Current Search: Larson, Peter (x)
View All Items
Pages
- Title
- "'The Bane of Liberty': Opposition to Standing Armies as the Basis of Antifederalist Thought".
- Creator
-
Brand, Charles, Sacher, John, Crepeau, Richard, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The severely neglected subject of Antifederalism is the focal point of this project. As the framing ideology opposed to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Antifederalism has not been treated with the same historical care as Federalism, the successful and currently operational ideology. This is both an intellectual and ethical mistake that ignores the role that Antifederalism played in procuring the Bill of Rights, and still plays in the sphere of political dissent. The de facto...
Show moreThe severely neglected subject of Antifederalism is the focal point of this project. As the framing ideology opposed to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Antifederalism has not been treated with the same historical care as Federalism, the successful and currently operational ideology. This is both an intellectual and ethical mistake that ignores the role that Antifederalism played in procuring the Bill of Rights, and still plays in the sphere of political dissent. The de facto successors to the Revolutionary mentality, Antifederalists took it upon themselves to conclusively secure the American conception of liberty, already wrested from British hands, from a growing threat(-)those whom they deemed domestic imperialists. Even Thomas Jefferson, architect of the Declaration of Independence, espoused the principles behind Antifederalism, especially when confronted with those of Hamiltonian Federalism. Moreover, Jefferson's Revolution of 1800, which gave rise to the Democratic-Republicans, consisted of many former Antifederalists. While wholly relevant and increasingly indispensible, the few studies that do examine Antifederalism fall short of finding or acknowledging its lasting significance, owing to supposed internal dissension, socioeconomic in nature. However, Antifederalists featured ideological unanimity in at least one area: opposition to standing armies. This opposition is evident in both the theoretical (why they were against standing armies) and practical (what to do about it) areas. The imperial legacy of hostility, a historical and lived experience for Americans of the time, drove Antifederalists to make their objections to ratification obvious, of which the standing army issue played the most elemental part. Informed and inspired by this lengthy history of distrust for military forces maintained in time of peace, which included their own Revolution, Antifederalists sought to safeguard their liberties from future encroachments, for future generations. By arguing that Antifederalists, regardless of region or class, objected to standing armies, this thesis seeks to elevate Antifederalism to its rightful place in the contexts of political history and the encompassing American tale.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004978, ucf:49575
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004978
- Title
- By Book and School: The Politics of Educational Reform in France and Algeria during the Early Third Republic.
- Creator
-
Brooks, Michael, Lyons, Amelia, Crepeau, Richard, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
During the era of New Imperialism, the newly-formed French Third Republic continued France's civilizing mission both in France and in Algeria. Founded on a series of reforms, republican leaders and educational experts judged primary level education taught in the French language to be the most effective means of uniting a linguistically and culturally diverse population in the metropole. These republican values, based on revolutionary tenet of universality, would help France to sustain a...
Show moreDuring the era of New Imperialism, the newly-formed French Third Republic continued France's civilizing mission both in France and in Algeria. Founded on a series of reforms, republican leaders and educational experts judged primary level education taught in the French language to be the most effective means of uniting a linguistically and culturally diverse population in the metropole. These republican values, based on revolutionary tenet of universality, would help France to sustain a republican regime, would thwart attempts to reestablish monarchical rule, and would teach future French citizens what it meant to be politically active. At the same time, another group of metropolitan republicans set out to reform the educational system in Algeria, the crown jewel of the French empire. These men, using the civilizing mission as their justification, wanted to export the reformed metropolitan curriculum to Algeria in order to inculcate French values into the indigenous populations. The exclusive use of the French language and of metropolitan educational materials, based on assimilationist beliefs, resulted in the devaluation of Algerians' culture, language, and traditions. A third group of leaders and educational experts who had lived in Algeria recognized the peril involved in the direct export of metropolitan education. This third group championed Algerian exceptionalism, arguing that local circumstances must be considered when reforming education in Algeria so that indigenous culture is respected. Their associationalist perspectives predated the metropolitan shift in colonial ideology from assimilation to association.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006078, ucf:50942
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006078
- Title
- The Afro-American Slave Music Project: Building a Case for Digital History.
- Creator
-
Cepero, Laura, French, Scot, Lester, Connie, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This public history thesis project experimented with the application of new technology in creating an educational resource aimed at twenty-first century public audiences. The project presents the history, musicology, and historiography of Afro-American slave music in the United States. In doing so, the project utilizes two digital media tools: VuVox, to create interactive collages; and VisualEyes, to create digital visualizations. The purpose of this thesis is to assess how the project...
