"Do not be a martyr to philosophy, which you will be, if you do not take more exercise, be a little more foolish, and look at the world with all its awkward things, its clumsy, lumpish forms, its fools, its cockscombs, and its scoundrels with more endurance". This study makes no pretensions to provide full biographical coverage of Hays's life (1759-1843) or a comprehensive, critical exploration of the total range of her works. A thesis produced in 1971 purports 'to provide a definitive study of her literary achievements [...] and to place the complete corpus of Hays' extant works (ten in all) in the perspective of the literature of her time [...]2 and I am indebted to this exhaustive study of the author and her background. However, as the preface to her thesis declares, Gina Luria had deliberately excluded consideration of the correspondence between Hays and William Godwin, then recently purchased by the Pforzheimer Library, New York, as she had intended future publication of it. Subsequently, the project was abandoned. I have made extensive use of this correspondence to explore Hays's novels and to challenge much of the adverse criticism surrounding her writing, which I believe is based on misreadings of the texts themselves as well as on a willingness to emphasise the notoriety surrounding the authoress as a female and then as a female Jacobin. Rather, I am focusing on the aspects of Hays's life which enabled her to articulate her concerns through a series of social and intellectual 'voices' which she systematically experimented with, but ultimately rejected. It seems likely that Hays felt a need to affix a label on herself whether it were Dissenter, Wolistonecraftian, Helvetian or Godwinian, and this need suggests that she was searching for an identity in a shifting and perplexing political and philosophical climate. The adoption of an identifiable 'position' might have suggested to her security and control. Most importantly, I am concentrating on the means she adopted in order to justify her apparent 'failure' to live up to the ideals of William Godwin.

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Thesis advisor: Margaret E. Guider / The cosmic mystery of Mary draws attention to what the Roman Catholic Church celebrates as her heavenly reign, an aspect of which is the proliferation of Marian apparitions and manifestations around the world particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries. This dissertation underscores that these historical interventions are manifestations of the action of the Holy Spirit in the particular figure of Mary and is attentive to the different ways God’s graces flow to the whole people of God without conflating the person of Mary with the Person of the Spirit. The instrumental nature of Mary’s relation to the Spirit in carrying out Christ’s salvific work is the centerpiece of this study. A key aspect of this work is the mutual recognition of non-Christians in that Mary’s appearances to a number of seers is not contingent on their being or becoming Christian. A number of modern apparitions have assumed political significance because of the social turmoil of the periods when they occurred. Of interest here, is an understanding of the Spirit’s implementation in Mary’s intellect and will, and the reception of her apparition messages in ways that are transformative for ecclesial life and all God’s people. This work includes an exposition of some of the scriptural, ecumenical, interreligious, and ecclesiastical foundations for understanding the Spirit’s action in Mary, and their influence on contemporary mariological discourse since the Second Vatican Council. It reviews some of the key insights from the two-thousand year history of Marian apparitions, the complexity of the phenomenon, and the trends observed during the modern period. Vailankanni (India), Zeitoun (Egypt), and Kibeho (Rwanda) are three case studies included based on the persistence of a Marian cult, pilgrim growth, and contemporary sociopolitical and religious concerns. The rise in Hindu nationalism in India, political tensions and growth of pan-Islamism in North Africa and the Middle East, and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda are studied using the historical-critical method and comparative studies of religion within the scope of apparitions, drawing attention to the marginalization of particular demographics based on religious or ethnic origin. Understanding the Spirit’s implementation in Mary enhances the analysis of the implications of these phenomena. The Spirit’s work through Mary’s cosmic mystery has profound, far-reaching significance for the world church and all God’s people. The three cases reveal how Marian apparitions evolve from obscure events in insignificant places to global centers of Christian spirituality. They make known the hidden potential of the gospel to apply Christian revelation to localized, particular challenges in new situations with permanent, prophetic, and eschatological implications. The permanent examines how the repetitive or apocalyptic nature of Mary’s appeals mobilizes the sensus fidelium through the transforming power of pilgrimage, its impact on Marian devotion, and the emergence of new ecclesial movements. The prophetic addresses Christian and interreligious unity through dialogical encounter, equality for all, God’s justice, and the preferential option for the poor. The global reach of Marian apparitions expresses the oneness of Mary operating under the power of the Spirit, accompanying a global humanity-in-pilgrimage towards the eschatological reign of God. / Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 279-292).

