Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard In Matthew (20:1-16) – Who Are The Workers In The Lord’S Vineyard In The American Church?, Leonardo D. Mendoza

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

The parable of the workers in the Lord’s vineyard in the Gospel of Matthew (20:1-16) provides an insight into the work of God in relation to building the Kingdom of God in our midst. This biblical story provides communities of faith, students of the bible, and people of goodwill with a witness to how God calls people to labor in God’s vineyard and who some of those laborers truly are. Thus, this paper will question who the laborers in the vineyard are in the context of the Church in the United States. Questions posed will challenge the kinds of persons …

The Labor Of Mary: A Comparative Analysis Of The Virgin Birth In The Qur’An And The Gospels, Jessica Leu

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

Mary has been called a bridge between Christians and Muslims for centuries. Both religions revere her as the mother of Jesus (Isa) and for her status as a virgin when she conceived him, and both traditions have within them devotees who venerate Mary. But despite this shared adoration for the blessed mother, there are a variety of differences between their understanding of Mary’s role in salvation and of her virginity. While the New Testament Gospels make some mention of Mary in their texts, the Qur’an dedicates an entire surah (chapter) to her story and mentions her with more frequency than …

The Diminished Experience Of Liturgy In A Pandemic, Joseph Torti

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

Vatican II taught that the “Eucharistic sacrifice is the source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, 11). For many, this Holy Eucharist is spiritual food to nourish the soul that has been worn down by the challenges of daily life. Participation in the communion ritual where we all share of this holy sacrifice allows the faithful to be truly one with Jesus Christ. We are more than one year into the global Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Our lives have been significantly altered by this new reality. At the outset of the pandemic, most of the world went into …

Instrument Of God: The Celestial Harmony Of Hildegard Von Bingen And The Silence Of Women In Sacred Music, Kayla Ray

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper examines the music of Hildegard von Bingen considering the shocking lack of female composers to come after her, particularly within the genre of sacred music. It begins by exploring the history of women and liturgical music in the Early Church before analyzing Hildegard’s prolific music career, including the vast range of genres she employed, the creativity and complexity of her compositions, her divinely feminine lyrics, and her theology of music and embodiment. It then investigates why so few female composers followed her, concluding that despite rare exceptions such as Hildegard, the Roman Catholic Church silenced women in sacred …

How Should Members Of The Lgbtq+ Community Be Allowed In Positions Of Ministry In The Catholic Church, Federico Guillermo (Memo) Rodriguez Hernandez

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

The Catholic Church has had an inconsistent approach to the LGBTQ+ community. The Church speaks of respect, compassion, and sensitivity, while at the same time terminates the employment of workers who openly identify themselves as LGBTQ+, without any other cause for termination. The Church also frequently hinders opportunities for ministry for members of the LGBTQ+. This article calls for a consistent application of Catholic doctrine, so that the respect, compassion, and sensitivity the Church teaches we are to show to members of the LGBTQ+ community is not obscured with unjust discrimination. Based on solid Catholic doctrine, I will establish the …

Christians Must Reach Out To The Oppressed, Robert F. Stamps

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper recommends that the Catholic Church reflect on its past and current exclusion of women from the diaconate and exclusion of those who identify as LGBTQI from full participation in the Church. This paper argues the early Catholic church was enriched and broadened by women who served in many roles including as leaders of the church in their communities. In the two millennium since then women, individually and collectively, have continued to enrich the church both theologically and as exemplars of Jesus’ message to serve the poor. This paper also argues that Saint Paul did not condemn same-sex attraction …

An Analytical Exegesis And Critique Of Justo González' Christology Offered In “The Word Made Flesh” From Mañana: Christian Theology From A Hispanic Perspective, Dillon Cook

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

The following is a brief synopsis of my research concerning the Hispanic Liberation Theologian, Justo L. González' Christology rendered in one specific chapter, "The Word Made Flesh," of his book Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective. However, it must be noted that what is argued here is limited in scope. What this is, is essentially a brief evaluative summary. González is a particular theologian that has not been read in full yet (including other works), therefore, González' arguments that I have critiqued may be sufficiently buttressed in other chapters post or prior to this particular chapter analyzed. Yet, …

Cease & Desist Or A Doorway To The Soul: Sensing Your Way To Spirituality, Christine Gabaly

