. Findings indicated that students …

How To Do Things With Little Talking Tubes: Nonideal Speech Acts In The Digital Age, Anthony Holdier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, I develop a view about what it means to share a social or conversational context with others, as well as what is normatively entailed by doing so. Working from a broadly Austinian perspective about the moral foundations of language use and how we use words to position ourselves within social space, as well as from a generally Stalnakerian social ontology (demarcating groups by dint of aligned or overlapping sets of commitments), I present three papers demonstrating how nonidealized, ordinary language philosophy can make sense of complex, real-world phenomena. Through analyses of heretical utterances, context collapse, and chatbot …

Intersecting Realities And Evolving Landscapes: Mapping Generative Ai Within The Framework Of Digital Rhetoric, Joshua Troy Nieubuurt

English Theses & Dissertations

The increased usage of [Generative] AI technologies (GenAI) in the 21st century has called into the question the rhetorical agency of these digital things. [Gen]AI has historically been framed within a Heideggerian “readiness-to-hand” dynamic in which it has been unilaterally conceived as a tool to be used by humans. This dissertation proposes that the GenAI assemblage is capable of being a co-actor in rhetorical spaces. To provide evidence for this stance This dissertation utilizes Actor Network Theory to map the actants within a GenAI assemblage. In doing so it allows for an understanding of the stakeholders (both human and non-human) …

'Managed Hearts’ In Helper-Education: Gender Non-Binary Helper-Educators’ Experiences Of Emotional Labor, Jordan Pearce

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The unique experiences of people who identify with a gender beyond the binary paradigm dominant in the Global West are not well understood. The literature provides little insight into the experiences and perspectives of these individuals in a variety of contexts, including in their workplaces. As various social movements collide, they bring amplified attention to the mental health of marginalized communities and to workers, as well as the dynamics of modern work environments, and the specific needs of certain individuals doing certain types of work. The current study explored the experiences of gender non-binary individuals (GNI) working as helper-educators engaged …

Ai-Enhanced Structured Literacy Intervention For Secondary Students: A Case Study Of Science Of Reading, Jennifer Bird

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This study examines the effectiveness of Lexia PowerUp, an AI-powered literacy program, for sixth-grade students requiring Tier 3 reading intervention. Seven sixth-grade students (six boys, one girl; five African American, two Caucasian; all qualifying for free/reduced lunch) participated in a six-month intervention combining 50 minutes of daily small-group instruction with individualized Lexia PowerUp usage. Researchers measured progress through Achieve 3000 Lexile assessments and Lexia PowerUp performance data across three skill strands: Word Study, Grammar, and Comprehension. All participants demonstrated Lexile level improvements from beginning-of-year to mid-year assessments, though students remained below sixth-grade benchmarks (925-1070L). Analysis of Lexia PowerUp progression showed …

Full Circle: Historiography, Missiology, And Theology In Lin Yutang’S From Pagan To Christian, Teng-Kuan Ng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Lin Yutang (1895–1976) is renowned for bridging the Chinese and Western worlds through his prolific writings, but the vital role of religion in his intercultural endeavors remains underappreciated. This article situates his seminal work of religious reflection, From Pagan to Christian (1959), within the context of World Christianity, defined as both movement and method. Lin’s departure from the Christianity of his youth into Chinese religions—and back again to the church in his later years—presents timely insights for the study of religious change and pluralism in global modernity. Analyzing the text’s decolonizing, dialogical, and polyphonic dimensions, this article brings Lin’s spiritual …

Being Seen And Being With Others: Shame And Interpersonal Relationships, Brandon Yip

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

I seek to vindicate heteronomous shame: shame that one experiences in response to a judgment from another that one does not accept. I suggest that such experiences are instances of interpersonal shame. This is shame that involves a sensitivity to interpersonal ideals, whose instantiation depends partly on the attitudes of others. I defend the importance of such shame by showing how vulnerability to others is a constitutive part of rich interpersonal relationships. The account both casts light on and vindicates the heteronomous shame that is pervasive among marginalised and oppressed groups. Such shame is not irrational but involves an accurate …

Constraints Without Tears For Consequentialists, Matthew Hammerton

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Agent-relative consequentialism uses the theoretical framework of consequentialism to capture the constraints favored by deontologists. Christopher Howard has recently argued that agent-relative consequentialism is implausible because it can only capture such constraints at the expense of getting other normative facts incorrect. In this reply, I argue that Howard’s objection to agent-relative consequentialism fails because it rests on faulty intuitions that arise from a misunderstanding of basic structural features of agent-relative consequentialism.