Show moreThis public history thesis project experimented with the application of new technology in creating an educational resource aimed at twenty-first century public audiences. The project presents the history, musicology, and historiography of Afro-American slave music in the United States. In doing so, the project utilizes two digital media tools: VuVox, to create interactive collages; and VisualEyes, to create digital visualizations. The purpose of this thesis is to assess how the project balances the goals of digital history, public history, and academic history.During the production of the Afro-American Slave Music Project, a number of the promises of digital history were highlighted, along with several of the potential challenges of digital history. In designing the project, compensations had to be made in order to minimize the challenges while maximizing the benefits. In effect, this thesis argues for the utility of digital history in a public setting as an alternative to traditional, prose-based academic history.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004663, ucf:49901
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004663
- Title
- Building Unity Through State Narratives: The Evolving British Media Discourse During World War II, 1939-1941.
- Creator
-
Cook, Colin, Lyons, Amelia, Solonari, Vladimir, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The British media discourse evolved during the first two years of World War II, as state narratives and censorship began taking a more prominent role. I trace this shift through an examination of newspapers from three British regions during this period, including London, the Southwest, and the North. My research demonstrates that at the start of the war, the press featured early unity in support of the British war effort, with some regional variation. As the war progressed, old political and...
Show moreThe British media discourse evolved during the first two years of World War II, as state narratives and censorship began taking a more prominent role. I trace this shift through an examination of newspapers from three British regions during this period, including London, the Southwest, and the North. My research demonstrates that at the start of the war, the press featured early unity in support of the British war effort, with some regional variation. As the war progressed, old political and geographical divergences came to the forefront in coverage of events such as Prime Minister Chamberlain's resignation. The government became increasingly concerned about the grim portrayals of the Dunkirk Evacuation in the press, as Britain's wartime situation deteriorated. I argue that as censorship and propaganda increased, newspapers fell into line, adhering to state narratives and uniting behind a circumscribed version of the events that molded a heroic presentation of Dunkirk. Censorship from the government came in various forms, often utilizing softer methods such as the control of information flow and warning publications, which complied in order to appear patriotic and avoid further suppression. My analysis of these papers indicates that this censorship and unity of the press continued during coverage of the Blitz, as the media discourse became more cohesive and supportive of the government's goals.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007794, ucf:52334
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007794
- Title
- Captain John Smith and American Identity: Evolutions of Constructed Narratives and Myths in the 20th and 21st Centuries.
- Creator
-
Corbett, Joseph, Murphree, Daniel, Sacher, John, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Historical narratives and anecdotes concerning Captain John Smith have been told and retold throughout the entire history the United States of America, and they have proved to be sacred, influential, and contested elements in the construction of the individual, sectional, regional, and national identity of many. In this thesis, I first outline some of the history of how narratives and discourses surrounding Captain John Smith were directly connected with the identity of many Americans during...
Show moreHistorical narratives and anecdotes concerning Captain John Smith have been told and retold throughout the entire history the United States of America, and they have proved to be sacred, influential, and contested elements in the construction of the individual, sectional, regional, and national identity of many. In this thesis, I first outline some of the history of how narratives and discourses surrounding Captain John Smith were directly connected with the identity of many Americans during the 18th and 19th century, especially Virginians and Southerners. Then I outline how these narratives and discourses from the 18th and 19th centuries have continued and evolved in the 20th and 21st centuries in American scholarship and popular culture. I demonstrate how Captain John Smith went from being used as a symbol for regional and sectional identity to a symbol for broader national American identity, and how he has anachronistically come to be considered an American. I then show how Captain John Smith has continued to be constructed, to a seemingly larger degree than previous centuries, as a hero of almost mythic proportions. Finally I demonstrate how this constructed American hero is used as a posterchild for various interest groups and ideologies in order to legitimize the places of certain discourses and behavior within constructed and contested American identities.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004666, ucf:49892
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004666
- Title
- How Change Started to Come: Examining Rhythm and Blues and Southern Identity.
- Creator
-
Davis, Jennifer, Lester, Connie, Cheong, Caroline, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This project seeks a better understanding on how blackness has been peripheral to our understanding of the term Southerner. The purpose of this work is to examine an area where the intersection of race and region exists to more fully understand how blacks in the South have presented their sense of Southern identity. The chosen area of examination is the music of rhythm and blues. Rhythm and blues as a genre rose to prominence in the years following World War II. The main reason for analyzing...