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper will argue that yoga is not just a mind-body practice, but a spiritual practice that is experienced through the body and the senses, including sight, sound and physical sensation. This is of importance because most of the emphasis within yoga scholarship is on the mind as the doorway to spiritual practice and not the sensory experience as the key to opening the door. We will look at two important passages within The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali and The Bhagavad Gītā, and compare how they differ. We will also analyze two spiritual doorways: the mind and the …

A World Without God: An Investigation Into Dietrich Bonhoeffer’S Baptism Homily, Geoffrey Watson

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

What happens when faith communities fail to meet the moral obligations of their unique historical moment? Has the church then, by definition, lost its authority and right to speak or teach on Jesus’ behalf? If so, what are the repercussions of those failings? In what specific ways do the failures of Christian communities call us to reflect on and evolve our theology? These were questions that must have dogged the Lutheran minister and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), as he sat in his German prison cell, awaiting his death sentence. Yet after the initial shock, Bonhoeffer accepted these harsh circumstances, wrestling …

Traumatic Themes In Genesis 17 And 23, Troy M. Larue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I explore how Gen 17 and 23 contain themes of trauma. For the purpose of this research, I am combining the disciplines of historical criticism, literary criticism, and trauma theory. Genesis 17 and 23 are narratives of non-typical length in the Priestly source of Genesis. I explain how these narratives fit into the larger Priestly strand in Genesis through a combination of diachronic and synchronic readings. In Gen 17, God reveals himself as El Shaddai to Abraham and enters into a covenant with him promising progeny, land, and blessing. These promises are themes that are particularly meaningful …

¡Avancemos Ya!: Persistent Economic Challenges And Opportunities Facing Latinos In Massachusetts, Trevor Mattos, Phillip Granberry, Vishakha Agarwal

Gastón Institute Publications

Massachusetts is among the wealthiest states in the country, yet Latino communities here have struggled economically relative to Latinos nationwide. There have been some bright spots—poverty rates have decreased and Latinos now have higher rates of entrepreneurship, education and labor force participation than in years past. Still, a disproportionate share of the more than 800,000 Latinos in Massachusetts today contend with food insecurity and have low rates of intergenerational economic mobility.

A Music Composition Through The Use Of Animal Sounds, Andy Nguy

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The knowledge on animals has been studied over many years by researching and understanding animal behavior and creativity with music. Bioacoustics shows a great deal when it comes to collecting sounds through many principles for sound data collection. With saved recording of animals, music, speeches, and so much more, it has impacted the way music is created through technology. Music production has been advancing in many creative ways. The foundation of sound manipulation is musique concrète. The project uses these concepts of audio recording and digital sounds to produce a composition that includes animal sounds.

Margin Of Error, Aubrey Felty

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

According to Utah State University’s Office of Analysis, Assessment, and Accreditation during the Fall semester of 2020, about 18% of students enrolled were students of color. About 2.5% of students enrolled identified as two or more races. Margin of Error is a docudrama that elevates the voices of multiracial college students and promotes a better understanding of multiracial individuals. The project involves actor portrayals of interviews with multiracial college students who discuss navigating their multiple racial identities at often predominantly white universities. It also features reactions and commentary on the students’ experiences from faculty and students at Utah State University. …

Inclusive Pedagogy: Connecting Disability And Race In Higher Education, Meredith Persin

All Theses

Higher education was never made for marginalized people. The academy was created based on the privileged white, able-bodied, males who preoccupied higher education for the longest time. While that has certainly changed over the years, the institution itself is still in the past resulting in BIPOC students and disabled students continuing to struggle within higher education. While instructors have begun to take interest in the need for inclusive pedagogy within the last decade, it still has a far way to come in order to help the marginalized students with intersecting identities and students who may not benefit from a one …

"Custome Is An Idiot": How Genre Bending Opens New Meanings For Hæc Vir, Or The Womanish Man, Stephen Montgomery-Anderson

All Theses

Hæc Vir, or the Womanish Man is often conceived of as a satirical pamphlet. Moreover, scholars such as Linda Woodbridge and Simone Chess read the pamphlet as ultimately and explicitly arguing for a normative rendering of gender. Such readings, while acknowledging the rhetorical power and feminist nature of the crossdressed female character Hic Mulier’s arguments, invariably discount them in favor of a supposed return to normalcy. I instead suggest that Hic Mulier’s arguments be read as genuine and potentially altering. I further argue that we should read Hæc Vir as a closet drama. Bending the genre of the …

A Performance Evaluation Of Architectural Coatings To Preserve Aerosol Paint On Concrete, Riley Morris

