JEWLScholar @MTSU

JEWLScholar@MTSU is the digital repository for Middle Tennessee State University. JEWLScholar@MTSU contains scholarly and research material from MTSU faculty, staff and students.

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Recent Submissions

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    People, Possessions, & Place: The Nineteenth Century Evolution of Stony Point, 1780-1908
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Hughes, Katherine Carson; Hughes, Katherine Carson; West, Carroll Van; Hoffschwelle, Mary; Momon, Tiffany
    This dissertation aims to examine the world of Stony Point, a historic farm property in Tennessee’s Hawkins County, by looking at people, archives, architecture, landscape, and objects as they come together in context at the site. Items including personal journals, family photographs, private letters, land deeds, wills and probate records, church and business ledgers, furniture, textiles, and tools are brought into conversation with each other by employing concepts from the fields of material culture, archives, historic preservation, archaeology, cultural landscapes, and public history. The dissertation thereby builds a more layered, textured understanding of the Stony Point property’s history and the people and things that have populated it for more than two centuries. These two centuries of history are made relevant to the present day by providing a new framework to understand the history of upper East Tennessee and connect it to our present day through both place and people: the living landscape as well as living descendants of the historical Armstrong family and household discussed in these pages.
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    Nostalgia Based Media in a Post-Postmodern World
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Sutton, Karli Lynn; Sutton, Karli Lynn; Cruikshank, Sally Ann; Woodard, Jennifer; Hall, Andrea
    This thesis examines the Netflix series Stranger Things as a contemporary case study in nostalgia, pastiche, and post-postmodern media culture. As one of the most influential nostalgiadriven television series of the past decade, Stranger Things constructs a stylized version of the 1980s that resonates with both audiences who lived through the decade and younger viewers experiencing it through mediated memory. Drawing from theories of post-postmodernism, pastiche, and nostalgia, this study explores how the series blends aesthetic imitation, cultural references, and character representation to reframe the past in a way that is emotionally meaningful, commercially strategic, and culturally impactful. Using a visual textual analysis, content was reviewed and coded across categories such as material culture, popular media references, character aesthetics, and evolving visual motifs. The analysis focused exclusively on visual cues, including settings, props, fashion, and cinematographic parallels. Findings reveal that the show consistently uses visual pastiche to evoke both direct and mediated nostalgia, relying on familiar cultural markers of the 1980s. The results also show a shift across seasons, from more subtle references toward increasingly heightened and hyperreal recreations of the decade. This study demonstrates how Stranger Things functions not only as entertainment but also as a cultural text that shapes collective memory of the 1980s. The series blends sincerity with stylization, illustrating the role of nostalgia within a post-postmodern media landscape and highlighting how contemporary audiences engage with reconstructed versions of the past.
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    Investigating the Role of the VTA and PVN in Social Motivation
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Wells, Caitlyn; Wells, Caitlyn; Rogers, Tiffany D; Galizio, Annie; Ormerod, Kiel
    Social motivation is often disrupted in neuropsychiatric conditions, and two brain regions, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), are thought to play key roles through their dopamine- and oxytocin-related pathways. However, little is known about how activating these regions directly affects social behavior, especially when effort is required. This study used optogenetics to selectively stimulate neurons in either the VTA or the PVN of adult mice and examined how this influenced a range of social and effort-based behaviors. Across tasks, stimulation of the VTA produced clear sex-dependent effects. Male mice showed increases in exploration, social approach, novelty preference, and performance on effortful tasks like climbing and pushing a weighted door. In contrast, females often showed reduced motivation under the same stimulation, suggesting that dopamine-related circuits may respond differently across sexes. Stimulation of the PVN led to more subtle effects that depended on the specific context. PVN activation influenced social behavior in certain situations, such as familiarity preference or low-effort social exploration, but did not consistently increase motivated behavior when effort demands were high.
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    RALLY CRIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THEIR IMPACT UPON SELECT UNIVERSITIES AND WHETHER THEY ARE EFFECTIVE EXPRESSIONS OF THEIR BRANDS
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Oppmann, Andrew James; Oppmann, Andrew James; Rost, Jim; Rost, Jim; Krahenbuhl, Kevin; Snead, Donald
    While slogans, taglines, sayings, credos, catchphrases, motto statements, axioms are common in higher education, some institutions have rally cries, a phrase that has found enduring resonance, transcends marketing and advertising, and has become a shared expression of identity and community. This study examines rally cries at select higher-education institutions, exploring what impact they have upon the universities they represent. It also explores whether they are effective expressions of their brands; how, or whether, such cries build community; and whether they have expanded beyond athletics and into other facets of the institution, including, but not limited to, academics, administration, alumni and advancement.
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    ORGANIC SYNTHESIS EXPLORATION THROUGH THE LENSE OF SIGNIFICANT LEARNING FRAMEWORK
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2025) Karanja, Samuel; Karanja, Samuel; Phelps, Army; Handy, Scott; Jones, Seth; Kaplan, Jennifer; Bleiler-Baxter, Sarah
    Since the discovery of Organic synthesis as a new scientific field, scientists have been able to synthesize biological and medically essential molecules in laboratories. However, the concept of Organic synthesis has been challenging for many students taking Organic Chemistry courses. Students view the course as an obstacle to overcome as they venture into their career goals. With the cognitive demand of the material appearing to be beyond most students’ reach, rote memorization is inevitable for success rather than conceptual understanding. This difficulty poses a barrier to students’ academic progress and their development as future scientists. Advancing the principles and techniques of Organic synthesis should be a fundamental priority in science, particularly in chemistry. Research in this field should not only aim at practical applications but also focus on expanding scientific knowledge. Since Organic synthesis plays a crucial role in various scientific and technological advancements, its continuous development is essential for progress in chemistry and related discipline. This study investigated the extent in which experts and novices approach Organic synthesis, as well as values and expectations they hold and how they align with significant learning framework. The implications of this study advocated for the integration of Fink’s Significant Learning Framework into Organic synthesis instruction to foster a deeper multidimensional learning experience. By addressing not only foundational knowledge and application but also integration, human dimensions, caring, and learning how to learn, this framework would support students in constructing a coherent understanding of Organic synthesis.