Humanities

Mahreen Bashir, University of Utah Humanities A complicated social paradox humanity faces is assessing the union between the seemingly contradictory ideologies of “sustainability” and “growth” into one viable system. Adapting a merger between concepts such as: the retention of cultural values and social systems, industry, urban sprawl, modernity, sanitation, progress and the environment. This objective of this research project centers around using understandings of post-colonial theory to find new connections in South Asian identity through South Asian literature written in English, and the literature’s relationship to ecology. Specifically, it applies the nascent subaltern lens of a historiography that examines South Asia as both a post-colonial subcontinent, and an emerging “superpower,” in the rhetoric of a global economy, to understand a relationship between Indian people and India as place. Questions asked are posed in regard to the affects of orientalism and a cultural infiltration of seeing endemic knowledge to be degenerate in relation to Western academia; Indian-American identity; and the weight of the term “subaltern” through works by South Asian writers. Furthermore, the project uses an ecocritical lens on these works to extract how identity discourse and post-colonialism have created understandings of Indian identity within English literature. The anticipated outcome of this research paper is to create a greater understanding of both emergent academic lenses, and their application in understanding Indian culture and identity as portrayed by works written by Indo-American writers. This research idea was born out of my passion for both ecology and post-colonial studies that I have honed through my studies as an environmental studies and gender studies double major. The main objective is to investigate the plurality of identity, and the ramifications that identity, has on the establishment of more sustainable behavior to counter the impending global crisis the planet is facing in terms of lack of environmental stewardship, and subsequent social justice.

Helen Makhdoumian, Westminster College Humanities Despite roughly a century of Armenian American literary production, the literary theory and criticism on this body of ethnic literature has only started to develop in the last few decades. David Kherdian is an Armenian American writer whose works range from poetry to prose, fiction to memoir, and translations to retellings of Armenian tales. My research focuses on David Kherdian’s poetry collection Homage to Adana, published in 1970. Previous critics have analyzed Kherdian’s poetry for themes such as childhood, familial relationships, self-discovery, and personal and collective memory. Some critics have read some of Kherdian’s poems as reflecting the loss of Armenian culture due to assimilation in the U.S. In contrast, this presentation analyzes the motif of the Armenian coffee house in select poems in Homage to Adana as a space where geographical, generational, and cultural identities are negotiated. Although on the surface these poems indicate a loss of Armenian culture, I argue that they actually indicate a continuation and adaptation of Armenian culture in the U.S. by the younger generation. To support my argument, my approach uses the theoretical lenses of New Historicism and Cultural Studies. I contextualize these texts with the history of the Armenian diaspora and immigration. Furthermore, I include the historical and cultural significance of Armenian coffee houses as well as the use of Armenian coffee in cultural knowledge sharing. In general, the themes I look for are references to the old country, representations of immigrant Armenian men and women, oral storytelling, and food traditions. Ultimately, this analysis reveals how the poems reflect the negotiation of passing on cultural knowledge. By both continuing traditions and adapting them for everyday lived experiences, Armenian culture will remain vibrant in diaspora.

Zacrey Hansen, Utah Valley University Humanities Within Old Norse myth lurks Hildolf, whose name means Battle-Wolf. He only appears in the Medieval Norse poems twice: in a name list of Odin’s sons in the Prose Edda, and then is off-handedly mentioned by Odin himself, in the Poetic Edda. Since the mythic stories make no other mention of Hildolf, the general scholarly consensus is that Hildolf is simply another of Odin’s many aliases. Indeed, Odin’s association with wolves, especially those that attend him, makes this a likely conclusion. This thesis, however, takes a different approach; that the Poetic Edda reinforces Hildolf’s status as Odin’s son by listing Thor and Hildolf’s names together. Moreover, a closer look at speech ascribed to Odin places Hildolf’s domain of Rathsey’s Sound within the river that separates Jotunheim and Asgard. Further analysis of cultural context also reveals symbolic and etymological parallels between Hildolf and the Ulfhednar, or Wolf-Coats, Norse warriors famously known for taking on the aspect of the wolf during battle. Through the synthesis of these disparate connections, this paper develops a clearer picture of Hildolf’s place in Norse mythology. Asgardian by birth, though not by station, Hildolf stands as the connection between gods and giants, between man and beast, and as Thor guides men to defend against enemies from without, Hildolf guides them to defend against the enemies from within. The conference presentation of this research stems from a longer work planned for submission to The Journal of Contemporary Heathen Thought.

Jackson Bell, Brigham Young University Humanities Since a military coup in 2009, Madagascar’s low standard of living, political instability, and weak economy have worsened. One way to improve the situation in Madagascar is to improve English skills, which are import in the tourism, exports, financial aid, and international academic collaboration sectors. For example, a knowledge of the English language will give Malagasy people access to 45 percent of the world’s scholarly research journals. I recently published a Malagasy-English bilingual dictionary which aimed to meet this need. However, the dictionary is somewhat impractical because it is limited to simple, rigid definitions. It is insufficient for a complete understanding of either Malagasy or English because real-life usage of words often deviates from basic definitions.

Michael Nielson, Dixie State University Humanities Character development is arguably the greatest driving force in fiction writing. But how does an author create a believable, complex character? Oftentimes, writers attempt to mimic characters they’ve encountered in literature. These characters repeated over time are generally known as character-specific archetypes; However, these archetypes delve deeper than writers simply copying other writers. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines archetypes as a “symbol, theme, setting, or character-type that recurs in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, dreams, and rituals so frequently or prominently as to suggest that it embodies some essential element of ‘universal’ human experience.” This paper will survey the effectiveness of writers consciously using character-specific archetypes—such as the hero, the sage, and the jester—drawing upon the expertise of Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Victoria Schmidt with specific attention to J. R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings series and Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. Ultimately, I will suggest that the best way to create a believable, complex character is through the conscious use of archetypes, which allows the reader full immersion into the fictional work and fosters the suspension of disbelief.

