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East Tennessee State University

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Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Sociology of Culture

Cultural Lag Does Not Exist: An Exposition And Critical Evaluation Of W.F. Ogburn’S Hypothesis, Heather L. Osborne May 2023

Cultural Lag Does Not Exist: An Exposition And Critical Evaluation Of W.F. Ogburn’S Hypothesis, Heather L. Osborne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite a century of scholarly critique, William Fielding Ogburn’s cultural lag hypothesis (CLH) endures. The inclusion of Ogburn’s hypothesis in introductory sociology textbooks, reference books, and histories of technology lends an unwarranted authority to its scientific credibility. I critically assess Ogburn’s CLH and find that it is neither scientifically nor theoretically sound. Specifically, I discover presumptions of cultural integration and normative progressivism, the fallacy of ambiguity, problems of causal explanation, operationalization, and selective bias, which renders the CLH unmeasurable, unfalsifiable, and non-replicable. Finally, I briefly discuss the implications and make suggestions for future research.


Talk This Way: A Look At The Historical Conversation Between Hip-Hop And Christianity, Joshua Swanson Aug 2020

Talk This Way: A Look At The Historical Conversation Between Hip-Hop And Christianity, Joshua Swanson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christianity and Hip-Hop culture are often said to be at odds with one another. One is said to promote a lifestyle of righteousness and love, while the other is said to promote drugs, violence, and pride. As a result, the public has portrayed these two institutions as conflicting with no willingness to resolve their perceived differences. This paper will argue that there has always been a healthy conversation between Hip-Hop and Christianity since Hip-Hop’s inception. Using sources like Hip-Hop lyrics, theologians, historians, autobiographies, sermons, and articles that range from Ma$e to Tipper Gore, this paper will look at the conversation …


Bluegrass And Old-Time In Catalonia: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Aesthetic Communitas, Michael J. Luchtan Dec 2018

Bluegrass And Old-Time In Catalonia: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Aesthetic Communitas, Michael J. Luchtan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is an ethnographic case study of a musical community in Catalonia centered around the performance of bluegrass and old-time music. By using Victor and Edith Turners’ ideas of normative communitas, this paper identifies an aesthetic communitas model which describes a community centered around a performative genre. Through participant observation in the 16th Annual Al Ras Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival and interviews with local musicians, fans, venue owners, and luthiers, the ethnographic narrative details the characteristics of the aesthetic communitas in Catalonia and searches for associations of Appalachia that accompany the cross-cultural manifestation of bluegrass and old-time music …


The Pulpit And The People: Mobilizing Evangelical Identity, Tim Moser Dec 2017

The Pulpit And The People: Mobilizing Evangelical Identity, Tim Moser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using ten sermons from five prominent and politically active evangelical megachurch pastors taken from the 2016 presidential campaign season, this case study utilizes frame analysis to understand the political relevance of modern evangelical sermonizing. An inductive frame analysis allows the concept of a collective action frame to be observed as a process and for patterns to emerge from the source text. Within these sermons, ministers offer self-identifying evangelicals a vocabulary with which to understand and describe their own identity. In this context, the Bible is a powerful cultural symbol that represents an allegiance to traditions that are framed as the …


On Growing Up Finnish In The Midwest: A Family Oral History Project, Ingrid Ruth Nixon May 2017

On Growing Up Finnish In The Midwest: A Family Oral History Project, Ingrid Ruth Nixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores what oral history interviews with my mother reveal about the familial and community dynamics that influenced Finnish-American children growing up on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between 1930 and 1950. Close to four hours of oral history interviews were conducted with Viola Nixon, who is second and third-generation Finnish-American on her father’s and mother’s sides, respectively. After conducting a narrative analysis of the interviews, five themes emerged as significant to community function: family, language, education, work and church. I grouped some of these themes together to create three stories informed by materials drawn from the interviews, a cookbook, and …


Acculturation And Ethnic-Identification Of American Chinese Restaurant, Ting Shi May 2017

Acculturation And Ethnic-Identification Of American Chinese Restaurant, Ting Shi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Immigration reform in 1965 enabled a large number of Chinese immigrants to settle in the United States. Chinese restaurants expanded quickly both quantitatively and geographically. This thesis researches the interactions between Chinese restaurant employers and employees and their customers. I focus on several Chinese restaurants in a mid-size Southeast U.S. city with a university and I analyze their methods for attracting culturally distinct groups of customers—local Americans and Chinese students or immigrants. I conducted participant observation in two Chinese restaurants and in-person interviews with 14 people from four restaurants whose roles are owners, managers, or servers. I found that Chinese …


Social Identities And Meanings In Correctional Work, Caitlin C. Botelho Dec 2016

Social Identities And Meanings In Correctional Work, Caitlin C. Botelho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on correctional officers’ values and perceptions of their workplace, the people they work with and for, and members of the general public. Although prior research has investigated correctional staff members’ feelings about their occupation, far fewer studies have implemented a comprehensive qualitative, microsociological approach. The author conducted 20 in-depth interviews with current and former correctional officers (COs) in public-supported facilities. Additional data were collected through two public Facebook pages designated for COs and citizens interested in the criminal justice system. The study offers insights about the significance of COs’ feelings about their work and how the correctional …


Traditional Masculinity & Advertising Image Approval, Danielle W. Kailing, Peggy Cantrell Phd May 2014

Traditional Masculinity & Advertising Image Approval, Danielle W. Kailing, Peggy Cantrell Phd

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project investigates the relationship between adherence to traditional masculinity and approval of selected advertising images. Because traditional masculinity includes characteristics supportive of aggression and dominance; I hypothesize that an increase in adherence to traditional masculinity will correlate with approval of the violence found in some print advertisements. Participants include 259 men who completed an anonymous, online, survey. Adherence to masculinity is measured using the Male Role Norm Inventory-Revised (MRNI-R) (Levant, et. al, 2007). Each picture is scored on a 5-point Likert Scale. As hypothesized, an increase in total MRNI-R score, is significantly correlated with an increase in the approval …


A Content Analysis Of A&E'S Hoarders, Samantha J. Redwine Aug 2013

A Content Analysis Of A&E'S Hoarders, Samantha J. Redwine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The interest in hoarding has peaked since its first clinical definition in 1996 and is evident by six television shows centered on the topic. This thesis reports the results a content analysis of two seasons (21 episodes) of the popular T.V. series A&E’s Hoarders. People rationalize hoarding in ways that both differ and overlap. Doctors, professional organizers, hoarders and their loved ones collectively frame hoarding as a medical and mental health problem. The results suggest that Americans’ perceptions of hoarding behavior has shifted from one that is deviant behavior to one that is medicalized.


Christian Fundamentalism, Authoritarianism, And Attitudes Toward Rape Victims., Christie Arine Carr May 2006

Christian Fundamentalism, Authoritarianism, And Attitudes Toward Rape Victims., Christie Arine Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the relationship of five variables: rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward rape victims, sex roles, authoritarianism, and Christian fundamentalism. Also, differences between men and women were compared. The study was conducted at East Tennessee State University, and 100 people participated. Contrary to past research, Christian fundamentalism was not a significant predictor of rape myth acceptance or attitudes towards rape victims, but there were significant relationships between all of the other variables. Men were found to be more accepting of rape myths and had a more negative view of rape victims than did women. Implications of these findings, …