American Studies Commons^™

This House Which I Have Built: The Foundation Of The Brattle Street Church In Boston And Transformations In Colonial Congregationalism, Cara Elliott

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

On December 24, 1699, a small gathering of men and women met "for public Worship in [their] pleasant new-built house," a simple wooden structure in Brattle Close, a section of Boston near the town dock. The newly appointed Reverend Benjamin Colman preached from Chronicles 2, chapter vi, verse 18, "But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built." This first public meeting of the Brattle Street Church occurred amidst a heated theological debate among New England Congregational clergymen, …

Fur Trade 01: Beaver: Mainstay Of The Trade, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 1. Hunting, Hides, and Hats, Environmental Effects, and Why Beaver?

Fur Trade 06: How The Fur Trade Worked, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 6. Government Regulation, From Montreal to the West, and Movement of Goods and Furs.

Fur Trade 09: Fur Trade Society, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 9. Interdependence, Mutual Influences, and Métis and Country Wives.

Fur Trade 02: Birchbark Canoes, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 2. A Joint Effort, Canoes Got Bigger, Why Birchbark?, and a Valuable and Renewable Resource.

Fur Trade 03: Trade Goods 1, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 3. Material Culture of the Fur Trade and Cloth and Clothing.

Fur Trade 04: Trade Goods 2, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 4. Firearms and Metal Goods.

Fur Trade 05: Getting Around In 17th And 18th Century New France, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 5. Routes and Transportation and Travels of a Voyageur.

Fur Trade 08: New France And The Place Of The Fur Trade, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 8. What Was New France?, More than Profits at Stake, and Imperial Rivals.

Fur Trade 10: Fur Trade Myths, Acknowledgements, Rachel B. Juen, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Panel 10. Fur Trade Myths, Fiction vs. Fact.

Acknowledgements: Funding, Contributors, Image Credits, and Special Thanks.

Preface: Monsters And Mormons, Terryl Givens

English Faculty Publications

In the nineteenth century, Mormonism seemed grist for everybody's mill. Humorists like Artemus Ward and Mark Twain made hay out of polygamy; conspiracy theorists like Thomas deWitt Talmage imputed President Garfield's assassination to the Mormons; pseudo-memoirists like "Maria Ward" recounted their seduction, imprisonment, and torture at the hands of Mormon mesmerists; the Republican jump-started their political party with a promise to expunge the Mormon "relic of barbarism"; and pulp fiction writers and serious novelists alike fueled sales with stories of bloodthirsty Danites, lecherous elders, and grief maddened Mormon wives who murdered competitors.

Framing Christianity: A Frame Analysis Of Fundamentalist Christianity From 2000-2009, Rebecca Mackin Sitten

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative frame analysis examines how print media handles the concept of Fundamentalist Christianity. The researcher examined news reports in four prominent national newspapers over the ten-year period between 2000 and 2009 for references made to Fundamentalist Christianity. The sample is examined on the basis of Mark Silk's "topoi," a term taken from classical rhetoric meaning commonplaces or themes (1995). Silk outlines seven common topoi on which stories about religion are written, and these are utilized as a framework for this present study. While much has been written and researched on how religious groups, Fundamentalist Christians, and Evangelicals use mass …

The Existential Compromise In The History Of The Philosophy Of Death, Adam Buben

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I begin by offering an account of two key strains in the history of philosophical dealings with death. Both strains initially seek to diminish fear of death by appealing to the idea that death is simply the separation of the soul from the body. According to the Platonic strain, death should not be feared since the soul will have a prolonged existence free from the bodily prison after death. With several dramatic modifications, this is the strain that is taken up by much of the mainstream Christian tradition. According to the Epicurean strain, death should not be feared since the …

Mirabai Comes To America: The Translation And Transformation Of A Saint, Nancy M. Martin

