Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Consanguinitas Et Ius Sanguinis: Kinship Calculation And Medieval Marriage, Sandra Masters

Masters Theses

Consanguinity, or blood-relatedness, was one of the most important criteria which determined the formation of marriage in the medieval era. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive study in English which describes the development of consanguinity prohibitions and which explains fully the types of kinship calculation used as a part of the restrictions which developed. In order to fill this void, my goal in this thesis has been to offer a well-researched, comprehensive study of this topic.

I have examined the studies completed by other researchers and combined any pertinent information from those sources with my own research on medieval attitudes and …

Critical Study Of John Rawls’ Theory Of Justice, Jae-Wan Chung

Masters Theses

In discussing John Rawls' theory of justice , my main concern is to examine his theory, especially in difference principle, and to criticize the principle. The difference principle is that without improving the conditions of those who are worst off, the advantages of all those better off should not be permitted. The principle has some problems.

First, the principle is against our common judgment. There is no reason that we choose the principle under "original position," and the principle brings about a result to disregard others' important advantages for the least favored's profits. Secondly, according to Robert Nozick's entitlement theory, …

A Summary Of The Contributions Of Four Key African American Female Figures Of The Civil Rights Movement, Michelle Margaret Viera

Masters Theses

This thesis will present historical data to summarize the contributions of four key African-American female figures of the civil rights era. The theme is devoted to the historical contributions of these women. Their achievements will be shown to have answered to human needs during the struggle for African American civil and human rights. These achievements were preceded by their personal perceptions as to what constituted tenable rights and needs, introspection, and their willingness to assume a leadership stance and leadership roles.

This written historical assessment will illustrate the chain of events, social and geographical particulars which triggered participation in the …

The Encirclement At Cherkassy-Korsun: An Assessment Of The Winners And Losers, Joseph Kent Lutes

Masters Theses

During the winter of 1944, two Russian armies encircled two German corps on the Dnieper River. The Germans managed to break out of the encirclement after an attempt to relieve them failed. The battle lasted only three weeks, but cost both sides greatly. Both sides carried out a successful airlift to keep their troops in action. The Germans carried out a brilliant campaign, while the Russians demonstrated that they still needed to perfect their encirclement doctrine and their propaganda.

Each side was hindered by its leaders. Hitler forced the Germans to hold ground, while Stalin forced his generals to fight …

The City Of Tomorrow With The Spirit Of The Past: Bankrolling The Industrial Development Of Knoxville, Tennessee, 1875-1907, Kathleen A. Johnston

Masters Theses

This study investigates the relationship between banking and the industrial development of a small southern city in the late nineteenth century to determine how the pattern of loans and investments influenced the city's twentieth century industrial development. State and national banking records for Mechanics' Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1875 through 1907 formed the primary documentary evidence for this study. The bank's loan activities and investments in new industry were analyzed to ascertain bank's officers, shareholders and board members financial interests in the companies the bank funded. The study also focused on the ten men who legally controlled the majority …

A Comparison Of The Differences Of The Chinese Language And The English Language Using Voice Analysis, Chia-Lin Hsieh

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to see if differences exist in Taiwanese students when speaking in their native Chinese language as compared to a secondary language (English) using voice analysis. Not only was the study intended to compare pitches and octaves of 2 languages, but it also hoped to identify the possible factors that influenced the voices of 2 languages.

Fifty Chinese students were randomly selected from a population of 84 Chinese students who were from Taiwan, had established residence in the USA for at least 6 months, and were enrolled in WMU with TOEFL score of at least …

Homo Tonos For Orchestra In Three Movements, Stephen C. Talaga

Masters Theses

Homo Tonos is a work for large orchestra. The entire piece stems from a dodecaphonic system in which each family of instruments is assigned its own unique 12-tone row. The rows are constructed in such a way that when they are written out and stacked one atop the other, they create 12 unique vertical rows.