Jeremy Lofthouse, University of Utah Humanities The identity of Mormon women has been sharply contested throughout the Latter-day Saint movement. Women in the nineteenth-century were targeted by critics of Mormonism as oppressed, even enslaved through polygamy. Following the termination of polygamy, Mormon women became hyper-domestic, following patterns of mainstream America. The identity of some Mormon women has made another dramatic transition in the last decade.

Meg Siner, Westminster College Humanities I would like to present my research on the 1913 Utah opera The Sun Dance Opera, written and directed by Lakota activist Zitkala-Sa. The opera, score, libretto are found in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections of the Harold B. Library at Brigham Young University. The opera premiered to rave reviews but has since fallen into obscurity.

Jordan Bracken, Dixie State University Humanities Of the many problems facing woman today, one of the more serious is the unrealistic standard of beauty and behavior that women are expected to achieve, maintain, and accept as normative. However, I will show how select works of fiction, including Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Oval Portrait, exemplify the dangers of the male gaze; additionally, I will explicate non-fiction works such as Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, which explore the severe consequences of attempting to force women to conform to a gendered societal paradigm. These works demonstrate the destructive characteristics to both men and women which can be easily overlooked by those who believe that a cultural standard, any cultural standard, represents a natural or necessary state of gendered behavior. When the image of the perfect feminine is idealized and internalized it both pressures women to alter their true identities and expects men to hold women to an unattainable behavioral and physical standard.

Benjamin Tullis, Utah Valley University Humanities Wayne Both has defined rhetoric as “the whole range of arts not only of persuasion but also of producing or reducing misunderstanding” (10). In The Rhetoric of Fiction, Wayne Booth also writes about four general rules that an author can use to enhance his or her writing and persuade readers. This rhetorical approach to fiction is not common. In addition, literary texts can be analyzed from a rhetorical perspective and many classical texts can be seen in a new way. My research uses Booth’s four general rules to dissect The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book has been read and analyzed by millions of people since it was first published in 1884. My work finds a new correlation between Booth and Mark Twain. For example, Booth’s first general rule is that “…novels must be realistic” (23). Twain used his life experiences to create a world that, though it is imaginary, still rings true to the reader. Booth also states that, “all authors must be objective” (67), and “true art ignores the audience” (89). Twain was successful in following both of these rules because although he personally believed that that racism was wrong, he knew that other people, especially during his lifetime, did not share this same view. He used rhetoric indirectly in the story so that the reader can make up his or her own mind. Booth’s fourth rule states that authors should use “emotions, beliefs, and the reader’s objectivity” (119). Twain manipulates the emotions of his readers through the characters he created and the scenes he described. By carefully analyzing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in this new way using Booth’s four general rules, the modern reader will find a powerful rhetorically persuasive function in this classic text that many view primarily as children’s entertainment.

Steven Hepworth, Weber State University Humanities Mormons and Missourians were at war with one another 1838. At the heart of the issue was the political and literal power of the Mormons in the state. The Mormon leader, Joseph Smith, claimed to have received revelations stating Missouri, and more particularly Jackson County, was to be the land of inheritance for Mormon Saints. Missourians feared a Mormon overtake of the State. During this same time the growing issue of slavery was the issue in Missouri. Mormons and Missourians found themselves on opposite ends of the slavery debate. These heated issues caused both Mormons and Missourians to persecute, harass, destroy, and fight one another. Orson Hyde changed the landscape of this conflict. On October 24, 1838 Orson Hyde signed a sworn affidavit declaring that Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church planned to overtake, possess, and control the State of Missouri. At the time, Orson was an Apostle, or leading member of the Mormon Church. He was well respected within the church and throughout the Missouri community. His testimony against the church and its leaders came as a shock to many. He showed no sign of discontentment previous to his signing a sworn affidavit against Joseph Smith and the Mormon Church. Why would a leading member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints testify against his religion, which he still held dear, and his friends? Orson Hyde indicted Mormon leaders of treason to save the lives of his family, to placate non-Mormon neighbors, and because of a failed mind due to illness. I will explore the involvement of Hyde in the Mormon Missouri war, what led him to testify against the Mormon Church, and the consequences resulted from his testimony.

Carson Bennett, Brigham Young University Humanities A short story based on my grandfather’s experiences in the Battle of the Bulge.

Ward Symes, Dixie State University Humanities Some people think a heavy blanket of intellectual darkness was thrown over Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire and not lifted until the Renaissance. Were the Dark Ages a time of total illiteracy when learning and education ceased to exist? Did the Dark Ages only end with the emergence of great milestones like the invention of Gutenberg’s movable type printing press and Martin Luther protesting the Catholic Church?

Bronson Beatty, Dixie State University0 Humanities If we are the targets of bullying and slander, we have the right to defend ourselves and our good name. But how thick is the line separating self-defense from striking back or taking vengeance? This short story, inspired in part by Poe’s classic tale “The Cask of Amontillado,” is historical fiction set in the era of Renaissance Italy and its warring noble families. Fabiano, our protagonist, is the son of fabulously wealthy merchants. He is a respected pillar of his community and hosts tri-annual masques which are the toast of southern Italy. However, the son of a powerful northern family arrives uninvited and reveals that Fabiano was a ward to his family in their youth, humiliating him in front of his guests. Fabiano’s tormentor visits every masque for over a year, insulting Fabiano further and gradually turning him into a laughingstock. Fabiano becomes obsessed with restoring his honor and with defeating his tormentor, but his schemes may carry too far. How far can we go trying to right wrongs committed against us? Is it always right to do so?

Andrew Gibson, University of Utah Humanities In many languages we have words that don’t have a one-to-one correlation, for instance, ‘Wednesday’ sounds more like ‘wensday’. Although writing systems can be consistent, some syllables are pronounced differently in some contexts. The point is; that words have different sounds from their written form. I theorized this as ‘word deceptive.’ These words can often deceive us when spelled differently from the way they sound. This can be difficult for others learning a language. But to aid in this difficulty is with word deceptive strategies: 1.Make the unfamiliar familiar 2. Associate visuals to the word to increase word retention 3. Use words in interpersonal experiences.

