Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2016, Music History

Moravian-born impresario Max Maretzek was one of the leading opera managers in nineteenth-century America, specializing in Italian opera. During his career, Maretzek highlighted three cities as being "musical centers" in America: New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. While he noted that these cities were the most important for opera, he did not treat each one the same. Indeed, each of these cities had a heritage that affected their responses to opera. For example, the Puritanical heritage of Boston caused Maretzek to cancel his production of Verdi's Rigoletto in 1861, because citizens were revolted by the opera's immoral plot. In this project, I will explore, discuss, and analyze reception of Maretzek's Italian operas, and how this reception affected how he produced opera. Using Jauss's ideas on reception theory, specifically the "horizon of expectations," I will explore the historical and cultural contexts of Maretzek's three musical centers, coupled with research on opera in nineteenth-century America by Katherine Preston, John Dizikes, and June Ottenberg. Since Maretzek was an early proponent of Verdi's operas, I will discuss the reception of Maretzek's productions of Italian opera, with emphasis on Verdi and the various controversies his operas engendered. I will show that Maretzek responded to criticism differently in each of the three cities: his productions were more adventurous in his home base of New York, and more conservative in Boston and Philadelphia. Finally, I will situate Maretzek and his work in the overarching cultural context of Italian opera in nineteenth-century America, drawing on the work of Lawrence Levine and Kristen Turner. While Italian opera is commonly discussed as representing the interests of the wealthy upper class in America during this time, I will argue that discussions of Maretzek in this context require a more nuanced discussion. While there were efforts by wealthy citizens to claim Italian opera as their own, Maretzek marketed (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Eftychia Papanikolaou Ph.D. (Advisor); Ryan Ebright Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, East Asian Languages and Literatures

This study examines adaptations of Chinese culture in medieval Japanese No theatre through analyzing a group of No plays featuring Chinese motifs, also referred to as “Chinese plays,” written between the late fourteenth and the early sixteenth centuries. It investigates how changing relations with China, reception history of Chinese motifs, as well as evolving aesthetic and cultural norms on the part of playwrights and audiences of No, shaped the making of these plays. I propose what I refer to as a Filter Model, based on my reading of treatises of No and supported by contemporary theory of intercultural theatre, to analyze the (re)interpretations and (re)construction of various images of China within specific historical and cultural contexts. I argue that this group of plays was not about representing China, but rather about manipulating the perceived images of China and catering to the cultural practices, aesthetic preferences, and sociopolitical attitudes of various audience groups in medieval Japan. It is through the different images of China constructed in these plays that the playwrights amplify certain aspects of No, such as auspiciousness, cultural identity, depictions of human emotion, and dance performances. Chapter One lays out the theoretical and historical framework for the study. I critically review current scholarship on issues of Other and Self, and on conceptions of Intercultural Theatre. I then trace the dynamics of cultural exchanges between China and Japan that had influenced the reception of Chinese motifs in No theatre. Chapter Two centers on the underlying variables in the composition of “Chinese plays.” I first assess the influential role of audience and patron of No. I then introduce my Filter Model, which illustrates the complex interplay of sociopolitical milieux, basic sources, perspectives and dramaturgies of the playwrights, in the making of “Chinese plays.” Chapters Three to Seven examine ten “Chinese plays” that, taken together, displ (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Shelley Quinn (Advisor) Subjects: Literature, Asian

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2024, History (Arts and Sciences)

This thesis essays to study and interpret a small body of poems from Southern Gaul which respond to the breach of the Rhine frontier and subsequent crises from 406-418 AD. After demonstrating contemporary literary conventions in both secular and Christian discourses, the paper will survey how the poems in question came to terms with recent catastrophe and thereby rearticulated differing ideas of empire and meta-history which drew upon the Latin Epic tradition but deployed them in a context that was increasingly Christian and destabilized. While this will shed limited light on the political events, it will primarily serve to situate the beginnings of the Fall of the Western Empire in their intellectual context and indicate how they served as agents of the transformation of the Classical World and the draining of the secular.

