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Shedding Light Upon The Shadows: An Examination Of The Use Of Voice As Resistance And Reclamation Of The Black Woman From Enslavement To Freedom., Courtney Erin Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My research examines the enslaved black woman's reclamation of self through the use of voice and resistance from enslavement into freedom. I argue that the enslaved black woman's voice was one that grew stronger and louder, in an effort to have her story heard, through her attempts of reclamation of self and transition from slave to a free woman. I begin with an introduction to the purpose of my research. Chapter one describes my approach to my research. Chapter two describes the conditions of slavery for black women. Chapter three describes enslaved black women's mechanisms of resistance. Chapter four examinations …

Designed For The Good Of All: The Flushing Remonstrance And Religious Freedom In America., Tabetha Garman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On December 27, 1657, the men of Flushing, Long Island, signed a letter of protest addressed to the Governor-Director of New Netherlands. Though the law of the colony demanded otherwise, the men of Vlissengen pledged to accept all persons into their township, regardless of their religious persuasion. Their letter, called the Flushing Remonstrance, not only defied the laws of one of the most powerful, religious governors of the colonial age, it articulated a concept of religious freedom that extended beyond the principles of any other contemporary document.

Given its unique place in early American colonial history, why have historians not …

American Reeducation Of German Pows, 1943-1946., Pamela Croley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States held almost 500,000 enemy combatants within her borders during World War II. Out of those 500,000 men, 380,000 were from Nazi Germany. Nazi POWs were confined to camps built near small rural towns in almost every state. It was not something that was well known to the American public. Even less known was the American Military's effort, through reeducation, to introduce Hitler's soldiers to a new political ideology-democracy. This thesis will explore how the reeducation program was formed; examine the people, both German and American, who participated in it, and make a determination on whether or not …

Separation Of Church And State: A Diffusion Of Reason And Religion., Patricia Annettee Greenlee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of America's religious liberty was birthed by a separate church and state. As America strides into the twenty first century the origin of separation of church and state continues to be a heated topic of debate. Conservatives argue that America's version of separation of church and state was birthed by principles of Christian liberty. Liberals reject this idea maintaining that the evolution of a separate church and state in America was based on enlightened thinking that demanded rational men should have religious liberty. The best way to achieve this was by erecting a wall of separation between church …

The Life And Public Career Of Robert F. Kennedy., Daryl Anthony Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There have been many notable politicians in the United States during the twentieth century. Some, like Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, were known for their swagger and appeal to the common man. Others, like Bill Clinton and Franklin Roosevelt, were known for their charisma and intelligence. However, one in particular was known for caring, compassion, strength, and determination. Robert Francis Kennedy lived in interesting times, surrounded by large egos and near mythical figures. But Kennedy was arguably one of the most important figures of the last fifty years. The ideas and ideals that he espoused still resonate nearly forty years …

The Internal Odyssey Of Identity: James Baldwin, Go Tell It On The Mountain, And History., Brent Nelson Lamons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how James Baldwin thought about history and treats his first novel as an important document in extricating his construct of the past. A close reading of the work reveals that it is an examination rather than a symptom of two powerful forces that dominate Baldwin's psychology, his father and his history.

James Baldwin felt the individual interpretation of one's experience is just as important as the experience itself. The novel is an informative exposition of how people interpret their experience and how that interpretation affects their psychology. Through Go Tell It on the Mountain Baldwin recreates the …

Letters From The Communications Zone: Lt. Edwin Best In The Second World War., Jeremy Eugene Cobb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The subject of this paper is the experiences and observations of Lt. Edwin Best of the 618th Ordnance Ammunition Company from 1943 until 1946. This includes time in the United States, England and France.

The primary sources for this paper include letters home from Lt. Best and an oral history transcript. Secondary sources have been used to place Lt. Best into the overall context of the war.

He made keen observations regarding the level of training before D-Day, comparisons of life in England and the US, from the "communications zone" in Normandy, as a temporary Judge Advocate General officer, and …

The Development Of Apophatic Theology From The Pre-Socratics To The Early Christian Fathers., Kevin Teed Millsaps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is apparent that what is characterized as Christian Apophatic Theology has been poorly related to its antecedents existing in Greco-Roman philosophy. This study proposed the following research hypothesis: Greco-Roman philosophy exerted a structural and terminological influence upon Christian apophatic theology.