Daniel Howell, Utah Valley University Humanities Over the years research has proven again and again the important role that sexual satisfaction plays in marriage and relationships. Researchers have identified emotional safety, sexual frequency, sexual communication, sexual communion, sexual ability, and sexual arousal as elements that are important elements that influence sexual satisfaction. The aim of this study is to identify which of these elements are more effective in predicting sexual satisfaction and which ones are not. Using as a sample of 597 participants which primarily represented a white, LDS, middle class to upper class population. One of the questions that had to be asked was, are there differences between men and women in the variables and what are they? Another question that had to be asked was where do these factors rank in importance? Which factors are the most important? The study showed that when emotional safety, sexual frequency, sexual communication, sexual ability were increased, sexual satisfaction was increased. Sexual communion had a positive influence on sexual satisfaction as well. As long as the other partner focused on that individual. Another significant finding is that in sexual arousal played a more significant role in satisfaction for women than it did men. The goal of this study is to publish the results in scholarly journals and to implement the findings into the family life education program.

Lacy Culpepper, Dixie State University Humanities In the past century, women have made monumental progress in their presence and authority in American politics; unfortunately, print mass media outlets overall have not positively reflected those changes. In his work, On Rhetoric, Aristotle argues that a person’s character is the most effective method of persuasion, and as female politicians fall subject to the words of the media, their perceived character, and impact as a leader, depends heavily on the opinions of the writers and analysts of the various American print sources. Print media outlets tend to categorize notable female politicians into two categories: the bitch, who must abandon her well-rounded, understanding realm of femininity and adopt notions of an aggressive, haughty persona; or the ditz, who must heavily rely on the dated, stereotypical femininity that encourages beauty over brains and forsakes a hold of influence and legitimacy. This seemingly timeless application proves that, regardless of which category a female politician is assigned, such press pushes her politics aside and can have a serious negative impact on both her career and reputation. For this paper, I analyze the print treatment of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential election to explain the rigid Bitch/Ditz classification of female politicians that sources including Time and People have assigned.

Hayden Smith, University of Utah Humanities While serving as a full-time volunteer missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2010-2012, I gained a new perspective of discrimination and racism in contemporary America. My mission was located in West Texas and East New Mexico. While living in this region, I came into contact with a much different setting then I had experienced growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah. I learned Spanish and worked very closely with the Latino and also the African American minority populations. This was compelling as I learned a great deal about the types of discrimination which minorities experienced in the United States. In Lubbock, TX in particular, I saw a very segregated community, as the city was still divided upon racial lines.

Mary Ellison Barlow, Brigham Young University Humanities In the 15th and 16th centuries of the Portuguese golden age was followed by a period of decline in the 17th and 18th centuries. For a majority of Western Europe, this latter period heralded the age of Enlightenment and brought with it a cultural movement of reason and individualism that changed the history of the world. There is a vacuity surrounding Portugal in respect to the role and level of influence it had in the movement of the Enlightenment. The purpose of this study is to discover how Portugal received enlightened European thinking and how the enlightened world saw Portugal. This study will include the affect the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 influenced Enlightenment thinking, foreign and domestic. We will also analyze the reception of ones such as Mozart and Voltaire and their corresponding works, and how these ideas influenced Portuguese society.

Spencer Yamada, Brigham Young University Humanities This project is designed to use the actions of the US military in response to American civilians advocating for direct military intervention in the holocaust as a case study to apply the economic Theory of Disruption. The complex situation during the war, involving Anti-Semitism, technical challenges, political motives and military bureaucracy has traditionally been impossible to untangle. Existing theories of management and economics were applied using their data-proven ability to understand human behavior. Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School developed the Theory of Disruption to describe the process by which companies are able to innovate, grow, and conversely stall and fail. Christensen found that large companies that had traditionally been innovative and successful had become so by bringing new products to new markets that had been previously ignored. Christensen noted that the world’s most successful corporations had changed dramatically overtime by initiating self-disruption and changing focus from what has traditionally been successful for them to smaller new markets and new products. The Allied purpose during the Second World War was centered on one key policy decided at the Bermuda Conference in 1943, which was to defeat Nazi Germany. Around the same time groups of both Gentile and Jews began clamoring for a new strategy involving the bombing of Auschwitz as reports of the camps reached the American public. The American Military did not produce the product this small market demanded, acting in the same way a large corporation would that failed to initiate the process of disruption and took no action against any holocaust targets. Christensen’s Theory of Disruption explains of this phenomenon as a function of economic forces and organizational behavior.

Nicholas Sheets, Brigham Young University Humanities This honors’ thesis analyzes a lesser-known drama by Jorge Ibargüengoitia, Llegó Margo (1956), by approaching historic social critiques in Mexico through dialogue, plot, and character development. Readers will approach this play through various elements of Marxist and historical criticism. Through this, higher significance to social themes develops when considered in the historical context of the semicentennial celebration of Mexico’s revolution of 1910. The play then falls into a broader national dialogue of Mexico’s social structures post-revolution. Research for this thesis includes the Ibargüengoitia papers at the Firestone Library, an interview with Joy Laville (the author’s widow), and travels to various locations in Mexico, ultimately resulting in the thesis’ higher awareness to historic social themes and a richness of Mexican ideals. Ibargüengoitia offers a critique of & for his own middle-class audience, calling attention to its hypocritical treatment of the poor as well as a hyper awareness to social traditions which ultimately maintain an unsympathetic class structure in Mexico.

Paden Carlson, Utah State University Humanities Historically, many artists have struggled with mental illness; they use their art as a way to cope with, and explore, their troubled lives. Writers, in particular, often seem to turn to writing when their situations seem empty or their lives appear to be in ruins. Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Anne Sexton, Mark Twain, and F. Scott Fitzgerald all suffered from depression. Some of their best work originated from their pain. Ernest Hemingway also suffered from depression, though it never manifested itself in his work. Part of my project is to read the letters he wrote to his doctors to see if he reveals his struggles through his correspondence in a way that he doesn’t in his fiction. I’d like to read these letters with my own depressive struggles in mind and think about the relationship between art and depression, thereby coming to better understand my own need to create.

