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Title: Hemingway's Religious Influences in the Writing of A Farewell to Arms.
Creator: McMillin, Kimberlee, Fenstermaker, John
Date Issued: 2016-04-12
Identifier: FSU_libsubv1_scholarship_submission_1460473598
Format: Citation

Title: Lydia Maria Child: Author, Activist, Abolitionist.
Creator: Anderson, Paula J., Fenstermaker, John, Bickley, Bruce, Rowe, Anne, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: During the nineteenth century, Lydia Maria Child was widely recognized for her contributions to American non-fiction, literature and journalism during a career that spanned six decades. She was an activist, abolitionist, and champion of equal rights for all. Today, Child's accomplishments are known to few but the most ardent scholars of the period, yet her enlightened approaches to issues of race, gender and cultural equality are as vital in our time as they were when she penned them. Much of...
Show moreDuring the nineteenth century, Lydia Maria Child was widely recognized for her contributions to American non-fiction, literature and journalism during a career that spanned six decades. She was an activist, abolitionist, and champion of equal rights for all. Today, Child's accomplishments are known to few but the most ardent scholars of the period, yet her enlightened approaches to issues of race, gender and cultural equality are as vital in our time as they were when she penned them. Much of what Child wrote nearly two centuries ago can be directly applied to the social challenges of the twenty-first century. For this reason, she is the object of study for this thesis, which this author fervently hopes will help to reacquaint the American reading public with messages from another time that must also be heeded in our own.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0199
Format: Thesis

Title: The Fantasy of Victorian Cross-Dressing.
Creator: Abbott, Stacey G., Faulk, Barry, Fenstermaker, John, Hawkins, Hunt, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis discusses the manner in which imperialism affected race, gender, and class in Victorian England. In Victorian literature, the different periods of imperialism are evident within the literature—early imperialism literature shows how the English were aware of imperialism, but also how it was considered to be an issue usually outside of England, and New imperialism literature shows how England became extremely involved in world affairs. The two stages also exhibit varying degrees of...
Show moreThis thesis discusses the manner in which imperialism affected race, gender, and class in Victorian England. In Victorian literature, the different periods of imperialism are evident within the literature—early imperialism literature shows how the English were aware of imperialism, but also how it was considered to be an issue usually outside of England, and New imperialism literature shows how England became extremely involved in world affairs. The two stages also exhibit varying degrees of imperialism and conquering both inside the country of England and outside. In order to cope with this issue, many people cross-dressed (dressed, thought, or behaved) in a manner that was not consistent with their own gender, class, or race. Using theory from Anne McClintock as a springboard, I link global imperialism to the internal need within England to control its own people. I trace this phenomenon through early imperialism works Gaskell's Mary Barton, Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Dickens's Great Expectations, and New imperialism works Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and several of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0012
Format: Thesis

Title: The Significance of Course Content in the Transfer of Writing Knowledge from First-Year Composition to Other Academic Writing Contexts.
Creator: Robertson, Liane, Yancey, Kathleen Blake, Fleckenstein, Kristie, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This qualitative research study explored the question of whether and how course content in first-year composition facilitates transfer. Transfer scholars have been exploring the notion that by identifying curriculum-based strategies for moving first-year students from the role of novice in writing toward the goal of developing expertise in writing in the disciplines, first-year composition courses might better prepare students for future writing. But exactly what that preparation consists of...
Show moreThis qualitative research study explored the question of whether and how course content in first-year composition facilitates transfer. Transfer scholars have been exploring the notion that by identifying curriculum-based strategies for moving first-year students from the role of novice in writing toward the goal of developing expertise in writing in the disciplines, first-year composition courses might better prepare students for future writing. But exactly what that preparation consists of in first-year composition''the content that might be recommended toward the goal of future preparation''remains unresolved. Scholars who have advocated theoretical content or writing-based content have not identified the specific content for the first-year composition classroom that will result in the occurrence of effective transfer. The question of how and why such transfer might occur has been under-examined as well. This dissertation focused on the course design of three sections of first-year composition as an exploration of content that may help students not just in improving their writing, but in learning to transfer writing knowledge and practice from the first-year composition course to other writing situations in college. The three sections featured included an Expressivist-themed design, a media- and culture-themed design, and a Teaching for Transfer design based on theory and practice involving writing concepts. Results of the study included three major findings: (1) that prior knowledge can act as a barrier to learning about writing in college when students believe they have already 'acquired' the knowledge necessary to write; (2) that the content of a writing course matters significantly in influencing what students learn and therefore transfer, and when that content is focused upon a theme or subject matter that is not writing, students transfer knowledge about that subject matter rather than about writing; and (3) that when the content of a writing course includes theory and practice about writing it allows students to develop a conceptual framework from which to transfer knowledge to new writing contexts.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-7220
Format: Thesis

Title: Sacramental Unity in the Writing of C.S. Lewis: Romanticism, Imagination, and Truth in the Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength.
Creator: White, Marisa, Walker, Eric, Fenstermaker, John, Fleckenstein, Kristie, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis analyzes C.S. Lewis's concepts of imagination and truth, focusing mainly on his ideas as expressed in The Abolition of Man (1944) and That Hideous Strength (1945). I argue that these works demonstrate an essential connection between imagination and truth and that this connection reveals the fundamentally sacramental nature of Lewis's imagination. Ultimately, I claim that this sacramental quality exhibits a unique fusion of romanticism and Christianity. Romanticism is relevant...
Show moreThis thesis analyzes C.S. Lewis's concepts of imagination and truth, focusing mainly on his ideas as expressed in The Abolition of Man (1944) and That Hideous Strength (1945). I argue that these works demonstrate an essential connection between imagination and truth and that this connection reveals the fundamentally sacramental nature of Lewis's imagination. Ultimately, I claim that this sacramental quality exhibits a unique fusion of romanticism and Christianity. Romanticism is relevant because of the importance of imagination to the movement of British romanticism in general and, in particular, to Coleridge's work. Examining convergences and divergences between Lewis's concept of imagination and Coleridge's serves to elucidate the point I make about Lewis's sacramental imagination and its ability to bring together the romantic primacy of imagination and the Christian veneration of truth. I begin to address these topics by tracing the development of Lewis's concept of imagination and paralleling it with his conversion to Christianity as he describes it in Surprised by Joy (1955). I then compare these developing concepts with Coleridge's theory of imagination. Moving on to incorporate the idea of truth, I enter into analysis of The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength, explaining Lewis's concept of truth and his argument that a proper education should include forming the imagination in a way that will enable it to illuminate this truth. Finally, I enter into specific discussion of the sacramental nature of Lewis's imagination and show how it fuses Christianity with romanticism.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1084
Format: Thesis

Title: Crumbling Masculinities: Adaptations, Filtration, and the Crisis of Masculinity.
Creator: Champion, Jared, Moore, Dennis, Edwards, Leigh, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: My thesis project, titled Crumbling Masculinities: Adaptations, Filtration, and the Crisis of Masculinity, addresses the construction of masculinity through what I label "filtration." By building on the work of gender scholars like Michael Kimmel, Judith Butler, and Eve Sedgwick, this thesis seeks to show that society teaches individuals to play gender roles by filtering either feminine or masculine traits accordingly. For example: in general, men are no less emotional than women, but society...
Show moreMy thesis project, titled Crumbling Masculinities: Adaptations, Filtration, and the Crisis of Masculinity, addresses the construction of masculinity through what I label "filtration." By building on the work of gender scholars like Michael Kimmel, Judith Butler, and Eve Sedgwick, this thesis seeks to show that society teaches individuals to play gender roles by filtering either feminine or masculine traits accordingly. For example: in general, men are no less emotional than women, but society teaches that masculinity links emotion with weakness, so masculine figures filter emotion to create masculinity. The thesis opens with a discussion of David Mamet's original stage version of Glengarry Glen Ross and his subsequent adaptation of the piece to film. This chapter establishes that gender in religious representations, particularly traditional modes of masculinity, is in a period of flux following postmodernity. The following chapter uses a discussion of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief and Charlie Kaufman's adaptation of the nonfiction work to film in Adaptation to show that masculinity is constantly creating itself through the process of filtration. The final chapter in the thesis uses the discussion of filtration to show that socially constructed gender and biological sex are becoming disconnected, yet the masculine/feminine binary still exists and privileges masculinity. In conclusion, Crumbling Masculinities argues that gender is currently in a period of transition, and as such, the thesis attempts through an analysis of the adaptation process to explain the potential of this crisis to shape gender.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3926
Format: Thesis

Title: The Politics of the Individual, the Power of the Machine: Dos Passos's U.S.A. Trilogy and Beyond.
Creator: Hattaway, Douglas N., Fenstermaker, John, Epstein, Andrew, Shinn, Christopher, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In this thesis I argue that Dos Passos's politics, at least as they are manifested in his writing, do not follow any one party line, and that producing novels which suggested a strict adherence to any single political group would be anathema to the goal of his writing. Dos Passos's writing, I argue, is grounded in certain ideologies that remain constant—ideologies that were grounded in the rights of individuals who struggled against corrupt systems—and it is only his belief about which...
Show moreIn this thesis I argue that Dos Passos's politics, at least as they are manifested in his writing, do not follow any one party line, and that producing novels which suggested a strict adherence to any single political group would be anathema to the goal of his writing. Dos Passos's writing, I argue, is grounded in certain ideologies that remain constant—ideologies that were grounded in the rights of individuals who struggled against corrupt systems—and it is only his belief about which political philosophy best upholds these ideologies that changes. I begin by reevaluating and defining Dos Passos's politics within the U.S.A. trilogy so that they can be compared to his stance following the trilogy, after his much-lamented shift in political loyalties. In my first chapter I show that Dos Passos's politics are driven more by a concern for the individual worker than they are by adherence to any particular doctrine. In fact, Dos Passos distrusted institutions, especially hierarchical institutions, since he felt that they all essentially exploit individuals and force them to live within an artificial, mechanical framework. In my second chapter, I explore Dos Passos's concern with the growing mechanization of society, both the literal mechanization which is the product of modernity and innovation and the political mechanization which seeks to optimize citizens for production by weakening their human response. I argue that Dos Passos's politics are driven by a desire to help the individual worker escape the political machine while taking control over his physical machinery. In my third chapter I analyze Midcentury, the final novel of Dos Passos's published during his lifetime, as a continuation of the themes and political motivations of the U.S.A. trilogy. My intention is to show that Dos Passos's detractors who have criticized his later work as right-wing propaganda have failed to read his final novel closely; in fact the critical preoccupation with Dos Passos's "swing," I argue, has focused almost exclusively on Dos Passos's personal life rather than his writing. Critics have read Dos Passos's novels through the lens of his political affiliations and in doing so have portrayed the author as a polarizing figure, when in fact the texts themselves are politically moderate.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-4207
Format: Thesis

Title: Program Anthologies, Classbooks, and Zines an Examination of Approaches to Publishing First-Year Students' Work.
Creator: Loomis, Ormond, Fenstermaker, John, Simmons, John, Bickley, Bruce, McGregory, Jerrilyn, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study examines publications of students' writing in first-year composition programs. Based on a survey of such publications in 1999, I review how program anthologies and classbooks are produced and used and analyze selected examples of the writing they contain. In addition I trace the development of the publications as the field of composition studies evolved. Research for the study indicates that, although composition instructors have recognized these publications as valuable tools in...
Show moreThis study examines publications of students' writing in first-year composition programs. Based on a survey of such publications in 1999, I review how program anthologies and classbooks are produced and used and analyze selected examples of the writing they contain. In addition I trace the development of the publications as the field of composition studies evolved. Research for the study indicates that, although composition instructors have recognized these publications as valuable tools in teaching writing since the mid-twentieth century, relatively few schools have them. The research shows considerable variety in the approaches that writing programs take to publishing students' writing. Moreover, it reveals a strong connection between the publications and the pedagogical orientation of the writing programs that produce them. To illustrate the relationship, I use data from questionnaires and personal interviews to sketch the evolution of approaches to publishing at five schools: two of them aligned with subjective rhetoric, two of them with epistemic rhetoric, and one bridging these rhetorical views. In chapter six of the study, I analyze eight selected students' texts from the publications. The results show surprisingly little difference in the quality of the compositions they contain. Nevertheless, the subjects the students choose and the structure of their papers suggests that the students' folk culture has a significant influence on their writing. Perhaps more important, the analysis suggests that student experiment with form and style more in their writing when they take responsibility for editing their published texts than when teachers assume that responsibility. The conclusion of the study calls for writing programs to increase their awareness of the range of possibilities for publishing students' papers in first-year composition and incorporate the publications in their curricula. Texts in program anthologies and classbooks constitute a significant resource for understanding how students write. The compositionists have not yet realized the full potential these publications have for helping students learn to write.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1070
Format: Thesis

