Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Connected Pastors: The Importance Of Having Safe Support Systems In Ministry, Karin A. Hines

Senior Honors Theses

Pastors minister to broken people, but sometimes they need help themselves. Many pastors do not seek help or do not have anyone safe to go to, often for fear of losing their influence or job. This thesis argues that sharing one’s life with safe people is essential, especially for those who are in high-stress professions. It explores pastoral support systems, examines comparable stigmas against seeking help in other fields, analyzes the science of sharing and isolation and their effects on the brain and body, and considers the Bible’s instructions on living in community for one’s personal well-being. Pastors require intentional, …

Nietzsche And Socrates: Reflections Of Redefined Virtue In Greek Tragedy, Kyle M. Lowry

Senior Honors Theses

The works of Friedrich Nietzsche were used to study how Greek Tragedy was “born” and “died,” particularly in relation to the rise of Socratic philosophy in Ancient Greece. The intoxicated “Dionysian” and disciplinary, artistic “Apollinian,” are the elements Nietzsche claims encompass and catalyze human experience; the former containing the primal nature of the Being, and the latter containing the ordering through which identity is formed and art is created. Tragedy, the art form perfectly balancing these two elements was “born” within the conditions of a Dionysian Pessimism, by which the inevitable life of suffering was redeemed aesthetically. Socrates introduced rationality …

Florence Normal College Quarterly, Faculty Of Florence Normal College

Documents

Faculty Quarterly Journal of Florence Normal College, March 1911.

Spinoza On Invidia: A Social Theory Of Anti-Migrant Affect, Kevin Scott Jobe

Philosophy Faculty Publications

This paper develops a Spinozist social theory of anti-migrant affect by interpreting contemporary hostility toward immigration through the concept of invidia (envy). Drawing on recent empirical research on ‘superiority-seeking’, whereby individuals derive status utility from excluding others, the paper interprets invidia as an affective hatred of equality. For Spinoza, envy is caused not by actual material loss but from the imagination that misconceives shared goods as exclusive possessions. This social theory of invidia inverts readings that locate envy in migrants themselves, instead arguing that, in Spinoza’s Political Treatise, the democratic multitude harbours invidia against migrants when they are perceived as …

Learning English Through Movies And Tv Series, Zilola Makhmadalieva

Language Study as a Gateway to the Humanities

No abstract provided.

Horses And The Negative Impact From Humans, Gabrielle Hayes

Student Projects

This reflection paper addresses my Capstone Project question of "How can I use the printmaking technique of carving woodblocks to create medium and large-scale poster-like pieces to address my theme about horses and the human caused issues they have encountered over time?". Through an exploration of technique and process of woodblock carving and reduction I create four pieces to by shown in the 2026 BFA Exhibition Show. An additional 30x40 inch print was achieved, but not on display. Using reductive and multiple 12x16 inch woodblocks I achieve colorful and impactful prints that show the underlying cruelty of horses through "corrective …

Soma: Exploring Touch As Performance And Performance As Therapy, Erica Pamson

Expressive Therapies Theses

This project investigated the role of touch within a performative context and its potential as a creative intervention within Expressive Arts Therapy. Grounded in phenomenology and intersubjectivity, the study draws on Expressive Arts Therapy (EXAT) and Performance Art frameworks that position meaning as emerging through embodied, co-created experience. Existing literature identifies touch as a primary mode of perception and communication, essential to both physical and emotional well-being, while also noting its increasing absence and regulation within contemporary Western culture. Performance art literature further highlights the body as both medium and site of relational exchange, often dissolving boundaries between performer and …

Teaching Future Clinicians: Curriculum Development Emphasizing The Inclusion Of Trans Individuals And Families In Marriage And Family Therapy (Mft) Education, Eli J. Huffman

Honors Capstones

The field of marriage and family therapy (MFT) is deeply flawed when it comes to the inclusion, representation, and treatment of trans individuals and families. This is despite the fact that MFT could be of unique benefit to the trans community, as they are a community who experience high rates of both familial issues and mental health issues (Katz-Wise, 2021). However, due to education that is often incomplete or inadequate, many mental health providers—including, but not limited to MFT’s—feel they lack the competencies necessary for working with trans individuals and families in practice (Dalton, et al., 2021). This research project …

The Mind Behind The Art: A Process Of Creative Intention, Dana Chorley

Student Projects

My capstone captures the different processes behind creative visual development through the creation of conceptual art and character design. The layout of this kind of work begins with a cognitive construction of an idea, usually a narrative to be told that must be done so through visual means, as understanding an idea of the bigger picture of a project helps enlighten pathways of how to approach the beginning creation phases. Next comes the research process, from searching up history that might pertain to their project or simply finding guidelines or references to help structure the design. My process here took …

From Central To Refinery: Labor And Hierarchy In The American Sugar Empire (1919-1962), Ben Woloch

History Honors Projects

From 1919 until 1962, the American Sugar Refining Company (ASRC) oversaw an empire, stretching from two Cuban sugar estates (centrales) to its Brooklyn refinery. The relationship between workers at both poles of the ASRC’s empire constituted a transnational labor hierarchy. Divergent management programs at the Brooklyn refinery and the centrales Jaronú and Cunagua confined the workers to distinct social positions. Brooklyn workers pursued labor-management collaboration in support of the sugar industry’s exploitative system, while workers in Cuba reimagined the sugar empire's power structure. The transnational workforce of the ASRC maintained a disunified relationship, which fractured the possibilities of working-class solidarity.

