European Enlightenment culture was a fundamental locus for the emergence and conceptualization of what has come to be called the "modern public sphere." In this study I analyse the figure of "the public" during roughly the third quarter of the eighteenth-century, primarily as refracted in the writings of three prominent German Aufklarer, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Thomas Abbt, and Johann Gottfried Herder. Scholarly discussion about the emergence of a German public sphere and "public opinion" has tended to focus on the latter decades of the eighteenth- century, with little awareness of the fact that earlier on, the notion of a "public" itself was being constituted and contested by "public writers" like Lessing, Abbt and Herder. This occurred within the context of what I am calling "the problem of Publikum," the particular German problem of social and political fragmentation. The writings of Lessing, Abbt arid Herder can be profitably understood as mediating between the wider European Republic of Letters and a more circumscribed, problematical German Publikum. By reading their works in light of Enlightenment discourses of science, sociability, aesthetics and politics-discourses that in one way or another touched upon the issue of a modern "public"--as well as in view of the "problem of Publikum" and the German social and intellectual scene generally, I am able to connect their intellectual content both with wider European currents and local German socio-political concerns. I argue that Lessing's dramatic and literary-critical work sought to constitute a German public that was both sympathetically responsive yet critically distanced from itself. Abbt, painfully aware of the "problem of Publikum," strove to inscribe a public sphere in the idiom of patriotism and morals. And Herder's intervention in an emerging German public sphere can be understood as building on the work of Abbt and Lessing to theorize the relationship between language, literature and the Publikum in a complex vision of "organic enlightenment." The dissertation employs a variety of primary and secondary sources, including works by an array of European thinkers who played a role in Lessing, Abbt and Herder's intellectual development. And it theorizes the developments profiled in light of contemporary theories of the public sphere and the social-psychology of George H. Mead, engaging questions of personal and social identity, inclusion/exclusion, and gender. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Over the past two decades, American poet Jorie Graham has composed six books of poems. Graham struggles to understand how we make sense of the world through thinking grounded in the logical operations of reason and through thinking that operates as more of a detached wandering that enables direct experiential participation in the present moment-modes of thought occasionally differentiated as "intellect" and "intuition." Throughout her work, Graham repeatedly experiments with ways to "frustrate" the intellect in order for intuition to wander over an idea while at the same time she relies on the intellect to rescue the mind from directionless wandering. In her early poetry Graham explores ways of defining and describing what it feels like to think. Later, she enacts thinking within the lines of her poems, sometimes allegorizing the operation of the intellect and intuition and sometimes provoking readers into an experience of one particular way of thinking through the act of reading. This study examines Graham's various successes and failures as she struggles to discover "blossoming" moments of balance between the controlling intellect and the wandering intuition. Beginning with the origins of this line of thinking in Graham's early work, this study traces the poet's path of development through each book of poems in order to demonstrate the back and forth momentum shifts of intellect giving way to intuition and intuition being organized by rational thought. Through her epistemological errancies, her wanderings within and without ways of knowing, Graham discovers "blossoming" moments of wholeness where both modes of thought meet "in solution, unsolved." / Master of Arts

archives@tulane.edu / This article argues that medical discourse attempted to establish gender and sexual behavior while determining women’s roles in society in nineteenth-century Cuba. Examining popular and medical journals, women’s periodicals, and health manuals, it illustrates how doctor’s preoccupations with women’s bodies reflected social anxieties over the sexual repercussions of shifting fashions, the moral impact of education and the need to biologically differentiate between black and white women. Medical emphasis on racial and gender differences mirrored social anxieties over control of female sexuality and the increased importance of motherhood and maternity as a symbol of a well-organized society. The article foregrounds the importance of examining medicine through a gender lens to highlight how doctors normalized cultural and social assumptions about race and gender in the nineteenth century. It illuminates how nineteenth-century medical conceptualizations provided a rationalization of gender, race and class differences steeped in Cuban assumptions about power. / 1 / Daylín P. López

Critics who discuss Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony often write about aspects that run counter to their conception of what a symphony should be, such as this symphony’s static nature and its programmatic elements. In nineteenth-century Boston and London, criticism of the Pastoral Symphony reflects the opinions of a wide range of listeners, as critics variably adopted the views of the intellectual elite and general audience members. As a group, these critics acted as intermediaries between various realms of opinion regarding this piece. Their writing serves as a lens through which we can observe audiences’ acceptance of ideas common in contemporaneous musical thought, including the integrity of the artwork, the glorification of genius, and ideas about meaning in music.

It was suggested to me by Dr. T. Mitchell Prudden that a promising field for research existed in determining the identity of the bacterial commonly occurring in the air of New York. Very early in the investigation a practical difficulty in the way of determining species became apparent. It was found, however that the determinations of the species were not always authentic, as seen by the fact that when planted on the standard media many of them contradicted their published characters.

Public representation of highwaymen and footpads in the press spawned a climate of fear in London.  Descriptions of the violence that highwaymen and footpads employed in the course of their crimes generated this fear.  Violence set them apart from other non- or less-violent thefts that occurred in much greater numbers in the capital, but received less coverage in the public discussion of crime at the time.  Victims of robbery came from all different social classes and demographic groups, and this too contributed to the fear by creating an image of robbers who could attack anyone at any time.  This ardent fear appeared to have overshadowed some of the new social and economic explanations of criminals' motives and emerging humanitarian approaches to crime prevention. The court records suggest that highwaymen and footpads were often young men who operated in organized gangs and used violence to create fear and ensure success in their attack -- and this paralleled the public perceptions.  However, the trials show that women did in fact account for a small -- but noticeable -- percentage of robbers, and robbers also acted individually as well as in groups.  The court proceedings also <demonstrated that highwaymen and footpads created networks with prostitutes, alehouses, pawnshops, and workhouses in order find potential victims, recruit new robbers, peddle pilfered goods, and increase the odds of successfully accomplishing their crime and escaping. / Master of Arts

The author set out to investigate operatic works that were written in South Africa between 1994 and 2004. Original works that included African elements were of interest as was their classification as operas, musical theatre or music drama. Their artistic merit and the process followed in writing successful works in this genre were investigated. Not only was the collaboration between composer and librettist scrutinised, but also the initial stage during which the conception for these theatrical works took shape. Due to the empirical nature of the research, data was collected mostly via interviews held with composers, librettists, directors and conductors of original works written and performed in the said period. The data is presented in six chapters, each one providing a full description of casting details, synopses and brief analyses of the works. In the Preface the premise upon which the research rests is discussed, while the Introduction serves to highlight various issues concerning modem opera and fusion works that have played an important role in providing the groundwork for contemporary ethnic opera in this country. Original works are discussed in each chapter, and a critical evaluation is presented in an Appendix. The author concludes that much effort was expended by pioneers in the fields of music, theatre and dance to create new works and organise performances. What emerged, furthermore, was that many of the works analysed could not be categorised as 'opera' but rather as 'musical theatre' or 'music drama'. It would also seem that uninitiated audiences first need to be made conscious of the aesthetic value of the genre before they may be able to appreciate it. Operatic production companies have always been at the forefront when it comes to decision - making regarding which and whose work shall be performed. Funding is crucial to the success of any production and plays an equally important role in eventually determining a positive outcome. This aspect has, therefore, also been included as part of the research project.

No description available.

No description available.