Digital Commons Network^™

Fatherhood And Fatherland In Chimamanda Adichie's "Purple Hibiscus"., Audrey D. Peters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purple Hibiscus, a novel by third-generation Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie, appears at first glance to be a simple work of adolescent fiction, a bildungsroman in which a pair of siblings navigate the typical challenges of incipient adulthood: social ostracism, an abusive parent, emerging desire. However, the novel's setting-a revolutionary-era Nigeria-is clearly intended to evoke post-Biafra Nigeria, itself the setting of Adichie's other major work, Half of a Yellow Sun. This setting takes Purple Hibiscus beyond the scope of most modern adolescent fiction, creating a complex allegory in which the emergence of self and struggle for identity of the …

A Tumultuous Tenure: The Presidency Of Lyndon Baines Johnson., Michael Paul Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a work that focuses on how significant the press was to the success and failure of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. In the thesis, three aspects of the Johnson years are analyzed. The first chapter discusses the media's portrayal of Lyndon Johnson during the presidential campaign of 1964. The second chapter is an analysis of how the press reported on President Johnson concerning the issue of civil rights. The third chapter dissects the media's perception of Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam conflict. The primary research used in the thesis is a culmination of polls, editorials, personal letters, and …

The Mcfarlands: "One Season"., John Edwin May

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is in support of the Master of Fine Arts exhibition entitled The McFarlands at East Tennessee State University, Slocumb Galleries, Johnson City, Tennessee, November 5^th - 9^th, 2007. This artist's photographic survey, which lasted approximately two years, investigated the lifeworld of a family in a rural Appalachian town. His photographic work depicts the subjects working on their farm growing tobacco and their relationships within the family unit.

The artist discusses his work in terms of historical and contemporary influences with an emphasis on the relationship to the work of Lewis W. Hine, Wright Morris, …

Reverbotone - Visualize Music With Design., William Baxter Bledsoe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was written as a supporting paper for a graphic design exhibit for a Master of Fine Arts Degree. The focus of my work is to visualize an interpretation of a collection of songs that make up an album in which the design communicates the content of the body of music.

This thesis showcases a record that actually exists but has never been released. This affords me the opportunity to create a design that defines the content of the record work in a visual manner. This thesis paper covers the methods and motivations by which I arrived to the …

Political Accommodation: The Effects Of Booker T. Washington's Leadership And Legacy On Tuskegee University And The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment., Dominique Dubois Gilliard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this re-evaluation of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, I identify the original causes that made the Study emerge, examine why the intent of this research shifted over time, reveal the manner in which the Study was conducted, expose the role the government played in the manipulation of the Experiment, and, finally, investigate the ways, as well as the reasons, for the selection of the participants involved in the Study. After exploring the Experiment itself, I investigate the lasting effects of it on the community in which it occurred and the ways in which it further affected the relationship between African …

To End In Silence., Justin R. Hammer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition, To End In Silence, at the Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, March 15-19, 2010. The exhibit consists of fourteen pieces, which are either presented on pedestals or mounted on the wall.

To comment on the title of my thesis, it is a description of the state of calm that I strive to embrace during the creation of my work and the unobtrusive yet engaging tone that I hope for each finished composition to project. This paper explores the aesthetic and conceptual transitions in my work, inspired by a period …

Morphisms., Samuel W. Crowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I discuss my Master of Fine Arts exhibition, Morphisms, hosted by Slocomb Galleries on the campus of East Tennessee State University March 22 through March 26, 2010. The exhibit includes works created during the artist's three year study at East Tennessee State University.

The exhibition consists of works that address the projection of human qualities on domesticated animals and the projection of animal qualities onto mythological deities. Discussion also includes the process involved in creating the artwork as well as artistic influences in technical concepts.

The Door In The Threshold., Ani Kristine Volkan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper is the supporting document for the Master of Fine Arts exhibition, The Door in the Threshold, held in the Slocumb Galleries at East Tennessee State University from March 15-19, 2010. The exhibition contains twelve pieces of artwork, mounted on the wall. The paper expands upon such themes as memory and family as explored by the work in the gallery. The title of both the paper and show reference the impact of my Armenian heritage on my creative process. Doors in Armenian folklore were sacred places containing the threshold to the spiritual. Thus, my pieces are meant to …

Newfangled., John Daniel Simmons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper supports the Master of Fine Arts exhibition at the B. Carroll Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University, from March 9th through April 22nd, 2010. The exhibit is comprised of 62 unique ceramic pieces, which are presented on pedestals and wall mounted shelves. The exhibition presents the artist's exploration of form and surface used to create functional pottery. Topics discussed are the influences, concepts, techniques, and methods used to create the work. Included are process images, detail images, and images of selected works from the exhibition.

Compulsory Death: A Historiographic Study Of The Eugenics And Euthanasia Movements In Nazi Germany., Michael Creed Hawkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a historiographical study of the eugenics and euthanasia programs of Nazi Germany. It traces there development from the end of World War One to the fall of Hitler's Third Reich. There are three stages in this study. First, I examine eugenics after World War One and the effect the era had on society. Then I study the Nazi transition from eugenics measures to "euthanasia", and last I analyze the transferring of the killing methods from the "euthanasia" centers to the concentration camps. The questions of how did the idea for eugenics develop in Germany society, what role …

Protest Music Of The Vietnam War: Description And Classification Of Various Protest Songs., Amanda Marie Carr-Wilcoxson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Vietnam War and subsequent protest movement remains one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. history. This thesis is an attempt to define and describe the protest movement as well as the varied popular protest songs that came from this era. Building on a previous study written by Elizabeth Kizer, this thesis creates sub-categories in which the protest music falls into.

The first two chapters of this study help by giving historical context to the songs by describing the Vietnam War and then the protest movement in the U.S. The final chapter then deals with popular protest songs that …

Hamlet From The Stage., David Blair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hamlet From The Stage is a video production designed to be an extra feature on the DVD video of the stage production of Hamlet, performed by the Division of Theatre and Dance at East Tennessee State University, and filmed by the Department of e-Learning during the Spring Semester of 2009. Hamlet From The Stage is a professional interview style video package of the cast of Hamlet designed to help inexperienced collegiate actors learn some useful tools when approaching a Shakespearean audition or performance. This video package represents over eleven months of production: concept, writing, set design and studio setup, interview …

Black And White On Black: Whiteness And Masculinity In The Works Of Three Australian Writers - Thomas Keneally, Colin Thiele, And Patrick White., Matthew Israel Byrge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

White depictions of Aborigines in literature have generally been culturally biased. In this study I explore four depictions of Indigenous Australians by white Australian writers. Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1972) depicts a half-caste Aborigine's attempt to enter white society in a racially-antipathetic world that precipitates his ruin. Children's author Colin Thiele develops friendships between white and Aboriginal children in frightening and dangerous landscapes in both Storm Boy (1963) and Fire in the Stone (1973). Nobel laureate Patrick White sets A Fringe of Leaves (1976) in a world in which Ellen Roxburgh's quest for freedom comes only through …