Paul Greenhalgh, Weber State University History Much has been written about the tactics and strategies of World War II, as well as the effects of the war on the world. Far less, however, has been written about the cultural aspect of the war experience, and in particular about the day-to-day culture of the servicemen during the war. Archival research at the Library of Congress and The Institute on WWII and the Human Experience at Florida State University yielded the bulk of the primary sources while a review of the literature on WWII and the culture of U.S. servicemen during the war provided context. Additionally, a cross-disciplinary review of psychological literature on pets and their importance to well-being, as well as why it is important for people to create a sense of home, has nuanced the research. This study looks at the personal effects that servicemen had during the war and how their possessions contributed to the creation of a sense of home while they were deployed. Servicemen carried a vast variety of possessions with them that were not Government Issue. These possessions included diaries, pictures of, and letters from, loved ones, Bibles, pets, musical instruments, and talismans. Moreover, in letters and in diaries, these servicemen have described why they personally have carried these objects with them. This study adds to the body of knowledge on the cultural aspect of WWII servicemen, and therefore adds to the overall understanding of WWII and the culture of war in general.

S. Geneva Balin, Weber State University Anthropology In the past, mythology served as a guide to how life should be lived and provided a context for the condition in which people found themselves. As the sacred gave way to the secular, mythology lost its power to influence and guide the people as it did in the past. Rather than myths, people turned to literature for guidance. These stories have been told and retold through different eras in history. They have also been shared in contemporary forms such as books and movies which now reach a large audience. This paper will examine stories of social outcasts in an interpretive exploration into culture through the lens of literature. The multiple versions “The Phantom of the Opera” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” reflect the cultures in which they were produced as well as the contemporary cultures that love them. A basis for comparison will be established by first recounting, in summary, the plotline for each of the novels. Then theories relevant to exploring meaning will be approached, notably those of Claude Levi-Strauss, Émile Durkheim, Dame Mary Douglas and Carl Jung. From here, variations of the stories and the history surrounding them can be examined to discover potential social meaning and show the importance of stories as a way to bind a culture together.

Duke Cruz, Westminster College Philosophy This research focuses on the nineteenth-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, his philosophy, and how that relates specifically to what he thinks about music. In general this presentation will consist of three main parts: 1) analyzing passages on music in a few of Nietzsche’s works, specifically, “The Birth of Tragedy”, “Beyond Good and Evil”, and “Twilight of the Idols’” with supplementary material relating to his philosophy taken from “The Anti-Christ”, and Walter Kaufmann’s biography of Nietzsche “Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist”; 2) showing the relation of music and reason in each example; 3) postulating the importance of this relation. Throughout my research on Nietzsche and his thoughts surrounding music, it is apparent that whenever he discusses music, it is never about the specific score, keys, melodic content, etc. Instead, I found that in most of the passages that I have ran across, Nietzsche’s thoughts on music collide directly and importantly to his philosophy. In this presentation I aim to elucidate what the importance of this relation between music and reason could be for Nietzsche.

Charles Ankenman, Brigham Young University Spanish and Portuguese The Middle Ages and the cultural, political and social coming of age of the European continent produced a corpus of literature and a literary tradition representative of its religious and cultural values that, amazingly, still continues to influence society today. Commonly employed terms such as “a knight in shining armor”, “prince charming”, and parallels occasionally drawn between children and both literary as well historical princes and princesses of yore are evidence of the longevity of the influence of Medieval culture, it’s ideals and the literary genre that most perfectly reflected it: the novel of chivalry. Today, few academics study the genre, it is seldom analyzed in universities, and almost never read outside of academia. In fine, their legacy and their memory has largely been preserved in the endearing pages of Cervantes’ masterpiece, Don Quixote. In this work, the protagonist, don Quixote, goes mad as he credulously devours his extensive private collection of chivalric literature believing all he reads to be not only true but also worthy of imitation. Nevertheless, despite Don Quixote’s wide reading public, few have ever read a novel of chivalry and, as a result, the exact definition of the novel of chivalry can be both obscure and even beyond the grasp of the modern reader who is uninitiated in the field of Medieval and Renaissance chivalric literature. Nevertheless, through a careful analysis of don Quixote’s private collection of novels of chivalry, the mega-genre that they constitute and the sub-genres that comprise it; the chivalric genre can be clearly defined. Additionally, through the comparative analysis of the English term novel of chivalry as opposed to the Spanish term libros de caballerias (book of great deeds done on horseback) the importance of language’s influence on the perception of the world will be demonstrated and Jacques Lacan’s theory regarding language and perception substantiated. Finally, this analysis will elucidate the novel of chivalry’s status both as a continuation of the great classical epic tradition as well as another link in the universal tradition of epic poetry and storytelling. This presentation will be of interest both to Medievalist as well as specialists in the Renaissance, Don Quixote, Spain and Portugal. Power Point Presentation. 20 – 30 minutes.

Kendra Williamson, Brigham Young University Linguistics and English Language Questions regarding language policy have persisted in Intensive English Programs nationwide. BYU’s English Language Center has revoked an English-only policy in favor of an English-mainly policy. In this environment, a two-month study has been initiated in which four experimental-group classes are provided tools for self-regulated learning to encourage English use during the lunch break. Students record goals and perceived actuals daily, reflect and respond to their individual progress, and receive weekly printed progress charts. As students use tools designed for self-regulated learning, it is expected that their daily efforts to speak English and their speaking proficiency test scores will improve.

Kev Nemelka, Brigham Young University Art History and Curatorial Studies Hungarian art has yet to break across the Atlantic with much influence on the art world, but perhaps the oeuvre of Béla Kondor (1931-1972), considered by many Hungarian art historians to be the starting point of Hungarian contemporary art, may have a shot at drawing the nation’s art out of obscurity and into the light of American contemporary “faux-naïve,” an art tradition with a growing momentum that could provide fertile terrain for Kondor’s comparable aesthetic. The faux-naïve tradition springs from “naïve art,” an art tradition whose name itself has been somewhat controversial in the past decade but has nevertheless influenced artists all over the globe. Particularly in Utah Valley, a number of artists and art professors—e.g. Andrew Ballstaedt, Fidalis Buehler, and Brian Krishisnik—are developing their own faux-naïve versions of contemporary folk art similar to that of Kondor with no knowledge of his existence, and although some contend that the sincerity of faux-naïve is factitious and premeditated, the secular and religious works of Kondor and these American artists show the positive side of contrivance, that faux-naïve can provoke feelings of nostalgia and insight into real emotions, focusing our attention on adolescent memories or spiritual innocence alluded to in the works rather than on the lack of complexity, precision, or realism often sought after by aficionados of conventional, believable art. I personally interviewed numerous Kondor experts and curators of Hungarian museums, recovered archived articles on the artist held in Hungarian collections, and conducted comparative analyses of Kondor and the aforementioned Utah artists, whom I also interviewed regarding the subject of faux-naïveté.