Show moreThis project seeks a better understanding on how blackness has been peripheral to our understanding of the term Southerner. The purpose of this work is to examine an area where the intersection of race and region exists to more fully understand how blacks in the South have presented their sense of Southern identity. The chosen area of examination is the music of rhythm and blues. Rhythm and blues as a genre rose to prominence in the years following World War II. The main reason for analyzing rhythm and blues as an intersecting point of race and region is that the music is both a reflection and celebration of the Southern black musical tradition. Along with the sound there is an aesthetic to rhythm and blues that is distinctly of the black South. Within the scope of this work, the examination of rhythm and blues was done by first understanding the genres of music it was built upon; as a way to show the continuity of the Southern black musical tradition. From there, this work chose to identify three prominent rhythm and blues artist (Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and Nina Simone) as a means to connect people, music, and region. The point in highlighting these artists is to demonstrate how aspects of black identity and Southern identity have intertwined through an institution like music. Through the prism of rhythm and blues there is evidence that Southern blacks did not see themselves absent of regional identity. In highlighting a point of intersection between blacks and the South that prioritizes their experience and sense of identity, this research represents a step in the importance of fully incorporating blacks into our understanding of the term Southerner.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007620, ucf:52524
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007620
- Title
- The Lady of the Lake and Chivalry in the Lancelot-Grail Cycle and Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur.
- Creator
-
Ewoldt, Amanda, Pugh, William, Larson, Peter, Marinara, Martha, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis examines the Lady of the Lake as an active chivalric player in the thirteenth century Lancelot-Grail Cycle (also known as the Prose Lancelot) and in Thomas Malory's fifteenth-century Le Morte Darthur. To study the many codes of chivalry, particularly in regard to women, I use two popular chivalric handbooks from the Middle Ages: Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood and Chivalry, Geoffroi de Charny'sKnight's Own Book of Chivalry.Traditionally, the roles of women in medieval chivalry are...
Show moreThis thesis examines the Lady of the Lake as an active chivalric player in the thirteenth century Lancelot-Grail Cycle (also known as the Prose Lancelot) and in Thomas Malory's fifteenth-century Le Morte Darthur. To study the many codes of chivalry, particularly in regard to women, I use two popular chivalric handbooks from the Middle Ages: Ramon Lull's Book of Knighthood and Chivalry, Geoffroi de Charny'sKnight's Own Book of Chivalry.Traditionally, the roles of women in medieval chivalry are passive, and female characters are depicted as objects to win or to inspire knights to greatness. The Lady of the Lake, I argue, uses her supernatural origins and nature to break with female chivalric conventions and become an instructress of chivalry to King Arthur's knights. As a purely human character, her power would be limited. As a guardian fairy and/or enchantress, the Lady is allowed to exercise more autonomy.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0004108, ucf:49107
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004108
- Title
- The Amish Farm in Transition: The Amish Response to Modernization in Northern Indiana, 1900-1920.
- Creator
-
Grover, Amy, Lester, Connie, Larson, Peter, Martinez Fernandez, Luis, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This study explored the responses of Amish agrarians in northern Indiana to the mechanization and modernization of rural life in the early twentieth century. This period was marked by a shift towards agribusiness as well as the increased usage of farm machines. In addition to the increased emphasis on farm efficiency, reformers sought to modernize or update rural life. Within the context of these transformations, the Amish maintained their identity by exploring the necessity and the...
Show moreThis study explored the responses of Amish agrarians in northern Indiana to the mechanization and modernization of rural life in the early twentieth century. This period was marked by a shift towards agribusiness as well as the increased usage of farm machines. In addition to the increased emphasis on farm efficiency, reformers sought to modernize or update rural life. Within the context of these transformations, the Amish maintained their identity by exploring the necessity and the consequences of adapting to life in the modern world. Their responses to modernization defined not only their cultural boundaries in the modern world but also created their identity in twentieth century America. In stark contrast to the ideal of the independent farmer, the Amish used the strength of their community (both Amish and non-Amish) and their agrarian roots to endure and overcome the challenging events of the early twentieth century. The purpose of this study was to expand the scholarship of Amish studies in northern Indiana as well as place the Amish experience within the context of agrarian historiography. Resources used to examine this period included Amish writings, farm publications from Indiana and data from the agricultural census.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004339, ucf:49456
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004339
- Title
- THE HIGHLAND SOLDIER IN GEORGIA AND FLORIDA: A CASE STUDY OF SCOTTISH HIGHLANDERS IN BRITISH MILITARY SERVICE, 1739-1748.
