MA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

William Shakespeare's tragedies dwell upon death, loss, grief, and sacrifice. But one of the common, underlying and at times unexpected components that recurs throughout the tragedies is honor. For Shakespeare's honor is tied to human life, as Julius Caesar insinuates to his wife, “Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once” (2.2.32-33). Shakespeare's honor is largely connected to how one lives their life, whether it be honorably in bravery, or cowardly in fear. The concept is further developed in Othello, when Iago says, “Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, / Is the immediate jewel of their souls” (3.3. 183-184). If one does not possess an honorable character, in other words, he or she owns nothing of import. This is reiterated in Richard II, when Mowbray says, “Take honor from me, and my life is done” (1.1.183). However, Shakespeare's portrayal of honor often displays an ambivalence between the Christian and the pagan-humanist values of honor in his age. He toys with the concept of honor radically within the minds of several of his most prominent characters, namely the protagonists in King Lear, Coriolanus, and Macbeth. For these three men, honor becomes a moral trap, and they each meet tragic fates as a result. In this paper, I seek to illuminate the different functions of honor and how this coincides with Shakespeare's overall theme which suggests that honor and (quality of) life go hand in hand, which demonstrates the idea that the pursuit of glory can prove to be a snare for the overly ambitious man.

Committee: Don-John Dugas (Advisor); Vera Camden (Committee Member); Ann Martinez (Committee Member) Subjects: Literature

MA, Kent State University, 2019, College of the Arts / School of Art

Bernini: The Magic Art deals with Bernini's involvement with the theater. Influenced by the Jesuits' embrace of theater as an effective means to advance mankind's moral and spiritual development, Bernin sought to incorporate devices of the Baroque theater into his artistic creations. Beginning in the 1620s, Bernini was involved in staging the “architecture” of many of church activities—40-hour devotions, the dramatization of the Pope's ascent to the Pauline Chapel via the Scalia Regia—as theatrical events. As he advanced in his art, moving from sculptor of antiquities for Cardinal Borghese to scenographer of religious scenes for Popes and other religious dignitaries, Bernini began to employ more theatrical concepts and devices in his scenographies. His development of architectural spotlights for his creations, beginning with St. Bibiana in the church of Santa Bibiana, through the lighting for St. Francis in the Raimondi Chapel in S. Pietro in Montorio, the theatrical presentation of St. Teresa in the Cornaro Chapel at Santa Maria della Vittoria, and the Cathedra Petri in S. Peter's Basilica evidences his awareness of the importance of dramatizing his creations through lighting. In addition, his installation of "The Ecstasy of St Theresa" incorporates the Cloud Machine, used in almost all religious and non-religious Baroque theatrical performances to illustrate heavenly events. His consummate use of theatrical devices, however, and one not previously recognized by scholars, is best seen in the transformation of the ephemeral Baroque theatrical devices--the Glory, the Glory Box ,and the Chair for Pharaoh- -into components for the permanently awe-inspiring Cathedra Petri above the main altar in St. Peter's.

Committee: Gustav Medicus (Advisor); John-Michael Warner (Committee Member) Subjects: Art History

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2017, Theology

Hans Urs von Balthasar and Theodor Adorno are not often mentioned in the same company. While undoubtedly different, I argue that their overarching diagnoses of present phenomenological conditions are strongly corroborative. Both see present experience as damaged and that this damage is manifest in the loss of our recognition of veiled presence, or semblance. This has been made possible by a kind of `forgetting' not understood in predominantly psychological terms, but historically, witnessed through the emergence of distinctly modern notions of art and aesthetics. Through exploring these connections in relation to their notions of `aura' and `glory' I suggest that not only can theology and critical theory be mutually supportive, but that a Christologically-centered theological aesthetics presents possibilities for a critical recovery of genuine experience.

