“The Issue of Our Common Human Life”: Poetic Self and Public World in John Berryman’s Art

This thesis challenges the critical codification of John Berryman as a “Confessional” solipsist that has to date excluded his oeuvre from efforts to contextualise historically the mid-century generation of American poets. Its exploration of both the literary and the sociopolitical concerns that have shaped his verse furthers current understanding of the work by placing a new emphasis upon the interdependence of poetic self and public world. Through a chronological survey of Berryman’s published poetry, prose and manuscripts, I demonstrate his fears of marginalisation and the loss of individual agency to represent not an inner but an outward gaze, symptomatic of a wider malaise in post-war American society. Later chapters develop this framework by establishing parallels between the poems’ permeability to the flux of contemporary experience and their ambivalent depictions of Berryman’s growing literary fame. The result, I argue, casts fresh light upon the work as a movement towards a radical metapoetics that figures the persona as the simultaneous product of society and of the text’s public reception. Berryman’s staging of the symbiotic relationship between art and life foregrounds the central function of both self- and sociopolitical critique within his poetry: it highlights the impact of the failed American Dream upon public life and literary ambition. The Introduction provides a detailed outline of the approach and contents of the thesis. Chapter 1 examines the poet’s apprentice work in The Dispossessed and Sonnets to Chris, and relates dissatisfaction with the New Critical literary school to his subsequent discovery of a “new and nervous idiom” for the post-war world. In Chapter 2, I trace the motifs of national and literary expatriation in Berryman’s first long poem Homage to Mistress Bradstreet to discuss the dispossessed poetic “I” as a vehicle for exploration of American tensions past and present. Chapters 3 and 4 present a sustained analysis of Berryman’s epic poem The Dream Songs. Whilst Chapter 3 focuses upon the work’s depiction of American dystopia, Chapter 4 addresses its performance of Berryman’s own literary success, arguing for the later Songs’ origins in an anxiety of reception that desires to cement the poet’s status in an uncertain world. My final chapter reads Berryman’s last volumes Love & Fame and Delusions, etc. of John Berryman in the light of these discussions, suggesting his conflicting perceptions of fame to function as a catalyst for renewed efforts to reconcile the poetic self with wider society

The Right of Access: Is There a Better Fit than the First Amendment?

James Madison once said, a popular Government, without popular information, or a means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. For almost forty years, the Supreme Court has anchored the press\u27s and public\u27s right of access to government proceedings and information in the language of the First Amendment. Grounding the right of access in the language of the First Amendment is unsatisfactory not only because it goes beyond the scope of traditional First Amendment values, but also because it does not provide access to the amount of information necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our democratic government. A more intellectually honest, and ultimately more persuasive, conception of the right of access would recognize it as a systemic right, similar to the right to vote, that is both inherent in and essential to a republican system of self-government. Since an informed electorate is essential to the proper functioning of a democracy, access should be protected to the same extent as other systemic rights. Furthermore, courts have recognized that access serves several important functions in a democracy. Access acts as a check on the government, ensures that government does its job properly, enhances the perception of integrity and fairness in government proceedings, and most importantly ensures that the individual citizen can effectively participate in and contribute to our republican system of self-government. These functions demonstrate the importance of protecting the right of access and the openness that it creates, but treating access as a speech right that is protected by the First Amendment fails to recognize that the right of access is more fundamental, that it is part of the foundation upon which the First Amendment is built

SPICE ISLAND STEW: CREOLIZATION OF FOODWAYS ON COLONIAL ERA NUTMEG PLANTATIONS, MALUKU PROVINCE, INDONESIA

The Banda Islands, in modern Indonesia’s Maluku Province, were the world’s sole source of nutmeg in the 16th Century. Control over the spice trade was a major goal for European powers. Consequently, the Banda Islands were a location of early disputes and colonial experimentation.  After eradicating most of the indigenous population, the Dutch East India Company established a plantation system in 1621 on the islands.  The plantation system fundamentally altered the lifeways of all inhabitants of the Banda Islands but there is little evidence regarding how the alterations and adaptations occurred or why.  Excavations at three nutmeg plantations reveal that the inhabitants engaged with multiple strategies of both subsistence and trade. By examining multiple lines of evidence including ceramic, faunal, and starch grain analysis, a more comprehensive understanding of social adaptations to colonialism can be demonstrated

Retention and Attrition Factors of Nonreturning Students at Utah State University

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors which affected the decision of students not to return to Utah State University after completion of the previous quarter. The factors were determined by a mailed questionnaire which was a modification of the Withdrawing/ Nonreturning Student Survey developed by American College Testing (ACT). One hundred twenty-two former Utah State University students who had attended fall quarter, 1979 but failed to register for winter quarter were randomly chosen for the study. The students were asked to complete the questionnaire and return it to Utah State University. The return rate through the mail was low and many were completed over the telephone. The results indicated that full-time employment, financial difficulties, marital plans, and the decision to attend a different college or university were the factors cited most frequently as reasons for not returning to Utah State University. A recommendation was made for the staff members who work with freshmen to be made aware of the large numbers of these students who do not return to Utah State University. It was also suggested that the distribution system for financial aids be reviewed to determine the most effective utilization of their resources for retention of students. Also, Utah State University may want to explore the special needs of out-of-state students with regard to social life. A study which further investigates the attrition rates of graduate students was recommended