- Creator
-
Hilderbrandt, Scott, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This study examined Scottish Highlanders who defended the southern border of British territory in the North American theater of the War of the Austrian Succession (1739-1748). A framework was established to show how Highlanders were deployed by the English between 1745 and 1815 as a way of eradicating radical Jacobite elements from the Scottish Highlands and utilizing their supposed natural superiority in combat. The case study of these Highlanders who fought in Georgia and Florida...
Show moreThis study examined Scottish Highlanders who defended the southern border of British territory in the North American theater of the War of the Austrian Succession (1739-1748). A framework was established to show how Highlanders were deployed by the English between 1745 and 1815 as a way of eradicating radical Jacobite elements from the Scottish Highlands and utilizing their supposed natural superiority in combat. The case study of these Highlanders who fought in Georgia and Florida demonstrated that the English were already employing Highlanders in a similar fashion in North America during the 1730s and 1740s. British government sources and correspondence of colonial officials and military officers were used to find the common HighlanderÃÂ's reactions to fighting on this particular frontier of the Empire. It was discovered that by reading against what these officials wrote and said was the voice of the Highlander found, in addition to confirming a period of misrepresentation of Highland manpower in the colony of Georgia during the War of JenkinsÃÂ' Ear that adhered to the analytical framework established.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003019, ucf:48369
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003019
- Title
- "BLOUDY TYGRISSES": MURDEROUS WOMEN IN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA AND POPULAR LITERATURE.
- Creator
-
Hill, Alexandra, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis examines artistic and literary images of murderous women in popular print published in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England. The construction of murderous women in criminal narratives, published between 1558 and 1625 in pamphlet, ballad, and play form, is examined in the context of contemporary historical records and cultural discourse. Chapter One features a literature review of the topic in recent scholarship. Chapter Two, comprised of two subsections, discusses...
Show moreThis thesis examines artistic and literary images of murderous women in popular print published in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England. The construction of murderous women in criminal narratives, published between 1558 and 1625 in pamphlet, ballad, and play form, is examined in the context of contemporary historical records and cultural discourse. Chapter One features a literature review of the topic in recent scholarship. Chapter Two, comprised of two subsections, discusses representations of early modern women in contemporary literature and criminal archives. The subsections in Chapter Two examine early modern treatises, sermons, and essays concerning the nature of women, the roles and responsibilities of wives and mothers, and debates about marriage, as well as a review of women tried for murder in the Middlesex assize courts between 1558 and 1625. Chapter Three, comprised of four subsections, engages in critical readings of approximately 52 pamphlets, ballads, and plays published in the same period. Individual subsections discuss how traitorous wives, murderous mothers, women who murder in their communities, and punishment and redemption are represented in the narratives. Woodcut illustrations printed in these texts are also examined, and their iconographic contributions to the construction of bad women is discussed. Women who murder in these texts are represented as consummately evil creatures capable of inflicting terrible harm to their families and communities, and are consistently discovered, captured, and executed by their communities for their heinous crimes. Murderous women in early modern popular literature also provided a means for contemporary men and women to explore, confront, and share in the depths of sin, while anticipating their own spiritual salvation. Pamphlets, plays, and broadsides related bawdy, graphic, and violent stories that allow modern readers a glimpse of the popular culture and mental world of Renaissance England.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002727, ucf:48160
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002727
- Title
- THE ENGLISH REFORMATION IN IMAGE AND PRINT: CULTURAL CONTINUITY, DISRUPTIONS, AND COMMUNICATIONS IN TUDOR ART.
- Creator
-
Hoeschen, Jessica, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In the sixteenth century, Martin LutherÃÂ's Protestant Reformation generated multiple reform movements and political transformations in Europe. Within this general period of reform, political and cultural changes from the Tudor era (1485-1603) created a separate English Reformation. The English Reformation evolved from the different agendas of the early Tudor monarchs and occurred in two distinct waves: an initial, more moderate Henrician Reformation and a later, more...
