Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- Creators: School of Social Transformation
- Creators: Mack, Robert
Description
Genocide studies have traditionally focused on the perpetrator’s intent to eradicate a particular identity-based group, using the Holocaust as their model and point of comparison. Although some aspects of the Holocaust were undoubtedly unique, recent scholars have sought to challenge the notion that it was a singular phenomenon. Instead, they draw attention to a recurring pattern of genocidal events throughout history by shifting the focus from intent to structure. One particular branch of scholars seeks to connect the ideology and tactics of imperialism with certain genocidal events. These anti-imperialist genocide scholars concede that their model cannot account for all genocides, but still claim that it creates meaningful connections between genocides committed by Western colonialist powers and those that have occurred in a neoimperialist world order shaped according to Western interests. The latter includes genocides in postcolonial states, which these scholars believe were shaped by the scars of their colonial past, as well as genocides in which imperial hegemons assisted local perpetrators. Imperialist and former colonial powers have contributed meaningfully to all of these kinds of genocides, yet their contributions have largely been ignored due to their own influence on the creation of the current international order. Incorporating the anti-imperialist perspective into the core doctrine of genocide studies may lead to breakthroughs in areas of related policy and practice, such as prevention and accountability.
ContributorsParker, Ashleigh Mae (Author) / Thies, Cameron (Thesis director) / Sivak, Henry (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
After giving birth, protections are essential to provide a mother with the time and ability to support her new child. There are several considerations for policy makers when they establish a maternity leave policy that best facilitates bonding, wellbeing, and the health of the mother-infant dyad. Within Switzerland, maternity leave policy permits fourteen-weeks of paid leave, including an optional two week unpaid extension. To understand how Swiss women are experiencing the current maternity leave policy, a scholarly database search was conducted and six interviews were held with stakeholders in Switzerland. Several themes emerged through the interviews, particularly, the mother-infant dyad, and the mental & physical health of the new mother. Stakeholders found the current leave policy within Switzerland may be sufficient, on average, to support women’s physical healing post-birth. However, it may act as a barrier for mental health interventions, and achieving breastfeeding goals which benefit both mother and child. Several stakeholders suggested lengthening maternity leave to remove these barriers. This study emphasizes the need for policy makers to consider the complex impacts of maternity leave policy on not only the health of the child, but also the mother.
ContributorsClifford, Sarah Elizabeth (Author) / Hinde, Katie (Thesis director) / Bond, Angela (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Substance use during adolescence is a significant predictor of developing a later substance use disorder. An encouraging trend is that there have been recent declines in rates of adolescent substance use, including alcohol and marijuana. However, these two substances may be decreasing differently from one another as a result of age, period, and cohort effects. Therefore, the overall trend of decreased substance use in more recent generations of adolescents may be greater for one substance than the other. The current study tested declines in adolescent alcohol and marijuana use across two generations measured in 1988-1990 and 2006-2012. Methodological strengths include controls for demographic characteristics and for parental alcohol disorder (as a proxy for genetic risk). Moreover, we tested whether findings would replicate using two methods—first comparing all assessed members of one generational cohort with all assessed members of the other generational cohort, and then comparing only matched parent-child pairs. Testing this second matched sample removes some potential demographic and risk confounds that might occur across cohorts in typical epidemiological studies. Results demonstrated that the younger cohort of adolescents used both substances less than the older cohort, and this effect was stronger for alcohol than for marijuana. These results were replicated in both samples over and above demographic variables. The parent-child sample showed that children used less alcohol and marijuana than did their parent during the same age period, suggesting that these trends cannot simply be due to changes in the demographics of the adolescent population over time. Taken together with epidemiological studies, these findings suggest encouraging declines in adolescent substance use rates but also indicate less decline in marijuana use compared to alcohol use. This prompts further surveillance to determine if marijuana use rates may start increasing among adolescents in the future.
ContributorsWatters, Shannon Marie (Author) / Chassin, Laurie (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Whether fights to the death, or a masked murderer chasing an unwilling teen, viewers are seemingly drawn to human suffering. This thesis will examine the blurring of lines between traditional horror and crime films to better understand how both films provide a similar experience, as well as apply traditional film theories on pleasurable viewership to both genres, in an attempt to discover viewers’ attraction to the perverse.
ContributorsBenavidez, Markus A (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Mack, Robert (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The completion of this thesis analyzes the growing influence of social media in criminal cases. As social media has made a growing impact on our society, it by virtue is also impacting courtroom outcomes. This paper explores five current criminal cases, in which the primary component of evidence was usage of social media. The primary component of evidence was derived by social media and was used to determine the verdict of a case. Using a case study methodology, each case was analyzed in terms of how it was used in court, how social media influenced the final verdict, and possible justice implications. The findings of this paper determined how “beyond reasonable doubt”, authenticity, and reliability were the main issues that emerged when using social media as primary evidence. This project discusses how the given issues leave reason for questioning, and how it plays a part in the judicial implications that come along with using this kind of evidence. Overall, the findings demonstrated how the questions of reliability, that social media entails, create problems within the courtroom requiring judicial interpretation and decision making.
