<p> It is well known that American botanist Asa Gray's 1859 paper on the floristic similarities between Japan and the United States was among the earliest applications of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory in plant geography. Commonly known as Gray's "disjunction thesis," Gray's diagnosis of that previously inexplicable pattern not only provoked his famous debate with Louis Agassiz but also secured his role as the foremost advocate of Darwin and Darwinism in the United States. Making use of previously unknown archival materials, this dissertation examines the making of Gray's disjunction thesis and its relation to his collecting networks. I first point out that, as far back as the 1840s, Gray had identified remarkable "analogies" between the flora of East Asia and that of North America. By analyzing Gray and his contemporaries' "free and liberal exchange of specimens," I argue that Gray at the time was convinced that "a particular plan" existed in nature, and he considered that the floristic similarities between Japan and eastern North America manifested this plan. In the 1850s, when Gray applied himself to enumerating collections brought back by professional collectors supported by the subscription system and appointed in governmental surveying expeditions, his view of nature was then replaced by one that regarded the flora as merely "a catalogue of species." I argue that it was by undertaking the manual labor of cataloging species and by charging subscription fees for catalogued species that Gray established his status as a metropolitan botanist and as the "mint" that produced species as a currency for transactions in botanical communities. Finally, I examine the Gray-Darwin correspondence in the 1850s and the expedition that brought Gray's collector to Japan. I argue that Gray's thesis cannot be considered Darwinian as historians of science have long understood the term, and that its conception was part of the United States' scientific imperialism in East Asia. In light of recent studies focusing on the history of field sciences, this dissertation urges that a close examination of a biogeographical discovery like Gray's thesis is impossible without considering the institutional, cultural, and material aspects that tie the closets of naturalists to the field destinations of collectors.</p>

This thesis uses the concept of pleasure as it has been applied to cultural artefacts in order to give a description of various characteristics of the soap opera genre. The concept of pleasure is applied to soap opera narrative, characters, visual style and viewing attitudes. Three soap operas, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital, and Another World, are described in detail according to these various types of pleasures. The Young and the Restless is a soap that relies largely on visual pleasures and melodrama. General Hospital's strongest pleasures are related to its character development and use of humour. Another World, the most traditional of the three soaps, is best at stimulating the pleasures associated with talk. Through analysis of viewer commentary supplied by letters sent to Soap Opera Weekly and Soap Opera Update and Nielsen ratings, it can be concluded that the pleasures that most soap opera viewers seem to value the most are related to visual style, romance and a delicate balance between realistic characters and fantasy in narrative.

<p>In this comparative social history of the American Revolution, the stories of eight men recounted through the use of their biographies, journals, and memoirs. The lives of four enlisted soldiers and four officers are depicted to gain an understanding of how they became involved in the revolution. In order to do so, their early lives are scrutinized, as well as their post-war lives as they transitioned to peacetime. The main purpose, however, is to examine how each man became motivated to join the war for independence, whether socially, economically, and/or politically. As each man had different aspirations for their expectations before and after the war, one thing is certain: the enlisted soldiers were motivated for different reasons compared to the officers. </p><p> By examining their early lives, as well as post-war lives, one can gain a better understanding of whether their motivations came to fruition, in the end. The intention is not to disprove their patriotism or zeal for joining the war, but instead to prove there were other motivational factors that contributed to their decision. Their patriotism is undeniable, which was a crucial reason why they were able to win the war after eight long years. Even though they experienced deprivation for eight years, due to the lack of resources, the spirit of the men could not be deterred. Despite harrowing circumstances, the revolutionary soldiers were able to prevail over a superior enemy. With that, their motivations and expectations must be examined to shed light on how these men were able to win the war. </p>

This study identifies and analyzes architectural inscriptions found on university and public libraries from the period of 1890 to 1930 in the United States. An architectural inscription refers to carved text, most often found adorning the walls of the interior or exterior of the building. The period of 1890 to 1930 saw the increased use of the inscription on a range of civic and institutional architecture. The era was particularly prone to moralizing and didactic sayings, which stemmed from a number of social and political factors. University libraries were drawn to the inscription as an ornamental type, for it became an expression of the ideals of the school and reflected a desire for legitimacy and sophistication. This study analyzes the decisions behind the inscriptional program, which often uncovers the latent agenda of the librarian, university president, or building committee. At the same time, the Beaux Arts and Neo-Gothic styles that were widely adopted for library buildings carried their own conventions for the aesthetic and associative use of the inscription. This study analyzes the historical and aesthetic factors that influenced university library inscriptions, and provides insight into the particular inscriptional themes found on number of American universities. / Architectural inscriptions and morality, 1890-1930 -- Trends in library building -- Inscriptions of Beaux Arts university libraries -- Inscriptions of Neo-Gothic university libraries -- Influence of the Modern movement and the resurgence of contemporary library inscriptions. / Department of Architecture

