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Defining African American Authorship, April Quattlebaum Dec 2021

Defining African American Authorship, April Quattlebaum

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

James Weldon Johnson and Melvin B. Tolson are pivotal figures of the early 20th century. They represent a fundamental question that has been and is indeed still in the minds of African American authors: What is a Black author? African American authorship necessarily involves the challenge of forging a literary identity in the face of a society structurally and temperamentally predisposed to marginalize and dismiss them. In their creative and scholarly works, Johnson and Tolson methodically dissect Black authorship, looking both to the past and to their present situation as they strive to imagine a future for African American literary …


The Last Step To Whiteness : American Jews, Civil Rights, And Assimilation, 1954-1988, Eric Morgenson Jan 2020

The Last Step To Whiteness : American Jews, Civil Rights, And Assimilation, 1954-1988, Eric Morgenson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the relationship between American Jews and African Americans through the prism of evolving Jewish whiteness. In the post-World War II period, American Jews were an outsider group that were moving into the mainstream. American Jews interested in assimilating tied themselves to the cause of African American civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s. This was partially motivated by a desire to help an oppressed minority work towards equality in the United States. However, it was also motivated in part by a desire to aid in their own assimilation process. The idea of creating a colorblind American society …


"True Principles Of Liberty And Natural Right" : The Vermont State Constitution And The American Revolution, Kevin R. Ingraham Jan 2018

"True Principles Of Liberty And Natural Right" : The Vermont State Constitution And The American Revolution, Kevin R. Ingraham

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Vermont state constitution was the most revolutionary and democratic plan of government established in America during the late eighteenth century. It abolished adult slavery, eliminated property qualifications for holding office, and established universal male suffrage. It invested broad power in a unicameral legislature, through which citizens might directly express their will through their elected representatives. It created a weak executive with limited power to veto legislation. It mandated annual elections for all state offices, by which the people might frequently accept, or reject, their leaders. It thus established a participatory democracy in which ordinary citizens enjoyed broad access to …


On The Fringes Of The Cold War, Shangri-La, And American Consciousness : Lowell Thomas, Lowell Thomas, Jr., And Tibet, 1949-1970, John Franklin Ansley Jan 2016

On The Fringes Of The Cold War, Shangri-La, And American Consciousness : Lowell Thomas, Lowell Thomas, Jr., And Tibet, 1949-1970, John Franklin Ansley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines Lowell Thomas’s 1949 trip to Tibet, its political implications, what Thomas did to raise awareness for Tibet in the US, and how he helped Tibetans over the last few decades of his life. Lowell Jackson Thomas (1892-1981) became a household name as a newsman, writer, lecturer, explorer, and entrepreneur. His passion for exploration and public speaking led him to crisscross the globe in search of his next big story. One of Thomas’s goals as an explorer was to visit Tibet. After decades of attempting to reach the mecca of travelers, he spent several weeks traveling to Lhasa …


Desideratum, Laurie Buckley Jan 2014

Desideratum, Laurie Buckley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

"Desideratum" is a fictional account of a family of addicts, alcoholics, and cannabis users spanning from the mid-eighties to present time; it attempts to accurately depict a common conflict between individuals within a society and the laws by which they are unable to adhere to due to a biological imperative to self-medicate with addictive substances. This work follows two members of the Millbrook family to a rehabilitation center, and a third into chemotherapy treatment in an attempt to highlight both recreational and medicinal uses for cannabis. It explores the world of illicit drug consumption, cultivation, and dealing amid a contemporary …


Art Of State / State Of Art : The European Tours Of Martha Graham And Her Dance Company, 1950-1967, Ileana Camelia Lenart Jan 2014

Art Of State / State Of Art : The European Tours Of Martha Graham And Her Dance Company, 1950-1967, Ileana Camelia Lenart

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Praised for inventing a new language of dance and for freeing the human body and spirit through it, Martha Graham (1894-1991) is one of the most revered artistic innovators of the 20th century. In spite of the complexity of her art and persona, the scholarly work devoted to her reflects a fascination with "Graham the artist", limited to the "magic years" of the thirties and the forties, considered the peak of her artistry and "technique" dance innovation. The rest of her long life and artistic career have not been not thoroughly explored by dance historians, since they unjustly assume this …


