My short story collection How to Join a Cult in the 21st Century documents the transition of Mona Jones, a young queer girl, from her past into her future. As a guide on how to navigate social circles in the new millennium, these transitions usually emerge in the form of Mona joining a new social group. A major theme running through the collection is the idea of multiple roles or “personalities” that Mona cycles through over the years. The point of this is to demonstrate the complexity of persona, as well as its fluidity, especially when adapting to gender norms, or more specifically, the social expectations of women. It is my intention to mesh my raw Southern heritage with fantastical scientific elements to both inspect and subvert the experience of being “othered” in the South.

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the popularity of the cult of Edward the Confessor during the period 1066-1399. The first chapter examines the history behind Edward's canonisation. Two elements make it noteworthy: it was the first papal canonisation of an Englishman, and it required two petitions. Because of the monarchy's prominent role in Edward's canonisation, Chapter Two concentrates on royal patronage of the cult. The major obstacle in attaining a clear understanding of the nature of royal devotion to the cult is the monarchy's use of Westminster Abbey, site of Edward's tomb, for royal ceremonies. Chapter Three charts Westminster Abbey's role in the promotion of the saint and his impact in other English ecclesiastical establishments. After discerning the influence of the cult, the focus shifts to secular and hagiographical documents which presented the king. The importance of the documents is that they record any changes in the perception of Edward. Chapter Four looks at the four main vitae written about Edward and detects a metamorphosis in the presentation, deviating from traditional hagiographical forms to a more fantastic, almost fictional account of the king. Chapter Five examines two other types of sources: works produced or commissioned by those who promoted Edward's sanctity and the chronicles which include Edward's reign in their texts. Both types of sources confirm Chapter Four's conclusion that as time passed, Edward became a mythological figure. Chapter Six compares the presentation of Edward with those of political and royal saints in the mid-thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and finds that the king is an unusual picture of both royal and English sanctity. This study of Edward's cult concludes that though it was used for various political ends and some stories of the saint became popular legends, the cult never attained a popular status.

Thesis advisor: Robin Fleming / The cult of the saints and emperor cult both fulfilled similar roles in their respective societies. On the surface they appear to be drastically different institutions. In reality emperor cult and saint cult were similar religious programs, which with careful examination appear to be related. The following work discusses the remarkable similarities between the cult of saints and emperor cult, including their personnel, temples, means of establishment and promotion, and even the role each cult played in the development of their societies. After careful examination of the above mentioned subjects, it is clear that the cult of the saints was largely based on emperor cult, and that despite the drastically different religious atmospheres that each cult was based in, they were similar in all but the most obvious wasy. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History.

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Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

xi, 86 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Saint Theodosia of Constantinople, an iconodule martyr of the eighth century, was credited with leading the resistance to the destruction of the icon of Christ on the Chalke Gate. This thesis focuses on the icons of Theodosia, which date largely to the Palaiologan period (1261-1453). The icons are examined through an investigation of the cult of Theodosia in the Palaiologan period, taking into account important contemporary political and religious issues, such as the relationship between Byzantium and the West and the nature of Orthodox doctrine. Issues regarding women and icons will also be considered. / Committee in Charge: Dr. James G. Harper, Chair; Dr. Kate Mondloch; Dr. Stephen J. Shoemaker

The objective of this thesis is to isolate the symbolism of ornaments and armaments in the epics and in the rituals of Kannaki and Draupadi A detailed comparison of ornaments and armaments in the Cilappatikaram and in the Mahabharata will be provided, as well as an analysis of the function and meaning of these objects in the ritual traditions of Kannaki and Draupadi A study of the epic and ritual significance of ornaments and armaments will not only contribute tn the understanding of the nature and the role of these symbols, but should also shed light on the interaction between the Tamilian and Sanskritic goddess traditions. / It would appear that ornaments and armaments have religious significance, signaling, by their presence or absence, transitions from auspiciousness to inauspiciousness on individual, social, and cosmic levels. In this respect, they are the vehicles of divine powers and energies.

This thesis studies the effects of colonization in Asia Minor on the cult of the Hellenic Artemis, as the Greek goddess comes into contact with and is influenced by her Asian counterparts. The result of this contact is a goddess whose nature both remains unchanged and is changed, being at the same time both Greek and Oriental, and whose new image, reshaped after the Asiatic Mother Goddess, reflects the religious needs of her new worshippers, who were themselves a mixture of Greek and indigenous peoples. / The first part of this work investigates the nature and functions of Artemis in Greece, exploring in the greater detail the goddess' connections with nature, childbirth, and the different transitions undergone by individuals and communities. The second part looks at the cult of Artemis in the four major centres of the goddess' worship in Asia: Ephesos, Sardis, Magnesia on the Maiander and Perge. In order to explore more closely Artemis' connections with the Mother Goddess, whom the former replaces, a survey of the Asiatic precursors of Artemis was necessary. Consequently, this study attempts to analyse the nature and functions of other goddesses in Asia, related to the Mother Goddess, namely Kubaba-Kybele, Ma, Atargatis (a conflation of Anat, Astart and Asherah), Anahita and Ishtar, goddesses who share various features not only with each other, but with the Hellenic Artemis as well. The study of these goddesses follows the order in which Greek colonists encountered them. / The thesis concludes with a synthesis and summary of the particular features of the Hellenic Artemis which facilitated her identification with various examples of the Asiatic mother goddess.