Show moreIn the sixteenth century, Martin LutherÃÂ's Protestant Reformation generated multiple reform movements and political transformations in Europe. Within this general period of reform, political and cultural changes from the Tudor era (1485-1603) created a separate English Reformation. The English Reformation evolved from the different agendas of the early Tudor monarchs and occurred in two distinct waves: an initial, more moderate Henrician Reformation and a later, more complete Edwardian Reformation. Henry VIII and Edward VIÃÂ's attempts to redefine monarchy through a new State and Church identity drove English church reform during this period, giving these religious shifts distinct political roots. Cultural artifacts were prominent indicators of these differing political goals, and Henry VIII and Edward VI adjusted and removed images and texts according to their propaganda methods. These royal manipulations of culture are well-documented, but historians have overlooked important components in the communication process. Lay responses to imagery changes ranging from compliance to rebellion demonstrate the complex relationship of images, monarchy, and reform. Examining imagesÃÂ' function as propaganda with questions of intent, reception, and comprehension in royal communication is imperative for assessing the impact of royal messages on Tudor culture. Analyzing Tudor art as a form of political communication that disseminated idealized political representation reveals a strong visual discourse between the King and the English people. Images held key powers within royal discourse to create and disseminate propaganda of a kingship.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003116, ucf:48622
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003116
- Title
- The Politics of the Righteous: A Religious and Political History of Conservative Neo-Evangelicals in Central Florida.
- Creator
-
Lloyd, Rustin, Crepeau, Richard, Sacher, John, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In 1953 a small, seemingly insignificant, church was founded in Winter Park, Florida. By the early 1970s, Calvary Assembly of God, a church that had started with a dirt floor, was declared one of the fastest growing churches in America with membership easily reaching over several thousands. In the late 1970s and 1980s, it became a major religious and political force in central Florida so much so that it had received visits from then presidential hopefuls Pat Robertson and Vice President...
Show moreIn 1953 a small, seemingly insignificant, church was founded in Winter Park, Florida. By the early 1970s, Calvary Assembly of God, a church that had started with a dirt floor, was declared one of the fastest growing churches in America with membership easily reaching over several thousands. In the late 1970s and 1980s, it became a major religious and political force in central Florida so much so that it had received visits from then presidential hopefuls Pat Robertson and Vice President George Bush. The changes that took place at Calvary Assembly, both politically and religiously, provided a microcosm of the rest of the nation, while at the same time, these changes made Calvary a leader within the charismatic neo-evangelical subculture. The incredible growth of Calvary Assembly is part of a larger narrative on the expansion of neo-evangelicalism, and more specifically, the charismatic movement in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as, the growth of central Florida. As a result of their growth Calvary was able to launch, and participate in, many programs on both the local and national level. Religious orthodoxies seeped into the political and social thought of those at Calvary, which influenced, and helped to explain, how the church became politically active.Part I examines the growth of Calvary within the context of the growth of Central Florida and the growth of the charismatic movement, This section will include the founding of Charisma magazine, major national events such as the Jesus Festivals, and the impact of charismatic revivalists. The impact of Calvary on the local community is another part of the story.Part II addresses the political bloc Calvary produced in central Florida. The church participated in and influenced national rallies such as (")Washington for Jesus.(") It shared its political views with central Florida through bulletins like Insight, which addressed moral issues like pornography, homosexuality, education and abortion. Calvary also used events like Freedom Celebration, and articles in Charisma to promote its views on American freedom. As a result local and national politicians and political groups recognized Calvary Assembly as a political powerhouse. Another part of the story is that Calvary and central Florida represented the local side of a national story on evangelicalism and national politics.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004880, ucf:49646
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004880
- Title
- Bridging Discourse: Connections Between Institutional and Lay Natural Philosophical Texts in Medieval England.
- Creator
-
Lorden, Alayne, Larson, Peter, Zhang, Hong, Crepeau, Richard, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Translations of works containing Arabic and ancient Greek knowledge of the philosophical and mechanical underpinnings of the natural world(-)a field of study called natural philosophy(-)were disseminated throughout twelfth-century England. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, institutional (ecclesiastical/university) scholars received and further developed this natural philosophical knowledge by reconciling it with Christian authoritative sources (the Bible and works by the Church...
Show moreTranslations of works containing Arabic and ancient Greek knowledge of the philosophical and mechanical underpinnings of the natural world(-)a field of study called natural philosophy(-)were disseminated throughout twelfth-century England. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, institutional (ecclesiastical/university) scholars received and further developed this natural philosophical knowledge by reconciling it with Christian authoritative sources (the Bible and works by the Church Fathers). The subsequent discourse that developed demonstrated ambivalence towards natural philosophical knowledge; institutional scholars expressed both acceptance and anxiety regarding the theory and practice of alchemy, astrology/astronomy, and humoral/astrological medicine. While the institutional development and discourse surrounding natural philosophical thought is well-represented within medieval scholarship, an examination of the transmission and reception of this institutional discourse by broader sectors of English medieval society is needed. Examining fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Middle English public writings, texts, and copies of Latin works provides an important avenue of analysis when exploring the transmission and reception of institutional natural philosophical discourse to the laity. By comparing the similarities of discourse evident between the institutional and lay texts and the textual approaches the Middle English writers employed to incorporate this discourse, these works demonstrate that the spheres of institutional and lay knowledge traditionally separated by medieval historians overlapped as the clerics and laity began sharing a similar understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of the natural world.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0005830, ucf:50916
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005830
- Title
- 'LET HER BE TAKEN': SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND.