Throughout the work, the basic rules of 12-tone row manipulation were used as a foundation for organization of pitches. Each family of instruments adheres strictly to its own row except in passages where there are unisons across families. In these instances, the vertical 12-tone rows …

Anne Rice's Vampire Aesthetic: Redefining The Vampire Tradition, Kurt Alan Kemp

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Shirley Jackson--Escaping The Patriarchy Through Insanity, Jennifer Noack

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Feminine Other: A Study Of The Women In Shakespeare's Major Tragedies, Kurt E. Wilamowski

Masters Theses

The central examination of this thesis concentrates on the essential contributions of the female characters in Shakespeare's major tragedies--Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Without the women's conflict with the patriarchal order, the males would be unable to recognize and combat the corrupt elements in their society. The awareness of the female characters allows them to perceive the tainted patriarchal atmosphere they dwell in and operate within it as best as they can.

In short, each woman's individual field of awareness allows her to act as the executor of the dénoucement in the tragedy. Even …

The Concept Of The Local In Williams' Developing Poetics: The Poet's Perception And Representation Of The Poor, Jon Montgomery

Masters Theses

The present study serves as a thematic, critical perspective on William Carlos Williams' poetry on the poor; specifically, I address his representation of the poor in his poetry and his attitude towards them. From 1914-38, his attitude towards the poor goes through three significant stages of change. Roughly, the stage boundaries can be marked by decade: the 1910s, the 1920s and the 1930s.

In the first stage, Williams recognizes his empathetic and aesthetic distance from the poor, since his aesthetics rest primarily on his youthful fascination with Keats. The poet desires to reflect properly the lives of the poor. The …

Viewer's Perception Of Local Television Anchors: A Gender Based Study, Mary Elizabeth Wagner

Masters Theses

A number of studies conducted by Lin (1992), Meeske (1992), Stone and Lee (1990), and Weinthal and O'Keefe (1984) have examined which variables are rated highest and most prominent by respondents toward television anchors. Professionalism, voice and speech, personal appeal, and attractiveness have been among the top rated variables, but they have never been researched within a single study. This study examines the above variables for local male and female television anchors and discovers which was rated the highest by male and female respondents. Significant findings within this study include male respondents perceive professionalism to be the highest rated variable …

The South Tyrol And The Principle Of Self-Determination: An Analysis Of A Minority Problem, Eva Pfanzelter

Masters Theses

For almost three quarters of a century the South Tyroleans had fought for the preservation of their ethnic identity. The idea of self-determination introduced by Woodrow Wilson in 1918 legitimized their quest for protection of their ethnicity and language. Yet, the peace of Paris of 1919 denied the South Tyrolens' the right to self-determination and incorporated the German-speaking territory of the South Tyrol into Italy. During the following two decades Italian fascism eliminated the South Tyroleans' right to struggle for their cultural identity. Mussolini's ideology pursued the Italianization of the South Tyrol. The German-speaking minority in Italy could not even …

From Innocence To Experience In William Blake's The Book Of Thel And The Visions Of The Daughters Of Albion, Ann B. Moutray

Masters Theses

My thesis focuses on William Blake's challenge of the conventional Christianity of his time and his questioning of what he perceived as the hypocritical moral codes of the Church of England. Blake blames these codes for dominating and imprisoning humanity by preventing individuals from acting through their use of the imagination. For Blake, the imagination does not simply imply a creation of the imaginative faculty; instead, it refers to an imagination that is transforming and that becomes a measure of salvation and deliverance from the man-made codes that imprison humanity. These codes, while originating from and propagated by the Church …

Robert Frost And Maya Angelou: Poet-As-Rhetor In The Presidential Inauguration: Textual Symbols And The Symbol Of Enactment, Donna M. Witmer

Masters Theses

This criticism uses an organic approach to examine the rhetorical properties of Frost's and Angelou's inaugural poems and their individual enactments respective of the constraints and exigencies in the Presidential inaugurations of Kennedy and Clinton. Apparently responding to the constraints of television's sound bite as well as to exigencies of the traditional inauguration and the need to serve a new generation and a culturally diverse population, the Clinton Administration combined the poetic form, used to heighten an emotional response, with an enactment as a synecdochic symbol, used to assert sociopolitical ideology.

