Arts and Humanities Commons^™

We Are Gold, Amber Shanice Bowser

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Amber Shanice Bowser

Artist Statement

My work is influenced not only by the underrepresentation of Black women in the art world of today, but also in our past and in our day to day lives as a whole. My work heavily incorporates the use of different Black hairstyles and beauty to represent familiarity to my culture while also showcasing the beauty in our versatility to another.

I use mix media such as oil paints, graphite pencils, synthetic hair, clay, and digital media in my artwork as well to add abundant elements of texture throughout. The use of lots of neutral …

Pink Fantasy, Andrea Clary

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

“I do my hair toss check my nails, baby how you feeling? Feeling good as hell”– Lizzo, “Good as Hell”, Cuz I Love You, 2019.

My work is about self-acceptance and body positivity. I am learning to love and accept my own body and channel this personal growth into my ceramics.

Reacting to media images of celebrity culture and the movement of fabric in Couture runway fashion shows, I am deeply impacted by contemporary American beauty ideals. Utilizing Hip-hop’s cultural messages of defiance and historical platform for presenting underrepresented voices, song titles and slang become titles for my work, in …

The Medici Example: How Power Creates Art And Art Creates Power, Margaret Hayden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project looks at two members of Florence’s Medici family, Cosimo il Vecchio (1389-1464) and Duke Cosimo I (1519-1574), in an attempt to assess how they used the patronage of art to facilitate their rule. By looking at their individual political representations through art, the specifics of their propagandist works and what form these pieces of art came, it is possible to analyze their respective rules. This analysis allows for a clearer understanding of how these two men, each in very different positions, found art as an ally for their political endeavors. While they were in power only one hundred …

In Seeking A Definition Of Mash: Attitude In Musical Style, Thomas Cassell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“Mash” is a term used to describe one of the most recent major style shifts in the iconic American string band music known as bluegrass. Beginning in the 1990s, the bluegrass sound began to evolve, and ‘mash’ worked its way into the genre as a descriptor of a certain sound. Though a handful of scholars have discussed the social stigmas of the style, no one yet has investigated the simple musical question about mash: what is it?

The purpose of this thesis is to define mash in its musical form through a combination of transcription methods and extensive analysis. Through …

"Enthusiastic Jew And Lover Of Humanity": August Bondi And The Roots Of Transnational Freedom During The Long Nineteenth Century, Matthew Christopher Long

All Theses

Migration is a decidedly human condition that has influenced the development of all nations. Yet the cultural and demographic impacts upon the United States during the long nineteenth century brought about by the mass movements of peoples from Africa, Europe, and beyond were especially pronounced. Immigrants to North America brought with them more than linguistic and cultural artifacts, however; propelled by intellectual currents in their countries of origin, they often carried with them a sensibility of revolution, radical republican politics, and a moral suasion that they employed as they navigated the political and social realities in their new countries. Many …

Perceptions Of Roane State Community College Presidents On The Events Shaping The Institution’S Leadership History, John Norris Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A major focus of policymakers in recent years has been community colleges, which have been viewed as potential engines for economic advancement and student success. I examined the leadership history of Roane State Community College, a two-year institution of higher learning serving a nine-county service area mostly in rural East Tennessee as perceived by individuals who have served as the college’s presidents. Five current and former presidents were interviewed about their experiences as president and their perceptions of the college’s history. Narrative research was used to recount a history of Roane State Community College, and the key events and factors …

The Tangled Roots Of The Holocaust: An Analysis Of The Evolution Of Colonial Discourse Through The Prohibition Of Sexual Relations And Marriages Between Races, Bianka Adamatti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Nazi violence did not have its origins only in the brutality of the First World War or radical nationalist ideologies, but also in European colonialism. Hence, the goal of this thesis is to demonstrate that colonial processes were fundamental to the origins of the Holocaust. To prove this, I applied the content analysis to detect colonial discourse (stereotype, ambivalence, and mimicry) in three legislations from different contexts, which prohibited sexual relations and marriages between races. The documents analyzed exemplified the segregationist thinking of each period of colonization. Portuguese laws from the beginning of modernity demonstrate the transition from religious …

Fanfiction: A Look Into The Disruptions Of Gender Identity Through Tropes, Stephanie Preslar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fanfiction provides the unique opportunity to explore disruptions of heteronormativity through tropes. By exploring different fanfictions in the Soulmate AU, ABO Dynamics, and Mpreg tropes, the disruptions indicate a desire to explore gender, identity, and sexuality through queered characters. Male slash fanfiction provides the chance to examine the disruption of the heteronormative through the queering of male characters and placing them into situations that may embrace the feminine or a female-gendered experience. The situating of heterosexual male characters into queered roles allows an examination of how this disrupts canonical ideas of gender, identity, and sexuality. By reviewing the male slash …

