Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Mainlining, Philip L. Simpson

Masters Theses

Mainlining is a collection of six original stories and a prose foreword. The six stories, each of which can stand on its own but when read together form a unified whole, divide into two sections. The first section introduces three main characters, and the second section details the various fortunes (and misfortunes) of these three main characters and additionally introduces a wide range of secondary characters. When analyzed as a group, these characters provide some insight into the collective experiences and emotions of the people living in Mainlining's fictional community of Lincoln.

Lincoln is a small city bearing more …

Evolution/Creation Debate: A Rhetorical Analysis, James V. Miteff

Masters Theses

During the course of human history, many social issues have come and gone. One argument that caught the writer's eye is the argument about how man came to exist.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to analyze an evolution/creation debate that took place at Columbus College, Georgia, on May 6, 1981. Evolutionary theory was supported by Dr. Schwinner, a paleontologist from Columbus College. His partner was Dr. Frazier, a professor of geology at Columbus College. Creation theory was supported by Dr. Henry Morris, President of the Institute for Creation Research, San Diego, and Dr. Slusher, an astronomer …

Empathy For Captain Ahab, Ronda S. Dively

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The United States And German Reunification: The Stalin Note Of 1952, Klaus P. Grillmaier

Masters Theses

This thesis discusses the American and West German reaction to the Soviet note of March 10, 1952. In this so-called Stalin Note the Soviet dictator proposed the reunification of Germany on terms of neutrality and acceptance of the Oder and Neisse rivers as the German-Polish border. By launching his proposal Stalin sought to prevent the integration of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) into the Western alliance system.

The paper starts out sketching the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers after World War II. It also analyzes the impact the Cold War had on Europe. …

The Trials Of Len Small, William R. Harshbarger

Masters Theses

Len Small, governor of Illinois from 1921 to 1929, was a politician associated with the Lorimer-Lundin-Thompson political machine which influenced Illinois politics from 1897 until the late 1920s. During that era, Small held offices in the county and in the state Senate. He served one appointed term as United States subtreasurer, two terms as state treasurer, and two terms as governor. Small ran six times for governor: 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936. He came to the governorship in 1920 following a bitter feud between his patron, William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson and Frank O. Lowden. As a result, …

Transcendent Journeys, Spiritual Frontiers And Analysis, Peter H. Fischer

Masters Theses

Transcendent Journeys, Spiritual Frontiers is a musical composition for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, violoncello, and conductor. The thesis consists of a reduced conductor's score and a written analysis. The texts are "The Moon and the Yew Tree" by Sylvia Plath, "Heart of Autumn" by Robert Penn Warren, and "Byzantium" by William Butler Yeats. The composition consists of an instrumental prelude, followed by the three poems set as a song cycle.

The music features a different compositional technique for each song: the first song, "The Moon and the Yew Tree," uses mixed mode tertian sonorities; the third song, "Byzantium," …

Learning To Forage, Daniel Von Holten

Masters Theses

Learning to Forage is a collection of poems resulting from my own progression from a rural environment, Walnut, Bureau County, Illinois, to the world outside. I illustrate this progression using a persona called Antaeus, named after the Greek demi-god who received his strength from the earth. Therefore, for the most part, Antaeus is me; as the speaker or consciousness in each poem he is aware of everything that happens in the collection.

In the first poems, Antaeus is comfortable in his farm community, but gradually he becomes aware of the death, decay and stagnation. He becomes dissatisfied with his world, …

Medicine, Muckraking, And The Pure Food And Drug Act Of 1906, Jack D. Davis

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Instructional Television In Math, Science And Language Arts In Two Small Elementary Schools, Delbert Maroon

Masters Theses

This field experience investigated the effects of instructional television on academic achievement of fifth and sixth grade students in two small elementary schools in Bond County. A two tailed t-test for the difference of means at the .05 level of significance was used to analyze the data collected. A self assessment survey collected from nine teachers determined that no significant differences in opinion existed between members of the teaching staff regarding instructional television usage. An analysis of student grades determined that no significant increase in student grades was found in the comparisons made. Results of this study indicate that the …

The Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of An Effective Reading And Writing Program For A Rural, Small Town Junior High School, Lynn R. Curtis

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the extra time provided for reading and writing in Macon Junior High School, Macon, Illinois. The following hypotheses were tested: The reading and writing treatment has a significant effect on student reading comprehension scores, writing skills, enjoyment of reading, and on the encouragement of students to read more. There is a significant difference between the cost of the reading and writing program and the fine and applied arts courses it replaced. Subjects included students and teachers in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades at Macon Junior High School. Achievement …

Preservation Of The Family Unit In Adolescent Novels, Mary M. Hutchings

Masters Theses

This thesis discusses the development of the family story from the late nineteenth century to the present, beginning with What Katy Did as an example of the earlier moral story from which this genre grows. It then focuses on Little Women as the beginning of the modern family story and uses Jo from Little Women as the starting point to discuss the development of the female adolescent protagonist in these stories. And lastly, comparing Little Women to modern family life stories which began to appear about 1940, the thesis discusses changes in didacticism which have occurred since the late nineteenth …

Edgar County, Illinois In The Civil War, 1861-1865, Scott Parkinson

Masters Theses

Many Civil War authors have written works which have discussed the contribution individual states made to the war effort. These authors, however, have failed to consider the contributions made by individual counties. For example, in his work, Illinois in the Civil War, Victor Hicken has provided readers with a comprehensive history of Illinois’ role in the Civil War. However, Professor Hicken’s work has failed to consider the contribution Illinois’ counties made to the war effort. Therefore, it is the purpose of this thesis to examine one Illinois county’s contribution to that war.