Title: Ayn Rand's Heroes: Between and Beyond Good and Evil.
Creator: Powell, Robert L., Fowler, Douglas, Cloonan, William, Picart, Caroline “Kay", Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study examines Ayn Rand's fiction in relation to twentieth century literature and culture. Despite its linguistic potential, "The Fountainhead" is not good art and does not represent romantic fiction as Rand claims. It is truly her own reactionary prose which rebels against literary movements she hated such as naturalism. Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is really a right-wing form of Existentialism and Marxism. Ayn Rand and George Orwell both endured shocking life experiences which...
Show moreThis study examines Ayn Rand's fiction in relation to twentieth century literature and culture. Despite its linguistic potential, "The Fountainhead" is not good art and does not represent romantic fiction as Rand claims. It is truly her own reactionary prose which rebels against literary movements she hated such as naturalism. Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is really a right-wing form of Existentialism and Marxism. Ayn Rand and George Orwell both endured shocking life experiences which shaped their ideas and fiction. Rand learned extreme capitalism while Orwell learned skepticism. Rand's skeptical heroes are the most interesting of her canon. Rand's "The Fountainhead" is a blend of Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy of the Superman and the typical American capitalist hero. Gail Wynand, Rand's most Nietzschean character, is her true hero and Dominique is her true villain. Rand's fiction doesn't fit easily into any specific literary genres. Therefore, popular writers, such as Mickey Spillane and Edna Ferber may have been influenced by Rand. Furthermore, similar tendencies of her work can also be seen in choice literature novels of Simone deBeauvoir, Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates. As a capitalist novel, "The Fountainhead" sits among an unappreciated group of works by the literary establishment which should be understood-- if not embraced. The 1943 work portrays capitalist heroes without their loveable 'common man' aspect. Rand's capitalists are rebels with the American idea, that, in pursuit of their excessive selfish desires-- the sky's the limit. Randian heroes—anti-heroes of productive work, have continually re-emerged in American popular culture. Rand's fiction is popular because it's entertaining trash that Americans love. Loveable common man tycoons such as Bill Gates and the late Sam Walton have turned into the anti-heroic Don King and the late Ken Lay. Anti-heroic icons such as Gordon Gekko of the film "Wall Street", in the Randian tradition, show us the ugly but true side of American capitalist culture that is important for us to expose, admit and examine.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0452
Format: Thesis

Title: One Plus One Equals Three.
Creator: Steinmetz, Kristi Marie, Ortiz-Taylor, Sheila, McRorie, Sally, Fenstermaker, John, Moore, Dennis, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This dissertation is a creative non-fiction manuscript following in the combined literary traditions of the American Captivity Narrative (e.g., Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl), Hélène Cixous's écriture feminine, and Gloria Anzaldúa's "autobiographical consciousness" (Irene Lara "Daughter of Coatlicue" 54). The project speaks to and for the common yet controversial reality in our society of the choices – for both natural mother and natural father – surrounding pregnancy...
Show moreThis dissertation is a creative non-fiction manuscript following in the combined literary traditions of the American Captivity Narrative (e.g., Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl), Hélène Cixous's écriture feminine, and Gloria Anzaldúa's "autobiographical consciousness" (Irene Lara "Daughter of Coatlicue" 54). The project speaks to and for the common yet controversial reality in our society of the choices – for both natural mother and natural father – surrounding pregnancy. The project also provides an account of contemporary America's response to single-parenting between the years 2002 and 2006. Although the memoir is a personal investigation of pregnancy, abandonment-grief, birth, and mothering, this work is an act of transformation and healing that extends outward into the culture in that it is a textual moment of learning and knowing. The memoir is a process of interaction Anzaldúa would refer to as conocimiento: of writing self beyond self (Lara 44-45).
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0376
Format: Thesis

Title: Not Our Newspapers: Women and the Underground Press, 1967-1970.
Creator: Youngblood, Teresa, Jumonville, Neil, Fenstermaker, John J., Stuckey-French, Ned, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines the ways in which the underground newspapers of the late 1960s corroborated the growing sentiment that movement women were not considered as valuable to the revolution as movement men, thereby helping the then-burgeoning women's liberation movement to justify a full split from the rest of the leftist counter-culture. The late 1960S marked the height of the underground press's popularity as well as the beginning of the independent women's liberation movement. While women...
Show moreThis thesis examines the ways in which the underground newspapers of the late 1960s corroborated the growing sentiment that movement women were not considered as valuable to the revolution as movement men, thereby helping the then-burgeoning women's liberation movement to justify a full split from the rest of the leftist counter-culture. The late 1960S marked the height of the underground press's popularity as well as the beginning of the independent women's liberation movement. While women were banding together through consciousness-raising to expose their common dissatisfaction with patriarchal social structures, the underground press, mostly run by movement males, continued to allow mainstream, sexist concepts of gender to inform their papers' depiction of women. Women were used as sex objects (under the guise of being "sexually liberated"), icons of the revolution, helpmates, earth mothers, and in other symbolic ways, but were denied the voice and agency granted to men. As the women's liberation movement became more sophisticated in its goals and demands, this hypocrisy came into focus and became the subject of discussion. In the four-year period of this study, 1967-1970, important issues of sexual determinism, freedom of speech, and gender relations within the counter-culture came to a head and were expressed and discussed through the pages of the underground press.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0768
Format: Thesis

Title: Political Priests: The Role of Religious Figures in Modern American Drama.
Creator: Appling, Leonard Troy, Gontarski, S.E., Jumonville, Neil, Fenstermaker, John, Laughlin, Karen, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Understanding religious imagery and its uses on stage is essential to interpreting drama, beginning as it did in the sacred rituals of ancient Greece. In post-World-War-II America, playwrights divested religious elements of their sacredness, using them as signifiers of secular humanism instead, in order to construct or critique ideological tenets central to the American consciousness. This study examines the relation on the modern stage between religion (both formal and civil) and the concept...
Show moreUnderstanding religious imagery and its uses on stage is essential to interpreting drama, beginning as it did in the sacred rituals of ancient Greece. In post-World-War-II America, playwrights divested religious elements of their sacredness, using them as signifiers of secular humanism instead, in order to construct or critique ideological tenets central to the American consciousness. This study examines the relation on the modern stage between religion (both formal and civil) and the concept of "America" in the works of James Baldwin, Bill C. Davis, Christopher Durang, Diane Shaffer, and John Patrick Shanley, who each used religion to create conformity with (or critique of) the sense of American exceptionalism that dominated the post-WWII period. This study focuses on the characteristics of the clergy depicted by these playwrights: pragmatism, marginalization, prescription, and paranoia. While narrow in scope, the thematic concerns these characters represent echo other religious elements such as those of Arthur Miller's Crucible or Edward Albee's Tiny Alice. Each of the playwrights in this study attempt to re-code the religious signs—in this case, their characters—to effect an understanding in the audience that these people represent a larger social commentary. Building on theatre anthropology and semiotics, especially the work of Victor Turner, Peter Brook, and Keir Elam, as well as theorists of American civil religion such as Robert Bellah, this study will demonstrate the ways religion has been used on stage to define American ideology, as well as establish the link between dramatic clergy and the larger societal figures they represent.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0225
Format: Thesis

Title: Hemingway and Hitchcock: An Examination of the Aesthetic Modernity.
Creator: Austad, Jonathan A., Fenstermaker, John, Jolles, Adam, McElrath, Joseph, Martinez, Maricarmen, Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This dissertation examines the aesthetic vision common to Ernest Hemingway and Alfred Hitchcock as they present the modern world. Both artists explore themes of decadence, moving away from their Victorian upbringings as they experience the twentieth century. Past values associated with religious, social, and political institutions fail to explain the random pain and violence of the modern world. These institutions need to be critically examined to find new values, associating their works to...
Show moreThis dissertation examines the aesthetic vision common to Ernest Hemingway and Alfred Hitchcock as they present the modern world. Both artists explore themes of decadence, moving away from their Victorian upbringings as they experience the twentieth century. Past values associated with religious, social, and political institutions fail to explain the random pain and violence of the modern world. These institutions need to be critically examined to find new values, associating their works to the principles of the avant-garde. This interdisciplinary study of literature and film concludes that Hemingway and Hitchcock, two masters of their respective art forms, shared artistic themes and techniques in their search to define modernity, detailing how traditional ideals clash with contemporary experience to create moods stressing deterioration, decadence, and degradation.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0259
Format: Thesis

Title: Sylvester H. Scovel, Journalist, and the Spanish-American War.
Creator: Andreu, Darien Elizabeth, McElrath, Joseph R., Rehder, Ernest, Bickley, R. Bruce, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Sylvester Henry "Harry" Scovel (1869-1905) was one of the most celebrated journalists of the Spanish-American War. Almost every scholar who has written about the correspondents of this late nineteenth-century engagement has made use of Scovel's dispatches from the New York World, particularly his on-the-scene reports of the explosion of the Maine. For the first time, all of Scovel's "war" writing for the Joseph Pulitzer owned New York World are here made available in edited form: 132...
Show moreSylvester Henry "Harry" Scovel (1869-1905) was one of the most celebrated journalists of the Spanish-American War. Almost every scholar who has written about the correspondents of this late nineteenth-century engagement has made use of Scovel's dispatches from the New York World, particularly his on-the-scene reports of the explosion of the Maine. For the first time, all of Scovel's "war" writing for the Joseph Pulitzer owned New York World are here made available in edited form: 132 dispatches dating from the explosion of the Maine on February 15, 1898, to his letter of August 10, 1898, an explanation and apology for the events surrounding his confrontation with General Shafter at the flag-raising ceremony in Santiago. Following an introduction treating the correspondent's life and experiences during the war is a transcription of each article, which has been given a close proofreading and then edited to reflect the discernible intentions of the author within the conventions of contemporaneous usage. The arrangement is chronological, and an "Editorial Methodology" explains how and why these articles are edited as they appear.
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Date Issued: 2003
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0008
Format: Thesis

Title: Books Are Pretty.
Creator: Cohen, Andrew, Butler, Robert Olen, Stuckey-French, Elizabeth, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: I was working as a bookstore manager in Tucson, Arizona in 1993. It was there I first noticed the habits of bookstore patrons. Most enjoyed browsing the shelves, and they did this by choosing a book, tracing their fingers across the cover, and thumbing through pages stopping only at pictures. Very few "customers" read. Now, 2004, as a patron myself, I continue to notice these habits. Cover designs are more elaborate, more colorful, and bookstores—now combined with coffee shops—are more...
Show moreI was working as a bookstore manager in Tucson, Arizona in 1993. It was there I first noticed the habits of bookstore patrons. Most enjoyed browsing the shelves, and they did this by choosing a book, tracing their fingers across the cover, and thumbing through pages stopping only at pictures. Very few "customers" read. Now, 2004, as a patron myself, I continue to notice these habits. Cover designs are more elaborate, more colorful, and bookstores—now combined with coffee shops—are more popular than a decade ago. This collection of stories covers a broad range of human emotion, centering on the premise that although books might seem pretty the stories therein are not, for conflict is the impetus for fiction. The interpersonal relationships studied by this thesis are varied. Leeward, The Cudgels, and Stepping Up examine familial dynamics, with the latter two concentrating on overbearing and absentee parenting, respectively. The Line and Eat to Win concern sexual relationships and philosophies. Whereas Eat to Win examines the logic of the psychopath, Truly Yours follows the thought processes of the victim. Eat to Win also scrutinizes unsavory business ethics, but this second non-pretty aspect is not enough to give the story credit for most distressing within the collection. This position is held for the last story, Leeward, which, in keeping within the theme of irony, is the most optimistic as well. At the end of this story there is hope for the protagonist.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3572
Format: Thesis