ContributorsSaigh, Alexa M (Author) / Broberg, Gregory (Thesis director) / Mayhall, Jeff (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis explores the connection between how the stigmatization of mental illness may be perpetuated by health care workers and the effect this has on individuals using mental health care services, focusing on how it negatively impacts the outcome of treatment. Much research and studies have been done on the topic of stigma, but few have surveyed how mental health care service users are directly impacted by stigma, specifically from members of the health care community. The Tempe Mental Health Court, a local alternative program for individuals who have diagnosed serious mental health issues and have committed misdemeanor offenses, is an exemplar of a treatment program that may be impacted by this stigma. Literature research collected for this paper analyzed how stigmatization is perpetuated through actions and words, and how this negatively impacts the stigmatized. Additionally, research was also gathered on how mental health care workers may play a part in the stigmatization of mental illness. A survey based off of The Stigma Scale developed by Michael King and his associates was administered at the Mental Health Court to be taken by participants of the program (2007). The survey aimed to figure out whether stigma was present at the court, if so, how it was being presented, and what role health care professionals and other members of the court had in perpetuating it. The survey was administered online and totaled 30 questions. Afterwards, survey data was compared and analyzed to the information gathered through literature research. Solutions for intervening in the stigma were derived from the survey as well as outside research. Based on these survey results as well as the outside research conducted, proposals for further research were suggested at the end of this paper.
ContributorsBoon, Jessica (Author) / Broberg, Gregory (Thesis director) / Kane, Kevin (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Shifting gender roles and deviations from societal norms are exemplified in portraits created by queer women artists active during the early twentieth century. A transformative period for women, the beginning of the twentieth century brought the concept of the New Woman to the fore and provided opportunities for independence and self-expression for women. The New Woman is a term from the late nineteenth century, referring to women who were less interested in marriage and raising families and more interested in access to jobs and education. Through self-portraits and portraits of women in their circles, artists represented gender expression including androgyny and performative cross-dressing as declarations of queer women’s identity. This thesis focuses on works by the painters Romaine Brooks, Gluck, Florine Stettheimer, and photographers Berenice Abbott, Alice Austen, Marie Høeg and Bolette Berg. The artists socialized in queer circles and fostered new styles and forms of gender representation. In my study I explore how each artist approached her portraits, what each was trying to convey, and how their work aligns or diverges from the queer New Woman ideal. Their identities and shared experiences, both as queer women and artists, shaped their practice.
In addition, the artists’ sexualities are reflected in their pieces through their representation of their bodies. Often, this requires the interpretation of subtle visual clues and crucial images of androgyny, cross-dressing, and the dandy aesthetic. Queer artists often embraced clothing and accessories to express their identity and signal to others adept at recognizing such identifiers that they are queer. The painter Gluck exemplifies how androgynous clothing can be used as a statement of her sexuality in self-portraits as visual signifiers to those in queer circles. Through salons held in their homes, or a hidden back room of their studio in the case of Marie Høeg and Bolette Berg, artists created communities to inspire each other’s achievements and unique styles. In this paper I intend to shed light on how the portraits I am explicating are declarations of queerness, and how they present the artists’ deviations from gender norms to the art world and broader society.
In addition, the artists’ sexualities are reflected in their pieces through their representation of their bodies. Often, this requires the interpretation of subtle visual clues and crucial images of androgyny, cross-dressing, and the dandy aesthetic. Queer artists often embraced clothing and accessories to express their identity and signal to others adept at recognizing such identifiers that they are queer. The painter Gluck exemplifies how androgynous clothing can be used as a statement of her sexuality in self-portraits as visual signifiers to those in queer circles. Through salons held in their homes, or a hidden back room of their studio in the case of Marie Høeg and Bolette Berg, artists created communities to inspire each other’s achievements and unique styles. In this paper I intend to shed light on how the portraits I am explicating are declarations of queerness, and how they present the artists’ deviations from gender norms to the art world and broader society.
ContributorsAnderson, Ruby (Author) / Fahlman, Betsy (Thesis director) / Codell, Julie (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Western culture in the United States socializes men into traditional (hegemonic, toxic) masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). Traditional masculinity remains largely unquestioned as “it’s just the way things are” (Best, 2001; Howes, 2017), unchallenged (Beauvoir, 1953; Migliaccio, 2009), and unreplaced. I conceptualize a novel solution to replace traditional masculinity by promoting visionary masculinity within visionary spaces. I then analyze two spaces by which men are attempting to question and replace traditional masculinity against my two concepts (visionary masculinity and visionary spaces). Lastly, I discuss how traditional masculinity impacts both male offenders and male victims of Domestic Violence.
ContributorsGardner, Kara Diane (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis director) / Fedock, Rachel (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Personal experiences with body image dysmorphia and an eating disorder necessitated that I do a thorough investigation into why they happened and why I felt this way about my body. For this project, not only was I motivated by my own struggles, but I noticed that these experiences were shared among my family, my friends, and my fellow peers in the dance community. We had been struggling since childhood. I began to realize that these behaviors and thought patterns were manifestations of apology, an apology that women have been learning, living, and spreading since our beginnings. Why do women apologize? How does this apology affect how we view, treat, and navigate our bodies in space? In what ways can dance be the mechanism by which we remove apology and individually and collectively find joy, freedom, and liberation? Not only was I interested in understanding the ‘why’, but I was deeply interested in finding a solution. Research for this thesis came from written materials, stories that the dancers and I shared, and choreographic research in the body. The final goal was to create a community-based performance of dance, spoken word, and storytelling that demonstrated the findings from each of those questions and catalyzed a conversation about how we can liberate ourselves. We used rehearsals to explore our own experiences within apology and shame, while also exploring how the ways in which we practice being unapologetic in the dance space can translate to how we move through the world on a daily basis.
Through a deep analysis and application of Sonya Renee Taylor’s book The Body Is Not An Apology, I discovered that apology is learned. We learn how to apologize through body shame, the media, family/generational trauma, and government/law/policy. This apology is embodied through gestures, movement patterns, and postures, such as bowing the head, hunching the shoulders, and walking around others. Apology causes us to view our bodies as things to be manipulated, discarded, and embarrassed by. After recognizing why we apologize and how it affects our bodies, we can then begin to think of how to remove it. Because the body the site of the problem, it is also the site of the solution. Dance gives us an opportunity to deeply learn our bodies, to cultivate their power, and to heal from their traumas. By being together in community as women, we are able to feel seen and supported as we work through uncharted territory of being free from apology in these bodies. By dancing in ways that allow us to take up space, to be free, to be unapologetic, we use dance as a practice for life. Through transforming ourselves, we begin to transform the world and rewrite the narrative of how we exist in and move through our bodies as women.
Through a deep analysis and application of Sonya Renee Taylor’s book The Body Is Not An Apology, I discovered that apology is learned. We learn how to apologize through body shame, the media, family/generational trauma, and government/law/policy. This apology is embodied through gestures, movement patterns, and postures, such as bowing the head, hunching the shoulders, and walking around others. Apology causes us to view our bodies as things to be manipulated, discarded, and embarrassed by. After recognizing why we apologize and how it affects our bodies, we can then begin to think of how to remove it. Because the body the site of the problem, it is also the site of the solution. Dance gives us an opportunity to deeply learn our bodies, to cultivate their power, and to heal from their traumas. By being together in community as women, we are able to feel seen and supported as we work through uncharted territory of being free from apology in these bodies. By dancing in ways that allow us to take up space, to be free, to be unapologetic, we use dance as a practice for life. Through transforming ourselves, we begin to transform the world and rewrite the narrative of how we exist in and move through our bodies as women.
ContributorsWaller, Marguerite Lilith (Author) / Fitzgerald, Mary (Thesis director) / Britt, Melissa (Committee member) / Lerman, Liz (Committee member) / Dean, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This project analyzes the use of fear appeals in transmitting a moral of self-realization in the drama Oedipus Rex and its adaptations into painting and film. It draws upon earlier work in media ecology, adaptation, and studies of emotions in media. It proposes that what distinguishes media from one another is the unique way that each medium stimulates the reader to draw from their own experiences with life and literature. Alternatively, what unites media is the cross platform assimilation of author and reader reality. More specifically, it asserts that print stimulates the reader via immersion, that painting achieves this same effect by acting as a proxy for the reader to embody the image before them, and that film stimulates the viewer as a result of emotive focus. Collectively, it concludes that when it comes to Oedipus and its many forms, the plays utilize fear to communicate the moral through both surface and dense texts, while painting adaptations focus on dense texts, and the filmic adaptations emphasize their surface equivalent. The project’s significance rests in its challenge to Marshal McLuhan’s technological determinism. On exposing the effects that a reader’s varied mindset can have on a medium’s ability to communicate its message, the project highlights that the relationship between humankind and media is not so deterministic and is more complex than McLuhan would have us believe.
ContributorsHerrera, Yoslin (Author) / Mack, Robert (Thesis director) / O'Neill, Joseph (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05