Religious Studies Faculty Articles and Research

The story of the sixteenth-century Hindu saint Mirabai is told and performed in a multitude of genres in India across the centuries, and her songs generate a tradition of continuing composition in her name. Her popularity readily moves across boundaries of language, caste, class, religion, and culture not only within India but also beyond, taking root in American culture more broadly in the latter decades of the 20th century, as Americans begin looking for figures for inspiration and canonisation within an emerging non-institutionalised global spirituality and women around the world mine the past to find their spiritual foremothers. Her popularity …

Beisswenger, Donald Andre (Fa 1), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1. Project titled "White Gospel Music in Logan County" conducted by Donald Andre Beisswenger for a folk studies class at Western Kentucky University. Includes interviews with Jeff and Gwen McKinney and Chester Whitescarver about singing schools and white gospel music. Transcript of McKinney interview included as well as a tape summary for the Whitescarver interview.

Modern Transnational Yoga: A History Of Spiritual Commodification, Jon A. Brammer

Master of Arts in Religious Studies (M.A.R.S. Theses)

Yoga as both a physical activity and a spiritual practice has become an established part of Western culture. In recent years, the interest in postural forms of yoga and the philosophy from which they spring has developed into a multi-billion dollar industry; it has spawned volumes of popular histories and "how-to" books on the subject. However, scholars are only beginning to understand the true roots of modern transnational yoga (MTY) as it has developed in recent times. This thesis reviews the last two decades of scholarship in order to provide a credible explanation for MTY origins and argues that viewing …

Mcnulty, Sara Jane (Fa 529), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 529. Interviews, conducted by Sara Jane McNulty, with Logan County, Kentucky residents about their memories and association with the Shakers or the subsequent Shaker Museum at South Union, Kentucky. An index and transcription accompanies each interview.

Emily Dickinson, Peter De Vries, And The Strangely Unshakeable Calvinist Character, James C. Schaap

Pro Rege

Dr. James Schaap presented this paper at the Calvinism for the 21st Century Conference at Dordt College, April 8-10, 2010.

Jud Ms 03 Macabee Club Archives Finding Aid, Marieke Van Der Steenhoven

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Macabee Club was a club of Jewish high school students in Portland from 1955 to the 1970s. The Archives contains organizational records of the group, including meeting minutes, newsletters, and event programs.

Date Range:

1955-1972

Size of Collection:

1 ft.

The Relationship Of Depression With Intrinsic And Extrinsic Components Of Religiosity In The Older Adult Female, Jacqueline Anne Nuval

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this doctoral research was to determine whether religious activity and general health would predict depression in older adult women living alone in the community who are widowed, divorced, separated, or never married. Variables considered included intrinsic and extrinsic components of religiosity, level of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, general health, and a group of behaviors classified as Religious Attitudes and Behaviors (RAB), which considered importance of religion, religious participation, regularity of religious observance, and religious organization/social support. Components of extrinsic religiosity and intrinsic religiosity were measured by Intrinsic/Extrinsic – Revised (I/E-R). Levels of depression were measured by …

Science Museums, Centers And Professional Development: Teachers' Self Reflection On Improving Their Practice, Queen O. Ogbomo

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to ascertain the significance of the professional development programs workshops organized by a science museum and a science center in two Midwestern cities. The research investigated the effect the workshops had on the instructional practice of the participating elementary science teachers. More specifically, this study was guided by the following research question: How do the professional development programs at museums help teachers change the way they teach and consider science in their classroom? The core of this study consists of case studies of six elementary school teachers who were identified as …

Before It Rains, Veronica O. Parkman

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not parish but have everlasting life." Contemporary Christian literature is becoming first choice in public libraries and bookstores throughout the country. From novels about end-time prophesy to autobiographies of world-renowned pastors, works written for and about Christians have reached an all-time high. Before it Rains is indeed, according to the scriptural definition of salvation found in the King James Version of the bible, a contemporary Christian novel; the characters must go through the biblical process of accepting Jesus Christ as their …

"The Harmony Way:" Integrating Indigenous Values Within Native North American Theology And Mission, Randy Woodley