An Investigation Of Affirmative Action Policies And Practices Of Recruiting, Hiring, Mentoring And Retention Of African American Teachers And Administrators, U. S. Davidson Jr.

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the affirmative action policies and practices of recruiting, hiring, mentoring and retention of African American teachers and administrators throughout the State of Illinois. Since public elementary and secondary school systems provide numerous and varied jobs in virtually every community in the nation, it is assumed that if a quality education is to be attained, students must be exposed to the variety of cultural perspectives that represent the nation at large (American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, 1990).

This study examined policies and practices of districts throughout the State of Illinois inquiring …

A Fabric Unravelled: The Rise Of Party Politics In York, England, 1679-88, Vernon A. Mcguffee

Masters Theses

Many historians are engaged in a debate over whether party politics emerged in England before 1688. Perhaps the most prominent current conflict is between Jonathan Scott and Tim Harris. Scott believes that, despite ideological foundations, political parties could not exist before 1688 because of their lack of organization. Harris, on the other hand, argues that parties were indeed organized, and this organization revolved primarily around religion. Harris charges historians to examine the political structures of the localities to help resolve the debate. This thesis does just that. It looks at England's second city, York, from 1679-88 and addresses the question …

From Tragedy To Hope: A Study Of The Parallels In The Thought Of Samuel Johnson And T.S. Eliot, Thomas Daniel Mcgrath

Masters Theses

In this paper, the similarities between Samuel Johnson and T.S. Eliot are explored. Both men opposed the optimism with which their contemporary intellectuals had begun to regard humanity and its possibility for fulfillment on earth. While Johnson was from the 18th century, and Eliot from the 20th, the intellectual movements of their day bore a similar tone. The reaction of these two men was also similar.

Johnson and Eliot presented in their writing a similar view of the emptiness of human experience. This is most apparent in Johnson's The History of Rasselas and Eliot's The Waste Land, and the …

The Transformation Of Immanence: From The Augustinian Faith Of Henry Vaughan To The Rationalist Faith Of S.T. Coleridge, Tristum M. Ryan

Masters Theses

The present study focuses on the conception of immanence and the manner in which it evolved from the seventeenth century, as represented in Henry Vaughan's Silex Scintillans, to the nineteenth century, as represented in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's nature poetry and his collection of letters, Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit. Vaughan's conception of a basic immanence of reflected divinity in nature evolved, over the course of two hundred years, into Coleridge's version of an immanence based on reason. These two different conceptions of immanence in part formed the basis of the respective faiths of Vaughan and Coleridge. Vaughan's traditional Augustinian faith …

An Evaluation Of The Reading Recovery Program At Main Street School In Shelbyville, Illinois, Leslie L. Hohenstein

Masters Theses

Traditional solutions to reading problems have not adequately addressed reading difficulties. Many students in the lower 20% of the reading level of their class have far reaching academic and social problems that lead to dropping out of school, entering special education classes, becoming frustrated, and possibly becoming discipline problems. This study examined the Reading Recovery Program at Main Street School in Shelbyville, Illinois. Specific study objectives were measurements of student test data and progress for the 1992-1993 school year. Measurements were performed using a pre- and post-testing method. A survey questionnaire was used to gather data from Reading Recovery teachers. …

Forced Entries: A Novel, Thom Schnarre

Masters Theses

The allure of a creative thesis for me was the unique blending of literary study and personal exploration. I have always felt my writing a cathartic activity as I grappled with the textual issues and gained personal insights through the struggle. For this reason, I chose the creative option as a culmination of my graduate studies at EIU. While I have dabbled in all three genres -- poetry, playwriting and fiction -- in my graduate career, it is the extended fiction genre of the novel that I have chosen to pursue in this project. The thesis is comprised of two …

Rethinking Space And Time: Pueblo Oral Tradition And The Written Word In Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony, Lynn K. Galbreath

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Jonathan Swift: A Study Of Personae And Satire, Susan J. Uhlarik

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.