An Ethics of Refusal: Sympathy, Intimacy and Fidelity in British Romanticism

Despite a current emphasis in Romantic scholarship on intersubjectivity, this study suggests that we still have much to learn about how theories of intersubjectivity operate in Romantic-era writings that focus on the family—the most common vehicle for exploring relationships during the period. By investigating how sympathy, intimacy, and fidelity are treated in the works of Mary Hays, Felicia Hemans, and Mary Shelley, this dissertation discovers the presence of an “ethics of refusal” within women’s Romantic-era texts. Texts that promote an ethics of refusal, I argue, almost advocate for a particular mode of relating within a given model of the family as the key to more equitable social relations, but, then, they ultimately refuse to support any particular model. Although drawn towards models of relating that, at first, seem to offer explicit pathways towards a more ethical society, texts that promote an ethics of refusal ultimately reject any program of reform. Such rejection is not unaccountable, but stems from anxieties about appearing to dictate what is best for others when others are, in reality, other than the self. In this dissertation, I draw from feminist literary critiques that focus on ethics; genre-focused literary critiques; and studies of sympathy, intimacy, and fidelity that investigate modes of relating within the context of literary works and reader-textual relations. Psychoanalytic theory also plays an important role within my third chapter on Mary Shelley’s novel Falkner. Scholarship that investigates the dialectical nature of Romantic-era literature informs my entire project. Through theorizing and studying an ethics of refusal, we can more fully understand how intersubjective modes functioned in Romantic literature and discover a Romanticism uniquely committed to attempting to turn dialectical reasoning into a social practice.

Afro-Cuban Bata Drum Aesthetics: Developing Individual and Group Technique, Sound and Identity

The Lucumi religion (also Santeria and Regla de Ocha) developed in 19th-century colonial Cuba, by syncretizing elements of Catholicism with the Yoruba worship of orisha. When fully initiated, santeros (priests) actively participate in religious ceremonies by periodically being possessed or "mounted" by a patron saint or orisha, usually within the context of a drumming ritual, known as a toque de santo, bembe, or tambor. Within these rituals, there is a clearly defined goal of trance possession, though its manifestation is not the sole measure of success or failure. Rather than focusing on the fleeting, exciting moments that immediately precede the arrival of an orisha in the form of a possession trance, this thesis investigates the entire four- to six-hour musical performance that is central to the ceremony. It examines the brief pauses, the moments of reduced intensity, the slow but deliberate build-ups of energy and excitement, and even the periods when novices are invited to perform the sacred bata drums, and places these moments on an equal footing with the more dynamic periods where possession is imminent or in progress. This document approaches Lucumi ritual from the viewpoint of bata drummers, ritual specialists who, during the course of a toque de santo, exercise wide latitude in determining the shape of the event. Known as omo Ana (children of the orisha Ana who is manifest in drums and rhythms), bata drummers comprise a fraternity that is accessible only through ritual initiation. Though they are sensitive to the desires of the many participants during a toque de santo, and indeed make their living by satisfying the expectations of their hosts, many of the drummers' activities are inwardly focused on the cultivation and preservation of this fraternity. Occasionally interfering with spirit possession, and other expectations of the participants, these aberrant activities include teaching and learning, developing group identity or signature sound, and achieving a state of intimacy among the musicians known as "communitas."

Selected Solo Music for Saxophone by United States Composers: 1975-2005

This dissertation project identifies important works for solo saxophone by United States composers between 1975 and 2005. The quality, variety, expressiveness, and difficulty of the solo saxophone repertoire during these thirty years is remarkable and remedies, to some extent, the fact that the saxophone had been a largely neglected instrument in the realm of classical music. In twentieth-century music, including Jazz, the saxophone developed, nevertheless, a unique and significant voice as is evident in the saxophone repertoire that expands immensely in many instrumental settings, including the orchestra, solo works, and a wide variety of chamber ensembles. Historically, the saxophone in the United States first found its niche in Vaudeville, military bands, and jazz ensembles, while in Europe composers such as Debussy, D'Indy, Schmitt, Ibert, Glazounov, Heiden, and Desenclos recognized the potential of the instrument and wrote for it. The saxophone is well suited to the intimacy and unique timbral explorations of the solo literature, but only by the middle twentieth century did the repertoire allow the instrument to flourish into a virtuosic and expressive voice presented by successive generations of performers – Marcel Mule, Sigurd Rascher, Cecil Leeson, Jean-Marie Londeix, Fred Hemke, Eugene Rousseau, and Donald Sinta. The very high artistic level of theses soloists was inspiring and dozens of new compositions were commissioned. Through the 1960’s American composers such as Paul Creston, Leslie Bassett, Henry Cowell, Alec Wilder, and others produced eminent works for the saxophone, to be followed by an enormous output of quality compositions between 1975 and 2005. The works chosen for performance were selected from thousands of compositions between 1975 and 2005 researched for this project. The three recital dates were: April 6, 2005, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall, December 4, 2005, in Ulrich Recital Hall, and April 15, 2006, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall. Recordings of these recitals may be obtained in person or online from the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library of the University of Maryland, College Park.

White Moths

This collection navigates the process of grief after the speaker’s loss of both parents. The speaker struggles to connect with both the dead and the living through her physical intimacy and relationship with a troubled lover. These poems explore and exhume the speaker’s buried memories, moving from moments of wry humor to meaningful and sometimes painful discovery. Ultimately, these poems attempt to reach beyond the self, to transform loss and loneliness from a human condition into a musical tool of art for human connection.