Copyright (c) 2013 Roger Williams University All rights reserved. http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp Recent documents in Feinstein College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Papers en-us Sat, 23 Feb 2013 01:48:19 PST 3600 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/56 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/56 Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:45:34 PST Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/55 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/55 Wed, 02 Jan 2013 07:30:28 PST Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/54 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/54 Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:29:10 PST This essay falls into the category of rendering visible a community, the Jacobite Assyrians of Massachusetts, who have remained virtually unknown in the larger context of Middle Eastern Diaspora studies and American ethnic and cultural history. This brief study of the immigration of the Jacobite Christians originally from Harput, Turkey who settled in New England, shows a variety of distinct method(s) of identity preservation and transmission to subsequent generations, expecially in regard to personal and group identity structures. These people, sometimes referred to as “Jacobite Syrians” by early Western travelers and missionaries, identified themselves as the “sons of Asshur” in 1842 (Southgate 1856:87). This paper is a narrative of the community’s tribulations in their country of origin during the first half of the twentieth century, internal religious politics espoused by the church, as well as their life and establishment in American society.

]]> Sargon Donabed et al. http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/53 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/53 Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:13:02 PST Many Middle Eastern Christian groups identify or have been identified with pre­Islamic peoples in the Middle East: the Copts with Ancient Egypt, the Nestorians with Assyria, the Maronites with Phoenicians and some RumOrthodoxand other Christians with pre­Islamic Arab tribes. The concern of this study is the Syrian Orthodox Christians or Jacobite(s)(named after the 6th century Monophysite Christian bishop Yacoub Burd‘ono or Jacob Baradaeus of Urfa/Osrohene/Edessa), specifically those whose ancestry stems from the Tur Abdin region of Turkey, Diyarbekir, Mardin, Urfa, and Harput/Elazig. The introduction of the Ottoman milletsystem had divided the Middle East into ethno­religious communities, the Eastern Christian minorities being a classic example. Of the various groups, the Syrian Orthodox Christians (Suryaniler, Suryani Kadim, Asuriler) are a case in point to identity issues including creation, evolution, fabrication, denial, and assimilation caused by both internal and external influences. The identity of this community is a major point of contention among the laity and the clergy, as well as among non­Syrian Orthodox scholars of Middle Eastern Studies.

]]> Sargon Donabed et al. http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/52 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/52 Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:06:42 PST This work discusses a modern Assyrian epic, Qa īne Gabbara, in both its oral and written traditions, and examines its importance in marking continuity in culture, traditions and language. Building on an earlier study by Younan Hozaya, this essay shows how Qa īne Gabbara fits within the genre of heroic epic, thereby bringing new light to a vastly overlooked and understudied Assyrian cultural tradition.

]]> Sargon Donabed http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/51 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/51 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:31:39 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/50 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/50 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:36:34 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/49 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/49 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:23:11 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/48 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/48 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:07:09 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/47 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/47 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:54:34 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/46 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/46 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:40:14 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/45 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/45 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:39:36 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/44 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/44 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:24:54 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/43 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/43 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:56:11 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/42 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/42 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:39:09 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/41 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/41 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:28:33 PDT Glenna M. Andrade http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/40 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/40 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:58:26 PST This dissertation examines the impact that early 78 rpm recordings had on the cultural and ethnic identities of Irish people in both Ireland and Irish America during the first half of the twentieth century. It raises questions about what is considered "Irish" in the context of both the traditional and popular music recorded at the time. The author reviews the history of Irish music before and after mechanical sound reproduction and outlines the technological history concerning the development of phonographs and wax cylinders and gramophones/victrolas and the flat 78 rpm disc. Using an media ecological approach, the author employs Marshall McLuhan's Laws of Media to examine the cultural impact of early recorded media by examining what becomes enhanced, obsolesced, retrieved from the past, and reversed or flipped into when pushed to its limit.

]]> Roxanne M. O'Connell http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/39 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/39 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 07:16:42 PST Engagement in the immediate community has long been a stated goal of most colleges and universities. Grand university mission statements (including our own) often convey a “commitment to community service.” While our rhetoric is lofty, how do we actually commit ourselves to pursuing this objective? How might we truly “engage” a community of scholars with the larger community? Is “true” service-learning sustainable in a college classroom? This paper addresses one method of engagement that exists on our campus: one section of the Core Curriculum “Human Behavior in Perspective,” has been transformed into a service-learning course. This course integrates the model of service-learning into the educational curriculum. In practical terms, this course provides interaction between college students and residents of a Rhode Island Women’s Shelter.

]]> Jessica Skolnikoff et al. http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/38 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/38 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 07:45:33 PST Alejandro Leguizamo et al. http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/37 http://docs.rwu.edu/fcas_fp/37 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:40:57 PDT Alejandro Leguizamo et al.