Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2003 Crossing the Berm: The Disney Theme Park as Sacralized Space Chris Newcomb Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact
[email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES CROSSING THE BERM: THE DISNEY THEME PARK AS SACRALIZED SPACE By CHRIS NEWCOMB A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2003 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Chris Newcomb defended on October 31, 2003. John Kelsay Professor Directing Dissertation Robert Neuman Outside Committee Member Kathleen Erndl Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii For my family . Molly and Kylie – seeing the world through your eyes keeps me young and Jamie – taking this journey together makes each day new. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks and great appreciation to my committee chair, Dr. John Kelsay, who encouraged this project from the beginning and greatly shaped the final result. Appreciation also goes to committee members Dr. Robert Neuman and Dr. Kathleen Erndl, who both contributed valuable insights and much needed clarity. Great thanks and love also to my father and mother, Stan and Nadine Newcomb, and to my brothers, Paul and Todd, for their years of support and encouragement. I love you all. Special thanks to my many friends near and far for their enthusiasm and companionship: Harry Bleattler, Dustin Feddon, Ron Gilmer, Pat Lyndale, Bill Lyons, William Rodriguez, Steve Salyers, Steve Stigler, Kevin Vaccarella, and all my friends at East Hill Baptist Church for the many thoughts and prayers.