The purpose of this thesis has been to prepare a script based on the life and works of Dante Alighieri, with special attention to the effects of medieval culture and politics on him and his works. Chapter I includes a discussion of the reputation and poetry of Dante, as well as the purpose and procedure followed in this thesis. Chapter II describes the historical and cultural background of Medieval Europe during Dante's time. Chapter III describes Dante's life and works. Chapter IV contains the script and a production concept that offers ideas and suggestions concerning the production of the script.

The study focuses on social interaction networks in Vacation Village Estates mobile home community. Analysis involves relevant data from an eleven-item questionnaire obtaining demographic variables and results of fifty-seven participating families' mutual ratings on an Acquaintance Volume Scale, ranging from 5, "very close friend," to 1, "do not know." Specifically examined were two social interaction constellations, reciprocal choices, high-scoring families and isolates. Three hypotheses tested measured greater length of residence, greater similarity of occupations, and greater similarity of religious activity, as relevant to "the greater amount of social interaction." Hypothesis 1, "greater length of residence," tested with correlation coefficient and F score was retained at .05 level of significance. Remaining hypotheses were rejected not achieving significance.

The purpose of this study has been to determine the ways Edmund S. Muskie used identification in five speeches which he delivered during his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1971. Kenneth Burke's rhetorical concepts of identification and combustiality are used to analyze the speeches. Chapter I includes an introduction to Muskie's political life and an examination of the basic principles of Burke's rhetorical philosophy of indentification. Chapter II delves into the nature of Muskie, the man. Chapter III examines the texts of the speeches and reveals the strategies of identification which he used. Chapter IV summarizes Musikie's use of Burkeian identification in relation to himself and the times.

The purpose of this project was to design a values package to create awareness and understanding for seventh grade students in the value system so as to achieve a more complementary classroom atmosphere. The value system is a new concept based on Clare Graves' seven levels of psychological existence: Reactive, Tribalistic, Egocentric, Conformist, Manipulative, Sociocentric, Existential. In addition, the package was designed to integrate the affective and cognitive levels of learning into an experimental learning situation. The package included written material, games, and activities which are all designed to create self-awareness and maintain relevancy for the students.

This study analyzed The Children's Hour, The Little Foxes, Watch on the Rhine, Toys in the Attic in terms of the forms of human love delineated by Erich Fromm in The Art of Loving. The motives and actions of one or more principal characters and their dramatic situations were studied. It was discovered that, in the plays that were examined, each character responded to his or her situation in a loving or a hateful manner and that these choices with regard to love provided the dramatic matrix of the play.

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the power image of Henry James's female protagonists through a Readers Theatre adaptation of his novels, Daisy Miller, The Wings of the Dove, and The Portrait of a Lady. Chapter I includes an introduction and defines the purpose of the thesis. Chapter II briefly examines biographical information on James. Chapter III includes the analysis of the three selected novels in relation to preparation of a performance based script for Readers Theatre. In the Appendix is the Readers Theatre script with the inclusive transition and introductory material. The illustration of a typical Jamesian woman reveals a philosophic view of the human possibilities in freedom, power, and the destructive elements that limit an independent spirit.

Justification of Neil Simon's credibility as a comedic playwright by examining established principles of comedy and humor from Aristotle to Bergson to Bier, and their prevalence in The Star Spangled Girl, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Promises, Promises, and Chapter Two.

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the usefulness of oral interpretation in the teaching of English literature at the middle school level. Four areas of literature: poetry, short story, mythology, and drama, were approached through methods of oral interpretation and/or recommendations in the teacher's resource manual accompanying the textbook. A descriptive review was made of the response to the material by the students and the methods of presentation by the instructor. The primary value of approaching the study of literature through oral interpretation was increased interest and motivation among the students and their generally positive reaction to the methods used.

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 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 tested effectiveness of a film in forced compliance situations on neutral and negatively predisposed individuals. Subjects (N = 48) were administered an attitudinal questionnaire, subjected to a no (control), low, moderate, or high dissonance-producing situation, and retested for attitude change. Analysis of variance for repeated measures, Scheffe's F tests, and t tests were used for analysis. Results indicated attitude change was greatest under a low dissonance-producing situation for all subjects. The moderate-dissonance situation moved unfavorable subjects toward favorability while the high dissonance situation moved extremely unfavorable subjects toward favorability. No relationship was found between degrees of dissonance and attitude change for netural subjects.

This examination of the most popular plays of Rodolfo Usigli, Salvador Novo, and Emilio Carballido shows their concern with Mexico's social problems--especially as evidenced by their representation of contemporary social classes through characterization. Treating socio-political and sexual problems with special emphasis upon psychology, Usigli combines melodramatic reality and imagination. Psychoanalysis is also important in Novo's characterizations; his themes and characters express a social criticism which often becomes a malicious satire of Mexican life. Carballido's symbolic surrealism creates an atmosphere of fantasy, with scenic neo-realism representing everyday life, bourgeois ideas, and the Mexican psychology.

The study begins with an overview of the 1948 political situation, followed by the evaluation of Truman's use of ethical appeal using criteria developed by Thonssen, Baird, and Braden. Each of their three constituents of ethical appeal--character, sagacity, and good will--is applied to four speeches. Results of the analysis establish that Truman utilized a strong ethical appeal during the campaign. Conclusions are that his use of ethical appeal probably had a significant effect on the voters of America. Regardless of the quality of his use of pathos or logos, a less capable use of ethical appeal would probably have had a fatal effect on his campaign.

Twenty-one original prose selections were written for use by junior high school students of oral interpretation. A survey of textbook publishers and junior high school teachers revealed a need for material of appropriate length and of suitable reading and interest levels for oral reading in the junior high school classroom. The selections were read and evaluated by a group of junior high students and a junior high teacher of speech. The responses indicate that the selections are effective and usable as an instructional aid in teaching oral interpretation in junior high school.

This thesis considers first, the existence of a relatively new kind of characterization in the plays of Harold Pinter, and second, the need for the actor who performs Pinter to seek a new mode of acting. The purpose of the study is to identify the special problems or tasks which are thus imposed on the actor who plays a Pinter character. An examination of Pinter's dramaturgy reveals an emphasis on character relationships and a combination of the three different styles of characterization defined by Lorenz Kjerbuhl-Petersen: the type, the individual, and the shadow. This study concludes that the Pinter actor must simultaneously perceive a complex psyche in what seems a common human type, create an individualized concept of personality although information and behavior are misleading, and allow the actor's personality to color and expand that of the character.

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze George McGovern's rhetorical strategies during the three-week period known as the "Eagleton Affair." First, the thesis describes the communications related to the selection of Thomas Eagleton as McGovern's running mate in 1972. Second, it analyzes the communications related to the disclosure of Eagleton's past medical history. Third, it explains McGovern's vacillating rhetorical strategies and the communications which led to Eagleton's withdrawal from the Democratic ticket. The results of this study show that McGovern's rhetoric reflected indecisiveness, inconsistency, and impulsiveness. The rhetorical errors greatly damaged his credibility as a serious presidential contender.

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.

The Seattle Repertory Theatre is one of the most successful regional theatre companies in the country. This study attempts to determine the components-of its success. It concludes that the unique community acceptance and support of the Seattle Repertory Theatre is due primarily to the innovations of its Artistic Director, W. Duncan Ross, including a departure from the "permanent company" repertory theatre concept to a more flexible "nucleus company" supported by special guest artists, a shift in play selection emphasis from traditional dramatic plays to more contemporary and comedic works, and shortened .duration for each play from four to three weeks. Also examined are the growth of American Theatre, Ross's community involvement, guest directors, critical acceptance, and audience attendance.

This oral interpretation thesis analyzes the impact that three poets from Black Mountain College had on contemporary American poetry. The study concentrates on the lives, works, poetic theories of Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, and Robert Duncan and culminates in a lecture recital compiled from historical data relating to Black Mountain College and to the three prominent poets.

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.

In 1971, radio station KGBS, Los Angeles, developed a format featuring a male host taking telephone calls from females only who discussed explicit sexual experiences over the air. Many other radio stations in the United States programmed this "sex-talk" format until 1973, when the Federal Communications Commission took steps to eliminate it. This study examines the origin, development, success, causes for eventual demise, and impact upon the broadcasting industry of the sex-talk format. The United States Congress pressured the FCC to act on the sex-talk format, and the study concludes that broadcasters would not have succumbed to government pressure if they had not feared governmental intrusion in programming and Congressional rejection of license renewal legislation.

This study selects and arranges Navajo literature for an oral interpretation program. The presentation includes an introduction, a statement of purpose, an explanation of the limitations of the study, and the procedure used. There is a brief examination of the history of the Navajo Tribe. Also included is information for selection of material for the oral interpretation program and a discussion of the selection and arrangement of Navajo literature. A summary and conclusion are included, as well as an appendix which comprises the script of Navajo literature for the oral interpretation program. Through the oral interpretation program, this study conveys the beauty and poetry of the Navajo language.

This structural analysis examined fourteen television commercials using a method developed by Claude Levi-Strauss. The commercials were divided into two product groups, restaurant and cleaning products advertising, which made up the "myths" to be analyzed. Binary oppositions in each myth were identified and, according to the methodology, charted to reveal new relationships, and ultimately the hidden messages in the advertising. This study confirmed that television advertising does function in our society much the same as myth does in the primitive societies studied by Levi-Strauss. It offers answers to problems and upholds the existing order of things in that society, and it may function on more than one level to convey its messages.

This study examines the process of theatrical direction as a communication system. Its components are described in terms of their function as elements of a communication process. The communication activities within the theatrical process are analyzed by means of four categories of theatrical communication networks: conceptual, aesthetic, observational, and social. Theories of communication have been surveyed and then applied to the theatrical process. Particular attention is paid to role functions of the director within the social and the aesthetic networks. The conclusion reached in the study is that the effectiveness of the communication networks used in theatrical directing is determined by the functional roles and the leadership styles adopted by the director as he participates in these networks.