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From Social Improvement To Scientific Racism: The Effects Of World War I On The Definition Of Racial Hygiene In Germany, Robyn Lee Hendrick

Masters Theses

During the First World War, there was a decisive change in the focus of the racial hygiene movement in Germany. Prior to the war, the terms "racial hygiene" and "eugenics" were synonymous. In contrast, during and after World War I while eugenics continued to be recognized as a "science" in Germany, as well as in other Western European countries and the United States, the racial hygiene movement was becoming increasingly racist. Although, as the term implies, racial hygiene included racial components, the radically racist overtones did not become prevalent until the Nazis' rise to power. Racial hygienists separated themselves from …

Atomic Childhood: An Analysis Of The Impact Of The Manhattan Project On The Children Of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, John David Prince

Masters Theses

The city of Oak Ridge was one of three major project sites built by the US Army during the Manhattan Project – the top-secret mission started in June 1942 in order to develop an atomic bomb within a three year period. The Oak Ridge site, chosen in September 1942, was responsible for the production of the uranium that armed the world’s first atomic bomb. Prior to the dropping of the atomic bomb, however, the real mission of Oak Ridge was known to only a few select individuals. Indeed, most of the residents and workers at the production plants in Oak …

Hispanic Political Power: A Case Study Of Southwest Michigan, Jason Glatz

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between rising Hispanic immigration and its influence on voting patterns. It examines thirteen Southwestern Michigan counties and compares averaged Republican voting percentages from past elections for the U.S. House of Representatives with the 2000 election. Previous research has established that Hispanics, with the exception of Cubans, predominantly vote for Democratic candidates. If this relationship is true for Southwest Michigan, areas with increasing Hispanic populations should display diminishing Republican voting percentages.

A normal Republican vote was computed for 284 minor civil divisions from the period immediately preceding significant Hispanic immigration and was compared to the 2000 …

Climate Change And International Justice, Sarah Brigid Kenehan

Masters Theses

The effects that are predicted to occur as a result of global climate change have the potential to be devastating, effecting food and water security, threatening sensitive ecosystems and species, and forcing the relocation of thousands of people. However, little has been done to effectively combat this problem for two primary reasons: there are uncertainties surrounding climate change projections and many countries are unwilling to accept their fair share of the burden. This project will attempt to reframe these problems. Specifically, I will argue that it is rational for policymakers to act on the model-generated predictions of climate change, and …

Piety And Politics: John Capgrave's The Life Of Saint Katherine As Yorkist Propaganda, Michael M. Baker

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the political undertones of John Capgrave's The Life of Saint Katherine of Alexandria. In recent years, various scholars have regarded the Life as political propaganda for either the House of Lancaster or the House of York. I have attempted to reach my own conclusion regarding Capgrave's political beliefs by navigating some of the primary arguments purported by those scholars and adding some observations of my own.

I have considered not only the text itself, but also some of the aspects of Capgrave's life that were most likely to have influenced him: …

Human Rights, Exploitation, And Genetic Use Restriction Technology: Sowing The Seeds Of Reason In The Field Of The Terminator Debate., Keith A. Bustos

Masters Theses

The current debate concerning genetically modified (GM) crops is primarily focused on the negative consequences that the production and consumption of GM foods could have on people and the environment. Adding to the list of concerns is the multinational agrochemical corporations' plan to implement GURTs (Genetic Use Restriction Technologies) to prohibit the unauthorized use of certain genetically modified plant varieties. Several activist groups perceive the potential implementation of GURTs to be a threat to resource-poor farmers since this technology (which the activists call Terminator Technology) may be used to wrongfully exploit resource-poor farmers in the name of economic gain. In …

Appointing Stability In An Age Of Crisis: Lord Charles Cornwallis And The British Imperial Revival, 1780-1801, Bradley S. Benefield

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the ideological impetus to the founding of the second British Empire. The loss of the thirteen North American colonies left the British Empire in a state of crisis. Yet, by the early nineteenth century, the British Empire was once again in a position of global dominance. Many historians have theorized over how Britain united to face and overcome this period of crisis. One historian, C.A. Bayly, has argued that British elites rallied behind a progressive conservative ideology, which became the prerequisite to the founding of the second British Empire. To test this …

Bins Of Plums, Erin Elizabeth Mulert

Masters Theses

This collection of poems represents work revised and completed during my tenure in the M.A. program in English. The pieces deal with themes of identity, family, and love, and the nature of poetry itself. An introduction is included that identifies my major influences and my purpose in writing poetry.

