American Studies Commons^™

Victims And Aggressors: Black And Jewish Interethnic Relationships In Contemporary American Literature, Jessica Martin

All Theses

Though blacks and Jews are often portrayed together in African-American and Jewish-American writing, the reasons for the juxtapositions are curious. Contemporary authors have created a close relationship between blacks and Jews that, perhaps with the exception of their cooperation during the Civil Rights movement, historically did not exist. But, the relationship between these two groups in literature offers a unique perspective on American racial and ethnic social structures because both blacks and Jews are considered minority groups, yet they also maintain a hierarchical relationship with one another. By employing black and Jewish characters, American writers, especially Jewish-American writers, create a …

The Sociology Of Scenes, The Sacramento Poetry Scene, Dana Nell Maher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For this ethnography, I use my feminist perspective, grounded theory, participant observation, and autoethnographic techniques to explore an urban poetry scene. I suggest that scene studies are a viable alternative to community studies and that we move our articulation of social experience to reflect it as it occurs, on a multitude of continuums. My goal with this project is to develop, use, and discuss the utility of a definition of scene that is intended to be useful to scene studies researchers. To this end, I both evaluate an outdated definition of scene (Irwin 1973 & 1977), and define the three …

From Villain To Superhero: Evolution Of The Novel’S Lawyer Stereotype From The Nineteenth Through The Twenty-First Century, Carolyn A. Morway

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis analyzes the evolution of the lawyer character from the novels of the early 19th century through those of the modern day. The representation of the lawyer character illustrates the contemporary view of lawyers in society and also provides a framework of the relationship between the lawyer and the common man.

Girl Empowerment And Unspoken Discourses On Girl Sexuality In Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga, Caitlin Gulliford

Honors College Theses

In this paper, I explore how Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga employs a form of girl sexual citizenship that recognizes girls as sexualized, but maintains unspoken structures of compulsory heterosexuality, regressive gender norms, and hyperconsumerism in order to police girls as a protection of patriarchy.

On The Concept Of Evil: An Analysis Of Genocide And State Sovereignty, Jason J. Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The history of ideas and contemporary genocide studies conjointly suggests a meaningful secular conception of evil. I will show how the history of ideas supplies us with a cumulative pattern, or an eventual gestalt, of the sought-for conception of universal secular evil. This gestalt is a result of my examination of the history of ideas. The historical analysis of evil firmly grounds my research in the tradition of philosophical inquiry, where I shift the focus from the problem of evil, which is indebted to theological discourse, to an analysis of the concept of evil. Next, I show how this gestalt …

Communicating Spirituality, Dying And A “Good Death” At The End-Of-Life: The Role Of Hospice Interdisciplinary Team Members, Jillian A. Tullis Owen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hospices use interdisciplinary teams to aid patients and families as they cope with the imminence of death while helping them achieve a death free of physical and spiritual pain, also known as a good death. This study investigated the communication between hospice team members and their patients regarding spirituality, dying, death and a good death. Through 300 hours of participant observation and interviews with hospice staff at one large not-for-profit hospice in the Southeastern United States this project shows that team members understand patient's spirituality through a religious frame potentially compromising spiritual care. Talk between patients and their care …

Confronting Environmental And Social Crises: Octavia E. Butler’S Critique Of The Spiritual Roots Of Environmental Injustice In Her Parable Novels, Melissa Vargas

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

We are living in the midst of environmental and social crises. This fact was not lost on late African-American science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler, whose 1993 Parable of the Sower and 1998 Nebula Award-winning Parable of the Talents depict and critique the current environmental and social crises in the United States. Speaking of Sower in an interview with Essence magazine, Butler says that all she “did was look around at the problems we’re neglecting now and give them about 30 years to grow into full-fledged disasters” (“Brave New Worlds” 164). In another interview with Randall Kenan, Butler describes environmental …

"Divine William" And The Master: The Influence Of Shakespeare On The Novels Of Henry James, Amy M. Green

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Henry James's most sustained commentary on Shakespeare comes in the form of an introduction to an edition of The Tempest that was published in 1907. In it, he remarks that the play is a reflection of Shakespeare "consciously tasting of the first and rarest of his gifts, that of imaged creative Expression...to show him as unresistingly aware" (1207). This praise ties unerringly back to James's praise of the artist as one who views the world through open eyes and can capture the nuance of experience. James himself worked at the craft of fiction, and writes extensively in his notebooks and …