- Creator
-
McNellis, Lindsey, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Rape and its impact on medieval women, as conceived by society and the law, have yet to receive extensive treatment. By analyzing not only rape cases, but evolving laws and the impact of the Church on views of sexuality and marriage and thus its influence on attitudes towards rape, this study shows that women were much more than victims and society, or the courts, reacted accordingly. Covering the years 1200 to 1250, this thesis examines secular court cases taken from the general eyre records...
Show moreRape and its impact on medieval women, as conceived by society and the law, have yet to receive extensive treatment. By analyzing not only rape cases, but evolving laws and the impact of the Church on views of sexuality and marriage and thus its influence on attitudes towards rape, this study shows that women were much more than victims and society, or the courts, reacted accordingly. Covering the years 1200 to 1250, this thesis examines secular court cases taken from the general eyre records of Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire. Cases taken from the King's Bench and canon courts, including Canterbury, also provide an illustration of the process of rape litigation. Legal treatises, both canon and secular, serve as the foundation for the procedures required in either court system and show that rape was a punishable offense. However, society had difficulty viewing rape as a personal crime against a woman as opposed to a crime against her family and that is when it actually thought that sexual violence occurred. While still available to them, women used the rape laws to push their agendas and concerns onto the court revenge, choice of marriage, justice. In court records, the heavy burden of proof and the high rate of dismissals support this conclusion. Women persevered through the inherent disadvantages presented by a patriarchal system and achieved a measure of control over their lives. This is evidenced by the nearly equal success and failure rates in the records examined; 33 percent ended in acquittal or dismissal, while 31 percent provided women with some closure. The passage of the Statutes of Westminster, by removing a woman's right to prosecute rape and marry the accused, also convincingly illustrated that women held a degree of power that was unacceptable to society.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002170, ucf:47519
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002170
- Title
- Byzantine Foreign Policy During the Reign of Constans II.
- Creator
-
Morris, Joseph, Larson, Peter, Dandrow, Edward, Walker, Ezekiel, Pineda, Yovanna, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis examines the foreign policy of Constans II as the first Byzantine Emperor to rule after the initial Arab conquests in Syria-Palestine. His reign, 641-668, was the first reign of a Byzantine Emperor where the entire reign was subject to Arab raids and invasions. Constans II also had to contend with the Slavs in Thessalonica and Greece and the Lombards in Italy. To complicate matters more, Constans II was forced to cope with the religious division between the eastern and western...
Show moreThis thesis examines the foreign policy of Constans II as the first Byzantine Emperor to rule after the initial Arab conquests in Syria-Palestine. His reign, 641-668, was the first reign of a Byzantine Emperor where the entire reign was subject to Arab raids and invasions. Constans II also had to contend with the Slavs in Thessalonica and Greece and the Lombards in Italy. To complicate matters more, Constans II was forced to cope with the religious division between the eastern and western churches due to Monothelitism in the East. Beset on every frontier and inheriting a much reduced empire after decades of intermittent warfare and several disastrous defeats, scholars have reasoned that Constans II's reign was defensive and turbulent in nature. This thesis uses literary and archeological sources to argue that Constans II had a foreign policy focused on actively retaking lost Byzantine territory. While stabilizing the frontiers in his early reign, he suffered devastating defeats and serious threats, primarily from the sea, where the Arab navy had gained superiority. His attempt in securing the western provinces of Italy and North Africa demonstrate not an emperor who was abandoning Constantinople, but one that was attempting to regain the initiative from the Arabs and deprive them of Egypt, which was providing the Arabs with a navy, wealth, and an agricultural surplus. Despite the Byzantine losses Constans II did not accept the transformation in Byzantine territory and influence. The thesis concludes with a historical analysis of his successors and how their foreign policies differed from Constans II's.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005534, ucf:50318
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005534
- Title
- Belief and Christmas: Performing Belief and the Theory and Practice of Christmas Performance.