Spring Recital Community School For The Arts: May 3, 2026, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

This is the two hundred and seventh program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

May 3, 2026

Sunday Afternoon

2:00 p.m.

Exploring Identity Through Clay: A Humanistic Art Therapy Case Study With A Blind Chinese Adoptee, Virginia Jade Leicht

Expressive Therapies Theses

This qualitative case study explored how working with clay in art therapy can help support a blind man’s identity exploration. This paper addresses the problem of many traditional therapeutic approaches within the art therapy realm: They rely too heavily on visual engagement, which can limit the accessibility and opportunities for self-exploration and identity development for those who are blind. The study was grounded in current research and foundational theories based on the humanistic art therapy approach. Clay is considered an accessible medium that engages multiple senses and allows for emotional exploration and meaning making, specifically through tactile and sensory-based engagement …

Ai And E-Commerce: A Comparative Analysis Of Amazon, Jumia, And Alibaba, Lauren Grace Barden

Honors Projects

Globally there is a great divide between consumer acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI) and the reluctance of the services due to lack of knowledge on its systems. Major global shopping platform, Amazon has adopted the use of AI into their experiences for upholding their pillars of optimization, utilization, and personalization. In the global e-commerce framework,  adoption of AI has been similarly found also in companies like Alibaba (Chinese-based) and Jumia (Kenyan-based). Though these companies have seen customer satisfaction increase with the availability and quality of the service they provide, it is pertinent to note that there are still underlying issues …

Forgotten In The Smokies, Diego G. Torres

Student Projects

The Great Smoky Mountains are riddled with old and forgotten places. The tree canopies shield abandoned buildings, structures can be found with their fireplaces and flooring still in place, just overgrown and cracking, cemeteries of people long since dead, still with flowers at their bases. At night, the woods hold you in place, too dark to venture out and many streets missing a streetlight. It's an old place full of rich and abundant history, it will however keep you in if you let it.

Diego Torres is a Chicago based photographer who leans towards horror-esqe photos inspired by artists like …

The Business Of Music: Where Planning And Performing Meet, Mac Heelein

Honors Capstones

This project explores the intersection of business and music through the planning and execution of a collaborative recital featuring the NIU Viola Studio. In this process, I served as both the organizer and a performer, applying project management principles to handle logistics such as scheduling, venue coordination, and event promotion. The project required managing multiple moving parts while keeping both the artistic and organizational aspects aligned.

Through this experience, I found that while project management provides a strong structure, artistic settings require flexibility when unexpected challenges arise. This project also highlighted the importance of balancing organization with creativity to ensure …

Healing The Gap, Maria Gavriilidou

Honors Projects

This project examines healthcare accessibility in Greece, focusing on the disparities between urban centers and remote island and mountainous communities. It addresses systemic limitations within public healthcare infrastructure, including insufficient facilities, limited medical personnel, and transportation barriers that restrict timely access to medical services. Grounded in personal experience and observational research, particularly from the Cyclades islands and mainland medical contexts, the study highlights how geographic isolation and environmental conditions further intensify these challenges.

The work proposes an architectural response aimed at improving healthcare delivery in underserved regions through the design of sustainable, accessible, and adaptable healthcare facilities. It explores how …

Music As A Pathway To English Learning, Yu (Alice) Wang

Language Study as a Gateway to the Humanities

No abstract provided.

Voices From The Noise: Experiments And Considerations On Radio As Musical Instrument, Justin Taveras

Student Theses

One of my primary goals in entering the Sonic Arts program was to familiarize myself with the tools and processes necessary for creating electronic music. My initial expectation was to learn how to use synthesizers, microphones, and effects processors to expand the timbral palette of my compositional practice. Coming from a background in contemporary classical music, I independently practiced working within the DAW timeline, and I was attracted to the level of compositional detail and control that a studio environment could offer. While these tools proved universal enough to become essential components of my current work, I did not expect …

Propasafe-Hybrid: A Text-Based Hybrid Propaganda Detection Tool (Ila 2026 Presentation), Thomas Kimmeth, Avijit Roy, Vivek Sharma

Publications and Research

This presentation introduces Propasafe-Hybrid, a hybrid system for sentence-level propaganda detection that combines offline transformer-based classification with selective large language model (LLM) explainability. The system employs a two-stage pipeline in which a local BERT-based classifier evaluates all input text and filters non-propagandistic content, while only high-confidence candidates are forwarded to an LLM for rhetorical technique labeling and explanation. This design enables cost-aware, privacy-conscious, and scalable analysis by reducing unnecessary reliance on external models.

