Browsing by Author "Kennedy, Charles A."

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    Community college-local church relationships: the variables of interaction
    Dimond, Clark Whiting (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1987)
    In order to determine which variables appear to have an impact upon the relations of community colleges with local church congregations in their service areas, a case study was carried out within a single community college district. Data were gathered from personal interviews with administrators from several levels within the college, and with local clergy whose churches are currently interacting with the college. Additional data were derived from a questionnaire sent to a random sample of churches within the college's service area. Thirteen categories of variables were identified. The college was found to have three distinct patterns of interaction with local churches: it used church facilities to offer community-based continuing education classes, it worked directly with churches which wished to sponsor adult basic education, and it worked through other community service agencies which had already established programs in local churches. Since the setting for this study was not entirely typical of all community college districts, the findings were examined from the perspective of general system theory in an attempt to improve their applicability to other settings.
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    History of Religious Studies at Virginia Tech - Website Archive
    Miller, Harlan B.; Long, Edward L.; Smyth, Ellison A.; Grover, Norman L.; Kennedy, Charles A.; Malbon, Elizabeth Struthers (Virginia Tech, 2014-06-09)
    This document contains 8 archived webpages from the Virginia Tech Department of Religion and Culture's website, which was available online from June 2014 to March 2016. The archived webpages include the following: (1) History of Religious Studies at Virginia Tech (2) Pre-History of the Philosophy (and Religion) Department (3) Notes on the Founding of the Department (4) Excerpts from a 1957 Letter (5) Some Notes on the Genesis of the Department (6) Notes on the Beginning of the Philosophy and Religion Programs at VPI & SU (7) Department of Religion History (8) August 14, 2001 Letter to the Religious Studies Faculty
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    Man, Society, and Knowledge in the Islamist discourse of Sayyid Qutb
    Bouzid, Ahmed T. (Virginia Tech, 1998-02-23)
    Sayyid Qutb's conceptions of man and society inform and are themselves informed by his theory of human and divine knowledge. Our aim in this dissertation is, first, to highlight the intricate relationships between Qutb's ontology and his epistemology, and, second, to point to the active context of Qutb's discourse: how did his theory of man, society, and knowledge relate to his language of political dissent and his strategy for change and revolution? Qutb remains an enduring influence on young Muslims and has left a deep mark on the discourse of politically activist Islamism. An underlying concern that runs through our analysis will be to address the question: why is Qutb still relevant? The answer we provide highlights the inseparability between Qutb's conception of human nature, his paradigm for the just and ideal society, his theories on mundane and revealed epistemology, and his strategy for social and political reform. We shall argue that the Qutbian discourse endures because Qutb offers his co-religionists a powerfully integrated conception of the "Islamic solution" that achieves a unique blending between the values of "authenticity" and those of "modernity". Qutb's writings articulate an unapologetic "life-conception" of Islam that insisted on standing on par with other "life-conceptions"; Muslims could take pride in knowing that Islam exhorted development, but with an eye towards maintaining a "balance" between the "material" and the "spiritual", unlike communism and capitalism, which neglected "spirituality" in favor of "animal materialism"; the "Islamic conception" outlined by Qutb provided the reader with a conceptual framework within which a sophisticated critique of colonialism could be carried out. Moreover, Qutb also provided the modern Islamist with a vocabulary that gives voice to the economic and social concerns of an emerging lower middle class aspiring to fulfill its mundane dreams in modern, mid-20th century Egypt. The language Qutb used in his works was not the language of the elite intellectuals, whether Westernized modernists or traditional 'ulema. Qutb consciously articulated his thoughts in a language easily accessible to a readership literate enough to read his works, but not necessarily trained to actively penetrate the arcane corpus of the 'ulema. Upon reading Qutb and contrasting his language with that of his predecessors, it becomes clear that Qutb, more than any other thinker in the Egypt of his days, articulated a conception of Islam that consciously attempted to lay the foundations for an Islamic epistemology on the basis of a putatively Islamic ontology, denied the authority of "foreign life conceptions", claimed for Islam universal validity, asserted the active character of the "truly Muslim", decried the economic injustices which the masses were enduring, and rejected the traditional conception of the state as intrinsically benevolent. In short, his was a powerful call to merge the values of authenticity - unapologetic anti-imperialism, anti-elitism, and the insistence on the centrality of Islam - with the values of modernity - the impulse for asserting a comprehensive world-view, the pretension to universal validity, and the positive valuation of action and change in the context of welfare liberalism beholden to the will of the people.
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    The Ottoman külltye between the 14th and 17th centuries: its urban setting and spatial composition
    Hakky, Rafee (Virginia Tech, 1992-04-15)
    In order to serve the Muslim community, the Ottomans built nuclei which included educational and social services around the mosque. A nucleus of these was called a "külltye". Facilities in külltyes can be categorized under four main areas: religious, educational, social, and private. This research project attempted to examine the Ottoman külltye from an urban design point of view. It explored the külltye through two main questions: firstly. what was the relationship between the külltye and its surroundings. and secondly. how the kkülltye was designed. In order to answer these two questions, the külltye was studied at five scales: the state, the city, the immediate surroundings, the külltye itself, and flnal1y the individual open spaces in the külltye. This research work is basically a morphological study; however, when possible and appropriate the meaning behind the form is addressed. At the state scale it was found that a good level of sensitivity was utilized when planning for new külltyes. Larger cities had a larger number of külltyes and more complex programs for these külltyes. külltyes in small cities were programmed so as to serve the small community adequately without being oversized. külltyes in cities had more educational facilities while külltyes in the country were more oriented towards serving travelers. Within the city itself. central areas housed larger külltyes; while residential neighborhoods had smaller külltyes since they were intended to serve only that particular neighborhood. The number and kind of facilities were affected by the particular period during which külltyes were built. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries külltyes were large and housed a large variety of services. That period was a period of growth and prosperity. Later centuries exhibited a different trend where külltyes became smaller and included simpler programs. Reasons for this new trend could be the existence of enough services and the economic deterioration of the state.
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    The visual and spatial structure in Mughal urban design: the 16th century city of Fatehpur Sikri, India
    Jutla, Rajinder Singh (Virginia Tech, 1995-02-05)
    Fatehpur Sikri is a world heritage monument. It was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar and was constructed in less than fifteen years (1569-1574). Fatehpur Sikri served as the capital of the Mughal empire for a very short time, from 1569 to 1585. At present, most of its buildings remain in excellent condition. It is a city frozen in time. This dissertation has examined the city of Fatehpur Sikri in the context of its history, design theory, rituals, settings and principles of spatial design. The layout of the imperial complex of Fatehpur Sikri is unique in its spatial organization. It has no streets, but consists of a series of interlocking courtyards set to the cardinal points. The design of individual monuments is based on symmetry but in the layout of the complex, the rules of symmetry are broken and asymmetry is deliberately employed. The dissertation concludes that this unique layout may have been employed to provide flexibility in order to accommodate different buildings and spatial conceptions. It creates a rich and dramatic visual environment within the complex. The layout also reflects the themes of Din-i Ilahi, the religion founded by Akbar and which was a synthesis of Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. The plan of Fatehpur Sikri is analyzed in the framework of the mandala, a Hindu concept of architectural spatial planning and town planning. The research concludes however, that the plan was not developed within this rigid framework. The dissertation also examines the layout of Fatehpur Sikri in terms of its social and court activities. It was found that there is a strong connection between the layouts of the imperial complex of Fatehpur Sikri and the Mughal camp. The spatial structure of the Mughal camp plan was organized on the concepts of functional zoning based on public, semi-public and private space. The dissertation proposes solutions to the functions of the Diwan-i-Khas, the Turkish Sultana, Birbal's palace and the royal bazaar. The functions of these buildings are in controversy among various architecrural historians. The research establishes that the Diwan-i-Khas had a symbolic meaning. The interior arrangement of the building consists of four bridges connected to the circular platform on the richly carved column in the center. The central column symbolized the axis from which the emperor ruled; this axis was also a connection between the Emperor Akbar, God and the earth. The Turkish Sultana was used by the emperor as a special meeting place. Birbal's palace was the residence of one of Akbar's favorite queens. The building next to this was a royal bazaar where merchants came regularly to sell valuable items to the women of the harem. The spatial structure was created through the use of the principles of asymmetry, multiple axes, enclosure, change in level, transparency, and the element of surprise. Human scale was achieved by emphasizing horizontal facades and lines. To create visual interest horizontal facades were punctuated by introducing monumental scale in the Panch Mahal, the Buland Darwaza and the Badshahi Darwaza. The buildings were also crowned by small pavilions which create a dramatic skyline. The visual image of Fatehpur Sikri is therefore reflected in its unique skyline as well as its landmarks: the Panch Mahal, the Buland Darwaza, Salim Chisti's Tomb, and the profusely carved central column of the Diwan-i-Khas. At present, very few visitors are introduced to the Rang Mahal, the Stone Cutters' Mosque, the caravanserai, the Hiran Minar and the Hathi Pol. The study recommends that a unified circulation system be developed to join together all these major monuments of Fatehpur Sikri in accordance with the historic era.