Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Hope Without Assurance: The Eucatastrophic Nature Of Tolkien's Arda, Grant Glavin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

J.R.R. Tolkien’s massive body of work represents decades of effort from a man who, burdened by the suffering and grief of a world he considered to be fallen, wished to combine his love of fairy-stories and mythology with the otherworldly hope of eucatastrophe, Tolkien’s word for unexpected divine joy amid suffering, present at the heart of his strong Catholic beliefs. Tolkien’s world of Arda is consequently full of suffering; it is written as a dark and dangerous place, where dyscatastrophe, the prerequisite suffering before eucatastrophe, exists within the world from its conception and Eden has never been obtainable …

Transformations Of Hanbok In The Age Of Hallyu: Fashion, Cultural Hybridization, And The Construction Of Vernacular Korean Nationalism, Katharine V. Smith

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Hanbok is the traditional fashion of South Korea, and literally translates to “Korean clothing.” Once worn every day, today hanbok is reserved for special occasions and holidays; however new “modern” versions of the attire are becoming more and more popular for everyday wear. This new iteration of the traditional clothing created a new vernacular of Korean nationalism and “Koreanness” through the incorporation of modern fashion trends and traditional Korean aesthetics. Modern hanbok represents the unique relationship between nationalism, globalization, and fashion, and can be seen as an example of cultural hybridization. Looking at modern hanbok through the lens of Hallyu, …

Women In Post-War Japan: Bodies Of The Avant Garde, Cassidy P. Boulanger

Honors Undergraduate Theses

From 1945 onward, post-war artists in Japan encountered two interrelated challenges: to both adjust to the war’s aftermath, and also to create a new visual language which expressed new ideas and emotions. For women artists in Japan, this time of distinct culture change allowed for a re-defining of their role in the art community as well as society. However, there were strict boundaries surrounding the institutional and academic realm of art, one that was not inviting to women, or one that allowed opportunity or growth. Nevertheless, many women artists sought to explore gender roles, the idea of womanhood, sexuality, and …

La Carroza Dorada (The Golden Carriage), Camila Cal Mello

Honors Undergraduate Theses

La Carroza Dorada (The Golden Carriage) is a collection of essays and poetry that details the narrator’s life growing up as an immigrant from Uruguay in the United States. Through each piece, the narrator explores themes in her own life relating to family, grief, self-identity, gender roles, language, distance, and more that directly relate to the perspective of a young immigrant. Inevitably, these personal themes connect to broader issues that affect every immigrant such as the Latinx experience, familial hardships, social/economic class differences, and cultural differences. The narrator explores the American Dream and the balancing act between dream and reality …

Good Patients, Susan Mesler-Evans

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis is the first 21 chapters (approximately 150 pages) of a novel, Good Patients, accompanied by a complete synopsis. Good Patients is a social satire which seeks to touch on the flaws of the American healthcare system and social media culture, and how these two intersect for many people. To prepare for writing, I spent my first semester completing a guided reading list and preparing the synopsis, both of which were approved by my thesis chair. While writing, I consulted several medical articles to make my work as accurate as possible. The novel explores the way social media …

Contained Identities: Forms Of Resistance In Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dictee And Pamela Lu's Pamela: A Novel, Zohra Qazi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis analyzes groundbreaking experimental texts by Asian American writers that employ genre-bending formal innovations to resist the uneasy containment of social hierarchies and aesthetic categories. After a brief discussion of Monica Youn’s 2019 poem, “Study of Two Figures (Pasiphaë/Sado),” I trace such experimentation back to the late twentieth century, focusing on two other texts that explore similar strategies of literary experimentation and that present themselves as novels but, as Youn does with poetry, resist that classification at the same time. The experimental expansions of form in both Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee (1982) and Pamela Lu’s Pamela: A Novel …

Illuminated Books: A Voyage Through The Verbal-Visual And Caribbean Folklore, Shannon Ganeshram

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis looks at the modern recontextualization of the illuminated book. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to English literature and the arts, it illustrates the dialectic between word and image. In my writing, I explore artists’ books as a physical representation of the constant dialogue of the verbal-visual relationship and how they affect each other. In this endeavor, I create an artist book, a modern bestiary that alludes to the myths and folklore of the Indo-Caribbean, specific to the country of Guyana.

