This thesis examines the symbolism of thirty-five slave songs that existed in the pre-Civil War South in the United States in order to gain a more profound insight into the values of the slaves. The songs chosen were representative of the 300 songs reviewed. The methodology used in the analysis was adapted from Ralph K. White's "Value Analysis: The Nature and Use of the Method." The slave songs provided the slaves with an opportunity to express their feelings on matters they deemed important, often by using Biblical symbols to "mask" the true meanings of their songs from whites. The major values of the slaves as found in their songs were independence, justice, determination, religion, hope, family love, and group unity.

This thesis analyzes George Canning's persuasive campaign to gain British recognition of Latin America. The modification of an exigence capable of change through persuasion was emphasized, and the audiences which had the power to bring about the change were identified. The campaign was broken into seven discernible, but dependent, stages which were examined to test the progress of the campaign. Canning was the prime mover of the campaign, and through a series of petitions, speeches, and press releases plus other strategic maneuvers, gained the necessary public and political support to successfully achieve his goal.

This study explores the relationship of Royall Tyler's The Contrast with Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal, to determine whether Tyler used The School for Scandal as a model for The Contrast. Chapter I contains a statement of the problem and an introduction to the historical importance of Tyler and The Contrast. Chapter II discusses the theatrical background of Tyler and the city of Boston. Chapter III includes a brief history of Sheridan and an examination of The School for Scandal. Chapter IV compares The Contrast with The School for Scandal. Chapter V presents conclusions drawn from the evidence examined in Chapters III and IV. The Contrast is not an imitation of The School for Scandal, though both contain elements of similarity.

This study focused on the rhetorical structure of the Women's Social and Political Union. An interdisciplinary methodology was used to examine the components of rhetorical structure: ideology, goals, leaders, membership, and strategies. The rhetorical structure became the thread which held the movement together and provided the impetus for its progression and through four stages: formation and development, the beginning of militancy, the flourishing of membership, and the eruption of violence. The final stage brought about differing ideologies, inconsistent goals, and a divided membership. Although the rhetorical structure was shattered and the movement ended, it succeeded in changing the Victorian image of women and contributed to the larger women's movement.

It was the purpose of this thesis to write an original script especially designed for Readers Theatre and to direct and produce that script for public performance. The thesis consists of an introduction which includes background material, a review of the literature concerning Readers Theatre, and the problems of writing an original script. The thesis includes the script as well as an evaluation of the attendant problems concerning the direction and production.

This study sought to discover how Kuan Han-Ch'ing portrayed the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368 A.D.) and the Confucian view of women by means of the characterization in Kuan's plays. Eight female characters, three male public officials, and three male villains were selected for study. It was discovered that Kuan portrayed the ordinary people of his time with outstanding skill; that the characters selected for study provided ways of life contrary to Confucianism, the prevailing philosophy; that Kuan's characterization satirized the Mongol ruling class; and that Kuan depicted women more favorably than Confucian philosophy would have allowed.

This rhetorical study applies Clare W. Graves' "Level of Existence" or value systems theory to the English Neo-Classic and Romantic Movements. Graves' framework, which focuses on sacrificial (Tribalistic, Absolutistic, and Sociocentric) systems and expressive (Egocentric, Achievist, and Individualistic) systems~was utilized in analyzing the politics, society, religion, philosophy, and literature of the two periods. The Neo-Classic Period was dominated by sacrificial systems, especially Absolutistic, while the Romantic Movement was dominated by expressive systems, especially Achievist. This thesis suggests that man's cultural development, like his psychological development, appears to evolve in a spiraling, pendular motion between sacrificial and expressive systems.

This study reviews the evolution of Nigerian broadcasting from 1935 to 1979, with emphasis on the development of Nigerian television broadcasting. The problem was to discern how Nigeria's social and political structures have affected its radio and television system. The study concludes that both the heterogeneity of Nigerian society and the country's continued political unrest pose a threat to either private or government ownership of television stations. Today, approximately 1.5 million television sets serve over 80 million Nigerians, and this imbalance should be corrected before Nigerian television can be considered a mass medium. Nigeria's present administration maintains that its control of the country's television is necessary; critics feel, however, that federal control restrains television from developing its potential, especially in promoting national unity.

The purpose of this thesis is to discover and assess the rhetorical methods employed by LeRoi Jones in the evolution of cultural black nationalism. First, the thesis concentrates on his ethos and philosophy. Second, it analyzes the cultural black nationalism organization in Newark, New Jersey. Third, it discusses the impact of LeRoi Jones on the black cultural nationalism movement. The conclusions drawn from this study reveal that LeRoi Jones was able to attract, maintain, and mold his followers, to build a sizable power base, and to adapt to several audiences simultaneously. Implications of the study are that because of his rigid requirements and a gradual change in ideology, LeRoi Jones is now losing ground as a leader.