All Theses

The growing movement of assigning cultural and heritage value to graffiti and street art is one without a preservation solution to ensure the longevity of these works in-situ in an outdoor environment. The goal of this thesis was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of six architectural topcoats’ performance when applied as a conservation treatment to outdoor aerosol graffiti and street art on concrete substrate. An artist’s quality, durable, color-fast spray-paint was applied to twenty-eight concrete test panels to mimic the application of graffiti or street art. Six topcoats, Prosoco SC-1, Prosoco Gloss n’ Guard WB, Keim Faceal Oleo HD®, Keim …

Fathom In Color: Expansion Of Reproduceable Color In Interference Pattern-Based Printed Motion And Depth Effects, Dovie Jeffcoat

All Theses

Value-added printed embellishments are increasingly sought after as brands compete for consumer attention. Fathom Optics’ method for printing motion and depth effects provides a cost-efficient, reduced waste embellishment option. One of Fathom’s current limitations is producing effects with vibrant color. The current standard practice for producing color Fathom Effects tends to darken and desaturate the final embellishment’s color. This study endeavors to determine how an ink color's components (hue, value and chroma) may determine a Fathom Effect’s contrast or intensity. To achieve this, fifteen color inks were selected to flexographically print the effect patterns. Samples were taken from each color …

The Screen And Development: Creative Writing And Liminality In Children’S Literature, Rebecca E. Glenn

All Theses

This creative thesis strives to research and implement the overlap of liminality found within Children’s Literature, especially those works that exist through the screen. The critical component of this thesis explores the ways in which childhood development and maturity, a theme commonly found within Children’s Literature, embodies its own “right of passage” associated with the liminal. The journey of the Children’s Literature protagonist is often wrought with this movement from familiar boundaries to a sense of new development. The critical analysis emphasizes the methods Children’s Literature genre uses emotion, familial connections, symbology, space, and even elements of the monstrous to …

Creating A Printed Electronic Tangible User Interface Suitable For Primary Education Settings, Lauren Toler

All Theses

With the growing popularity of interactive learning, an experiment developing a tangible user interface made of paper was performed. Screen printing was utilized to print conductive traces that would connect to a device that has capacitive touch capabilities. A color mixing program was coded to accompany the tangible interface. It was found that a tangible user interface can be successfully made of paper. Further research with development, construction, and testing of this paper tangible interface was proposed.

Female Portrayal In Games Through Costumes: Designing And Creating Appealing Armor For Female Players, Nancey Fang

All Theses

This thesis details the design, development, and creation of variations of more functional female armor designed for games with the female audience in mind.

The goal is to empower female players by designing and creating strong armor that is not sexualized and that women can enjoy. I want to show that women can be portrayed as strong and powerful in games by designing armor that is equivalent to their male counterparts. Due to the gender imbalance in the video game industry and player base, it seems that female players are not catered to when most games are created. Many studies …

Body Appreciation, Gender, Motivation, And Competitive Success In Competition Climbing, Marissa Frost

All Theses

The focus of this study was to examine the relation between the constructs of body appreciation, gender, motivation, and competitive success in competition climbers. To gather data for this study, a Qualtrics survey was created and distributed amongst the competition climbing community through USA Climbing’s Facebook page and member email list. Data was then collected from competition climbers between the ages of thirteen and sixty over 45 days in the winter of 2017. A total of 236 competition climbers participated in the survey and 202 of those responses were used in this study. Body appreciation in this study was analyzed …

Walking Back The System Trope: Reimagining Incarceration And The State Through A Spatial Theory Approach, Cody Hunter

All Dissertations

This dissertation critiques the systems theory approach to incarceration policy, practice, and research and proposes a rhetorically informed spatial theory approach as an alternative. Offering a non-hierarchical complexity theory as a bridge between systems and space, I then integrate rhetorical listening as a strategy for navigating and operationalizing our proposed spatial theory approach. I then apply our proposed methodology to archival research, focusing on the South Carolina Penitentiary as a case study, and offer two heuretic experiments to explore the range of this methodology for archival research. I also explore potential applications of this rhetorically informed spatial theory approach in …

Ecologies Of (Domestic) Trauma, Ecologies Of (Domestic) Violence: A Rhetorical Procession Toward Mourning, Charlotte E. Lucke

All Dissertations

In this dissertation, I posit that intimate partner violence is entrenched in an often-overlooked historical and rhetorical legacy of patriarchal cultural, structural, and direct violences. Many scholars in and outside of rhetorical studies have analyzed and critiqued public representations of trauma and violence, including intimate partner violence. Joining this conversation, I focus on the limitations in the ways influential rhetorical domains both represent and respond to people who abuse their intimate partners. Often, mass media represents people who abuse their intimate partners as individuals void of contexts. Similarly, the criminal justice system holds individuals responsible through law enforcement and incarceration. …

