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The United States' 'Empire State Of Mind:' Identity And Postcolonialism In A Post-9/11 World, Margaret Mcgill

All Theses

This thesis examines the relevance of postcolonialism in a world changed by the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, which resulted in the openly aggressive and expansive nature of the United States in the years following, seeming reminiscent of European colonialism and soundly establishing a perception of the U.S. as an empire. Comparing Junot D’az's pre-9/11 Drown with his post-9/11 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Andrea Levy's pre-9/11 Small Island with Joseph O'Neill's post-9/11 Netherland, I explore the effects and influences of the United States imperial reach that surface in post-9/11 literature to contend its overwhelming presence has …

Snaps Of Eden, Michael J. Hudson

Masters Theses

The following poems are and attempt at reclamation and reconciliation. The first section wades through the delicate subject of personal history and is an attempt to show truth as a means of both self and communal healing. The second is plaintive, a brief effort to interlope into and understand worlds outside (but not foreign) to my own. The third is a poetic essay detailing the journey of a young woman facing the horrors of an undeclared, and seemingly eternal war. The fourth and final sections serve as a means of exploration of the self and place; tackling issues of sex, …

Listening To Their Voices: Gang Members’ Perceptions Of Their Schooling And Their Teachers, Martha Wall-Whitfield

Theses and Dissertations

Although gangs have long been present, gangs exert an increasingly significant influence on the culture of students who attend schools, especially in urban environments. This case study investigation involved a purposeful sampling of four young men who were involved in gangs. By spending time with each young man in several interviews, I was able to gain insight into his perceptions of schooling, his teachers, and his view on caring in schools. The individual interviews focused on each student’s experiences in schooling through the lens of care. This research took in-depth look at these four gang members in their individual schooling …

Can We Be Forgiven?: On "Impossible" And "Communal" Forgiveness In Contemporary Philosophy And Theology, Joshua Scott Lupo

Religious Studies Theses

This essay traces two trends in current philosophical and theological debates concerning forgiveness. One, advocated by Vladimir Jankélévitch and Jacques Derrida, I label “impossible” forgiveness. The second, advanced by John Milbank and L. Gregory Jones, I label “communal” forgiveness. I explore and critically examine each of these positions in the first two sections of the thesis. In the last section of the thesis I examine a recent conversation amongst religious ethicists against the background of the theoretical conversations described in the first half of the essay. Bringing the theoretical conversation together with the religious ethicists’ conversation, I argue that whether …

"Irish Blood, English Heart": Gender, Modernity, And "Third Way" Republicanism In The Formation Of The Irish Republic, Kenneth Lee Shonk, Jr.

Dissertations (1934 -)

Led by noted Irish statesman Eamon de Valera, a cadre of former members of the militaristic republican organization Sinn Féin split to form Fianna Fáil with the intent to reconstitute Irish republicanism so as to fit within the democratic frameworks of the Irish Free State. Beginning with its formation in 1926, up through the passage of a republican constitution in 1937 that was recognized by Great Britain the following year, Fianna Fáil had successfully rescued the seemingly moribund republican movement from complete marginalization. Using gendered language to forge a nexus between primordial cultural nationalism and modernity, Fianna Fáil's nationalist project …

Ford Madox Ford's Good Soldier In A Modern World, Constance Hinds

English Theses

Ford often wrote about virtuous gentlemen ruined by the modern society he saw developing around him. While Ford Madox Ford was writing The Good Soldier, ther was a sense of displacement in England and the class system was starting to crumble. Edward Ashburnham, one of the two male protagonists in The Good Soldier, is described as a Chevalier Bayard and there are definitely some similarities between Ashburnham and Bayard. For instance, both men lived during periods of great societal change and both faithfully served their countries. However, the feudal lifestyle that was appropriate for Bayard in the fifteenth-century is unavailable …

The Culture Of Drug Use During The School Day In An Urban School System, Sari Fromson

