Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Perceptions Of Talking Time In Choir Rehearsal, D. Michael Draut, Paul Broomhead

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Analyzing choir teachers’ perceptions of talking time has been a rewarding experience. I was able to collect data on how much time choir teachers spend talking during rehearsal; how choir teachers view the amount of time they spend talking; and how accurate their perceptions of time spent talking are. This study provided several answers and stirred my curiosity to develop additional questions.

"There's A Real Hole Here": Female Masochism And Spectatorship In Michael Haneke's La Pianiste, Morgan J. Jennings

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this project, I examine the relationship between female masochism, performance, and spectatorship in Michael Haneke’s film La Pianiste (2001). The film stages a relationship to sexuality that structures the subject’s excruciating negotiations with the other as always mediated by the law, the letter, or the body as instrument, which is allegorized by the protagonist’s occupation as a piano teacher. In my analysis, I identify the ways in which the film paradoxically offers a critique of mediation’s effect on the feminine position while encouraging viewers to confront the possibility that desire is only possible through these mediations. Contributing to feminist …

Mrs. Reba Johnson Jackson

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Margaret Chase Smith’S 1950 Declaration Of Conscience Senate Speech: A Stance Against The Exploitation Of Fear, Victoria E. Mcbrayer

The Corinthian

The article focuses on Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s speech she gave on the Senate floor on June 1, 1950. Her speech took place during the Cold War when tensions were high between the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union. President Truman’s policy of containment and the anticommunist crusade taking place in the United States created an atmosphere of fear among Americans that politicians used to advance their careers. “Declaration of Conscience” was Senator Smith’s stance against the exploitation of fear for political gain and the first time someone spoke out against the corrupt Joseph McCarthy, whose slanderous witch …

Films And Religion: An Analysis Of Aamir Khan's Pk (Hindi Translation), Monisa Qadri, Sabeha Mufti

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a Hindi translation of an essay that also appears in this issue in English. The translation is by Pritam Katoch.

Every year, the Indian film industry produces the highest number of films in the world and also figures at the top position for ticket sales, but that does not make the society completely tolerant of how different issues are represented in films. That is a question which PK (2014), the biggest Bollywood grosser of all times, raised. This satirical comedy is based on challenging the superstitions labelled as religious practices in Indian society. India, being home to multiple …

Modernity - Man's Precarious Reality, Bror Welander

Denison Journal of Religion

Welander examines the instability that modernity creates in life. By studying the work of sociologist Peter Berger, Welander explores some of the most important questions spawned by modernity. Traditional societies boasted a high understanding of normative values, frequently through religious institutions, whereas modernity, characterized by industrialization, urbanization, technological innovation, bureaucratization, and globalization, lacks those common, binding principles. Economic, social, ideological, and technological changes have also resulted in a new level of pluralism. While one or two societal institutions previously were able to rule society's consciousness and stabilize morality, now hundreds of thousands of institutions vie for power. Overloading people with …

Women Of Genesis: Mothers Of Power, Olivia Depreter

Denison Journal of Religion

DePreter argues against the common argument that women have little or no power in the biblical narrative. DePreter acknowledges that the stories of the Hebrew Bible occur during a time of patriarchy, but she does not agree that women are stripped of their power because of this. Women of the Bible are often criticized for seeming to represent a stereotype of cruelty and manipulation. DePreter argues that this should not be attributed to women's nature but rather to a marginalized group doing what they have to do to fulfill the covenant. This is seen most apparently in the stories of …

Harnessing Shakti: The Social Implications Of Vedic And Classical Hindu Interpretations Of Female Power, Olivia Cox

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay argues that the role of women in Hindu culture during different time periods has not been defined by theological change so much as social and political change. The concept of Shakti, or woman's power, has always been present in Hindu theology, but the way in which that power has been understood differed depending on the socio-historical context. For instance, the relative stability of the Vedic period and the emphasis on domesticity and family during that period made for an atmosphere in which women were of the utmost importance. Therefore, their power was available in private life as well …

Abraham: First Patriarch, First Prophet: Genesis 12-23 As Motive And Model For The Hebrew Prophetic Voice, Eleanor Swensson

Denison Journal of Religion

Swensson claims not only that Abraham is the first prophet to appear in the Hebrew Bible, but also that his intimate, friendly relationship with God is the perfect model for the relationship between humanity and divinity. Swensson identifies four markers that differentiate Abraham's relationship with God from all other human-divine relationships previously available in the text: 1) a reciprocal call between the human and the divine, 2) the gradual revelation of God's will, 3) Abraham's direct and honest communication with God, 4) an "anomic, deviant existence" that shows Abraham's complete devotion to the will of God. The reciprocal call between …

Gustavo Gutierrez's Liberation Theology: Traditional Catholicism From The Perspective Of The Afflicted Poor, Kimberly Anne Humphrey

Denison Journal of Religion

This article turns to the Liberation Theology of Gustavo Gutierrez to explore a Catholic theology that directly addresses the problem of life in the Third World. Gutierrez focuses his argument on a God of history who worked for and lived with the marginalized, most notably in the Exodus and the Christ event. Furthermore, Gutierrez argues that the Church must be a light for all people who lives amongst the oppressed, and beckons the rest of the world to follow its lead. Humphrey concludes that Guti̩rrez's theology should be considered in light of the inhumane poverty that has become commonplace in …

The Problem Of Death And Dying In Contemporary America: A Thanatological Diagnosis And The Case For Religion, Eleanor Swensson

Denison Journal of Religion

Swensson lays out the many obstacles that have resulted in twenty-first century Americans being unable to accept death. By examining the history of major social changes in the West, such as the Protestant reformation, as well as the current ways of dealing with death and dying, Swensson posits that improving how society deals with death and the dying must be aided by theology. Currently, social, political, and religious changes in the West have led to a general sense of loneliness, meaninglessness, and helplessness that are only intensified when a person faces death. Unfortunately, the current environment in which most people …

Walter Rauschenbusch And The Social Gospel, Amanda Conley

Denison Journal of Religion

This article brings Walter Rauschenbusch's theory of the Social Gospel into the current age and argues for its continued relevancy as a social critique and a charge to create a better world. The Social Gospel was concerned with collapsing Christianity and social issues onto each other. Rauschenbusch looked to a God active in history to make his argument that Christianity must be a revolutionary faith"one invested in politics and social concerns. To do this effectively, Rauschenbusch stated that religion must be concerned on all levels of daily life"from the larger political and economic issues, to the effects of those issues …

The Empirical Impulse: Empire And Religion As Bane And Blessing For Art, Jacquelyn Fishburne

Denison Journal of Religion

This article rests upon the premise that empire and religion are often intertwined and reliant upon each other. Fishburne points to the time of Constantine as a world-altering example of this. After his conversion, Christianity and the Roman Empire became synonymous, with far-reaching implications. This is easily apparent when one examines the role that empire and religion played in art. Historically, this melding of religion and empire spawned an artistic revival that pushed artists into new techniques and styles. However, this new burgeoning was balanced by the strict control the Church had over artists. Art was restricted to religious subject …

Laughter In A Time Of Tragedy: Examining Humor During The Holocaust, Whitney Carpenter

Denison Journal of Religion

Carpenter argues that it was humor that inspired the Jewish people to survive the Holocaust. The power of laughter is shown in three respective functions: as an alternative hermeneutic, as a form of rebellion, and as an acknowledgement of God. The first showed itself in the Jewish peoples by serving as an alternative to internalizing the despair of their situation. It provided a means through which they could detach themselves from their circumstance and choose to live in the light of a different perspective. Laughter could also serve as rebellion: by laughing at the jokes that the Nazis tried to …

Joanna Macy: Buddhism And Power For Social Change, Caiti Schroering

Denison Journal of Religion

This article examines Joanna Macy's theory of "despairwork" and its roots in the Sarvodaya Buddhist movement. Macy writes with the purpose of inspiring communities and individuals to look honestly at the state of the world and to respond passionately. She argues that apathy appears so common today because feigning disinterest is far easier than facing the monumental problems that face the world. From the threat of nuclear war to environmental destruction, humanity is overwhelmed by the possibility of its own end. Instead of giving in to crippling despair, Macy believes that honestly admitting the frightening possibilities can be a powerful …

Letters South Of (Nordic) Design, Pablo Calderón Salazar, Alfredo Gutiérrez Borrero

Nordes Conference Series

The following text is an e-mail exchange between colleagues, countrymen and friends – one located in Brussels (Belgium) and the other in Bogotá (Colombia) – and it is presented as an epistolary article. Different to traditional academic articles, there is no initial hypothesis proven throughout the text, but a narrative emerging from the conversation among peers. We started from the topic (design + power) and questions proposed for the 2017 edition of NORDES; we could say that, paradoxically, we head north in a southbound conversation that involves decoloniality, deschooling, practices of designs with other names and even the film Ratatouille.

Redeeming The Atonement: Girardian Theory, Michelle Kailey

Denison Journal of Religion

his article shows a discomfort with the way that mainstream Christianity often discusses the atonement by deifying meekness and sacrifice, an attitude that often legitimizes the cycle of domestic abuse. The author seeks a theology that will not allow the cross to become an oppressive force against the marginalized, and finds her answer in Girardian theory. This theory proposes an understanding of human behavior in four basic stages: mimetic desire, mimetic rivalry, scapegoating sacrifice, and scapegoating myth. Mimetic desire states that humans only want what they want because they know others desire it. Next, a rivalry begins between groups that …

A Recuperative Theology Of The Body: Nakedness In Genesis 3 And 9.20-27, Emily Toler

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay examines the two creation stories in the Hebrew Bible, and reinterprets the nakedness present in those stories. While nakedness is frequently seen as a shameful condition of humanity, Toler reminds the reader that it is part of the creation that God declared to be "good." Though nudity is associated with tumultuous moments in the relationship between humanity and God, Toler argues that it is fear of God, not fear or shame of nakedness that motivates the uncomfortable moments like the one when Adam and Eve hid from God behind a bush. Today, nakedness is so often associated with …

Re-Imaging Modern Jewish Theology: A Closer Look At Post-Holocaust Theology, Rebecca Grimm

Denison Journal of Religion

Grimm argues for a more accessible theology and metaphor for God. She looks to Melissa Raphael's post-Holocaust theology as a beginning to this new trend. Raphael, who started her theological study in the thealogy movement (known for its feminization of God,) brings this knowledge to her study of the Holocaust. The traditional Jewish theological explanation of the Holocaust asserts that God was absent during the Holocaust so as not to interfere with free will. However, this ignores the experience of half of the victims of the Holocaust: women. God appeared absent to some, she says, because they were looking for …

Cardinal Bernardin: A Framework For Consistency, Katie St. Clair

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay illuminates the tension that exists for many religious people as they consider the appropriate amount of overlap between their personal convictions and public, often political, decisions. Bernardin was the former Archbishop of Chicago and a member of the Second Vatican Council. He made recognizable efforts to enact the doctrines of Guadium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. This document is famous for its declaration that the Church's aim is to "read the signs of the times and interpret them in light of the Gospel." Bernardin exemplified this notion by writing extensively on …

Saving God's Body From Empire: An Analysis Of American Empire According To A Metaphorical Theology By Sallie Mcfague, Megan Pike

Denison Journal of Religion

In this article, Pike uses the theology of Sallie McFague to criticize imperialism, particularly its ecological consequences, and to argue for an ecologically minded economy. Under the current empire of free market capitalism, God is a patriarchal figure who legitimates the ruling order. This bestows a false sense of approval on individuals, corporations, and nations that exploit the lowly in order to increase their own profit margin. Sallie McFague believes that the metaphors used for God profoundly influence how people conceive of their relationship with God and the world around them. The current metaphor for God reveals a divinity that …

'You Shall Worship God On This Mountain': A Theological Reading Of Discrimination & Dehumanization At Denison, Emily Toler

Denison Journal of Religion

This article examines protests against prejudice on Denison's campus in 2007 through the theological perspectives of M. Douglas Meeks and Jurgen Moltmann. The author argues that these two theologians offer pieces of a theology that can categorize the experiences at Denison during that time. First, Meeks thinks of communities as "households" that are asked to work as loving and supportive families. Meeks also asks Christians to remember the triune God and to use the example of that relationship"three persons in one, all working in community for the love of others"to serve as a model for their own relationships. Moltmann's theology …

What Does Scripture Say About Homosexuality?: Ethical Questions For Christian Communities, Emily Toler

Denison Journal of Religion

This article seeks to articulate a close reading of the treatment of homosexuality in the bible in order to help Christians discern an appropriate reaction to homosexuality and homosexuals on a community level. First delving into the traditional verses used to condemn homosexuality like the story of the Sodomite, the Holiness Code in Leviticus, and Paul's letter to the Romans, the author finds that these passages frequently have competing interpretations. For example, the story of the Sodomites is often told as a condemnation of rape, violence, and inhospitableness, not homosexuality. The Holiness Code could be interpreted not only as a …

Literature, Christianity, And Empire, Laura Perrings

Denison Journal of Religion

Empires use all the weapons in their arsenal as it attempts to justify its actions. Literature has often been made a tool, but it also has a history of criticizing empire. In this essay, Perrings uses the example of the novella Oroonoko by Aphra Behn. This woman author of the 17th century uses a tale about an African prince sold into slavery in South America as a critique British Empire's dehumanization of native peoples, slaves, and women. The language that Behn uses over the course of work resonates with Christian metaphors. While religion was often used to legitimate empire, Behn …

Changes In Sufism In The American Context, Patrick Hamilton

Denison Journal of Religion

This article considers the ways in which Sufism has altered since entering the American context. While in Islamic countries, Sufism's atypical rituals and interpretations of the Qur'an often made it a target of mainstream Islam. Once Sufism arrived in the United States, however, it rapidly began to change as practitioners no longer had to consider the pressures of a largely Islamic community. This does not mean, however, that there is no pluralism within Sufism in the United States. While early generations of immigrant Sufis remain more strongly tied to a traditional Islamic heritage, many of the Euro-American converts claim no …

Desmond Tutu: A Theological Model For Justice In The Context Of Apartheid, Tracy Riggle

Denison Journal of Religion

The power that religion can have over society today is undeniable. Riggle laments that our culture is plagued with strong memories of terrorist attacks, and fear of religious injustices based on gender and sexuality. Instead of giving up on religion's potential for positive influence, the author turns to an example of life-giving religion. Desmond Tutu, an Anglican Archbishop and South African political activist, demonstrates the continued existence of life-giving faith. Tutu, a man influenced by his Anglican religion, his African spirituality, and Apartheid, bases his theology on imago dei, the notion that humans are made in God's own image and …

The Tower Of Babel: The Dispersion Of God's People, Stephanie Dixon

Denison Journal of Religion

Dixon reimagines the story of the tower of Babel by making God's dispersion of the people a reward instead of a punishment. While this story is often read as a sign of humanity's hubris and disobedience and God's punishment, this essay choose to see the narrative as evidence of God's pride in his people and his confidence in them to populate the earth. While the vast majority of the Genesis stories show very specific interactions between particular men and women and God, this story depicts a broader narrative. Perhaps while the other stories attempt to demonstrate the relationships that exist …

The Tower Of Babel, Laura Perrings

Denison Journal of Religion

This essay refocuses the narrative of the tower of Babel to focus not on the division of languages or cultures, but rather on the relationship with god that this division reflected. Perrings notes that while the original unified language of humanity must have eased communication between people and can be seen, particularly in this day of cultural tension and violence, that this relationship was not pleasing to god. God is not only offended by the pride of the people, but is also concerned with their inattention to his rules and also their misunderstanding of their relationship with god. The focus …

Eng 5960-600: Prof Writing Internship, Terri Fredrick

Summer 2017

No abstract provided.

Eng 5061b-600: Topics Literature/Literary Theory, Melissa Caldwell

Summer 2017

No abstract provided.