Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Reverse-Chinoiserie: Qing Imperial Porcelain And The Reappropriation Of European Rococo, Yifan (Mia) Ye

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis introduces “reverse-chinoiserie” to describe the Qing court’s reappropriation of European Rococo aesthetics in imperial porcelain. Through case studies of 18th-century ceramic diplomacy and design, it reveals how cultural imitation was reengineered into visual sovereignty. It examines how China responded to, absorbed, and redirected European fantasies of empire.

Cartography, Botany, And Violence In The Codex Rodriguez-MondragóN, Maria Davison

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how Sandy Rodriguez deploys the visual language of the Florentine Codex and other sixteenth-century Mesoamerican sources to examine the persisting effects of colonialism on people and land in Mexico-U.S. borderlands in Codex Rodriguez-Mondragón (2017-present), her ongoing series of maps, botanical illustrations, and landscape paintings.

Film Review: Motherhood And Mathematics: Hegemonic Femininity And Deviance In Shakuntala Devi (2020), Bharat Dhiman

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

A Flag Of Honor: How A Library Project United A Community Through Service And Story, Timothy Cole Hale

Georgia Library Quarterly

A community project at the Cobb County Public Library’s Georgia Room honors veterans through a large American flag made of dog tags, each representing a loved one’s military service. Created in partnership with the Fielding Lewis Chapter of the DAR, the flag became a living archive of remembrance and storytelling. Hundreds contributed, turning the display into a mosaic of memory and a testament to the role of public libraries in building community.

Book Review: Heroes And Other Mortals: Stories Of Our Better Angels, Olivia Chapman

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Zombie Memes Of Dixie, Alyshia K. Bagley

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Popular Songs In The Us Market, Michael Myers

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In today’s digitally driven music landscape, understanding what drive’s a song’s popularity requires insight not only into its acoustic and lyrical content, but also into patterns of listener engagement across platforms. This thesis explores the predictive and descriptive dimensions of song popularity by applying supervised and unsupervised machine learning models to a multi-source dataset integrating audio features, sentiment analysis, and temporal consumption behavior. Drawing from a novel, multi-platform dataset that includes Billboard Hot 100 rankings, Spotify acoustic features and popularity scores, streaming, airplay, and sales metrics as reported on Luminate’s Music Connect, and lyrics from AZLyrics, the study investigates the …

A Word From The Writing Team (August 2025), Pam Walter, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Publications Spotlight
• Join the Last Summer Writing Warriors Session Tomorrow
• Check out our Fall Workshops
• Two Ways to Fund Open Access Fees

Operation: Twisted Arm, Paul Burdiss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This science fiction novella explores the postcolonial tensions that can exist between a settler population and the native population of the land they have colonized. It uses the science fiction genre to translate modern issues into a fully fictionalized setting and is written in novella form to best fit the form of the story. This novella is accompanied by a Critical Introduction which explains the methodology and rationale for many of the choices made in its construction, and references both literary works read in preparation for this project as well as works by other writers regarding fiction writing techniques. The …

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. …

76 | Maresha Iv: The Subterranean Complexes Of The Hellenistic City, Ian Stern

IAA Reports—Monograph Series of the Israel Antiquities Authority

This volume provides an archaeological study of 152 subterranean complexes at ancient Maresha, including an overview of the site, geological background, typological analysis of chamber types, and documentation of all surveyed installations. Two brief excavation reports offer insights into material culture and daily life during the Hellenistic period. Carved decorative elements—such as niches, altars, reliefs, and betyls—highlight religious diversity and cultural syncretism among Maresha’s residents. Twenty-one inscriptions, mostly Greek with three Semitic, provide rare direct evidence of the activities, identities, and experiences of individuals who used these underground spaces, adding a human dimension to the material findings. Special attention is …

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 …

The Dialectic Of History And Imagination In Boshra Khalfan's Novels "Al-Bagh" And "Dalshad": A Study Of The Novel's Experimental Features, Hajer Harrathi

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

This study aims to uncover the features of literary experimentation in the works of the Omani writer Boshra Khalfan, through the study of her novels "Al-Bagh" and "Dalshad." The study examined these features by analyzing the dialectic between the imaginary and the historical in both novels, as well as an exquisite narrative discourse's openness to a several intertwined texts, voices, and languages all forming a modernist literary experience. This experience weaves its aesthetics by moving away from the formal and idealized to the marginalized and popular in Omani history. Accordingly, both novels emerged as rich in documentation, deeply engaging with …