When the Civil War began in 1861, …

Concerto For Saxophone And Orchestra: Score And Analysis, Jonathan Clarke Schwabe

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Male-Female Relationships On The Self-Development Of Maya Angelou, Susanne Bartsch

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Suppression, Repression, And Expression: Black Anger In Huckleberry Finn, Pudd'nhead Wilson, And The Marrow Of Tradition, Tammy F. Veach

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Lincoln And Oregon, Todd Hageman

Masters Theses

The Civil War is one of the most significant events in American history. President Abraham Lincoln’s term in office was dominated by the War, therefore the study of Lincoln has likewise been dominated by War developments. The War’s battles were overwhelmingly concentrated in the eastern United States, and hence the American west has largely been ignored by Lincoln scholars. This study attempts to uncover Lincoln’s policy toward Oregon, including War developments and his domestic policy, to partially fill the “western gap” in Lincoln scholarship.

Oregon was admitted to the federal Union in 1859, and by Lincoln’s election in 1860 that …

Pilar And Brett: Female Heroes In Hemingway, Jean Kover Chandler

Masters Theses

The significant works on the hero have always assumed that the hero is male. However, feminist writers, such as Carol Pearson and Katherine Pope, have recently shown many women who are, in fact, heroic in both American and British literature. The main problem is that both cultures have often been unable to recognize female heroism, primarily because of their long-conditioned patriarchal perspectives.

Men go on heroic quests; women either help or hinder them along their paths. Thus, women have been considered as supporting characters only, and they are called heroines. But some authors have created female heroes who are not …

Social Dependency And Chinese Political Economic Reform, Jiang Li

Masters Theses

This study of Chinese politics, economics, society and culture is intended to contribute to better understanding of the contemporary reforms in China. This task was not easy due to the facts that China has not been open to direct observation, and its policies were influenced by unpredicted changes.

This thesis is concerned with the reforms and changes that occurred during the years starting 1978 up to the present time. In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Communist Party of the Chinese Central Committee in Beijing, marked the beginning of the reforms in China. The Chinese leaders made efforts …

Viewers' Reactions To Ordinary People In Television News Events, Janice R. Kidd

Masters Theses

Viewers' Reactions to Ordinary People in Television News Events examines two hypotheses relating to respondents' reactions to viewing violent events or the likelihood of violent death as portrayed on the major news networks. Research centers on reactions of viewers to ordinary people caught in extraordinary news events. Results of two free-flow written exercises are discussed.

Research excludes reactions to viewing those in the news, such as police personnel, soldiers etc., whose lives might be expected to be involved in violent or dangerous events.

Zora Neale Hurston’S Search For Identity In Moses, Man Of The Mountain, Joan E. Sebastian

Masters Theses

Zora Neale Hurston, Afro-American writer of the 1920s and 1930s, has gained critical recognition for her novels and studies about the Afro-American masses. Hurston, also an anthropologist and folklorist, worked directly with southern Afro-Americans through her research in both of these fields. Her folklore collecting journeys enabled her to see and to capture the cultural traditions and oral heritage of Afro-Americans. It was her search into the cultural traditions, moreover, that led her to find her own identity. Hurston, therefore, depicted her protagonists as searching for an identity in most of her novels, with this quest especially apparent in Moses, …

In Common: Voices Of The Common Woman, Zoanne Allen

Masters Theses

This is an original compiled script of selected materials relating to the common experiences of women. The intention was to present a work that would touch all women by describing experiences that are shared among us generally. The script utilized materials from a variety of sources: prose, diaries, poems and plays. The tone of the pieces selected were both serious and humorous. Through the assembling of these pieces, a complete script was created. The final goal of the work was to create a sense of bonding among the women in the audience. Secondarily, the male members of the audience should …

Tutoring German Esl Students, Sabina Mussgnug

Masters Theses

Tutors of American university writing centers can be invaluable advisors for German ESL students who come to study in the United States. The tutors can directly assist German students in coping with their particular academic and cultural difficulties.

German students must adapt to the American academic conventions to become successful students at their U.S. universities. The tutors can point out to them the features of the American academic standard and show them effective methods for learning and studying in the American environment.

