Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Spring Dance Concert

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Negra Cubana Tenía Que Ser. Por Sandra Abd´Allah-Álvarez Ramírez, Yeniela Cedeño Hechavarría

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

An Approach To Teaching Sight-Reading: The Station Technique, Aislinn K. L. Queen

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

The station learning technique is more effective than traditional teaching methods regarding academic achievement and student engagement. However, stations are not a typical method high school teachers use when teaching sight-reading in a choir classroom. This study investigated the implementation of the station learning technique in a high school choir setting. The participants were a single classroom of 17 students and two teachers. The data collection tools included student self-assessments, skill assessments, sight-reading rubrics, student and teacher surveys, and student and teacher focus group interviews. Qualitative data was analyzed and coded using the constant comparative method, and the quantitative data …

Moses Fleetwood Walker's Views On Race, Edward Hoffman

Honors Capstones

This paper details the life of Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first Black Major League baseball player as well as a scholar, and explores his views on race. Despite the fact that he published a manifesto outlining his opinions on racial separation in 1908, very little has been written about Walker’s views on race, and there is no prior research on how Walker’s racial ideologies compare to other contemporary African American intellectuals. Through analysis of primary and secondary sources, I have concluded that Walker offers a unique perspective on race: He advocated for the complete, immediate, and mandatory separation of Black …

Uses And Perceptions Of Student Leadership Roles In A Secondary Choral Program, Jenna M. Rickerhauser

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

This study examined student leadership structure in a high school choral program, including data from a junior high director in the district. It aimed to evaluate the role and influence of a designated student leader in a secondary choral program through perceptions from student leaders, student members, and directors. Collected data included surveys, focus groups, individual interviews, field notes, and observation notes. The researcher analyzed the data using the constant comparative method. The resulting data fit into four level 2 codes: program structure, roles of student leaders, influence/impact on the choir, and personal impact of leadership on student leaders. The …

The Contribution Of Catholic Compromise Principles In Global Health, Scott N. Helstad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Roman Catholic tradition has developed comprehensive ethical principles to address complex practical scenarios that encounter foundational value compromises. These are referred to as compromise principles and they have both a narrow and a broad focus. Narrowly, these compromise principles are critical for Catholic healthcare organizations in the United States with regard to the guidelines of the US Bishops in their Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. More broadly, these compromise principles are relevant in the secular realm regarding global health. This dissertation examines these varying perspectives, hence its title, “The Contribution of Catholic Compromise Principles …

God Who Crafts: An Appalachian Theology Of Making And Community, Gwendolen Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Appalachia has been the subject of much speculation and often disparagement since it first became distinct as a part of the United States in approximately the 1860s, but it is more than just its reputation. This dissertation discusses the history and modern myth of Appalachia, and then it considers Appalachia on its own terms through what the people who live there have said about it and about their own lives.

This work focuses on the continued prominence of craft and its place in the spiritual lives of mountain people as it examines interviews that I conducted with mountain crafters. I …

Hospital Organizations’ Obligation To Promote Spiritual Well-Being Among Nurses: Development Of A Normative Ethical Argument, Michael Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents an innovative strategy to promote the support of nurses' spirituality within hospital organizations. By focusing on the spiritual well-being of nurses by hospital organizations, with a natural extension into nursing schools, the approach aims to enhance nurse’s ability to protect their own spirituality, provide comprehensive spiritual care to patients, and increase nurse moral resilience. By investing in nurses' spirituality and spiritual growth, hospitals can potentially increase job satisfaction among nursing staff, improve patient care outcomes, and create a more holistic healing environment for both nurses and patients. As the nursing shortage continues and the number of nurses …

Incorporating Scenes Of Torture In Literature, Kiera A. Croswait

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Fiction authors must consider the different ways a reader can consume acts of violence or torture in a piece of art. In this paper, I discuss the different considerations authors must make before writing such scenes, specifically within contexts of historical fictions. By analyzing the novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra through the lens of ethical theory, I argue that Marra effectively uses language, historicization and research, and authenticity/character development to represent violent torture in his novel set in the context of the Russian-Chechen conflict. Looking at the power dynamics through character and language, as well as …

Trans-Pacific Connections: Chinese Porcelain And Aztec Motifs In Colonial Mexico, Natalia Ramirez

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This research explores artworks within the Global Baroque as visual and ideological evidence through which colonial power, trade, and cross-cultural influence shaped the material culture of the early modern world. Centering on blue and white ceramics as a key medium of transcultural and trans-local exchange, the study analyzes how global motifs, particularly those drawn from Aztec and Chinese traditions, were reinterpreted, aestheticized, and circulated in Aztec and Novohispanic artistic practices.

Through a close observational comparison of Aztec and Chinese decorative systems, the study recognizes contrasting systems of cultural documentation embedded within similar visual forms. Aztec motifs, rooted in ritual, calendrical, …

Trans-Pacific Connections: Unveiling Cultural Exchange Through Baroque Folding Screens Of Japan And Mexico, Natalia Christine Ramirez

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This study focuses into the often-overlooked world of 16th-17th-century globally-mobile folding screens, revealing them as vastly important cultural objects. While conventional scholarship tends to compartmentalize artistic traditions, focusing on isolated cultures, this research emphasizes the vibrant exchanges that connected Japan and Mexico during the ‘Baroque’ period. By contrasting the Conquest of Mexico screen with the Japanese Namban Folding Screen, the nuances and vastness of cultural interaction through creative objects becomes illuminated and revered as important pieces of global history.

Through applying global art historical theories, especially the concept of the ‘global Baroque,’ I explore how Mexican biombo screens adapted from …

From The Kitchens Of Lords To Pinterest Boards: An Examination Of Recipe Discourse, Haley Hansen

Honors Theses

This paper traces the evolution of written recipe discourse from medieval manuscripts to modern digital platforms, examining how changes in recipe structure, audience, and purpose reflect broader shifts in cultural literacy and sponsorship. Drawing on Deborah Brandt’s theory of “sponsors of literacy,” the author argues that recipe authors have historically acted as sponsors of culinary literacy, shaping who has access to cooking knowledge and how that knowledge is communicated. Through close analysis of recipes from the Forme of Cury (1390), American Cookery (1796), the Good Housekeeping Cookbook (1963), and a contemporary food blog, the study highlights the increasing democratization of …

Woodwind Seminar, May 9, 2025 [Program], University Of Northern Iowa. School Of Music.

Music Recital Programs

Program of a music recitals given by faculty, students, or guest artists from the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa.

Cinephiles, Connor J. Mclaughlin

University of New Orleans Thesis Films

“Cinephiles” is a graduate thesis film from the University of New Orleans that was shot on-location across the state of Louisiana in the towns of Robert, Zachary, and New Orleans. The film was written, directed, co-produced, and edited by Connor McLaughlin. They will presume the first-person singular in the subsequent reflection paper chronicling the development, pre-production, production, and post-production stages of the aforementioned fifteen-minute, mixed media short film.

Ray's Real Dream, Rebecca Garba

University of New Orleans Thesis Films

Ray’s Real Dream is a UNO thesis film that was filmed on location in New Orleans, LA, in October of 2024 and delivered in May of 2025. The film was written, directed, and edited by Rebecca Garba who will presume first-person singular (i.e. “I”, “Me”, “My”) in the following reflection paper charting the development, pre-production, production, and post-production of the aforementioned short film and her time at the University of New Orleans. A detailed account of the specifics of how each production element occurred is provided, along with visuals from the set.

A Raced Theology Of The Human Person: An Expanded Theological Anthropology, Cary W. Dabney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on race as a critical, yet largely unaddressed, topic in Catholic theological anthropology. In Catholic colleges and universities that are recognized as members of the Cardinal Newman Society, theological concerns about race are deemed irrelevant for theological education in the faith and are altogether absent from the theology of the human person. As a result, this collection of institutions treats race as a specialty within pastoral theology, one that is significant to groups, but not a part of the fundamental theology of the human person. This ‘un-raced’ theological anthropology results in the institution’s inability to respond effectively …

Fantastical Blooms, Lisa Dienst-Thomas

Student Projects

My work explores the marriage of imagination and meticulous technique to produce vibrant, one‑of‑a‑kind jewelry that bridges traditional metalsmithing with cutting‑edge digital fabrication. My early training included foundational metalsmithing techniques such as sawing, soldering, riveting, hinge making, forming, polishing, etching, roller printing, stamping, lost wax casting, and chain making. Over time, I gravitated toward the techniques I loved most and honed them with intention. The physicality of working with hammers, saws, fire, and metal spoke to something deep within me. I find the rhythmic motion of sawing metal to be meditative and grounding. Eventually, I yearned to incorporate more color …

Interseccionalidad, Equidad Y Políticas Sociales. Segunda Edición. Coordinado Por María Del Carmen Zabala Argüelles, Geydis Elena Fundora Nevot, Ana Isabel Peñate Leiva, Leidys Raisa Castro Silva

