Digital Commons Network^™

Abused Children In Two Faulkner Novels, Teresa Moore

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

To William Faulkner, art must bolster man; it must somehow remind man of those truths toward which his race has struggled and must continue to struggle if life is to have meaning and significance. Faulkner's works meet this aim by dramatizing the conflict individuals face if they seek to wrench from life a morality that allows them placement within the larder human community.

Both The Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom! require a re-examination in light of Faulkner's artistic aim. For at the center of both novels are children inescapably threatened by a corrupted moral tradition--a decayed antebellum southern …

The Public Career Of Maurice Hudson Thatcher, Randy Ream

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The public career of Maurice Hudson Thatcher was wedded to one of the most interesting epochs in Kentucky history and Kentucky politics. From 1895, with his election as county clerk of Butler County, to his defeat for the United States Senate in 1932, Maurice Thatcher was intimately involved in almost every statewide political campaign. He participated in the rise of the Republican party to a point where it was a definite force in state politics and won almost as many statewide races as it lost. He also participated in the party’s relegation to minority status with the advent of the …

"No Bob Yet" A Collection Of Narratives From Nobob, Kentucky, Keith Ludden

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Transcribed naridtives from the community of Nobob (Barren County), Kentucky, and its surroundings. The narratives were tape recorded between October, 1977 and November, 1978. Interpretation is offered in the form of an introduction, which includes a brief history of the area and a discussion of genre and annotations to the narratives. Annotations make use of standard bibliographical reference works and archival sources available at Western Kentucky University.

The narratives are divided into legend, tale, and personal experience stories. A number of the narratives refer specifically to the Great Depression. The collection seeks to particularly demonstrate the presence of valuable historical …

Fiddle Songs And Banjo Songs: A Description Index, Gilbert Wayne Howard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

English-language texts associated with fiddle and banjo in the southern United States are described and then indexed for comparative reference. The fiddle songs are typically humorous, very brief, highly variable and disunified. The same is true of many banjo songs associated with the banjo. Ballads in the fiddle and the banjo repertory are not indexed if previously catalogued by Child or Laws.

Fiddle and banjo songs are defined as texts associated with fiddle or banjo playing, either through instrumental accompaniment or because informants mentally associate them with the fiddle or banjo. Various ways of performing the songs are enumerated, with …

Analogues Between The Homeric & Preoperational Conceptions Of Mind, Robert Taylor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Jean Piaget and Eric Havelock are two writers who have essentially identical conceptions of the nature and development of ideas and the mind. This essential identity is the case even though Piaget is studying the cognitive development of the individual preoperational child, while Havelock is studying the development of the Homeric Greek mind and ideas in relation to the oral processes of communication which existed in Homeric Greece. Both the Homeric and the preoperational conceptions of the mind are examined in regard to the content and form of their ideas, as well as to the mechanisms of their development.

Both …

Narrative-Rhetorical Structures In Revelation: Developing A Thematic Model, J. Webb Mealy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The rhetoric of narration employed by John in the composition of Revelation was analyzed as a key to interpretation. This analysis was carried out in the context of two test passages, 20:11-21:10 and 6:1-8:5. in the first passage, the single vision-scenes of the Last Judgment (20: 11-15) and the descent of the New Jerusalem (21:1-10) were examined for internal structure and mode of narration, and each was found to be structured in a relatively static, pictorial and descriptive mode rather than a temporal, event-oriented mode. Certain commonly alleged anomalies in the order of the text and other exegetical problems were …

A Sourcebook For The Interpretation Of Traditional Dance By Outdoor Museums & Historic Sites, Jan Alm

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Folklife scholars often produce work which is valuable to outdoor museums and historic sites. Folklife scholars deal with functional, contextual, emic, and interdisciplinary studies--all approaches which produce valuable interpretive data for museums and sites. This thesis is an example of folklife work designed for use in the museum field.

Outdoor museums and historic sites are increasingly involved with the interpretation of social and emotional life. Because it is a social and emotional event, dance can be a valuable part of this interpretation.

Sites and museums developing programs of traditional dance interpretation may find it helpful to follow several steps: 1.) …

The Three Bartlebys Of Melville’S Tale, Gail M. Kienitz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A study of any one of Herman Melville’s works is bound to be a fascinating and informative venture. Within the products of his prolific writing career are keen, precise, enlightening observations about nineteenth-century America. Religion, politics, business, literature, and philosophy are all within the realm of Melville’s careful consideration. Melville was a man who reacted to his world with intense curiosity and passion. Melville was also extremely introspective – searching, questioning, and examining himself with equal intensity.