Title: Appropriations from the 19th Century and the Topic of Death in Modern Gothic Narratives: Edward Gorey, Walt Disney, and Tim Burton.
Creator: Bailey, Katherine R., Fenstermaker, John, Cloonan, William, Weingarden, Lauren, Walker, Eric, Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study investigates the presence of some anachronistic "forms of woe" in 20th and 21st-century Gothic narratives, their roots in the 19th century and particularly in the Victorian Celebration of Death, and their function as part of an evolving symbolic language in a branch of Gothic characterized by its approach to death through a dynamic tension between unease and humor. In particular, this last tension -- a psychological dance between the grim and the absurd, between a strong emotion...
Show moreThis study investigates the presence of some anachronistic "forms of woe" in 20th and 21st-century Gothic narratives, their roots in the 19th century and particularly in the Victorian Celebration of Death, and their function as part of an evolving symbolic language in a branch of Gothic characterized by its approach to death through a dynamic tension between unease and humor. In particular, this last tension -- a psychological dance between the grim and the absurd, between a strong emotion and its release, between incorporation of an unbearable reality and deflection of it -- allows contemporary American audiences in what has been termed a "death-denying" culture to approach and normalize death. The study incorporates a comparison between the cultural space allotted to death and mourning in the Victoria era and in 20th-century America, discussion of the suitability of the Gothic genre for a modern approach to the subject of death, and analysis of the work of Edward Gorey, Tim Burton, and the Haunted Mansion ride as examples of a particular subgenre of Gothic.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-5496
Format: Thesis

Title: What Happened to Mother?: Patriarchy, Oppression, and Reconciliation in Janet Fitch's White Oleander.
Creator: Kelsky, Jaime L., Bickley, R. Bruce, Fenstermaker, John J., Rowe, Anne E., Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Janet Fitch's _White Oleander_ is a complex novel that on the surface appears to be about Astrid's journey from one foster home to the next. The complexity of the novel, however, lies within the relationships between Astrid and the women in her world and how these relationships are actually framed by the men in the novel. The tensions among the women in "White Oleander" are especially, though not exclusively, a consequence of their relationships with men. The first chapter examines the role...
Show moreJanet Fitch's _White Oleander_ is a complex novel that on the surface appears to be about Astrid's journey from one foster home to the next. The complexity of the novel, however, lies within the relationships between Astrid and the women in her world and how these relationships are actually framed by the men in the novel. The tensions among the women in "White Oleander" are especially, though not exclusively, a consequence of their relationships with men. The first chapter examines the role that patriarchy plays in the novel and the effect it has on the women. The second chapter analyzes the notion of double oppression. Double oppression occurs in "White Oleander" insofar as the male characters oppress the female characters, and in return the female characters displace their oppression onto Astrid. In the third chapter, I discuss the notion of fantasy mother and how Fitch depicts the fantasy mother in "White Oleander". In the last chapter, I examine the reconciliation process between Astrid and Ingrid.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3211
Format: Thesis

Title: Zaffron.
Creator: Sterne, Melvin, Buter, Robert Olen, Galeano, Juan Carlos, Baggott, Julianna, Vitkus, Daniel, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Zaffron is the story of an illiterate, lower-class Muslim girl from south India sold into prostitution in Bombay. She and her friends attempt to start a small business to escape the flesh trade, but when they are not paid for their honest labor, they resort to blackmail in an attempt to collect their debt. When the incriminating camera-phone is confiscated, and a police commissioner murdered, Zaffron must work with an upper-class, well-educated Hindu policewoman to recover the phone and save...
Show moreZaffron is the story of an illiterate, lower-class Muslim girl from south India sold into prostitution in Bombay. She and her friends attempt to start a small business to escape the flesh trade, but when they are not paid for their honest labor, they resort to blackmail in an attempt to collect their debt. When the incriminating camera-phone is confiscated, and a police commissioner murdered, Zaffron must work with an upper-class, well-educated Hindu policewoman to recover the phone and save both their lives. The women must set aside cultural and religious differences and learn to trust one another. The story explores contemporary India including complex issues of gender, culture, religion, third-world politics, and human trafficking. It is based—in parts—on a true story.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-4620
Format: Thesis

Title: Moses Did It, Why Can't You: The Role of Stephen S. Wise during the Holocaust.
Creator: Bryant, Elizabeth Ann, Jones, James P., Fenstermaker, John, Grant, Jonathan, Jones, Maxine D., Wynot, Edward, Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Between 1933-1945, Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise did more than any other American Jewish leader to fight against Hitlerism. Wise was one of the earliest outspoken critics of Adolf Hitler, speaking out against him and the National Socialist German Workers Party even before they assumed power in Germany. Yet, in recent years, he has come under constant scrutiny for his perceived inactions during the Holocaust. This dissertation seeks to investigate these criticisms, and explore their validity, by...
Show moreBetween 1933-1945, Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise did more than any other American Jewish leader to fight against Hitlerism. Wise was one of the earliest outspoken critics of Adolf Hitler, speaking out against him and the National Socialist German Workers Party even before they assumed power in Germany. Yet, in recent years, he has come under constant scrutiny for his perceived inactions during the Holocaust. This dissertation seeks to investigate these criticisms, and explore their validity, by examining the actions of Stephen Wise during this era. This includes analyzing his relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, his role in the American and World Jewish Congresses, his fight against American apathy and anti-Semitism, as well as his multitudinous plans for the rescue and relief of European Jews.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-6165
Format: Thesis

Title: The Cult of Personality: Gertrude Stein and the Development of the Object Portrait in American Visual Art.
Creator: Hensley, Christal, Bearor, Karen A., Fenstermaker, John J., Jolles, Adam D., Nasgaard, Roald, Department of Art History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In August 1912, American photographer Alfred Stieglitz published Gertrude Stein's word portraits of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse in a special issue of Camera Work. Most scholars agree that these word portraits inspired the invention of the object portrait in the American visual arts. Marius de Zayas, Francis Picabia, Marsden Hartley, Man Ray, Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven, Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe explored the genre as members of American artistic circles from 1912...
Show moreIn August 1912, American photographer Alfred Stieglitz published Gertrude Stein's word portraits of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse in a special issue of Camera Work. Most scholars agree that these word portraits inspired the invention of the object portrait in the American visual arts. Marius de Zayas, Francis Picabia, Marsden Hartley, Man Ray, Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven, Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe explored the genre as members of American artistic circles from 1912 through the 1930s. As the genre developed, these artists drew simultaneously upon the semantic and syntactic play of cubist collage, photomontage, Dada language experiments, assemblage, and traditional fine art practices. The identification of Stein's word portraits of Picasso and Matisse as the source of inspiration for object portraiture is secure in scholarly literature. Yet, the theoretical relationship between the two over time remains unexplored. Moreover, scholars have failed to consider other literary experiments by Stein, such as Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms (1914) and the word portraits produced after 1911, as contributing factors in the genre's development. Steinian scholarship primarily attributes her portrait theory to the application of the American psychologist William James' system of characterology, which addresses the mental phenomena of simultaneity, stream of consciousness, and a continuous present. As Stein created a linguistic correspondence to Jamesian perception, she employed an alternative language system that made use of repetition, fragmentation, metaphor and metonymy, word play, punning, word heap (or a conscious, volitional emptying of words), nonsense, and sound associations. In so doing, Stein questioned and attacked traditional modes of identity construction in her experimental writing. Her primary objective was to capture modern character and personality as revealed through modern experiences. I argue that the development of the object portrait genre as practiced by the artists listed above must be considered in light of the profound impact of Gertrude Stein's portrait theory, embedded in the cultural interest in personality and psychology, as demonstrated progressively over the course of her literary career. Like Stein, the artists believed that traditional visual language systems based on mimesis were incapable of describing modern personality and alternative lifestyles. Instead, they employed an alternative visual language of objects associated with their subjects to replace portraiture's traditional reliance on physical resemblance as an indicator of character. Thus, they invented a new means of conveying essential personality traits. I argue further that Stein's development of an alternative language system based on Jamesian psychology, to question traditional modes of identity construction in her experimental writing, contributed to the overall structure and meaning of object portraiture. Art historians have addressed aspects of this argument but they have not attributed this to the artists' interests in Stein's writing specifically. Therefore, the primary objective of this dissertation is to bring together the literary scholarship on Stein's word portraiture and the related art historical scholarship on object portraiture to reconsider the claims made in each in an attempt to discern parallel themes and stylistic choices evident in the genre's development as a visual form of expression within the American avant-garde.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2584
Format: Thesis

Title: Weathering the Storm: Florida Politics during the Administration of Spessard L. Holland in World War II.
Creator: Evans, Jon S., Jones, James P., Fenstermaker, John, Anderson, Rodney, Conner, V. J., Jones, Maxine D., Department of History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: World War II represents a transition period in Florida's recent history. The southernmost state went from a sparsely settled frontier-like environment before the war to one of the nation's most populous and fastest growing areas soon after the war. Much of the historical literature focusing on this period described the impact of military and naval installations, as well as the shipbuilding industry, on the state's economy and population. Other works note the affect of the war on the citrus...
Show moreWorld War II represents a transition period in Florida's recent history. The southernmost state went from a sparsely settled frontier-like environment before the war to one of the nation's most populous and fastest growing areas soon after the war. Much of the historical literature focusing on this period described the impact of military and naval installations, as well as the shipbuilding industry, on the state's economy and population. Other works note the affect of the war on the citrus and tourism industry. Very little, however, has been written about how the war influenced politics in the Sunshine State during this pivotal period. Forces of geography, economics, and demography profoundly shaped Florida politics during the twentieth century. A relatively large, linear state, Florida featured an extraordinary range of differences between its northern regions bordering Alabama and Georgia to its southernmost keys less than one hundred miles from Cuba. In general, the panhandle featured staple crop agriculture, expansive rural areas, and traditional southern culture. The central and southern regions of the state, for the most part, produced a more varied array of farm products – winter vegetables and citrus, had a higher percentage of urban population, and contained the state's highest proportion of northern migrants and seasonal visitors. The state's four largest cities – Pensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami – were separated by miles, economic interests, and culture. The diversity of qualities between the regions prompted pundits to refer to northern residents as "Pork choppers" and inhabitants of the southern region as "Lamb choppers." These divergent qualities resulted in extreme factionalism in politics as each group sought representation and voice in state government. Rather than one or two powerful factions leading state politics like many of its regional neighbors, Florida had numerous blocs centered on local or economic interests competing for influence. Because of the atomization of politics, lawmaking in the state was dominated by local interests. This, in combination with a somewhat rudimentary biennial legislative system, yielded a somewhat directionless state government. As a result, policy decisions were too frequently made to resolve problems rather than to prevent them. The absence of a strong chief executive compounded this lack of direction in Florida government. Institutional characteristics made the office of governor inherently weak in Florida. The state's chief executive had to share authority with other cabinet officers on numerous boards and commissions. Additionally, a constitutional prohibition on gubernatorial self succession forced the governor to compete for influence with cabinet members who could repeat in office indefinitely. This resulted in a relatively weak chief executive with little influence except that generated by patronage and persuasion. Because of these limitations, gubernatorial power and programs had usually been eclipsed by other forces by the governor's second biennial legislative session. A number of factors, including political factionalism and a relatively weak chief executive, severely hampered the development of sound fiscal policy in the state. The state's philosophy of minimal taxation manifested itself in several ways – a constitutional prohibition on income taxation, an exemption on inheritance taxation, the repeal of the state ad valorem tax, and the underassessment of real property. Furthermore, the largest proportion of the state's tax revenues came from regressive consumption taxes on gasoline and alcohol. As a result, Florida's fiscal system was too often unable to fund needed services and occasionally ran a deficit. World War II brought further difficulties to bear on state government's ability to meet the demands of its citizens. Voluntary, and then mandatory, gasoline rationing severely restricted state revenues and threatened tourism, the state's most lucrative commercial enterprise. A brief campaign against Allied shipping off the Florida coasts by the German U-boat forces also undermined the tourism industry. Federal authorities eventually imposed a national ban on nonessential travel to conserve rubber and gasoline, thereby closing down the state's horse racing industry, the primary source of funds for old age pensions and a contributor to revenues shared by the state with the county governments. The war challenged state government leaders to respond and adapt. Florida reached a cross roads in race relations during the war era. While few acknowledged it, the days of universal white hegemony had passed but the era of greater liberties for African Americans had not yet dawned. During this period authorities and private citizens worked to defeat the ever-present threat of lynch violence in Florida. The following study explores how the state's political leaders responded to the many and varied challenges initiated by World War II. For instance, how did the war color political campaigns and shape the voters' choice of leaders? What affect did the state's atomized political structure have on governance during the war? How did the state's problematic system of governance deal with wartime challenges? What forces did the war exert on the state and how did its elected leaders respond? These are some of the questions considered in the following study.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0438
Format: Thesis

