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Articles 1 - 30 of 77
Full-Text Articles in Comparative Literature
Telling The Story Of A Forgotten Martyr: Step One, Caleb Deppermann, Stephen Bay
Telling The Story Of A Forgotten Martyr: Step One, Caleb Deppermann, Stephen Bay
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The purpose of the our research was to establish the date of the authorship of the ancient martyrdom Passio Sanctorum Adriani et Nataliae. This text is an early Christian martyrdom account that was widely read in antiquity and in the middle ages. The two martyrs featured in the text, Adrian and Natalie, were canonized in both the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Christian communities and the text was widely represented in medieval art. Regrettably, however, the text has received almost no scholarly attention in the modern era. This is especially unfortunate because the text is a fascinating literary document in …
Antiochus Iv And The Origin Of Jewish Martyrdom Literature, Allen Kendall, Stephen Bay
Antiochus Iv And The Origin Of Jewish Martyrdom Literature, Allen Kendall, Stephen Bay
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The study of ancient martyrdom literature has typically revolved around early Christian literature. Many scholars view the concept of martyrdom as a Christian construct, which borrowed only minimally from earlier literary traditions.1This assumption exists largely because Christian writers first used the term “martyr”—originally a Greek legal term referring to a witness in court—to refer to someone who died for their witness of Jesus Christ.2When reading Jewish literature, however, it becomes evident that although no term for martyrdom yet existed, the ideologies of martyrdom were nevertheless prevalent in Jewish thought. The aim of this project was 1) …
A Look At Peruvian Theater: A Translation Of And Reflection On No Hay Isla Feliz, Rachel Draut, Marlene Esplin
A Look At Peruvian Theater: A Translation Of And Reflection On No Hay Isla Feliz, Rachel Draut, Marlene Esplin
Journal of Undergraduate Research
No hay isla feliz (1954) is a significant part of Sebastián Salazar Bondy’s repertoire and a valuable work of Latin American literature that deserves to be known to the English-speaking world. The play’s author was one of most influential Peruvian authors of his time and a North American audience would benefit from getting to know his brilliance. I was instantly intrigued by No hay isla feliz , with a captivating plot full of social commentary about modern Peruvian life and compellingly tragic characters. However, I found that this play had not gotten much attention: it had neither been translated into …
Investigating The Black Hours: Finding Deeper Significance, Caroline Ferrell, Dr. Elliott Wise
Investigating The Black Hours: Finding Deeper Significance, Caroline Ferrell, Dr. Elliott Wise
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Created around 1470, the Morgan Black Hours (MS M.493) is part of a rare group of manuscripts with black pages, gold lettering, and luminous miniatures painted in blue, green, and pink (see Fig. 1). My initial paper, which led me to this project, examined the way this unique and enigmatic color scheme contributes to the spiritual argument of the prayer book.
The Herculaneum Papyri: A Paleographic Approach To The Latin Library, Jordan Rawlings, Roger Macfarlane
The Herculaneum Papyri: A Paleographic Approach To The Latin Library, Jordan Rawlings, Roger Macfarlane
Journal of Undergraduate Research
In the 1750’s AD, military engineers commissioned by the Bourbon rulers found many black, chalky chunks while excavating an underground Roman villa. Initially these lumps were thought to be coal or other detritus and were thus handled with little care. Later, some workers noticed that these black lumps were manmade and actually preserved traces of writing. Early attempts at deciphering and unrolling these papyri scrolls proved unfruitful and resulted in the destruction of many papyri. Eventually a meticulous approach applied by Antonio Piaggio, an experienced ancient manuscript and document worker, proved successful. Although it preserved the papyri, Piaggio’s method worked …
Early Ecologies: Distance Reading Popular Scientific Journals In Turn-Of-The-Century Sweden, Erin Modersitzki, Dr. Christopher Oscarson
Early Ecologies: Distance Reading Popular Scientific Journals In Turn-Of-The-Century Sweden, Erin Modersitzki, Dr. Christopher Oscarson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The understanding of art and literature depends on an ability to contextualize it within the discourses from which it emerges. This project combined two important new strands of literary research to flesh out the context in which the idea of ecology emerged in Sweden: digital humanities and ecocriticism. We used digital tools to complement traditional literary approaches, broadening our understanding of even non-literary texts by suggesting patterns and constellations of ideas that elude any individual reader attempting to read and analyze hundreds of thousands of pages of text. Proving the viability of these “distant reading” tools through test cases like …
Rites And Rituals Of The Yaxhilan Queens: Analysis Of The Iconography Of The Yaxchilan Lintels 24, 25, And 26, Jillian Bentley, Allen Christianson
Rites And Rituals Of The Yaxhilan Queens: Analysis Of The Iconography Of The Yaxchilan Lintels 24, 25, And 26, Jillian Bentley, Allen Christianson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The ruins of Yaxchilan on the shores of the Usumacinta River, Mexico have some of the only occurrences of iconography that contain women performing sacred bloodletting rites. Most scholars seem to agree that at the end of the 8th century and beginning of the 9th century C.E., the Classic Maya were on the brink of collapse in the southern lowlands. This Great collapse has many arguable factors: disease, drought, famine, starvation, natural disasters, etc. Though no exact cause for the Great collapse has been identified, one thing that scholars seem to agree on is the desperation one can sense in …
Unveiling Poetic Patterns In El Titulo De Totonicapan, Karen Devictoria, Allen Christenson
Unveiling Poetic Patterns In El Titulo De Totonicapan, Karen Devictoria, Allen Christenson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
When the Spanish launched a conquest on the Maya empire in the 16th century, the Maya suffered devastating blows to their livelihood and culture. Perhaps the most injurious effect of this conquest was the loss of the Maya languages as the Maya were forced to converse and write only in Spanish and their written works were destroyed. It has been said, “When a language dies, a possible world dies with it.”1 After the Spanish conquest, it was only a few generations until the once highly advanced Maya language was transformed to a mere oral tradition spoken only by the elderly. …
From Imposition To Integration: Teotihuacan Influence On Maya Culture, As Evidence By Stela 7 At Piedras Negras, Catherine Nuckols, Allen J. Christenson
From Imposition To Integration: Teotihuacan Influence On Maya Culture, As Evidence By Stela 7 At Piedras Negras, Catherine Nuckols, Allen J. Christenson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
This project was inspired by the Maya monument known as Stela 7, from Piedras Negras, Guatemala (shown at right). This stela, or upright stone carving, portrays a ruler of Piedras Negras wearing a war headdress. The headdress is Maya in style, but contains an element, the Trapeze and Ray motif, that appears to have been adapted from the Central Mexican culture of Teotihuacan, which by that point had ceased to exist. Teotihuacan was a very large city situated in Central Mexico. In AD 378, Teotihuacan invaded the nearunconquerable city state of Tikal and imposed a new ruling dynasty. From that …
Selma Lagerlöf And Early Ecological Thought, Chelsea Francis, Christopher Oscarson
Selma Lagerlöf And Early Ecological Thought, Chelsea Francis, Christopher Oscarson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
While it is not difficult to isolate the first uses of the word “ecology,” it is far more elusive to trace the origins of the idea before the term became commonplace. In this project, Dr. Oscarson and I attempted to map the changing concept of nature in turn-of-the-century Sweden in literary and scientific sources to clarify and define this important paradigm shift, particularly through the works of Nobel prizing winning Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940). Lagerlöf is a popular figure in Swedish literary history, and this project proposes to study her in a new light. Although she has not historically …
Dionysus In Spain: The New Divinity In Unamuno’S San Manuel Bueno, Mártir, David Delbar, Roger Macfarlane
Dionysus In Spain: The New Divinity In Unamuno’S San Manuel Bueno, Mártir, David Delbar, Roger Macfarlane
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Few characters are as enigmatic as the protagonist of Miguel de Unamuno’s San Manuel Bueno, mártir, and many scholars have attempted to discern the motivations of the saintly Catholic priest who does not believe in an afterlife. Because of the overt biblical allusions in the text and the personal struggles of the author with the Catholic faith, many approach the novella and its protagonist with a Christian interpretation, ignoring Unamuno’s extensive classical background. While Unamuno clearly modeled don Manuel as a Christ figure, he also embedded Dionysian characteristics that have thus far been unexamined in academic treatises of the …
Turn Of The Century Sweden And The Ecological Imaginarytopic Modeling Ecological Thought In Swedish Nature Texts, Benjamin Holt, Dane Christensen, Dr. Christopher Oscarson
Turn Of The Century Sweden And The Ecological Imaginarytopic Modeling Ecological Thought In Swedish Nature Texts, Benjamin Holt, Dane Christensen, Dr. Christopher Oscarson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The roots of ecology in Scandinavia begin with the botanist Linnaeus in the 18th century, who developed the notion of the economy of nature. Throughout the 19th century, proto-ecologists carried the movement that would eventually be recognized as a legitimate and viable science, studying the interaction between organisms and their environment. Leading up to the turn of the century, the climate in Scandinavia was ripe for organizations to emerge such as the Svenska Turistföreningen (Swedish Tourist Society) and the Svenska Naturskyddsföreningen (Swedish Nature Protection Society), both of which are committed to improving and preserving nature in Sweden.
A Digital Epigraphic Database: Partnership With Duke Collaboratory For Classics Computing, Nozomu Okuda, Dr. Roger Macfarlane
A Digital Epigraphic Database: Partnership With Duke Collaboratory For Classics Computing, Nozomu Okuda, Dr. Roger Macfarlane
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Digital epigraphic databases can be of interest to scholars who study the past. Epigraphy — a word which combines the two Greek roots epi-, meaning “above” or “on,” and graphe, meaning “writing” — is the study of inscriptions. Among the epigraphic publications are commemorations, dedications, proclamations, and even general information, all of which were engraved upon more or less permanent media. Thus, those messages from the past continue to convey information in the present, thereby making epigraphy an important aid to scholarship of the past. Despite the longevity of inscriptions, their media may be too large, fragile, or …
A New Approach To Museum Exhibits, Allison Rietz, Kerry Soper
A New Approach To Museum Exhibits, Allison Rietz, Kerry Soper
Journal of Undergraduate Research
This project deals with museum exhibits, the primary cultural product used to justify a museum’s existence; they are also the face of the museum that the public sees. However, because museums are a mix of visual and literary aspects, the point of an exhibit can often get lost in an attempt to include a “Wow Factor”, which may not even relate to the exhibit. And if the exhibits do not appeal to visitors or are confusing, fewer people will come to visit, making it necessary for exhibits to be clear for their audience.
Dürer’S Window: The Renaissance Problem Of Seeing The Word Through Perspective-Colored Glasses, Laura Hatch, Dr. Matt Ancell
Dürer’S Window: The Renaissance Problem Of Seeing The Word Through Perspective-Colored Glasses, Laura Hatch, Dr. Matt Ancell
Journal of Undergraduate Research
I organized this research project in order to better understand the philosophical implications of linear perspective in Western Renaissance art. Artists and theorists have long understood linear perspective as a specific artistic technique, but my research was an exploration of what linear perspective represents in terms of how human beings construct and represent knowledge. By performing a phenomenological reading of German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer’s woodcut Draughtsman Drawing a Recumbent Woman (1525),1 it was my initial hope to show how this ubiquitous image could be read as a recognition of and exposure of linear perspective’s failure to capture and truly …
Building The Unsinkable Understanding: Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown And Her Legacy Through Architecture, Adam Lloyd, Dr. Kerry Soper
Building The Unsinkable Understanding: Margaret ‘Molly’ Brown And Her Legacy Through Architecture, Adam Lloyd, Dr. Kerry Soper
Journal of Undergraduate Research
On a visit to Denver, Colorado in November 2011, my girlfriend requested that we visit the Molly Brown House Museum as she had grown up watching the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown. As we toured the museum, the architecture and interior design of the house caught my attention as it reminded me of the Gilded Age cottages in New England that I had learned about in my American Humanities class. My project was originally intended to explore the Gilded Age homes of Mining Age Colorado but, as I visited Denver in the summer of 2013, I was intrigued by the …
“Never In History Did Ill-Breeding Contribute So Much Towards The Dissolution Of Empire”: Cultural Attitudes In A Passage To India, Leigh Meister, Dr. Francesca Lawson
“Never In History Did Ill-Breeding Contribute So Much Towards The Dissolution Of Empire”: Cultural Attitudes In A Passage To India, Leigh Meister, Dr. Francesca Lawson
Journal of Undergraduate Research
I can honestly say that this ORCA-sponsored research has turned out to be one of the most valuable aspects of my undergraduate career. While several elements of my finished project did not meet my initial expectations, this research opportunity taught me to be adaptable and observant. My ORCA research is the foundation for my Honors thesis, which will be submitted in its final form in the upcoming months for graduation with University Honors in April 2012. This completed thesis will be available in the Harold B. Lee Library for reference by future library patrons.
Blood And Water: Unity In The Gospel Of John(1), Matthew G. Ancell, V. Stanley Benfell
Blood And Water: Unity In The Gospel Of John(1), Matthew G. Ancell, V. Stanley Benfell
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The stated purpose of the Gospel of John is that the reader or hearer “may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20.31) (2). Regardless of whether the Fourth Gospel is written to a community of believers or to convert the unbelieving, as is debated, this verse points to life through Jesus Christ as the focus of the book. Each of the four Gospels offers a testimony of Jesus as the Christ. Culminating in the passion and resurrection narratives, each version presents a unique …
Compilation Of Scandinavian Studies Index, Volume 37 – Volume 71, Joshua D. Jewkes, Dr. Gary R. Hooper
Compilation Of Scandinavian Studies Index, Volume 37 – Volume 71, Joshua D. Jewkes, Dr. Gary R. Hooper
Journal of Undergraduate Research
With the generosity on the part of the Office of Research and Creative Design and the grant offered me, I was able to produce a significant piece of scholarly work that will contribute significantly to a major academic field: a subject-word index for the academic journal, Scandinavian Studies. The actual work for the project was completed between January and August 1999. Through my experiences, I was able to broaden my knowledge of a field of study which I consider very interesting in addition to gaining valuable skills relating to editing, formatting, and indexing in journalism.
Mistress As Metaphor: The Written Woman In Martial, Elizabeth L. Long
Mistress As Metaphor: The Written Woman In Martial, Elizabeth L. Long
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Martial features women as his subjects in roughly twenty-five percent of his epigrams .I Just as his other epigrams explore a wide range of subjects and themes, these poems differ in the ways that they use women. Some are merely crude jests2; others explore mythological or historical subjects3; still others, such as l 0.35 and 1 0.38, written about Sulpicia the satirist, are encomiastic. In addition, some of the poems about women can be read as programmatic statements about Martial’s and others’ poetry. Martial employs various programmatic devices to explain his epigrams. Although these types of poems occur throughout the …
Four Poems, Four Voices: Fragmented Authorship In Fernando Pessoa, James Peter Rasmussen, Dr. Steven P. Sondrup
Four Poems, Four Voices: Fragmented Authorship In Fernando Pessoa, James Peter Rasmussen, Dr. Steven P. Sondrup
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The poetry of Fernando Pessoa contributes in a highly original way to a significant twentieth-century aesthetic development: the attempt to overthrow Romantic conceptions of authorship. Through the creation of his “heteronyms”—invented poets with a large degree of independence in style, form, imagery, and thought to whom he attributes his poetry—Pessoa’s poetry fragments into many distinct voices and thus challenges the notion of coherent authorial identity. Fernando Pessoa’s heteronymic structure itself is thus a quintessentially modern voice. The heteronyms challenge, as critic Darlene J. Sadlier writes, “the notion of coherent identity” (118).1 With the fragmentation of the poetic voice, the romantic …
Economics And Education Vs. Griots: Threats To Traditional Performers In The Senegalese Arts, Joseph B. Hill, Dr. Michael D. Phillips
Economics And Education Vs. Griots: Threats To Traditional Performers In The Senegalese Arts, Joseph B. Hill, Dr. Michael D. Phillips
Journal of Undergraduate Research
In much of West Africa, the griot is the central figure in the performing arts. Traditionally, only those born into the griot caste perform publicly in any capacity, be it in music, dance, historical recitation, public speaking, or jesting. Although other castes look down on such work, griots embrace it and carefully guard their monopoly. Immune to most social sanctions, griots speak good and bad with impunity, and nobles pay dearly to ensure that griots say only good (1).
On-Line Language Learning, Peter Rich, Dr. Devon Asay
On-Line Language Learning, Peter Rich, Dr. Devon Asay
Journal of Undergraduate Research
As technology improves and its popularity increase, more and more people are turning to electronic methods of education. CALL, computer assisted language learning, is one particular field that has tried to jump on the bandwagon. However, recreating real environments and random interaction poses a constant challenge for CALL developers and administrators and very few effective CALL systems exist. That is, live interaction continues to be more effective than nearly every CALL system.
Poetry Of The River Tietê, Rex P. Nielson, Dr. George Handley
Poetry Of The River Tietê, Rex P. Nielson, Dr. George Handley
Journal of Undergraduate Research
In an essay entitled “Quantity and Quality” written in 1990, Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz bespeaks the importance of poetry in our contemporary society. He contends that during classical times poetry provided an ethical code that significantly influenced the organization of society and government. Greek citizens memorized lines of Homer, Hebrew leaders quoted passages from the Torah and the Psalms, Roman Senators learned verse from the Aeneid, and Chinese emperors recited poems from the Shih Ching. “Our classics, apart from their being examples of formal perfection and sources of spiritual pleasure, were teachers of political wisdom for two millennia” (Paz 105). …
The Pompeian Building Complex Of 55 B. C. In The Campus Martius, Rebecca Allen, Dr. Roger Macfarlane
The Pompeian Building Complex Of 55 B. C. In The Campus Martius, Rebecca Allen, Dr. Roger Macfarlane
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The period of the late Roman Republic (ca. 80 B. C. to 44 B. C.) is the best documented of all the historical periods of Roman history. The age is characterized by intense struggles for political dominance among the leading politicians and generals of Rome, as well as a flowering of artistic and creative output. Cicero, the statesman and orator, provides much information about this period through his speeches and, more important, his letters to a variety of recipients. It is one of these letters where the research for this project began. In 55 B. C., Cicero wrote a letter …
The Literature Of Reconciliation: A Future For Afrikaans Publishing In South Africa, Desmond A. Eppel, Larry H. Peer
The Literature Of Reconciliation: A Future For Afrikaans Publishing In South Africa, Desmond A. Eppel, Larry H. Peer
Journal of Undergraduate Research
As an native English-speaking South African married to a native Afrikaans-speaking wife, this research project held special personal importance for me. My wife and I intend to raise our children in a bilingual environment, and have been concerned about the future of Afrikaans materials and products with which to teach our children. I approached my research in an effort to understand the different factors influencing the market for Afrikaans publishing in South Africa, and discovered a wealth of information which will hopefully be instructive in a comprehensive effort to predict future growth or decline in this market.
Slave Women In Euripides: Struggling For Identity And Power In A Hostile World, Iantha M. Haight, Dr. Norbert H. O. Duckwitz
Slave Women In Euripides: Struggling For Identity And Power In A Hostile World, Iantha M. Haight, Dr. Norbert H. O. Duckwitz
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Euripides’ plays continue to be very popular today because of their powerfully human themes. Because of their strong, emotional impact, however, many critics disagree on how to interpret Euripides’ views on women. Since so much knowledge about Greek society in general and women in particular has been lost, classical literature, such as poetry and plays, though difficult to interpret, are important sources of knowledge about the lives and attitudes of the ancient Greeks, especially in regards to the politically disenfranchised groups of women and slaves who feature insignificantly in political writings. Unlike Aeschylus and Sophocles, the other great Greek tragedians, …
In Search Of Grandeur: The Life And Times Of The Rio Grande, Todd Condie, Dr. John Bennion
In Search Of Grandeur: The Life And Times Of The Rio Grande, Todd Condie, Dr. John Bennion
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Eight years ago I moved to west Texas. In fact, I moved about as far west in the state of Texas as one can get. The housing plots adjacent to my own are bisected by the interstate border with New Mexico. Not forty yards beyond that invisible line of demarcation, the Rio Grande, itself a border-to-be, flows serenely through fields of knee-high grasses.
The “Sideward Glance”: Double-Voiced Discourse In The Tempest, Joel W. Darrington, Dr. Joseph Parry
The “Sideward Glance”: Double-Voiced Discourse In The Tempest, Joel W. Darrington, Dr. Joseph Parry
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Mikhail Mikhailovich (M. M.) Bakhtin is increasingly becoming one of the important literary theorists of our century. Writing in Stalinist Russia in the first half of this century, Bakhtin has come out of obscurity in the last twenty or so years to a place of prominence. His literary theories are broad and diverse. One dimension to his theories stood out to me as being particularly useful to any reading of Shakespeare. Bakhtin, while writing about the novel, articulated the nature of “double-voiced discourse”&that is, discourse which anticipates, incorporates, and is penetrated by the discourse of others, words “with a sideward …
Blood And Water: Unity In The Gospel Of John (1), Matthew G. Ancell, Dr. V. Stanley Benfell
Blood And Water: Unity In The Gospel Of John (1), Matthew G. Ancell, Dr. V. Stanley Benfell
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The stated purpose of the Gospel of John is that the reader or hearer “may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20.31) (2). Regardless of whether the Fourth Gospel is written to a community of believers or to convert the unbelieving, as is debated, this verse points to life through Jesus Christ as the focus of the book. Each of the four Gospels offers a testimony of Jesus as the Christ. Culminating in the passion and resurrection narratives, each version presents a unique …