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Mythos And Meaning: Medieval Appropriations Of Mythological Types In The Consolation Of Philosophy And Later Western Literatures, Francis J. Hunter

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Often referred to as the last Roman and first medieval, Boethius, author of The Consolation of Philosophy, has been widely received as an unoriginal philosopher who sought to preserve Platonic thought as the Western Roman Empire fell. However, this essay features an investigation into the literary originality of Boethius who initiates a line of Christian and Platonic literatures to follow in the medieval European tradition. Boethius demonstrates himself to be a poet who makes great use of philosophy rather than as a philosopher writing poetry. Boethius’ poetic influence is felt most strongly in major aspects of Dante’s Divine Comedy and …

Initiated Reading: Occult Hermeneutics In Helena Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled, Diana Brown

Dissertations - ALL

In this dissertation, I argue that Theosophical Society co-founder Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s first major work, Isis Unveiled (1877), describes an occult hermeneutic of myth based on the privileging of intuition, theorized especially in Neoplatonic terms, and premised on a tripartite spirit-soul-body constitution of the human being. Her hermeneutic also privileges initiation, construed as experiential gnosis often produced by ritual, and she opposes both intuition and initiation to reason and empiricism. Theorizing global myths as allegories revealing elements of a universal religion, or secret doctrine, traceable to India, she brings together an esotericism premised on a combination of Indian religion and …

Reconstructing Hope And Resilience Among Kenyan Adolescent Immigrants, Julius Mwangi

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

The study "Reconstructing Hope and Resilience Among Kenyan Adolescent Immigrants" explores Kenyan immigrant families' challenges in the United States and their impact on their adolescent children. It proposes a community-led mentoring program incorporating emotional intelligence competencies and faith to support adolescents' success. Additionally, the study advocates for a new immigrant parent-mentoring program to help them navigate the complex legal process to accelerate their immigration and successful acculturalization. The research contains selected Bible narratives that identify parental responsibilities towards their children and discourses on their successful utility or lack thereof. The study argues that parents and the community have a responsibility …

A Hegelian Theory Of Divine Revelation, Jason D. Barton

Philosophy ETDs

Through an intensive examination of the second volume of G.W.F. Hegel’s oft-neglected Berlin Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, I demarcate and elucidate a Hegelian theory of divine revelation. The second volume of these Lectures advances a series of configurations for religious consciousness through which absolute spirit passes in order to gain awareness of itself in the register of representation. While Hegel identifies divinity with absolute spirit in its moments and movements indicative of an odyssey, Hegel also ventures to painstaking lengths for the sake of authentically capturing how world-historical religions respectively portray(ed) the divine. Such a distinction between …

Frozen Ii And Girls’ Spiritual Formation: How The Music Of An Animated Musical Resonates With Girls And Women, Cristen Mitchell

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Frozen II (2019) is a popular Disney animated movie for children and depicts striking spiritual elements while weaving in feminist practices such as justice and equity, and feminist theology through representations of female spirits and connection to the earth. Through this movie, its themes, and the historical exclusion of women in the church, this thesis seeks to show that representation of women in the divine is an important, and necessary part of the spiritual and psychological development of girls and women. The methods of this thesis include exploring the following synchronicities:

1. Parallels between feminist issues in the church and Walt …

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Fragmented Bodies, Lauren Careese Alexander

Art Theses and Dissertations

Through Memory Webs and fragmented ceramic vessels, I express what it feels like to grow up living in a biracial body. I utilize mixed media to emulate a mixed-race experience. My Memory Webs are fashioned by painting on scraps of canvas and attaching them with crocheted wire and ribbon to speak to how my memory has impacted my identity. My fragmented ceramic vessels are cut up and stitched back together to represent disjointedness and un-belonging. All of my work is contextualized through the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and what the Monster may represent for people of color. I also …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Bahrdt' S Psychological Portrait Of The Dogmatic Priest In Das Religions-Edikt And Herr Pastor Rindvigius, Timothy Wright

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

'What is enlightenment?' This question, posed to German reading audiences in the autumn of 1783 by the journal Berlinische Monatsschrift, ignited a debate that lasted a decade. While the famous answer, given by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, emphasized enlightenment as, above all else, self-emancipation, others stressed the role of external factors-education and institutions-in promoting the individual's ability to think for himself. Through correct upbringing, education, and laws, the individual and society can be brought to enlightenment, so the thinking went. This latter model accented the importance of human development (Bildung) and institutional reform as a means to facilitate this …

Lds Women And The Teton Dam Disaster Of 1976, Emily Willis

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

June 5, 1976, started like any other spring day in southeastern Idaho. After the cold winter, most of the residents of the numerous farming towns that lie throughout the Upper Snake River Valley found the beautiful Saturday ideal for farm work, gardening, or spring cleaning. About twenty miles northeast of Rexburg, the largest town in the area, the Teton Dam neared completion. A Bureau of Reclamation project, the dam promised to stop the annual flooding that so often decimated portions of farmers' fields along the Teton River. Around 11 o'clock that morning, however, came a terrifying report: the Teton Dam …

Spiritual Chemistry: The Theosophic Roots Of Newtonian Alchemy, Jeffery Tucker

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The popularization of mathematics in the Modern Era and the subsequent proliferation of technologies have created a cultural environment in which the meaning of 'science' is often assumed to be self-evident. Philosophically, this presumptive consensus derives many of its arguments from Popperian criteria, which seek to delineate the critical differences between 'science' and 'non-science.' These demarcations imply that 'science' is an empiric reality, discoverable in both its methods and qualities. Although Kuhnian relativism has attenuated the robustness of these assertions, the fact remains that many individuals purport to have an intuitive ability to state definitively, "This is science." Such claims …

Satorial Manipulation Within Historical Politics, Heather Dew

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Fashion's impact on the course of history largely unexplored. Herbert Blumer, a noted sociologist at UC Berkeley, accurately credits this oversight to

"a failure to observe and appreciate the wide range of operation of fashion; a false assumption that fashion has only nivial or peripheral significance; a mistaken idea that fashion falls in the area of the abnormal and irrational and thus is out of the mainsneam of human group life; and, finally, a misunderstanding of the nature of fashion."

Blumer was criticizing sociologists, but he may as well have been criticizing historians; scholarly works analyzing fashion's impact are rare …

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

With Love, ; An Interdisciplinary And Intersectional Look At Why Creativity Is Essential, Theo Starr Gardner

Whittier Scholars Program

My Whittier Scholars Program self-designed major, Teaching Creativity, is a mixture of Art, Literature, and Education classes. My research and praxis classes have been focused on the ‘how?’s and 'why?’s of creativity, so it felt only right that my project should be a constructivist, generative project. The project I have been working on throughout my time at Whittier, and that has just fully come to fruition on April 11th, 2024, was a solo art gallery/open mic event entitled ‘With Love,’. With Love, was conceptually inspired by the research I’ve conducted on creativity and creative arts education over the past few …

Toward An Affective-Rhetorical Approach To Biblical Interpretation, Sophie R. Beal

Yale Divinity School Theses

No abstract provided.

“But Because We Are Christian”: The Exploration Of Communication Frames And Identity Negotiation Among African Immigrants And Black Americans In A Multicultural Church, Hawa Diakite

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This qualitative thesis examines identity negotiation and communication frames used among African immigrants and Black Americans who attend a multicultural church. Exploring the intersection of identity, race, and faith among African immigrants and Black Americans is valuable towards understanding the dynamics of their relationship in the context of Christian communities in the United States. As African Christian immigrants navigate the complexities of racial realities in the United States, their faith can serve as a safe place that shapes their sense of self and community belonging. Similarly, many Black Americans historically have drawn upon their Christian faith as a place of …

Effects Of Language Status, Community Advice, And Parent Beliefs On Heritage Language Maintenance In The U.S.: A Scoping Review, Isabelle Trujillo, Jasmine Loeung, Carolyn Quam

Student Research Symposium

This scoping review of qualitative research examines effects of language status, community advice to parents, and parents' beliefs on heritage language maintenance within a U.S. context. The review was guided by three research questions: 1. What is the nature of the relationship between a heritage language’s (HL) status in society and language maintenance across generations? 2. How does information parents receive from community members (e.g., health professionals, teachers, friends/family) influence their beliefs about the HL? 3. How do parents’ beliefs about the impact of a HL on academic/career success influence HL transmission? Thirty-four articles met inclusion criteria. Three themes were …

Gangism: An 'Elementary Form Of Religious Life', Robert Northman

Student Research Symposium

This study is intended to examine the question: could gangs be a form of religion? The study will examine Steven Cureton's ethnographic case study of a street gang as found in his work titled Hoover Crips (2008), where I will then analyze the findings within the sociological framework of Emile Durkheim’s theory of religion as set forth in his classic book titled Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912).

This exploration faces challenges as the terms “gang” and “religion” are both hotly contested, and discussions on each have largely occurred independently, leaving a significant gap for this research to address. This …

Tragedy, Ownership, And Hospitality In Gerar: Lessons From Social Psychology, Moshe S. Rachmuth

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Can the story of Isaac be read with tragedy in mind or is the second patriarch the comedic relief of Genesis? Scholars mostly see Isaac as the book’s fool and thus laughable. Even more clearly so in Gen 26:7-11 which recounts how, during the hunger migration of Isaac and Rebekah to Philistine Gerar, Isaac presented Rebekah as his sister. Comparing Genesis 26 with similar stories about Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 12, 20), Isaac and Rebekah are in lesser danger than Isaac’s parents. This work takes three steps to argue that the story supports the national identity of displaced Israelites. First, …

Seeing Is Believing: Observing Trans Spirituality Through The Smith-Waite Tarot, Phoebe Santalla

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

In 1909 the Rider Company published the Smith-Waite Tarot deck which featured 78 illustrated cards by Pamela Colman Smith. With heavy use of appropriated and ambiguous symbology, the Smith-Waite deck became a meditation tool for realizing alternative realities. By observing the history of the deck, analyzing Smith’s approach to illustration, and retracing the counterculture occult explosion in the 1970s, this essay argues that the Smith-Waite deck is an object the reflects the queered body and self. The modern, trans-contentious, Western political climate creates an environment that obscures the fact that transgender people exist beyond the medicalization of their bodies. To …

Mussar And Esotericism In Revolutionary Russia, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is an introductory comparative look at teachings of two spiritual figures in pre-revolutionary and revolutionary Russia: Rav Yoseph Yozel (Horowitz) and George Gurdjieff. Yozel founded the Novarodok school of Mussar; Gurdjieff founded the spiritual tradition known as “the Work” or “Fourth Way.” There are of course great differences between the Jewish tradition of Mussar, whose literature dates back to the Mishnah but which as a social movement was launched by Rabbi Israel Salantar in the late 19^th century, and the Work, with its affinities to Eastern Christianity, Buddhism, and Sufism but with no apparent connection to Judaism. …

Finding God In All Things: Contemplation And Action In Karl Rahner And Bernard Lonergan, Henry O. Widdicombe

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This thesis aims to explore the Ignatian influence that Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan share as a way of comparing the two figures and, consequently, articulating a transcendental theological anthropology that expresses the insights of both and complements each with the other. What emerges from an investigation of the Ignatian roots of Rahner and Lonergan is an awareness of two distinct categories within human experience, an inward dimension wherein psychological and spiritual movements are discerned and an outward dimension where the terms of those movements are worked out—what the Christian tradition has often termed “contemplation” and “action.” For Ignatius, Rahner, …

間, Lele Dai

Theses and Dissertations

LeLe Dai makes contingent participatory public interventions using sensory materials such as sound, flickering light, and water. This paper examines their works through the lens of Chinese character Jian (間), meaning “gap/slit/incision,” to investigate the concept of “in-betweenness.”

Virtual Reality In And For Creation, Jaron Melin

Grapho : Concordia Seminary Student Journal

Within the last few years, there has been growing excitement and concern in the rise of what is called the metaverse. How do various enthusiasts and observers characterize the metaverse? Bobrowsky on the Wall Street Journal reports the metaverse as “an extensive online world transcending individual tech platforms, where people exist in immersive, shared virtual spaces. Through avatars, people are able to try on items available in stores or attend concerts with friends, just as they would offline.”

"Fearfully And Wonderfully Made": The Reconciliation Of The Lgbtqia+ Community To American Christianity, Madalyn Sailors '24

Senior Scholarly and Creative Symposium

I explore in this paper the ways in which churches in the United States treat LGBTQIA+ issues and members in their congregations. To do so, I will focus on several case studies, including the Metropolitan Community Church, the Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the United Methodist Church. These examples range from socially affirming to conservative and from traditional to contemporary worship styles. I plan to research the social landscapes of these churches and propose possible solutions for how other faith spaces can create more inclusive membership. I also address my …

How Can Pastors Who Are Working With Youth In Tanzania Help Youth Resolve Christian-Muslim Tensions?, Ombeni Martin Ulime

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.

Love And Politics: A Convergent Reading Of Hegel’S Philosophy Of Right And Kierkegaard’S Works Of Love, Andrés Roberto Albertsen

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This dissertation got its start when I realized that a convergent reading of Hegel and Kierkegaard may be possible on the topic of love and politics. That is not a capricious topic, but one that has become central in contemporary political philosophy besides being at the heart of what Christianity is about, and I will address it with the goal of making love politically operative today. So, before I immerse myself into Hegel and Kierkegaard, I will investigate some contemporary political philosophers who, although with different perspectives, agree that love is a significant concept for philosophy and politics: Roberto Mangabeira …

The Framing Of Authority In The Acrl Framework On Information Literacy: Multidisciplinary Perspectives On Truth, Authority, Expertise And Belief., Lisa M. Rose-Wiles

Praxis Publications

Purpose This paper engages multidisciplinary perspectives on truth, authority, expertise and belief to unpack and better understand the underlying epistemology and implications of the ACRL frame “authority is constructed and contextual”.' Design/Methodology/Approach Following an overview of the issues confronting us in a “post-truth world”, the paper reviews critiques of the ACRL frame “authority is constructed and contextual” and examines the related concepts of truth, authority, expertise and belief from multidisciplinary perspectives. Findings While the frame acknowledges the limitations and biases of current scholarly publishing and implicitly supports social justice, it runs the danger of promoting relativism and is ambiguous regarding …

Discerning God’S Foreknowledge In Genesis 18:16–33, Devin T. Morris

Harding School of Theology Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Matrix: Navigating The Implications Of Nick Bostrom's Simulation Hypothesis On Reality And Existence, Michell-Lee Graham '24

Honor Scholar Theses

Suppose for the sake of the argument we are all living inside of a simulation, is that a problem? Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher has proposed the question of whether we are living in a simulation. Philosophers in the past have grappled with this concept, from Plato to George Berkeley. This concept is also readily seen in movies such as “The Matrix" which is a science fiction film that explores the concept of a simulated reality. In the story, humans live in a simulated world created by sentient machines to distract and control them, while their physical bodies are used …

Visit The Imprisoned: A Heuristic Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Catholic Detention Ministry Volunteers, Christopher Tran

Education (PhD) Dissertations

There exists a wide breadth of literature in regards to the harmful and dehumanizing impact of incarceration on human development and dignity. Through my years as a volunteer in detention ministry, I have witnessed firsthand these effects particularly on youths who have been incarcerated. My experiences have led me to wonder then, “Why does the prison system still exist to harm people despite the array of research condemning its practices?” Through this pondering, I critiqued the larger systems at play: the prison-industrial complex, the sociopolitical rhetoric of “tough on crime,” and the overall demonization of this population. As a response …