Title: The Cult of Personality: Gertrude Stein and the Development of the Object Portrait in American Visual Art.
Creator: Hensley, Christal, Bearor, Karen A., Fenstermaker, John J., Jolles, Adam D., Nasgaard, Roald, Department of Art History, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In August 1912, American photographer Alfred Stieglitz published Gertrude Stein's word portraits of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse in a special issue of Camera Work. Most scholars agree that these word portraits inspired the invention of the object portrait in the American visual arts. Marius de Zayas, Francis Picabia, Marsden Hartley, Man Ray, Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven, Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe explored the genre as members of American artistic circles from 1912...
Show moreIn August 1912, American photographer Alfred Stieglitz published Gertrude Stein's word portraits of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse in a special issue of Camera Work. Most scholars agree that these word portraits inspired the invention of the object portrait in the American visual arts. Marius de Zayas, Francis Picabia, Marsden Hartley, Man Ray, Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven, Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe explored the genre as members of American artistic circles from 1912 through the 1930s. As the genre developed, these artists drew simultaneously upon the semantic and syntactic play of cubist collage, photomontage, Dada language experiments, assemblage, and traditional fine art practices. The identification of Stein's word portraits of Picasso and Matisse as the source of inspiration for object portraiture is secure in scholarly literature. Yet, the theoretical relationship between the two over time remains unexplored. Moreover, scholars have failed to consider other literary experiments by Stein, such as Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms (1914) and the word portraits produced after 1911, as contributing factors in the genre's development. Steinian scholarship primarily attributes her portrait theory to the application of the American psychologist William James' system of characterology, which addresses the mental phenomena of simultaneity, stream of consciousness, and a continuous present. As Stein created a linguistic correspondence to Jamesian perception, she employed an alternative language system that made use of repetition, fragmentation, metaphor and metonymy, word play, punning, word heap (or a conscious, volitional emptying of words), nonsense, and sound associations. In so doing, Stein questioned and attacked traditional modes of identity construction in her experimental writing. Her primary objective was to capture modern character and personality as revealed through modern experiences. I argue that the development of the object portrait genre as practiced by the artists listed above must be considered in light of the profound impact of Gertrude Stein's portrait theory, embedded in the cultural interest in personality and psychology, as demonstrated progressively over the course of her literary career. Like Stein, the artists believed that traditional visual language systems based on mimesis were incapable of describing modern personality and alternative lifestyles. Instead, they employed an alternative visual language of objects associated with their subjects to replace portraiture's traditional reliance on physical resemblance as an indicator of character. Thus, they invented a new means of conveying essential personality traits. I argue further that Stein's development of an alternative language system based on Jamesian psychology, to question traditional modes of identity construction in her experimental writing, contributed to the overall structure and meaning of object portraiture. Art historians have addressed aspects of this argument but they have not attributed this to the artists' interests in Stein's writing specifically. Therefore, the primary objective of this dissertation is to bring together the literary scholarship on Stein's word portraiture and the related art historical scholarship on object portraiture to reconsider the claims made in each in an attempt to discern parallel themes and stylistic choices evident in the genre's development as a visual form of expression within the American avant-garde.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-4110
Format: Thesis

Title: Bodies at War: Bacteriology and the Carrier Narratives of "Typhoid Mary".
Creator: Hostetler, Tara Elizabeth, Rai, Amit S., Shinn, Christopher, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: In this thesis, I explore the carrier narratives of Mary Mallon, or "Typhoid Mary," and their intersections with developments in medical science and immigration policies at the time. To construct this case, I sought texts within the much larger study of the history of science and medicine underway in many different fields—from history to sociology to psychology to literature. From the treatment of the carrier and the implications for modern medical practice and contagious disease to issues...
Show moreIn this thesis, I explore the carrier narratives of Mary Mallon, or "Typhoid Mary," and their intersections with developments in medical science and immigration policies at the time. To construct this case, I sought texts within the much larger study of the history of science and medicine underway in many different fields—from history to sociology to psychology to literature. From the treatment of the carrier and the implications for modern medical practice and contagious disease to issues with regulating immigration, this narrative is constructed within an important frame of reference. My research, which also falls under the broader umbrella of cultural studies, focuses on how immigrants in general (chapter 1) and "Typhoid Mary" specifically (chapter 2) are constructed in these moments. The texts I gathered for analysis ranged from articles in medical journals to short news stories to statements from health officials, most originally published somewhere between 1900 and 1930. I discovered that metaphors of the body born in the examination room transcended to the courtroom and the battlefield, and vice versa. This was all happening at the same moment that bacteriology was lending a new level of authority to scientific medicine. What sets my analysis apart from previous scholarship on "Typhoid Mary" is that I want to focus more on locating the body in the complexity of metaphors that were perhaps too easily slipping between the medical field and the imagining of the nation as a body. The description of the individual-body's immune system recognizing and rebelling against "harmful foreign intruders" was also believed to be a "natural response" of the nation-body. As described by Emily Martin, this idea of defense was "written into 'nature' at the level of the cell" (421). Yet I attempt to investigate what happens when these metaphors are reimagined or revisited in terms of what has more recently been discovered as part of the body's "natural response" – that bacteria and resistance to infection are more companion than enemy.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3740
Format: Thesis

Title: Testing Free Speech in Our Conflicted Democracy: Julia Hanway and the Wakulla Independent Reporter vs. the Florida Elections Commission.
Creator: Hanway, Julia D., Fenstermaker, John, Stuckey-French, Ned, Moore, Dennis, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis documents and analyzes events ignited by complaints to the Florida Elections Commission (FEC) against the fledgling, independent newspaper, The Wakulla Independent Reporter; its publisher, Julia Hanway; and her business, Florida MicroType Graphics, LLC, in the rural panhandle of Florida. In 2005, the FEC determined that the Wakulla Independent Reporter was an "electioneering communication" under Florida's election laws, and was "not a newspaper," and therefore did not fall under...
Show moreThis thesis documents and analyzes events ignited by complaints to the Florida Elections Commission (FEC) against the fledgling, independent newspaper, The Wakulla Independent Reporter; its publisher, Julia Hanway; and her business, Florida MicroType Graphics, LLC, in the rural panhandle of Florida. In 2005, the FEC determined that the Wakulla Independent Reporter was an "electioneering communication" under Florida's election laws, and was "not a newspaper," and therefore did not fall under the "newspaper" exemption in the "electioneering communication" statute. The FEC's final decision on the validity of the complaints left the paper and its publisher subject to financial penalties and potential criminal prosecution if Ms. Hanway continued to publish without submitting to the FEC's stringent requirements to disclose principals, contributions and expenditures, and to publish a conspicuous disclaimer in every issue. Ms. Hanway and her ACLU-sponsored lawyer, Robert Rivas, filed a lawsuit in federal court against Barbara Linthicum, Executive Director of the FEC, arguing that the Wakulla Independent Reporter was being penalized as a form of viewpoint discrimination, which is prohibited by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In turn, the FEC fought for two years to establish that the publication was an electioneering communication and was not a newspaper. The FEC forced Hanway to incur costs and attorney fees of nearly $80,000 to fight for the right to publish without registering with the FEC. At a pretrial hearing on the eve of trial, the FEC's lawyer suddenly changed its position, insisting that the paper was, in fact, a "newspaper" under Florida law. The newspaper was—contrary to all of its previous arguments—now exempt from the requirements the election law imposed upon electioneering communications. This change in the FEC's position, its lawyers argued, made the lawsuit "moot." They based their argument on the fact that the complaint and investigation were only based on the first issue of the paper—in spite of the fact that the FEC investigation reviewed other subsequent issues of the paper in 2005; and, in spite of the fact that the FEC had determined that the publisher could not print again without registering additional issues. Changing their argument after two years meant that the FEC would not be financially responsible for the Plaintiff's expenses if Judge Hinkle agreed with them. In the summer of 2007, Judge Hinkle ruled that the paper was a newspaper; that the FEC was clearly wrong in their original assessment that it was not a newspaper; and that the FEC should never have tried to force the paper to register as an electioneering communication. In court, he forced the FEC to admit that they would not hinder the publication from printing or force the publisher to register with the FEC in the future. Relieving the FEC from financial responsibility because he did not have to impose an injunction as the plaintiff had requested, Judge Hinkle cited the Eleventh Amendment in his decision. Judge Hinkle wrote that the Eleventh Amendment dictated that he should not overreach in his judgment and create new law without necessity. Instead, he chose to completely avoid the First Amendment aspect of the case and ruled that the case was "moot"—as the FEC had argued in the February hearing. He ruled that, as long as the FEC promised never to take action against the Wakulla Independent Reporter, the case was moot because there was no longer the need for an injunction to protect the paper from the FEC. In 2009, however, the First Amendment was finally addressed as it pertained to the state's electioneering laws. In Broward Coalition v. Browning Florida's electioneering laws were determined to be "overbroad" and were overturned by a court in Orlando. The United States Supreme Court completely reversed earlier decisions that justices had made in the landmark case of McConnell vs. Federal Election Commission. In 2010 the Supreme Court determined that all electioneering communication laws throughout the country were unconstitutional in a case known as Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-4278
Format: Thesis

Title: The American Dream: A Place of My Own, a Place to Call Home.
Creator: Gibson, Jason M., Fenstermaker, John J., Jumonville, Neil T., Cloonan, William J., Johnson, David F., Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study uses literary texts from the twentieth century to explore the interaction between liberty and democracy at the heart of the American Dream. Of particular interest is the way in which the Dream is invoked and then called into question in Hemingway's To Have and Have Not (1937), Zora Neal Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' Cross Creek (1942). These works demonstrate a failure of a social order meant to guarantee individual success. The...
Show moreThis study uses literary texts from the twentieth century to explore the interaction between liberty and democracy at the heart of the American Dream. Of particular interest is the way in which the Dream is invoked and then called into question in Hemingway's To Have and Have Not (1937), Zora Neal Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' Cross Creek (1942). These works demonstrate a failure of a social order meant to guarantee individual success. The protagonists are forced to counter expectations of normalcy concerning the identity politics of race, class, gender, and sexuality in order to achieve the Dream's goal of a good life rooted in domestic happiness.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-7392
Format: Thesis