The American academic standard includes the students' almost perfect reading comprehension. Students must be prepared for heavy reading …

Jean Toomer's Cane: A Work In The American Grotesque Genre, Kathryn M. Olsen

Masters Theses

In my thesis I will discuss the fact that Jean Toomer’s Cane is a grotesque work, one which in several ways resembles Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio. While Jean Toomer never specifically alludes to any of the characters in Cane as grotesques, they consistently exhibit three of the strongest, most characteristic elements of the grotesque: physical and/or psychic deformities, alienation from the reader/viewer, and, most importantly, unrelenting conflict from two opposing elements. In fact, the figures in Cane show even more development of grotesque themes than the characters in Winesburg, Ohio, a collection known for its portrayals of modern …

Personal, Professional, And Educational Characteristics Of Illinois Women Superintendents In 1987, Joyce Simpson Kaufman

Masters Theses

This study reviewed the personal, professional, and educational characteristics of the Illinois women superintendents in 1987. A questionnaire was mailed to the twenty-two women superintendents. Eighteen of them replied.

The three specific problems addressed by the study were:

1. What are the personal, professional, and educational characteristics of Illinois women superintendents in 1987?

2. What are the special problems encountered by women superintendents?

3. What advice do the present women superintendents in Illinois offer to women aspiring to become superintendents?

The responses were based on the perceptions of the eighteen women superintendents who replied. The questionnaire results were reported in …

“What Thyng It Is That Wommen Moost Desiren”: Image And Self-Realization In The Wife Of Bath's Prologue And Tale, Thomas W. Köhn

Masters Theses

The Wife of Bath is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating of the Canterbury pilgrims. At the same time she is one of those literary figures whose complex character constantly seems to elude the reader's judgement. Alisoun presents herself as a feminist advocating male subjection and female sovereignty in marriage, but her self-assertive behaviour cannot conceal an equally powerful longing for love and acceptance. Some critics therefore praise the psychological depth of the Wife's portrayal while others label her a stock character and join in the derisive laughter they believe her fellow pilgrims to bestow on her.

This thesis explores …

An Analysis Of William Lloyd Garrison’S Accusations Against The American Colonization Society, Peggy A. Mcgill

Masters Theses

This thesis analyzes the accusations made by William Lloyd Garrison, founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society, against the American Colonization Society. The charges were based upon his publication Thoughts on African Colonization published in 1832. In the book, he insisted that the Colonization Society fostered ineffectiveness, insincerity, and inconsistency. Because of the Society's ineptitude, he regarded it as a proslavery faction dedicated to racial segregation.

The paper will focus on two important questions. First, was the Colonization Society an antislavery organization? Second, was its objective to aid free blacks or to rid America of the black race.

From hindsight, it …

The Technical Achievement Of C. Rossetti In Goblin Market And Other Poems, Jay D. Fisk

Masters Theses

During Christina Rossetti's lifetime (1830-1894), and for some fifty years after her death, critical attention focused on her life, more specifically on how that life affected her poetry. Critics tried to show how her Italian ancestors, artistic brothers, spiritual mother and sister, and her many illnesses influenced her works. Other than these basic facts, little else was known.

Later, psychological critics found much sexual symbolism in the "repressed" poet's works. "Goblin Market," with its tale of strange little goblin men seducing innocent maids with their fruits seemed particularly well-suited to a Freudian approach. This poem received so much attention that …

A Survey Of The Keyboard Prelude, Bonnie Fansler Mcarthur

Masters Theses

A study of the prelude, the oldest form of idiomatic music for keyboard instruments, offers insight into the heart of piano music. This thesis, a survey of the genre, traces the evolution of the prelude from its roots in the organ improvisations of the fifteenth century to the present century. Although the paper deals exclusively with piano preludes in the chapters after "Preludes of J. S. Bach," the chapters devoted to the organ and harpsichord preludes reveal crucial information necessary to enlightened appreciation of the development of the genre.

Originally a purely functional piece, the prelude allowed the performer to …

A Weaverian Analysis Of The Secular Humanism/Christianity Arguments, Colleen Deborah Ryan

Masters Theses

Since the Renaissance, the unclearly defined movement known as "Humanism" has been a part of society. However, it is only recently that the movement itself has caused significant controversy. What is responsible for this sudden outbreak of humanism hysteria? Is it even to be classified as a problem? To many, especially the Catholic church and many fundamentalist groups, it presents an overt threat.

A vital area of controversy centers around education and the fight between a religious-based curriculum and the more recent secular studies. The issues, it appears, are often obscured by the rhetoric. Indeed, Karl Wallace sees rhetoric as …

Image And Meaning In The Floral Borders Of The Hours Of Catherine Of Cleves, Elizabeth R. Schaeffer

Masters Theses

The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, produced in

the Netherlands c. 1440-45, is one of the most beautiful and

complex illuminated manuscripts of the late Middle Ages.

The Master's originality in his symbolic use of floral

images in the borders of the manuscript is remarkable, yet

little study has been made of this subject. The meaning of

these floral images is, however, important to a complete

understanding of the illumination of the manuscript.

Using a set of criteria based on the tenets of the

Devotie Moderna, a philosophy strong in the Netherlands at

the time, I show that …