Snakes in the grass is a visual research endeavour that utilises an arts and science disciplinary interface, to develop a method for generating a series of contemporary allegorical artworks that engage a study of Serpent symbolism and mythology. On the side of Trinity Catholic College beside St. Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore stands a life-sized sculpture of the Virgin Mary standing on a Serpent. Inside the school can be found a smaller version of the same sculpture, where priests and students light candles and incense, and place them around the statue. This thesis researches and questions the iconography of the ‘cursed Serpent’ as a primary signifier in the European Biblical tradition in Australia, as it stands alongside the iconography of the existing Indigenous cultures of this land, cultures that have a tradition of Serpent veneration. The intention is to identify correlations between differing cultural and social attitudes that are embedded in religious traditions, and different attitudes to the use of natural resources. Material collected through studying the history of Biblical traditions is superimposed, in a form of cultural montage, on to images of technical procedures of research undertaken by scientists researching an innovative water remediation process on Mt Carrington in northern NSW. The scientific research was focused at a disabled gold mine, where acid mine drainage contamination was severe, and represents a small yet significant example of environmental issues being faced all over the world. This research used salt water neutralised bauxite, or red mud, a waste product from aluminium mining to remediate water and soil affected by gold and silver mining. The creative process developed into a contemporary allegorical narrative that operates as a personification and an enactment of a subjective re-reading of issues surrounding Serpent symbolism and the environment. The resulting artworks include paintings, photographs and an earthwork sculpture on the mine site at Mt Carrington. These works are generated to research, focus attention on, and stimulate discussion about cultural and environmental changes and challenges in Australia.

The focal point of this study is the social status and the political status of women in Somalia as depicted in the novels of Nuruddin Farah (1945- ). Based on their roles in the novels, the female characters are classified as the traditional Somali woman who symbolizes what is now the status of women in Somalia; the, transitional Somali. woman who symbolizes what is becoming the status of women in Somalia; the liberated modern Somali woman who symbolizes what should be the status of women in Somalia; and the modern Western woman who, because of her Western values and liaisons with Somali males, serves as a contrast to the Somali woman in every classification. The study contends that changes in the status of women in Somalia are related to changing forces in Somali religion, politics and economics, while showing that Farah is justly called a feminist because of his sympathetic treatment of issues raised in African feminism, such as female genital mutilation, forced polygamous marriage, oppression of barren women, and “muledom."

This thesis looked at the concept of sonority and its influence in the acquisition of complex coda consonant clusters by ESL Spanish speakers. An experiment was performed to test the relationship between the sonority values of the segments of final complex clusters and the rate of errors. The goal of this thesis was to test the hypothesis that the Sonority Sequencing Principle was a powerful linguistic constraint that affected the acquisition of L2 phonology. The findings confirmed the idea that sonority played a crucial role in the phonological acquisition of L2 learners. Subjects reduced the least sonorant segment of the final cluster in order to achieve the minimal sonority descent. The choice of the segment couId not be a tbuted to possible Li interference since Spanish did not license complex codas and any final obstruents except /s/. The minimal sonority distance factor effected the rate of e ors. Subjects produced more errors in clusters where the sonority distance between their segments was small (e.g., one, two, and three).

The primary result of this study is to offer conclusive evidence in support of the contention that the black family concerned itself with survival, even under the most oppressive conditions. This study is limited to the state of Georgia during two specific era---1850 to 1860 and 1898 to 1908. It is composed of four chapters. The first chapter serves as an introduction. It is devoted to the historical backdrop of the events that resulted in the acceptance of slavery in the colony of Georgia. It also describes the conditions that were necessary after slavery had run its course legally in the state of Georgia, that made the convict lease system an acceptable alternative to the plantation system after Emancipation. The second chapter presents the arguments of those who supported both slavery and the lease system as well as those who opposed each system. Some social historians considered the impact that such systematic oppression had on the black family. Others only disliked slavery because of the economic implications. Opinions from both verbal camps are included. The contents of the third and fourth chapters focus on the evidence offered by those directly involved in slavery and the convict lease system of Georgia. The descriptions of the effect that each system had on the family are made available as evidence of the rate of survival of the black family under each system. Because the black slave or convict serves as descriptor, the slave testimonials, plantation records, state hearings, lease company records, farm records, and oral histories reveal the connection and distinction between both systems and how the black family fit into each of the socially oppressive institutions cited.

This study examined the language of Hip-Hop songs and ideology of the artists as reflected through their songs. The study was based on the theory that Hip-Hop or rap songs are legitimate artforms because of their use of poetic elements such as figuration, figures of sound, symbolism, and ambiguity. The study recorded and interpreted the lyrics of a few current rap songs for the purpose of investigating their poetical and ideological elements. The researcher found signification battles by some rap artists as the best examples of songs which express the richness and complexity of Hip-Hop music. The researcher found that both Hip-Hop music lyrics and standard poetry have many similarities, but also have a few different features which enhance their uniqueness. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that the main reason many critics do not consider Hip-Hop or rap music an artform, is that they either compare the music to something extremely different, or they simply do not take the time to listen to its songs. Rap Music is an artform that expresses poetic elements and utilizes electronic devices, thus making it a Postmodernist popular artform. Through the research, the researcher showed that rap music lyrics also have intense meaning, just like poetry..

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TWISTED STRAIGHT is a 103,000 word memoir, which chronicles the author’s ten-year relationship to the ebullient, witty, but destructive woman he married, and their subsequent immersion in gay culture, specifically the circuit-party scene. TWISTED STRAIGHT is set in the heyday of the gay circuit scene, and the 90s, the decade in which it became hip to be gay. It is a unique perspective on a sub-culture off limits to most heterosexual men. Just as importantly, the story describes a man’s search for himself, for a real connection with his electrifying but emotionally damaged wife, for a break from his past, and for meaning in a life buried deep beneath a lifestyle.

“Hines-sight: An Analysis of Gregory Hines’s Tap Dance Career Through News Media Coverage” evaluates the legacy and artistic impact of tap dancer Gregory Hines through research of news media coverage of Hines’s tap dance career, analysis of Hines’s style and performances through creative exploration, and a reflection on the process of creating, executing, and filming a tap dance performance inspired by Hines using findings from both the creative and news media research.

This thesis presentation will expand on my personal experience studying abroad in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. I travelled there the semester of the unexpected pandemic causing a worldwide shutdown. I take the reader through past theatrical experience and my training as an actor at ETSU. These things led me to my personal revelation of connecting art with travel and the importance of adapting in every situation. I share with the reader times of trial during my training as an artist along with lessons I learned before the ultimate expedition to Bulgaria, which tied all of the lessons into one. I reflect on what it means to be a theatre artist. I will also look into how travelling to new places has been a tool for future creative projects. With the aide of my Bulgarian and Tennessee professors I touch on Meisner’s laws of acting as well as the general idea of travelling as a tool for anyone thirsty for new perspectives.