Title: Escape as Motif and Theme in Modern American Fiction: Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway.
Creator: Ellis, Charles Steven, Fenstermaker, John, Johnson, David, Cloonan, William, Walker, Eric, Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study examines the idea of escape in the lives and fiction of Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway, addressing how these individuals embraced an ethos of escape that had continuously developed in Western society at least since the Enlightenment. Specifically, it explores the disassociation, displacement, and angst characterizing aesthetic modernism, feelings greatly affecting these authors and shaping their literary characters. As traditional life markers...
Show moreThis study examines the idea of escape in the lives and fiction of Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway, addressing how these individuals embraced an ethos of escape that had continuously developed in Western society at least since the Enlightenment. Specifically, it explores the disassociation, displacement, and angst characterizing aesthetic modernism, feelings greatly affecting these authors and shaping their literary characters. As traditional life markers lost significance during the first quarter of the twentieth-century, authors (and their characters) found it more difficult to distinguish themselves in a world where previous value systems seemed dead and new beliefs powerless to be born.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-8979
Format: Thesis

Title: From Boom to Bust: Ghost Towns of Selected Florida Gulf Coast Communities.
Creator: Roberts, Rebecca, Davis, Frederick, Fenstermaker, John, Bickley, Bruce, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines extinct or vanishing towns along Florida's northwest coast, specifically communities in Wakulla and Levy Counties, that experienced a boom to bust phenomena between Florida's territorial period and the early twentieth century. The exceptional growth of the selected areas prospered largely due to an abundance of seemingly inexhaustible natural resources. The towns withered and disappeared when industrialization depleted the natural resources or when populations shifted...
Show moreThis thesis examines extinct or vanishing towns along Florida's northwest coast, specifically communities in Wakulla and Levy Counties, that experienced a boom to bust phenomena between Florida's territorial period and the early twentieth century. The exceptional growth of the selected areas prospered largely due to an abundance of seemingly inexhaustible natural resources. The towns withered and disappeared when industrialization depleted the natural resources or when populations shifted according to changes in land availability and mandated land use. Lumberyards sometimes demanded specific wood for manufacture and harvested a species to decimation within a geographical area. Sawmill owners bought non-contiguous land or leased other nearby lands to meet the increasing need for production. Early Gulf Coast railroads tended to follow the path of high-yield lumber mills and commodified natural products. Newly implemented laws often changed the methods of available collection, and consumption of resources and became another factor in whether a town thrived or died. Small, independent commercial fishermen abandoned their livelihoods when new net bans challenged their authority. Hunting resorts closed in consequence of federal land purchases. The Civil War changed forever the labor force behind cotton production. Southerners who viewed slaves as just another limitless resource had to reevaluate their lifestyles. Even the old planters and slave owners who could readjust morally and socially were unable to realign themselves financially and the death of their beneficent town soon followed. Freedmen left their master's land when and if opportunity arose in favor of newer or black-cultured communities. An out-migration of freedmen could lead to the death of post Civil War towns. The demise of many southern ghost towns is often attributed to technological advances and progress bypassing the sleepier little villages, but this theory diminishes, if not totally dismisses the agency of a single person, or a select group of people, to make or challenge decisions contributing to the boom or bust of a particular settlement. It is true that the areas studied often witnessed a loss of transportation services and outward migration in favor of larger or newer sites, but a breach usually appeared in the town's power-structure long before population loss. Larger political, social, and economic forces working outside of the geographical area of a future ghost town were not truly as powerful as might be expected. Instead, the decisions of a relatively small group of citizens, who often had contacts with people connected to larger government forces, made decisions independently of a town council and greatly contributed to the sometimes gradual and sometimes swift extinction of their own districts. The town's lack of a powerful force could be equally devastating if the area received no external representation.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1821
Format: Thesis

Title: Louis J. Witte: Hollywood Special Effects Magician.
Creator: Snyder, Joanna Sumners, Fenstermaker, John, Moore, Dennis, Parrish, Timothy, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Louis John Witte is a man whose name is lost to time and whose work is overshadowed by flashier modern-day computerized advancements in movie wizardry. Nevertheless, he remains a cornerstone upon which a thriving scientific discipline has been built. Although he and his creations existed well before the advent of computer technology, he is credited with inventing devices that advanced the art of faking realism by replacing state-of-the-art crude facsimiles and dangerous replications with...
Show moreLouis John Witte is a man whose name is lost to time and whose work is overshadowed by flashier modern-day computerized advancements in movie wizardry. Nevertheless, he remains a cornerstone upon which a thriving scientific discipline has been built. Although he and his creations existed well before the advent of computer technology, he is credited with inventing devices that advanced the art of faking realism by replacing state-of-the-art crude facsimiles and dangerous replications with safer, hyper-realistic models. Witte's inventions erased the boundary separating audiences from the bona fide. His contribution to the science of entertainment coincided with the historic period 1896-1946, in which "movies were the most popular and influential medium of culture in the United States" (Sklar 3). Not only did Witte give his valuable civilian expertise to his country, but he also was a veteran of WWI, when during a "long lonely and dangerous mission," he was wounded (Leavell Appendix II). "Sergeant Louis J. Witte," a telegram written to his mother reads, "was wound [sic] in the Meuse-Argonne operation, on the night of Oct. 2nd., 1918, by an air bomb, and was evacuated to the hospital" (Leavell Appendix II). Witte's service and injury earned him the Purple Heart commendation for his involvement in that battle.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1653
Format: Thesis

Title: Natural, Civilized, Citizen: Dickens's Characters and Rousseau's Philosophy.
Creator: Phares, Jane, Fenstermaker, John, Jumonville, Neil, Standley, Fred, Walker, Eric, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This dissertation presents evidence, using the vehicle of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's philosophy, that Charles Dickens remained an optimist, contrary to critical opinion that claims he became a dark pessimist during the latter half of his life. Rousseau and Dickens shared a belief in the innate goodness of humankind and, if not in the perfectibility of humanity, at least in the redemption and possibility of betterment both of the individual, and through the individual, of society. Critical...
Show moreThis dissertation presents evidence, using the vehicle of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's philosophy, that Charles Dickens remained an optimist, contrary to critical opinion that claims he became a dark pessimist during the latter half of his life. Rousseau and Dickens shared a belief in the innate goodness of humankind and, if not in the perfectibility of humanity, at least in the redemption and possibility of betterment both of the individual, and through the individual, of society. Critical connections between the two writers are examined in Chapter 1: "A Review of the Literature." In one of his early discourses, The Origins of Inequality, Rousseau posits hypothetically that in the early stages of human development, the "natural man" existed in a state of peace and tranquillity; his identifying characteristics were self satisfaction (in Rousseau's terms, amour de soi), contentment with only the material goods necessary to sustain himself, genuineness, a self concept based on his own inner evaluative system, innocence (freedom from vice), and most notably, compassion for other human beings. When humans began to gather in groups and form societies, they evolved from natural men into "civilized men," thus developing pride (amour propre), a competitive nature, greed, pretension, a self concept determined by others, immoral and/or illegal behaviors, a lack of compassion. In the more mature writings of Rousseau he acknowledges that a return to nature is impossible, and that the only hope for the redemption of society is individual transformation, by which the individual retains or regains natural characteristics and exhibits them within the confines of society. The person who achieves this type of life is the "citizen" as presented in Rousseau's The Social Contract. While these are the works of Rousseau in which he presents the typology, he also portrays the same characteristics in Ãmile, Julie, and his first discourse. Evidence and illustrations of these types are presented in Chapter 2: "Rousseau's Philosophy: The Relevant Principles." In this study, characters in Dickens are measured by the sets of characteristics set forth by Rousseau. In each of the novels under discussion (Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, Martin Chuzzlewit, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and Our Mutual Friend), at least one character represents each of the three types, natural man, civilized man, and citizen. One character per novel is presented in each of three chapters here (Chapter 3: "Dickens's Natural Man"; Chapter 4: "Dickens's Civilized Man"; and Chapter 5: "Dickens's Citizen"), with references to relevant others. For each character, evidence is presented to show that he or she displays all the characteristics of the particular type. In addition, in Chapter 6: "Geographical Significance: The Country vs. the City" the role of geography in the natural/civilized dichotomy is discussed. Rousseau believed that rural life (i.e., life in the country, away from the city and large numbers of people) is more conducive to one's remaining natural; city life, on the other hand, leads to corruption and the development of civilized characteristics, due to one's proximity to others. Dickens's novels contain a similar sentiment, although as both Dickens and Rousseau concluded, life in the country (in "nature") becomes less and less possible with the advance of civilization, so one's only choice is to become citizens, living naturally within the city. Taking into consideration the survival of natural characters throughout Dickens's literary corpus, as well as an increase in the number of redeemed characters (albeit in a civilized setting), conclusions are drawn that Dickens did not lose his optimism toward the end of his life; in fact, he presents the survival of natural goodness as possible in spite of the corruptive forces of civilization. Like Rousseau, Dickens ultimately reinforces not only humankind's innate goodness, but also its resilience and adaptability.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1964
Format: Thesis

Title: Storybook Tallahassee: Places of My Ancestry.
Creator: Bettinger, Julie Strauss, Stuckey-French, Ned, Roberts, Diane, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This collection of Creative Nonfiction is like a folding table in the living room corner covered in puzzle pieces. That's been my life: the keeper of the pieces â little facts about our family that have collected over the years in storage bins, drawers and computer files. "Oh, Julie, here's another one: Did you know Granddaddy Alex's nickname was Poulykee? That means 'stone crab' in Greek." Every once in awhile, I wander over to the table and attach another piece. Each discovery adds to the...
Show moreThis collection of Creative Nonfiction is like a folding table in the living room corner covered in puzzle pieces. That's been my life: the keeper of the pieces â little facts about our family that have collected over the years in storage bins, drawers and computer files. "Oh, Julie, here's another one: Did you know Granddaddy Alex's nickname was Poulykee? That means 'stone crab' in Greek." Every once in awhile, I wander over to the table and attach another piece. Each discovery adds to the tapestry and the picture is starting to take shape. Like an artist's landscape, small details hint at the place and time and offer clues about the people in the scenery. Like religious iconographic art â each gesture, fact or facial expression brings meaning to the whole. This thesis became an excuse to spend more time at that folding table â and to look for missing pieces that would help bring the picture into better focus. In the research and writing, I was guided by two questions from one of my Thesis committee members: "Why are you doing this? Why do you care?" I had to do some soul searching for the answer. Then discovered a quote that I think best explains my drive: "Life is often lived forward, but understood backwards."- Os Hillman Understanding â yes. I want to better understand the people and places of my ancestry and at the same time plug some of the holes in history. And perhaps separate fact from folklore. Most important, though, this collection was an excuse to explore the relatively new genre of Creative Nonfiction. I happened upon this intriguing newcomer in 1995, a dozen years into a full-time writing career. My discovery breathed new life into what had become a formula-driven journalistic career. Finally, nonfiction writers were given permission to play with their craft, just like our fiction counterparts. I've been working on our relationship ever since â seeking workshops that offered a glimpse of this magnificent attraction, sharing what I learned with interns I employed and bringing stories about the object of my affection to a writing seminar for senior citizens. In seeking a deeper connection to the genre, I still feel like a face in a crowd of fans behind the rope at a celebrity event. I get a glimpse of the heady world of Creative Nonfiction, but feel forever an outsider. Journey filled with intrigue Like an actor hides behind her characters, CNF has hidden behind many aliases over the years â narrative or literary nonfiction, personal essay, memoir, literary and "new" journalism. I haven't noted references to it recently, but there was dramatic nonfiction for a time as well. Making the character study even more challenging, the genre's subcategories include essays, articles, memoirs, documentary drama and narrative history, among others. Creative Nonfiction's identity crisis has left many of us no choice but to come up with our own definition. -"(Creative Nonfiction) combines the personal with reading, research, study and factoid. You can use quotes or other devices, always in an attempt to create meaning for the reader." (Susan Neville, author, English professor) - "It's nonfiction with extra imagination." (Stuart McIver, author) -"(Creative Nonfiction) is fact-based writing that uses techniques of literary writing. It uses techniques of journalism and mixes with fiction writing techniques." (John Calderazzo) -"Nonfiction is information â what you communicate to your readers. The creative part is how you communicate it." (Lee Gutkind, author of "The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling the Literature of Reality") Gutkind, who has been called the "godfather" of this new breed of writing, says further, "Creative nonfiction is a matter of writing nonfiction using literary techniques such as scene, dialogue, description, and allowing the personal point of view and voice, rather than maintaining the sham of objectivity. It's taking the time to integrate dramatic, suspenseful, compelling story structures within the articles you write." In order to reach my goal of exploring Creative Nonfiction techniques, I had to break my big puzzle into several sections. I chose three topics from my ancestral ties â Greek roots in downtown, French ones at San Luis and a place old Tallahasseeans call simply, "The Coast." While all are mentioned in the history of the Capital City of Florida, none have been explored in depth. So while my original focus was to stay true to the genre, at one point, I felt driven to assure a thorough account of the topic. And that required breaking my three essays into five parts. As I researched, certain questions plagued me. For example: "How did St. Teresa Beach and St. James Island get named?" And, "What was happening in Alabama â or Bainbridge, Georgia for that matter â in the early 1900s that attracted teenage Greek immigrants?" For the San Luis vineyard era, "Why would Emile Dubois leave the vineyard he worked so hard to build â and one that paid him handsomely?" and midway through research, "Could a black man get a fair trial in Tallahassee in the late 1800s?" Much of my time was spent conforming the pieces to what I look for in good Creative Nonfiction: personal voice, a definite story, scene (vignettes, episodes, slices of reality) and universal appeal. Each story seeks to reach out and embrace the reader â to move them along through action and involve the writer as both actor and observer. As a journalist, I couldn't resist the urge to include the teaching element or some sort of information transfer, weaving facts into the story, but trying to avoid a stilted analysis. My hope is that the genre didn't get lost in answering these questions and relating historical facts. Let the reader decide.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1395
Format: Thesis

