This study examines intensively Edward Taylor's Gods Determinations touching his Elect: and The Elects Combat in their Conversion, and Coming up to God in Christ together with the Comfortable Effects thereof. This poetic history was probably written immediately prior to one of Taylor's spiritual unions with God, which he described in his Preparatory Meditations. It is the work of a man sure of himself and of his salvation. For Taylor the task was clear: he must explain and justify to his parishioners the revelations from God which he had so regularly and recently experienced during the sacrament of communion.Gods Determinations is not the personal and enigmatic notations of a secretive Puritan minister. In the poem Taylor did not doubt his ideas or his purpose; however, if he was certain of his religious standing, the characters in the poem are not. What makes the poem more than mere Calvinistic propaganda is the fact that in the context of the poem the human characters are not static and unchanging. They choose to act. Gods Determinations is poetically complex, lacking neither tension nor paradox. The characters are not emotionless puppets; their hopes and fears evolve as the poem progresses. Tension arises from their ability to choose, to act.Taylor's poem is best viewed as a soul-search, the culmination of which will be the joyful exclamation of found assurance and of enlightened purpose. What Taylor had experienced in his soul's quest for truth in Gods Determinations enabled him to proceed confidently with his task in Preparatory Meditations, his life task, one might note, for these meditations covered a span of 43 years, from 1682-1725. The rational struggle for assurance is fought in Gods Determinations; the sensual and emotional expression of his complete joy and obedience is found in Preparatory Meditations. Taylor found strength in Gods Determinations to proceed on his poetic course of action. His Preparatory, Meditations were the poetic fruit of victory found in Gods Determinations,.Initially this study reviews and analyzes those scholarly studies which were concerned with Taylor's theology and his poetic devices, at first as they are found in all of Taylor's writings but more specifically as they are found in Gods Determinations. Often these studies were found to be critically inaccurate, unfair to Taylor the Puritan minister or to Taylor the poet.The heart of this study is that Edward Taylor the faithful Puritan minister was a serious poet who revised and edited his poems, as witness the first drafts and revisions of the Poetical Works. He controlled his material. Yet his poetic devices were always harnessed to theological ideas. Thus Taylor's poetic style is best viewed as religioaesthetic, a combination of spiritual and sensual realms.Granting Taylor's poetic ability, this study proceeds to explicate Gods Determinations, dividing the long poem into four significant eras of man's spiritual consciousness. The poem's thirty-six lyrics are not primarily a play, or a sermon, or a meditation; they are a history, a spiritual history of God's people. Taylor viewed this history in terms of four dispensations of God's Grace, four historical eras of significant religious awareness.Taylor's Gods Determinations progresses historically (in Judeo-Christian terms) from the beginning of time to a particular place in time, seventeenth-century Puritan New England. Ultimately, however, the poem is best viewed cyclically, spiritually and physically having no beginning or end. The essential concept, the unifying theme, of the entire poem is renewal. The poem does not end physically, because Taylor led into the Preparatory Meditations with it; it does not end spiritually because God is eternal and manis eternal. Taylor's fundamental aesthetic value must depend upon the complexity of the experiences of his characters during his four spiritual dispensations of God's Grace. In the end, the universal emotions and feelings of these struggling men were particularized by Puritan tenets that Taylor felt satisfied these emotions and yearnings.

This study explores the use of the doctrine of the offices of Christ (prophet, priest, and king) in the literature of the English separatists Henry Barrow (c.1550-1593) and Henry Ainsworth (1569-1622). No study to date explores the English separatists’ use of the doctrine in ecclesiological debates. During the period 1580 to 1620 the doctrine was more commonly referenced when discussing soteriology. Barrow and Ainsworth provide some of the clearest expressions of the doctrine of the offices of Christ in separatist works and their steadfastness in those beliefs in light of opposition make them good candidates for this research. This study sets out to answer the question: what was the significance of participation by the elect in the offices of Christ as used in Barrow and Ainsworth’s writings? This research focuses on the theology of Barrow and Ainsworth and does not consider the social or experiential aspects of their professed beliefs. This study provides a detailed analysis of the writings of Barrow and Ainsworth particularly noting their use of the offices of Christ in discussions of the visible church. It then examines the relationship of Barrow and Ainsworth’s Christology and ecclesiology, expressed through the offices of Christ, in their understanding of the visible church. Finally, this research compares their usage with works published in England from 1580 to 1620, considering whether their usage was distinct. Its findings challenge the traditional historiographical suggestions that purity, polity, discipline, and covenant were the central themes of Barrow and Ainsworth’s ecclesiology. This research suggests that, for Barrow and Ainsworth, the visible church was the visible expression of Christ on earth and the continuation of his earthly ministry begun at the incarnation. They believed that the visible church was the result of union with Christ, not the means of it. Through union with Christ, all the elect participated in Christ’s offices. Barrow and Ainsworth’s understanding of the visible church incorporated their understanding of Christ’s continuing work expressed in his offices of prophecy, priesthood, and kingship. Christ was immediately present in his visible church, working in the elect and through the elect as prophets, priests, and kings. The visible elect, when gathered, became the body of Christ on earth and as his body they continued the work of prophecy, priesthood, and kingship that he had begun.