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Highland Soldier In Georgia And Florida: A Case Study Of Scottish Highlanders In British Military Service, 1739-1748, Scott Hilderbrandt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined Scottish Highlanders who defended the southern border of British territory in the North American theater of the War of the Austrian Succession (1739-1748). A framework was established to show how Highlanders were deployed by the English between 1745 and 1815 as a way of eradicating radical Jacobite elements from the Scottish Highlands and utilizing their supposed natural superiority in combat. The case study of these Highlanders who fought in Georgia and Florida demonstrated that the English were already employing Highlanders in a similar fashion in North America during the 1730s and 1740s. British government sources and correspondence …

Death And Disengagement: A Critical Analysis Of The International Community's Intervention Effort In Darfur, Victor Hodges

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to analyze the international community's conflict management capabilities through its response to the Darfur crisis. Primarily, it aims to show through the lens of the Darfur crisis, which is widely accepted as the first genocide of the twenty-first century, that the international community has yet to develop a framework to collectively intervene in and resolve crimes against humanity. Additionally, this thesis will show the international community's recognition of their shortcomings through the gradual transformation of policies undertaken by several of its leading entities in response to the crisis. The research will pinpoint several major factors behind the …

Divining The Divine: Pop Mythology And Its Worth, James Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis compares classic mythology of cultures like ancient Greece to the mythology that has risen from the popular culture of contemporary western civilizations like America. While there are some differences, the two use the same archetypes that humanity has used for generations. In my work I use sculpture and photography to show their similarities and differences in form and story.

The Rhetoric Of Destruction: Racial Identity And Noncombatant Immunity In The Civil War Era, James M. Bartek

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores how Americans chose to conduct war in the mid-nineteenth century and the relationship between race and the onset of “total war” policies. It is my argument that enlisted soldiers in the Civil War era selectively waged total war using race and cultural standards as determining factors. A comparative analysis of the treatment of noncombatants throughout the United States between 1861 and 1865 demonstrates that nonwhites invariably suffered greater depredations at the hands of military forces than did whites. Five types of encounters are examined: 1) the treatment of white noncombatants by regular Union and Confederate forces; 2) …

A Higher Public Spirit And A Better Social Order: The Civic Club Of Allegheny County, 1895-1930, Aaron Matthew Gallogly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Civic Club of Allegheny County was an organization created in the Progressive era that confronted urban issues that plagued early twentieth century Pittsburgh. Although the club's origins were part of a long tradition of women's reform groups, this organization was a mixed-gender organization, different than most cities in the United States. The membership and leadership of the organization shifted from the active, club female to the professional male. Professionalism appealed to the members of the Civic Club because it limited decision-making to those who possessed certain qualifications. This belief helped facilitate the shift, as professionals became important to both …

A Land Fit For Heroes?: The Great War, Memory, Popular Culture, And Politics In Ireland Since 1914, Jason Robert Myers

Dissertations

Despite the fact that over 200,000 Irish men fought in the British Army during the First World War, Ireland's sizeable contribution to the war remained in the shadows of history for most of the twentieth century. This dissertation examines the cultural components of the memory of the Great War in Ireland and argues that, taken together, they constitute an alternative Irish national identity that threatened and challenged republican nationalism. These cultural components existed in the realm of vernacular memory, which lay beyond the reach of the Irish government. By examining commemorative rituals, war memorials, and popular culture, this project breathes …

Border Physician: The Life Of Lawrence A. Nixon, 1883-1966, Will Guzmán

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation centers on the life of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon, an African American physician and civil rights activist who lived in El Paso, Texas from 1910 until his death in 1966. Born in Marshall, Texas in 1883, Lawrence Nixon graduated from Wiley College in 1902 and Meharry Medical College in 1906. He then established a medical office in Cameron, Texas in 1907, but due to the racial climate and violence of central Texas he moved west to El Paso in hopes of a better life.