Studies' Trends On The Use Of Artificial Intelligence Technologies In Analyzing And Directing Consumer Behavior: A Second-Level Analysis Of Published Research During The Period 2018-2024, Shaymaa Al-Said Salem

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

Companies in the era of digital communications must follow the latest technological developments to keep pace with their competitors and meet the needs and requirements of the market. Artificial intelligence has become an essential element in achieving this goal, as this technology has brought about fundamental changes in the global trade scene, and this has manifested in the form of ideas, interests, and huge investments. Therefore, many companies and business organizations in various sectors have recently resorted to using artificial intelligence techniques in the field of digital marketing and consumer behavior analysis to anticipate the customers' next purchase decision and …

The Future Vision Of Smart Cities In The Sultanate Of Oman Case Study: A Comparison With The Qatari Model, Eyad Fadda, Rawaan Al-Hashimiyyah, Ahmad Al-Hinai

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

The study aims to evaluate the future of smart cities in the Sultanate of Oman and explore the drivers and objectives required to achieve a smart city in the Sultanate, comparing it with the Qatari model due to the similarity of conditions between the two countries in the region. The study also addresses the concept of smart cities and the related concepts, in addition to their dimensions, characteristics, and various models. Furthermore, the study highlights the challenges that hinder the transformation of Oman's cities into smart cities. In light of technological and knowledge advancements, it has become essential to adopt …

The Role Of Social Media In Spreading Hearth Information During Heallth Crises, Aseel Al-Ajarmah, Faten Hamad

Journal of Arts and Social Sciences

Access to information strongly contributes to the advocacy of sustainable development. Social media can facilitate availability and accessibility of information during crisis times. This research investigates the role, and difficulties of using social media to spread health information among the Jordanian society. A questionnaire was disseminated to all faculty members at health schools at The University of Jordan (N=415) of whom 380 responded (91.5% response rate). The results indicate that social media are highly recognised as a practical platform to increase public awareness during pandemics. However, there is a need for measures to limit the spread of fake news and …

An Exploration Of Elderly Representation & Stereotypes In Animation, Tyler Kidd

All Theses

In the world of animated features, supporting cast members are often reduced down to simple character traits in order to give the audience a simple idea of their personality or role in the story, or to support the creation of a work that is easier to understand for people of all ages. However, this can often result in the application of negative tropes that do not reflect kindly on those being depicted. The elderly are a group that often get caught in these stereotypes, being depicted as wrinkly, clumsy, overweight villains. While you can still find many positive portrayals in …

Beyond World War I: Post-War Trauma In Agatha Christie’S The Mysterious Affair At Styles, Alayna Puckett

All Theses

This thesis reexamines Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles as a literary response and representation to World War I, arguing that it deserves recognition as a novel of wartime trauma rather than being confined solely to the realm of popular detective fiction. Influenced by Christie’s firsthand experiences as a wartime nurse, the novel subtly weaves themes of personal wartime experience and trauma into its plot, characters, and setting. Christie’s protagonist, Mr. Hastings, represents the returning soldier attempting to reintegrate into society, while Hercule Poirot—a Belgian refugee—embodies the war’s broader displacement and disruption. Set during World War I in a …

Assessing The Accessibility Of Queer Romance Book Covers As Digital Thumbnails: An Analysis Of Color Contrast, Colorblind Safety, And Typography Legibility, Madelynn Sare

Book Publishing Final Research Papers

This research investigates the digital accessibility of queer romance book covers displayed as thumbnails online, focusing on the balance between creative freedom, genre appeal, and inclusive cover design. Using a dataset of 100 highest-rated queer romance titles from Goodreads (2020–2024), the study evaluates accessibility by examining color contrast ratios against Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards, assessing colorblind safe design with Adobe Color, and measuring typography legibility through a custom-developed scale. Findings reveal that many covers fall short of WCAG color contrast requirements, yet a majority are colorblind safe, indicating that relatively minor design adjustments can significantly improve digital accessibility …

“What Are You Saying On That Headset, Anyway?”- A Practical Look At Stage Management Through Silent Sky, Jade A. Randle

Theatre Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is a dive into the process of the stage manager during the University of Arkansas' spring 2025 production of Silent Sky.

