Six representative American masters of short story technique

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University PLEASE NOTE: page 14 appears to be missing from the thesis. Our determination is that this is the result of misnumbering by the author, and no substantive content is actually missing. If you are able to determine otherwise, please contact us

The Black Death and Giovanni Bocaccio\u27s The Decameron\u27s Portrayal of Merchant Mentality

Giovanni Boccaccio was a contemporary witness to the effects of the Black Death pandemic, the Yersinia pestis bacterial pandemic in Europe between the years 1346-53, causing 75 million to 200 million deaths across the continent alone. In The Decameron, Boccaccio depicts the outbreak’s high-mortality rates and how that was a catalyst for many social and cultural changes within fourteenth-century Europe. He also goes on to portray the devastating effects of death on, not only the physical bodies of people and animals, but also on their mental, emotional, and spiritual states, and how this accelerated their acceptance of the rising merchant mentality of more utilitarian values. While some critics interpret depictions of the plague within The Decameron, others argue that Boccaccio’s merchant portrayals are more favorable than in previous literature. But overall, critics do little to link the plague to the positive change in society’s acceptance of these merchants and tradesmen. The Decameron, through its one-hundred tales told over the course of a ten-day adventure, taken by seven young ladies and three young men, presents the reader with examples of pre, during, and post plague societal perceptions and norms. The framework of the Decameron serves to show the drastic cultural shifts occurring, in part due to the pestilence, that further spur forward the acceptance of this rising merchant class in society

The Black Death and Giovanni Bocaccio\u27s The Decameron\u27s Portrayal of Merchant Mentality

Giovanni Boccaccio was a contemporary witness to the effects of the Black Death pandemic, the Yersinia pestis bacterial pandemic in Europe between the years 1346-53, causing 75 million to 200 million deaths across the continent alone. In The Decameron, Boccaccio depicts the outbreak’s high-mortality rates and how that was a catalyst for many social and cultural changes within fourteenth-century Europe. He also goes on to portray the devastating effects of death on, not only the physical bodies of people and animals, but also on their mental, emotional, and spiritual states, and how this accelerated their acceptance of the rising merchant mentality of more utilitarian values. While some critics interpret depictions of the plague within The Decameron, others argue that Boccaccio’s merchant portrayals are more favorable than in previous literature. But overall, critics do little to link the plague to the positive change in society’s acceptance of these merchants and tradesmen. The Decameron, through its one-hundred tales told over the course of a ten-day adventure, taken by seven young ladies and three young men, presents the reader with examples of pre, during, and post plague societal perceptions and norms. The framework of the Decameron serves to show the drastic cultural shifts occurring, in part due to the pestilence, that further spur forward the acceptance of this rising merchant class in society

Enabling self, intimacy and a sense of home in dementia

Design and digital technologies to support a sense of self and human relationships for people living with dementia are both urgently needed. We present an enquiry into design for dementia facilitated by a public art commission for an adult mental health unit in a hospital in the UK. The interactive art piece was informed by the notion of personhood in dementia that foregrounds the person's social being and interpersonal relationships as sites where self is maintained and constructed. How clients, clients' family members and staff used the piece is reported and insights related to the notions of home, intimacy, possessions and self are presented. The art piece served as window on both dementia and the institution leading to a number of insights and implications for design

Sharing Traditional and Contemporary Literature with Deaf Children

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