Medical Autonomy In Crisis: The Destruction Of The Right To Privacy, David A. Lufkin Sr.

Masters Theses

This thesis is presented for a Master of Arts and Science Degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, from the College of Liberal Arts, Department of Philosophy, with a concentration in medical ethics.

The thesis's argument assumes that rules of ethics or morality should be rules and guidelines of uniformity and therefore universal in nature and scope. In that assumption, the thesis adheres to the present problematic state of ethics, and in particular, medical ethics. In response to that state it asks: without imprint from religious morality, upon what foundation can we design a system for medical ethics? In particular, …

Aspects Of Fatherhood In Thirteenth-Century Encyclopedias, Philip Grace

Masters Theses

The thesis examines the treatment of fatherhood in Thomas of Cantimpré's Liber de Natura Rerum, Bartholomaeus Anglicus' De Proprietatibus Rerum, and Vincent of Beauvais' Speculum Maius, all of whom were influential mendicant encyclopedists writing between 1240 and 1260. The study examines sections on anatomy, the ages of man, family relations, and the theology of marriage. The thesis argues that the anatomical concept of heat functioned as a metaphor for masculinity, strength and intelligence, and linked together such aspects of fatherhood as the father's formative role in conception and the responsibility to instill virtue in and provide for …

Southern Normal?: An Exploration Of Integration In A Deep South Town: Brewton, Alabama, 1954-1971, Anna Catherine Mcdonald

Masters Theses

This study was conducted in order to identify possible reasons for the successful integration of Brewton, Alabama’s school system. Unlike many other towns in South Alabama, Brewton chose not to create a private school as an alternative to attending an integrated public facility. Known as “white flight” schools, these private institutions are still a viable factor in the education of Southern children. Although Brewton had the money and the resources to create such a school, it did not. This thesis seeks to understand why.

Two factors are central to approaching Brewton as a topic of research. One is Brewton’s wealthy …

Glass-Blue Days: A Collection Of Poetry, Steven Paul Sparks

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Position Of The Intellectual In The 1950s: Case Studies Of J. D. Salinger And Ayn Rand, Stephen J. Bain

Masters Theses

The purpose ofthis study was to examine the historical and social factors that influenced American intellectual life in the 1950s, and to apply these broader, cultural influences to case studies on two American writers working in the 1950s: J. D. Salinger and Ayn Rand. Research involved diverse readings in biography and literary criticism concerning the two authors as well as interpretation ofthe authors' works themselves. Despite having opposing philosophical, aesthetic, and intellectual ideals, J. D. Salinger and Ayn Rand typify the position ofthe intellectual in the 1950s because they share the conflicting needs ofacceptance and superiority. While the two authors …

Mobius Strip, Tory Killian Niemann

Masters Theses

This collection of short stories explores the moments of change in a variety of human experiences. Change is embodied in the stories not only in the literal action of the characters and through the expressions of prose, but also in the uses of certain formal devices, such as point of view, narrative control, and genre. Through unexpected redirection of these formal devices, the impact of change is given a different significance in order to better reach the reading audience. Each of the seven stories looks at the different experiences of change, for good and for ill, in human life, showing …

A Preliminary Study Of The Kaogong Ji (The Book Of Artificers), Hanmo Zhang

Masters Theses

The focus of this paper is on the ancient Chinese text of the Kaogong ji, which is now included in the Zhouli as one of its chapters. Through a careful comparison between the Kaogong ji and the rest of the Zhouli and through a synthetic analysis of academic discussions of the completion date and authorship of the Kaogong ji, this paper attempts to show that the Kaogong ji had been an independent text before its inclusion. It goes on to disprove the argument that the Kaogong ji was forged by the Han scholar Liu Xin as political propaganda. …