Propasafe-Hybrid identifies propagandistic techniques such as loaded language, obfuscation, and appeal to fear, and generates concise natural language rationales that make these techniques interpretable to users. By …

Isu String Project Spring Concert: May 2, 2026, Dr. Samuel Chen, Dr. Cora Swenson Lee, Dr. Katherine Lewis, Katelynn Lesinski

School of Music Programs

This is the two hundred and sixth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Center for the Performing Arts

May 2, 2026

Saturday Afternoon

11:00 a.m.

The Bonds Of Family: A Case Study On Interconnectedness In The Prison-Industrial Complex, Cameron Stone

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Beginning in the 1960s, a rightward shift in politics and “War on Drugs” policies propelled the United States toward mass incarceration. The result was a prison population of around 2 million people, in which minority groups have been disproportionately imprisoned. While historians and legal scholars have examined the policies and legal structures behind mass incarceration, oral historians working in the tradition of social history emphasize the importance of narratives of those most impacted yet traditionally neglected. This paper specifically examines the relatively unstudied Columbia University's 2019 Mass Incarceration oral history collection, which explores the interconnected perspectives of one family’s experience …

A Place At The Table: Lessons In Hospitality For Women Elders In The Churches Of Christ, Karen Cooke

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project concerns women who serve as elders in Church of Christ congregations. In the fall of 2023, a survey found that these women desire training to better serve their congregations. In response to that expressed need, a group of collaborators engaged in Participatory Action Research (PAR) to create the plan for a conference to provide training to women serving as elders in Churches of Christ. The conference will provide training in the theology and practice of hospitality to support these women in guiding their churches to be places of welcome. This dissertation presents a theology of hospitality drawn from …

A Qualitative Study Of Journalism Course Syllabi In Relation To The First Amendment, Elizabeth L. Bunnell

Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses

The goal of this research is to gain more insight into collegiate journalism course syllabi and the First Amendment. The First Amendment is a foundational aspect for a career in journalism, and one way to learn how college journalism students are interacting with the First Amendment is to conduct a qualitative analysis of the syllabi. A syllabus is the contract between professor and student for the course; therefore, it should contain the most important information relating to the course. 47 syllabi were collected from the School of Journalism and Strategic Media from the Spring 2025 semester. After reading through each …

Fraternities, Athletics, And Masculinity: Exploring Male Perspectives On Sexual Violence And Coercion Prevention In University Settings, Gabrielle A. Phillips

Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis presents a timely and relevant qualitative study addressing a
notable gap in sexual violence prevention research: male students’
perspectives. Grounded in Social Learning Theory, the study effectively
situates its inquiry within a robust theoretical framework while focusing on an
often underexplored population, including student-athletes, fraternity members,
and unaffiliated men.
A key strength of the research lies in its use of focus groups, which allows for
nuanced in-depth insights into how male students interpret and discuss sexual
coercion among peers. The findings are particularly compelling in highlighting
the disconnect between conceptual understanding and practical application of
prevention strategies. The …

Designing Ai For Wellbeing, Emily Corrigan-Kavanagh

DRS Summer Meetings

No abstract provided.

Design Knowledge, Paul Hekkert

DRS Summer Meetings

No abstract provided.

The Invisible Hand: Narrating Wildlife Through Hybrid Scoring, Weiyi Li

Composition/Recording Projects

This paper explores the creative and theoretical processes involved in composing the original score and sound design for "Ningxia Yellow River: The Home for the Avian," a wildlife documentary centered on the Ningxia wetlands in China. The research addresses the challenge of creating a "sonic bridge" between silent natural imagery and a human audience by balancing documentary realism with musical persuasion. The methodology utilizes a hybrid scoring approach that integrates Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) orchestration with organic sound elements, guided by three core pillars: cultural semiotics, acoustic ecology, and technical synchronization. By applying traditional Chinese pentatonic modes alongside Western orchestral …

Satiric Modernism By Kevin Rulo, Michael Shallcross

The Journal of Wyndham Lewis Studies

Book Review

Kevin Rulo, Satiric Modernism (Clemson University Press/ Liverpool University Press, 2021), 288pp. £91.60 (Hbk)

Contributors

The Journal of Wyndham Lewis Studies

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Jo Cottrell, Louise Kane

The Journal of Wyndham Lewis Studies

No abstract provided.