Jesse Cook, Dixie State University English Charles Chesnutt’s use of frame narrative in “Dave’s Neckliss” allows readers to gain a wider exposure to realistic African American storytelling. While African American literature was often intentionally watered down in the years following the Civil War to avoid hostility from Euro-Americans, Chesnutt published works depicting some of the true inequalities of African American life. His use of frame narrative-a local color narrative technique that employs a Euro-American narrator to frame a story told by an African American character-allowed Chesnutt to publish his work unbound by such restrictions. As William L. Andrews states, Chesnutt’s “understanding of literary tradition and his ability to use tradition as a means of approaching his readers with untraditional themes” allowed him to delve further into the “intensely human inner life of slavery.” While it could be argued that Chesnutt’s technique undermines the authority of the African American storyteller, requiring a Euro-American narrator as a catalyst for the African American character to tell his story, this technique allows Chesnutt to present a subversive narrative that imposes challenging questions to a reluctant audience. I argue that while Chesnutt’s use of frame narrative may appear to perpetuate existing racial stereotypes held by many, the frame narrative style actually allowed him to pose thought-provoking questions during a time of racial animosity.

Matthew A. Kearney, Brigham Young University Germanic and Slavic Amid the chaos and anticipative excitement of fin-de-siecle Europe, German society quickly became a historical hotspot of unique political and social transformations. It was felt to be a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning. In the midst of a culture that was still perpetuating lively, discriminating social appetites, it is intriguing to note that a broad examination of texts written by German women at this time, which experiment with the very question of social walls and new decisions, shows that these women most often employed conclusions laden with themes of madness, chaos, loneliness and suicide. For this research I have chosen three significant texts which can be viewed from historical and anthropological standpoints on the subject of traditional walls and choices. These are Jenseits der Mauer by Elisabeth Heinroth, Meine Freundin by Hermione von Preuschen-Telmann, and Helene Monbart-Kessler’s Kameraden. The approach to these works, and for the purpose of my research, evaluates the female literary characters in these texts in light of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical view on the fragile balance between the Apollonian and Dionysian drives inherent in art and in life itself. Nietzsche asserted that in life there rages a constant battle between these two major forces, each striving to control the existence of men and women alike. Against the background of this aesthetic discourse, the three texts I have chosen acquire a new dimension: they become an avenue for examining the causes of balance, or lack thereof, in the lives of these female characters. I believe this evaluation is significant because it foregrounds some of the choices and limitations which many women faced as traditional society was changing its attitudes towards them during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Belinda Ramirez, Brigham Young University Anthropology The Hmong are a stateless hill tribe ethnic group originating in southern China. Due to persecution and discrimination from the Chinese, many Hmong migrated to the surrounding regions of the Southeast Asian massif in the eighteenth century. The mountainous homes of the Hmong now lay within the borders of countries such as Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Religiously, Hmong are traditionally a shamanistic people, believing in spirits and worshipping their ancestors through diverse practices, such as animal sacrifice and spirit calling. In addition to traditional Hmong belief (dab qhuas), many messianic religious groups have recently surfaced within the Hmong diaspora, often accompanied by a prophetic leader, criticisms of traditional Hmong practices, and a hopeful vision of the future in which there exists a Hmong country. My research on this subject is based on an ethnographic field study in Nan Province, Thailand among the Is Npis Mis Nus, a Hmong messianic religious group. Using traditional anthropological field methods, I acquired data on the practices and beliefs of the Is Npis Mis Nus, as well as investigated their conceptions of nationalism, ethnicity, and identity. In this paper, I posit that the rituals and beliefs of the Is Npis Mis Nus reveal the group’s desire for Hmong political, cultural, and economic legitimacy and national sovereignty. These beliefs and rituals also serve as boundaries that provide a clear distinction between messianic and non-messianic Hmong. Additionally, I explain how the characteristics of the Is Npis Mis Nus religion help the Hmong deal with the social and ethnic disruptions that globalization has presented.

David Ridge, Brigham Young University Religion This paper examines 2 Samuel 11 in light of a broadened understanding of the betrothal type-scene first identified by Robert Alter. The definition of type-scene in this context is broadened by comparative study with another feature of traditional narrative, the “theme” identified by Albert Lord as a significant characteristic of oral narratives. Examining the theme and type- scene together allows for a better definition of type-scene which leads to the identification of previously overlooked type-scenes. It is argued that 2 Samuel 11 contains all the elements and key- words necessary to be a type-scene of the betrothal journey narrative type; creating a literary relationship between this passage and the betrothal narratives of the patriarchs including those of Isaac in Gen 24, Jacob in Gen 29 and Moses in Exodus 2. Utilizing this approach allows for a clearer understanding of the textual depiction of David and his actions in the Hebrew Bible, a new understanding of the intertextual relationship between 2 Samuel 11 and narratives in Genesis and Exodus, and a broader and more valuable understanding of narrative structures within the Hebrew Bible.

Abbie Black, Brigham Young University History Wet-nursing, a common practice in early modern England, was looked upon as a respectable source of income for women until the latter half of the eighteenth century. Scholars and doctors criticized the practice in both moral and medical terms, which influences how scholars analyze the occupation today. Constant attacks on the occupation continued until the practice was associated with lower class, sinful women; the practice all but disappeared by the early twentieth century because of the negative rhetoric and the advances in safe synthetic feeding practices. Historical scholarship reflects the negative rhetoric that was prevalent for the past two centuries; they forget to mention that wet-nurses continued to be essential to Early Modern English culture and Victorian families. Both the employer family and wet-nurse relied on this labor; families with an at risk child needed the labor of the wet-nurse, and the wet-nurse needed the income for her own support. Recent trends in scholarship focus on the practice from the top down as an institution rather than an occupation for individuals. I intend to fill this gap in scholarship by focusing on the wet-nurse as an individual functioning independently from the increasingly negative rhetoric during the mid-nineteenth century.

