Friedrich Armand Strubberg’s semi-autobiographical novel Friedrichsburg, published in Germany in 1867, is a fountain of information about the German settlements in the Hill Country of Texas established in the years 1844-1848 by a corporation of German noblemen. The noblemen safely ensconced in their comfortable estates in Germany attempted to live up to their responsibilities and supply the settlers with basic needs, but their efforts fell woefully short. In consequence, the immigrants often were thrown upon their own devices and compelled to live from what they could learn to grow or hunt in a new land with unfamiliar climate, plants, and animals. Many hundreds perished from disease, exposure, and malnutrition. But after a painful period, the German settlements took root and began to prosper; lending a Germanic stamp to the Hill Country area of Texas that persists to the present day. In Friedrichsburg, the reader encounters many dramatic stories attendant to the foundation years of Fredericksburg, Texas, 1846/1847 when Friedrich Armand Strubberg, under the assumed name Dr. Schubbert, served as the first colonial director of the town. The situations are presented vividly and entertainingly, and although the book offers a romanticized and, in this sense, a sanitized version of the immigrants’ travails, I maintain that it contains historically accurate depictions of people and events that have been largely overlooked in other accounts of the period. The dissertation offers the first complete translation of the novel. An introduction provides an overview of German immigration in Texas, a short biography of Friedrich Armand Strubberg, and a discussion of his place in literature about Texas published in Germany in the nineteenth century. Extensive endnotes document names and episodes as they appear in the text and distinguish between what is fact and what is fiction in the novel. A bibliography of works published about Texas in the nineteenth century is supplied as an appendix. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 329-341). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 329-341). Also available on the Internet.

The archives of religious communities is a sparingly treated subject and christian community archives constitute the majority of the archives studied. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relevance of James M. O'Toole's four characteristics of religious archives put forward in his article What’s different about religious archives? Another implicit purpose is to expand the knowledge of religious community archives and include archives from other world religions. The thesis's theoretical starting-point is O'Toole's characteristics which are also used as a basis for the questions that the thesis set out to answer. The main question is to what extent O'Toole's characteristics are relevant for studying archives linked to modern religious communities operating in Sweden. The method used is interviews. A total of seven people were interviewed who had knowledge of seven religious community archives. The archives were linked to the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, the Catholic Bishopric, the Jewish Community in Stockholm, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Triratna Buddhist Community and the Baptist Union of Sweden. With the exception of interviews, the source material consisted of literature (books and articles), web pages, archive registers and email correspondence. The result is that O'Toole's characteristics are not particularly relevant for studying archives linked to modern religious communities operating in Sweden. Religion does not seem so important for religious archives as O'Toole claims. On a scale of 0–5, the relevance of O'Toole's characteristics is 1–2. For this reason, the characteristics need to be modified. There are good opportunities for future researchers to develop the subject and supplement this study. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.

This thesis examines the representation of Mormon men in American film and television, with particular regard for sexual identity and the cultural association of Mormonism with sexuality. The history of Mormonism's unique marital practices and doctrinal approaches to gender and sexuality have developed three common stereotypes for Mormon male characters: the purposeful heterosexual, the monstrous polygamist, and the self-destructive homosexual. Depending upon the sexual stereotype in the narrative, the Mormon Church can function as a proponent for nineteenth-century views of sexuality, a symbol for society's repressed sexuality, or a metaphor for the oppressive effects of performing gender and sexuality according to ideological constraints. These ideas are presented in Mormon films such as Saturday's Warrior (1989) as well as mainstream films such as A Mormon Maid (1917) and Advise and Consent (1962).

Lilburn W. Boggs and the Case for Jacksonian Democracy Robert John Walker Department of Religion, BYU Masters of Religious Education Lilburn W. Boggs was lieutenant governor of Missouri from 1832 to 1836. He was governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840. Political upheaval was the order of the day as Jacksonian democrats overthrew, through the power of the ballot box, the establishment of the patrician leadership in the United States. Issues of equity, slavery, religion, settlement of the West, and divisive sectionalism threatened the Union of the states. President Andrew Jackson was the representation of the common man and the enemy of the monied oligarchy that assumed the right to rule the common people. Jackson's leadership enabled a powerful change in party politics as he became the charismatic figurehead of the Jacksonian Democratic Party. Boggs was a protégé of Thomas Hart Bennett, the powerful ally of Jackson and leading senator from Missouri. Boggs, beginning as a young man, rode the coattails of Benton right into the governor's mansion in Columbia, Missouri. This thesis examines Boggs' life and political career to ascertain whether or not he was truly a Jackson man as he represented himself to be to the electorate.

Zadok's membership in the church directed the course of his life, and he contributed to the success of those movements of the church in which he participated.

To the religiously minded, few things carry greater importance than a connection to the divine. For centuries, the literature of prophets and the work of gifted artists have served to create a liminal space where man and Maker can meet. The advent of cinema and the creation of the Internet pose unique questions for the artist seeking to lead an audience toward an encounter with God. In a modern world where discretionary time is dominated by on-demand video streaming, the value of understanding cinema and its myriad potential is particularly relevant. As a religious organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has eagerly (and to a certain extent, uniquely) embraced and used film to further its aims. This thesis will further the conversation already begun on the topic of spirituality in official LDS Church productions, particularly adding new analysis regarding the form and content of more recent institutionally produced films. How do stylistic trends in recent official film productions of the LDS Church relate to the broader academic and theological discussion regarding cinematic spirituality? After the introduction and thesis overview in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 will provide a survey of prominent works regarding cinematic spirituality. Theories that entertain how movies speak to human spirits are varied and highly subjective. Many theories about what makes a work "spiritual" grow from particular religious traditions and are informed by that theorist's beliefs about God's nature. Some theories are dependent on loosely measured criteria (editing pace, complexity of music, distance between camera and subject, etc.), while others rely almost entirely on the "feeling" a work conveys (which may or may not be determined by objectively measurable parts).Chapter 3 relates the prominent theories laid out in Chapter 2 to the cinematic efforts made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the past two decades. Examining the form and content of these media projects will reveal trends that indicate inherent assumptions on the part of the LDS Church's media department regarding the purpose and potential of spirituality and film. Chapter 4 explores how the Church's typical approach compares and contrasts with films made by independent Latter-day Saint filmmakers. Some stylistic possibilities will be derived from the efforts of Mormon artists more generally and may have implications for how Latter-day Saint films could help spiritually engage audiences.

In the master thesis the attention is concentrated on the two new religious movements – Latter-Days Saints Church (Church of Mormons) and Seventh-day Adventist Church. A research objective was studying of history of these churches in Russia, and in particular – in the Urals. Features of their penetration to the Urals, distribution and evolution throughout three-century history were characterized. The master thesis consists of introduction, two chapters in whom the doctrine and history of Mormons and Seventh-day Adventist Church, the conclusions, and also appendices in which photographic materials and the interviews which are written down by the author was analyzed. / В магистерской диссертации внимание сосредоточено на двух церквях, относящихся к новым религиозным движениям – Церкви Иисуса Христа Святых последних дней (церковь мормонов) и Церкви Христиан-Адвентистов Седьмого Дня (церковь АСД). Целью исследования являлось изучение истории этих церквей в России, и в частности – на Урале. Были охарактеризованы особенности их проникновения на Урал, распространение и эволюция на протяжении трехвековой истории. Работа состоит из введения, двух глав, в которых анализируется учение и история мормонов и адвентистов седьмого дня, заключения, а также приложений, в которых представлены фотоматериалы и записанные автором интервью.