- Creator
-
Nicely, Brenna, Listengarten, Julia, Seay, Donald, Larson, Peter, Wood, Mary, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In the United States, Christmastime has become a time of tension between the holy ideals of family togetherness, childhood innocence, and goodwill towards men and commercial idolatry. Christ and Santa Claus are pitted against each other in the war on Christmas between religion and secularism instead of feasting together on ham and figgy pudding in the traditional fashion. While many would agree that the everyday realities of the Christmas season do not often live up to the ideals imposed upon...
Show moreIn the United States, Christmastime has become a time of tension between the holy ideals of family togetherness, childhood innocence, and goodwill towards men and commercial idolatry. Christ and Santa Claus are pitted against each other in the war on Christmas between religion and secularism instead of feasting together on ham and figgy pudding in the traditional fashion. While many would agree that the everyday realities of the Christmas season do not often live up to the ideals imposed upon the holiday, few are able to tell why this is so or even trace the roots of their discontent.In an exploration of the unique anomaly of the hierosecular American Christmas, I propose that the unique systems of Christmas belief extend beyond the usual boundaries of sacred and secular to create a complex web of different beliefs that are performed together to create the unique feeling of Christmas. From a performance theory perspective, I use performance as both traditionally theatrical and as a paradigm for understanding and expressing belief in an effort to explore the essential but elusively defined cultural signifiers of the American Christmas.Through a series of case studies focusing on various traditions of Christmas performance, I apply the performance theories of Diana Taylor, Patrice Pavis, Victor Turner and others to such Christmas staples as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. In doing so, I propose different points for viewing Christmas and introducing new points of inquiry for questioning the meaning of Christmas, belief, and performance.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004731, ucf:49823
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004731
- Title
- QUEEN ISABELLA AND THE SPANISH INQUISITION 1478-1505.
- Creator
-
Nykanen, Lori, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Queen Isabella (1451-1505) daughter of King John II of Castile and Queen Isabella of Portugal has been accredited for some of the most famous accomplishments of medieval Spain. Through her succession to the Castilian throne in 1479 Isabella created a secular government, which enabled her to restore the monarch's power and wealth, and gave her a wide reaching authority over her kingdom. The Queen, being a pious Catholic, reestablished Catholicism as the official religion of Castile and brought...
Show moreQueen Isabella (1451-1505) daughter of King John II of Castile and Queen Isabella of Portugal has been accredited for some of the most famous accomplishments of medieval Spain. Through her succession to the Castilian throne in 1479 Isabella created a secular government, which enabled her to restore the monarch's power and wealth, and gave her a wide reaching authority over her kingdom. The Queen, being a pious Catholic, reestablished Catholicism as the official religion of Castile and brought forward a tribunal to help her reinforce her desires for sincere Christian piousness and to bring retribution to those who were heretical and insincere in their new conversions to the Catholic faith. This Spanish tribunal was established in 1478, blessed by Pope Sixtus IV, and would eventually become infamously known as the Black Legend or the Spanish Inquisition. Through the disguise of a religious tribunal the Queen's Inquisition performed a duel purpose; acting as a secret police with long reaching tentacles that created as much fear and terror to the kingdom as its tribunal Auto de Fe's. The social-religious context of Castilian life changed drastically underneath Isabella's Inquisition, whose direct influence caused the Jewish population to faltered and be ultimately expelled in 1492. Queen Isabella's ambitions, both secular and religious, brought the abrupt ending of seven hundred years of religious blending known as the Convivencia throughout her kingdom and created a large newly converted Catholic community named the Conversos that would ultimately challenge the old Christian communities and the Spanish Inquisition for the next three centuries to maintain their rightful place in Castilian society.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004702, ucf:45404
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004702
- Title
- Too Few Voices; Too Many Distractions; Too Little Understanding: The American Media During the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.
- Creator
-
Parrish, Skip-Thomas, Walker, Ezekiel, Larson, Peter, Sacher, John, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Upwards of one million people died during the Genocide, Civil War, and Refugee Crisis in Rwanda and surrounding nations, during one of the fastest Genocides to occur in modern history. Even though the United Nations and its member states had a legal mandate to intervene in cases of Genocide due to the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, the world chose not to. While there were a myriad of reasons for this the media played a part in this situation.Using the...