Title: James Fenimore Cooper's Frontier: The Pioneers as History.
Creator: Berson, Thomas, Davis, Frederick, Fenstermaker, John, Stuckey-French, Ned, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines aspects of American culture and society in Post-Revolutionary upstate New York through the lens of James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Pioneers. While scholars have looked to The Pioneers as an object of literary criticism or for overarching American themes such as manners or authority, I examine The Pioneers' value as a historical document. Specifically, I examine the clash between a new culture still in its infancy and an existing one in its last days. The frontier...
Show moreThis thesis examines aspects of American culture and society in Post-Revolutionary upstate New York through the lens of James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Pioneers. While scholars have looked to The Pioneers as an object of literary criticism or for overarching American themes such as manners or authority, I examine The Pioneers' value as a historical document. Specifically, I examine the clash between a new culture still in its infancy and an existing one in its last days. The frontier settlers in Cooper's work, as in reality, imposed their religion, science, and land-ownership principles on the remnants of native Americans and pre-revolutionary "squatters" even as their own understandings of those institutions were changing. In this paper I examine how, although settlers attempted to impose their religion on native Americans, religion did not play as major a role in guiding frontier morality, but that Jeffersonian notions of republican motherhood and innate morality did. At the same time, these notions of morality came into conflict with the new laws that were being enforced while settlers were imposing Christianity onto the indigenous residents of America. These topics are the subject of Chapters One and Two. Fledging notions of applied science were brought to bear in an attempt to create a sustainable long-term development, but that scientific institutions in America, such as medicine, were notably deficient. These issues are the subject of Chapter Three. Following that, I also discuss how land-ownership issues were complicated by pre-existing claims on the land, by Indians, Loyalist settlers and squatters. Finally, I explore how Cooper presciently staked out proto-environmentalist themes long before modern notions of conservation were developed, and how his portrayal of these themes is valuable to understanding ideas of the Turnerian "frontier." The paper examines all these ideas by comparing Cooper's writing to that of historical scholars and Cooper's contemporary cultural observers, as well as by utilizing other primary source materials.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1385
Format: Thesis

Title: Alternative Composition Pedagogies: Multimedia, Alternate Style, and Social Constructionist/Expressivist Teaching Practices.
Creator: Szczepanski, Jay D., Bishop, Wendy, Fenstermaker, John, Teague, Deborah Coxwell, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This portfolio exam contains four essays, a bibliographic essay, and a teaching philosophy, as well as attendant teaching materials in the appendices. These materials work together to present one composition instructor's position on non-standard composing practices and his decentered approach to classroom management. Included in this thesis are two essays that deal specifically with multimedia composition ("Multimedia Composition, Process Pedagogy, and First Year Writing," and "Why Not...
Show moreThis portfolio exam contains four essays, a bibliographic essay, and a teaching philosophy, as well as attendant teaching materials in the appendices. These materials work together to present one composition instructor's position on non-standard composing practices and his decentered approach to classroom management. Included in this thesis are two essays that deal specifically with multimedia composition ("Multimedia Composition, Process Pedagogy, and First Year Writing," and "Why Not Hypertext?"), a bibliographic essay that serves as an introduction to alternate style, one student-centered pedagogical paper that addresses the hazy issue of "voice" in student writing, and a teaching philosophy paired with an essay that deals with the issues that gay teachers face in small composition classrooms.
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Date Issued: 2003
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1474
Format: Thesis

Title: Family Dynamics in American Literature: Genesis and Beyond.
Creator: Marshall, Heidi Ann, Lhamon, W.T., Fenstermaker, John, Epstein, Andrew, Jumonville, Neil, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The family unit established by Adam and Eve in the first book of the Bible is often rewritten and resurrected in American literature. This dissertation explores the Genesis lore cycle in American literature as an emblem of changing family dynamics in the past two centuries. The family unit established by Adam and Eve is rewritten in order to address American literary themes such as fratricide, incest, marking, and more. I analyze texts ranging from very canonical American pieces, such as John...
Show moreThe family unit established by Adam and Eve in the first book of the Bible is often rewritten and resurrected in American literature. This dissertation explores the Genesis lore cycle in American literature as an emblem of changing family dynamics in the past two centuries. The family unit established by Adam and Eve is rewritten in order to address American literary themes such as fratricide, incest, marking, and more. I analyze texts ranging from very canonical American pieces, such as John Steinbeck's East of Eden and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, to contemporary ones like Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog Underdog and Dorothy Allison's Bastard out of Carolina. The fall, fratricide, and implied incest evident in Genesis appear in American literature amid new families who fail to mirror the utopian nuclear family set forth in the initial Edenic creation. These new American families maintain the lore cycle and combat the connotation that American families fit the Genesis first family mold. This study also incorporates findings from other disciplines, including history, sociology, and psychology. Utilizing this scholarship, I examine the ways in which American writers have resurrected Genesis amid major American historical changes such as civil rights, feminism, and more.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2720
Format: Thesis

Title: Activism amid a Chaotic Era: The Underground Press of the 1960S.
Creator: Nelson, Hope, Jumonville, Neil, Fenstermaker, John, Coxwell-Teague, Deborah, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis addresses the major activist and radical issues of the 1960s and early 1970s and illustrates the myriad shifts that take place within each of these social movements as depicted in the alternative press of the era. These movements serve as reflections of the shift of the collective American character throughout the 1960s, and while they propel America to adjust to new mindsets, they also reflect the desires – and fears – of a nation thrust into a chaotic postwar period. But despite...
Show moreThis thesis addresses the major activist and radical issues of the 1960s and early 1970s and illustrates the myriad shifts that take place within each of these social movements as depicted in the alternative press of the era. These movements serve as reflections of the shift of the collective American character throughout the 1960s, and while they propel America to adjust to new mindsets, they also reflect the desires – and fears – of a nation thrust into a chaotic postwar period. But despite their differences in goals and ideologies, the major movements of the era – the struggles for civil rights, women's rights, and peace in the face of war – bring with them many similarities, more than many historians are wont to depict. So often, such historians focus solely on one of the activist movements of the 1960s, seemingly overlooking other events of the decades that could perhaps be catalysts or results of a particular movement's actions. But the groups that formed and the events that took place within the decade did so with a high degree of interconnectedness, even in ways that are not readily apparent initially. This mentality is illustrated quite clearly within the alternative newspapers of the era. Specifically, the bylines and subjects showing up in a forum for one activist movement often echo those from other publications and other movements. More generally, the motives, tactics, and even slogans made successful by one movement often were employed by activists in other realms, adding much to the collective ideological shifts of the era. Through the alternative press, it is easy to see the tendencies toward chaos even within the movements themselves; rarely does a neat and tidy chronology of progression exist. These newspapers chronicled the transformations taking place with the times – indeed, a shift from semantics to activism, from a more passive ideology to one that was vibrant with action. But such shifts are not easily decipherable and are nestled among shades of gray rather than being decidedly black and white. And it is those gray areas, those areas of confusion, tension, frustration, and joy, that this thesis analyzes.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2684
Format: Thesis

Title: Writing the In(in) Between: The Expressions of Féminine in Henry Miller's Tropics Trilogy.
Creator: Palumbo, Allison P., Gontarski, S. E., Edwards, Leigh, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The critical history of the texts written by Henry Miller is full of controversy and conflicting assertions as critics rarely agree on any constant interpretations of his work, or life. Some regard him as a playful buffoon without craft or ability while others believe he is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. There are those who characterize his writing as obscene smut but and those who read it as unfailingly romantic. His work fits into traditional literary molds as well as...
Show moreThe critical history of the texts written by Henry Miller is full of controversy and conflicting assertions as critics rarely agree on any constant interpretations of his work, or life. Some regard him as a playful buffoon without craft or ability while others believe he is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. There are those who characterize his writing as obscene smut but and those who read it as unfailingly romantic. His work fits into traditional literary molds as well as post-modern categorizations—and this list continues for each varied analysis. However, there has been one claim about Miller's work that has received almost unanimous support: that his writing depicts only negative representations of women. He has been accused of objectifying or vilifying women in his texts, of lacking any understanding of femininity or of women's experiences, and of maintaining only masculine, sexist interests. In short, he has been deemed a misogynist. The majority of critics accept these assumptions, but this is the one claim that deserves the most challenge. There have been a few attempts to counter the charges of misogyny, but they have mainly been counter-productive. That is why the aim of this thesis is to address these unfortunate assertions and provide a new perspective of his writing that reveals the positive manifestations of femininity in it. The entirety of this analysis is based upon Hélène Cixous' theory of écriture féminine, which I have applied to Henry Miller's Tropics trilogy in the hopes of enlightening audiences about the true revolutionary nature of his work.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2340
Format: Thesis

Title: Horse Show Circuit Part One.
Creator: Quattro, Joe, Suárez, Virgil, Stuckey-French, Elizabeth, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: To complete my Master of Arts degree I am submitting Part One of my novel-in-progress Horse Show Circuit. This first section presents the novel's set up of characters, setting, and situation. The novel is written in the tradition of journey-type stories, going back as far as Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales to the more recent works of Kerouac's On The Road and Ellis' Less Than Zero. Other influences include the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, how they explored specific social...
Show moreTo complete my Master of Arts degree I am submitting Part One of my novel-in-progress Horse Show Circuit. This first section presents the novel's set up of characters, setting, and situation. The novel is written in the tradition of journey-type stories, going back as far as Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales to the more recent works of Kerouac's On The Road and Ellis' Less Than Zero. Other influences include the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, how they explored specific social worlds and the dynamic that existed within that particular echelon. In my novel, the setting includes competition within the world of equestrian show jumping. Certain elements, such as the horse murders, are grounded in historical facts from the 1980s.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2244
Format: Thesis