Susie McGann, Brigham Young University Humanities As the American economy changes, jobs are becoming increasingly more focused on teamwork, collaboration, and analytical and social skills in addition to technical skills. My initial hypothesis is that such knowledge and skills can be located in the category of a capacity for leadership–leadership of a sort that is of value even among entry-level professionals. These skills can be acquired through study in the Humanities. With my research, I hope to prompt change in the existing culture among students majoring in these fields so that they will begin conversations about careers earlier and more frequently among fellow students and faculty. In order to reach these goals, I collaborated with other humanities students to compile a group of individual essays that explain to undergraduates in Humanities majors how their study is preparing them to be leaders. I reviewed and edited these papers, and researched and wrote a supplicant formal essay to address current or prospective students in Humanities disciplines. The collection of papers are accessible to Humanities students through the College of Humanities as a resource written by students in their fields that explains the value of a Humanities education for life after college. I also organized and hosted an event for undergraduate Humanities students to begin a college-wide conversation about their Humanities degrees in terms of leadership.

Joshua Klein, Brigham Young University History In the last half of the 20th Century, the history of the enigmatic British intelligence community has been increasingly exposed as multiple archives have allowed access to original documents. This project involves a study of the Joint Intelligence Community, an agency created a few years before the outbreak of World War 2. The committee had the task of combining reports from the various agencies within the British Intelligence community into one cohesive report for the Chiefs of Staff and the Prime Minister. As part of a research project at Cambridge University, I acquired the primary sources (the JIC reports throughout the war) in a trip to the Kew Archive of the British National Archives in London. Because the reports represent the various agencies’ combined reports, they consequently offer a remarkable insight into the thinking of British policy makers on a week by week basis; thus, they reveal British policy makers’ information, opinions, and perceptions within the context of the war. These extraordinary sources profoundly limit historical anachronism. My discoveries reveal a plethora of inconsistencies between our contemporary understanding of British perceptions during the war and actual British perceptions during the war. Following is a brief list of these preliminary discoveries, which I hope to present at UCUR. I will discuss how these insights helps shape our contemporary understanding of British perceptions during the war. Surprising hesitancy to believe that Germany would attack Russia Over-estimation of Britain’s role in the war and a under-estimation of Russia’s role Relatively late recognition of Germany’s doomed fate on the Eastern Front Failure to recognize German potential to continue fighting as the war nears the end Severe British anxiety regarding German attempts for a peace agreement Explicit failure to identify the Nazis’ ideological motivations throughout the entire war Anti-Soviet tendencies throughout the war

Matt Cox, Brigham Young University History The role of the Magistrate or civil leader was a topic of debate in the time of John Locke and a focus of many of his political writings. Focusing on four of his main political pieces, his Essay on Toleration, a Letter Concerning Toleration, Two Treatises on Government, and Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul, I examine how he developed his ideas on the role of the magistrate and the changes that take place. I show how Locke transitions from his youthful acceptance of the absolute rule of kings to his final views where he shows how even Paul leaves room open in his epistles for disobedience to rulers. Essential in this transition is Locke’s limitation on the powers of the magistrate. In his early writings Locke allows for the use of force in protecting the overall good of the society. Locke redefines this vague role of the magistrate by limiting the power of the magistrate to acting only in the protection of the rights, liberties and property of their citizens.

Madison Mercer, Brigham Young University Anthropology Between 1964 and 1969, Spotten Cave near Goshen, Utah was excavated by Brigham Young University (BYU) archaeologists. In 1971, James M. Mock published the only official report dedicated to this site as his Master’s Thesis. This cave contained valuable artifacts that can allude to the diet and medicinal plants of the Fremont Indians and other Utah prehistoric groups. Such plant knowledge is scarce throughout the Eastern Great Basin, even among those cultural groups where much is known. Through a comparison study called ethnohistory between those living now, such as modern Gosiute, Ute, and Shoshone, with what plants have been found in human coprolites (fecal remains) from Spotten Cave, it is possible to recon- struct what plants prehistoric people may have used for food or medicine. This will provide greater insight into who lived before in the Eastern Great Basin and is helpful knowledge for those wishing to study how the Utah environment was utilized in the past.

Laura Hatch, Brigham Young University Humanities, Classics, Comparative Literature Art historians and artists have long treated linear perspective solely as an artistic technique. As defined by the Italian Renaissance, linear perspective is a tool to recreate reality on a canvas. But linear perspective carries philosophical implications, as well. Albrecht Dürer, a German Renaissance artist, seems to have understood perspective’s limitations in truth-making. In reading this image with a knowledge of Heideggerian phenom- enology, I propose that while on the surface this woodcut may seem to be nothing more than an illustration of proper technique, Dürer is actually exposing linear perspective’s failure to capture and truly represent an image as reality.

Hanna Winzenried, Brigham Young University History Red hair is one of the most rare hair colors. In fact, only two percent of the world’s population has naturally red hair. My research attempts to show how Western perception of red hair has undergone transformations over time. I seek to show how red hair has been associated with a variety of perceptions from the Middle Ages onward. This is not a comprehensive study, but one that takes a variety of primary sources to show how changing societal perceptions of red hair imbued females (and males) with a variety of traits contributing to a kind of physiognomy of hair whereby a person’s character could be read through hair color.

Megan Barber, Brigham Young University History This project investigates the British view on the Civil War in the United States. Specifically, it explores the correspondence between Richard Lyons, the British envoy to the United States, and Lord Russell, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. It charts the changing perception of Lyons’ view of the Civil War as it progressed during the first crucial year of the conflict. The Confederacy actively sought British recognition and in fact sent two representatives to the United Kingdom who were subsequently seized by a Union ship. Lyons’ role in what came to be known as the Trent Affair is known, but has overshadowed his other perceptions of the conflict. This project draws on the original PRO manuscript correspondence held in the UK National Archives in London.