Show moreUpwards of one million people died during the Genocide, Civil War, and Refugee Crisis in Rwanda and surrounding nations, during one of the fastest Genocides to occur in modern history. Even though the United Nations and its member states had a legal mandate to intervene in cases of Genocide due to the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, the world chose not to. While there were a myriad of reasons for this the media played a part in this situation.Using the coverage of US print magazine articles, this thesis argues that the media missed the point and the signs of what was happening on the ground due to a fundamental lack of understanding of Rwanda, the African Great Lakes region, and Africa itself. Borrowing concepts of the creation of the (")other,(") lack of understanding of Africa, imperial language, and first world views of the third world from Edward Said and Curtis A. Keim this master's thesis shows that there were intellectual disconnects happening within the American press that made intervention nearly impossible. Once the Genocide was nearly complete and a more prosaic refugee crisis started America jumped at the chance to aid the refugees, a large number of them perpetrators of the Genocide, and the media showed reinvigorated interest in Rwanda. What misconceptions about Rwanda caused the media to miss the point? Did the print media help perpetuate those misconceptions, knowingly or unknowingly? With a death toll from the Genocide alone of roughly 8,000 people per day and the vast majority of them dying within the first several weeks of the Genocide, many lives may have been saved if Rwanda was made a priority by the media. Instead, while the media reported stories about chthonic hatred, the world was more concerned about a much slower Genocide in Eastern Europe. While attention was focused on other global and national stories, a racist regime intent on exterminating the Tutsi was allowed to stay in power in Rwanda.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0005043, ucf:49960
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005043
- Title
- Medieval Investments and Population Shifts in Middlesex, Norfolk, and Northumberland Counties.
- Creator
-
Pelham, Brett, Larson, Peter, Pineda, Yovanna, Foster, Amy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis examines the effect of population losses from outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague on capital investment for labor saving technology in England. The cities in Middlesex and Norfolk advance the economy in their surrounding areas. Northumberland's access to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne did not house as much wealth for Coquetdale and Glendale. However, Edward I's constant investment in the recently acquired Scottish territory provided the area with income from the crown. While the decrease in...
Show moreThis thesis examines the effect of population losses from outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague on capital investment for labor saving technology in England. The cities in Middlesex and Norfolk advance the economy in their surrounding areas. Northumberland's access to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne did not house as much wealth for Coquetdale and Glendale. However, Edward I's constant investment in the recently acquired Scottish territory provided the area with income from the crown. While the decrease in population was catastrophic and presented social turmoil, the surviving population continued to make economic adjustments. The economic adaptations provided relief to a strained population. Trade should have diminished along the same rate as population. Mills, therefore, also should have decreased in a similar manner. However, commerce increased faster than the population in areas of England. As this study has shown, people were extracting loans and maintaining mills in the hundreds and wards. The continued investigations into milling property highlights the interest from local creditors. The number of mills did not decrease at the same rate as the population after the last outbreak of plague. Milling represented an industry of innovation in various areas of England.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006777, ucf:51875
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006777
- Title
- VIBIA PERPETUA'S DIARY: A WOMAN'S WRITING IN A ROMAN TEXT OF ITS OWN.
- Creator
-
Perez, Melissa, Larson, Peter, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Writing the history of women in antiquity is hindered by the lack of written sources by them. It has been the norm to assume that the only sources that can tell us something about them are the sources written by men. This thesis challenges this convention as it concerns the social history of Rome through the exploration of a written source by a woman named Vibia Perpetua. She was a Roman woman of twenty-two years from Roman Carthage, who was martyred on March 7, 203 C.E. The reason that we...
Show moreWriting the history of women in antiquity is hindered by the lack of written sources by them. It has been the norm to assume that the only sources that can tell us something about them are the sources written by men. This thesis challenges this convention as it concerns the social history of Rome through the exploration of a written source by a woman named Vibia Perpetua. She was a Roman woman of twenty-two years from Roman Carthage, who was martyred on March 7, 203 C.E. The reason that we know of this Roman woman and what happened to her is because of the diary she wrote. The diary survived because it was preserved in the martyrology Passio Sanctarum Martyrum Perpetuae et Felicitatis. The Passio which was edited by an unknown redactor, documents the martyrdom of several people. Unlike any other martyrologies the editor of the story included the actual diary as it was written by Vibia Perpetua. Although we have a Roman woman's writing from the second/early third century C.E, her diary reached us through a filter that has influenced up to this day the way that the text is interpreted and preserved. The intention of this thesis is threefold; to analyze the diary of Vibia Perpetua with a new focus on the discourse of Roman women by first exploring the history of the Passio Sanctarum Martyrum Perpetua et Felicitatis. Then, a method is formulated that makes use of contemporary studies on women's diaries and self-representation in texts in order to incorporate Perpetua's writing within the social history of Rome and the history of women more broadly. The study concludes by demonstrating how this diary can help to open a new dialog about the life of both women and men in antiquity and further question the history we have inherited from them.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002731, ucf:48164
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002731