Theses and Dissertations, 2010-2019

Theses and Dissertations, 2010-2019

2015

• The New Pulpit: Museums, Authority, and the Cultural Reproduction of Young-Earth Creationism by Lindsay Marie Barone. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 222 p.
  "Since the mid-twentieth century there has been increasing concern among evangelical Christians over the depiction of human origins in American education. For young-Earth creationists, it has been a priority to replace scientific information which contradicts the six-day origin story reported in Genesis 1 with evidence they claim scientifically reinforces their narrative. As this has failed in public education, creationists have switched tactics, moving from “teach creationism” to “teach the controversy”. The struggle over evolution education in the classroom is well-documented, but less attention has been paid to how young-Earth creationists push their agenda in informal educational venues such as museums. Given the authoritative nature of museums and the ubiquity of these institutions in American life, museums have become targets for the creation message. This project was undertaken to critically analyze the use of the museum form as an authoritative source which facilitates the cultural reproduction of young-Earth creationism. I propose a tripartite model of authority and museums is the best way to understand the relationship between young-Earth creationism and American museums, with the creation, contestation, and subversion of authority all acting as critical components of the bid for cultural reproduction. Assessing the utility of this model requires visiting both creation museums alongside mainstream natural history, science, and anthropology museums. Drawing from staff interviews, survey data, museum visits, and the collection of creation-based literature for secular museums, these sources combine to create a comprehensive picture of the relationship between young-Earth creationism and museums in the United States today."

2014

• Mobilizing Epistemic Conflict : the Creation Museum and the Creationist Social Movement by Kathleen Curry Oberlin. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of Sociology, Indiana University. 343 p.
  "I shift the analysis of longstanding controversies surrounding creationism from courtroom battles and textbook-adoption squabbles to a new setting: a natural history museum. But, why did Answers in Genesis (AiG) focus their ambitions exclusively on constructing a museum, which took over twelve years to complete, instead of adopting more conventional political tactics such as persuading political elites or launching policy initiatives in public schools? The answer, in part, is found in AiG’s strategy: to reach the popular masses rather than institutional insiders. While political debates and school board scuffles may garner some attention, a social movement organization (SMO) building a large-scale museum is precisely the kind of ‘unusual’ social movement event positioned to attract sustained attention from a broader public."

• An Analysis of the Creation Museum : Hermeneutics, Language, and Information Theory by Steven Mark Watkins. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of Humanities, University of Louisville. 315 p.
  "This dissertation analyzes the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky with respect to hermeneutic, linguistic, and information theories. The popularity of the CM, with an excess of 1.6 million visitors to date and future plans to build a one-hundred million dollar theme park, raises concerns among religious and non-religious people. The CM has drawn the attention of all the major news networks and has been reported on extensively in print media. The number of visitors and money raised by the CM dwarfs other museums in the area with large federal endowments. This dissertation draws the interest of popular educated audiences as well as scholars."

2013

• Creationism vs. Evolution : a Study of the Opinions of Georgia Biology Teachers by William Harvey Nye, Jr. Thesis (Ph.D.), Department of Mathematics and Science Education, University of Georgia. xi, 105 p.
  "This study surveyed Georgia public high school biology teachers for opinions regarding the teaching of creationism and analyzed respondents' opinions regarding attitudinal and biographical variables, and compared current opinions to 1983 Georgia science teachers. Additionally, the study intended to document reasons for the teaching of creationism and evolution and evaluate respondents' opinion regarding if the inclusion of evolution in State standards and exams influenced teaching. Of the educators responding, 92% stated they were familiar with the term creationism, 17% claim to teach creationism and evolution, 3.4% to teach creationism without mention of evolution and 1.4% claim to teach neither. Biology teachers' approvals of teaching creationism were related to the teacher's familiarity with creationism, self-view on religiosity, conservatism in religion and age. Consistent with a 1983 Georgia study, teachers more familiar with the creationist movement and teachers of conservative religious beliefs were more likely to approve of teaching creationism. Since the inclusion of evolution in Georgia standards, this study revealed more than 20% of respondents continue to include instruction on creationism demonstrating no effective change since 1983; meanwhile, respondents claiming to teach evolution increased from 39% to 78% and those teaching neither decreased from 31% to 1.4% in the same time period. The study revealed nearly a 50% increase in teachers reporting to frequently have students troubled by the conflict between evolution and religious beliefs. Although Georgia biology teachers generally disapprove of teaching creationism, responses revealed some teachers do not believe evolution necessary to biology curriculum while others do not understand evolution and creationism are irreconcilable for creationists. This dissertation argues that policy matters. Although teachers' personal beliefs are major contributors to classroom practices regarding the teaching of evolution and creationism, data indicate that state standards, in part, have influenced the teaching of evolution. This dissertation reasons administrative policy providing guidance and strategies to science teachers directing the manner in which creationism is introduced during the teaching of evolution may limit the wide range of creation teaching practices occurring currently and increase student understanding of scientific practices through the development of emotional and deductive reasoning."

• Evolution vs. Kreation by Lars Ottosen. Thesis (Ph.D.), Roskilde University. 33 p.
  "This project compares the evolution/creationism controversy as it unfolds in USA and Europe. It determines and discusses the primary differences and similarities on the two continents with the intention of determining whether the vast American experience in this field can be successfully applied in the countries of Europe. It concludes that there are several important differences with regard to the political and educational systems as well as in the various populations accept of the evolution theory. It is furthermore noted that creationist movements attempts to ensure Creation Science/Intelligent Design in the school curriculum is different in USA and Europe. In the former it is currently attempts with subtly crafted Academic Freedom Bills that strives to sneak creationism past detection and in by the backdoor while it, in the latter, is a combination of stealthy Intelligent Design and openly declared young earth creationism that can originate from the Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Greek-orthodox church. The most prominent common feature of the debate is apparent in a contrived dualism which dictates that the origin of life must either be a matter of evolution or a matter of creation. The inherent logic is that if one of the theories are disproved the other will win by default so an argument against evolution will effectively serve as an argument for creation. It is also concluded that it may be impossible to convince the most fundamentalist creationist groups about the validity of the evolution theory, because they see the controversy as a matter of good vs. evil rather than a question about scientific truth. Another – and less fundamentalist – group is vulnerable to creationist rhetoric that transforms the subject from evolution vs. creationism to evolution vs. God. Another angle that may sway this group towards accepting creationism is the two-step approach which establishes evolution as a controversial topic within the scientific community followed by an appeal to democratic traditions of hearing all sides before making a decision. Lastly it is concluded that the American experience from the Academic Freedom Bills is likely to be of great value in Europe."

2012

• Scientific Controversies and Boundary Disputes: the Intelligent Design Movement Network by Jared Scott Coopersmith. Dissertation (Ph.D.), School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. 282 p.
  "Although anti-evolutionism has existed for well over a century, recent evolutionary critics have used non-theistic arguments to attempt to show that Darwinian evolution could not have produced some examples of biological complexity. Called “intelligent design” (ID) theory this movement claims to present genuine scientific facts that prove the inability of evolution to produce most biological structures, thus necessitating the infusion of ‘intelligently-designed’ structure or information into biological life. Despite claims of scientific legitimacy by the ID movement, evolutionary scientists, professional scientific associations, and scientific proponents have widely dismissed ID arguments as non-scientific reasoning dressed up in the terminology of science. Using Gieryn’s theory of boundary-work together with Frickel and Gross’ theory of scientific/intellectual movements (SIM), I examined the institutional relationship, if any, between science and the ID movement, using the inter-organizational network of ties between ID organizations and organizations representing other fields. I used several network theoretic measures to examine the extent of ties between the ID, creation science,and science fields. I found very sparse connections between ID and science, indicating strong institutional boundary work by scientists. While there was some overlap between ID and creation science, I found considerable evidence that these two movements have distinct intellectual cultures. My findings suggest that, regardless of their origins, the intelligent design and creation science movements are two independent organizational communities."

• Six Days of Twenty Four Hours : The Scopes Trial, Anti-Evolutionism, and the Last Crusade of William Jennings Bryan by Kari Edwards. Dissertation (Ph.D.), Department of Southern Studies, University of Mississippi. 109 p.
  "The academic study of the Scopes Trial has always been approached from a traditional legal interpretation. This project seeks to reframe the conventional arguments surrounding the trial, treating it instead as a significant religious event, one which not only altered the course of Christian Fundamentalism and the Creationist movement, but also perpetuated Southern religious stereotypes through the intense, and largely negative, nationwide publicity it attracted. Prosecutor William Jennings Bryan's crucial role is also redefined, with his denial of a strictly literal interpretation of Genesis during the trial serving as the impetus for the shift toward ultraconservatism and young-earth Creationism within the movement after 1925. The impact of the Scopes Trial’s location in the rural East Tennessee town of Dayton is further analyzed in order to present a local religious and cultural history of its origins, as well as its immediate and long-term effects on Tennessee and the entire region of the South."

2011

• The Creation Museum : Opening a Parachurch Ethos by Kevin S. Heston. Thesis (M.A.), Wake Forest University.
  "This thesis investigates how the Creation Museum of Petersburg, Kentucky means to sympathetic visitors. It finds that the museum's structure and deployment open an ethos within the American pathos. It then discloses aspects of the museum's functionality by examining selections of the museum's deployment and augmentation of verbal, visual, aural, and material elements of American Protestantism, and popular culture. As a parachurch organization, the museum is independent of specific ecclesiastical traditions, and therefore, free to fashion a new ethos. The museum's particular selection of issues, from among the broad selection available in the general pathos, discloses as it acknowledges the sympathetic visitor already present in the American pathos."

• Evolution/Creationism Controversy : Analysis of Past and Current Policies In Public Schools by Jacquelyn H. Speake. Dissertation (Ph.D.), University of South Florida. 306 p.

• Are Creationism-Intelligent Design Writings Scientific? by David J. White. Thesis (Masters), University of South Dakota. 93 p

2010

• Angels, Apes, and Pandas : An Analysis of the Intelligent Design Movement by John Bell. Thesis (Masters), State University of New York--Buffalo. 40 p.