Theses and Dissertations, 2000-2009

2009

• Displaying Controversy : Evolution, Creation, and Museums by Julie Homchick. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of Communication, University of Washington. iv, 222 p.
  "This work explores the role of museum exhibits in the creationist/evolutionist controversy and how different museums make appeals to the public using material objects, including scientific artifacts, images, and the space of museum exhibits. Four different exhibits are included in this study: the Institute for Creation Research's Museum of Creation and Earth History in Santee, California; the Creation Museum in Kentucky; the American Museum of Natural History's newly redesigned Hall of Human Biology and Evolution; and the University of Nebraska State Museum's "Explore Evolution" exhibit. Using rhetorical criticism, I perform an intertextual analysis of the words and images, objects, and spaces of each exhibit, and public responses to them. For the creation science museums, I show how the curators use the rhetorical concepts of arrangement, imitation, and dissociation to convince the public of the truth of creation science. For the evolution exhibits, I look at how the curators use arrangement and prolepsis to convince visitors of the truth of evolutionary theory. Each exhibit employs these rhetorical concepts to create an experiential rhetoric in the space of the museum, to imply both narratives of progress and regress, and to deploy the persuasive power of objects, things, and artifacts in these spaces. Overall, this research illuminates the role of museum exhibits in contemporary American public controversies over evolutionary theory, explores how the public space of a museum exhibit defines and challenges scientific knowledge, and illustrates how space and material objects can function persuasively within the museum context."

• Faith Displayed as Science : The Role of the 'Creation Museum' in the Modern American Creationist Movement by Julie A. Duncan. Thesis (A.B., Honors in History of Science), History of Science Department, Harvard University. 152 p.
  "Since the 1960s, the U.S. has seen a remarkable resurgence of the belief in the literal truth of the Bible, especially in a "young" (less than 10,000 years old) Earth. Somewhat paradoxically, this new biblical literalism has been accompanied by an increased emphasis on scientific legitimacy among creationists. The most recent tool in young-Earth creationists’ quest for scientific legitimacy is the "creation museum." This thesis analyzes and compares the purposes and methods of four creation museums; discusses their repercussions for science as a discipline; and explains their significance for the larger creationist movement.".pdf of thesis

2008

• Young-Earth Creationism and the Logic of Fundamentalism by Matthew S. Cooper. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Arizona State University. 125 p.

• Another Brick in the Wall : The Rhetoric of Creationism, Science and Education by Matthew R. McNair. Thesis (Masters), University of Arkansas--Fayetteville. 191 p.

• Creationism at the Grass Roots : A Study of a Local Creationist Institution by Paul J. Wendel. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Education, Health, and Human Services, Kent State University. 393 p.
  "Relying on the book of Genesis as a source text, young-earth creationists or "creation scientists" claim to find physical evidence that the earth was created in six 24-hour periods less than ten thousand years ago and that most of the geologic column was laid down in a year-long worldwide flood. Unsurprisingly, these claims lead to a boundary dispute over the definition of science, in which mainstream scientists impugn the validity of creation science and creation scientists respond in kind. Although young-earth creationism is a growing movement, little is known about it. In particular, little is known about how creationists view the relationship between creationism and science or how the rhetoric of moral, cultural, environmental, and/or biological decline informs creationist practice. In order to investigate these issues, I studied the Fossil Museum (pseudonym), a local young-earth creationist institution, through a combination of naturalistic inquiry and visitor interviews. With respect to the rhetoric of decline, I found that cultural, environmental, and biological decline appear to function independently of one another in Fossil Museum rhetoric. With respect to views of the relationship between creationism and science, I found that despite having limited training or experience in science and despite committing numerous scientific errors, Fossil Museum associates respect and emulate science. Believing that physical evidence mediated by honest science will vindicate young-earth creationism, Fossil Museum associates speak of science in highly Baconian terms, invoking the ideal of assumption-free data and privileging observation over inference. They also accept the notion that science should be falsifiable and they suggest that on this criterion, mainstream science is not scientific. Yet because of their belief that physical evidence can vindicate their position, they openly discuss counterevidence to young-earth creationism, regarding such counterevidence as anomalies for future resolution rather than occasions for crisis. I conclude that because of Fossil Museum associates' honest approach to physical data and their belief that science can resolve disputes, productive dialogue is possible and desirable between mainstream scientists and some young-earth creationists, but such dialogue will be useful only if it is aimed at mutual understanding rather than mutual conversion."

2007

• Henry M. Morris and Creationism by D. Andrew Hollingsworth. Thesis (Masters), Dallas Theological Seminary. 83 p.

2006

• Intelligent Design and Evolutionary Theory : Legal Battles and Classroom Relevance For School Leadership by Larry R. Plank. Thesis (Masters), University of South Florida. 45 p.

2005

• The Decline, Fall and Re-Emergence of the Biblical Creationist Movement in American Culture by Peter G. Drakey. Thesis (Masters), California State University--Dominguez Hills. 76 p.

2003

• The Current Setting of the Evolution/Creation Debate in American Public Schools by Bradley Doyle Reynolds. Dissertation (Ph.D.), School of Education, The College of William and Mary. 165 p.
  "The history of public education in the United States is replete with attempts to secularize public education as well as attempts to sanctify public education. The legal battle between these two opposing concepts of public education has been long and tenacious, and is far from over. One front upon which this philosophical, political, and legal battle has been fought is the teaching of origins in biology classes of public schools. This study sought to address the question of the current status of the creation/evolution debate. Through content analysis of court cases, the study provided a legal framework concerning the teaching of origins in public schools. The study also provided a political/philosophical understanding of the current status through a content analysis of press articles. Further, the study provided an understanding of how current biology textbooks deal with the issue of origins. The findings reveal that the creation/evolution debate is current: however, the theory of Intelligent Design has now entered the foray. Finally, the findings reveal that the debate is taking place in courtrooms, legislative halls, and newspapers, but not in classrooms."

• Creationism in the American Context : An Intellectual History For A Cultural War by Robert J. Golden. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Florida State University. 300 p.

2001

• Aroused From Dogmatic Slumber : A Rhetorical History of Intelligent Design by Thomas E. Woodward. Dissertation (Ph.D.), University of South Florida. 386 p.

• The Evolving Face of God as Creator : Early Nineteenth-century Traditionalist and Accommodationist Theological Responses in British Religious Thought to Paleonatural Evil in the Fossil Record by Thane Hutcherson Ury. Dissertation (Ph. D.), Andrews University, Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary. 563 p.