Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Devising Performance & Queer Futurity, Brendan F. Leonard

Honors Theses

This project argues that devising performance is an inherently queer and utopian form. In response to recent political movements, such as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, which seek to stage dissatisfaction with the systems of late capitalism, I turn to devising performance as a site. Informed by the queer and performance theories of Jose Esteban Munoz, Lee Edelman, and Jill Dolan, I argue that devised theater allows us to process disillusionment, rehearse collectivity, and stage futurity. In conversation with Munoz, I define futurity as an imaginative site that considers what will follow what some scholars suggest will be …

Red Note New Music Festival Program, 2016, School Of Music

Red Note New Music Festival

The RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music.

'We Live In The Midst Of Death': Medical Theory, Public Health, And The 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic, Alyssa A. Peterson

Masters Theses

Much has been written on the history of disease in early America, especially surrounding the 1793 yellow fever epidemic that ravaged Philadelphia. The stories of the men and women who lived through and were affected by it, including the physicians who treated the victims, have been thoroughly covered by historians. What has yet to be discussed is the medical context in which this epidemic existed. Medical education, scientific thought, and particularly past experiences came together during this outbreak to influence both the medical establishment and governments’ decisions regarding their appropriate response. Doctors’ medical education predisposed them to beliefs and preferred …

Silence For Orchestra: Incorporating Silence In Musical Language Through Theories Of Expectation, Kari Darby

Masters Theses

The purpose of Silence: for Orchestra is to incorporate silence as a captivating source of musical language. Silence's goal is to encourage the audience to appreciate silence as musch as music. David Huron's research in musical expectations served as a guide to create a piece that develops, contradicts, and conforms to a listener's expectations. Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis's work describes five functions of silence found in music. These functions can be applied to the silences used in my piece in order to further conform to the listener's expectations.

Hanging The Servant Girl To Hunting The Ripper: The Victorian Birth Of The True Crime Genre, Jonathan G. Brown

Masters Theses

More definitive answers about the creation and form of the modern True Crime genre narrative can be found by exploring, not the creators of True Crime narratives, but by following reader expectations and examining the social situation from which True Crime narratives were able to arise. Theorists in the genre field such as Lloyd Bitzer Carolyn Miller and Amy Devitt have introduced and refined the view of genre as a social action. In this view, genre does not come about as a set of rules imposed upon types of literature to bring order, but as a societally accepted creation constructed …

Butchered Bones, Carved Stones: Hunting And Social Change In Late Saxon England, Shawn Hale

Masters Theses

Textual, archaeological, and art historical evidence all point to a significant reorganization of Anglo-Saxon society in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Changes in landownership, the development of proto-urban centers, the growth of merchant and artisan classes, as well as the proliferation of occupations associated with royal and regional administration, collectively altered the Anglo-Saxon social order. This radical reorganization benefitted some groups of individuals and threatened others with decreased social standing. Established elites and the nouvuae riche utilized exclusionary measures to counter any degree of social mobility provided by economic and political changes.

Shifting hunting practices and perceptions are particularly emblematic …

"Boys Learn The Teacher, And Then They Learn The Subject": The Importance Of The Teacher-Student Relationship In Engaging High School Boys In The Writing Classroom, Leslie Ellis

Masters Theses

This thesis explores methods for engaging high school boys in the writing classroom. Chapter one describes the differing beliefs scholars have about boys' educational situation, specifically in English language arts. Several researchers and scholars describe boys' situation as dire because boys have failed to improve as girls have over the last sixty years. These researchers cite various reasons for boys' academic stagnation, such as learning styles, hormones, brain structure and development, the feminization of the classroom, motivation, engagement, and teaching styles. These factors may contribute to the gender gap in writing. Other scholars deny the urgency of boys' lack of …

Developing The Whole Student: Campus Ministry's Impact On Spiritual Development, Zachary D. Samples

Masters Theses

College students at both public and private institutions across the country are involved in campus ministry organizations; however, not much is known about how such involvement translates into the students' faith and spiritual development. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of how students are involved in campus ministry organizations, how faith and spiritual development is affected, and how students are generally impacted by campus ministry organization involvement. The researcher conducted six interviews with juniors and seniors involved in three different campus ministry organizations. Results showed that participants have grown in their faith and spirituality through membership in campus …

"If You Want Sense, You'll Have To Make It Yourself": Language, Adaptation, And The Myth Of Visual Nonsense, Dianna M. Bellian

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between language and image in Nonsense texts through analysis of illustrations, animations, and live-action portrayals of scenes from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth, and their adaptations. This study proceeds by first discussing the discrepancies between various definitions of the critical term "nonsense" as applied to a genre of literature, then moves on to critique the established term of "visual nonsense" as used within the discourse community. The analysis of word-image relationships in the sample texts …

Intersections Of Space, Movement, And Diasporic Subjectivity In Brick Lane, White Teeth, And Maps For Lost Lovers, Md. Alamgir Hossain

