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This thesis examines the paradigmatic shift in interpretation that occurred at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello during the 1980s and 1990s. For decades, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation presented the site as a marvel of architecture, décor, as well as exemplifying Jefferson's tranquil domestic life and intellectual talents. Beginning in the 1980s, the Foundation began to address slavery at the site. Chapter one introduction of slavery interpretation during this period. Early attempts to interpret slavery became intertwined with the Foundation's positive portrayal of Jefferson before becoming more varied and provocative in the 1990s. Chapter two examines the parallel evolution in Jefferson scholarship, where biographers attempted to both address slavery and preserve their hagiographic vision of Jefferson. Chapter 3 explores an unintended consequence of the slavery interpretation: the reemergence of Jefferson's political legacies as a thematic and tonal counterbalance to critical discussions about slavery. The inclusion of slavery in Monticello's interpretation created a space for critical thought and provocative questions about the symbolism of Jefferson and the site. However, the presentation of Jefferson's political legacies remained uncritical and congratulatory, showing the limits of Monticello's transformation.

Moral differences contribute to social and political conflicts. Against this backdrop, colleges and universities have been criticized for promoting liberal moral attitudes. However, direct evidence for these claims is sparse, and suggestive evidence from studies of political attitudes is inconclusive. Using four waves of data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, we examine the effects of higher education on attitudes related to three dimensions of morality that have been identified as central to conflict: moral relativism, concern for others, and concern for social order. Our results indicate that higher education liberalizes moral concerns for most students, but it also departs from the standard liberal profile by promoting moral absolutism rather than relativism. These effects are strongest for individuals majoring in the humanities, arts, or social sciences, and for students pursuing graduate studies. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results for work on political conflict and moral socialization.

This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Taylor & Francis under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; This paper addresses the concerns of the Understanding Everyday Participation project with the relationship between cultural participation and space. Here we approach the notion of space in two different but complementary ways. Our main focus is on geographical variations in participation, which we explore at the regional level in England. However, in order to do so, we begin by re-evaluating the nature of the cultural field itself and the way that this is arranged in social space. The issue of regional disparities in the funding of cultural activities and venues from the public purse has become a heated issue. Yet, in contrast to the avowedly regional focus of much cultural and creative industries policy following the advent of the first New Labour administration in 1997, issues of place have been largely overlooked in recent studies of cultural consumption, and therefore little is known about the spatial dynamics of participation practices. Using data from the UK government's Taking Part Survey, we adopt a novel methodological approach, known as Multiple Factor Analysis, to re-examine and represent the English cultural field. Our findings reveal the hitherto underestimated importance of informal everyday cultural practices in configuring the sociology of lifestyles. Alongside and beyond the familiar North–South divide and London effect, they also indicate that the English cultural field is characterised by a complex regional geography.

This paper addresses the concerns of the Understanding Everyday Participation project with the relationship between cultural participation and space. Here we approach the notion of space in two different but complementary ways. Our main focus is on geographical variations in participation, which we explore at the regional level in England. However, in order to do so, we begin by re-evaluating the nature of the cultural field itself and the way that this is arranged in social space. The issue of regional disparities in the funding of cultural activities and venues from the public purse has become a heated issue. Yet, in contrast to the avowedly regional focus of much cultural and creative industries policy following the advent of the first New Labour administration in 1997, issues of place have been largely overlooked in recent studies of cultural consumption, and therefore little is known about the spatial dynamics of participation practices. Using data from the UK government's Taking Part Survey, we adopt a novel methodological approach, known as Multiple Factor Analysis, to re-examine and represent the English cultural field. Our findings reveal the hitherto underestimated importance of informal everyday cultural practices in configuring the sociology of lifestyles. Alongside and beyond the familiar North–South divide and London effect, they also indicate that the English cultural field is characterised by a complex regional geography.