Jennifer Mitchell, Brigham Young University History The science fiction television show, Star Trek, deals heavily with political issues ranging from the complexities of war to changing gender roles in American culture. My paper will discuss how the show accomplishes this successfully, particularly through the representation of historical events. The Holocaust is one example of a reoccurring theme throughout the show, an issue that is addressed appropriately when many representations of the Holocaust are so heavily criticized. This paper will examine the themes and structures of different episodes through out Star Trek: The Original Series. One episode to clearly address the anti-Semitic attitudes of the Nazi Regime, “Patterns of Force,” aired on February 16, 1968, a relatively short time after the Regime had fallen. Many of the adult viewers at this time had experienced the Holocaust in their lifetimes, directly or indirectly. An episode entitled “Space Seed” deals with eugenics and the idea of creating a super race. The episode attempts to demonstrate how those in the 23rd century may react to such practices. In “Consciousness of the King” Captain Kirk reveals that he had personally witnessed and been victim to genocide. Not only does genocide clearly connect to the Holocaust, William Shatner (the actor who portrays the Captain) is in fact Jewish. His costar Leonard Nimoy (Spock) also comes from Jewish heritage. Having two Jewish actors in leading roles adds yet another level of complexity when portraying such sensitive material. The paper will take this into account as well as other complications of representing the Holocaust in popular culture.

Charles Wilson, Brigham Young University Anthropology The purpose of this project has been to recreate a poorly understood Fremont (A.D. 300-A.D. 1300) ware known as corrugated pottery. Little is known about corrugation other than it seems to have made its appearance late in the Fremont world around A.D. 1100. Exactly how Fremont potters made corrugated pottery is a sparsely visited subject in publications. Attempting to recreate corrugated pottery, an exercise in experimental archaeology, has already suggested that corrugation was not only decorative, but played a role in the construction of corrugated vessels. Obscure practices of bygone Fremont potters will come to light as experiments progress.

Danielle Leavitt, Brigham Young University English/Russian While the former Soviet Union touted economy and a single social class, the socioeconomic differences that have emerged within Ukrainian families in the twenty years since the fall of the Soviet Union are widely unexplored. Our research comes in the form of creative nonfiction essays, which examine and contrast the everyday experience of Ukrainian families–specifically Ukrainian women–within three disparate socioeconomic classes. Based on a summer-long field study in Kiev, Ukraine living with three families in contrasting socioeconomic circumstances, our essays observe and explain facets of Ukrainian culture that are commonly misunderstood, yet deeply spiritual and culturally significant to Ukrainians. Our project explores the day to day workings of three Ukrainian families in suburban low class, urban middle class, and upper-oligarchical class, searching for stories describing quotidian life within their varying circumstances. There will be particular emphasis on the experiences of women. The project is presented in creative non- fiction essays stemming from observations, historical research, and the experience of the Ukrainians with whom I interacted. Ukraine (specifically its capital, Kiev) has a rich cultural and political history and a flowering modern culture heavily influenced by deep-rooted traditions, superstitions, and beliefs. Little creative nonfiction writing contributes to the exploration of both sophisticated and unsophisticated Ukraine. Our goal is to do just that; to delve into the human, commonplace intricacies of varied Ukrainian life through observation and writing.

Nathan Gill, Brigham Young University Geography The Africanized honeybee first entered southern Utah within the last five years. This invasive species reduces pollination and honey production and is therefore costly to the farming industry and local apiaries. Additionally, Africanized honeybees are extremely aggressive and pose a threat to the health and well-being of Utah’s residents. The aim of my study is determine if Africanized honeybee habitat in Utah can be accurately modeled through remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems analysis. Locations of known Africanized honeybee presence and absence, acquired from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s ground reference data, were used to identify the characteristics of suitable habitat. Criteria that we considered include minimum temperature, precipitation, distance to water, elevation, slope, aspect, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, among others. I have identified the conditions for suitable habitat and I am in the process of designing a model to identify Africanized honeybee habitat across Utah. After the model has been refined, it will be tested against additional locations of presence and absence acquired from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. The modeled habitat will help the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and other organizations to focus efforts to educate the public about the dangers of Africanized honeybees in specific locations that are at high risk.

Melanie Cooke, University of Utah Geography Range Creek is a small deeply incised canyon located in south central Utah. It is a remote canyon that has experienced minimal impact to its rich archaeological heritage by European-American settlers during the last two hundred years. The canyon contains hundreds of important archaeological sites and thousands of artifacts from the Fremont culture that inhabited the area from around 800 A.D. to 1350 A.D. Though work has been done on the archeological sites in the canyon, a better understanding of the paleoclimate and environment are needed to help understand why the Fremont culture disappeared so abruptly around 1160 A.D.Dendrochronology has been shown to provide excellent data for reconstruction of climatic conditions. Conifer tree species, including Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga mensiezii), are well-suited for studying past climate through the analysis of their tree rings. In this study, I use increment cores from Douglas fir to build a local history of tree-ring growth rates through time and will compare these results to regionally available climate records. By comparing changes in ring widths with weather station data, including monthly and seasonal temperature and precipitation records, I hypothesize that Douglas fir will provide a sensitive indicator of past changes in winter precipitation. Twelve tree cores collected from climatically sensitive locations during the 2012 summer are being analyzed from Range Creek Canyon. Preliminary analyses of the tree ring series suggests this study will provide a climatic history spanning the past ~300 years. Although this analysis cannot provide direct observation on climate conditions during the period of the Freemont occupation and abandonment of Range Creek, it will provide insights into the natural climate variability occurring within the Range Creek Canyon. All tree cores are being analyzed with ARSTAN and COFECHA software, commonly used by dendrochronologists, and results will be made available at the time of presentation.

