Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1980. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 279-289).

Thesis (M.S. in architecture)--Washington State University, December 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-106).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2006. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Richard Helzer.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2006. / Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 79 p. Includes bibliographical references.

With the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, more than an iconic symbol of Jewish identity was destroyed. As the epicenter of religious life for Jews within the land of Israel, the Temple stood as both a symbol for religious hope and as the physical embodiment of Judaism. Yet, in the centuries that would follow synagogue’s like the one found at Beth Alpha would come to fill its absence. In this thesis I will demonstrate how the use of Christopher Tilley’s theory of the solid metaphor helps us to better understand both the art and architecture of the Beth Alpha synagogue and the synagogue’s connection to the then absent Temple. I argue that by conceptualizing this synagogue as a solid metaphor for the Temple, we can interpret how the paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations found in the composition of the mosaic carpets present sacred space. Through this application of Tilley’s theory, I argue that we can model this paradigm off of Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple.

I The Origins of A Song to David This chapter deals with the outlook of the poet, his re-dedication to the service of God, his Hymn to the Supreme Being (1756), his madness and confinement, Jubilate Agno, and references to the Psalms and A Song to , David in the Jubilate Agno. II (i) The Form and Structure of the Poem A Song to David is a poem of praise, a paean bringing in the whole of the cosmos. As such it takes its origin from the Psalms of David. Smart prepared himself for the triumph of the Song by writing his Seatonian poems on the attributes of the Supreme Being. The stanzaic pattern of the Song, romance-six, is used by other eighteenth-century poets, but its master is Smart. The basic structural device consists of repetition and the matching of parts of the poem. The description of the contents provided by the poet is not wholly to be trusted. (ii) An Explication of the Poem This section, the longest portion of the thesis, is a line by line commentary on the poem; the intent is to supply background for the reader. The meaning of ambiguous or obscure phrases is suggested; glosses for unfamiliar words are either supplied from the work of previous critics and editors or suggested by the study of biblical and other contemporary texts. The character of David, as drawn by Smart, is not the historical or biblical figure, though it has something in common with the medieval concept of David. Cross-references to Jubilate Agno are noted. The work of W. F. Stead, W. H. Bond, and J. B. Broadbent is correlated with some original study. The climactic nature of the final stanzas is discussed. III (i) Links with Other Poems by Smart The recurrence of similar themes and patterns in other works is pointed out. There is a definite relationship between the Song and Smart's later poems. (ii) Comparison with Some Other Poets Other poets of a similar bent utilize a biblical story in their work. Parallels and contrasts are found in the handling of a similar theme by Cowley, Prior, and Browning. A close resemblance exists between A Song to David and The Benedicite Paraphrased, a poem by James Merrick. (iii) A Song to David is Unique in its Aesthetic Achievement The achievement of A Song to David is defined. The effect upon the reader is discussed and the success of the poet commented upon. A place is claimed for A Song to David in the top rank of devotional poetry. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Thesis advisor: Peter Skerry / The most important political fault line in American politics today is marked by the postwar liberal consensus itself. What is often overlooked, however, is that both liberals and anti-liberals assume a modern, progressive view of history in which the world is growing up to become more secular, technologically advanced, and egalitarian. Liberals celebrate this trajectory as they see themselves “on the right side of history.” They consider their opponents backward holdouts or, more generously, those not yet enjoying the goods of modern life. Anti- liberals on the right see the world according to liberalism proceeding apace to undo traditional morality, globalize economies, automate jobs, replace the nation-state, and undermine cultural norms. A nostalgic politics of reaction aspires to reverse the course of history and return to an unmolested golden age. In the words of one recent variation on this theme, only such a reversal can “Make America Great Again.” This dissertation offers intellectual portraits of three American social critics: Christopher Lasch, Paul Goodman, and Jane Jacobs. Each was a critic of progressive habits of mind in different ways, but all three offer an alternative to the progressive optimism and nostalgia for the past at work in today’s debates. If, then, these thinkers were reactionaries in resisting progressive programs of their times, they were enlightened reactionaries insofar as they rationally resisted the deeper assumption of inevitable progress that animates both left and right. While I address a specific concern in the work of each writer, I draw out three points common to their thought. First, each thinker dissolves the dichotomy between past and future that is central to progressive history. The progressive view of history shared by liberal and anti-liberal alike points toward, alternatively, an inevitably improved future or a past that is slipping away. Lasch, Goodman, and Jacobs, however, point to the continuity of past and future and resist subsuming the present in a deterministic account of history. Second, the thought of each embodies a defense of tradition – historically conditioned ways of knowing, as opposed to supposedly trans-historical universal reason. That defense is expressed not only in each thinker’s view of the past as a resource for the present, but in his or her resistance to the very idea of an Archimedean point that is assumed by claims to have seen the end of history. Indeed, each thinker’s arguments are presented explicitly as part of a tradition, and the work of each points to the importance of tradition as an indispensable lens on the world. Each author shows how the assumption of progress, despite progressives’ claims to have escaped tradition, does not reflect an inescapable law of history but is itself part of a modern tradition that we are free to modify. This in turn points to the political possibilities of recovering tradition as the basis of common discourse. To the extent we are conscious of the decisive role of tradition, we will be aware of the degree to which we are responsible agents: responsible for the contingent way we see the world, and for the contingent choices made by the light of our traditions. Finally, I argue that Lasch, Goodman, and Jacobs’s use of tradition stands in contrast not only to transcendent, objective reason but also to an understanding of traditions as closed language games, coherent in themselves but rationally inaccessible to one another. Lasch, Goodman, and Jacobs present a view in which traditions are dynamic, self-correcting, ongoing arguments within and between themselves. Their use of tradition-bound arguments to develop counter-traditions against dominant progressive perspectives exemplifies the way in which traditions might confront and correct one another. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

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