Religion Commons^™

Simmons, Mary Jean (Fa 1412), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 1412. “Shaker Music as a Genre of Folk Music,” a paper written by Jean Simmons for a WKU folk studies class.

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

The Persistence Of "A Simple Melody": Acceptance Of Irving Berlin's Music In The 1920s, Alina Vanderwood

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

"Nobody appreciates more than I do how bad some of my lyrics are in the matter of technical details," said the 32-year-old composer Irving Berlin in 1920 during an interview with American Magazine. "Some of the biggest hits I've written were songs I was so ashamed of that I pleaded with the heads of music houses not co publish them." Yet in all of its imperfection, his music became so popular and influential that American composer Jerome Kern famously wrote, "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music." Just nine years prior to this 1920 interview, …

Birthing Contention: Conflict Between Black And White Health Officials In Southern Midwife Training In The Mid-Twentieth Century, Ruth Hyde Truman

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

"You can go right now and start talking to somebody about my age and Iil older and quite a bit older. They'll say, 'I was delivered by a granny midwife.' A black woman, a granny midwife." These words, spoken by Onnie Lee Logan in her book, Motherwit: An Alabama Midwife's Story, illustrate the important role that black women played in childbirth in the South in the mid-twentieth century. In the South, hospitals were located far from rural communities, and women were much more likely to give birth in their own homes and enlist the aid of a black midwife than …

"Moloch Of The Present Mode": Women's Short Hairstyles In Nineteenth-Century American Society, Jack Tingey

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

An article from Indianapolis journal in 1883 reported on the phenomenon of women cutting their hair short in the name of fashion, describing the process of a woman cutting off her long hair as akin to sacrificing virtue to the "Moloch of the present mode." Today, short hairstyles are more commonly associated with the bob of the Roaring Twenties, an era historians and popular culture recognize as one of excess, social change, and new innovations. But short hair on women was by no ~ans new in the 1920s. The bob was not the first short hairstyle in the United States …

Losing "The Jewels In Her Crown": Latter-Day Saint Women And Pregnancy Loss In The Nineteenth Century, Karen Mackay Moss

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In her journal entry for the morning of May 27, 1849, Zina D. H. Young recounted her morning's work in assisting Margaret Alley, a fellow wife of Brigham Young, during a sickness which had begun over a week earlier after Margaret had "over done" herself. Young wrote that while she stayed home from church meetings that day, Margaret "was relieved of a two month sickness-perfect form occasioned by a hurt." Margaret Alley had experienced a miscarriage. Taking to her journal again that evening, Young stated that her day had been quite busy, full of "little events" including Margaret's "misfortune," a …

From President To Dictator: Anastasio Somoza Debayle's Fall From Grace In The American Press, Kara Molnar

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

When news of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's Assassination in Paraguay reached Nicaragua, the reigning Sandinista government announced over radio that its citizens should "celebrate with joy the execution of Anastasio Somoza." Nicaraguans obeyed this command in force, dancing in the streets, filling downtown bars, and setting off fireworks late into the night. While U.S.-based journalists did not face this turn of events with such glee, they eagerly provided their own renditions of what precisely had transpired the morning of September 17, 1980, as well as the legacy Somoza would leave behind. Condemnations of the former Nicaraguan ruler as a "dictator" were …

Maya-Catholic Theologian: The Influence Of Maya Theology On Catholic Doctrine In The Morley Manuscript, Travis Meyer

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 1576, at the height of Catholic evangelization in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, an unnamed Catholic preacher met regularly with a congregation of indigenous Maya to teach them the doctrine of Christianity. He taught them about the biblical creation, as well as the nature of God and the devil, all from his own original doctrinal instructional manual. This preacher was also a Maya himself Between the years 1500 and 1800, only about 1,100 European-descended Catholic friars ministered to the tens of millions of Maya in Mesoamerica. Because there were so many natives and so few friars, they could not …

"Yearning To Breath Free": American Policy's Impact On The Experience Of Imprisoned Migrants, 1980-1989, Samuel Johnson

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The evidence against the Immigration and Naturalization Service was clear. "The agent grabbed me by the arm and twisted it behind my back. He threw me against the van and held me by the arms while a second agent cook out his revolver and struck me very hard in the face, twice. I began to bleed profusely from the nose and mouth," recalled plaintiff Crosby Orantes Hernandez. "He told me that I would be placed in a cell with men, leaving me with the impression that I would be sexually molested," testified fellow plaintiff Dora Elia Estrada. Jose Sanchez Flores …

