The present study investigates the verbal strategies of self-presentation that humanist scholars employed in contests of honor during the early fifteenth century. The focus of this study is George of Trebizond (1395-1472/3), a Cretan scholar who emigrated to Italy in 1416, taught in Venice, Vicenza, and elsewhere, served as an apostolic secretary in Rome, and composed the first major humanist treatise on rhetoric, his Rhetoricorum libri quinque, in 1433/34. Trebizond feuded with many prominent humanists during his career, including Guarino of Verona (1374-1460) and Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459). His quarrels with both men illustrate how humanist conflicts were the sites upon which Quattrocento scholars won or lost honor via literary activities designed to appeal to a public audience of peers and patrons. Humanists wrote to denigrate publicly their competitors, casting them as ignorant and morally corrupt, and to praise themselves as eloquent and virtuous. Although Renaissance scholarship has long acknowledged the humanist pursuit of glory, the linguistic means by which humanists contested honor remains understudied. The present study contends that Quattrocento contests of honor were conducted using standard sets of oppositional categories, themes, and literary models. Additionally, I argue that an analysis of the linguistic strategies of self-presentation provides a more complex and complete picture of Quattrocento humanism and of individual humanists as historical figures. Following an introductory discussion of George of Trebizond and Quattrocento humanism in Chapter One, the next three chapters of this dissertation address individual themes evident in Trebizond’s correspondence. Chapter Two examines the anti-Greek language that dominated Trebizond’s dispute with Guarino in 1437. Chapter Three explores the language of restraint and rational self-control in Trebizond’s feud with Poggio between 1452 and 1453. Chapter Four evaluates humanist concepts of masculinity in Trebizond’s feuds with both men. Chapter Five steps back from a deep thematic reading of Trebizond’s correspondence to consider invective as a literary genre that was a preferred vehicle for humanist self-presentation. This final chapter studies two additional feuds, between Guarino and Niccolò Niccoli, and Poggio and Lorenzo Valla, to understand better Trebizond’s experiences as a reflection of the broader culture of which he was a part.

A growing body of literature is focusing on the influence of personality and emotion regulation on psychological health. Using archival data from an expressive writing project, the current study investigated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and emotion regulation, and the influence of the interaction of these variables on psychological health among trauma survivors. The results indicate that both perfectionistic self-presentation and more difficulties in emotion regulation contribute to symptoms of distress. As well, higher levels of perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with more difficulties in emotion regulation. Further, emotion regulation mediated the relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and psychological distress but not common physical complaints. More specifically, the non-acceptance subscale of emotion regulation was found to be significant in a test of multiple mediator model.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-82). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-82).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Psychology, 2004. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 363-386).

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-94). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-94).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Waikato, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 235-249) Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-104). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brock University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-104).