Non-Contact Characterization Of Dielectric Conduction On 4h-Sic, Helen N. Benjamin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Consistent charge or defect control in oxide grown on silicon carbide (SiC) continues to be difficult to achieve and directly impacts the electrical performance of SiC-based metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) devices. This research applied non-contact Corona-Kelvin metrology to investigate the charge transport in oxides grown on n-type 4H-SiC epitaxial substrates. The cost and engineering science impact of this metrology are significant as device fabrication is avoided leading to quick determination of electrical characteristics from as-grown oxide films. Non-contact current-voltage (I-V) measurements of oxide on SiC were first demonstrated within this work and revealed that Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) current emission was the …

Air Toxics And Equity: A Geographic Analysis Of Environmental Health Risks In Florida, Angela Gilbert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A large number of quantitative studies have examined social inequities in the geographic distribution of air pollution. Although previous research has made strides towards understanding the nature and extent of inequities, they have been limited methodologically in three ways. First, the presence of pollutants have been rarely linked to their adverse health effects, with many studies using proximity to sources as a proxy for risk. Second, there has been a tendency to study a single pollution source instead of assessing multiple types of sources. Finally, conventional statistical methods such as multivariate regression have been limited by their inability to discern …

The Role Of Trust In Judgment, Christophe Sage Hudspeth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I defend five claims about trust: 1) trusting and trustworthiness are conceptually but not causally connected; 2) trust is risky; 3) trust requires good will; 4) trust is a two-part relation; and 5) trust is an interpretative framework.

A concern for trust often appears in discussions about testimony and the expectation of truthfulness; Bentley Glass, John Hardwig, and Jonathan Adler each address the role of trust in science while assuming a necessary connection between trusting and trustworthiness. I argue that this conception is untenable because a justification for one fails to suffice as a justification of the …

One Season In An Other’S: Examining Teacher Preparation In Cultural Relevance Literacy Through Intentional And Focused Teaching Case Use, Coleen E. Sams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher educators need to develop better teaching methods in order to, ultimately, serve future students in classrooms that are increasing in diversity. It is vital that education majors do more than hear and read about social justice issues facing their prospective students; for them to both understand it and retain it, they need deeper interaction with the issues and alternative strategies for resolving them. This model for using teaching cases may enable teacher educators to demonstrate the relevance of their coursework to their midlevel education students, ultimately enhancing learning gains.

Of equal importance to their professional development, prospective teachers need …

Kerchmar, Cynthia S. (Fa 407), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 407. Paper: "collection of Folklore Ads in Housekeeping and Business Magazines[:] Collecting Between 9/92 and 11/92" written by Cynthia S. Kerchmar for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Kozma, Luanne Gaykowski (Fa 409), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 409. Paper: "The Buried Lens: Historical Examination of an Illinois Local Legend" written by LuAnne Gaykowski Kozma for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Hughes, Debra (Fa 403), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid for Folklife Archives Project 403. Interviews conducted by Debra Hughes with Neta Hughes, Arthur D. Hughes, Leiah Drake and Joe D. Patton, Sr. related to one-room and rural schools. For transcripts of four interviews with one-room school teachers click on the "Additional Files" below.

Hansen, Gregory Alfred (Fa 396), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text of paper (click on "Additional File" below) for Folklife Archives Project 396. Paper: "[Nautilus Center at Lovers Lane Racquetball Club]" written by Gregory Alfred Hansen for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Lally, Kelly A. (Fa 412), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 412. Paper: "Hazel Famer Martin and the Farmer Family Gospel Music Tradition" written by Kelly A. Lally for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Praxis And Theōria: Heidegger’S “Violent” Interpretation, Megan E. Altman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper attempts to mark out new ground in the connections between the philosophical writings of Martin Heidegger and Aristotle by posing an interesting question that has never been addressed. Both writers devote much of their early thoughts to questions concerning human beings' practical ways of understanding. However, in their later thoughts Heidegger and Aristotle suddenly seem to completely change the subject to ideal or transcendental ways of understanding. At first glance these ideal modes of human apprehension seem to have nothing to do with each other. Yet, Heidegger and Aristotle seem to have similar motives for turning away from …

Associate In Science (As) To Bachelor Of Science In Applied Science (Bsas) Transfer Students: An Analysis Of Student Characteristics, Engagement, And Success, Jerry C. Collins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine and comprehensively describe transfer students who have earned a two-year technical or occupational Associate in Science (AS) degree at the community college and entered the university to pursue the Bachelor of Science in Applied Science (BSAS).

