Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Charge Of Deserting Their Sphere: The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society And Women’S Place In The Abolitionist Movement, Megan Irene Brady

Graduate Masters Theses

Responding to the all-male American Anti-Slavery Society and inspired by the expansion of women’s benevolent organizations, the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (BFAS) was founded in 1833. At the outset, the members defined themselves as pious women dedicated to immediate emancipation, while making no overtures to challenging their place in society. BFAS grew quickly in influence and membership, and helped organize the first national women’s anti-slavery convention in 1837. The convention brought together female abolitionists from all over the United States, some of whom espoused more radical views on women’s rights. This thesis examines how interactions at the national conventions—a network …

Harmony, Dissonance, Or Harm? The Psychological And Spiritual Promises And Perils Of Gay Christian Celibacy, Darren Jay Freeman-Coppadge

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Identity conflicts between sexuality and spirituality faced by religious lesbian and gay people have been described in literature, along with various methods to resolve such conflicts, including sexual orientation change efforts and identity integration. But a dearth of literature exists regarding celibacy as a means of resolving identity conflict. This study employed grounded theory to investigate the psychological and spiritual wellbeing of 12 current and former gay Christian celibates (GCCs). Results revealed how celibacy could harmonize sexuality and Christian spirituality, benefiting some celibates by providing them peace, satisfaction, and spiritual vibrancy. However, for many others, celibacy instigated dissonance between their …

Unescorted Guests: Yale’S First Women Undergraduates And The Quest For Equity, 1969-1973, Anne G. Perkins

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

“Unescorted Guests” provides a richly detailed portrait of a fundamental change at one US institution: Yale University’s 1969 transition from an all-men’s to a coed college. This study disputes several dominant narratives about the 1970s youth and women’s movements, and deepens our understanding of three core issues in higher education research: access, the experiences of previously excluded students, and change towards greater equity. I contest the myth of alumni as foes to coeducation, and show that the greatest opposition to equity for women came instead from Yale’s president and trustees. I document how women students, absent as powerful figures in …

Reimagining The Discourse: Media Representation Of Women In Boston Public Schools' Superintendency, 1991 - 2016, Lisa M. Cullington

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the relationship among public discourse, power and leadership for women superintendents in Boston Public Schools. For this qualitative study, I use a feminist poststructural discourse analysis (FPDA) to examine newspaper articles from The Boston Globe from 1991 to 2016. Through a FPDA, I illuminate the ways in which women superintendents have been discursively produced amidst neoliberal educational reform movements. In this study, I focus on how the superintendent’s role was conceptualized as a male endeavor in The Boston Globe, and the implications of this for current educational leaders.

Two major discursive stages frame the study’s time period: …