Although several historians have mentioned Dr. Nixon in their works, they have tended to …

The Non-Specificity Of Location In Emily Brontë'S Wuthering Heights, Brian P. Voroselo

ETD Archive

Emily Bronte's sole novel, Wuthering Heights, is unusual among nineteenth-century works due to the non-specificity of its locations. While many of her contemporaries were very specific in the use of their settings, using real place names and locations that paralleled real-life locations of the time very closely, Bronte uses details of place that make it impossible to draw one-to-one correspondence between her settings and real-life locales, and includes details that serve to remind the reader that the places in which her story takes place, and thus the story itself, are unreal. She does this in order to exert total narrative …

Shells, Joline L. Scott

ETD Archive

This thesis combines four short stories which revolve around themes of loss and disorientation. The first three stories, "Costa Rica," "Greece," and "On the Way Down to Florida" are derived from a larger work entitled GhostShells, and are connected by character development and a common mystery. The fourth piece, "Car Crash," is an independent piece that centers around a minor auto accident and the community activity it creates. All four pieces are linked by a central assertion that our physical bodies are merely shells for the souls within, and may be empty or full depending on the state of the …

Jane Austen In Contemporary Film: Interpretations And Reflections Of Austen's Novels In Contemporary Culture, Lindsay Anderson

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

There is no escaping Jane Austen. Though it has been nearly two hundred years since her death, Austen and her work continues to capture the minds and hearts of readers worldwide. Our fascination with her novels continues to grow, finding new expression in literature, television and film each year. What makes this phenomenon so interesting is the reality that Austen’s novels are so firmly “dated” – that is, so rigorously cemented and relevant to the age in which it was written. Why do readers and viewers continue to find Austen’s works so relevant, given that it is so bound to …

Transgressing The Boundaries Of Holiness: Sexual Deviance In The Early Medieval Penitential Handbooks Of Ireland, England And France 500-1000., Christine A. Mccann

Theses

No abstract provided.

" Poisoned By A Book": Aesthic Decadence And Plagiarism In The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Jill C. Veltri

Theses

No abstract provided.

Working With The Drive: A Lacanian Psychoanalytic Approach To The Treatment Of Addictions, Cristina Laurita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the clinical utility of applying Lacanian psychoanalytic interventions to the treatment of addictions. By combining theoretical exegesis with clinical case studies of psychotherapy with patients who struggled with addictions, this project seeks to: 1) contribute to the improvement of the clinical treatment of addictions; and 2) contribute to the advancement of Lacanian clinical scholarship in the U.S. Although the work of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan is well-known in Europe and South America, Lacanian clinical scholarship in the U.S. is disappointingly sparse. As a result, most American clinicians are not aware of the clinical usefulness of Lacanian theory. …

Tennesse Williams' Web Of Deception In The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire And Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Holly Nicole Henning

Honors Theses

While many themes appear in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the theme of deception emerges as one of the most prominent. To determine exactly how deceit impacts the lives of the characters in each play, an analysis of deception from both a psychological and philosophical standpoint is given. Based on the findings of this analysis, Williams effectively employs three general categories of deception in his plays, including deception with self-awareness, deception of others requiring deception of the self and self-deception regardless of another’s presence. Williams also implements one of …

Gridiron Peers: An Analysis Of The Legendary Coaching Careers And Foundations Of Success Of Paul Bear Bryant And John Vaught Through Comparison And Contrast, David Luke Trewolla

Honors Theses

This thesis is a comparison and contrast of the sources of the on-the-field success of Paul Bear” Bryant, head coach at the University of Alabama and John Vaught, head coach at the University of Mississippi, in their respective coaching careers in college football. The first two chapters of the thesis simply give a brief biographical background of the two coaches. In Chapter Three, their respective coaching styles as it pertains to game planning and strategy, practice, and their adjustment to the changing style of the college game in their careers are analyzed and compared and contrasted. Chapter Four is an …

Study Abroad Dynamics: Anthropological Perspectives, Jonathan Maravelias

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Americans typically lack cultural reflexivity--most Americans will even deny that there is a specific American culture. Many Americans often experience heightened states of anxiety and feelings of alienation, which several anthropologists and cross-cultural psychologists attribute to an unhealthy reliance on individualism and consumerism. If Americans could learn cultural reflexivity, then they may experience a sense of connectedness and higher self-esteem. Since cultural reflexivity can be learned, I have investigated whether or not study abroad programs help to teach it. More generally, I have studied the education abroad experience anthropologically through participating in a 35-day tour of the Mediterranean offered by …

Safe Medication Use Among Hispanic College Students: Knowledge, Attitudes And Behaviors, Tania Guadalupe Quiroz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