The Wolfenden Report: The Key To The English Gay Rights Movement, Ryan Hollister

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The history of homosexuality in Great Britain is long and complicated, extending all the way back to the Roman conquest. Romans had a tradition of homosexuality, but when Rome fell, churches became the authority on homosexuality, leading to numerous movements to fight against it. King Henry the 8th of England outlawed buggery, a term for anal intercourse, in 1533, and there are suspicions chat King James had homosexual relationships, but the scope of English history cannot be fully summarized in a paper of this length. Instead, this paper will focus on the British decriminalization of homosexual practices in the 1950s …

Abraham Smoot: Complexity In Context, Molly Hansen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In 2019, a Salt Lake Tribune article described pieces of Abraham O. Smoot's slaveholding past. The article raised controversy over the administration building on BYU campus, which bears Smoot's name. After that Salt Lake Tribune article brought Smoot's negative history into a more public eye, outcry from the general public, the BYU community, the Latter-day Saint community, and the Smoot family themselves erupted. Questions like 'Why do we have buildings that honor slaveholders?' and 'Was he even a slaveholder?' and 'Do we unname or rename the Abraham Smoot Building at BYU?' were raised, and are still being asked in public …

Left In The Dust: Byu's Reluctant Response To The Rise Of The Automobile, Caleb Child

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Although Brigham Young UNiversity students and faculty have changed throughout the years, one issue has managed to unite all members of the campus community for almost a century: campus parking lots. As a student in 1946 wrote,

"It goes without saying that we don't like muddy shoes and don't like bad roads; bur what can we do? The natural solution to the problem is to let the school go back to the horse. No parking problem, no roads to worry about. Just put the feed bag on old Dobbin and !er him roam rill school's out. Then a quick whistle, …

"Hiding By Showing": Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors As A Eucharistic Tableau, Katharine Davidson Bekker

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Liturgical cloths and hangings have been a ubiquitous part of the Eucharistic experience for Christian churchgoers for much of the Catholic Church's religious history. While often overshadowed or displaced in religious images by the drapery of individual figures, altar cloths and frontals are occasionally featured, as in the Master of the Aachen Altar's images of The Mass of St. Gregory (figs. I and 2). A similar green cloth to those in the St. Gregory images is seen in the background of Hans Holbein the Younger's 1533 portrait of The Ambassadors (fig. 3). Though much has been said about many of …

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Editor's Preface, Alison Wood

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

When writing of her friendship with Henry James, Edith Wharton described their relationship as "an atmosphere of the rarest understanding, the richest and most varied mental comradeship." The friendship began in 1900, when Wharton sent James a brief note congratulating him on a recent publication. They struck up a correspondence, one chat lasted nearly fifteen years. Wharton would lacer reflect on the relationship in her autobiography, calling it "a real marriage of true minds," built upon a shared love of writing and reading. This relationship is documented in large part because of their vast correspondence, as the two authors shared …

Dating Apps As An Outlet To Promote Sexual Autonomy Among Disabled Individuals: An Intersectional Approach To Change, Sarah Marrs

Sexual Ethics

As disabled individuals are forced into the social other and an asexual narrative, dating apps provide an outlet for this demographic to engage in their sexuality in a format that is more easily accessible. In an age of rising technology, the destigmatization and usage of dating apps highlights the self-expressive potential of an underrepresented and misunderstood demographic. This issue is addressed through historical perspectives of “crip sex,” a comparison between the disabled dating experience and the able-bodied dating experience, and a description of the significance of a dating app designed for individuals with disabilities.

See The Tears And Hear The Tales: Ancient Lessons From The Odyssey To Address Timeless Human Needs For Recovery, Aimee M. Smith

Master of Arts in Classical Studies

The ancient text of the Odyssey reveals a timeless truth that remains significant in modern days: people need to be seen and heard in order to recover from life’s difficulties. Scholarship from literary trauma theorists during the past several decades has provided insights into the recovery process from traumatic experiences. Combat trauma theory, in particular, has provided a foundation for analysis of the ancient Greek epics for exploration of the universality of the experience of human trauma and suffering. Through analysis of the nostos or homecoming process of Odysseus, the reader recognizes the importance of offering opportunity through xenia of …

“The Spirit And Power": Max Weber And The Study Of Prophecy And Authority In The First Three Centuries Of The Church, Coleman S. Kimbrough