Title: Student Discussion of Assigned Reading in Online Firstyear Writing Courses.
Creator: Williams, Terra, Bickley, Bruce, Carroll, Pamela, Fenstermaker, John, Coxwell-Teague, Deborah, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: I designed a study of online courses that combined ethnography and teacher research. I observed and described the elements of two completely online second semester first-year composition courses in the Spring 2004 semester, one that I taught and one taught by another instructor. Throughout the project, I gathered all documents relevant to the courses I studied, and produced a thick description of them. Document gathering provided the context for the classes themselves—syllabi, calendars,...
Show moreI designed a study of online courses that combined ethnography and teacher research. I observed and described the elements of two completely online second semester first-year composition courses in the Spring 2004 semester, one that I taught and one taught by another instructor. Throughout the project, I gathered all documents relevant to the courses I studied, and produced a thick description of them. Document gathering provided the context for the classes themselves—syllabi, calendars, assigned reading materials. I also conducted interviews with the other teacher participating in my study about her design choices and pedagogy, technology and teaching background, and reading and writing habits. I answered the same questions that she did. During the course of the semester, I administered to students, by email, three questionnaires. These helped contextualize the content analysis portion of my project by providing me with information about the people participating in the discussions—their backgrounds with technology, their reading and writing habits, their levels of participation—all of which affect their writing/participation in online discussions. Finally, I analyzed the content of the students' discussions about their assigned reading. I tracked students' discussion in order to identify characteristics of students' writing about assigned reading. I based the unit of analysis on individual posts and described what I saw by providing representative examples of comments. I used the examples to help illustrate how online discussions might develop in contexts similar to those I studied. Online courses are a new component of composition. We don't know yet how best to structure our courses and how to assign readings and help guide/structure/generate discussion of texts so that online discussion in our classrooms is productive. My study has the potential to help create effective reading assignments that maximize learning, thinking, and writing skills. I also hope to help those unfamiliar with online teaching and distance education research better understand online classrooms—potential online teachers and administrators who are deciding whether to start online programs in their departments or who are restructuring distance education programs in order to meet new challenges that web-based distance learning creates.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0976
Format: Thesis

Title: "The Future Is Open" for Composition Studies: A New Intellectual Property Model in the Digital Age.
Creator: Lowe, Charles, Fenstermaker, John, Rehder, Ernest, Walker, Eric, Coxwell-Teague, Deborah, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: "The Future Is Open" for Composition Studies: A New Intellectual Property Model in the Digital Age examines problems with the current intellectual property paradigm and focuses on the application of open source methods of knowledge production as the potential solution. Since the birth of copyright with the Statute of Anne in 1710, commercial interests have continually worked toward the enclosure of intellectual property. Despite the value to society of having a public commons of works which...
Show more"The Future Is Open" for Composition Studies: A New Intellectual Property Model in the Digital Age examines problems with the current intellectual property paradigm and focuses on the application of open source methods of knowledge production as the potential solution. Since the birth of copyright with the Statute of Anne in 1710, commercial interests have continually worked toward the enclosure of intellectual property. Despite the value to society of having a public commons of works which anyone may access and use, these companies champion romantic ideals of authorship as a means to privatize all intellectual property. This particular situation has accelerated as of late with the formation of large media conglomerates and other companies who own creative works of all typesâmusic, scholarly articles, works of fiction, patents on new technologies and biological processes, etc.âand who vigorously protect and extend their ownership rights, including lobbying for and receiving recent legislation which solidifies their control even further: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998) and Copyright Term Extension Act (1998). As we move from a print-based culture to a society whose texts are mostly electronic, enclosure will continually cause negative effects on literacy, a stifling of technological innovation, a worsening crisis in academic publishing, a further encroachment of fair use rights, and self-censorship by creators of works. In response to such problems with intellectual property, significant grass roots movements have begun in the past twenty years centered around the idea of "openness": open source software development, open access to scholarly publishing, and Creative Commons. Writing teachers will find that within the principles of openness these movements represent, they will recognize an ideology parallel to their own beliefs about sharing and social constructionist epistemology and come to understand that the Utopian dream of an open source idea economy is the antithesis of the dystopia imagined by content providers.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1029
Format: Thesis

Title: On Shaving: Barbershop Violence in American Literature.
Creator: Yadon, Ben, Moore, Dennis, Fenstermaker, John, Parrish, Timothy, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This thesis identifies and examines the trope of barbershop violence in American literature. Drawing on a wide range of literary, scholarly, and historical documents, I explore the way that certain authors subvert traditional ideas about barbershop discourse and use the quintessential American setting as a stage for failed nostalgia, tragic miscommunication, and outbursts of irrational violence in order to craft fictions that call on readers to strive for a more authentic and humanistic...
Show moreThis thesis identifies and examines the trope of barbershop violence in American literature. Drawing on a wide range of literary, scholarly, and historical documents, I explore the way that certain authors subvert traditional ideas about barbershop discourse and use the quintessential American setting as a stage for failed nostalgia, tragic miscommunication, and outbursts of irrational violence in order to craft fictions that call on readers to strive for a more authentic and humanistic identification with their fellow man. In the first chapter I take a close look at Herman Melville's tableau of barbering in the 1855 novella Benito Cereno within a socio-historic context and then trace allusions to this seminal barbering scene in a number of works to show how many authors depict barbershop miscommunication and violence in order to highlight the racial disparities at the heart of American society. In Chapter Two I borrow the sophisticated methodology of James Joyce scholar Cheryl Temple Herr to examine contemporary American novelist Don DeLillo's numerous depictions of the barbershop through the prism of Heideggerian ontology.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1177
Format: Thesis

Title: Graphic Imagery: Jewish American Comic Book Creators' Depictions of Class, Race, and Patriotism.
Creator: Yanes, Nicholas, Fenstermaker, John, Faulk, Barry, Stuckey-French, Ned, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Comic books printed during the 1930s and 40s contained stories and characters that supported the New Deal and America's entry into World War II. Though comic books are typically seen solely as reflections of the decades; the comic books, in actuality, were propaganda for political stances. Moreover, these were the political stances of the Jewish Americans who built the comic book industry. While much of corporate America was terrified by FDR's New Deal policies, comic books supported the...
Show moreComic books printed during the 1930s and 40s contained stories and characters that supported the New Deal and America's entry into World War II. Though comic books are typically seen solely as reflections of the decades; the comic books, in actuality, were propaganda for political stances. Moreover, these were the political stances of the Jewish Americans who built the comic book industry. While much of corporate America was terrified by FDR's New Deal policies, comic books supported the President. When war loomed on the horizon, comic book writers and artists sent patriotic superheroes to war long before the country became mobilized. Finally, the political dialogue taking place in comic books resonated with the American public because they were created in a time when patriotism was synonymous with sacrifice.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1162
Format: Thesis

Title: "At Home We Work Together": Domestic Feminism and Patriarchy in Little Women.
Creator: Wester, Bethany S., Moore, Dennis, Edwards, Leigh, Fenstermaker, John, Program in American and Florida Studies, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: For 136 years, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women has remained a classic in American children's literature. Although Alcott originally wrote the novel as a book for young girls, deeper issues run beneath the surface story of the March family. This thesis explores a few of these issues. Chapter One examines the roles of patriarchy and domesticity in Alcott's private life and in Little Women. Chapter Two emphasizes the Transcendentalist thinking that surrounded Alcott in her childhood, her own,...
Show moreFor 136 years, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women has remained a classic in American children's literature. Although Alcott originally wrote the novel as a book for young girls, deeper issues run beneath the surface story of the March family. This thesis explores a few of these issues. Chapter One examines the roles of patriarchy and domesticity in Alcott's private life and in Little Women. Chapter Two emphasizes the Transcendentalist thinking that surrounded Alcott in her childhood, her own, feminized Transcendentalist philosophy, and how it subsequently infiltrates the novel. Chapter Three explores the role of the struggling female artist in Little Women, as portrayed by the March sisters, especially Jo and Amy March, and how the fictional characters' struggles reflect Alcott's own problems as a female writer in a patriarchal society. Chapter Four discusses Alcott's reformist ideas and the reformist issues that surface in Little Women. Domestic feminism--the idea that a reformed family, in which men and women equally participate in domestic matters, would lead to a reformed society--emerges as the predominant reformist issue in Little Women. Alcott believed that women should be able to choose the course of their adult lives, whether that included marriage, a professional career, or otherwise, without the threat of being ostracized from society. In Little Women, the March family serves as an example of a reformed, egalitarian family in which women exercise self-reliance, employ their non-domestic talents, and still maintain femininity.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-1144
Format: Thesis

Title: Ready-Made Stories: The Rhetorical Function of Myths and Lore Cycles as Agents of Social Commentary.
Creator: Brooks, Tiffany Yecke, Lhamon, W. T., Kelley, Nicole, Fenstermaker, John, Warren, Nancy, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: This study is a two-part examination into the various ways that English and American cultures reclaim particular stories or images for the sake of social, political, or economic commentary. I explore the manner in which maturing societies create transitional rhetorics by reforming earlier myths and how specific stories, images, or icons function as "carriers" of cultural themes, crucial values, memories, ideals, and anxieties. The first section, entitled "The Genesis Complex," examines three...
Show moreThis study is a two-part examination into the various ways that English and American cultures reclaim particular stories or images for the sake of social, political, or economic commentary. I explore the manner in which maturing societies create transitional rhetorics by reforming earlier myths and how specific stories, images, or icons function as "carriers" of cultural themes, crucial values, memories, ideals, and anxieties. The first section, entitled "The Genesis Complex," examines three specific myths from Genesis that modern authors purposefully refigured to shape issues in the current cultural context. I introduce each textual theme by examining its reception history and the manner in which interpretations have accumulated meaning from each myth. My primary discussions are Charlotte Bronte's /Jane Eyre/ and the myth of the fallen woman; Willa Cather's /O Pioneers!/ and the myth of American Eden; and John Steinbeck's /East of Eden/ and Arthur Miller's /Death of a Salesman/ paired with the myth of Cain and Abel as economic competitors. The second section of Ready-Made Stories, entitled "Adaptations and Negotiations," examines two lore cycles – that is, iconographic elements or gestures that emerge and re-emerge in certain contexts. The first is that of Cain, as we see bits of his character connected with medieval monsters and the eventual invention of Shakespeare's monster-man Caliban, as well as Trans-Atlantic blackface performances in the nineteenth century. The second lore cycle we examine is that of Jack Sheppard as he progresses from a proletariat hero to a popular character of novel, stage, and modern music. Ready-Made Stories thus scrutinizes the specifics of cultural adaptation and textual evolution. These ready-made stories stand not as testaments to the archetypal memory of culture, but as reminders of the inherent contradiction and backwards glances of cultural production. In essence, we see both how and why very much of the old consciously and purposely sustains the new.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2994
Format: Thesis

Title: World War I Narratives and the American Peace Movement, 1920-1936.
Creator: Nank, Christopher, Fenstermaker, John, Jumonville, Neil, Rowe, Anne, McElrath, Joseph, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The aim of this project is to conduct analyses of twelve American novels and one short story collection published between 1920 and 1936 and to demonstrate their effect in scripting cultural memory and in shaping public sentiment toward military intervention in the United States during that period. Specifically, these novels, all dealing directly with the First World War or its fallout/aftermath, provided a rhetorical framework within which pacifist, isolationist, and anti-militarist elements...
Show moreThe aim of this project is to conduct analyses of twelve American novels and one short story collection published between 1920 and 1936 and to demonstrate their effect in scripting cultural memory and in shaping public sentiment toward military intervention in the United States during that period. Specifically, these novels, all dealing directly with the First World War or its fallout/aftermath, provided a rhetorical framework within which pacifist, isolationist, and anti-militarist elements were ultimately able to influence legislation directly regarding the role America would play in the world's conflicts until 1941. Furthermore, following years of official propaganda and press censorship and in the absence of any modern mass media, they represented for the post-war public nearly the sole outlet through which the experience of the war could be "accurately" or "authoritatively" rendered. As a result, American public feeling toward military intervention turned increasingly negative during the interwar period, mirroring in many ways the fictional works' own bitter and disillusioned (if not outright horrified or defeated) tones. Highlighting the theories of Vincent J. Roscigno's and William Danaher's 2001 study on the "shaping" ability of music on the goals and aims of striking textile workers in the 1930s South, I will demonstrate a parallel effect of these selected American World War I novels during the 1920s and 1930s.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2747
Format: Thesis