Security, Prestige, And Realpolitik : Sir Eyre Crowe And British Foreign Policy 1907-1925, Patricia Lynn Pillsworth Jan 2013

Security, Prestige, And Realpolitik : Sir Eyre Crowe And British Foreign Policy 1907-1925, Patricia Lynn Pillsworth

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Sir Eyre Crowe is known to historians primarily as the author of the 1907 Memorandum on French and German relations in which he concluded that Britain must maintain the Entente with France because Germany's aim was to gain hegemony over Europe. He was also arguably the central figure of the British Foreign Office for the first two-and-a-half decades of the twentieth century, and his career in the Foreign Office spanned forty years.


"The Centre Of Our Union" : George Washington's Political Philosophy And The Creation Of American National Identity In The 1790s, Ryan Staude Jan 2013

"The Centre Of Our Union" : George Washington's Political Philosophy And The Creation Of American National Identity In The 1790s, Ryan Staude

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

For most of his presidency (1789-1797), George Washington worked to establish the federal government's legitimacy in the eyes of America's citizens while trying to gain international respect for the new nation. Although there was a broad elite consensus at the start of the decade it quickly dissipated in the face of basic questions about the federal government's power and scope of authority. Domestic political issues became entangled with foreign policy problems to create an intractable divide between opposing groups of Americans termed the Federalists and the Republicans. The two parties contended to see not only who would administer the government, …


"That Business My Father Did" : Suicide In For Whom The Bell Tolls, Jennifer R. Mazujian Jan 2013

"That Business My Father Did" : Suicide In For Whom The Bell Tolls, Jennifer R. Mazujian

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Hemingway's death was a shock to the world in 1961. A few days after his death, critic Edmund Wilson wrote, "It is as if a whole corner of my generation had suddenly and horribly collapsed" (qtd. in Walsh). Those who knew him described him as full of vitality and zeal for living. During his lifetime he created a "larger than life" persona, adopting the nickname "Papa," portraying himself as a universal father. He put his distinct mark on American literature and created a unique style which is almost universally recognizable. He wrote and lived as a man who had conquered …


The Tri-River Region : The Geographic Key To Lasting Change In Ireland, Eugene Ryan Fitzpatrick Jan 2012

The Tri-River Region : The Geographic Key To Lasting Change In Ireland, Eugene Ryan Fitzpatrick

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research aims to identify the geographic area between the Nore, Barrow, and Suir rivers as the primary gateway for significant permanent changes to the Irish cultural landscape between the fourth and sixteenth centuries. This has been done by examining the successive waves of invasion which have swept over the island, and noting the high frequency with which many pivotal events have occurred in the region. Christianity, the Vikings, continental Church reforms, the Norman invasion, and many subsequent repercussions by English administrators, entered into Ireland through this area first. Upon examination, it becomes clear that Ireland possess a geographic corridor …


Divided On Unity : The Competing Strategies Of The Republican And Nationalist Movements During The Northern Irish Troubles, Matthew James Roche Jan 2012

Divided On Unity : The Competing Strategies Of The Republican And Nationalist Movements During The Northern Irish Troubles, Matthew James Roche

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Divided on Unity:


An Incarcerated Republic : Prisoners, Reformers, And The Penitentiary In The United States, 1790-1860, Jonathan Nash Jan 2011

An Incarcerated Republic : Prisoners, Reformers, And The Penitentiary In The United States, 1790-1860, Jonathan Nash

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The dissertation focuses on Pennsylvania and New York state prisons, and their inmates, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. After the American War for Independence, politicians and reformers influenced by Christianity, Enlightenment philosophy, British prison reformers, and their personal experiences, replaced public punishments with incarceration at hard labor. Prisoners at the first Pennsylvania and New York state prisons maintained their pre-incarceration customs, formed communities of opposition, resisted confinement, and by the late 1810s and early 1820s, had largely taken control of the prisons. Reformers responded by formulating new architectural designs and stricter disciplinary regimens. At New York's antebellum …


Photosynthesizer : A Novel, Naoko K. Selland Jan 2010

Photosynthesizer : A Novel, Naoko K. Selland

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Photosynthesizer - A Novel