<p> Focusing on the relationships between agriculture, industry, and sense of place, this thesis explores the dynamic landscapes and identities of the Verde Valley from the establishment of Anglo settlements in 1864 to the agricultural renaissance in 2014. It argues that agriculture remains an important part of the Verde Valley's physical and cultural landscape that should be better represented in public history exhibits. Using a methodology featuring interviews, archival research, and public history theory, this thesis takes an agri-ecological approach. This perspective internalizes the effects of farming upon the landscape, and situates it within the region's socio-economic-environmental ecosystem. This thesis also analyzes the valley's public history sites and the absence of its agri-ecological narrative. Renarrativization and the incorporation of living history techniques are two methods that can integrate agriculture into an existing site, such as Slide Rock State Park, or a future site, such as the Verde Valley Agricultural Heritage Center.</p>

Popular feminine narratives, domestic, emotion-based texts through which communities of women have traditionally practiced feminine discourse, have been marginalised by dominant masculine cultures throughout their long history. This continues in the postmodern era, in which the culturally dominant postmodern aesthetic has declared the death of the social, narrative and affect, all intrinsic to the popular feminine narrative. Nevertheless, these narratives persevere in such forms as the daytime television soap opera. Using a reader-oriented model, American soap operas are discussed as a site for the generation of women's pleasure, and as a forum for the raising, sharing and addressing of problems which affect women's lives. Soap opera fan magazines further extend the already social soap opera experience, which celebrates emotion and empathy in a culture which often negates them.

<p> In 2002, Salt Lake City joined an elite group of cities, in the world, when it hosted the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. This "once in a lifetime" chance gave the city, community, and state of Utah an opportunity to show the world a different side of the community than just the home to the peculiar people known as Mormons. The city took the chance and pulled it off beautifully. Salt Lake not only managed to stage one of the most impressive Olympic Winter Games ever but ended up with an unprecedented amount of profit. But what do you do after the party is over? In an effort to keep the spirit of the Olympics alive, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) wanted to build a legacy park where locals and tourists could visit and relive the thrill and excitement the Olympics. The announcement of the legacy park brought great support from the people, the city, and state government officials but unfortunately, it also brought along all of the politics and personal agendas involved when working with these entities. In the end, the legacy park was merged with a park which was originally planned to showcase just the Olympic cauldron at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah. The following thesis is the story of how the legacy park came to reside at the University of Utah, the planning and design of the park, the operations and maintenance, and the celebrations it hosted in the ten plus years since the Olympic Winter Games. This thesis focuses on whether or not the Olympic Cauldron Park served as a legitimate and appropriate legacy for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games and if that legacy should continue now that original contracts are expiring. Primary research was gathered through local and national newspaper articles, oral interviews, personal experience, and official documents such as contracts between SLOC and the University of Utah. As time and the outdoor elements take their toll on the park, contracts are finished and expansion of the stadium for the Pac 12 Athletic Conference pending, the future of the Olympic Cauldron Park looks bleak. Although there are plans to have some items from the park live on at another Olympic legacy destination, the Olympic Cauldron Park story needed to be told before it ceases to exist.</p>

<p> This dissertation examines the cultural and religious dynamics of the North Carolina Piedmont's non-planter social order. I look in depth at the modernizing elements of antebellum religion, particularly the sensibility of liberality that accompanied institutional development, how church disciplinary procedures adapted to changing social reality, and the formation of middle class style nuclear families under the aegis of evangelical prescription. In addition to using denominational records, I utilize four diaries of ordinary Piedmont residents in extended explorations of how individuals enacted in their private lives the public lessons of evangelicalism. I conclude that an evangelical ethic developed that existed alongside the dominant planter ideology, and that ethic formed the basis for both unity, and dissent, in the late antebellum period.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-262). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / vii, 262 leaves, bound 29 cm

In 1978, James Dobson, psychologist and founder of the conservative evangelical group Focus on the Family, Inc., published Preparing for Adolescence: Advice from One of America's Foremost Family Psychologists on How to Survive the Coming Years of Change. Over the next twenty years Dobson's pocket-sized advice manual went on to sell over a million copies and symbolized the desire of white conservative evangelicals to control the moral and social development of adolescents---and in turn the nation. During the same period, black conservative evangelicals were engaged in a separate yet equally vocal struggle to support adolescents and their families against generations-old stereotypes of sexual deviance. Despite their differing goals, both white and black conservative evangelicals viewed the education of young people as critical to the health and influence of their respective communities. Remarkably, however, young peoples' lived experience is rarely studied as a distinct field within American religious history and studies. Moreover, historians often exclude conservative black evangelicals from studies of evangelical Christianity and instead subsume them under the generic and artificial grouping of "The Black Church." This dissertation critically analyzes how conservative evangelicals understood the relationship between sexuality, gender and race in the development of adolescent sex education and ethical leadership. I argue that the critical factoring distinguishing the two groups was not politics, but diverging ideas of American citizenship. Moreover, this project reclaims evangelicalism as a theological identity rather than a political one and illustrates the symbiotic relationship between faith, the human body, and notions of belonging.