This dissertation examines the influence of romantic aesthetics on the development of literary writing as a profession in America during the 1840s and 1850s. In opposition to the new historical claim that literary texts are purely reflective of the ideological presuppositions of the culture in which they were written, my analysis demonstrates how literary writing can function as an effective means of cultural transformation. By examining how Edgar Allan Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Herman Melville, respectively, take up romantic aesthetics in their work, I advance a materialist theory of history that is better suited to the study of culture in a democracy. Unlike the new historical approach to cultural analysis, which interprets historical change with reference to market forces that are thought to be rationally determinate, the materialist approach to cultural analysis I develop understands historical change to proceed via the pragmatic construction of overdetermined social identities that are written in response to changing cultural circumstances. Although this materialist approach requires critics to abandon the project of writing a total and complete history of American cultural life, it is better suited for cultural analysis in a democracy because it insists that we--not some transhistorical force like the market--bear the responsibility for determining our relation to our culture.

The ethnographic core of this dissertation is comprised of the body stories of American acupuncturists and their clients. I posit a notion of embodiment based on "feeling the qi." A unique bodily sensation during acupuncture treatments, "feeling the qi" also opens up the relationship between embodiment and storytelling. This is a paradigm of embodiment that is enacted in a process of disclosure and requires a revision of the notion of appropriation. The four central chapters are structured in terms of four relational bodies of appropriation: social bodies of translation, technocratic bodies, mediating bodies, and emergent bodies. I open with social bodies as the discursive realm of making sense of bodily being, in that social bodies trace the "translating channels" through which acupuncture is culturally translated into American contexts. Technocratic bodies exert control and act as general gatekeepers in biomedicine's encounters with acupuncture. Acupuncture practitioners are mediating bodies within the social realm in which practitioners, clients, technocracies, and emergent bodies all encounter one another. Emergent bodies in the stories of individual clients of acupuncture evoke thematics of gender, care, partnership, and bodily recovery. This dance of translative, technocratic, mediating, and emergent bodies revises conventional abstractions of "the body" as a metaphor. "Feeling the qi," initiates a movement in this dissertation through these four storied and relational bodies of appropriation, closing with an analysis of issues of positioning and reflexivity.

This dissertation investigates the social, political and historical dimensions of the American theme park industry. Specifically, the research seeks to ethnologically analyze the "American theme park" as a multi-faceted space of socio-cultural formation, reformation, contestation and representation. Through a multi-sited approach, the thesis investigates theme parks, both extinct and extant, from the everyday perspectives of patrons and workers, in the closed rooms of designers, managers and elite decision-makers, and in the numerous spaces of material culture, multi-media representation and design which so makeup the place of study. The ethnographic research is based on two-years of participant-observation at a major American theme park, where the author was a trainer, as well as two years of subsequent research in over twenty additional theme parks and amusement venues, like Las Vegas casinos, throughout the country. As "edge work," the author investigates the complexities of representation, authorship and fieldwork as they emerge in a textual and performative scene of writing and evocation, ultimately challenging distinctions of ethnography and fiction.

<p> This dissertation generates a broader qualitative and quantitative profile of Peru's middle class. It examines an unstudied group of Peruvian immigrants living in the greater New York City area, who are largely of middle-class origins, as are their families who remain behind in Peru. It analyzes immigrants and non-immigrants' lifestyles, changes in family dynamics that occur as a consequence of emigration of one family member, and the effect of remittances on middle-class lifestyles, identity, and experience at home. A close analysis of participants' life-styles and interactions provides conclusions about what defines Peruvian middle class status, and the factors that shape an immigrant's decision to migrate and pursue remittances. By closely examining immigrants from Lima now living in the greater New York area, and their economic, social, and cultural ties to their households back in Peru, I examine remittances as the nexus linking immigrants to their families that are now redefined by a more distant relationship. As social ties are commodified, the relationships between immigrants and non-immigrants prioritize decisions about money, including its production, transmission, reception, and distribution. Consequently, family structure often shifts to reflect a new priority on investment projects for the future over family reunification. By researching immigration and remittances, I analyze this shift in middle-class Peruvian family structure and its impact on social class, identity, and even plans for future emigration. This dissertation also refocuses the analytical lens on the uniquely middle-class origins of Peru's immigrants, challenging scholarly and popular assumptions about immigration that portray poverty eradication and reduction as the primary reason for migration.</p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Transnational Peruvian Immigration, Peruvian Middle Class, Peruvian Remittances.</p>

The thesis firstly defines Imagism in theory and discusses it in practice. It then examines H.D.'s development from her most Imagist volume Sea Garden to her later, increasingly less Imagist volumes Trilogy, Helen in Egypt and Hermetic Definition. It indicates the particular form which H.D.'s Imagism takes and the reasons for her dissatisfaction with it as a technique. It shows that her continuing exploration of her inner world made the rigorously objective and definitive nature of Imagism increasingly inappropriate to her aims. The thesis explores H.D.'s interests in magic, alchemy, the occult and various forms of religion and shows that she found justification for these interests in the theories of Freud and Jung. It suggests a connection here with the interests of Symbolist poets and stresses, in this way, the incompatibility between these interests and 'Imagism - which has an implicit view of experience of its own and one fundamentally opposed to that of Symbolism. The thesis charts H.D.'s attempts to modify her Imagism, to make it more flexible, as the prerequisite to the expression of these mystical interests. It notes her failures and successes and indicates the considerable progress that she made in the direction of enlarged range. It notes the limits of this range - especially her lack of interest in human psychology in its social forms. It notes, also, that Imagism remained, even at the end of her life, a constituent part of her poetry, although Helen in Egypt and 'Hermetic Definition' show her using it more sparingly, and with much more consciousness of its particular usefulness.

Amidst student protests that took over the public schools in Chile, student leaders developed an outline of demands for change related to overcoming the vast inequity of opportunity entrenched in the educational system. These were documented in 2011 in the Bases Para un Acuerdo Social por la Educación Chilena. This thesis examines the legacy of the voucher system implemented by the former dictator, and the policies which have led to potentially the most segregated education system in the world, and at least among developed countries. Using Henry Levins frameworks for vouchers and for the division of responsibilities in a portfolio school district, the work explores the hypothetical consequences of carrying the student demands related to changes in administration and the administration of finances to fruition. Looking at the goals of the student movement, and the Acuerdo Social, the author suggests focusing on policy tools which will more directly incentivize changes within the current system rather than attempting a full system change, which could introduce new opportunity for error without solving current problems. In the final chapter, the author provides four criteria for deciding on the appropriate avenues for change, and suggests teacher policy as an area that meets all four criteria.

<p> This project offers a resource for the training of lay preachers from the first world who have participated in mission trips to the developing world of El Salvador. The project further enhances the experience of the mission trip by giving mission participants the tools to proclaim the gospel in light of their mission experience. Chapter One explores the unique political, economic, religious and cultural realities of the mission territory of El Salvador. Chapter Two examines the spiritual history of the missionaries themselves within the culture of the United States, exploring the various spiritual movements that have shaped their nation. Liberation Theology and its impact on the people of El Salvador and the United States will be discussed in Chapter Three. Its profound impact on lay spirituality and their understanding of the scriptures will also be examined. Chapter Four outlines four preparation meetings for missionaries as well as the spiritual agenda for the mission trip to El Salvador. In Chapter Five, eleven key points for effective preaching will be offered in a description of a workshop to be given to returning missionaries to enable them to proclaim what they have seen and heard on their mission trip. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of this workshop as well as sample homilies will also be presented in this chapter. The project concludes with reflections on the benefits of missionary preaching for both the missionaries and their sponsoring communities.</p>

<p> The Occupy Movement arose out of an atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the political and economic structure of the country. The objective of my research was to look at individuals in the Denver Occupy Movement in order to understand what their personal goals for the movement were, as well as what tactics they were willing to partake-in as a way to change society's dominant power structures. A key characteristic in Occupy is how diverse it is in terms of the political will and the express direction its members wish it to go in. My anthropological work is applicable to Occupies across the country as well as other similar socio-political movements since it sheds light on how the individual within the movement expresses his/hers agency not only in shaping acts of resistance but the structure of the movement itself. The theoretical framework of my thesis is based upon three foundational frameworks: Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and various social capitals, Giddens's theory on how agency and structure interact to result in structural change, and concepts in cognitive anthropology. Through these frameworks I show how an individual's background shapes their actions of resistance and mediates how they negotiate the structure and culture of Occupy itself.</p>

<p> The six piano suites of R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) constitute a substantial body of piano music that illustrates the musical development of an important, but historically neglected American musician. Dett was a seminal figure in the preservation and study of spirituals, both as a writer and choral leader, and as a great teacher and inspirer of African-American musicians in the generations that followed him. Educated at Oberlin and Eastman, he was lauded as the first American composer to fuse Negro folk music with European art music tradition. </p><p> The writing of a series of like-genre works over a composer's lifetime, reflecting stylistic changes and a deepening world view, is a special event in the history of keyboard music. Unfortunately, Dett's piano music is rarely performed except for the second of the suites, <i>In the Bottoms</i>. Although his importance to African-American musical history is generally acknowledged by musicologists, his works for piano have remained largely unexplored by performers. </p><p> Dett's eclectic pursuits included poetry, the Rosicrucian Society, and religion. This study explores the connections between the suites and other musical styles and traditions, Dett's many extra-musical interests, and his performing life. It also offers some possible explanations for the relative lack of attention received by his piano music. </p><p> This study incorporates research from readily-available sources, as well as the Nathaniel Dett archives at the Niagara Falls New York Public Library and Hampton University. The first three chapters give an overview of Dett's style and influences, as well as a description of how his musical language developed from his first suite, <i>Magnolia</i> (1912), to his last, <i> Eight Bible Vignettes</i> (1941-43), written at the end of his life. Each suite is examined individually in detail in the following six chapters. It is hoped that this work will stimulate appreciation of Dett's piano music and lead to more frequent performances. Its goal is to give to the reader the same sense of admiration and joy that the author's exploration of these works has given him.</p>

<p> This paper will examine the historical and cultural significance of the development of the African-American dance form known as "jitting". I will explore the dance lineage of jitting and ask these questions: how does the development of jitting inform our understanding of historical and current forms of African-American dance and culture? What place does jitting occupy within the lineage of well-known American and African-American movement? What role do oral traditions play in the lineage of African-American dance? To answer these questions I have studied the literature of twentieth century African-American artistic traditions in Detroit, the history of American concert dance, African dance history, and cultural anthropology texts covering aspects of artistic development and differences between Western and African artistic traditions as they relate to jitting as a dance form. I conducted interviews with people who are active in this art form, and I gained information from the pioneers of jitting; Johnny McGhee, James McGhee and Tracy McGhee. I also interviewed Hakeem Rasul, Cornelius Harris, and Tokkyo Faison. Rasul is also a jitter and the director of a jitterbug documentary, and he is the owner of the dance company Hardcore Detroit, one of the ambassadors of a style known as New Detroit jit. Harris is the label manager for Underground Resistance as well as the founder of Alter Ego Management. He is an MC and composer of techno music used by jit artists. Faison played a big part in the exotic entertainment scene from the late 1980's into the 2000's and was influential in the development of jitting as a major component in the exotic dance world in Detroit. I have also reflected on my own journey as a dancer and my life experiences, all of which led me to explore these ideas. </p><p> Why is it that art forms such as hip-hop dance are passed down through generations, but not often formally documented? I make the argument that it is important to document these forms so that the past is never forgotten and so people can learn from the past to continue the evolution of art. Does this lack of formal documentation keep these art forms from getting the recognition they deserve? In terms of being recognized on an equal basis with European art forms, I believe it does. We must understand how important it is to document this work so that our modern-day culture can look at the past in order to better understand the present. I want to be able to bring a better appreciation of the significance of this art form to people of all walks of life. Many audiences understand that movement is often reused and adapted, but many do not know that the original purpose or meaning of these movements is often changed to represent something entirely different. It is natural for art forms to change as they evolve, but it is necessary to know the cultural origins, especially if art is to be respected and have its rightful place in the world. </p><p> An example of the lack of recognition that African-American art forms are given can be found in the use of the word "ethnic." This word is often a code word for "less than," in comparison to European art forms. Could this be related to the fact that European cultures tend to have more formal documentation of their art forms? I hope to be able to answer these questions and uncover the hidden connections that will shine a light on this vital form of dance. </p>