Title: Female and Feminine, but Not Feminist: in the Principal Works of Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and George Eliot.
Creator: Kornstein, Christie Lee, Fenstermaker, John, Faulk, Barry, O’Rourke, James, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and George Eliot struggled against conventions and endured criticism as authors. Despite personal turmoil, each eventually civilized some of her rebelliousness, and in her life and writing embraced the symbol of conventional wisdom and lifestyle – marriage. Tracking the evolution of a conventional social vision – the civilizing of powerful passions – in the life and major works of three renowned nineteenth-century British women writers is the subject of...
Show moreCharlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, and George Eliot struggled against conventions and endured criticism as authors. Despite personal turmoil, each eventually civilized some of her rebelliousness, and in her life and writing embraced the symbol of conventional wisdom and lifestyle – marriage. Tracking the evolution of a conventional social vision – the civilizing of powerful passions – in the life and major works of three renowned nineteenth-century British women writers is the subject of the following essays.
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Date Issued: 2003
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-2837
Format: Thesis

Title: "The Muse," and Other Short Stories.
Creator: Bitar, Rawan, Stuckey-French, Elizabeth, Fenstermaker, John, McElrath, Joseph, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The following collection of short stories has been written within the span of my educational journey at this university. The stories have transformed, and improved with time, crafted with my utmost consideration, and love. I wouldn't have maintained enough energy to fulfill the project if I didn't value each and every story. My thesis taught me about the crucial process of revision, about the importance of criticism; the drive that moves any artist in the direction of success. I can say that...
Show moreThe following collection of short stories has been written within the span of my educational journey at this university. The stories have transformed, and improved with time, crafted with my utmost consideration, and love. I wouldn't have maintained enough energy to fulfill the project if I didn't value each and every story. My thesis taught me about the crucial process of revision, about the importance of criticism; the drive that moves any artist in the direction of success. I can say that I've created works that apply to the world that I have experienced as a Lebanese female-feminist in a western world, exposed to racism, cross-gender identities, and other fascinating aspects of life, disturbing, yet enlightening, as they are. The artistic process will continue beyond this thesis, and indeed had begun before this thesis, but the following few pages can be considered a cornerstone.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3716
Format: Thesis

Title: The Influence of the Sentimental Novel and the Attendant Cult of True Womanhood on Four Novels by African American Women.
Creator: Holmes, Beverly B., Fenstermaker, John, Weingarden, Lauren, Bickley, Bruce, Montgomery, Maxine L., Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Sentimental novels were the juggernaut of the publishing industry in America in the nineteenth century. Also known as novels of domesticity and, more recently, as women's fiction, these novels were written largely by and for women. The story was one of survival, of girls cast out to make their way in the world. However, they were to hold fast to the dictates of Victorian decorum and embrace the four tenets of the so-called "Cult of True Womanhood": piety, sexual purity, submission, and...
Show moreSentimental novels were the juggernaut of the publishing industry in America in the nineteenth century. Also known as novels of domesticity and, more recently, as women's fiction, these novels were written largely by and for women. The story was one of survival, of girls cast out to make their way in the world. However, they were to hold fast to the dictates of Victorian decorum and embrace the four tenets of the so-called "Cult of True Womanhood": piety, sexual purity, submission, and domesticity. This study examines how the sentimental novel influenced four later novels by African American women writers. With harsh punishments against literacy, it was primarily only until after emancipation that African American women began writing novels. This study, then, explores how the authors of four novels both appropriated and reconfigured the template of precursory novels written by white women. Critics have more recently begun to re-evaluate the genre of the sentimental novel, a genre dismissed as unimportant for most of the twentieth century. What needs further study is the influence of these astoundingly popular texts on the novels of a previously repressed group of authors, black women. By examining this connection, this study contributes to an understanding of the intertextuality of women's fiction, an intertextuality both deliberate and inadvertent as well as often consciously oppositional.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3802
Format: Thesis

Title: Brother Dan: A Memoir.
Creator: Hartman, Anna, Stuckey-French, Elizabeth, Butler, Robert Olen, Fenstermaker, John, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: The following is a collection of memoir-based essays that detail the author's life and experiences with her brother throughout their childhood together.
Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-4222
Format: Thesis

Title: Online Composition Classes Call for a Pedagogical Paradigm Shift: Students as Cartographers of Their Own Knowledge Maps.
Creator: Ashman, Kathleen, Coxwell-Teague, Deborah, Fenstermaker, John, Rehder, Ernest, Bickley, Bruce, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: My dissertation research focuses on how students create knowledge in a classroom community, more specifically how taking an online course impacts students' learning and ultimately, students' knowledge making. Since the online course presents a closed community, the Blackboard site is the only "learning site" for the students in the course. Since I am researching online Bb communities, the context of the research invites ethnographical methods, both qualitative data or narratives to describe...
Show moreMy dissertation research focuses on how students create knowledge in a classroom community, more specifically how taking an online course impacts students' learning and ultimately, students' knowledge making. Since the online course presents a closed community, the Blackboard site is the only "learning site" for the students in the course. Since I am researching online Bb communities, the context of the research invites ethnographical methods, both qualitative data or narratives to describe each online community's "health" and quantitative analysis of the student dialogue threads on the forums. This ethnographic study focuses on the impact of pedagogical styles on the learning processes of online composition students. In the spring semester of 2005, I observed two Blackboard online course sites: one taught as a teacher-centered course and one taught as a student-centered course. I researched the archived course sites looking for evidence of positive communal health in the communication exchanges between student and student, as well as between student and instructor. I also analyzed the discussion board forums for evidence of transformative learning in the student dialogues. This dissertation study compares the pedagogical strategies of teacher-centered and student-centered online courses, reflects the impact of communal health on the online course community, sheds light on how communal health influences the student's ability to move through the transformative learning process, as well as poses questions for further research.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0244
Format: Thesis

Title: Fashioning and Refashioning Marie Laveau in American Memory and Imagination.
Creator: Jacobson Jordan, Tatia, Moore, Dennis, Epstein, Andrew, Fenstermaker, John, Ward, Candace, Poey, Delia, Department of English, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: Fashioning and Refashioning Marie Laveau in American Memory and Imagination follows the life and literary presence of the legendary figure, Marie Laveau. This female spiritualist lived in antebellum Louisiana from 1801-1881. After her death, her legend has continued to grow as evidenced by her presence in contemporary print and pop culture and the tens of thousands of visitors to her grave in New Orleans every year. Here, I contextualize Laveau in a pre-Civil war America by looking at the...
Show moreFashioning and Refashioning Marie Laveau in American Memory and Imagination follows the life and literary presence of the legendary figure, Marie Laveau. This female spiritualist lived in antebellum Louisiana from 1801-1881. After her death, her legend has continued to grow as evidenced by her presence in contemporary print and pop culture and the tens of thousands of visitors to her grave in New Orleans every year. Here, I contextualize Laveau in a pre-Civil war America by looking at the African American female in print and visual culture. I trace the beginnings of several tropes in literature that ultimately affect the relevancy of the Laveau figure as she appears and reappears in literature beginning with Zora Neale Hurston's inclusion of Laveau in Mules and Men. I offer close readings of the appearance of these tropes in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, interrogate her connection to Caribbean lore in Tell My Horse, and show the evolution of this figure in several of Hurston's short stories. I then offer close readings of the refiguring of Laveau in Robert Tallant's works, Ishmael Reed's novel The Last Days of Louisiana Red, and Jewell Parker Rhodes's Marie Laveau trilogy. I intervene with contemporary scholarship by suggesting that novels like Corregidora by Gayl Jones, Mama Day by Gloria Naylor, and The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara draw not on a general conjure figure, as previously thought, but instead implicitly refashion feminist heroines that resemble Marie Laveau, characters with a circum-Atlantic consciousness that arise from Hurston's literary legacy.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-3685
Format: Thesis

Title: White Is a Color: Race and the Developing Modernism of Jean Toomer, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner.
Creator: Wright-Cleveland, Margaret E., Fenstermaker, John F., Jones, Maxine D., Dickson-Carr, Darryl, Faulk, Barry, Lhamon, William T., Department of Finance, Florida State University
Abstract/Description: As scholars have conceptualized American Literature, three prominent literary movements or groups of writers were active in the 1920s and 1930s: the Harlem or Black Renaissance; the Lost Generation or Expatriates; the Southern Renaissance. From each group came a writer whose words forever altered the language and construction of American Literature--Jean Toomer, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner, respectively. Concurrently, in the 1920s and 1930s America experienced significant racial...
Show moreAs scholars have conceptualized American Literature, three prominent literary movements or groups of writers were active in the 1920s and 1930s: the Harlem or Black Renaissance; the Lost Generation or Expatriates; the Southern Renaissance. From each group came a writer whose words forever altered the language and construction of American Literature--Jean Toomer, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner, respectively. Concurrently, in the 1920s and 1930s America experienced significant racial turmoil. African American soldiers returning from World War I demanded equal rights with white soldiers; economic hardship exacerbated racism in the workplace; the South and border states firmly established Jim Crow laws. Bloodshed in race riots in twenty-six cities caused the summer of 1919 to be known as the "Red Summer." In 1922, the House of Representatives passed the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. Though the Bill failed in the Senate, lynching became a point of public concern in the 1920s, and its frequency diminished. World War I, which challenged national and personal identities, produced a peace treaty that increased hostile feelings between nations. Both World War I and the subsequent peace challenged white Americans' understanding of the solidarity of race, the relationship between ethnic groups, and the international effectiveness of racial privilege. Toomer, Hemingway, and Faulkner, then, came of age in a consciously racist America and though their individual experiences with race and racism varied greatly, their writings all demonstrate a heightened awareness of blackness, whiteness, and white privilege. Examining their early work together, we see developing a challenge to whiteness and white privilege in America. This early work establishes social construction of race as one of the institutions challenged by American Modernism. This study focuses on Toomer's Cane (1923), Hemingway's In Our Time (1925), and Faulkner's These 13 (1931). Each is a short-story cycle and involves a dynamism not developed in short-story collections; each shows new choices with language and construction, indicating its seminal role in American Modernism; each includes stories addressing the place of whiteness in social construction. Each writer challenges the accepted understanding of whiteness as well as its role in society. Cane demonstrates the negative effects of whiteness and white privilege on both African Americans and European Americans. In Our Time shows whiteness falling short when challenged by Native Americans, African Americans, and women. These 13 suggests whiteness and white privilege have corrupted the very foundation of democracy and capitalism in the United States. Reading these texts with attention to the social constructions of race and privilege resituates broadly ideas such as Hemingway's Code. Asserting that courage and honor reside completely in an individual's choice of value and personal behavior, Hemingway's Code removes the need for society to define blackness and whiteness against each other, eliminating privilege. One cannot claim from these texts that America embraced Hemingway's Code or that a nation can survive such individualism, but the potential for social reconstruction is there. Conversely, Faulkner shows the individual subsumed by cultural controls in the South, making identification with race and region more important than the crafting of an independent self. Contradicting the American value of independence, Faulkner's portrayal of race also argues for its diminishment. Faulkner's sense that time is not linear - that the past, present, and future interact and can ultimately be expressed in one sentence - makes each construction of blackness and whiteness relevant. Toomer's belief that America must move away from race as a construct and embrace one hybrid "American Race" likewise eliminates the need for racial construction, comparison, and privilege. Though none of these writers has historically been considered a political activist, the words of these early compositions suggest a citizen's interest in improving the nation. Race, and its pursuant definitions of blackness, whiteness, and privilege, becomes central, then, to both American Modernism and American Democracy.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: FSU_migr_etd-0722
Format: Thesis

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