Committee: Jaclyn Maxwell (Committee Chair); Kevin Uhalde (Committee Member); Neil Bernstein (Committee Member) Subjects: Classical Studies; Education History; European History; History; Medieval History; Medieval Literature; Middle Ages; Religion; Religious History

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, History

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz's employment of references to the classical Greco-Roman tradition as well as literary devices allowed her to skillfully weave her thoughts between the lines of both her secular and religious pieces. The written works of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz served as an outlet in which the nun could express her opinions and commentary regarding the status of indigenous peoples, women's roles, and the influence of the Catholic Church. Without straying from the confines of what was deemed acceptable by the elite male authorities of the Catholic Church, Sor Juana was thus able to successfully navigate the social and religious norms of Colonial New Spain while living a paradoxical life as a woman, a nun, and a public intellectual. Chapter one provides an analysis of Sor Juana's veiled critiques regarding the treatment and status of indigenous peoples within two of her dramatic works, The Loa to the Divine Narcissus and The Divine Narcissus. It is asserted that Sor Juana's public display of sympathy for indigenous peoples during the Spanish conquest and the portrayal of indigenous religion and culture as valid beliefs indicates her support and awareness of the issue. In chapter two, the focus is shifted to women's roles and education. I contend that Sor Juana used her poetry to defend women's rights to attain an education and to partake in experiences that contradicted patriarchal expectations of gender and sexuality. The final chapter is dedicated to Sor Juana's controversy with prominent authorities of the Catholic Church and her justification of her secular writing. The study of the Respuesta and El Primero Sueno reveals Sor Juana's criticism towards the patriarchy and the overarching religious hierarchy as well as her belief that she was entitled to write and participate in both religious and secular intellectual discourse.

Committee: Amílcar Challú Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Casey Stark Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: History; Latin American History; Latin American Literature; Religious History

BA, Oberlin College, 2022, Religion

Isaac ibn Sahula was a marginal figure in the Castile community of medieval Spanish kabbalists, which included those mystics who would come to compose the groundbreaking book of Zohar toward the end of the thirteenth century. While Ibn Sahula is best known for his anthology of animal fables, this essay casts his more obscure Commentary on the Song of Songs (ca. 1283) as a key document in tracing the genealogy of the Song's interpretation in classical Kabbalah. Through the translation and analysis of two exemplary sections of the Commentary, this essay will discuss its uniquely kabbalistic reading of the Song as a love story between the secrets of Torah and their interpreter and ultimately advance a thesis locating Ibn Sahula's "erotics of reading" in its broader medieval context.

Committee: Sam Shonkoff (Committee Member); Corey Ladd Barnes (Advisor) Subjects: Judaic Studies; Religion

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2022, Art History

In the early modern period, elite collectors began amassing magnificent collections of both locally produced and imported objects. Few were as innovative as Amalia van Solms-Braunfels (1602-1675), Princess of Orange. Under Amalia and her husband, Stadtholder Frederik Hendrik (1584-1647), Prince of Orange, the United Provinces flourished as a cultural and global power. The strength and wealth of the country, and by association the House of Orange-Nassau, is embedded in Amalia's cabinets or closets, private spaces where she carefully curated assemblages of locally produced and imported decorative and fine artworks. Under the weight of a historiographic tradition that privileges male rulers, much of the scholarship produced on the princely couple's cultural activities marks Frederik Hendrik or Constantijn Huygens as the deciding factor without discussion or justification. While scholarly interest in Amalia's role as an independent patron and collector has grown over the last two decades, the focus to date on individual, extant objects, while informative, does not provide a comprehensive understanding of Amalia's interests and motivations as a patron and collector-- how she acquired and employed objects, both individually and in decorative ensembles, to construct her various identities. My dissertation focuses on Amalia's cabinets found in the Stadtholder's Quarters (Stadhouderlijk Kwartier) and the Oude Hof (‘Old Court') at Noordeinde, and the objects displayed within. Uniting textual and visual evidence in the form of inventories, correspondence, and objects with novel digital tools, it first applies social network analysis to visualize Amalia's social, global network that provided her with access to other impressive collections and artists, as well as assisted her with acquiring objects originating from outside of Europe. It interrogates how, once acquired, objects were employed by Amalia in ensembles within the most intimate spaces of her residences to construct her (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Catherine Scallen (Advisor); Andrea Wolk Rager (Committee Member) Subjects: Art History

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Music History

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” which serves as the United States' national anthem, has experienced a flux of controversial attention in the 21st century. The melody, which originates from a British song titled “To Anacreon in Heaven,” has been paired with a variety of lyrics in the U.S. dating before “The Star-Spangled Banner,” whose poetry was inspired by the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key, who authored the text of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was just one of many U.S. citizens who utilized this melody in the 19th century to express their feelings about the country in regard to a particular historical event. Key, a lawyer and slave-owner, reveals his attitude toward the U.S. specifically in the three later verses of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which depicts the tragedies of slavery in the 19th century. Scholars such as Mark Clague, Carlos Abril, and William Robin have analyzed the national anthem's lyrics, as well as its performance practices, in context with the history of the U.S., tracing the transformation and function of the national anthem over the 200 years of its existence. This thesis explores the use of the national anthem in racial politics leading up to (and specifically in) the 21st century, the ways in which it does and does not adhere to the ideologies and democracy of the present-day United States, and its implicit representation of systemic racism that is highlighted by the social and political movement “Black Lives Matter.” Analyzing the function of the national anthem, its performance practices, and reactions to these practices, this thesis argues that “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays a role in upholding systemic racism by shining a light on its use as a vehicle of protest and political expression, a use that has been a defining characteristic of the original melody since it made its way to the U.S.