The Black Bombers Of Ghana: Sport, Nation-Building And Pan-Africanism, 1958 To The 21st Century, Kenneth Tagoe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ghana’s Amateur Boxing Team, known as the Black Bombers, has impacted the country’s political and socio-economic development since its formation in 1958. This thesis argues that amateur boxing was one of the sports that Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, used to promote nation-building and, more broadly, a Pan-African agenda. The team’s success in international competitions has widely projected Ghana's sporting reputation and reinforced the Pan-African principles of Black pride and excellence in the global athletics arena, and beyond. This thesis traces the origins of amateur boxing and the formation of the Black Bombers, the squad’s participation in international athletics events …

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 …

The Case Against Finean Essentialism, Miles Thibodeaux

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I survey, critique, and add to recent arguments against Finean Essentialism: the view that all de re modal facts are metaphysically explained by essences. Arguments against Finean Essentialism generally fall into two categories: (a) Finean Essentialism risks contradicting commonly held views or suppositions, or (b) Finean Essentialism involves an explanatory gap, vicious circularity, or a vicious regress. While the details of the arguments within each category differ significantly, it is useful to group them in this way given the relevant implications they have for one another. I will argue that the proposed critiques from category (a) are …

Cultural Vibrations: Student Power, International Exchange, And Black America In Mai 1968, Noah Micheal Roberts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This thesis examines the prominence of Black Americans in the 68’ student movement in France. May 68’ incorporated a diverse and global network of social movements and political organizations, and had a notable connection to the American student movement. Black Americans had formed a large expatriate community in France which overlapped with many of the transnational connections forged by the student movements of 68’. This community was extremely notable in the French public sphere for popular works of literature and music, but its political contributions have been minimized or understudied. By utilizing student accounts, state and organizational records, and …

Minor League: The Journey To The Show, Collin Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When thinking about the path an athlete takes to get to the major leagues, many think of the same process: High School, College, Professional. However, the professional level includes is more than just the MLB or NBA that people would assume. Almost all professional U.S. sports leagues have a minor league system associated with them that nearly all players pass through at one point or another. Through the lens of a documentary, this portion in an athlete’s journey will be spotlighted to show what these leagues do for them, how they help them improve, and how they prepare them to …

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 …

The Effects Of Background Child-Directed And Adult-Directed Singing On Reading Comprehension Performance, Agnes Yeboah Amfo-Adu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although music features in speech, such as those found in child-directed speech and song, are known to enhance language processing, the underlying mechanism of this benefit remains unclear. Prior research has primarily compared verbal materials presented in a musical, child-directed style to those in a less musical, adult-directed style, leaving it uncertain whether the benefit stems from the music style of verbal presentation or mere exposure to musical features. This study examined whether the language benefits of child-directed input persist when it is presented as background auditory stimuli rather than the primary focus of cognitive tasks. Experiment 1 found that …

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 …

Cannibalizing The Starving: Poverty And Disability In The Late 19th And Early 20th Century America, Cole M. Hayes

Graduate Masters Theses

Cannibalizing the Starving analyzes how the American ruling class and their institutions perceptually disabled people in poverty alongside the repercussions of this disablement within the late 19^th and early 20^th century. This thesis deploys an anarchist framework of understanding hierarchies, the state, and violence is utilized alongside critical disability studies to understand how disability was socially constructed in the context of poverty. Further, much of the framing involved is from the context of labor or those who could not or did not labor. At the heart of the issue is understanding seemingly innocuous language used to denigrate those …

Redefining Community: An Analysis Of Black Presence On Nantucket In The Late 19th And Early 20th Centuries, Laura A. Paisley

Graduate Masters Theses

In the mid-19^th century, the decline in whaling initiated massive change on Nantucket Island’s cultural landscape. The thriving, but segregated, New Guinea community that formed in the late-18^th century was also impacted by this shift. Tourism ultimately became, and still is, Nantucket’s primary source of income and has wreaked havoc on the historical narrative that is perpetuated about the island. This narrative rarely moves past Nantucket’s whaling history and does not discuss the continued Black presence on the island. This thesis uncovers the relationship between race, space, and community formation that existed on Nantucket between 1860 and 1920. …