College students are at increased risk of medication errors. Research suggests that young adults are active users of over-the- counter (OTC) medications and other products that may increase the risk for negative health outcomes. Therefore, it is very important to analyze young adults' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about medication use among college students in order to provide them with the necessary information. Due to language and cultural factors, the issue is particularly relevant in U.S.-Mexico border communities. This casual-comparative study examined knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding medication use among Hispanic college students. Data was collected through a survey developed by …

Enhancing Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Hispanic/Latino Clients With Depression : Recommendations For Culturally Sensitive Practice, Elizabeth Suarez Kuneman

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Using a qualitative approach, this study explored the process of developing treatment suggestions for adding cultural sensitivity to an empirically supported, group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment manual for Hispanic/Latino clients with depression. Suggestions were formulated through the implementation of one vignette centered on a male character, addressing Hispanic/Latino cultural values as described in the literature. This researcher sought bilingual mental health providers (English-Spanish/Spanish-English) who worked with Hispanic/Latino clients; four from a group of ten who responded, reviewed the researcher’s suggestions and answered a seven item semi-structured questionnaire, which was developed to elicit their comments. Analysis of the data revealed themes …

Alternative Weekly And City Magazine Under One Roof: Contemporary Media, Inc.'S “Memphis Flyer” And “Memphis” Magazine, Cory Taylor Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the media of alternative weekly publications through a case study of the Memphis Flyer and its relationship with sister publication Memphis magazine, both under the umbrella of Contemporary Media, Inc. History of the publications, targeted demographics and business models will be taken into account to answer proposed research questions. The publications prominence in local media as well as their relationship to the traditional city paper, The Commercial Appeal, is recognized, along with the company's plans for adaptation to new trends in online journalism.

Byron And 'The Barbarous . . . Middle Age Of Man': Youth, Aging, And Midlife In Don Juan, Melanie J. Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For Byron, the knowledge that he would one day have to become old was always on his mind. By the time Byron had relocated to the Continent, the idea had become something of an obsession. Thirty had always been Byron's turning point, the age at which youth would have to end and he would have to become an old man. Upon finally reaching that age, Byron found himself in a place much like Dante's selva oscura--dark, confusing, fearful, but with no other way left to go. There are allusions to this opening scene throughout Don Juan. It is …

Toward A Single-Consciousness: Challenging "Un-American-Ness" Of People Of Color, Bhawana Kamil

Master's Theses

Race is a major axis of social injustice in America. Social injustice is due to both maldistribution of material resources and opportunities and non-recognition or mis-recognition of people of color. One form of mis-recognition is the accusation that a person of color is not a real American, creating a conflict of identities (i.e., racial and American): a double-consciousness. This accusation has its origins in faulty ideas about race, identity, and race-group membership.

This paper presents a new model of identity that addresses these faulty ideas and provides a conceptual structure within which one can consistently maintain a single-consciousness while maintaining …

Theodore Roosevelt On Labor Unions: A New Perspective, Louis B. Livingston

Dissertations and Theses

Historical studies of Theodore Roosevelt's views about labor and labor unions are in conflict. This was also true of contemporary disagreements about the meaning of his labor rhetoric and actions. The uncertainties revolve around whether or not he was sincere in his support of working people and labor unions, whether his words and actions were political only or were based on a philosophical foundation, and why he did not propose comprehensive labor policies.

Roosevelt historiography has addressed these questions without considering his stated admiration for Octave Thanet's writings about "labor problems." Octave Thanet was the pseudonym of Alice French, a …

Gendered Spaces In James Joyce’S Dubliners, Cynthia J. Hacker

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis paper, entitled Gendered Spaces in James Joyce’s Dubliners, will explore Joyce’s use of the special environment, both public and private. Joyce designed the built spaces in his stories to reflect the way space was gendered in his time. Each space, whether it was the home, the street, the pub, or a church, was indicative of a pattern of power relationships between men and women. Within these gendered spaces, power relationships were constructed, individual consciousness formed, and national identity debated.

In Joyce’s stories, women occupy the space of the home in a way that suggests it is their expected …