Intuition Of An Outsider: From Nothing To Voice In George Scarbrough’S Poetry, William Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Long acknowledged as a committed poet of place, this thesis examines tones of outsiderness and alienation that characterize George Scarbrough’s poetry. Scarbrough draws on familiarity with his childhood in southeast Tennessee, and from an outsider’s outlook, a perspective veritably prompted by the rejection he suffered as a homosexual and lover of language, Scarbrough’s poetry addresses the daunting themes of fear and nothingness. Analysis of his poetry also reveals qualities of hope and endurance, a commitment to received forms, and Modern innovation. Through his poetic voice, culminating in the alter ego of Han-shan, Scarbrough provides vital insights into the human experience.

The Failure Of Chivalry, Courtesy, And Knighthood Post-Wwi As Represented In David Jones’S In Parenthesis, Taylor L. Hubbard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes David Jones’s In Parenthesis to demonstrate the failed notion of chivalry, courtesy, and knighthood in modernity during and after the war. Jones’s semi-autobiographical prose poem recounting his experiences of WWI was published in 1937, nineteen years after the war ended. Jones applied the concepts of chivalry, courtesy, and knighthood to his experiences during WWI through In Parenthesis. Jones used these concepts, which originated in the classical period and the Middle Ages, to demonstrate how they have changed over time, especially given the events of WWI. The best way for Jones to demonstrate the impact of WWI …

Wwisdom In Action, Drew R. Tomasik

Masters Theses

Writing music to score for video games requires an extensive artistic vocabulary, but equally important is an understanding of game development and the technological integration required. This text is an overview and interpretation of a semester’s work in Wwise, a software environment designed specifically for the integration of sound into video games. As Wwise is standard for the industry, facility with it increases marketability to a job candidate wanting a career in game development. The text stands alone to recount the process of learning Wwise from square one, as well as creating a soundtrack for a sample game; that said, …

Common Ground, Cody Christopher-Park Ray

Masters Theses

Common Ground is a work that explores ideals of unity through the shared awareness of human mortality. I wrote the majority of this work during the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2020. Throughout this period, including the summer leading up to it, political and social tension was felt throughout the country. This sentiment stemmed from the unjust killings of unarmed people of color at the hands of law enforcement, to blatant errors in the way political figures handled the spread of this newfound disease, leading to more than 400k civilians prematurely dead. In experiencing these external pressures, I found …

Developing Creativity In The Seventh-Grade Art Classroom, Zachary Dane Wallerius

Masters Theses

This thesis describes a methodology for developing artistic creativity in seventh-grade students through the implementation of a curriculum that fosters authentic engagement with the creative process. In it I explore how student’s waning interest in the arts through middle school despite the value of creative expression for adolescents can be addressed. The research in this paper explores relevant aspects of artistic creativity as well as the psychological needs that must be met in order for students to successfully engage in a creative practice. The paper makes recommendations for how to foster common traits of creative people and proposes how behavior …

Compositions For 0 Or 1 Performers, Rodrigo Valente Pascale

Masters Theses

This thesis includes a collection of pieces composed for 0 or 1 performers – unaccompanied solo, solo and electronics or fixed media. The compositions for solo instruments include “Unnest” for bassoon solo, premièred by Ariane Petri during the V Congress of Music and Mathematics in 2020, and “Assemblage” for baritone saxophone solo, premièred by Erin Rogers in 2020. “Reizantwort” is a composition for viola and electronics which was first recorded by Laura Parra in summer 2020. Finally, "Discontinuous Mediation I" and "Discontinuous Mediation II" are fixed media compositions that were composed in Summer 2020 and Spring 2021, respectively. This collection …

The Best Is Yet To Come: Approaches To Rhythmic Development, Robert W. Lindsay Ii

Masters Theses

For my Masters of Arts thesis, I recorded a number of songs that I had written between 2015 and 2020 for an album titled “The Best is Yet to Come.” In this adjunct essay, I will analyze four of those pieces to demonstrate my use of rhythmic development; I use rhythmic development extensively in my work in order to generate cohesion between songs. The opening song, “Fresh Vegetables,” demonstrates the rhythmic motive that all other songs develop from. If anyone chooses to learn or analyze my music in the future, this document can be a reference.

Analysis And Critique In The Secondary Art Classroom, Sarah Nott

Masters Theses

This paper is a study of analysis and critique in the secondary visual art classroom setting. I begin by examining the purposes these two practices can serve, and then document some of the positive outcomes of analysis and critique as well as their inherent flaws. The flaws are subcategorized into examinations of the risks of formal analysis or Formalism, the unintended emotional impacts critique and analysis can have, effects of teacher behavior, a survey of critique-caused trauma and notes on implicit bias. For the purposes of my literature review, I analyze analysis and critique through phases and writing exercises specifically, …

When We In/Visibilize Our Nobility . . ., Sahar D. Sattarzadeh

Education Studies Faculty publications

No abstract provided.

Constructing Spaces, Deconstructing Meaning: An Examination Of Architecture And Labor At A 17th-Century New Mexican Ranch, Katherine A. Albert

Graduate Masters Theses

There are few archaeological studies of the architecture of 17th-century New Mexican ranches (estancias) due to the paucity of surviving examples. Even fewer archaeological treatments of architecture from 17th-century New Mexico consider the cost of constructing estancias in terms of resource and labor extraction. Using a variety of methods to analyze archaeological evidence from LA 20,000, as well as comparative research of reports from other 17th-century colonial sites, this study presents a hypothetical reconstruction of the three main structures at LA 20,000—the house, the barn, and the corral—and provides estimates of the total quantity of materials and labor needed to …

Daring To See: White Supremacy And Gatekeeping In Music Education, Brian A. Gellerstein

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Music education in the U.S. maintains a legacy of cultural hegemony that has historically and systemically benefited the White students it was designed to serve, at the expense of Black and Brown students and teachers. As a subdiscipline concerned with cultural production and reproduction, the persistence of White supremacy within music education contributes to its indefatigability within the broader society.

This study is cast within a theoretical framework that connects critical race theory and critical pedagogy in order to address the ways in which music teachers make meaning of gatekeeping practices mediated within hidden structures of White supremacy. This inquiry …

Education Inequity By Design: A Case Study Of The Duval County Public School System, 1954–1964, Carolyn B. Edwards

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This historical case study examined inequity by design of the Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida, between 1954 and 1964. Duval County’s response to the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 highlighted the historical influence of White supremacy within this school system, suppressing Black education through a dual school system. Political, economic, and judicial decisions supported the system’s resistance to desegregation and perpetuated education inequity. The author sought to understand the overt and covert political, economic, and judicial influences behind the Duval County Public Schools’ inequity by design to determine if these influences are generally …

A Collection Of Misfits, Kayla Gates

Master's Theses

The following creative writing thesis, A Collection of Misfits, includes a critically informed introduction which places my works of fiction within the larger conversation of contemporary fiction. These short stories explore numerous ways in which characters fail to connect to the world around them. Characters falter with relationships, religion, and fitting in. The collection also explores how the use of humor works to bridge the fissure that can form around a character who fails to connect–creating a personal connection between reader and character. Taken in sum, these stories indicate that we, as humans, have a binding thread that intertwines …

Treatment Access For Dual Diagnosis Substance Use And Mental Health Disorders, Pedro Banuelos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2018, of 1.3 million Latinx adults in the United States facing concurrent issues with substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD) 93% remained untreated for either diagnosis. This is concerning since Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) data reveals that this population is at greater risk for suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. They also face structural barriers such as employment, housing, legal involvement, and insurability that further impede access to treatment.

This study’s purpose was to examine barriers to accessing treatment for Latinx populations confronting co-occurring SUDs and MHDs. This study used a qualitative design …

Modelling Authority: Obstetrical Machines In The Instruction Of Midwives And Surgeons In Eighteenth-Century Italy, Jennifer Kosmin

Faculty Journal Articles

This article takes the commission of an elaborate and life-like obstetrical machine by the Italian midwifery instructor, Vincenzo Malacarne, in 1791 as a starting point for considering the ways that medical practitioners were renegotiating the relationship between the senses at the end of the eighteenth century. In particular, it focuses on the cultivation of touch as an authoritative and professionalised source of bodily knowledge. The article argues that Malacarne's obstetrical machine reflects an important moment of transition in the way medical practitioners were trained to interact with female patients, in which the manual exploration of a woman’s genitals was re-contextualised …

Maria Cosway, Grand Manner Portraits, And Myth In Eighteenth-Century British Art: A Case Study On "Georgiana, Duchess Of Devonshire As Diana", Isabella Margi

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Secondhand, Julia Grunes

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

A Perfect Day For Caiman Hunting, Nick Pattilio

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Disappearing Act Of A Secret, Rosa Valeri

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Escape, Ellen Weber

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Drink If // Midas Touch, Kat Johnson

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Midnight Catharsis, Lianna Lazaros

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.