Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 1996. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-114). Also available via the World Wide Web.

The 134-year old Frantz-Dunn House in Hoskins. Oregon is an intact, well-preserved example of rural Gothic architecture in the Willamette Valley. The old farmstead sits on a former Civil War Fort site and represents a link in the history of the region to the larger patterns of expansion in America during the nineteenth century. This study focuses on the family history of three generations of occupants of the historic dwelling. The information was gathered from extant materials and official documents, historic publications, local museum collections, visual observation of the house and from interviews with the relatives of the pioneer families and selected Hoskins residents. Special interest was paid to the interior furnishings and finishes in the interest of the material culture of the house. Interior furnishings were discussed from interview and extant elements. Recommendations for further study of this and other historic houses with focus on the interior material culture of are given. / Graduation date: 2006 / Best scan available for photos.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1997. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-136). Also available on the World Wide Web.

The Hoskins House is a two-story, single pen log structure located in Tannenbaum Historic Park, Greensboro, North Carolina. The house is thought to have been built by Joseph Hoskins, who lived in Guilford County from 1778 until his death in 1799. Previous archaeological testing of soil around the house yielded over 1000 artifacts, and the ceramics of these gave a Mean Ceramic Date (MCD) of 1810 as a possible initial year of construction. Our objective was to date the outermost rings on as many logs as were accessible in the Hoskins House to determine the year or range of years when the house was likely built. We compared 37 ring-width measurement series from 28 white oak group logs with a composite reference chronology created from three oak reference chronologies from Virginia. We found that the logs were cut over a 3-year period from 1811 to 1813, lending credence to the initial MCD of 1810. Joseph Hoskins had already passed away in 1799 and the property was deeded to his two sons, Joseph and Ellis. Ellis Hoskins eventually was later deeded sole possession of the property. The two-story log house located at Tannenbaum Historic Park may be more correctly called the ‘‘Ellis Hoskins House’’ rather than the ‘‘Joseph Hoskins House.’’

This thesis argues that there is an enigma at the heart of Webster's The Duchess of Malfi; a disjunction between the critical history of the play and its reception in performance. Historical disquiet about the status of the play among academics and cultural commentators has not prevented its popularity with audiences. It has, however, affected some of the staging decisions made by theatre companies mounting productions. Allied to other practical factors, these have impacted significantly – and occasionally disastrously – upon performances. It is argued that Webster conceived the play as a meditation on degree and, in aiming to draw out the maximum relevance from the social satire, deliberately created the multi-faceted performative role of Bosola to work his audience in a complex and subversive manner. The role's purpose was determined in response to the structural discontinuity imposed upon the play by the physical realities of staging within the Blackfriars' auditorium. But Webster also needed an agent to serve the plot's development and, in creating the role he also invented a character, developed way beyond the material of his sources. This character proved as trapped as any other in the play by the consequences of his own moral choices. Hovering between role and character, Webster's creation remains liminally poised on ‘the dangerous edge of things.' Part One explores the contexts in which Webster created one of the most ambiguous figures in early modern drama - subverting stock malcontent, villain and revenger - and speculates on the importance of the actor, John Lowin in its genesis. It includes a subsequent performance history of the role. Part Two presents the detailed analysis of a range of professional performances from the past four decades, attempting to demonstrate how the meaning of the play has been altered by decisions made regarding the part of Bosola.