Committee: Mary Natvig Ph. D. (Advisor); Katherine Meizel Ph. D., D.M.A. (Committee Member); Ryan Ebright Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; History; Music

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2020, Comparative Studies

As the number of forcibly displaced people increases globally, border crossing into Global North countries is often discussed as a crisis or emergency. Europe's recent "refugee crisis" illustrates the range of circumstances to which these discourses refer: humanitarian issues requiring urgent response; institutional crises, given the insufficiency of extant systems and structures to accommodate arriving migrants; or dangers for local and national communities who perceive the arrival of outsiders as a threat to their security and cultural identity. In Witnessing Emergency: Testimonial Narratives of Precarious Migration to Italy, I argue that in Italy, a key port of entry for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, the "emergency imaginary" that has shaped public and political responses to migrant arrivals perpetuates the idea that Africa-Europe migration via the Mediterranean Sea is sudden, unforeseen, and detached from historical mobilities. In fact, the recent crisis bears echoes of longer histories of transit, in particular between former African colonies and former European colonizing powers. To map the stakes and contours of "emergency," and to understand its limits and omissions, this dissertation examines how media and political framings of irregular Mediterranean migration as a crisis or emergency enable the racialization of migrants and obscure the colonial relations that continue to shape notions of identity and otherness in Italy and across Europe. I interrogate these framings through testimonial transactions that contextualize and challenge emergency discourses. The testimonies I put in conversation include published life writing (memoir and documentary film) that centers migrant experiences; oral history interviews I conducted with migrants, staff, and volunteers at multiple reception sites in Italy in 2017, 2018, and 2019; and a set of encounters in urban spaces and art installations. The transactions reflected in or mobilized through thes (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dana Renga (Advisor); Amy Shuman (Advisor); Ashley Pérez (Committee Member); Julia Watson (Committee Member) Subjects: Comparative Literature; Cultural Anthropology; Ethnic Studies; European Studies; Film Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2018, Theology

Yves Congar's theology of the laity and ministries is unified on the basis of his adaptation of Christ's triplex munera to the laity and his specification of ministry as one aspect of the laity's participation in Christ's triplex munera. The seminal insight of Congar's adaptation of the triplex munera is illumined by situating his work within his historical and ecclesiological context. The U.S. reception of Congar's work on the laity and ministries, however, evinces that Congar's principle insight has received a mixed reception by Catholic theologians in the United States due to their own historical context as well as their specific constructive theological concerns over the laity's secularity, or the priority given to lay ministry over the notion of a laity. Recovering the significance of the triplex munera for Congar's theology of the laity and lay ministry provides U.S. Catholics opportunity for greater fusion of horizons and understanding of the intrinsic relationship between the laity's secularity and their ecclesial ministries.

Committee: William Portier (Advisor) Subjects: Religious History; Theology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Music

Since the nineteenth century, the Russian intelligentsia has fostered a conversation that blurs the boundaries of literature, the arts, and life. Bypassing more direct modes of political discourse blocked by Imperial and then Soviet censorship, arts reception in Russia has provided educated Russians with an alternative sphere for the negotiation of social, moral, and national identities. This discursive practice has endured through the turbulent political changes of the Russian revolution, Soviet repression, and the economic anxiety of contemporary Russia. Members of the intelligentsia who believe that individuals can and should work for the moral progress of the Russian people by participating in this conversation are constructing the Russian moral project. Near the end of the nineteenth century, members of the intelligentsia unofficially established a core set of texts and music—Russian klassika—that seemed to represent the best of Russian creative output. Although the canon seems permanent, educated Russians continue to argue about which texts are important and what they mean. Even Aleksandr Pushkin's Eugene Onegin (1825-1833), a novel-in-verse that functions as the cornerstone of this canon, remains at the center of debate in a conversation about literature that is simultaneously a conversation about Russian life. Pushkin is considered the founder of Russia's literary language, and Russian readers and critics have endowed him with a saint-like status. His image has become a secular icon of Russian creative potential. The heroine of his magnum opus, Tatiana Larina, has in turn become an icon of Russian morality. As Russians interpret Onegin's themes and describe its characters, they also express what matters most in their own lives. The history of Onegin reception thus reflects the development of Russian ideas about life over the course of the last two centuries. Beginning in 1844, composers, theater directors, and choreographers have adapted Pushkin's (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Danielle Fosler-Lussier Dr. (Advisor); Alexander Burry Dr. (Committee Member); Ryan Thomas Skinner Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Cultural Anthropology; Dance; Gender Studies; Literature; Music; Performing Arts; Philosophy; Russian History; Slavic Literature; Slavic Studies; Theater; Theater History; Theater Studies; Womens Studies