This study includes an analysis of the autobiographies of William A. Owens, a contemporary writer, educator, and Texas folklorist; a discussion of Owens' educational experiences and attitudes; an explanation of Readers Theatre requirements; and a fifty to fifty-five minute Readers Theatre script, "Lighting the Lamp: William A. Owens' School Days in Pin Hook." The script portrays Owens as a Texas schoolboy and country schoolteacher and it conveys some of Owens' attitudes about education. The script was adapted from Owens' two autobiographies, This Stubborn Soil and A Season of Weathering, to be performed by junior and senior high school students.

The purpose of this project was to prepare a group interpretation script based upon the life of Sinclair Lewis and to direct a production of the script. Major sources for the script are Mark Schorer, Sinclair Lewis: An American Life; Grace Hegger Lewis, With Love From Gracie; and Vincent Sheean, Dorothy and Red. The script employs five readers and has a performance time of approximately fifty-five minutes. The thesis includes a biography of Lewis, a justification for the project, the purpose and procedures followed, as well as discussions of the production concept, adapting material for group interpretation, direction, rehearsal procedures, and evaluations of the script and the performance. The complete script is also included in the thesis.

This oral interpretation thesis describes and analyzes Chamber Theatre as a technique for the presentation and critical understanding of narrative prose. Arthur Schnitzler and his work are analyzed, and his short story, "The Blind Geronimo and His Brother," is adapted to Chamber Theatre script form. It was discovered that Schnitzler's work is well suited to and would probably benefit from Chamber Theatre productions.

This interpretative study attempts to ascertain why the Nazi movement gained the support of German voters by examining its persuasive strategies. The growth of the movement was divided into three periods. In each period, the verbal and non-verbal rhetorical strategies were explored. It was found that the movement's success stemmed largely from the display of party unity, the display of power through the Storm Troopers' use of violent street rhetoric, and the spread of Nazi ideals through speeches at meetings, on tours, and especially at the Nuremberg Party Rallies. Their communication capitalized skillfully on the conditions in Germany between 1919 and 1933. Hopefully, the findings of this study add to our knowledge of the role of rhetoric in creating mass movements.

This thesis is designed to determine the impact of the archetype of the Great Mother on the plot, characterizations, and interpersonal relationships in three contemporary films. Chapter I describes the elements and applications of the archetype and the Jungian analysis employed in the study. Chapter II details the phases of the Great Mother archetype and discusses Jung's process of individuation and how the Great Mother controls this quest. Chapters III, IV, and V focus on The Heretic, Network, and Looking for Mr. Goodbar respectively. Chapter VI summarizes the existence and power of the archetype in the films and postulates that the image of women in film may be stereotyped due to the Great Mother archetype.

This thesis is concerned with the identification, description, analysis and evaluation of the rhetorical strategies and tactics of the Black Panther Party as a specific social-change movement from 1966 to 1973. Evidence is presented to indicate that the rhetorical strategies and tactics of the Black Panther Party played a vital role in the movement's rise and decline and that their choice of a power orientation and a rhetoric of coercion brought about the decline of the movement. This study also indicates that rhetoric in a social movement is of crucial importance to the development of the movement's ideology, leadership, membership, and methods for effecting change.

This thesis examines four taboo words (Jesus, God, fuck, ass) used in the films Jaws, Shampoo, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The dominant method of research is semantic, drawing on language theories of I.A. Richards and Alfred Korzybski. Investigation led to these conclusions: (1) Symbolic use of taboo terms is accompanied by positive attitudes, while non-symbolic use, which is more frequent, is accompanied by negative or neutral attitudes. (2) Casual non-symbolic pronunciation is leading to separation of the symbol from its referent. (3) Through this methodology, it is possible to ascertain the speaker's intent and his attitude toward the audience, but not his attitude toward the referent.

The purpose of this thesis was to determine if the Value Systems (Tribalistic, Egocentric, Absolutistic, Achievist, Sociocentric, and Individualistic) based on the "Levels of Psychological Existence" developed by Clare W. Graves, could be applied to analysis of a role in a play script. Characters in four scripts were analyzed: The -Rainmaker, by N. Richard Nash; The Lark, by Jean Anouilh, adapted by Lillian Hellman; Fiddler on the Roof, book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; and The Taming off the Shrew, by Shakespeare. The results showed that the system could be applied practically and effectively.