This is a study of what I argue is a neglected side of Aestheticism. A standard definition of Aestheticism is that its practitioners turn away from the general current of modernity to protest its utilitarian and materialistic values, but this generalization ignores the profound influence of contemporary philosophical and scientific thought on such major figures of British Aestheticism as Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde. This study focuses on Aesthetes who are not in flight from modernity. I call their type of Aestheticism "Epicurean Aestheticism" and argue that since this temperament is characterized by a willingness to engage with the flux of modern times it must be distinguished from the more familiar, escapist form of Aestheticism I call "Platonic Aestheticism." I propose that Aestheticism be viewed as a spectrum with Epicurean Aestheticism on one side and the Platonic variety on the other. While Platonic Aesthetes like W. B . Yeats and Stephane Mallarme continue the Romantic project of trying to counter modernity with various idealist and absolutist philosophies, Epicurean Aesthetes adopt materialist and relativistic strategies in their desire to make the most of modern life. I argue that the first unmistakable signs of Epicurean Aestheticism are to be found in Thomas De Quincey, that the sensibility is fully formulated be Pater, continued by Wilde, and finds a current representative in Tom Stoppard. All Aesthetes are dedicated to the pursuit of beauty, but Platonic Aesthetes seek beauty in an eternal and transcendent realm, while Epicurean Aesthetes have given up such absolutist habits of thought. Pater writes: "Modern thought is distinguished from ancient by its cultivation of the "relative" spirit in place of the "absolute." Epicurean Aesthetes want a new aesthetic that will parallel the paradigm shift from absolutism to relativism. While a nostalgic, quasi-religious longing for a purely ideal realm characterizes Platonic Aesthetes, Epicurean Aesthetes accept that the high, idealistic road to eternal beauty is closed. Instead of lamenting this fact, they start looking for beauty among the uncertainties of the phenomenal world: by viewing life as an aesthetic spectacle to be observed and experimented on with playful detachment they become Epicureans of the flux of modernity.

This thesis explores the evolution, growth and sudden decline of the East Washington community, located in East Point, Georgia. This African-American community was strategically created in 1912, when the city council passed its first residential segregation ordinance. This research uses oral histories and other documents to analyze the survival techniques that enabled East Washington to endure the turmoil of Jim Crow racial segregation from its 1912 inception to its 1962 transformation due to urban renewal. First, it identifies the people who chose to migrate to this area, where they came from and what enticed them to settle in East Point. Second, it discusses the network of institutions that they built and depended upon, including businesses, schools and churches, in order to maintain their largely autonomous community. Finally, it illuminates East Washington’s demise through urban renewal.

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By examining the process of production and reception of the works of Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde, this thesis explores the ways in which both conceptions of audience and actual audiences shaped these works. As proponents of "aestheticism," a philosophy which required the development of a highly specialised mode of perception and critical awareness, Pater and Wilde wrote with a fairly select audience in mind. Confronted, however, with actual readers who did not always meet the "aesthetic" criteria (even if they were supporters), they were forced to rethink their conceptions of audience. Pater's and Wilde's developing understandings of audience can be traced in their works, as they experiment with style and genre in an attempt to communicate effectively with their readers. Although at base Pater and Wilde advocated a similar "aesthetic" philosophy, their distinct conceptions of audience played a significant role in determining the nature of their particular versions of aestheticism.

This project explores Oscar Wilde's work on painting, the art of dress, and home decor, referred to collectively in his lectures as the 'decorative arts.' While it has become commonplace to assert that Wilde's plays and essays subvert the status quo, few scholars have studied Wilde's work on the decorative arts to substantiate his status as a writer arguing for social and political change. Through an analysis of Wilde's North American lecture tour and his editorship of The Woman's World, as well as his approach to painting, clothing, and home decor in his more well-known work, I argue that Wilde conceives of the decorative arts as a means of expressing and inciting dissatisfaction with the social and political realities of Victorian England. / As I show, Wilde subtly presents avant-garde art, sartorial details, and home decor items as functional ornaments. The formal elements of a painting foster receptivity and, by extension, sensitivity and compassion. Unconventional attire functions as a visual symbol of discontent with social and physical conformity. In light of Wilde's published support of women's emancipation, his writings on home decor imply that the well-decorated house, rather than the Victorian wife, should be responsible for creating domestic harmony. / Wilde's penchant for the decorative arts has long remained the domain of anecdote; the following study instead positions Wilde's interest in the decorative arts as a defining, and insightful, aspect of his oeuvre .

Abstract   Title: The Social Democrats and Monarchy, a Study of three Social Democratic newspapers and their reports about Oscar II’s 25 year anniversary as king of Sweden.   The Social Democrats in Sweden has almost had a power monopoly over the parliament and government during the entire 20:th century. Since the party was established in 1889 they have been against monarchy as a way of govern society. When the monarch lost political power and influence during the 20:th century, they still condemned monarchy as undemocratic. They preferred to have a republic instead, with an elected president, rather than a king or a queen. Even after they seized power and maintained power over the decades they did not abolish monarchy.   This essay will explore how three newspapers connected to The Social Democrats, in terms of ideology, wrote and reported about Oscar II’s 25 year anniversary as king of Sweden, in September in 1897. The study shows that all three newspapers, in various ways, wrote very badly about Oscar II and monarchy as a way of government as a whole. The newspapers were not afraid to speak out and try to influence their readers. This knowledge proves that it was important for the early Social Democrats to talk about and discuss monarchy. However they did not see the monarch as the archenemy, they viewed the king simply as a puppet for the ruling class, in other words the capitalists.     Nyckelord Socialdemokraterna, Oscar II, Arbetet, Social- Demokraten, Östgöten, monarki, republik, rojalism, statsskick

This thesis has explored Irish influences on the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde. The study explored early family and peer influences on the author and has traced his Irish roots to reveal a knowledge of Irish folk lore which is apparent in this novel.In addition, the thesis has analyzed the novel with respect to characteristics of Irish folk lore which are called, in this study, Celtic magic. The paper also has presented the case that Oscar Wilde should be placed with Anglo-Irish writers instead of British authors.

The aim of this study has been to examine six books about Oscar Wilde’s homosexuality during the years 1906 – 2003. I have been analyzing their descriptions about his sexual orientation and compared them to each other to see the changes through time. In order to see some clear changes the main focus was to choose time differences between the books. It was clear that the earlier writers had negative opinions and thoughts about his sexual deviation the way they described it. The writers from the older books focus on Oscar Wilde’s achievements more than his sexual orientation. The analysis was made through two theories, Michel Foucault’s theories about sexuality, power and knowledge, and the second Raewyn Connell’s theory about hegemonic masculinity. The theories have been fundamental for this study on the basis of the changes through time and how societies viewed masculinity and sexual orientations. They have also been important for the descriptions of Oscar Wilde’s feminine attitude and his addiction to his looks. My method for the essay has been a conceptual analysis. The choice of this method was not hard because it has been important to the comparison and the analysis for the writers’ usage of word descriptions of Oscar Wilde’s homosexuality. The results showed a large amount of resemblances and differences between the books, which can be seen against the background of the society and its view on homosexuality.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of English and Dept. of HIstory. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2008. / "A dissertation in English and history." Advisor: Jennifer Phegley. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Feb. 6, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-292). Online version of the print edition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.