William F. Albright Papers

This file contains a finding aid for the William F. Albright Collection. To access the collection, please contact the archivist (asorarch@bu.edu) at the American Schools of Oriental Research, located at Boston University.

Revisiting Irish poetic modernisms

This thesis discusses Irish Modernist poetry written between 1905 and 1970, specifically the poetry of Joseph Campbell (1879-1944), Thomas MacGreevy (1893-1967), Denis Devlin (1908-1959) and Brian Coffey (1905-1995). All four poets have been largely neglected in criticism until a growth of interest encouraged by Michael Smith and Trevor Joyce’s New Writers’ Press during the 1970s. J.C.C. Mays, Stan Smith, Susan Schreibman, Terence Brown, Patricia Coughlan and Alex Davis published subsequent critical support during the ‘80s and ‘90s. My research aims to highlight poetry previously omitted from the canon of Irish literature, those with connections to British or continental European literary movements as well as poetry by women writers and writers from the North. Part of this exploration of Irish Poetic Modernisms involves an investigation of intersections between poetic modernisms and Irish war poetry and of depictions of Irish masculinity in the poetry of Devlin and Coffey. My discussion of Campbell’s poetry focuses on links between the early regional modernism of his poetry and later Irish modernist poetry, including his participation in the Ulster Literary Theatre, with the Literary Revival community in Dublin and his association with the proto-Imagist movement in London. My examination of connections between Irish war poetry and Irish modernism allows me to discuss the writing of several underrecognized Irish poets who are contemporaries and near contemporaries of the main subjects of my thesis. Thomas MacGreevy’s poetry is the most clear case study of the links between Irish modernist poetry and poetry about Ireland’s participation in the Great War. MacGreevy’s writing reveals his multiple allegiances: he both elegizes and challenges the increasing cultural inhibitions of Free State Ireland. Denis Devlin’s poetic portrayals of Ireland reveal his rejection both of the Literary Revival’s fascination with Celticism and of Dublin’s literary community while upholding tradition poetic gender roles. My research explores representations of masculinity and Irish politics, including heroic masculine imagery, in the long poems of Devlin and Coffey. My discussion of Brian Coffey considers the importance of the figure of the “poet as maker” to his writing and his relationship with Ireland during his long writing career. I also consider his role as the editor and executor of Devlin’s literary estate and the impact that had on both the latter’s posthumous reputation and Coffey’s later writing.

Milton and romance: vernacular romance and chivalric traditions in Paradise Lost

The thesis examines Milton's strategic use of romance in Paradise Lost, arguing that such a handling of romance is a provocative realignment of its values according to the poet’s Christian focus. The thesis argues that Milton's use of romance is not simply the importation of a tradition into the poem; it entails a backward judgement on that tradition, defining its idealising tendencies as fundamentally misplaced. The thesis also examines the Caroline uses of romance and chivalry in the 1630s to provide a vision of British unification, and Milton's reaction to this political agenda.

Stair na Gaeilge i gContae Thiobraid Árann 1700-1901

Stair na Gaeilge i gCo. Thiobraid Árann i rith na tréimhse 1700-1901 atá á ríomhadh sa tráchtas seo. Tar éis a cúlra agus a comhthéacs a shuíomh i gCaibidil a hAon, déantar scríobhaithe an cheantair a áireamh, fara tráchtaireacht orthu, i gCaibidil a Dó. I gCaibidlí a Trí agus a Ceathair, féachtar ar thionchar na hEaglaisí Caitlicí agus Eaglais na hÉireann (i measc eaglaisí Protastúnacha eile) ar an dteangain. I gCaibidil a Cúig, faightear spléachadh ar ghnéithe éagsúla de shaíocht an chontae, ag tabhairt léargais ar tháirgí na scríobhaithe, ar leabhair a clóbhualadh sa réigiún, agus ar fhilí móra na háite, leithéidí Liam Daill Uí Ifearnáin, ag sonrú limistéir faoi leith, an t-oirdheisceart, mar shampla. Léirítear éifeacht na gcumann Gaelach agus na ndíograiseoirí iomadúla a bhain leo. Ábhar suime, leis, feidhm na Gaeilge sna cúirteanna dlí. Tugtar faisnéis i gCaibidil a Sé ar fhianaise cuairteoirí ar an Ghaeilge mar urlabhra i dTiobraid Árann. Is anseo chomh maith a deintear anailís ar Dhaonáirimh na mblianta 1861-1901, le mórchuid adhmaid á baint as ceann 1901 go háirithe. Breactar as ainmneacha sagart agus múinteoirí le Gaeilge, agus tráchtar ar aicmí suntasacha eile, na póilíní agus na saighdiúirí a raibh an teanga sin ina mbéal acu. Tugtar le chéile dá réir na snáithíní difriúla eolais ar an dúiche ar bhealach nár tharla cheana don gcontae casta fairsing seo le haghaidh na tréimhse atá idir lámha ag an saothar.