Authoring Inclusion: The Sonnet's Shifting Form, Aloysius Devine

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The history of canonical love poetry is inaccurate without the inclusion of minoritized groups. The relevance of the sonnet’s incomplete history and its lingering impact on contemporary poetry are not examined enough within academia. The sonnet is taught through white-, straight-, and cisgender-centered lenses, contributing to the erasure of historically relevant sonneteers who do not align with these identities. This thesis celebrates the diverse history of sonneteering, while drawing attention to the remaining narrow-mindedness within the poetic community. This thesis dismantles traditional elements of the sonnet through varying form, subject matter, and stylistic choices.

When viewed in the physical form, …

The Concept Of Grief: A Phenomenological Account With Continual Reference To Kierkegaard, Nathan Sweetman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

My thesis argues that Søren Kierkegaard provides a perspective on grief that validates emotional experience while offering the opportunity for transcendence beyond the immediacy of grief through the work of love in recollecting one who is dead. Conventional philosophical approaches offer an incomplete picture by focusing on grief either as exclusively emotional or exclusively moral. The alternative methodology of phenomenology serves to draw out common threads from the intensely subjective, inward experience of grief. Kierkegaard’s writings on the topics of grief, sorrow, and love for the dead reflect the complexity uncovered in the phenomenological analysis. Traditional interpretations of Kierkegaard’s call …

Revealing The Black Form: Black Bodies In Nineteenth-Century French Orientalist Visual Art, Nathanael Amir Justin Lapierre

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In the nineteenth century, Orientalism functioned as a Western tool for dominating and restructuring the perception of the Orient. In France, where Orientalism found favor amongst artists, Orientalist works were produced in the literary and visual arts to inform and control the narrative about the East. Influenced by the Napoleonic imperial conquests and an increased French presence in the East, Orientalism became an integral movement in the French visual arts. The relationship between France and the Orient was one of power and domination, which was mirrored in that between the French and the Blacks.

As a part of the Western …

Negative Space: The Transference Of Trauma, Jeremy Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Is trauma tangible? My thesis will examine my experiences with trauma and the influence it has on my practice as a visual artist. I define trauma as the reaction to physical and emotional experiences of distress, abuse, and neglect, that invaded mind and body. My traumatic memories remain subconsciously hidden, an instinctive 'survival instinct' failsafe ingrained into my psyche, that files away many unbearable experiences, only to be evoked and experienced in the present by a trigger. For me, domestic space is often that trigger. Throughout the reflective analysis of my childhood traumas, I showcase the allegorical stories, signifiers and …

Online Engagement In Graduate Technical Communication Education, Tabatha Kless

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In this study, I conducted a content analysis to investigate engagement in online graduate technical communication programs. I wanted to evaluate this topic because online learning and engagement evolve, so it is fitting to evaluate how educational policies, learning methods, and technology have developed in technical communication education. The content analysis consisted of coding course material from three technical communication courses, mostly assignment descriptions, and instructions based on the language in the documents. I found strategies that develop skills 21st century technical communicators should have, such as discussions, service learning, and research papers.

Everything But The Smell: The Ethics Of The “Connective Turn” In Argentinian Memory Activism, Megan L. Corbin

Languages & Cultures Faculty Publications

This chapter interrogates what is lost and what is gained in [the] turn toward cyberspace as a new venue for interacting with a traumatic past. It will first examine the discussions and debates that took place in Argentina as former detention centres were converted into sites of memory, using the debate about the recovery of Escuela Mecánica de la Armada [ESMA] (the Navy School of Mechanics) as an illustrative example. Then, it will compare the features of some of actual memory sites in Buenos Aires with the interactive documentary features on the website, specifically focusing on the narrative logic and …

Full Issue

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

No abstract provided.

