An historical description of the work of Pearl Primus is made through a biographical account of her professional career from 1943 to 1970. This study provides an examination of her various roles as dancer and choreographer, anthropologist, educator, scholar, lecturer and administrator. Specifically, the study (1) gives insight into Primus' use of themes based on their social significance; (2) provides an account of her work in concert and educational arenas in the presentation of the African and Caribbean dance forms; (3) identifies contributions she made in using dance as a means of creating cultural understanding; (4) examines the Primus-Borde collaboration; (5) investigates critical review of her work; and (6) describes the work she has done in other areas. These concepts are examined in relation to the artistic foment and socio-political conditions in which Primus' work and that of her contemporaries took place with particular reference to the 1940's. / Information was compiled from a critical analysis of books and other publications, miscellaneous docments and personal interviews. The data obtained were used to analyze the nature and scope of Primus' work. Data also provided insight into the philosophical concepts and experiences which influenced her work and provided an identification of her choreographic works, company members and artistic activities over the twenty-seven year period. / The results of the study suggest that Primus was an important artist in the presentation of socially significant themes; furthermore, her conscientious research and presentations served to motivate subsequent African-American dance artists to seek choreographic materials from the black experience. In addition, her work in the African dance helped significantly in its presentation with dignity, strength and beauty. / This study suggests the need for contemporary dance historians to include her work in the annals of American concert dance. Typical references to Primus are now relegated to chapters on Negro, ethnic or black dance. There is a need to recognize her work as a central force in the evolution of American concert dance; further research can contribute to this recognition. Recommendations for further study are included in the final section of the dissertation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-09, Section: A, page: 2678. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

Theology thoroughly informs the fiction of Flannery O'Connor. Although her world view is Catholic, the theology addressed in her works is Christian. O'Connor was never a static Catholic. She realized that doctrine is a developing phenomenon. Consequently, she was open to the theological scholarship of her time and was interested in sharing her knowledge with her Georgia audience. / Investigations in the area of sin and grace furnish a background which helps to make O'Connor's world view more completely understood. The similarity between Piet Schoonenberg's theory of original sin as "the sin of the world" and O'Connor's "The River" indicates her insight as an artist and her ability to convey on a human level what theologians probe on an abstract level. / O'Connor's book reviews offer an insight into her Christology and ecclesiology. When they are combined with her letters and essays, the reader is able to recognize sources which influenced her theological development. Significant among them are Karl Adam, Romano Guardini, Friedriech von Hugel, F. X. Durrwell, and the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. / An approach to "Revelation" as eschatological expectation structured around the elements of judgment, catastrophe, and renewal offer an expanded view of structure and imagery in O'Connor's "Revelation" as they relate to the Book of Revelation. An examination of the Christ-Pantocrator image in "Parker's Back" as iconography opens a new avenue of interpretation concerning the principal image in the story. / Incarnation and Redemption remained O'Connor's areas of ultimate concern. Mature consideration of these subjects fed her artistic imagination so as to produce the eschatological themes protrayed in her last works. In such fiction as "Revelation" and "Judgement Day," social concern is noticeably present, for both strongly affirm the theme of the commonality of humanity. Particularly when O'Connor's last stories are compared with her first can one see concurrent artistic growth and theological deepening. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-09, Section: A, page: 2874. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

Fictionalist, journalist, dramatist, and world traveler, Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916) in many ways epitomized the bon vivant lifestyle of the turn of the century. In a career spanning nearly thirty years, Davis both wrote of and shaped the culture of the 1890s and early 1900s. This study is concerned with the early years of that career, during which time Davis developed a style of writing and a reputation that were to launch his fame. Chapter I focuses on the familial and educational backgrounds from which Davis derived the concepts of gentlemanly behavior and proper conduct that were to be the pattern of his life and the subject of his fiction. Chapter II examines Davis's tenure with the Philadelphia Press, during which time he honed his journalistic style. Moreover, it discusses Davis's reporting in connection with the fiction which he later wrote. Chapter III chronicles Davis's career with the New York Evening Sun. Davis's first volume of fiction, Gallegher and Other Stories, appeared during this time; and special attention is given to a discussion of those stories as they reflect Davis's romantic traits. Chapter IV details Davis's initial work after leaving the Evening Sun and analyzes his second volume of fiction, Stories for Boys, with its emphasis on sportsmanship and the rewards of proper conduct both on and off the playing field. Chapter V presents an account of Davis's journeys in the West and in England. As in the two previous chapters, Chapter V examines another collection of short stories, Van Bibber and Others, again with respect to Davis's romantic characteristics. Chapter VI sets forth a previously ignored area of Davis scholarship, that of textual analysis. The tables included in that chapter provide a record of all the variants for the stories discussed in the earlier chapters. The work is, in short, a thorough examination of Richard Harding Davis's career from 1886-1892. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-11, Section: A, page: 3383. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