“Bartleby the Scrivener” offers an interesting synthesis of Melville’s double vision. Within the confines of this tale are Melville’s reaction to his world …

The American Liberalism Of Eleanor Roosevelt, Janet Wolfe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A biographical study of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt was undertaken to explore the various obstacles she was required to overcome as she grew to become an influential figure in the world of liberal politics. During the New Deal years her influence was most visible as she traveled across the country and relayed to her husband the concerns of the average man. As a delegate to the United Nations, after the death of her husband, Eleanor's devotion toward attaining a United Nations which would keep peace among all nations and her ability to carry out tasks in a patient and …

Personality & Characterization In Cantos I-Xvii Of The Cantos Of Ezra Pound, Gary Hottinger

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Examining the modes of characterization and the types of personalities evident in the first seventeen cantos of The Cantos of Ezra Pound, one can perceive that Ezra Pound felt he was composing an epic which was to revitalize for the present the best minds of the past. Pound's method of revitalization has a close affinity Co the doctrine of effluences in Longinus on the Sublime, a classical work of literary criticism. The personalities Pound employs in The Cantos fall into three broad categories: gods (deific), legends (archetypal), and men (historical). By applying Pound's neo-Platonism to their organization, one …

Folklore, Folklife & Still Photography: A Synergetic Approach, Debbie Gibson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In 1973 folklorist Jan Brunvand presented a definition of modern folkloristics that challenged folklorists to take an eclectic approach to the study of traditional culture by employing theoretical and methodological approaches from a variety of disciplines including communications. This thesis represents one effort at addressing part of this challenge by discussing specific folklore and folklife objectives and how still photography can be incorporated in the research process.

Chapter one includes a brief overview of how still photography has been used in social science research, emphasizing use of the camera for examination and communication. Chapter two examines the photographic "moment" and …

The 1938 Kentucky Senate Election: Alben Barkley, The New Deal & The Defeat Of Governor A.B. "Happy" Chandler, Walter Hixson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Analysis showed that the 1938 Kentucky State primary became the focal point of a national political struggle over the New Deal. The Kentucky campaign was the most significant of the mid-term elections which represented a major test of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's political strength. Senate Majority Leader Alben W. Barkley gave unwavering support to Roosevelt and the New Deal while his opponent, Kentucky Governor Albert B. Chandler, represented conservative Democrats who sought to wrest control of the party from Roosevelt. The clash of two powerful Kentucky politicians and the widespread use of federal and state patronage distinguished the campaign. Barkley's …

A Case Study: Neighborhood Ii Conservation Plan, Alice Brooks-Giles

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was initiated to demonstrate how declining neighborhoods can be revitalized through the cooperation and Partnership of local residents, financial institutions, and local government. The Neighborhood II Conservation Plan assumes that interested and informed residents can plan their own environment just as they plan their own family affairs and budget their incomes. The plan further assumes that residents working together as a team can revitalize their neighborhood at the point of decline. This study pursues various approaches to neighborhood preservation which may be useful to other cities.

They'd Have The Biggest Time You Ever Saw: Square Dances As Settings For Community Social Interaction In Trigg County, Kentucky Ca. 1920-1979, Elizabeth Harzoff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focuses upon dance events, those occasions which have as their purpose the convening of persons to square dance or play party games which resemble square dances. Four different forms of these events were identified in Trigg County, Kentucky: neighborhood dances, play-parties, picnics and barbecues and public dances. I have described them from a historical perspective, examining the social interactions that occurred during the events.

The major portion of the information presented was gathered through interviews with current and past residents of this county. The descriptions span the years from the turn of the twentieth century to the 1970s. …

Cincinnati Theater 1918-1919: A Season Of Burlesque, Vaudeville & Legitimate Entertainment, Paul Thomas

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The legitimate theater, vaudeville, and burlesque presentations that composed the 1918-1919 theatrical season in Cincinnati, Ohio, were investigated. In order to understand the business practices that brought performers and productions to the Queen City, a study of the various entertainment circuits and the power brokers who controlled them was included. Cincinnati and its climate for professional entertainment in 1918-1919 also warranted attention. Such items as the theaters that housed the entertainment, the transportation systems that brought patrons to the entertainment, and the competition that rivaled the entertainment were probed so hat the foundations of the 1918-1919 season might he understood. …

Thomas Jefferson And The West, Denise Baker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

From his childhood on the fringe of the Virginia frontier until his years of retirement at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson displayed a special interest in the vast expanse of land stretching westward. The land provided the ideal place for the expansion of Jefferson’s dream of an American empire for liberty. He viewed the continent as the home of an agrarian nation living under the principles of democracy.

Chapter one is introductory in nature, linking Jefferson’s ideals to his interest in the West. Chapter two concentrates on his early contributions to the West. Emphasis is placed on land speculation, the western land …

A Comparison Of Book Choices Of Fifth-Grade Pupils Today With Those Of A Generation Or More Ago, Anita Sanders

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Questionnaires containing the names of ten books, two series, and spaces for titles to be written in were distributed to 482 fifth-grade pupils to obtain data on the following questions: Are trade books that were popular with fifth-grade pupils a generation or more ago maintaining their popularity: Which new titles of children's books have emerged and gained popularity? Are selected series books popular with today's fifth-graders? To what extent do reading interests of boys and girls differ at the fifth-grade level? Interest scores were computed on all titles rated by as many as ten subjects Only King of the Wind …

The Effect Of Summer Recess On The Reading Achievement Of Title I Students At L.C. Curry School, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Virginia Scheider

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the study was to determine if there were significant differences between spring reading achievement scores and fall reading achievement scores in the Title I students of L. C. Curry School, Bowling Green, Kentucky, and if significant differences did occur, were these differences related to grade level, IQ, sex, or reading achievement level.