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The Devil In The Details: “Life Force Atrocities” And The Assault On The Family In Times Of Conflict, Elisa Von Joeden-Forgey

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article introduces the idea of ‘‘life force atrocities’’ and investigates the role they have played in twentieth-century genocides, arguing that genocide is a gen- dered crime intimately associated with institutions of reproduction. Using exam- ples from established cases of genocide, such as the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Bosnia, and Rwanda, as well as from conflicts not generally under- stood as genocides, such as Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the article outlines two types of life force atrocities that have been common features of these conflicts: inversion rituals and ritual desecrations. Each of these instances of …

Where Christ Dies Daily: Performances Of Faith At Orlando‘S Holy Land Experience, Sara B. Dykins Callahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This manuscript focuses on performances of place and faith inside the Holy Land Experience (HLE), an edutainment complex nestled in the fantasy nexus of Orlando, Florida. A self-proclaimed living-history museum, the HLE includes animatronic Bible characters and musical dramas. The HLE enacts and embodies evangelical narratives of Christianity and Christian faith, and visitors to the park are asked to join the performances, blurring the distinctions between spectators and professional actors. I argue that visitors' performances of faith invest the space of the HLE with sacredness, while the location and design of the HLE infuses the space with elements of the …

Commencement Convocation Program, Sarasota - Manatee Campus, December 13, 2009, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholar Award - Cheryl Ouelette; Outstanding Professor - Ross P. Alander; Golden Bull Award - Robert Johnson; Outstanding Senior - Brice Tisdale

Commencement Convocation Program, Tampa Campus, December 12, 2009, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Lena Champlin, Eva Chase, Lauren Cox, Seon Jeon, Jessica Jones, Jake Laun, Katie Laun, Michael Maiorana, Jonathan Minch, Akash Parekh, Willmarie Ramirez Vega, and Danielle Rudisill; Outstanding Senior - Christopher James Griesbach

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 12, 2009, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Public Health - Samuel P. Bell III

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, August 8, 2009, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholar - Kimberly Michelle Patarini; President's Global Leadership Award - Indira Chakravarty; Outstanding Senior - Anthony Le

Commencement Convocation Program, Sarasota - Manatee Campus, May 3, 2009, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholar - Erika Szoke; Outstanding Professor - Michael Richard; Golden Bull Award - Jina Lyon; Sarasota-Manatee Outstanding Senior

Commencement Convocation Program, Tampa Campus, May 1, 2009, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Human Letters - Robert Butterworth; Outstanding Senior - Rose Rezaei; King O'Neal Scholars - Autumn Nicole Barthelemy, Sonya Brar, Linh Phuong Thi Dinh, David Michael Donohue, Sandy Ranae Heflin, Tegan Marie Lesperance, Elona Rrapo, Chirstopher Charles Swanson, and Glenna Shemida Brewster

Theology, Spirituality, And The Academic Study Of Religion In Public Universities, Don Saunders

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines whether the secular institutions of American higher education should address students questions of meaning, purpose, wisdom, and human destiny. That is, it investigates the place of the normative analysis of religious experience and behavior within the public university. I use the work of Ninian Smart, Russell T. McCutcheon and Ivan Strenski to illustrate the case against the inclusion of theology and spirituality in the academic study of religion. In their view, theology is at best an artifact, like ritual or religious art and not an academic discipline. Conversely, I use the work of Paul Tillich, John Dunne, …

Broadening The Spectrum: The Religious Dimensions Of The Rainbow Gatherings, Seth M. Walker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to specifically address the religious dimensions of the Rainbow Gatherings. The fundamental question directing this analysis is: "Are the Rainbow Gatherings religious in character?" This thesis specifically asks whether or not the Rainbow Gatherings satisfy certain identifiable features of religion, and if doing so, do they qualify as a form of religion? I engage this question by analyzing the Rainbow Gatherings in terms of two particular definitions of religion: Clifford Geertz's "functional" definition and Bryan R. Wilson's "substantive" definition. This allows me to analyze the Rainbow Gatherings from the perspective of the two major …

Sympathy For The Devil: A Character Analysis Of Gibreel Farishta In Salman Rushdie’S The Satanic Verses, Catherine Mary Lafuente

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses created a major controversy when published in 1988, much like the controversy that Nikos Kazantzakis's novel The Last Temptation of Christ caused in 1951. Kazantzakis's work upset many Christians due to the controversial characterization of Jesus, who in the novel engages in sexual activities and other behaviors that many Christians find offensive. The Satanic Verses caused a similar uproar in the Umma, or Muslim community, resulting in book burnings, death threats, and even a murder. Most of the controversy focused on some the problematic characterizations of the Prophet Muhammad and his wives, such as using …

The Babel Paradox, Michel Machado

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the book of Acts is still not well understood. Various interpretations have been offered in order to make sense of the narrative and its author's intention. What is the point of Luke's second book in portraying the evangelization of the Roman Empire as a rabid confrontation between Jewish followers of Jesus and other Jewish people? This matter calls for an examination of the relationship between the mother religion and the Jesus movement as it expands into a universal religion. Luke portrays the Jesus movement as the focus of divine favor, in contradistinction to the Jewish nation which …