Chicana poetics: genre and style in Gloria Anzaldúa and Lorna Dee Cervantes

This thesis conducts a formal study of the poetry of Gloria Anzaldúa and Lorna Dee Cervantes, placing their work in dialogue with genre and style. These two Chicana poets are exemplary of politicised experimentation with poetics, underpinned by a keen awareness of the rich history of form, genre and style. In the work of each poet, two poetic modes are examined: one traditional, and one experimental. Anzaldúa’s uses of the dramatic monologue as a border genre, and her construction of [auto]poetics, stemming from her multi-genre, autobiographical approach to writing, are considered. Cervantes’s complex approach to the construction of docupoetics that achieves a depth of field in terms of merging a multidimensional approach to aesthetics with highly politicised transnational content, as well as her engagement with the longstanding poetic of elegy via various formal points of entry, is investigated. These poetic modes are primarily explored via close readings, supported by a multidisciplinary framework that includes Anzaldúa’s feminist theories of identity and writing, abjection theory, postcolonialism, and transnationalism. Overall, these four key areas demonstrate the ways in which aesthetics is a crucial consideration in the exploration of the broader issues of content and context in Chicana poetry.

"I have nothing to say, only to show": appropriation in the poetries of Trevor Joyce, Alan Halsey, and Susan Howe

This thesis studies contemporary poetry’s innovations in textual borrowing and the range and scope of its appropriative practices. The restrictions of the inherited definitions of appropriation include a limited capacity for expression and meaningfulness, a partial concept of appropriation’s critical capacity, and an inadequate sense of the poet’s individual and unique practice of appropriation. This thesis resolves the problematic constraints limiting contemporary definitions of appropriation by tracing the history of the practice to reveal an enduring relation between appropriation and poetic expression. Close readings of Trevor Joyce’s, Alan Halsey’s, and Susan Howe’s poetry serve as evidence of contemporary poetry’s development of appropriation beyond the current ascriptions and offer some direction on how the critical understanding of appropriation might be extended and redefined. Here, appropriation is recognized as another source of lyric expression, critical innovation, and conceptual development in contemporary poetry. This thesis encourages a new perspective on the purpose and processes of poetic appropriation and the consequences of its declarative potential for both poet and poem.

Eleanor Roosevelt: supporting Zion, denying Palestine

Eleanor Roosevelt, as a renowned humanitarian, portrayed an inconsistency by supporting Zionist ambitions for a national homeland in Palestine while simultaneously ignoring the rights of the indigenous Palestinians. Because of this dichotomy, this dissertation explores her attitudes, her disposition and her position in light of the conflict in the region. It conveys how her particular character traits interplayed with the cultural influences prevalent in mid-century America and encouraged her empathy with the plight of European Jews after the Holocaust. As she evolved politically, initially under the tutelage of Franklin Roosevelt and latterly as a UN delegate, she outgrew the anti-Semitism of the period to become a committed Zionist. Judging the Palestinians as ‘primitives’ incapable of self-government and heartened by Jewish development, she supported the partition of Palestine in November 1947. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war the 800,000 Palestinian refugees encamped in neighbouring Arab states threatened to destabilise the region. Her solution was to discourage repatriation and to re-settle them in Iraq – a plan that directly contravened the principles of the December 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the UN committee she had chaired. No detailed work has been conducted on these aspects of Eleanor Roosevelt’s life; this dissertation reveals a complex person rather than a model of ‘humanitarianism’, and one whose activities cannot be so simply categorised. In the eight chapters that follow, her own thoughts are disclosed through her ‘My Day’ newspaper column, through letters to friends and to members of the public that petitioned her, through a scrutiny of her articles, books and autobiography. This information was attained as a result of archival research in the US and in The Netherlands and was considered against an extensive range of secondary literature. During the Cold War, to offset Soviet incursion, Eleanor Roosevelt promoted Jewish usurpation of Palestinian lands with equanimity in order that an industrious Western-style democracy would bring stability to the region. These events facilitated the exposure of a latent Orientalism and an imperialistic lien that fostered paternalism in a woman new to the nuances of international diplomacy.

Reflections on Children

In the Fall 2004, while preparing my dissertation project “Reflections on children,” I realized that whether art songs, operatic arias or scenes, the classical repertory offers a wide variety of masterpieces regarding all aspects of children’s life. My first dissertation recital is called “Journeys” and was performed on December 6th 2004 at 8:00pm in the Tawes Recital Hall. Change is the only inevitable condition in life and as such, it has been thought-provoking to many poets and composers. The narrator in Mahler’s Wayfarer Songs experiences the pain of love for the first time and emerges transformed into an adult. The narrator in Barber’s Knoxville is an adult looking back at his journey in an attempt to understand himself. The mothers in Britten’s Charm of Lullabies each make every effort to accept the changes in their own life after the birth of her baby. Finally, both Brahms’ songs are about risks and losses. “Destinies” is the title of the second dissertation recital as it attempts to capture the dark fate of Mignon and of Rückert/Mahler’s children. It was performed on April 8th 2005 in the Tawes Recital Hall. Mignon’s grief is portrayed through songs full of sadness and hopelessness in mourning of a long lost childhood. Rückert wrote 425 Kindertotenlieder in memory of his children’s deaths over a period of twenty years and Mahler orchestrated five of them. Mahler’s choices deal with light and darkness, symbolizing eternal life and hope versus despair and death, in both the literal and the literary sense. Finally, the third dissertation recital called “Blessings” was performed on May 19th 2005 in the Tawes Recital Hall. It relies on the evocation of moods and scenes created by a variety of composers and poets. Poulenc’s La Courte Paille are brief works in the style of a child’s song with unrelated and unexpected images juxtaposed, creating a sense of inner monologues. John Greer’s House of Tomorrow, Guastavino’s Cradle Songs and the rest of the composers offer wonderful pieces of immense power and expression in their directness and sensitive contour.

CANCIONES ARGENTINAS (SONGS OFARGENTINA): A RECORDING PROJECT

This Dissertation Project comprises recordings of Argentine art songs. The discs are approximately 40-60 minutes in length and consist of songs from the traditional art-song repertoire for voice and piano. This project is particularly appropriate because of the very limited number of recordings of Argentine songs, which are notable both not only for their high quality but for their accessibility of performance for voice teachers, students, and professional singers alike. Art songs in the Spanish language are a welcome resource, and the poetry included in this project is of an outstanding quality. Some of the poets set to music are Gabriela Mistral (a poet laureate of Chile and the first Latin American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature), Pablo Neruda (also a Nobel laureate), Luis Cernuda, and Leon Benar6s. The lyrics of some songs are based on traditional sources, and the melodies and rhythms of all are representative of South American-indigenous and European­ immigrant cultures. The composers represented here will be familiar to some listeners but more than likely unfamiliar to most. Yet Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) is considered to be the greatest of all Argentine composers. Alberto Williams (1862-1952) is known as the father of the Nationalist School of composition in Argentina, and Carlos Lopez Buchardo (1881-1963) is a most influential composer and pedagogue after whom the national Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aries is named. Two composers who remain relatively unknown outside of South America, Abraham Jurafsky (1906- 1993) and Julio Perceval (1903-1963) are also represented in this project. A complete compact disc is devoted to the works of Carlos Guastavino. Known as the "Argentine Schubert", Guastavino has over 250 songs to his credit. Chiefly a composer for piano and voice, his recent death (October 2000) makes a recording of his works especially appropriate. This project also includes a written component, a supportive dissertation briefly describing the history of the Argentine art song and the lives and influences of the composers and poets represented in the studio recordings. The CD recordings are held in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library at the University of Maryland.

Tennyson among the novelists

Until now, the study of literary allusion has focused on allusions made by poets to other poets. In Tennyson Among the Novelists, John Morton presents the first book-length account of the presence of a poet’s work in works of prose fiction. As well as shedding new light on the poems of Tennyson and their reception history, Morton covers a wide variety of novelists including Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, Evelyn Waugh, and Andrew O’Hagan, offering a fresh look at their approach to writing. Morton shows how Tennyson’s poetry, despite its frequent depreciation by critics, has survived as a vivifying presence in the novel from the Victorian period to the present day.

Epidemiological and nutrition transition in developing countries: impact on human health and development

Whereas common infectious and parasitic diseases such as malaria and the HIV/AIDS pandemic remain major unresolved health problems in many developing countries, emerging non-communicable diseases relating to diet and lifestyle have been increasing over the last two decades, thus creating a double burden of disease and impacting negatively on already over-stretched health services in these countries. Prevalence rates for type 2 diabetes mellitus and CVD in sub-Saharan Africa have seen a 10-fold increase in the last 20 years. In the Arab Gulf current prevalence rates are between 25 and 35% for the adult population, whilst evidence of the metabolic syndrome is emerging in children and adolescents. The present review focuses on the concept of the epidemiological and nutritional transition. It looks at historical trends in socio-economic status and lifestyle and trends in nutrition-related non-communicable diseases over the last two decades, particularly in developing countries with rising income levels, as well as the other extreme of poverty, chronic hunger and coping strategies and metabolic adaptations in fetal life that predispose to non-communicable disease risk in later life. The role of preventable environmental risk factors for obesity and the metabolic syndrome in developing countries is emphasized and also these challenges are related to meeting the millennium development goals. The possible implications of these changing trends for human and economic development in poorly-resourced healthcare settings and the implications for nutrition training are also discussed.

Analysis about the society of 'Pa Negre' (Agustí Villaronga, 2010)

This article has developed with the intention of analyzing how the stereotypes, prejudices and lies can influence the education of the children. Formation, that usually comes from family and teachers, who sometimes move for extremist ideologies. There exist multiple fictions in which we observe these social archetypes, but it is the case of the movie Pa negre (Agustí Villaronga, 2010), where the principal personage evolves psychologically, because of that its eyes observe and the ideas that the people transmit him on its family, in the rural environments, where the tradition of the rumors coexists.