The Power Of Concubines And Empresses, Emma Nymoen

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

In official Chinese history, women were the ultimate scapegoat. The downfall of dynasties was often blamed, not on the weak character of an emperor, but rather on the wife or concubine that seduced him and monopolized his attention away from the empire. The accomplishments and influence of women were often erased or downplayed, often twisted in order to paint the women in a dark and problematic light. Emperors were usually isolated in the inner court of the palace to protect them, but in turn this insulated them from the officials and advisors of the outer court and gave the women …

What In Chinese Culture And Political Philosophy Makes It Difficult To Share Power At The Top?, Natalie Lyman Shields

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

天高皇帝远, Tiān gāo, huángdì yuan, is an ancient Chinese proverb that translates to “Heaven is high and the emperor is far away.” Starting anciently in the Shang Dynasty, China typically had an emperor who ruled over his subjects, yet in a far away manner: “For two thousand years China had an emperor figure who was state power and spiritual authority rolled into one” (Wild Swans, 261–262). The most notable emperor was the first blazing Emperor Qin Shi Huang who unified the land around 247 B.C. Many emperors followed, claiming the Mandate of Heaven, until the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty …

Xinjiang: Uyghur Nationalism And Prc Economic Ambitions In The Region, Erin Kitchens Wong

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has maintained a long and strenuous history of relations with its western-most province of Xinjiang (Xīnjiāng, 新疆). Relations with ethnic minorities in the region have been significantly influenced by changes in both domestic and foreign policy. Since the founding of the new Chinese state under Mao Zedong, the Uyghur (Wéiwú’ěr, 维吾尔) population of Xinjiang have seen vicious swings to and from radical domestic policy.

Learning From The Collective Space In Making Culture And Making Space : A Case Study From Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, Zita Wahyu Larasati, Pinurba Parama Pratiyudha, Galih Prabaningrum, Devy Dhian Cahyati, Krisdyatmiko Krisdyatmiko

Journal of Urban Culture Research

The contestation of urban space is a dialectical process in defining space by stakeholders in urban areas. We will explain the efforts of city citizens to form a collective space by promoting a making culture. With the spirit of Do It Yourself and Do It With Others, the collective space produces shared knowledge and democratizes data to increase the capacity of urban citizens. This study is grounded on empirical research in Yogyakarta through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. We discuss the formation of collective space in urban informality to encourage urban communities. This study finds that the …

Selected Piano Works By Klaus Pringsheim’S Students At The Tokyo University Of The Arts : Analysis, Interpretation And Performance Techniques, Panjai Chulapan

Journal of Urban Culture Research

This research article discusses selected piano works by Thai and Japanese composers who studied with Klaus Pringsheim (1883-1972) at the Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan around 1931-37. Pringsheim established the conventional Romantic musical language among his students. A few students, including Prasidh Silapabanleng and Komei Abe, also furthered the idea of integrating vernacular musical language in their compositions. Silapabanleng incorporated Thai traditional melodies in many compositions. Abe also interlaced a koto playing technique in his Piano Sonatina No.3 in C minor which required specific musical knowledge and interpretation in order to convey the performance perfectly. This article focuses …

Contesting Imagined Communities: Minor Feelings, Opacity, And Spectrality In Ling Ma’S Severance, Christine Marks

Publications and Research

This article foregrounds pandemic fiction’s subversive and visionary potential through the example of Ling Ma’s dystopian pandemic novel Severance (2018). Emphasizing fiction’s capacity for symbolic intervention in a pandemic era, I argue that the text undermines tropes of nation-building through strategic employment of minor feelings, opacity, and spectral liminality. My analysis focuses on the Chinese American protagonist’s conflicted relationship with imagined communities forged in the conventional “outbreak narrative” (Wald) as her unhomely positionality places her at odds with unifying ideological responses to the catastrophic upheaval of the pandemic. At the intersection of pandemic and diasporic literature, Ma’s novel constitutes a …

Regenerating Agroecosystems By Overcoming Human Exceptionalism In Designing For Increased Equity Of Benefits From Ecoservices, Ali Loker, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our commentary explores three critical issues related to ecosystem services. First is how ecoservices are currently designed and implemented primarily for human benefit without concern for how these impact other species. We conclude that awareness of this imbalance is the first step toward meaningful change. Second we observe that human exceptionalism guides most decisions, and ask whether we can overcome this mind-set to embrace ecoregeneration and design of resilient and mutually beneficial agroecosystems. Our attitude toward the challenge and moving toward greater humility about human roles that guide management decisions in the ecosystem is a requisite for change. Third we …

I’M Not A Tragedy: Speaking Up About Ableist Microaggressions, Kasandra Marguerite Colwell