Finding Confucianism In Scientology: A Comparative Analysis, John Albert Kieffer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scientology holds considerable interest for scholars of new religious movements. As such, this study aims to contribute new data and insight to ongoing theoretical work within this area of religious studies scholarship. Engaged in this inquiry are the similarities between Scientology, the new religious movement founded in 1951 by L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986), and the Chinese religion, Confucianism, which originates with the teachings of Confucius (551-479 BCE). Though Hubbard admits being influenced by eastern thinking such as Buddhism and Daoism in shaping his worldview, he specifically discounts Confucius as relevant in this regard. However, through comparisons between Scientology and Confucianism, …

Commencement Convocation Program, Sarasota - Manatee Campus, December 14, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Outstanding Professor Award - Michael Sheldon, James Curran, and Thomas Pencek; USF Sarasota-Manatee Distinguished Citizen Award

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, December 14, 2008, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

USF St. Petersburg Graduations and Commencements

King O'Neal Award: Clarisse Barbier, Jennifer Dion Fox; Outstanding Graduate: Jessica Morgan; Regional Chancellor's Award for Civic Leadership: Andrew H. Hines, Jr.

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 13, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

No abstract provided.

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, August 9, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholar - Shamik Dwivedi

Religious Exiles And Emigrants: The Changing Face Of Zoroastrianism, Tara Angelique Migliore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Zoroastrianism was founded by the prophet Zarathushtra ca 1400 to 1200 BCE and is generally acknowledged as the world's oldest monotheistic and revealed religion. It dominated three great Iranian empires, and influenced Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Mahayana Buddhism. At one point in time, their numbers surely seemed limitless. Today, however, roughly 150,000 Zoroastrians are scattered all over the globe in very small numbers. The faith is at a crossroads, and its very existence is threatened.

This is an examination of the decline and subsequent change of this previously influential and vital religion. Zoroastrians have been able to maintain the major …

Commencement Convocation Program, Lakeland Campus, May 5, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Outstanding Senior - Amanda Robinson; King O'Neal Scholar - Mari Nichole McKinley

Commencement Convocation Program, Sarasota - Manatee Campus, May 4, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholar - Linda Gabriel; Outstanding Professor - Michael Sheldon; Sarasota-Manatee Outstanding Senior - Ashley Morey; Golden Bull Award - Aaron Wiseman

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, May 4, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Jacquelyn Renee Hicks, Ashley Nicole Hopping, and Zoe Rita Placiotis; Outstanding Graduate - Susan M. Herbert

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, May 4, 2008, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

USF St. Petersburg Graduations and Commencements

King O'Neal Awards: Jacquelyn Renee Hicks, Ashley Nicole Hopping, Zoe Rita Placiotis; Outstanding Graduate: Susan M. Herbert

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, May 3, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Fellow Medallion - Antonia Novello

Commencement Convocation Program, Tampa Campus, May 2 And 3, 2008, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Shawn Curtis, Emily Jane Koby, Katherine A. Dorf, Cassandra L. Ernst, Kelly Marie Foyle, Adam King, Jonathan David Miller, Andrew Felipe Quecan, Carol H. Bierschenk, Sara Elizabeth Harrison, and Gabriel Antonio Lopez; Outstanding Senior - Ojas Rawal; Honorary Doctor of Visual and Performing Arts - Trisha Brown

Poetry And Ritual: The Physical Expression Of Homoerotic Imagery In Sama, Zachary Holladay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sufi poetry of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE/132-655 AH) exhibited a particular penchant for highlighting the relationship between humankind and God with homoerotic language. While the homoerotic nature of Sufi poetry has received considerable scholarly attention, the ritual expression of such literature has not. The ritual of sama was a practice that occurred in the Sufi institutions and incorporated various elements of the poetry examined. By listening to the poetry, in the form of song and often with accompanying instrumentation, the mystics would experience transient moments of altered state experiences, usually interpreted as moments of union with God.

This thesis …

Metropolitan Community Church: A Perfectly Queer Reading Of The Bible, Matthew D. Stewart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the hermeneutical strategies that Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) has employed in interpreting the Bible. As a new religious movement (NRM) with an outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals MCC interprets the text in light of its membership. The interpretive strategies and methodologies employed are in keeping with other denominations in the Christian tradition. This provides a possible avenue by which MCC can be classified within the Christian tradition.

The interpretation of the biblical text is given in light of the gay people who compose MCC's membership. Gays and lesbians have experienced social and religious stress. …

Re-Islamization In Higher Education From Above And Below: The University Of South Florida And Its Global Contexts, Terri K. Wonder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores Islamism's interplay with higher education as the movement advances an agenda for worldwide reformation. Over an eighty-year period, Islamism has appropriated higher education institutions, professional associations, on- and off-campus organizations, and publications as a primary means to achieve its utopian objective of the Nizam Islami, or "Islamic Order." Findings show how the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt developed a Weberian bureaucratic organizational and administrative structure to exert influence not only in Egypt but also the world. A Qutb-inspired "hijra" of Muslim Brothers in universities proved itself adroit at filling macro-and micro-level policy vacuums in Soviet-aligned post-colonial societies, marginalizing …

Commencement Convocation Program, St. Petersburg Campus, December 18, 2007, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Regional Chancellor's Award for Civic Leadership - Roy Harrell; Outstanding Graduate - Brenda Mettetal

Commencement Convocation Program, Lakeland Campus, December 17, 2007, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Outstanding Senior - Tara Crum; Distinguished Service Award - Commissioner Jack Myers

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 15, 2007, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

President's Fellow Medallion - David Ward