Allison Fife, Utah State University History In 2004, Utah State University acquired a collection of approximately 1,200 rare volumes about the history of science and technology as a result of a bequest by Peter W. van der Pas. A Dutch immigrant and survivor of World War II, van der Pas proved to be an avid book collector and intellectual. Examining the nature and origins of this collection of rare books has permitted consideration of how this specific collection reflected the particular ambitions and needs of its creator. As a result, my pre-cataloging analysis of the books has developed into attempts to demystify van der Pas. Driven in part by an immigrant background, I believe that van der Pas used this collection both to demonstrate his worth as a scientist and engineer, and to legitimize himself in American academia. Through this sort of analysis, we begin to understand both the ways and reasons that significant book collections come into existence.

Anna Maria Guadarrama, Utah State University Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Guerrilla warfare is an ancient style of armed conflict that continues to be practiced throughout the world today. Many countries and peoples have either taken part in guerrilla warfare or have sought to counteract irregular war with counterinsurgency methods (e.g. United States). This thesis project consists of an analysis of the guerrilla warfare theories and battlefield strategies utilized by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara—the Argentine-born Cuban revolutionary considered by most people as the premier thinker on the nature of guerrilla warfare. Guevara developed his foco theory of guerrilla warfare based on the model of warfare used successfully during the Cuban Revolution, and then sought to replicate this achievement in The Congo and Bolivia. After a brief introduction on the nature of guerrilla warfare in general, the thesis proceeds to analyze the theoretical writings on guerrilla warfare by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, as seen in his seminal treatise Guerrilla Warfare: A Method (1963). The thesis then proceeds to analyze Guevara’s application of his foco theory as an on-the-ground guerrilla leader to evaluate the praxis of Guevara’s foco theory during his guerrilla campaigns in Cuba, The Congo, and Bolivia.

Summer Mosgofian-Barry, Dixie State University English-Secondary Education Even avid readers of J. R. R. Tolkien’s work may not recognize how extensively his scholarly pursuits and deep knowledge of ancient languages and legends inform his fantasy writing. As a scholar who not only gave new insight into the art of Beowulf, but also as one who proved the existence of a remnant of Old and Middle English untouched by the Norman conquest, he used his mastery of Germanic languages “Old and Middle English, Old Norse, Old Finnish, Welsh” and even his familiarity of Proto-Indo-European vocabulary, to create linguistic and narrative elements in fictional works like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The connections between his scholarly pursuits and the characters and languages he invented, such as those between Anglo-Saxon syntax and mythology and Tolkien’s idealized Anglo-Saxons, the Rohirrim, as well as those connections between Snorri’s Edda and the Elvish language Quenya, clearly demonstrate his acumen as a philologist. In fact, some of Tolkien’s Middle Earth legends were clearly inspired by his extensive knowledge of, and are even modeled after, ancient writings and legends, including Beowulf, The Wanderer, “The Maid of the Moor” and Grendel, while he also utilized kennings like those seen in, again, Beowulf, “Caedmon’s Hymn”, and Snorri’s Edda. This paper looks at multiple, though certainly not all, of Tolkien’s use of early language forms and legends and in doing so, delivers the following conclusion: Tolkien’s extensive scholarly work and love of many languages, as well as his passion for the mythology of those languages, clearly plays an integral part in his fiction.

Nina Cook, Utah Valley University History As events of the 1978 April Revolution in Afghanistan played out during the Cold War, U.S. policy makers became concerned about the Soviet sphere of influence and began to fund the Mujahedeen-rebel groups that formed in Pakistan. The Mujahedeen, inspired by jihad, remained divided across ethnic lines, began a religiously inspired struggle against Communist usurpers and oppressors. The United States saw the Mujahedeen as a useful Cold War tool in order to contain Soviet expansion and therefore throughout the 1980’s the United States continued to head the effort to supply the rebels with money and weapons. This aid was crucial in the Soviet decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and contributed to the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union. Yet, many of the Arab Mujahedeen saw this outside the Cold War context, as a victory for concepts of militant Jihad. Thus, the Soviet-Afghan war became a catalyst for the ideas of Radical Jihad, which would lead to a global holy war against the U.S and the West by the al Qaeda network, created during the Soviet-Afghan war, beginning in the 1990s. The significance of the Soviet-Afghan War, then, lies in some unintended consequences for the U.S.: Cold War containment of the Soviets in Afghanistan fueled Jihad, which in turn targeted American interests in an entirely new war.

Shannon McLean, Southern Utah University English The classical Indian writers Amaru, Bhartrhari, and Kalidasa each used the srngara rasa, or erotic mood, in their works. The srngara rasa was considered to be one of the most important aesthetics in Indian literature, and the audience was encouraged to delight in the experience they received from the erotic depictions in the poetry or play. This is very different from the Western treatment of sexuality. Typically, the erotic was discouraged, and in some cases forbidden, to be discussed overtly in poetry, books, and plays, because it was believed to cause more harm than good. I investigated the portrayal of human sexuality in the works of these three authors in order to discover whether their use of the erotic mood encouraged their audience to pursue the benefits of physical love, or whether there existed a different interpretation for its use. Although the Indian writers mentioned above were more open and accepting of human sexuality in their writings than the Western tradition, they also depicted the negative consequences that can result from the indulgence of physical love.

Garrett Faylor, Dixie State University English Bob Dylan has been called just about every name in the book: voice of a generation, beatnik, icon, songwriter, protest singer, legend, even Judas. But there is one name that people cannot seem to agree upon-poet. In “I Shall Be Free No. 10,” Dylan jokingly says, I’m a poet, and I know it / Hope I don’t blow it.” Rather than take his word for it, one might suggest looking backward to discern the verity of Dylan’s claim. Wordsworth, Shelley, and T.S. Eliot all contributed greatly to the art and our understanding of poetry. Each supplied definitions for what constitutes poetry and better yet, what exactly a poet should be and do. In his Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth explains that “[the poet] is a man speaking to men.” This, and other definitions given by some of poetry’s most notorious innovators, decisively vindicates the claims of Dylan as poet. In this paper, I will argue that not only does Bob Dylan fit into almost all literary definitions of “poet,” he is the quintessential American poet: a transcendent, folk-rooted traverser and mouthpiece “for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail.”