An Analysis of the Themes of Guilt and Atonement in the Writings of Tennessee Williams

The themes of guilt and atonement have been analyzed in selected writings of Tennessee Williams. Research concerning these two themes has been developed simultaneously with Williams’s concept of the universe and man. Many of Williams’s characters seek a form of atonement or purification for their guilt which has arisen due to their “incompleteness and unnatural desires.” Williams’s basic concept concerning the universe is that it is fragmented, a universe not completed by its Creator. Consequently, Williams envisions man and his nature to be likewise incomplete. It is this incompletion in man which causes him to have “unnatural desires,” labeled as such, according to Williams, because society has made them so. Many of Williams’s characters seek atonement for their desires and sins by one of two forms; (1) violent death, (2) mental laceration. Williams’s characters who choose violent death generally do so because they feel their lives are so corrupted that only something as tormenting as death can cleanse them. The second form of atonement is the open confrontation of one’s sins and true nature to the world with the hope of cleansing one’s conscience. This second form of atonement is the one Williams himself seems to be presently undergoing. He is openly admitting his pas

The Emotions and Two Aesthetic Paradoxes

The purpose of this paper is to show that the shape of the dispute over a central issue in the philosophy of emotion—namely, the disagreement over the role of cognition in emotion—provides a useful way of seeing the twin aesthetic paradoxes of horror and tragedy. Recent theories of emotion can be helpfully divided into two camps, the affective and the cognitive. Affective theories hold that emotions consist of bodily affect alone, and are therefore cognitively impenetrable. Cognitive theories hold that emotions are or entail cognition. To discuss the differences between affective and cognitive views, I consider the theories of Jesse Prinz, a committed non-cognitivist, and Martha Nussbaum, perhaps the most cognitive of the cognitive theorists. Though their theories diverge, both Prinz and Nussbaum think of emotions as appraisals. The phenomenal properties of the instances of emotion that Prinz and Nussbaum, respectively, take as paradigm cases are notably distinct. But, because they think of appraisal as the underlying structure of emotion, they are describing phenomena of the same kind. This commonality warrants a distinction between different instances of emotion, which is what I propose. I call simple those instances of emotion best described by affective theories. Simple instances are automatic, embodied responses to environmental stimuli, such as proximate fear. I call complex those instances of emotion best described by cognitive theories. Complex instances of emotion are long-lasting, cognitively rich responses often prompted by mental stimuli, such as grief. By considering some medium-specific qualities of film and theatre, the primary (though not exclusive) media of the genres of horror and tragedy respectively, I show that the emotions elicited by horror are primarily simple and the emotions elicited by tragedy are primarily complex. Having made this distinction, I turn my attention to solving the paradoxes of horror and tragedy, both of which ask why we would willingly submit ourselves to works of art designed to elicit negative emotions. Following recent work in developmental psychology, I argue that experience with emotions aroused by fictions fosters flexibility with our emotions in real life

Letter from James E. Curry to Representative Burdick Regarding US House Resolution 4635, July 8, 1951

This letter, dated July 8, 1951, from James E. Curry, attorney for the Three Affiliated Tribes, to United States (US) Representative Usher Burdick discusses a preliminary hearing for US House Resolution 4635 (H.R. 4635) the time of which Burdick was not notified of. Curry informs Burdick that another hearing will be held and that he hopes Burdick will attend and represent his constituents. Curry encloses a statement from Martin Cross which was delivered at the hearing that Burdick was unable to attend. The statement is enclosed with this document.https://commons.und.edu/burdick-papers/1112/thumbnail.jp

Report Concerning Tribal Delegation to Washington, December 16-22 from James E. Curry to Representative Burdick, December 23, 1951

This report, dated December 23, 1951, sent from Three Affiliated Tribes attorney James E. Curry to United States (US) Representative Usher Burdick, is a summary of conferences and other activities from a recent trip to Washington, D.C. by a delegation from the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Forth Berthold Reservation. The enclosed report is addressed to the Three Affiliated Tribes Tribal Business Council. The delegation was in Washington, D.C. from December 16-22. The report is preceded by a memo from Curry to Burdick, dated December 24, 1951. The report is broken down into sections labeled: General; Oil Revenue Rights--General; Oil Rights in the Allotments Made Under the Act of 1920; Oil Revenue from School Lands; Oil Revenue from Lands Reserved for Agency, School, and Religious Purposes; Oil Revenues from \u27Fourteen Townships\u27; Possible Additional Oil Leases; Personnel Matters; Claims; Technical Amendment to the Tribal Constitution; Delegation of Power to Acquire Land; General Constitutional Amendments; Enrollment; Land Acquisition; Relocation; National Congress of American Indians; Ford Foundation; Per Capita Payments; Voluntary Withdrawal; Timber, and Funds.https://commons.und.edu/burdick-papers/1134/thumbnail.jp

Information Control: Leadership Power in the U.S. House of Representatives

Most congressional scholarship argues that legislative leaders--majority party leaders and committee chairs--are strongly constrained, weak agents of their rank-and-file. This study argues that information, and leaders' ability to control it, is a significant and independent source of power for leaders in the House of Representatives. Most rank-and-file members of Congress lack the time and resources necessary to track, study, or become deeply involved in legislating on most bills considered by the House. As a result, they rely on sources that can synthesize the information they need to decide whether or not to support the bill, offer an amendment, or take other actions. The party leadership and committee chairs, because of their staff and resource advantages, are important sources of information for the rank-and-file. However, legislative leaders often exploit their informational advantages to help their preferred legislation gain easy passage through the chamber. Along with the ability to perpetually collect information on rank-and-file preferences, and provide leadership-approved information about legislation, legislative leaders also have an arsenal of tools to limit the availability of information including withholding legislative language, scheduling votes on short notice, and using large and complex legislation as a vehicle. This information control puts leaders in the driver's seat, allowing them to lead the chamber by shaping the information driving the debate on a bill. Thirty interviews with members of Congress and congressional staff, along with a unique dataset of important legislation considered by the House of Representatives are used to support this theory. Leaders are found to employ information control tactics strategically, to aid the passage of their priority legislation and in response to the potential for significant influence from outside groups. The study, overall, suggests that legislative leaders in the House are more influential than they are typically perceived to be and that participation in congressional policymaking is often restricted

AN ERA OF CONFUSION: THE LAND GRANT RESEARCH AGENDA AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

The Land Grant College and University (LGCU) research system is in a state of confusion. Public research privatization, industry concentration, and balancing money and the Land Grant mission are issues LGCUs currently face. The ag-biotechnology revolution complicates these issues. This paper provides four mission related policy recommendations for the LGCU system. Keywords: Biotechnology, Land Grant Mission, ResearchBiotechnology, Land Grant Mission, Research, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

IDENTITY CRISIS: LAND GRANT RESEARCH IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY ERA

"It is further the policy of the Congress to promote the efficient production, marketing, distribution, and utilization of products of the farm as essential to the health and welfare of our peoples and to promote a sound and prosperous agriculture and rural life...It shall be the object and duty of the State agricultural experiment stations...to conduct original and other researches, investigations, and experiments...including researches basic to the problems of agriculture in its broadest aspects, and such investigations as have for their purpose and development and improvement of the rural home and rural life and the maximum contribution by agriculture to the welfare of the consumer..." (The Hatch Act) Land Grant Colleges and Universities (LGCUs) are experiencing an identity crisis. This identity crisis is most evident in agricultural research, where privatization is raising questions about the public-good nature of agricultural research, where the delivery of product to the consumer as originally stated in the Hatch Act of 1887 is hampered by increasing protection of intellectual property, and where is there is no clear vision as to how 21st century agriculture is supposed to look. How can LGCUs maximize the contribution of agriculture to the improvement of rural life or consumer welfare if there is no clear vision?Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,