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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Fighting For Revival: Southern Honor And Evangelical Revival In Edgefield County, South Carolina, 1800-1860, James Welborn Dec 2007

Fighting For Revival: Southern Honor And Evangelical Revival In Edgefield County, South Carolina, 1800-1860, James Welborn

All Theses

ABSTRACT
The focus of this work is Edgefield County, South Carolina, a small, rural district in the central-southwest portion of the state. Edgefield has proven indicative of Southern society in general and as a case study has allowed historians to make broader generalizations on the development of Southern culture. This work will show how the seemingly oppositional Southern cultural ethics of honor and Protestant Evangelicalism developed simultaneously and coexisted in Edgefield, emphasizing the aspects of each ethic that reinforced and intensified one another, as well as the resulting public perception of the ethics in tandem. The result will reconcile two …


A Comparison And Contrast Of The History Of Christianity As It Developed In Cappadocia And Armenia During The First Five Centuries Ad, Judy Henzel Dec 2007

A Comparison And Contrast Of The History Of Christianity As It Developed In Cappadocia And Armenia During The First Five Centuries Ad, Judy Henzel

All Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine key political, cultural or environmental factors which affected the rise and development of Christianity in two specific regions of eastern Anatolia during the first to fifth centuries AD. Hagiography and chronicle often portray the progress of Christianity as deterministic and providential. However, unique cultural and political elements proved very influential in shaping the success and forms of Christianity in Cappadocia and Armenia, particularly in the fourth and fifth centuries AD.


The Sleepy Hero: Romantic & Spiritual Sleep In The Gawain-Poet, Erin Kathleen Turner Hepner Dec 2007

The Sleepy Hero: Romantic & Spiritual Sleep In The Gawain-Poet, Erin Kathleen Turner Hepner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This thesis examines two accepted styles of writing in the Middle Ages, the romance and religious genres, and what purpose they perform in the Gawain-poet’s religious poem, Patience, and his romance poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (SGGK). One recently popular line of research among medieval scholars is examining the way medieval authors, such as the Gawain-poet, combine elements of romance and spiritual writings. By funneling the Gawain-poet’s intermingling of the medieval romance and religious genres through the specific lens of sleep, which is represented differently in medieval romance texts than in medieval religious …


The Function Of Mythology And Religion In Ancient Greek Society., Cara Leigh Sailors Aug 2007

The Function Of Mythology And Religion In Ancient Greek Society., Cara Leigh Sailors

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ancient Greeks are prime subjects of study for those wishing to understand the roles that religion and mythology play in a society and how the two interact with each other. This paper covers what I feel after my study of Greek mythology and religion are the eight functions of mythology: history, education, explanation - both of the natural world and the culture of each society, legality, genesis, what happens after death, and entertainment; as well as the two function of religion: civic and spiritual. In the first chapter, in order to show each of the mythological functions, I summarize …


On The Viability Of A Pluralistic Bioethics, Christopher Durante Aug 2007

On The Viability Of A Pluralistic Bioethics, Christopher Durante

Religious Studies Theses

In an attempt to promote in-depth dialogue amongst bioethicists coming from distinct disciplinary and religious backgrounds this thesis offers an overview of the current state of bioethics and a critical analysis of a number of the leading methods of addressing pluralism in bioethics. Exploring the critiques and methodological proposals coming from the social sciences, the contract theorists, and the pragmatists, this study describes the problems which arise when confronting moral and religious diversity in a bioethical context and examines the ability of these various methodologies to adequately resolve these matters. Finally, after a discussion of the benefits and the potential …


The Spectacle Of The Sotah: A Rabbinic Perspective On Justice And Punishment, Andrew Durdin Aug 2007

The Spectacle Of The Sotah: A Rabbinic Perspective On Justice And Punishment, Andrew Durdin

Religious Studies Theses

The first chapter of Mishnah tractate Sotah (m. Sot) records rabbinic elaboration and interpretation on the sotah ritual contained in the Hebrew Bible, Numbers 5:11-31. Specifically, the nine mishnayoth that compose m. Sot 1 discuss the circumstances for invoking the trial of the “bitter waters” and the overall treatment of the suspected wife during the trial. This paper argues that, when read together, m. Sot 1 describes an entire economy of justice and punishment that must be imposed on a wife who is merely suspected of adultery, quite apart from whether she is—or is not—guilty of adultery. Through a close …


An Analysis Of Origen's Charismatic Ideology In His Commentary On The Gospel Of John, Kimberly W. Logan-Hudson Jun 2007

An Analysis Of Origen's Charismatic Ideology In His Commentary On The Gospel Of John, Kimberly W. Logan-Hudson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to examine whether Origen projects a charismatic ideology within his Commentary on the Gospel of John. Five characteristics will be utilized during the process: (1) Charismatic authority is given directly from God and only God; (2) Those who have been chosen sought and maintain the position; (3) Individuals must recognize this authority along with others; (4) Those with charismatic authority must mediate God's word for others; (5) This authority may only belong to individuals within the one body of the church. In analyzing Books 1, 2, 6, and 10 along with these five characteristics, the thesis will …


Just Regular Folks: An Ethnographic Study Of Identity In A Gay And Lesbian Catholic Community In South Florida, Shawn M. Perkins Jun 2007

Just Regular Folks: An Ethnographic Study Of Identity In A Gay And Lesbian Catholic Community In South Florida, Shawn M. Perkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research done on religious gays and lesbians has focused upon the cognitive strategies they employ in order to negotiate conflicts experienced between their religious and sexual identities. In contrast to taking a psychological approach, this study focuses upon the role of social context in helping gay and lesbian Catholics to successfully negotiate their religious and sexual identities. Using participant-observation data of a small gay and lesbian Catholic community, the Holy Cross Community (HCC), as well as from interviews with ten of its members, I examine the role of the interpersonal context in identity processes. I outline the …


