The goal of this project was to create an illustrated story. The thesis is combination of research both on narrative theory and the process of storytelling, and different methods of narrative art. The research information obtained was used to create a body of work which was later analyzed on its successfulness at adhering to the ideas presented by the research.

Astronomy is the oldest scientific field in human history. As such, it is linked heavily with Ancient History as a central part of understanding, scientific development and cultural appreciation in the world of antiquity. The goal of this thesis will be to investigate the importance of the ancient astronomers, their discoveries, the differences in cultural understandings of the universe due to environmental and political reasons, planets and the cosmos, and the impacts their discoveries had on the ancient world. Primary sources will be various writings and documents by ancient astronomers and philosophers such as Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Plato and the Pythagorean concept. Also to be consulted will be ancient documents that explain the cosmos and nature of this universe from the cultural aspect of the Egyptian, Maya, Mesopotamian, and Hellenistic civilizations. Secondary sources will a variety of modern historical and scientific writings about the history of astronomy. These will include Astronomy of the Ancients by Kenneth Brecher and Michael Feirtag, Ancient Egyptian Science by Marshall Clagett, and A History of The Ancient Mathematical Astronomy by Neugebauer. Also included will be modern sources that explain astronomical events and notions.

This paper addresses the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness as interpreted by the fourteenth-century Tibetan Tsongkhapa. Tsongkhapa’s emptiness maintains that all phenomena are “empty” of intrinsic existence, an idea which starkly contrasts common Western worldviews that rely of belief in self-enclosed identities or souls. Here I analyze Tsongkhapa’s arguments for emptiness and relate them to the reader using examples easily understood by Western undergraduate students. I also provide several critiques of Tsongkhapa’s position and attempt to answer them according to his philosophy. This paper is aimed to be a simple, yet thorough introduction to Tsongkhapa’s philosophy of emptiness.

Salvador Dalí was an artist who existed not long before my generation; yet, his influence among the contemporary art world causes many people to take a closer look at the significance of the imagery in his paintings. For the most part, Dalí is categorized as a Surrealist artist, yet in this essay, I also plan to explore other possibilities of influence that surrounded Salvador Dalí’s generation and inspirational background. Around 1941, Dalí’s work began to shift away from Surrealism and, instead, moved toward a more Classical style that contained many religious themes, a style which he called “Nuclear Mysticism” (Taylor 2008, 8). My interest in this subject stemmed from a visit to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta to see the exhibition “Dalí: The Late Work.” This exhibition contained highly regarded paintings such as Christ of Saint John of the Cross (1951), The Persistence of Memory (1931), and The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949). Seeing these paintings caused me to consider the possible situations, groups, and events occurring in 20th-century Spain and elsewhere that could have caused this transformation in Dalí’s art. In most of our minds, Dalí was an artist who painted amorphous figures and objects that would only exist within his dreams and unconscious state; yet, Dalí’s subject matter after the 1940s showed a remarkable consideration of figures and objects that are symbolic to the fundamentals of the Catholic tradition.

This paper will argue for the use of history in prediction making, specifically in counterfactual predictions. A theory of constraints will be proposed to confidently choose between more or less plausible counterfactual predictions.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a tourist town. I was born and raised in this area, and am currently employed at a ceramics shop in the historic Arts and Crafts Community. Due to this job, I have decided to research the importance of the town and crafts area. In this paper, I will present an overview of the history of the town and its art community, and also present an inside look at life and business in a tourist town. Although the Arts and Crafts Community has grown to be a tourist attraction, its roots still lie in the traditional handmade trades, and its artisans attempt to balance the integrity of their crafts with modern demand and economic realities.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition, No Place Like It, held at Tipton Street Gallery, 126 Spring Street, Downtown Johnson City, TN, from April 2nd to April 6th. The show exhibit consists largely of drawings mostly done in graphite or charcoal, an installation piece, a quilt and found objects completed between the summer of 2010 and spring of 2012. The work uses family photos and Jackalopes to show the relationship to the artist as well as ideas about family, isolation, and identity.

Everybody lies. Everybody. The fact that everyone lies, however, is by no means a judgment; it is a good thing, a necessary thing. As far as I am concerned lying is the very foundation of our society. Nobody in the world tells the truth all the time, not because they are trying to be malevolently deceitful, of course, but out of necessity. Like the old adage says, the truth hurts. That is, in essence, the very heart of this body of work. Everyone tries so hard to not only convince others that the truth is a moral imperative, but also to convince themselves. Earth survives because it has an atmosphere;Mars hasnothing standing between it and the full of force of the Sun. A world full of truth is like life on Mars: much too harsh to survive. Were no one to ever lie again (conditioned as we are to not only ignore, but also to accept and expectthe small falsehoods that surround us at all times), the sheer force of that unbridled honesty would tear the very fabric of society apart. We have to staple our rose-colored glasses on so that the world goes down a little smoother.We lie to support modern society's obsession with things. We lie to support our reality because the lie is our reality. Deceit has become true and truth as been relegated to the world of fiction. People prefer it that way and I cannot say I blame them.

A written thesis about an exhibition of portraits. The portraits and paper discuss my relationships with the subjects and the psychological implications of being subjected to the eye of an artist.

This paper concerns operatic performance from an acting perspective utilizing the works of Constantin Stanislavsky from my personal experiences in the Opera Workshop course offered in Fall of 2011.