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the correlations between characters' encounters with specific locations and their interior development as they adjust to their new environments in the novels Brick Lane (2003), White Teeth (2000), and Maps for Lost Lovers (2004). Monica Ali's Brick Lane focuses on Nazneen's (the protagonist) encounters with different places such as particular streets, pubs, restaurants, cafés, and train stations, which impact her personality to such an extent that, in the process of traversing London's physical terrain, she is transformed from a passive Bangladeshi rural woman into an active, independent agent in London. In With Teeth, Zadie Smith depicts …

Aggression Among Same-Sex Couples, Joshua Fourman

Masters Theses

Researchers have been studying intimate partner violence (IPV) since the 1970s but the majority of the research has focused on heterosexual couples. With little research on IPV among same-sex couples there is little knowledge, education, or resources among the people that are employed (or recruited) to assist victims of same-sex couple IPV. This means that social service and law enforcement agencies have not been able to properly meet the needs of the LGBT community.

A mixed-method research design using an online survey was used to gather data from a non-randomized convenience sample. Fifty-one respondents completed the survey. The findings showed …

An Exploration Of Sense Of Belonging Among Black Males Attending A Predominately White Institution, Nicolas T. Wright

Masters Theses

This study was designed to gain insight on how Black male students attending a predominantly White institution defined and described sense of belonging. In addition, the researcher sought to see if Black male students at the research institution developed a sense of belonging. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher interviewed five Black male students. The participants were students of sophomore to senior standing. Results showed that Black males students defined sense of belonging as acceptance and comfort. Additionally, the results showed that Black male students were able to create a sense of belonging at their predominantly White institution. Participants discussed …

Heroic Texts And Special Effects, Joshua D. Goss

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Female Anti-Heroes In Contemporary Literature, Film, And Television, Sara A. Amato

Masters Theses

The anti-hero character has steadily become more popular in contemporary literature, film, and television. Part of this popularity is due to the character's appeal to the audience. This character type often commits acts that challenge the regulations of society. These acts, however, can become wish fulfillment for some audience members, making the acts of the character a vicarious experience as well as making the character more relatable because of the character's flawed nature.

This study will trace some of the evolution of the female anti-hero by discussing an ancestral character of the female anti-hero—Hester Prynne the protagonist of Nathanial Hawthorne's …

"Favorite Of Heaven": The Impact Of Skin Color On Atlantic Ethnic Africans In The Eighteenth Century, Kimberly V. Jones

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Neon Calico, Joshua Webb Garrett

Masters Theses

This is a work of creative fiction in the genre of cyberpunk that explores themes of loss, sexuality, and trans-humanism though the eyes of a young Asian-American woman who struggles to cope with the loss of her former boyfriend, with an emerging sexual attraction to a friend of the same sex, and with feelings of disconnectedness complicated by a loss of humanity brought on by her continually improving her own physical body through cybernetic implants and augmentation. Inspired by such works as William Gibson's Neuromancer and Shirow Masamune's The Ghost in the Shell, this book explores the struggle that …

Studying And Supporting Writing In Student Organizations As A High-Impact Practice, Brian Hendrickson

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Institutions of postsecondary education, and the field of writing across the curriculum and in the disciplines (WAC/WID) in particular, need to do more to trouble learning paradigms that employ writing only in service to particular disciplines, only in traditional learning environments, and only in particular languages, or in service to an overly narrow or generalized idea of who students are, where they're going, and what they need to get there. In relating a cross-section of a larger effort to study and support writing as a high-impact practice in a student chapter of an international nonprofit humanitarian engineering student organization, I …

The Quotidian In Naguib Mahfouz’S The Cairo Trilogy, Kenneth Strickland

Masters Theses

Naguib Mahfouz said that his primary concern in writing was freedom. This study defines the Quotidian as Naguib Mahfouz uses the concept in his seminal work, The Cairo Trilogy to reveal changes in characters’ subjectivities as they gain access to freedom. Using a Foucauldian theory of power and Homi Bhabha’s Third Space illuminate how freedom emerged as the daily rhythms and accouterments of life changed during the early twentieth century in Cairo. In the novel, characters, whose subjectivities were delimited by imposed strictures, find new opportunities to define reality with some sense of autonomy. The thesis examines the changes in …

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, History, Spring 2016, Richard Harrison

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Music, Spring 2016, Richard Harrison

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

To Teach Reading And Writing Well: "Genre Awareness" In Basic Writing, Tara Peck

Masters Theses

In this thesis, I argue that a "genre awareness" approach should be implemented into basic writing instruction because it enables students to unpack ideologies and beliefs inherent in genres that basic writing students read and write. Because basic writing students often have little to no prior knowledge reading and writing in academic genres, instructors should teach basic writing students how to broaden their understanding of reading and writing to include readers, writer, context, and text; even more, instructors should teach basic writing students to see the connection between the larger scene and situations in which genres arise. My argument's foundation …

The Cleveland Jewish Society Book: Vol. Iii, 1919, The Jewish Independent Publishing Co.

Cleveland Memory

The Cleveland Jewish Society Books were published from 1915 to 1925 by the Jewish Independent Publishing Company, a locally owned publisher that published the weekly Jewish Independent. The books were similar in appearance to the Cleveland Blue Book, a guide for society’s elite. The listings in the Cleveland book listed individuals by country club. The Jewish books list individuals by congregations. In many cases there are separate lists of the congregations’ ladies auxiliary, along with information on social service agencies. The book also included advertisements.

The Future Of Arabic Music: No Sound Without Silence, Nesma Magdy Khodier Vcuq

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, Arabic music has been intrinsically linked to Arab culture and by extension bonded to the environmental landscape of the region, reflecting their emotions, moods, and behaviors. Numerous technological advancements in the latter half of the twentieth century, have greatly affected the rich legacy of Arabic music, significantly impacting the natural progression of traditional Arabic musical genres, scales, and instrumentation.

This thesis serves as an introduction to generative methods of music production, specifically music generated through gestures. Through generative music, and its unique ability to map gestures to different musical parameters, music can be produced using computer algorithms.

The …

Political Entities: Churches And Taverns In Revolutionary Virginia, 1765-1780, Ashley Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how churches and taverns became sites for political discussion and organizing during the Revolutionary era, 1765-1780. Taverns had long served a role in Virginians’ lives by providing places where news was exchanged and discussed, but with the political upheaval between the colonies and Great Britain many of the activities and discussions that took place there became far more politically charged. Analyzing churches and their role within the revolutionary era demonstrates that Virginia’s revolutionary leaders used an institution deeply rooted in their society to further political activism by Virginians and Virginia’s provisional government. But in several ways the …

Para, William Matheson

Theses and Dissertations

We are hosts, we are hosts and we’re deeply aware of it.

We are aware of the pollutants and particulates that exist in our air, aware of the

growing presence of UVB radiation that touches our skin, aware of the microbes,

bacteria and viruses that call our interiors home, more completely aware than we’ve

ever been that to have a body contemporarily is to acknowledge a multiplicity that

can be wholly uncomfortable and even alien: that we are hosts to so much seemingly

unwanted material, sensation and life.

Comfort Toys: Coping Tools For Children With An Epileptic Parent, Benjamin Evjen

Theses and Dissertations

When a caregiver suffers from epilepsy, a child can often feel frightened, vulnerable, and alone whenever a seizure occurs. In my thesis project I intend to help children negotiate this struggle with the use of therapeutic toys. Through play, children can navigate feelings that are often overlooked by adults. The visual appeal, simplicity, and materials used in their creation help facilitate comfort through sensory cues. By applying coping mechanisms to deal with stress caused by the passage of time, provide tactile comfort, and equip the child with tools to take action, their emotional needs are met. These toys address an …

If She Isn’T Working Miracles, What Is She Doing On The Battlefield?, Alex Matzke

Theses and Dissertations

The images included in my thesis work reflect my experience growing up with military propaganda—pictures of cheerful white women in pearls as part of my rural middle American landscape. I do not name the oppressor because I am not here to pick at the thorns, but to get to the root of the oppression. These are some of the servicewomen I’ve met. Their stories parallel but cannot encompass the private experiences of all service women. I am grateful for their generosity; without them there would be no pictures.

The battle for equality is much older than Rosie the Riveter but …

Climbing Mt. Rainier, Kathleen O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

My work addresses notions of the American landscape through image, memory, and experience. Using found images, video, and a variety of materials to make objects I investigate the intersection of external representations of landscape in American culture and internalized desires of landscapes.

Unknowable Terrain, Carli A. Holcomb

Theses and Dissertations

I see the moment of creation as a threshold, a fertile ground where anything is possible. My work combines an interest in science, mythology, cosmologies, and a childlike sense of wonderment to seek the unknowable. I create formless floating worlds that have a seducing, enlightening, and ultimately deceiving presence. Vibrant lusty clusters of candied opulence emphasize the wetness at the beginning of life. Dry folds give way to woozy nests and frenzied organisms while dripping crystalline structures puncture soft unknowable terrains.

Through the process of making I indulge my desire to create an otherworld, one that bubbles, garishly drips, and …

Synthetic Landscapes, Benjamin Thomas Jordan

Theses and Dissertations

My work explores the complex social geography of modern society and the intricate relationship between mankind and the environment. Through this work I explore the past and present lineage of manifest destiny, from its beginnings in Europe to western expansion in America, to forms it has takes in contemporary America. These ceramic forms serve as the conceptual grounds to explore the romanticizing of the western landscape especially from an individual and group perspective. I simultaneously celebrate the history of the pastoral life while questioning the authenticity, and motivations of that lifestyle, and use this platform as a jumping off point …