To prove or disprove this hypothesis, apophatic terminology and textual structures in Greco-Roman philosophical texts were compared to classic Christian apophatic texts, primarily from the Apostolic and Cappadocian Fathers. Throughout this process, Michael Sells' clasic definition of apophatic language, consisting of the apearance of the metaphor of emanation, dis-ontological language, and dialectical language of immanence and transcendence, was used …

The Narrative Lens: Understanding Eudora Welty's Fiction Through Her Photography., Brandon Clarke Ballentine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Eudora Welty's brief photographic career offers valuable insight into the development of her literary voice. She discovers many of the distinguishing characters of her fiction during the 1930s while traveling through Mississippi writing articles for the Works Progress Administration and taking pictures of the people and places she encountered. Analyzing the connections between her first collection of photographs, One Time, One Place: Mississippi during the Depression: A Snapshot Album, and her first collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, and Other Stories, reveals the writer's sympathetic attitude towards her characters, the prominence of place in her fiction, and her …

Reviving The Subject: A Feminist Argument For Mimesis In Literature., Messina Lyle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For centuries we have taken for granted Aristotle's assertion that fiction must encourage emotional identification by representing life realistically. With the development of a more pluralistic society, Postmodernist writiers have come to question that assumption. Having repudiated our ancestor's notions of identity, these writers create stories whose sole purpose is to comment on other stories. However, as some feminist critics have shown us, we must each have an identity in order to have the collaborative society that is the Postmodernist's goal. Therefore, the notion that a story must make a sensory impression on us and stand on its own as …

Figurative Sculpture And Social Commentary., Marty Clinton Henley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis supports the Master of Arts exhibition entitled "Figurative Sculpture and Social Commentary" at the Slocumb Gallery located on the campus of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, from April 10 - April 14, 2006. This is an exploration of human form in sculpture and the use of representational human form to make comments about society.

Dynamic Force, Motion, And Life In Digital Design., James Michael Livingston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to explore specific works that I have created as it relates to digital art and design. My works include abstract, organic objects that exist within surrealistic environments. First, I explain the dynamics of the imagery that has emerged from my career in broadcast television, my coursework in the Department of Art and Design at East Tennessee State University, and the works of fantasy, surreal, and abstract artists. In conclusion, the images discussed impose an idea of abstraction and surrealism with a sense of force, motion, life, and dynamic action.

The History Of The Development Of The Department Of Technology At East Tennessee State University (1911-2002)., Vincent Edward Banks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to produce a written account of the history of the development of the Department of Technology at East Tennessee State University, from 1911 to 2002. Information about the department's history was gathered from various sources and was then organized into a manuscript format. Throughout the document, emphasis remained on four main topic areas; significant name changes, academic/curriculum modifications, faculty changes, and other notable changes/events. This research was unique since in the department's ninety-plus years of existence, no consolidated, written account of its history had ever been created.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge And Opium., Donald John Marotta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coleridge's usual use of opium was through laudanum, a mixture of opium and alcohol. This thesis presents the history of and criticism regarding the poet's use of laudanum and the physical and emotional consequences the drug held for him and his writing career.

From Transcendentalism To Progressivism: The Making Of An American Reformer, Abby Morton Diaz (1821-1904)., Ann B. Cro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author and activist Abby Morton Diaz (1821-1904) was a member of the Brook Farm Transcendental community from 1842 until it folded in 1847. Although critics have long recognized that Brook Farm played a role in Diaz's intellectual preparation, they have not attempted to demonstrate its influence through a study of her writings.

In this study I will examine in detail two of Diaz's novels and two long essays, with passing references to other works, that reveal how the utopian socialism practiced at Brook Farm influenced Diaz as a writer and reformer. In all her writings Diaz emphasized the importance of …

Double The Novels, Half The Recognition: Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Contribution To The Evolution Of The Victorian Novel., Lori Elizabeth Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why do we read what we read? Janice Radway examines works that were not popular in an author's time period, but now are affecting the construction of the canon. In her own words, Radway seeks to "establish [popular literature] as something other than a watered-down version of a more authentic high culture [and] to present the middlebrow positively as a culture with its own particular substance and intellectual coherence" (208). Mary Elizabeth Braddon's novels were considered "middlebrow" and were very popular in Victorian England. Along with this facet, her heroines were considered controversial because they were not portrayed as what …

"Don't Believe The Hype": The Construction And Export Of African American Images In Hip-Hop Culture., John Ike Sewell Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines recurring motifs and personas in hip-hop.

Interviews with influential hip-hop scholars, writers and music industry personnel were conducted and analyzed using qualitative methods. Interview subjects were selected based on their insider knowledge as music critics, hip-hop scholars, ethnomusicologists, publicists, and music industry positions.

The vast majority of constructed imagery in hip-hop is based on a single persona, the gangsta. This qualitative analysis reveals why gangsta personas and motifs have become the de facto imagery of hip-hop. Gangsta imagery is repeatedly presented because it sells, it is the most readily-available role, and because of music industry pressures.

This …

Articulation As An Act Of Futility: A Deconstructive Exploration Of Textual Articulation As It Functions Within A First-Person Narrative Structure., Wilson Wright Onstott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The inability of language to convey complete meaning and truth is a central point of address for much post-structuralist literary theory and criticism. When these theories are applied to a first-person narrative structure, whether it is a work of fiction or non-fiction, certain specific incongruities arise. When a narrative seeks to recall certain events, a presupposed reexamination takes place as the narrative unfolds text comes into being. If a narractice is contructed in this way then the intent of the text then is to convey comprehensive meanings or truths of those cataloged experiences. According Deconstructive Theory, it is language's inherent …