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Recent Submissions
Writing and directing the short film "Before it's gone."
(2023-08) Amick, Luke, 1996-; Hansen, Christopher J.
This thesis details the conception, production, and analysis of my thesis film “Before It’s Gone.” Following an amnesiac as he investigates a lead to his lost past, the film is seated in questions of time, memory, and grief, and dramatizes the ways in which the past forms the foundation of our present. Such questions are also examined through the various philosophical (Henri Bergson, Gilles Deleuze), literary (Marcel Proust, Patrick Modiano), and filmic (Orson Welles, Alain Resnais) influences that informed the film. As an academic turned filmmaker, this thesis also chronicles my first forays into filmmaking, as well as the lessons learned throughout the production of “Before It’s Gone.”
Seeking familiar faces in restricted academic spaces : a single case study exploring how students of color access advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs and experience a sense of community and belonging.
(2023-08) Castle, Erin R., 1984-; Foster, Marquita D.
Since 2018, no more than 39% of Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) students at Flatland High School (FHS) have been Black or Latinx, while these combined populations represented an average of 66% of the school’s annual population. In contrast, White or Asian students constituted up to 55% of AP or IB, but an average of only 32% of the school’s population. Researchers have extensively studied racial inequity in advanced coursework, but no current research explores the historical context of FHS and the ongoing inequity within its unique system.
This embedded single case design explored what facilitators of or barriers to AP or IB membership academically motivated students of color perceived and how students assessed belonging in the racially disproportionate AP or IB community. The study utilized a semi-structured interview and questionnaire with six high school graduates who took AP or IB classes at FHS. The study answered the following questions: What school influences do academically motivated students of color perceive as facilitating or obstructing their membership in AP or IB programs? How do students of color assess belonging in racially disproportionate AP or IB communities? The participants reflected the demographic categories most often underrepresented in AP and IB classrooms: Black and Latinx students.
The study found that students perceived four facilitators of or barriers to AP or IB membership: familial support or influence throughout schooling, academic experience in elementary through 10th grade, knowledge of AP or IB and their autonomy to choose it, and perceptions of the program rigor or community. The study also found that participants perceived community leaders (teachers) and community members (peers) as facilitators of or barriers to developing a deeper sense of community through influence, reinforcement, and shared emotional connection. The findings have implications for the subsequent development of district policies that enable broader access to foundational coursework for AP and IB. The findings also have implications for campus and classroom policies and practices that strengthen students’ sense of belonging in AP and IB communities.
Beyond separation and accommodation : Sandra Day O'Connor on religion and the political order.
(2023-08) Norman-Krause, Hannah, 1994-; Kleinerman, Benjamin A.
This dissertation examines the American Supreme Court’s political thought concerning religion as it is revealed through its Establishment Clause jurisprudence. Scholarship on the Court’s Establishment jurisprudence tends to focus on the legal theories employed by the various justices and therefore also the legal consequences of the Court’s decisions. This project approaches these opinions from a theoretical perspective, analyzing the justices’ particular theoretical understandings of religion and how it philosophically fits within the American community’s political order. After arguing that the Court has assumed that the religion protected by the First Amendment is believed as opposed to enacted, individualist as opposed to communal, and voluntarist as opposed to received, the dissertation examines the two main approaches the Supreme Court has taken to adjudicate Establishment claims—Separation and Accommodation—showing that both approaches presume this theory of religion, therefore also assuming that religion must be privatized. Turning to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s jurisprudence, the project suggests an alternative approach to religion within the American political community, arguing that O’Connor’s theoretical approach creates space for religion within the American political community. Reading her Free Exercise and Establishment jurisprudence in conjunction with each other shows that she presumes that religious freedom is political in character, and therefore becomes intelligible through religious persons’ participation in the American political community as religious persons.
"A road from earth to sky" : Christina Rossetti's theological arrangements.
(2023-08) Sinni, Ryan, 1996-; King, Joshua, 1979-
This project examines the arrangement of three of Rossetti’s volumes of poetry in light of her Tractarian theological commitments, especially to the doctrines of analogy and reserve. The doctrine of analogy asserts that each visible creation signifies a spiritual reality, and the doctrine of reserve posits that religious knowledge should be revealed only to those who are ready to receive it. These doctrines are reflected in the relationship between the two sections of each volume, the general section and the devotional section: symbols that appear in the general section often reappear in the devotional section, but with explicit spiritual significance. Although there have been article-length treatments of the arrangement of specific volumes, this dissertation provides the first sustained treatment of arrangement across Rossetti’s oeuvre and the most detailed treatment of its relationship to her theological commitments. In so doing, it provides a window into her strategies for leading both secular and religious readers toward the Beatific Vision.
Examining characteristics of users of the Evia app : digital hypnotherapy for hot flashes.
(2023-08) Snyder-Olson, Morgan Alexis, 1994-; Elkins, Gary Ray, 1952-
Approximately 75% of women experience hot flashes during menopause (Kronenberg, 1990). Hot flashes are burdensome and distressing for those who experience them. It is important to identify treatments for women who are suffering from hot flashes. Nonpharmacological treatments for relieving hot flashes are necessary because pharmacological treatments are either ineffective or have a risk of dangerous side effects. Hypnotherapy has been shown to be effective for reducing hot flashes in randomized clinical trials (Elkins et al., 2008; Elkins et al., 2013), but it is not routinely used in clinical practice. One solution to this implementation gap is to deliver hypnotherapy through a smartphone app. The Evia app was developed to deliver hypnotherapy for hot flashes. The purpose of the current study is to determine the characteristics of users of the Evia app and to determine which user characteristics are associated with length of app use. The information gathered from this study will allow for the Evia app to be tailored and optimized toward its users. Results showed that the average age of app users is in line with the average age of menopause onset, that the largest percentage of users reported experiencing 5 or more hot flashes per day and that they reported their hot flashes to be of moderate intensity. Most users reported difficulty falling asleep each night and reported their sleep quality to be terrible or fair. Most users reported that they sometimes or often feel anxious or depressed. Most Evia subscribers had not heard of hypnotherapy for menopause before and a majority had not tried hypnotherapy before. Most (94%) of Evia subscribers were not referred by a healthcare professional. Hearing about hypnotherapy before, being referred by a healthcare professional, and hot flash severity were not significantly related to length of program use. However, hot flash frequency and hot flash interference were significantly associated with length of program use. These studies were the first to report characteristics of users and factors associated with length of program use of the Evia app. These results will be used to optimize the hypnotherapy program delivered via the Evia app.