Communication Senior Capstones

Have you heard of ableist microaggressions? Let me tell you about them, as someone who has experienced them. I have a bi-lateral dislocating knee condition that I was born with. I can walk, but sometimes I need additional stability or reduction of pain while getting around, in which case I tend to use a cane. I have had many othering interactions while using a mobility aid in public, whether that be a knee brace, a cane, or crutches. While it often seemed the stranger didn’t mean any harm, the question is how many invasive questions and comments from strangers can …

Freedom Of Movement: The Development And Disappearance Of The Corset In Succession With Women's Agency, 1860-1920, Sarah J. Phelps

History Senior Capstones

The corset, 1860-1920, goes through a rapid change and disappearance that previously is not seen before. This paper will cover that change, how corset manufacturers and sellers developed ready-to-wear corset market, and how that is all tied to a new found agency in women's sphere.

Continuing The Conversation "The Opportunity Of Adversity": A Neo-Aristotelian Rhetorical Analysis, Megan R. Ancheta

Communication 300 Papers

In 2009, Aimee Mullins delivered a speech at a TEDMED Conference, “The Opportunity of Adversity.” Her speech speaks to the unlimited possibilities and potential that a person has when boundaries of stigmas and preconceptions are dismantled. Mullins’ personal and professional experiences, along with her charisma and interrelatedness, has earned her a high regard in a diverse community. This article is an analysis of her speech in accordance to the Neo-Aristotelian approach and the five canons. This article supports the argument that, because of her genuine approach, Mullins has made an influential contribution the conversation of equal rights and a humble …

The Impacts Of Gender Discrimination In The Military: A Review, Cassidy Gordon

Child Development Senior Capstones

No abstract provided.

Towards A Psychological Science Of Abolition Democracy: Insights For Improving Theory And Research On Race And Public Safety, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Phillip Atiba Goff

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We call for psychologists to expand their thinking on fair and just public safety by engaging with the “Abolition Democracy” framework that Du Bois (1935) articulated as the need to dissolve slavery while simultaneously taking affirmative steps to rid its toxic consequences from the body politic. Because the legacies of slavery continue to produce disparities in public safety in the U.S, both harming Black people and the institutions that could keep them safe, psychologists must take seriously questions of history and structure in addition to immediate situations. In the present article, we consider the state of knowledge regarding psychological processes …

Psychoactive Revolution And Transnational Networks, Menglu Gao

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

The connection and clash between Asia and the Anglophone world were, in part, facilitated by what David T. Courtwright calls the “psychoactive revolution,” a process in which hunger, the need for food, was replaced by desire and addiction in the modern world. Networks between these regions deepened and proliferated as stimulants and sedatives such as tea, opium, and coffee became increasingly accessible and popular around the globe.

Transimperial Networks: East Asia And The ‘Victorian’ World: Introduction, Sophia Hsu, Menglu Gao, Waiyee Loh, Hyungji Park, Jessica R. Valdez, Rae X. Yan

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

Traditionally, East Asia has been on the margins of Victorian Studies, eclipsed by sites of formal imperialism such as South Asia. However, the region was deeply intertwined with the “Victorian” world through transimperial networks of trade, migration, and geopolitical competition. Rather than locating East Asia at the margins, this cluster of lesson plans explores the figurative and historical centrality of East Asia to Victorian Studies.

Effectiveness Of Stricter Vaccine Mandates In Public Schools And Childcare Centers, Anna Ferentinos

Emerging Writers

Vaccines have been a controversial and frequently discussed topic the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of readily available information on the internet - accurate or not – has led to many theories and opinions on whether to vaccinate and why, or why not. This article discusses these theories, as well as the benefits and consequences of vaccine mandates, with the help of examples from other countries. The author argues that a federal vaccine mandate should be implemented in the United States of America so as to encourage parents to protect children through scheduled immunizations.

The Influence Of Words, Emilie Hewgley

Emerging Writers

"The Influence of Words" tells the tale of a young writer overcoming her fear of mediocrity and discovering validation within an art form. She tells of how she first discovered her talent, why she pushed it away, and how she learned to embrace it again. The piece argues that words have the ability to impact many in several ways and lists several examples from her own life to illustrate this point. This creative nonfiction story serves to encourage others to continue to pursue their dreams despite their own doubts.