The Proliferating Sacred: Secularization And Postmodernity, Donald Surrency Jun 2007

The Proliferating Sacred: Secularization And Postmodernity, Donald Surrency

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When analyzing the role religion plays in contemporary American society, one is forced to address the notion of secularization. This is a term that broadly refers to the marginalization of religious influence in culture and society that began at the outset of the Enlightenment, sometime during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but, as Peter Berger argues, can actually be traced back to the times of the great Israelite prophets who emerged during the Axial Age (800-200 BCE). Throughout the available literature, proponents of the secularization thesis extend the marginalization of religious influence from the societal level to the level of …


The Struggle For Acceptance: Continued Resistance To Female Ministers In Rural Holston Conference., Thelma June Neal May 2007

The Struggle For Acceptance: Continued Resistance To Female Ministers In Rural Holston Conference., Thelma June Neal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine if ordained women clergy experience resistance or lack of receptivity to their appointments. If so, does the resistance more readily occur with churches in a rural area? The focus of the study was women clergy of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. My study reveals there are Methodist women clergy who continue to have churches outright refuse their projected appointments. My study also reveals that this problem is more often found with churches in rural areas where the culture is connected to long-standing scriptural interpretations and traditions that do not theologically and …


Loose Canon On Deck: How Contemporary Christians React To Media Portrayals Of Faith, Beliefs, And Rituals, Mitchell L. Leopard May 2007

Loose Canon On Deck: How Contemporary Christians React To Media Portrayals Of Faith, Beliefs, And Rituals, Mitchell L. Leopard

Religious Studies Theses

Throughout much of Christian history, the church had predominant control over religious ritual and belief. As early as the 1st Century, institutions representing "orthodoxy" were banning, forbidding or destroying the "heretical", separating it from what eventually would become canon and religious practice. The 21st Century provides new ways for spiritual knowledge to spread, bypassing traditional methods. Modern Martin Luthers can nail a manifesto to an internet door while the media's obsession with non-canonical texts provides no shortage of material for movies and television. A multi-media barrage challenges orthodox concepts and scriptural definition, often blurring the line between religion and entertainment. …


Emersonian Perfectionism: A Man Is A God In Ruins, Brad James Rowe May 2007

Emersonian Perfectionism: A Man Is A God In Ruins, Brad James Rowe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ralph Waldo Emerson is a great American literary figure that began his career as a minister at Boston’s Second Church. He discontinued his ministry to become an essayist and lecturer and continued as such for the remainder of his life. This thesis was written with the intent of demonstrating that, in spite of leaving the ministry, Emerson continued to be religious and a religionist throughout his life and that he promulgated a unique religion based upon the principle of self-reliance. At the heart of Emerson’s religion of self-reliance is the doctrine of perfectionism, the infinite capacity of individuals. This thesis …


Ethnographic Field Research Methods, Edicta Grullon May 2007

Ethnographic Field Research Methods, Edicta Grullon

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Presents ethnographic research methods along with characteristics (evidential and non-evidential "identities") of an anthropologist that may affect his/her access to information and the quality of data collected. Offers several examples from experiences of field researchers. Considers Muslim North Africa as a region demanding attention to its specific cultural realities. Explores ethics and the role of the ethnographer.


Kitsch And Southwest Hybridity In The Art Of Ted De Grazia, Karen Jeanne Dalton Mar 2007

Kitsch And Southwest Hybridity In The Art Of Ted De Grazia, Karen Jeanne Dalton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ettore "Ted" De Grazia (1909-1982) spent his artistic life painting the Native American stories and peoples of the Arizona Southwest. His art was touted in the popular press and is still admired by tourists and newcomers to Arizona, but he was not taken seriously by academicians and art critics who refused to grant him artistic enfranchisement. Many labeled his work "kitsch," a term made popular by Clement Greenberg in his 1939 essay, " Avant-Garde and Kitsch." De Grazia's popular whimsical paintings of Native American children were considered too cute to have artistic merit.De Grazia, in spite of criticism to the …


African Religious Integration In Florida During The First Spanish Period, Christopher Beats Jan 2007

African Religious Integration In Florida During The First Spanish Period, Christopher Beats

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the unique conditions for African-descended slaves in St. Augustine, Florida, during the First Spanish Period. St. Augustine was an important garrison at a remote point in the Spanish Empire at the edge of a hostile frontier. As such, economics were less a priority than defense. Slaves, therefore, received different treatment here than in English colonies or even other Spanish colonies. Due to the threat of Protestantism, religious adherence was more important as a test of loyalty than ethnicity and slaves and freed-people were able to integrate better than in other Spanish holdings. In order …


Religion And Renunciation In Wordsworth: The Progression Of Natural Individualism To Christian Stoicism, Geoffrey L. Meldahl Jan 2007

Religion And Renunciation In Wordsworth: The Progression Of Natural Individualism To Christian Stoicism, Geoffrey L. Meldahl

Honors Theses

William Wordsworth was twenty-three when the French National Convention condemned the deposed Louis XVI to death, and France, under Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, dissolved into abject violence. The disappointing results of the Revolution and the subsequent events in European politics began to work a change in Wordsworth’s personal political and ethical views that would greatly affect not only his own poetry but the entire Romantic Movement. Even still, his eventual apostasy from the radical republicanism of his youth affects the way in which people read Wordsworth’s work, igniting both sympathy and resentment. The Ode to Duty is …