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2014, College-Conservatory of Music: Music History

The musical Chicago represents an anomaly in Broadway history: its 1996 revival far surpassed the modest success of the original 1975 production. Despite the original production's box-office accomplishments, it received disparaging reviews regarding the cynicism of the work's content. The musical celebrates the crimes and acquittals of two murderesses, and is based on Maurine Dallas Watkins's coverage as a Chicago Tribune reporter of two 1924 murder cases, from which she generated a 1926 Broadway play. The 1975 Broadway production of Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville utilized this historical source material to comment on contemporary American society, highlighting parallels between the U.S. justice system and the entertainment industry, which critics and audiences of the post-Watergate era deemed as too cynical. Although Chicago initially achieved a mixed reception, the revival's producers made few changes to John Kander's music, Fred Ebb's lyrics, and Ebb and Bob Fosse's book, aside from simplifying the title to Chicago: The Musical. This suggests that the musical's newfound success can be attributed to a societal shift in the perception of its subject matter. With further success from Chicago's 2002 film adaptation, the originally dark and sardonic material became a smash hit and found itself as mainstream entertainment at the turn of the millennium. The contrast between the revival's and film adaptation's rave reviews and the musical's initial mixed reception has received little scholarly attention. This thesis provides the most thorough account of Chicago's reception history, which includes a comparison of the critics' reviews of both Broadway productions in addition to a selection of reviews for its first national tour and 2002 film. An interdisciplinary methodology with criminological and sociological theories demonstrates that Chicago's growth in popularity has paralleled American society's changing attitudes towards crime, deviance, and celebrity worship—from (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: bruce mcclung Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Roger Grodsky (Committee Member); Jonathan Kregor Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2009, College-Conservatory of Music : Music History

Farinelli's arrival in London in 1734 to perform with the Opera of the Nobility marked a temporary rise in the declining popularity of Italian Opera in England. The previous few decades had seen Italian opera overwhelmingly successful under the baton of Georg Frederic Handel, despite frequent and constant complaints by critics. This thesis will reconstruct Farinelli's reception history through an examination of contemporary literature. First, it will examine Farinelli's irresistibility as a sexual icon by reconstructing London's ideas about femininity, while taking into account his unique traits that attracted him to both males and females. Next, it will examine Britain's evolving sense of national identity that they thought placed it in equal merit standing with other European countries. This thesis will use contemporary criticisms in various forms, including a false letter, essays and satires, by some of the most famous literary names of the time period.

Committee: Melinda Boyd PhD (Committee Chair); Jeongwon Joe PhD (Committee Member); Jonathan Kregor PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Music

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2008, College-Conservatory of Music : Music History

In 1945 Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes contributed to a renascence of English opera. Critics praised Grimes for its realization of many aesthetic ideals of the traditional canon of opera, including musical depiction of character, innovation, and unification of music and drama. Subsequent English operas, however, failed to achieve the same success. Ralph Vaughan Williams's The Pilgrim's Progress and Britten's Gloriana, especially, became subjects of critical disapproval. Scholars have examined the reception histories of these operas, but none has attempted to show a connection between them. This thesis explores the ways in which the success of Peter Grimes affected the reception of The Pilgrim's Progress and Gloriana. Reviews in English newspapers, magazines, and journals serve as the primary sources for this investigation. Expressly, critics found fault with the characterization, originality, and integration of The Pilgrim's Progress and Gloriana, i.e., the very same areas in which Grimes had excelled.

Committee: Dr. bruce d. mcclung PhD (Committee Chair); Dr. Mary Sue Morrow PhD (Committee Member); Kenneth R. Griffiths MM (Committee Member) Subjects: Music

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2010, Theatre

With this thesis I explore the relationship between history plays and historical studies. In order to look at this relationship, I chose a Korean-American play Yi Sang Counts to Thirteen and a Korean play Our Joyful Young Days, both of which deal with the 1930s Korean poet Yi Sang and his love conflict. The comparison of the two plays reveals that the narratives of the history plays echo the historical studies of each linguistic world. However, preference of the audience to a certain theatrical aesthetic causes the audience reception not to follow the boundary that the languages draw. Thus, I address how the history plays represent two different relations with the historical studies, in their production and consumption.

Committee: Howard Blanning (Committee Chair); Anne Christina Rose (Committee Member); Andrew Gibb (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater