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Re-Discovering Ethan Allen And Thomas Young's Reason The Only Oracle Of Man: The Rise Of Deism In Pre-Revolutionary America, Benjamin Kolenda
Re-Discovering Ethan Allen And Thomas Young's Reason The Only Oracle Of Man: The Rise Of Deism In Pre-Revolutionary America, Benjamin Kolenda
English Theses
In 1784, Ethan Allen (1738-1789), the leader of the Green Mountain Boys and legendary Revolutionary War hero, and his friend Thomas Young (1731-1777) published Reason the only Oracle of Man. In their opus, America’s premier text formally introducing Deism, Allen and Young systematically dismantle the ecclesiastical foundations of New England by specifically targeting the undemocratic principles of the Congregational Church. Allen and Young wrote Reason as a revolt against the encroaching ecclesiastical domination. The duo focused upon many topics central to the European Enlightenment: substance and matter, formation versus creation, immortality, the soul, the nature and motives of prophecy, …
A Phrenological Assesment Of Rebecca Harding Davis's Sketch, 'Blind Tom', Leanne M. Davis
A Phrenological Assesment Of Rebecca Harding Davis's Sketch, 'Blind Tom', Leanne M. Davis
English Theses
In this essay, I examine how the nineteenth-century cultural phenomenon of phrenology is made apparent in the abolitionist arguments of Rebecca Harding Davis’s “Blind Tom” (1862), a nonfiction character sketch of the popular blind slave and idiot savant-musician. The first portion of my argument constructs a probable reality that allows for the influence of Davis’s exposure to phrenology first as a student, then later as a writer. I then perform a critical assessment of “Blind Tom,” revealing how Davis relies upon phrenological terminology, such as that employed by famous phrenologist Orson Squire Fowler, in her descriptions of the musician’s physical …
Lifting The Veil Between George Eliot's "The Lifted Veil" And Henry James' "The Beast In The Jungle, Dan Abitz
Lifting The Veil Between George Eliot's "The Lifted Veil" And Henry James' "The Beast In The Jungle, Dan Abitz
English Theses
This thesis works towards establishing a legacy of influence between George Eliot’s “The Lifted Veil” and Henry James’ “The Beast in the Jungle.” Through an exploration of James’ relationship to Eliot’s oeuvre and a close study of the two works in tandem, it will become apparent the influence Eliot’s slight Gothic story held on James’ celebrated short story. Furthermore, this thesis will introduce another chapter of the growing critical tradition of studying the relationship between George Eliot and Henry James.
A Plain Apology: Teaching Plain Style In First-Year Composition, Benjamin H. Austin
A Plain Apology: Teaching Plain Style In First-Year Composition, Benjamin H. Austin
English Theses
A controversial institution from its inception, American higher education in the past decade has come under fire from scholars, college administrators, business leaders, and the U.S. Department of Education. These parties charge that our colleges and universities are underpreparing students for their professional lives, particularly in the areas of critical thinking and writing. I present the case that teaching the plain style of writing, in the vein of Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language,” would improve both writing and thinking. I provide a sample plain-style pedagogy for first-year composition. I also examine a modern composition studies trend against plain style, …
Cyborg In The Mirror: Embodiment In Video Games, Andrea Judy
Cyborg In The Mirror: Embodiment In Video Games, Andrea Judy
English Theses
The Kinect will be the primary focus of this thesis about the process of embodiment while interacting with video games of a third person perspective. The Kinect serves as a mirror to reflect back a cyborg identity on the screen that the player embodies.
Is Tomorrow Another Day? The Uncertain Implications Of Scarlett's Life Decisions In Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind, Elizabeth A. Young
Is Tomorrow Another Day? The Uncertain Implications Of Scarlett's Life Decisions In Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind, Elizabeth A. Young
English Theses
Anyone who is familiar with Margaret Mitchell’s life and her novel, Gone with the Wind, should notice that Mitchell’s work in some fashion parallels events from her life. Exactly how and why these parallels function, however, has been the subject for much scholarly debate. In my thesis, I examine Mitchell’s biography to get closer to the truth of the events in her life up to the publication of her novel. I then synthesize this information with a side-by-side analysis of some important figures in Mitchell’s life and characters from her novel; from there, I provide a feminist critique of …
'This World Of Sorrow And Trouble': The Criminal Type Of Oliver Twist, Megan N. Samples
'This World Of Sorrow And Trouble': The Criminal Type Of Oliver Twist, Megan N. Samples
English Theses
This thesis looks at the criminals of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist as a criminal type: impoverished, unattractive people who lack family roots. It establishes connections between the criminal characters themselves as well as the real-world conditions which inspired their stereotypes. The conditions of poverty and a lack of family being tied to criminality is founded in reality, while the tendency for criminals to be unattractive is based on social bias and prejudice. It also identifies conflicting ideologies in the prevailing Victorian mindset that begins to emerge as a result of research into the criminal type.
Staff Management In The Writing Center: Theoretical And Practical Preparation For Administrators, Kelly Elmore
Staff Management In The Writing Center: Theoretical And Practical Preparation For Administrators, Kelly Elmore
English Theses
Though every writing center administrator (WCA) manages a staff, staff management is not widely studied in writing center scholarship. This thesis reports the results of a nationwide survey of WCAs’ preparation for and experiences with staff management in writing centers. The data suggests that many new WCAs feel unprepared for staff management at the beginning of their administrative jobs. The data about WCA staff management beliefs is categorized into four themes: collaboration, empowerment, nurture, and authority. A disparity also seems to exist between the frequency of these themes in the participants’ description of their beliefs and the frequency of the …
Awesome Inconsequence: Critique Of Modern Society Through Apocalyptic Frivolity In The Early Novels Of Waugh And Fitzgerald, Jessica H. Graves
Awesome Inconsequence: Critique Of Modern Society Through Apocalyptic Frivolity In The Early Novels Of Waugh And Fitzgerald, Jessica H. Graves
English Theses
The early novels of both Evelyn Waugh and F. Scott Fitzgerald are beautiful works of moral decay – sparkling facades disguising toxic skeletons of modern society – yet their related semblances remain largely unexplored. Decline and Fall, Vile Bodies, A Handful of Dust, The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, and The Beautiful and Damned are airy tomes of early twentieth century literature paradoxically heavy with the gravity of soulless society. They operate uniquely to each author through a signature moral relativism, attenuating the complex vagaries of American and English social stratification (and the brutal …
Migrating Ministry: New Media Literacy And Christian Communication, Frederick A. Cole Iii
Migrating Ministry: New Media Literacy And Christian Communication, Frederick A. Cole Iii
English Theses
This thesis explores ways evangelical Christian communicators remediate traditional ministry functions and community formation onto new media platforms. This exploration is framed by a discussion of literacy and digital composing reflecting Stuart Selber’s multiliteracy approach to teaching digital composition. The author positions evangelical churches’ approaches to texts, community, education, and communication as components of a distinct literacy that is often at odds with values, controls, and cultures found on the Internet and in new media. Discovering how church communicators use new media, how their education prepares them for effective digital communication, and how external sources, such as expert authors, aid …
Is Pinterest Really Killing Feminism?, Lauren E. Alford
Is Pinterest Really Killing Feminism?, Lauren E. Alford
English Theses
A response to the notion, popularized by Amy Odell’s article “How Pinterest is Killing Feminism,” that the social media site Pinterest, which is dominated by female users, is detrimental both to the feminist movement and women in general. A definition of feminism, contrary to the one employed by Odell, is established and applied to Pinterest users and Pinterest content. Two forms of content prevalent on Pinterest, domestic content and “thinspo” images, are evaluated in terms of their prevalence and how they are used on Pinterest and their overall effect on women and feminism. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and Naomi …
"Nature Gave A Second Groan": The Decay Of Nature In Paradise Lost And Seventeenth-Century Discussion, Mary Grace Elliott
"Nature Gave A Second Groan": The Decay Of Nature In Paradise Lost And Seventeenth-Century Discussion, Mary Grace Elliott
English Theses
The thesis investigates the role of nature in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. By looking at seventeenth-century texts concerning the decay of nature by Godfrey Goodman and George Hakewill, this thesis strives to determine how Milton’s poetry engaged in a contemporary debate. The thesis begins with an examination of Goodman and Hakewill’s texts alongside Milton’s On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, Naturam Non Pati Senium, and Lycidas. The second and third parts of the thesis examine the role of nature in pre- and postlapsarian Eden in Milton’s epic, while keeping in mind the seventeenth-century debate explored in …
The Rhetoric Of Queer: Subverting Heteronormative Social Institutions And Creating New Meaning, Marissa Nolan
The Rhetoric Of Queer: Subverting Heteronormative Social Institutions And Creating New Meaning, Marissa Nolan
English Theses
The word “queer” generates mixed feelings. For some, it is a way to denigrate gays and lesbians, though, in recent years, those in LGBT communities have re-appropriated the term and have given it a more positive spin. This project aims to investigate exactly that kind of social action, specifically, looking at the way some take socially constructed norms and queer them in order to develop new meanings. First, this thesis explores how social norms impacted identity creation in ancient Rome and Greece. It then surveys the theories behind norms, along with their formation and maintenance in current society. Next, this …
Hunting And Writing The Whale: Masculine Responses To The Maternal In Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, Seth A. Hagen
Hunting And Writing The Whale: Masculine Responses To The Maternal In Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, Seth A. Hagen
English Theses
“Hunting and Writing the Whale” investigates the persistent resurfacing of the maternal body in Moby-Dick and examines how the masculine identities of the characters Ishmael and Ahab are constructed in response to their anxieties toward the maternal. Drawing on the work of Julia Kristeva and contemporary theory of womb envy, I argue that Ishmael and Ahab each struggle with defining and maintaining their identities in the presence of a maternal body that both attracts and repulses. Whereas Ahab’s dogged attempt to maintain a fixed identity results in annihilation, Ishmael embraces a more fluid existence informed by a maternal semiotic that …
A Folkloristic Literary Analysis Of Cultural Collision In The Work Of Bobbie Ann Mason, Sally J. Newman
A Folkloristic Literary Analysis Of Cultural Collision In The Work Of Bobbie Ann Mason, Sally J. Newman
English Theses
The clash of folk and popular cultures is central to the work of contemporary Southeastern American author Bobbie Ann Mason. Though Mason is often classified as a Kmart realist because of her style’s emphasis on the minutia of mass-produced culture, a more nuanced understanding of her work can be reached via a focus on the way she explores the complex, evolving relationship between folklore and popular culture. This thesis is a folkloristic literary analysis of selected Mason fiction and memoir. It examines the interplay between homogenized American popular culture, region-specific rural Southeastern American folk culture, gender roles, subregional history, and …