Digital Commons Network^™

Margaret Cavendish And Scientific Discourse In Seventeenth-Century England, Alisa Curtis Bolander

Theses and Dissertations

Although the natural philosophy of Margaret Cavendish is eclectic and uncustomary, it offers an important critique of contemporary scientific methods, especially mechanism and experimentalism. As presented in Observations upon Experimental Philosophy and Blazing World, Cavendish's natural philosophy incorporates rationalistic and subjective elements, urging contemporary natural philosophers to recognize that pure objectivity is unattainable through any method of inquiry and that reason is essential in making sense and use of scientific observation.

In addition to its scientific implications, Cavendish's three-tiered model of matter presents interesting sociopolitical associations. Through her own use of metaphor and her theoretical fusion of matter and motion, …

London Coffee Houses : The First Hundred Years, Heather Lynn Mcqueen

Honors Theses

This paper examines how early London coffee houses catered to the intellectual, political, religious and business communities in London, as well as put forward some information regarding what it was about coffee houses that made them "new meeting places" for Londoners. Coffee houses offered places for political debate and progressively modem forms of such debate, "penny university" lessons on all matter of science and the arts, simplicity and sobriety in which independent religious groups could meet, as well as the early development of a private office space.

Perspectives Of Pro-Revivalism: The Christian History And The Great Awakening, Lisa Thurston Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The Christian History was a pro-revivalist magazine printed in Boston from 1743-1745 during what is known as the Great Awakening. It contained accounts of revivalism written by pro-revivalist ministers from throughout the American colonies, England and Scotland. These ministers believed that the Holy Spirit was being poured out upon the land in a shower of grace, causing unprecedented numbers of people to convert to Christ. In The Christian History, pro-revivalist ministers expressed their support for the revivals and shared their experiences. Thus the magazine has typically been viewed as religious propaganda advocating a single, polemical viewpoint. However, in spite …

The Duke’S Devil And Doctor Lambe’S Darling: A Case Study Of The Male Witch In Early Modern England, Karin Amundsen

Psi Sigma Siren

The witch-hunt in early modern England has been the subject of much scholarly research in the last several decades. While much of this research focuses on the political, religious, economic, and social aspects of the witch-hunts, the role of gender in the trials has recently come under more scrutiny, though much of it focuses on women. Although the role of women in the witch-hunts is unquestionably important given that accusations primarily targeted them, historians should not ignore male witches or simply dismiss them as spouses or relatives of female witches. Compounding the exclusion of male witches from historical consideration is …