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

Given that Western models of mission have failed among Native Americans and that colonial practices have devastated native communities, this research sought a better way of pursuing Christian mission among Native Americans by asking two questions: (1) Do Native Americans have a generally shared set of values that could guide the construction of new models for mission in North American Native communities, and, if so, to what degree are these values shared among Native American communities? and, (2). What resources (particularly values) are available within the Native American communities themselves for developing appropriate models of mission and could such resources …

Jud Ms 02 Portland Jewish Community Center Uso Guest Book Finding Aid, Karin A. France

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

The Jewish Community Center on Cumberland Avenue in Portland, Maine was the site of United Service Organization (USO) social events, held regularly from at least October 1943 to September 1946. Most of the servicemen (and some women who were nurses) who attended events at the Community Center were in the Navy, stationed on shops docked or anchored in Casco Bay. These social events were sometimes held out on the islands. Although hosted by the Jewish Community Center, anyone was welcome, regardless of religion. Eleanor Edison Taft saved this ledger listing the names of attendees at the USO events when …

Jud Ms 01 Annetta Kornetsky Girl Scout Collection Finding Aid, Karin A. France

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

Annetta Kornetsky was the Scout leader of Girl Scout Troops 109 and 177, sponsored by the Portland Jewish Community Center, between 1956 and 1958. The Collection contains records of Troops 109 and 177, including meeting agendas, finances, handbook pages, and minutes from November 1956 to March 1958.

Date Range:

1956-1958

Size of Collection:

0.08 ft.

The Religious Divide: Why Religion Seems To Be Thriving In The United States And Waning In Europe, Steven Pfaff

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In the decades following the Second World War, most social scientists expected convergence among the Western industrial democracies. Modernization was expected to bring prosperity and opportunity, initiating a “culture shift” to posttraditional values and lifestyles.

However, in recent years observers have remarked on a growing divide between Europeans and Americans. This divergence may be nowhere greater than in the religious sphere. While faith is loudly proclaimed and a bustling diversity of religious organizations jostles for attention in all arenas of public life in the United States, the European Union (EU) is described as thoroughly secularized, comprised of societies in which …

Brief History Of Religion In Northeast Ohio, A, George W. Knepper

Cleveland Memory

This monograph presents a concise but comprehensive look at the history of religion in Northeast Ohio. Starting with the early settlers from New England, Professor Knepper traces the increasingly diverse mixture of faiths that now characterize the life of the sacred in Northeast Ohio. In doing this, Professor Knepper is drawing on a lifetime of study into Ohio's history. Original publication date 2002.

Polish Influence On American Synagogue Architecture, Samuel D. Gruber

Religion - All Scholarship

Hundreds of thousands of Jews from Poland came to America after 1880. Many built synagogues with details recalling synagogues in their homeland. Immigrant artisans brought motifs and methods of Poland. Many of these synagogues were small, so the relationship to Polish art was on the inside in the painted and carved decoration. Established architects also had access to Polish synagogues as sources. With publication of the Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-06) images of Polish synagogues, such as the Warsaw’s Tlomackie Street Synagogue, became part of many Jewish libraries. More Polish influence came in the 1950s. Most architects were building modern synagogues, …

Introduction To A New History Of The Sermon : The Nineteenth Century, Robert Ellison

English Faculty Research

This is the introduction to A New History of the Sermon:The Nineteenth Century, a collection of essays I edited for Brill Academic Publishers. It discusses the concept and history of "rhetorical criticism," and seeks to lay a foundation for the rhetorical study of the Anglo-American pulpit.

Stressful Life Events And Interpersonal, Religious, And Spiritual Changes, Paul Murdock

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Survivors of stressful life events and traumatic experiences often report positive psychological changes “...as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances” (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004, p. 1). Three often reported areas of growth include having a greater appreciation for life in general, new priorities, and an increased significance placed on interpersonal, spiritual or religious issues. Despite reports of positive changes, the literature on stress-related growth (SRG) is inconclusive as to whether SRG is an illusion or represents actual change. For example, no studies to date appear to use longitudinal data, objective indictors, or behavioral measures of change. …