Differences and Similarities in Male Body Image in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Men

The purpose of the present study was to explore differences and similarities in multiple aspects of male body image across age groups, including body dissatisfaction, coping strategies, functional appreciation, and mood. It was first hypothesized that younger men would report greater dissatisfaction with muscularity and body fat than middle-aged and older men. The second hypothesis stated that body dissatisfaction would predict depressive symptoms. The third hypothesis predicted that age and functionality appreciation for the body would be positively correlated. Finally, researchers evaluated the relationship between body image coping strategies and age from an exploratory perspective. Participants included 344 men ages 18-88 recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and various social media websites. Participants completed a series of questionnaires assessing body dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms, and body image coping strategies. Correlations, analyses of variance, and a hierarchical regression were conducted to test the four hypotheses. The first hypothesis was partially supported, as younger men reported greater dissatisfaction with muscularity. The second hypothesis was supported when a measure of body dissatisfaction predicted depressive symptoms, but not when a figure-rating scale was used instead. The third hypothesis received no support. Lastly, researchers found significant differences in body image coping strategies between age groups, such that younger men used more coping strategies than older men

Those who choose to stay: Narrating the rural Appalachian Queer experience

“Those who choose to stay” is a qualitative exploratory study compromised of four LGBT youth from rural towns in East Tennessee. These young adults were recruited through LGBT listservs, pride festivals, and word of mouth. Each young adult was interviewed over the course of one to three hours. The interviews were then transcribed and coded using Atlas.ti software, allowing codes to surface from the text. Four main themes were discovered: religious atmosphere, family, coming out, and peer networks. Religious atmosphere was generally found to be a destructive part of these youths’ environments, making them fear for their safety and worry about coming out to their families and friends. The very conservative type of religion particular to the geographic area also acted as a barrier to one’s own coming out: instilling shame, undermining feelings of self-worth, and causing friction among family members. However, the majority of these youth were able to maintain relationships with their families and listed their family as one of the top reasons they stay in their hometowns. While there was significant anxiety surrounding the coming out process, every youth reported feeling relief and greater personal satisfaction after coming out as well as articulating the deleterious effects of hiding one’s gender or sexual orientation. Forming peer networks with other LGBT youth and adults was found to be a significant part of the coming out process. Not only did peer networks help to normalize experiences, but also they provided a protective factor against the unfriendly larger culture. In conclusion, we must continue to support youth as they come out at younger ages, providing information and support. A better relationship between the mainstream LGBT movement, its advocates, and people living in rural Appalachia would be beneficial. When working with youth, it is important to recognize that while religious involvement is generally a strength, some members of the LGBT community may have a history of trauma and victimization in relation to their church communities

Crisis, what crisis? A feminist analysis of discourse on masculinities and suicide

High male suicide rates are often constructed as evidence for an apparent “crisis of masculinity”. Conversely, “crisis of masculinity” has been used to explain differential rates of male and female suicide in the UK (and elsewhere). We analyse three public cases where male suicide and “masculinity-crisis” discourse are employed together. Our feminist analysis demonstrates that “crisis talk” and male suicide are addressed in divergent ways. We therefore distinguish between “progressive” and “conservative” crisis narratives. Conservative narratives position high male suicide rates as a pernicious outcome of “threats” to traditional gender roles and norms, suggesting the solution is to return to them. Contrastingly, progressive crisis accounts use male suicide to demonstrate that existing gender norms harm men as well as women and argue they should be altered to address male suicide. Conservative narratives often map on to anti-feminist politics, whereas progressive accounts reflect aspects of feminism. There is no neat feminist/anti-feminist distinction, however, as postfeminist ideas are also evident. We argue that, overall, each of the articulations of a “crisis of masculinity” as evidenced by high rates of male suicide reinforces problematic gender politics. Further, in reifying simplistic, dualistic models of gender, they may ultimately constrain efforts to reduce suicide

How Sources of Sexual Information Relate to Adolescents\u27 Beliefs About Sex

Objectives: To examine how sources of sexual information are associated with adolescents\u27 behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about having sexual intercourse using the integrative model of behavior change. Methods: Survey data from a quota sample of 459 youth. Results: The most frequently reported sources were friends, teachers, mothers, and media. Regression analyses indicated that learning about sex from parents, grandparents, and religious leaders was associated with beliefs likely to delay sex; friends, cousins, and media were associated with beliefs that increase the likelihood of having sexual intercourse. Conclusions: Different sexual information sources were associated with different underlying beliefs