The BSAS degree is a specialized baccalaureate degree program created to allow AS degree holders an opportunity to efficiently transfer into the university affording them full recognition of their two-year degree. This statewide articulated program at the University of South Florida is the first of its kind in the state of Florida. The program only began admitting its first …

Hancock, Elizabeth Ann (Moore), 1924-2019 (Sc 1900), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1900. Letters and portions of letters written by author Janice Holt Giles, Knifley, Adair County, Kentucky to her daughter Elizabeth, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Includes references to her family and friends, her daily life, and her writing habits.

Social Shopping, Rebecca Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social shopping is one of the latest trends on the Internet. Websites dedicated to social networking with a focus on shopping have been emerging on the web for a few years. The basic idea is that consumers are looking for product information on the Internet and social shopping sites provide a place for consumers to find this information from other consumers. These sites provide a place for their users to engage in socialization and shopping simultaneously, sometimes following recommendations of premier users, who are labeled from other users. However, purchases aren't made through these sites. So, there may still be …

Bush, Brendan David (Fa 175), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 175. Paper: "Millennium Virus," written by Brendan David Bush for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. The Washington Post and the New York Times are referenced.

Truth And Judgment, Jeremy J. Kelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I examine the difficulties that several philosophers of language are liable to encounter in their attempts to provide an account of the connection between truth and assertion. I then attempt to provide an account of this connection. The analysis is concerned chiefly with difficulties which consist in elucidating the conceptual connection between truth and assertion in a way that respects certain linguistic intuitions while at the same time rendering the concept of truth amenable to a semantic interpretation. The proposed view suggests one way in which we might go about meeting the theoretical demands implicit in addressing this concern, among …

Women In Wargasm: The Politics Of Womenís Liberation In The Weather Underground Organization, Cyrana B. Wyker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I examine women's participation in the violent revolutionary organization, Weatherman/Weather Underground. My attempt is to uncover Weatherman's view of women's liberation, their differences to the women's liberation movement and examine the practices implemented. I discuss Weatherman, more generally, in the context and circumstances of their emergence from the Students for a Democratic Society in the late sixties. Influenced by popular revolutionary thinkers Weatherman declared itself and its members revolutionaries dedicated to bringing about a socialist revolution in the United States through strategies of guerilla warfare. Weatherman's insistence on revolutionary violence situated masculinity and machismo within the center …

2009 Open House, Tractor Museum

Events, Activities, and Shows of Interest to the Tractor Test Museum

Each year the Larsen Tractor Museum has an event where tractors are demonstrated and paraded around the Nebraska Tractor Test Track. The following are images from the 2009 event.

Chinese American Christianity: How The Ethnic-Specific Church Interacts With The Processes Of Migration And Americanization, Joshua D. Lo

Pitzer Senior Theses

This study will examine the lives and experiences of the Chinese American Christian with particular focus on the ways in which the church has affected the lives of the Chinese immigrants.

The Pessimism Of Horror Cinema: A Comparative Study Between Modernist And Postmodernist Horror Cinema, Michael Jeknavorian

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative thesis examines levels of pessimism as they relate to modern and postmodern horror cinema. Beyond assumed differences in levels of pessimism between the two genres, the study also examines implicit and explicit moralization of these categories. Specifically, the study questions if postmodern horror cinema's characteristic increase in pessimism is simply a change in the genre's convention, yet a change that is irrespective of either genre's capabilities to moralize. First, the study singularly examines the conventions of each genre as it relates to levels of pessimism. Second, the study discusses works that bridge the two genres. And third, the …

White, Vernon, 1915-2008 (Mss 255), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 255. Correspondence, research notes, slides, and photographs related to Vernon White's interests: covered bridges, hominy holes, archaeology, and grave covers, chiefly in Kentucky. Also includes drafts of his books and information about the White family of White Mills, Hardin County, Kentucky as well as information about White's participation in World War II. To view a selection of illustrative material from the White Collection go to this website: http://www.wku.edu/library/dlsc/vernonwhite.php

Fox, Randy (Fa 390), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 390. Interviews with Bruce Simmons and Bill Helm concerning war gaming miniatures, done for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Hundley, Nancy Clay (Fa 401), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 401. Interview conducted by Nancy Clay Hundley with Randall and Jennie Mae Grider concerning the tradtion of homecoming float building at Tompkinsville High School in Tompkinsville, Monroe County, Kentucky.