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

Originally written as a research essay for Dr. Charles Bobertz's Patristics course in the Spring term of 2023, this paper examines the role that prophecy played in the early Church, especially in the Montanist movement of the late second and early third centuries. However, the paper takes prophecy and its authoritative role in the early Church as a springboard to reflect on the study of the early Church from an academic perspective, probing the ways in which twentieth-century scholarship utilized the sociological theory of Max Weber to make sense of the gradual "institutionalization" of the Church from its more charismatic …

Book Review: Intergenerational Christian Formation, Second Edition, Chelsea Flow Stirman

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Intergenerational Christian Formation, second ed., by Holly Catterton Allen, Christine Lawton, and Cory L. Seibel. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023. 336 pages, $40.

Simplicity And The Sermon On The Mount, Falon Opsahl Barton

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Jesus lived a life of simplicity in his possessions and his purpose. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invites his disciples, then and now, into a similar life of simplicity that is fully focused on God alone in order to make whole our relationships with God, ourselves, each other, and creation. This article claims that simplicity is a primary theme of Jesus’ longest discourse, and that Jesus’ simplicity is not self-focused, but rather benefits all humanity and all creation. This article exegetes Matthew 6:25-34 specifically, and draws out some of the theological and missional implications of Jesus's model of …

National Status Of Campus Ministry In Churches Of Christ, Dylan Kirkland

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This article introduces research on the status of campus ministry in Churches of Christ in the United States, particularly related to ministry size, baptisms, and preparation of future ministers and missionaries. It then analyzes significant correlations in the data. Finally, it takes the data (based on the 2022-2023 school year) and makes comparisons with similar markers of success from Church of Christ campus ministries from roughly fifty years ago.

A Line Of Matriarchs, Ron Bruner, Dudley Chancey

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Although shared practices are central to religious socialization, relationships empower such sharing. Familial relationships are the most durable and effective of such relationships, even when family form varies. Though many ethnic and faith groups tend to emphasize patriarchal leadership within congregations and families, in fact, matriarchs serve as the spiritual anchors for succeeding generations in a surprising number of three (and more) generation families. Data supporting this assertion are a part of the results of the Three Generations Project, a study of faith families within Churches of Christ.

Missional Interpretation Of Scripture, Greg Mckinzie

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

Missional interpretation of Scripture offers a way forward for Churches of Christ, which are commonly characterized as experiencing an ongoing hermeneutical crisis. This article traces the contours of missional hermeneutics, introduces its cutting-edge, and ends with practical implications for local churches. In summary, missional interpretation depends on the formation of local reading communities through a rhythm of prayerful, intentional engagement in God's mission.

The Emmanuel Sign (Isaiah 7:14) As A Messianic Promise, Thong K. Tran

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

In this paper, the ambiguity of the Emmanuel sign is discussed to show that its content is not easy to comprehend. Based on this fact, the investigation attempts to understand the sign beyond its original context, that is, to pay attention to the implicit meaning which the announcer could not declare explicitly but had to use the obscure expressions. In other words, it is a quest for proving that the book of Isaiah in its current form does not block the possibility of understanding the Emmanuel sign messianically.

The Sacred And The Supernatural: Christianity And Teutonic Folklore In The Grimms’ Briar Rose, Amelia Stefanescu

Honors Theses

During the nineteenth century, the Brothers Grimm undertook the task of preserving German folklore during a time of cultural upheaval and struggle for national identity. One such tale, Briar Rose, emerges as a site of ideological interplay between Christian themes and Teutonic traditions. By analyzing the Grimms’ 1812 (first) and 1857 (last) editions, this thesis investigates how the text reflects and synthesizes these distinct belief systems into a coherent narrative.

The research explores how Christian and pagan elements co-exist within Briar Rose and what these interactions reveal about the cultural and religious dynamics within the folktale. The study argues that …

Pine Grove Timmonsville - Church History, Pine Grove United Methodist Church, Timmonsville

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Pine Grove Turbeville Histories, Pine Grove United Methodist Church, Turbeville

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Pine Grove Turbeville Pastor's Reports, Pine Grove United Methodist Church, Turbeville

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Pine Grove Turbeville Property Records, Pine Grove United Methodist Church, Turbeville

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.

Pinopolis Church Council Minutes 1973-1980, Pinopolis United Methodist Church

Methodist Local Church Records

No abstract provided.