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L’objectif de la thèse est l’analyse de l’évolution du discours politique en France et en Lituanie via les déclarations ou les interviews, consécutives à l’annonce des résultats des élections présidentielles (1995 – 2009). Notre méthode est basée sur les techniques modernes de l’approche : la pluridisciplinarité, l’analyse du discours et le traitement informatique du corpus. La politique contemporaine est de plus en plus formatée selon les règles du marketing. La télévision oblige les orateurs à renoncer au jargon - le raisonnement n’est plus hypothético-déductif mais associatif. Les présidents élus consacrent plus d’attention à l’ethos et les candidats vaincus au pathos. Les ethos s’opposent et cela dépend du contexte des élections présidentielles. Les Interviews appartiennent aux discours-bilans et au modèle dialogique. Les Déclarations sont plus proches des discours-appels et du monologue. Les deux genres possèdent aussi des traits du modèle propagandiste dont l’effet social est minimal. / Pas de résumé anglais / Disertacijoje analizuojama situacija, kai kandidatai į prezidentus Lieuvoje ir Prancūzijoje reaguoja į paskelbtus prezidento rinkimų rezultatus per savo pasisakymus. Pagrindinis disertacijos tikslas - suprasti bei įvertinti politikų, politinio diskurso pasikeitimus (nuo 1993 m. iki 2009 m.). Kitos aptariamos temos - pagrindinės kalbėtojų sakinių gramatinės ir sintaksinės formos, žodynas, kandidatų į prezidentus skirtumai ir panašumai. Darbe remiamasi retorikos, politikos istorijos, sociologijos, tekstynų ir diskurso analizės metodais. Nustatyta, kad televizijos vaidmuo vis stipreja. Visų politikų sakiniai paprasti, pasirenkama kalba yra tradicinė, visiems suprantama, abstrakti, temos pasikartoja bei yra panašios. Prezidentų kalbos optimistiškesnės, mažiau personalizuotos ir daugiau apeliuoja į visą tautą, o pralaimėjusių kandidatų kalbos daugiau angažuotos į ateitį, dinamiškesnės, mažiau suvienuodintos, jie naudoja trumpesnius sakinius. Abiejų šalių politikų pasisakymai primena reklamą, kurios pagrindinis tikslas - patikti ir pritraukti žmonių dėmesį, nelabai akcentuojant politinius klausimus.

For over one hundred years, the music-going public has reflected on the life and influence of America's “March King,” John Philip Sousa. His popularity as a bandleader was unprecedented, and his reputation as an entertainer captivated the imagination and intrigue of a nation. Sousa's fame was attained through the high standards showcased by his unparalleled concert organization, the Sousa Band. He is interminably linked to the march, and for his seventy-seven years he proved to be its prolific and outspoken champion. Sousa's songs, however, were among his favorite works, and their presence on concert programs reinforced a variety of programming that was the hallmark of his success. The Sousa Band served as a cultural and musical ambassador, and annual transcontinental tours brought music to people where they lived. Sousa's songs were highly anticipated concert features, and were presented by soprano soloists known as the “Ladies in White.” A chamber winds instrumentation, rather than employment of the full-forces of the Sousa Band, allowed for an appropriate musical balance between instruments and voice. The “Forgotten Songs of John Philip Sousa Project” involved the research, editing, and performance of songs housed in the Sousa Archives for Band Research at the University of Illinois. Three songs discussed in this study, “Maid of the Meadow,” “The Snow Baby” from The Bride Elect, and “I've Made My Plans for the Summer” have been edited and performed in their intended setting for chamber winds and soprano. The songs in the Sousa collection resonate with a quintessential essence that recalls an American spirit and artistry that are closely linked with John Philip Sousa and his legendary band.