Poetic Justice: Connecting The Modern American Prosecutor To Her Rhetorical Roots, Michael Caves

All Dissertations

Poetic Justice: Connecting the Modern American Prosecutor to her Rhetorical Roots explores the gap between rhetoric and the American prosecutor, to eventually advocate for a more creative, inventive trial practice for prosecutors that embraces the spirit and methods of narrative, poetics, and Ulmeric mystories, with the prosecutor’s unique ethical obligations forming the basis of a new prosecutor’s rhetoric. This research opens with an autoethnographic account of the author’s own path to criminal prosecution, to give the reader a sense of the author’s ethos, to identify the shortcomings of rhetorical training in law school pedagogy, and to outline the rhetorical …

A Spatial Analysis Of The Relationship Between Places Of Worship And Criminal Activity In Little Rock, Arkansas, Joseph Charles Williams Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research Topic and Gap(s): Previous studies often show negative relationships between religiosity and participation in criminal acts. However, much of the literature revolving around this topic employs a micro-level approach that looks at the religiosity of individuals instead of a macro-level approach that looks at the religiosity of communities. Because this relationship has often been studied from a micro-level perspective, a gap in the literature surrounding macro-level relationships has formed. More specifically, the potential for places of worship to act as buffers against crime has been relatively understudied which furthers the importance of filling this gap in the literature to …

How Nonbinary College Students At Southern Universities Explore Identity Through Gender Expression, Charles Jesse Thompson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the number of young people identifying as nonbinary continues to increase (Davis, 2018), our need, as educators, to understand their experiences on college campuses also increases. Using narrative inquiry and photovoice, framed by critical queer theory and genderism, this examined both institutionalized and socially constructed expectations and influences that affect the development of nonbinary gender expression and identity for the college students by addressing the research question: What are the experiences of nonbinary college students in the Southern United States in exploring their gender expression at research universities? The five major themes that emerged from this study were as …

Archivos Del Fracaso: La Escritura De La Memoria Histórica En Cuatro Novelas Documentales Latinoamericanas Del Siglo Xxi, Vanessa Guerrero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This doctoral dissertation aims to study four Latin American documentary novels of the 21st century. This type of novel is especially characterized by its deep and direct connection with historical archives, its high degree of auto fictionality and the self-awareness elaboration of an extreme ambiguity between fictionality and factuality. Likewise, this research proposes a reading of this type of novels through what has been called the poetics of failure, which configures not only the defeat of the characters within the plot, but also offers an ethical and aesthetic position in order to represent historical memory in a different way.

In …

The Lived Experiences Of Transmasculine Speakers: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Vocal Quality And Function In Relation To Gender, Micah Wylie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to learn how transmasculine individuals perceive the quality and function of their voices, and how those perceptions influence how they experience gender identity and communicate with others. This qualitative study adopted a hermeneutical phenomenological approach that involved using content analysis and thematic analysis to describe and interpret phenomena. This approach assumes that the researcher is not biased, but is a part of the world being studied and, therefore, understands the phenomenon by interpretive means. Saturation was achieved when all relevant information was introduced, and patterns of information had been identified. Sixteen interviews were conducted. …

100 Million, Cade Scott

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alec, an 18-year-old filmmaker, decides to bunk with a group of TikTok stars in a mansion in the suburbs of LA in hopes of becoming as famous as them one day. But, he soon finds out that they plan to keep him behind the scenes. Forced to continue helping them film and post their videos, he starts witnessing shady events involving his step-brother, Kevin. The events reach a crescendo when some of the TikTok stars accidentally disappear. Alec investigates and discovers a sinister plot, and then he finds himself in a fight for his life. Which ends with him narrowly …

Science Teachers' Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Teaching In Majority Native American Schools In Oklahoma, Michelle Childress

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Native American students have consistently scored less than their white peers on high school academic achievement tests, have the lowest high school graduation rates, and have the lowest college enrollment rates. Research has evidenced challenges and struggles Native American children are faced with that negatively effects their success in the classroom. Native American students often encounter a disconnect between their home and school life resulting in difficulties of navigating two opposing worlds. When Native American students are associated with negative stereotype’s indicative of Native American culture as opposed to the dominant culture, this creates a conflict between their cultural identity …