Leeds, John

This thesis examines contemporary African-American church rhetoric within the Protestant evangelical tradition, focusing specifically on two influential preachers, one past and one present: Thomas Adams (1583-1652) and Thomas Dexter Jakes, also known as T.D. Jakes. I analyze sermons by both men to show common features in their strategic use of religious rhetoric. In particular, I focus on their organization of entire sermons around a guiding metaphor and on their creative use of references to various kinds of non-religious experiences to reach their targeted audience. Also, because this comparison has not been made before, I seek to discover the influential impact of early modern religious rhetoric on contemporary religious rhetoric in the church and its limitations. But finally, I argue that while Adams sees spiritual rebirth as the way to heaven, Jakes treats it as the beginning of a new life on earth.

This work proposes to demonstrate how John Milton’s epic English poem Paradise Lost, a product of the contentious religious climate leading up to and surrounding its production, operates as a Christian catechism, or manual of belief. Spurred by the Protestant Reformation, the production of catechisms by Catholics and Protestants burgeoned during the century leading up to the composition of Paradise Lost.
Catechisms structured as dialogues containing questions and answers were especially popular during that time, and the several dialogues that exist within Paradise Lost serve as dialogue catechisms, which closely mirror the content and language of contemporaneous Reformed catechisms. Within the poem, implied readers are represented by characters, who elicit and provide lessons for real readers of the text. In this way, Paradise Lost catechizes its audience through dramatic dialogues, which introduce popular topics of theological inquiry and present answers the poem would have the reader accept, bringing the reader to a “proper” understanding of Christian faith through active and responsive reading.

During the English Revolution of the seventeenth century, writers like William
Walwyn produced documents contesting the restriction of their liberties. This thesis is a
critical edition of Walwyn’s Demurre to the Bill for Preventing the Growth and
Spreading of Heresie, unedited since its original publication in 1646. In this text Walwyn
advocates for man’s right to question religious orthodoxy in his search for Truth and
urges Parliament not to pass a proposed Bill for the harsh punishment of religious
sectarians.
Prior to a transcription of the text is an introduction to Walwyn and an attempt to
situate the reader in the context of his time. Following that is a style and rhetorical
analysis, which concludes that despite his rejection of rhetorical practices, Walwyn’s own
use of them is effective. Perhaps this skill is one of the reasons that Parliament passed a
milder, non-punitive version of the Bill Walwyn argued against.

In this thesis, I examine the structure of developmental or remedial English
education at U. S. two-year community colleges, specifically focusing on the disparities
between Florida’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP), an English as a Second
Language (ESL) program, and Developmental English (Dev English), a Basic Writing
program. Both programs supposedly prepare disadvantaged and/or immigrant students for
freshman composition, but they employ very different pedagogies. Drawing on existing
research and my own experience as a student and a teacher, I present English as it is
employed to assimilate and empower second-language users, investigate the role of
Florida’s institution in promoting EAP over Dev English, and discuss issues of identity
and the categorization of students. I close by recommending the teaching of English as a
Second Language – reading, writing, and basic language skills – to all developmental
students, immigrant or native, to equip them for higher learning and a competitive
workforce.

Many scholars agree that portions of Paradise Lost show the influence of mystery
and morality plays from the Middle Ages, yet it is difficult to establish the availability of
these plays for John Milton. He wrote the poem during the Puritan Revolution in
seventeenth-century England when medieval drama was suppressed and suspect because
of its Catholic origins and content. As a Puritan propagandist, Milton might have been
expected to share the Protestant distrust of medieval Catholic culture. However, he
evinced his broadmindedness both by holding theological views that were nearer to
Catholic than to Calvinist orthodoxy, and by making substantial literary use of medieval
sources. Although the revolution of which he was a part made it difficult for him to
access medieval biblical drama, there were avenues through which these plays were
available, in texts or performances, to Milton as he composed Paradise Lost.