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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Description
The matter of legitimate ownership over cultural artifacts has always been an area of great dispute as rediscovered treasures are claimed by actors of differing cultural backgrounds rather than the original proprietors, or appropriated over time through both force and miscommunication. Recently, there has been an influx of tension surrounding this topic as more actors begin to demand the repatriation or restitution of cultural artifacts directly linked to their historical identity or tradition. Unlike prior discourses on the matter however, new arguments are being crafted that utilize both moral reasoning and political analysis to support their claims. These arguments, both new and old, are now being joined with innovative responses that are attempting to resolve disputed matters concerning the ownership of cultural heritage objects. This paper details several frameworks that are established in either moral or political reasoning as the dispute over material culture continues. These frameworks examine the benefits of both preserving the objects within the cultures they currently reside or returning them to source cultures. The paper concludes with analysis of two of the most notorious material culture debates: the Parthenon Marbles and plundered Nazi war art. These two instances not only offer unique analysis on the current arguments being employed, but also review the validity of the claim of conservation over original ownership.
ContributorsGurtler, Gina Lee (Author) / Poudrier, Almira (Thesis director) / Porter Brace, Karrie (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
De Plantis Aegypti is a medical botany text from 1592, written by Prospero Alpini in Latin. In this text, Alpini details a variety of plants native and grown in Egypt, how they are grown, how they are processed, what they look like, and what if any edible and medical uses are documented. This project focused on transcribing and editing the Latin text, translating the Latin text into English, and comparing the medical claims to the modern scientific literature. This is the first translation of this text into English or any other language. Alpini also wrote two other books, which also have never been translated. The intended goal was to demonstrate that renaissance scholars understood medicine well, if not the mechanisms through which those medicines worked. After analyzing the modern scientific literature on the plants mentioned within the text, it was found that every medical use referenced in the text was either directly supported, indirectly supported, or there was no data from the literature. In other words, none of the medical uses were found to be disproved. On the other hand, quite a few of the plants actually had similar efficacies as modern pharmaceuticals. In addition to the notes on the modern science, there are also quite a few notes based on the grammar and the orthography of the text. This project is but a sampling of the plants mentioned De Plantis Aegypti, there are dozens more, which I plan on translating and doing a similar analysis on at a later date.
ContributorsPlamondon, Ian Lee (Author) / Poudrier, Almira (Thesis director) / Bjork, Robert (Committee member) / Egmond, Warren (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This thesis assesses the existence of an advanced textile production industry, which existed in Minoan and Mycenaean societies throughout the Bronze Age. This is proved based on physical remains as well as literary and tablet sources. These pieces of evidence show the movement and use of raw weaving materials as recorded and controlled by central palace structures. Palaces would have acted at the collectors of the raw goods and would have contained the workshops needed to produce the final product. The motives behind this industry are disputed, however the could include needing textiles for warfare, religious rituals, to supply the local population, or to enable the lifestyles of the elite.
ContributorsHodge, Maria Lynn (Author) / Poudrier, Almira (Thesis director) / Serwint, Nancy (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05