The purpose of the study was to research and discuss the professional life and contributions made to music education by Howard A. Doolin, distinguished as the first Supervisor of Music for the public school system of Dade County, Florida. Dr. Doolin assumed the position in 1951 and held it until his retirement in 1984. / In addition to its concentration upon leadership for music education in Dade County, the study also presents information regarding Doolin's career prior to his arrival in Dade County in an attempt to focus attention upon qualifications of an effective music educator in a large metropolitan area. This information includes Howard Doolin's educational background, experience in other teaching and supervisory positions prior to tenure in Dade County, and persons influential in shaping his philosophical views. / The school system in Dade County is the fourth largest in the United States with a substantial portion of the population representing persons from other countries and cultures. The total number of students at the time of Doolin's arrival was 72,000. This number increased steadily until the student population at the time of Doolin's retirement in 1984 was over 220,000. As a result of Doolin's commitment to music education for every student, the number of music specialists increased from fewer than thirty in 1951 to 349 in 1984. Throughout this period his efforts resulted in ever-increasing financial support for music education. / Howard Doolin initiated successful programs for the advancement of music awareness in the schools and community. An innovative structural organization, communication skills, ability to work with music faculty and to gain administrative support for music instruction contributed to his accomplishment. His active leadership in the work of professional organizations and his published materials for music instruction resulted in wide recognition. / Included in the appendix are statements attesting to Doolin's leadership, an annotated listing of publications and copies of Dade County music programs. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 2939. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The purpose of this study was to order the events of Clayton Henry Krehbiel's life from 1920 through 1988; in an attempt to gain insight into his life as a professional singer; to explore influences which formed his musical personality; to research events pertaining to the significance of Robert Lawson Shaw's contribution to the choral art from the perspective of Krehbiel who was singer, soloist, and assistant conductor to Shaw; and to investigate and analyze the philosophical structure or pragmatic guides which governed Krehbiel's musical conduct and teaching style. / The study reveals that Krehbiel was a model of musicianship. He introduced thousands of students to excellent choral literature, and championed outstanding twentieth-century compositions. Krehbiel was responsible to a great extent for the growth and development of choral music education at The University of Kansas and The Florida State University. Krehbiel helped produce several generations of choral/orchestral musicians who later held important positions in colleges and universities and in professional organizations associated with choral music education. Krehbiel exhibited energy and enthusiasm for musical excellence through his insistence upon pragmatic rather than strictly theoretical concepts. He was an example of humanity that embodied humility, meekness, and an absence of personal vanity; his gentleness, kindness, and optimistic attitude were attested by students and colleagues who participated in this study. / Conclusions ascertained from the study of Krehbiel's life suggested there was no substitute for basic skills of music; that musical talent alone may not be enough to guarantee success in the music profession; that interest in performance through participation diminished during Krehbiel's lifetime while interest in authoritative performance increased, although with fewer participants; that all phases of touring college choirs changed following the 1960's: touring style, length, environments for concert performances, programmed literature, monetary gain, and recruitment tactics were affected. Further, the study affirms that a job description and realignment of the description can aid faculty expectations and morale, and that greater emphasis should be placed on institutional and faculty planning for desired goal outcomes. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-02, Section: A, page: 0381. / Major Professor: Colleen Kirk. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The life and works of Juan Fernandez Navarrete are integrated in a study emphasizing his career as court painter to Philip II. The discovery of Navarrete's baptismal certificate of 1540 corrects the date of his birth given in the literature. His position as a "reformed" conservative painter with a positive influence on seventeenth century Spanish painting is demonstrated. Navarrete is shown to maintain the High Renaissance models of Raphael and Titian while rejecting the preferred style of Mannerism. / The two altarpieces for the Monastery of La Estrella at Logrono are reconstructed in order to clarify his early pictorial style. The eight paintings realized for the upper cloister of the Monastery of the Escorial are seen as an embodiment of the newly formulated decrees of the Council of Trent pertaining to the use of religious images. Their placement at the corners of the upper cloister is seen as symbolizing the Augustinian aesthetic concept of correspondence. An iconographical analysis of the Martyrdom of St. James reveals an allusion to the recent battle of the Alpujarras at Granada, won by the Spaniards over the Moors. / Navarrete's pictorial style is shown to evolve rapidly during his last three years. This rapid evolution was aided by the influence of newly arrived paintings by Titian and Navarrete achieves even greater importance as Philip II's preferred painter. The pairs of apostles for the basilica of the Escorial and the corresponding $modelli$ at Valencia are seen as studies of contrasting personalities where the contrapposto motif as a stylistic and rhetorical device will serve as influence on the next generation of seventeenth century Spanish painters. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-04, Section: A, page: 1030. / Major Professor: Patricia Rose. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