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Lourdes Casal Y La Perspectiva Interseccional En Su Sociología. Una Puerta Hacia Los Estudios Cubanos, Ana Niria Albo Díaz

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

Lourdes Casal es bastante conocida en el campo de las letras cubanas como una poeta excepcional. En el marco de las relaciones internacionales su nombre también es relevante por su consabida participación tendiendo puentes entre la Cuba revolucionaria y las comunidades de cubanos y cubanas en los Estados Unidos. La creación de la revista Areito y de la Brigada Antonio Maceo son ejemplos contundentes de su labor. Sin embargo, es mucho menos conocida su labor como investigadora social y fundadora de los Estudios Cubanos en los Estados Unidos. De esa labor sobresale el entendimiento de una Cuba diversa cuando mucha …

Author Bios, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Emprendimientos Femeninos: Revalorizando La Afro Estética, Susel Abad Fis

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

El empoderamiento económico de las mujeres significa ser dueñas de sus propios negocios, lograr crecimiento y sostenibilidad, y ocupar los espacios de participación y toma de decisiones en ese ámbito. Sin embargo, el acceso a los recursos y oportunidades de las mujeres para emprender sus iniciativas en la esfera económica siempre ha resultado difícil en Cuba. En el presente artículo tiene como objetivo revelar las experiencias de tres mujeres negras como emprendedoras. Ellas coinciden en el diseño y comercialización de productos cosméticos y estéticos, con un gran impacto sobre todo para las mujeres negras y mestizas cubanas. Esto ha permitido …

El Campo Regla De Osha-Ifá O Santería: Desigualdad Social, Religión Y Redes De Relacionamientos, Naile Braffo Conde

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

El desarrollo de las prácticas de la Santería en una sociedad compleja y heterogénea, como la cubana; apunta como cada vez más, resulta necesario analizar, desde el enfoque interseccional, las formas de conducirse dentro del referido campo religioso, el uso de las prácticas del mismo y las redes de relaciones que se estructuran para ello. Esta propuesta es parte de los resultados alcanzados, desde un enfoque multimétodos, por una investigación doctoral y tiene como objetivo analizar procesos de diferenciación/desigualdad social que se generan como efecto de las lógicas de funcionamiento de la religión y a partir de la estructuración de …

Time And Wages In Coerced Labor: Black Women’S Legal Agency In Late-19th Century Havana (1880-1886), Elena Barattini

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

The critical juncture of slavery abolition in Cuba was marked by independency uprisings, and imperial re-articulations. Within this context, thousands of formerly enslaved men and women coped with renewed forms of coercion, inscribed in the intersection of race and gender. This article focuses on the resourceful use of the law by formerly enslaved women (renamed patrocinadas in 1880) to liberate themselves from the forced apprenticeship known as patronato, enforced alongside the abolition law. An in-depth examination of two files from the Miscelánea de Expedientes fund held at the Cuban National Archive underscores how Black women struggled to secure wages, …

Front Matter, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

A Letter From The Guest Editors, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Ni Mulatas De Rumbo, Ni Negras Lavanderas Ni Feministas: Otra Historia Republicana De Las Afrocubanas, Alejandro L. Fernández Calderón

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

El estudio actual de las narrativas de las afrocubanas representa un área de atención de los Estudios Cubanos desde la teoría del feminismo negro. En sus análisis, mediante la intersección racismo-género-clase reflexionamos sobre las complejidades de las distintas estrategias del pasado empleadas para el reclamo de sus derechos ciudadanos. Las afrodescendientes, más allá del movimiento político y/o feminista, reevaluaron su imagen pública y privada en el entramado del racismo y el machismo de primera mitad del siglo XX. Desde los diarios, revistas y sociedades elevaron sus voces construyendo distintos relatos en pos de su reivindicación social.

Race, Racialization, & Rehabilitation: Intersectional Insights Into The Cuban Revolution’S Campaign To Eliminate Prostitution, Alyssa Garcia

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Una Lectura De La Vulnerabilidad Social Y De Las Políticas Para Su Atención Desde El Enfoque Interseccional En El Contexto Cubano Actual, Maria Del Carmen Zabala Arguelles

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

(Anti-)Racismo Y Republicanismo Negro En Cuba. Compilado Por Yulexis Almeida Junco, Jos Antonio Figueroa, Jochen Kemner, Pedro Alexander Cubas Hernández

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.