Committee: John Inglis (Committee Chair); Anthony Godzieba (Committee Member); William Portier (Committee Member); Kelly Johnson (Committee Member); Brad Kallenberg (Committee Member) Subjects: Philosophy; Theology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Greek and Latin

Abstract In this dissertation I examine how Greek tragedy received the epic concept of kleos. Although kleos in epic and epinician poetry has a specific social and ideological function, its usage in Attic drama exhibits its incompatibility with the pragmatic environment of a polis and reflects the difficulties such a value provokes when measured in circumstances similar to those of fifth century Athens, namely within a democracy where no one is allowed to enjoy a rarefied status and where familial and city law is part of the audience's quotidian court experience. Although the word kleos is encountered in the plays of all three great tragedians, I argue that we can observe a different approach between the usage of Aeschylus and Sophocles and that of Euripides. The concept of kleos occurs many more times in Euripides' tragic corpus and in the majority it is claimed by female characters. However, since in epic and epinician poetry kleos is normally connected with men, namely bravery, warrior prowess, physical abilities and admirable achievements either on the battlefield or at athletic Games, I chose to base my argument on male tragic characters. My first study case is Orestes, who is presented in the Odyssey as an exemplum of kleos and who is connected with a kleos discourse in the relevant plays of all three tragedians. The other two characters that I take as my study cases are Ajax and Heracles in the homonymous plays of Sophocles and Euripides, because both of them are extraordinary heroes of the past whose exploits and manliness became exemplary in the literary tradition. After a close examination of the connection of Orestes with kleos in Aeschylus' Choephori, Sophocles' Electra and Euripides' Orestes I argue that although Orestes was inherited by the Homeric tradition as a highly positive example and although within the tragic plays it is apparent that the tragic community and his sister Electra expect him to take revenge for his father' s murder and ensure (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Tom Hawkins (Advisor); Benjamin Acosta-Hughes (Committee Member); Fritz Graf (Committee Member) Subjects: Classical Studies

PHD, Kent State University, 2009, College of Communication and Information / School of Communication Studies

In this study, I utilized the third-person effects/first-person effects hypothesis to examine the perceptions and self-reported behaviors of sports fans, and more specifically, National Football League (NFL) fans. The sample (N = 417) consisted of NFL fans who completed an online questionnaire. Participants completed measures of NFL team identification, perceived effects of televised NFL games, perceptual bias of televised NFL games, perceived social distance, perceived exposure to televised NFL games, message desirability, Basking in Reflective Glory (BIRGing), Cutting Off Reflected Failure (CORFing), exposure to NFL-related television, and sociodemographic variables. Results indicated that NFL fans exhibited third-person perceptions when comparing perceived media influence on themselves and fellow fans of one' favorite/most familiar NFL team, while exhibiting first-person perceptions when comparing perceived media influence on themselves and other groups of comparison others (i.e., other fans around the NFL, the average person). First-person perceptual bias positively correlated with NFL team identification, message desirability, and BIRGing. Third-person perceptual bias negatively correlated with NFL team identification and message desirability. NFL team identification and message desirability were not significantly correlated with NFL team winning percentage. Perceptions of social distance and perceptions of NFL television exposure significantly predicted perceived effects for both the self and various groups of comparison others. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine predictors of self-reported NFL fan behaviors (i.e., BIRGing/CORFing). Variables were entered in four steps (control variables, team performance, audience factors, and perceptual bias). Self-reported BIRGing behavior was negatively predicted by age and education and positively predicted by NFL team identification, message desirability, and first-person perceptual bias. Self-reported (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Haridakis (Committee Chair); Stanley Wearden (Committee Member); Adam Earnheardt (Committee Member); Shawn Fitzgerald (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Journalism; Mass Media; Psychology; Social Psychology

Master of Applied Communication Theory and Methodology, Cleveland State University, 2012, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Emerging technologies and the ever-changing climate of the Internet has helped social networking sites to foster relationships between sports fans and professional sports teams. This study focused on identification a Cleveland Browns fan feels with the team as a predicting factor of emotions, actions, self and group identity, and pronominal usage. An online survey was given to Cleveland Browns fans to determine their level of fandom, Cleveland Browns knowledge, overall media habits, feelings toward the city of Cleveland, personality traits, and demographic information. A content analysis was conducted to determine the pronominal usage, used to indicate a specific distance from the team based on its successes or failures, and whether the fan was more likely to distance themselves when speaking of the team's future. The survey found that Cleveland Browns fans were proud of the city of Cleveland based on its sports teams, will wear apparel regardless of a win or loss, and bigger fans with more knowledge and time spent on the Internet were more likely to speak out when in the minority opinion in response to topics related to the team. The content analysis found that bigger Cleveland Browns fans were more likely to use pronouns when speaking about the team, expressed positive feelings towards the future of the team, and reported negative feelings toward Art Modell, former owner of the team.

Committee: George Ray PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Kimberly Neuendorf PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Anup Kumar PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication