\u27What They Seek for is in Themselves\u27: Quaker Language and Thought in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century American Literature

This paper argues that Quakerism was an important influence on a number of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American writers. Looking at the work of, amongst others, Charles Brockden Brown, Robert Montgomery Bird, Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Greenleaf Whittier, it demonstrates that both the stereotyped depiction of Quakers and the use of Quaker ideas, such as the inward light in literature of the period, helped writers tackle some of the paradoxes of democracy in a young nation. The perceived mystery of Quaker individualism is used in these texts first to dramatize anxiety over the formation of American \u27character\u27 as either fundamentally unique and unknowable or representative of the whole nation, and secondly for more constructive ends in order to create a language able to express unity in diversity

Disability Awareness for Libraries – How Have the Open Rose Group Used Their Training Package in Four Member Institutions?

At Leeds Met, we have delivered four workshops on dyslexia to over 70 staff. We watched the fi lm, did a language de-coding exercise, a short quiz, we also asked staff to pick out who they thought was dyslexic from a picture list of 30 famous people, varying our materials and delivery styles. We then did something a little different to our usual training format and made the scenario session in the supporting materials very hands on, the idea being to take staff out of their comfort zones and make the library a frustrating place to be

Quests for healing and identity in the fiction and films of John Sayles : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

John Sayles, writer and independent filmmaker, is, first and foremost a storyteller. The "stories" in his fiction and films tell of individuals trying to come to terms with personal and/or political issues and often lead their protagonists on journeys or quests in search of healing and identity. These quests frequently involve characters returning to places either from the past, or to the source of the trauma in order to understand and deal with the present. This thesis examines this particular aspect of the fiction and films of John Sayles

No pain, no gain - the provocation of laughter in slapstick comedy

This article explores the relationship between danger and laughter in the work of a number of what might be defined as slapstick or physical comedians. The notion of physical comedians risking life and limb in order to generate laughter from an admiring audience has a long history. The article establishes a model for analysing the provocation of laughter through which examples of slapstick comedy can be analysed. To what extent do we laugh because we understand that this is the response the performer desires? When we laugh at a comedian taking what we perceive to be physical risks, what are we laughing at? Is our laugh mingled with relief when the perceived threat is past? Are we responding with laughter as a pleased response to the performer’s skill? Louise Peacock is a lecturer in Drama and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Hull in England. In 2009 her monograph Serious Play – Modern Clown Performance was published by Intellect