Alive, John C. Calhoun exercised tremendous political influence over South Carolina. Dead, his legacy was the determining factor in her political course in the ensuing decade. The disruption of the National Democratic party in 1860 and the cooperative secession of the lower South, led by South Carolina, brought Calhoun's political legacy to fulfillment. This dissertation looked closely at the South Carolinian's post-nullification career, largely from his own perspective. Calhoun was clearly driven in this period to uniting the South in its own defense. Reform of the general government, even through the powerful instrument of southern union, had become impossible by 1850. By Calhoun's own reckoning, the cooperative action of the southern states must lead to a separate confederacy. / The thrust of the dissertation dealt with how Calhoun's legacy was acted upon by the South Carolinians in the 1850s. In the state's first secession crisis of 1851, his legacy of united southern resistance was sustained when the state chose not to secede alone. Her secession in 1860, prefaced by assurances of cooperation from the cotton states, put his legacy into play. References to Calhoun were frequent, encompassing such issues as the rise of a National Democratic party in South Carolina, the acquisition of Cuba, and the admission of Kansas. Indeed, South Carolina spent much of the decade lamenting his loss and the want of a worthy successor to his mantle. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-04, Section: A, page: 1361. / Major Professor: James Jones. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

This is a study of the political career of George Armistead Smathers Smathers was a United States senator from Florida from 1951 through 1968. Prior to his election to the senate, Smathers served Dade, Collier, and Monroe counties in the House of Representatives from 1947 through 1951. / The focus of this work is Smathers's political career within the framework of the Cold War. His election victories in 1946 and 1950 mirrored, in some aspects foreshadowed, political events throughout the nation during this era. In defeating both Congressman Pat Cannon in 1946 and Senator Claude Pepper in 1950, Smathers victories turned on his ability to change the political landscape. / During both his two terms as congressman and three terms as senator, George Smathers played the role of a quintessential Cold Warrior. An early supporter of the Truman Doctrine, he subscribed fully to the necessity of containment, the domino theory, and assumptions regarding the monolithic nature of communism. These beliefs were most fully played out through his interest in Latin America and his avid backing of the Vietnam War. While his activity in foreign policy alone is of importance, Smathers also had an impact domestically. He was counted among the few southern moderates on civil rights, aiding in the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act, though he consistently opposed federal intervention to promote and ensure social or economic equality. / Smathers was part of Senator Lyndon Johnson's "inner circle," which led to powerful posts on the Interstate and Foreign Commerce committee and Finance committee, as well as chairmanship of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. His coordination of the Kennedy-Johnson campaign in the South and his long friendship with John F. Kennedy afforded Smathers uncommon access to the White House beginning in 1961. Long devotion to Lyndon Johnson, and commitment to Johnson's wars both domestically and overseas, ensured Smathers a continued "insider" role up to his retirement in 1969. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: A, page: 1807. / Major Professor: C. Peter Ripley. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.

The achievement of Nam June Paik, commonly known as "the father of video art," has been recognized by several one-man exhibitions and accompanying exhibition catalogues in addition to numerous articles. But there is no systematic study of his development as an artist yet; Paik scholarship remains in a critical void. This is especially true for his early period when he was less publicized. The purpose of this dissertation is to portray him in the context of the artistic milieu from which he emerged as an established artist, and to relate his activities to broader art historical discourse. / Paik was influenced by Kurt Schwitters, Marcel Duchamp, and especially by John Cage during his German period when he began his career as a performance artist associated with Fluxus artists. Cage's frontal attack on tradition and a negation of any value or taste in art were important lessons to Paik. Paik's "invention" of video art in the late sixties reflects the rise of dematerialized and process-oriented art at that time. The production of the Paik/Abe Video Synthesizer itself was an important contribution to video art history and it was aligned to his belief that video would replace painting. / Influenced by McLuhan's global village idea, Paik focused on the information and communication side of video in the early seventies. The close formal and iconographical investigations of the three tapes The Selling of New York, The Global Groove, and A Tribute to John Cage reveal his aesthetics and working principles. The Global Groove established the norms of broadcast videotape and influenced many younger video artists. The characteristics of Paik's works such as an extensive use of kitsch, appropriation and recycling, a high degree of audience-consciousness, and rapid and discontinuous break in timing are all related to the features of Postmodernism. Paik is a quintessential Postmodern artist, and his future task is how to maintain the critical edge while fully embracing the popular culture. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-12, Section: A, page: 3533. / Major Professor: Craig Adcock. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

Senor: The Life of Al Lopez, details Lopez's life growing up in the Ybor City section of Tampa, his career as a player and manager in professional baseball, his role as a pioneer opening organized baseball to Floridians and Latins. Accusations made by Larry Doby, the first black player in American League history and one who played both with and for Lopez, regarding the manner in which Lopez treated black baseball players, particularly Doby, during his tenure in the game are also examined. / Lopez was the first major league player born and raised in Tampa. The thirteenth Floridian overall to ascend to the big leagues, he was also among the initial wave of big leaguers of Latin descent. In a nineteen year playing career, Lopez, a catcher, gained a notable reputation for durability establishing a then record of 1,918 games caught. As a manager his teams finished first or second in eleven of his first sixteen seasons, capturing pennants in 1954 and 1959. In 1977 Lopez was enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame as a manager. / Senor: The Life of Al Lopez, depends much on the recollections of Lopez and former players, colleagues, etc., as told to the author and others. As with most studies of sport figures, the use of oral history, authenticated thru periodical literature, is relied upon heavily. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: A, page: 1812. / Major Professor: James P. Jones, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.