Thesis--Greifswald. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-120).

Thesis (M.A.)--Marshall University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 101 p. and illustrations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-100).

Mary Sibande's Long Live the Dead Queen series is an on-going installation in the Johannesburg art gallery, MOMO. The subject of this series, Sophie, is a life-sized corporeal presence; she is Sibande's alter-ego cast from Sibande's own body. A central formal element of Sophie is her costume: a voluminous dress that hybridizes the South African domestic servant's uniform and a Victorian madam's dress. A dress denoting both servitude and dominance, it immediately recalls the colonizer/colonized dialectic between the early British Victorian colonizer and many Black African peoples whom the Victorians consigned to subordination, particularly in South Africa. Sophie is seemingly fixed within this binary power system: her visible identity oscillates between maid and Victorian. Furthermore, her eyes are always downcast so that she initially appears to embrace her subservience. However, I argue that her refusal, or even inability, to acknowledge her surroundings might alternatively demarcate her into a subjective, fantasy space, and one that she necessarily controls. She conflates historical identities that persist in present South African circumstances, so she also denies our ability to locate her within logical time or space, underscoring the notion of fantasy. Within this, Sophie can reclaim agency despite her servitude, performing in various positions of power to resituate dialectical power relationships between dominant/subordinate, master/slave. In other words, the postmodern play of Sophie becomes a postcolonial opposition to subjugation. Throughout each chapter I will apply the psychoanalytic treatment of sublimation in which a socially unacceptable desire, that of a collective or individual, is displaced onto something socially appropriate within the context of that society. I can thus look more closely at the methods by which Sophie draws attention to surreptitious and manipulated power relationships, and the ways she then dislodges these relationships from the power dialectic. / text

As the main vehicle through which the majority of the population comes to understand the world around them, the media has the power to dominate public opinion, reinforce traditional notions and introduce new ideologies. With regards to gender, the media’s role is two-prong: it pathologizes and highlights gender deviance, and simultaneous reinforces culturally constructed gender norms. The current study examines media representations of Mary Winkler, a Tennessee woman who shot her minister husband to death in 2006. Winkler’s role as the wife of a religious and community leader implies high morality, sexual demureness, nurturance and obedience. Because Winkler’s involvement in the shooting death of her husband severely conflict with these social and gender role expectations, this work examines how Winkler’s social position affect media depictions of her criminality, and the implications of these depictions on society’s perception of gender, religion, and crime. To answer these questions, 97 newspapers articles produced between April 9th, 2007 (the first day of Winkler’s trial) and August 15, 2007 (the date of Winkler’s release on parole) were analyzed using content analysis methodology. The study results show that Winkler’s adherence to feminine norms was highly influential in her construction as a sympathetic figure and her receipt of a lesser conviction of voluntary manslaughter. / text

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Teaching is a call to the sacred in life, for it is the field of self-knowing and ultimately of transformation. My conceptual exploration of the inner life of the teacher represents an experiment in educational research wherein I define the qualities of the "True" teacher and show how a heightened teaching "presence" cultivates a classroom of compassion and soulful learning. I have invited the voices of other writers from the fields of psychology, philosophy, spirituality and education to co-habit this text, offering their unique insights into searching/educating for spirit. This auto-ethnography presents a personal narrative of my teaching/living experiences revealing the pre-requisites necessary to be fully present in the classroom, and honoring the humanity both in myself and in my students. I examine the essential qualities of the True teacher as manifested in her presence, and in the acts of "myth-making," "witnessing," "compassion," and "knowing." Throughout my writing, I juxtapose my personal/professional inquiries with a more academic discussion revealing the tension between these two voices within myself. As well, I locate my personal inquiries in the experiences of the body honoring the kinesthetic wisdom that I have too long ignored. What emerges is a conversation between teacher and person, both identities searching for communion with the other. The classroom is the site of that communion as I come to inhabit my body and my spirit more fully, and begin to recognize the barriers and bridges to my True self/ teacher within my pedagogy and my life. This autobiographical writing is a healing journey locating transcendence within the everyday experiences of a teacher's life.