Women's History Commons^™

The Controlled Narrative Of “Jane Roe:” Norma Mccorvey’S Life Beyond The 1973 Trial, Eleanor G. Strickland

Honors College Theses

Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, 1973, wrote two memoirs twenty years after the Supreme Court trial that surrounded her third pregnancy. These memoirs (I Am Roe, 1994, and Won by Love, 1997), along with the recent documentary AKA Jane Roe (2020), provide an insight into McCorvey’s life and how she was used by politicians and civilians during and after the influential trial. McCorvey lived a complicated life and was constantly being pulled in different directions spiritually, politically, and personally. This thesis shows how McCorvey attempted to re-write the narrative of her life using …

Decolonizing The Western Perception Of Afghan Women: A Feminist Critique, Parwana Azimi

Honors Theses

Abstract: Feminist theory and activism have often been reduced to singular movements from Western literature and history. Thus, the exploration of Feminist theory is often limited to Western ideology and values. In doing so, Western Feminism has primarily promoted the rights of Women living in developed countries while leaving women in developing countries or otherwise out of the discussion of women’s rights and status. Most often, women's rights struggles outside of the West are seen as colonial projects which portray Muslim women as helpless and requiring liberation from their cultures. A prominent example of this is the case of Afghan …

Genderless And Sexualized: Caribbean Enslaved Women In The 18th Century, Amy Van Arsdell

Campus Research Day

This study focuses on the uniquely-gendered experiences of enslaved women in the Caribbean in the 18^th century. First, I examine the racialized views of femininity and how enslaved women were denied the privileges of white femininity and forced to do the same work as men, yet were still valued less than their male counterparts because of their gender. The study goes on to highlight the sexual oppression enslaved women experienced, and its adverse effects on their health. The study concludes that despite the intersectional racism and sexism they faced, enslaved women were able to use their gender to resist …

Silent Cycles: Unveiling 19th-Century Perspectives On Menstruation, Women's Agency, And Societal Transformations, Anna Bennethum

Campus Research Day

In the 19th century, menstruation was a topic often vieled in silence and misinformation. Nonetheless, it is pivotal in discussions on women's agency and societal shifts. This paper explores 19th-century medical perceptions, the dissemination of reproductive knowledge through women's publications, and a case study of Adventist health publications. Through primary source analysis, this paper reveals how access to medical knowledge empowered women, especially in pursuing higher education. Additionally, examination of Adventist health publications showcases alternative remedies to menstrual disorders, granting women control over their reproductive health. This study illuminates the intersection of menstruation, women's agency, and societal change, emphasizing the …

Radically Feminist Or Monstrously Feminine?: Witches And Goddesses In Guadagnino's Suspiria (2018), Lindsay Macumber

Journal of Religion & Film

Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of Suspiria explicitly and implicitly incorporates two connected myths, witchcraft and goddess centered matriarchal prehistory. The fact that each of these myths have been claimed by feminists in myriad ways may explain Guadagnino’s claim that Suspiria is a great feminist film that escapes the male gaze. In this article, I argue that Guadagnino’s representation of these myths lays bare their misogynistic origins and perpetuates, rather than subverts, patriarchal power structures.

Borglum’S Horse Flies: The Early Opposition To Mount Rushmore, Riley Merritt

Honors College Theses

This thesis explores the evolution of opposition to Mount Rushmore from 1923-1927—the period before carving began. The resistance was led by a group of preservationists who were concerned about the potential ecological and societal impacts of the project. While much of the existing scholarship has focused on the relationship between the local Indigenous community and the monument, I argue that the preservationists, who opposed the site for their own reasons, deserve similar attention. I aim to reframe the Mount Rushmore controversy within the broader context of the conservation movement, thereby contributing to wider environmental and historical debates. I also emphasize …

Lay It On The Line: The Life And Music Of Gladys Bentley, Bianki Torres, J.

Doctoral Dissertations

This work is a historical biography of Gladys Bentley and her blues music. She was a cross-dressing entertainer from the Harlem Renaissance and performed popular songs with added, sometimes improvised sexual innuendo. This study considers the performances of her recorded and written material as trans music, meaning, that black music provided a platform to determine racial, gendered, and sexual cultural expressions changing over time, however, always rooted in black vernacular culture. Using showbills, promotional material, studio recordings and short autobiography, this study follows Bentley’s career as “male impersonator” and the effects lesbian/gay (queer) culture had on her blues. Also, I …

[Whm] Writers & Poets: Women Of The Rio Grande Valley & Their Works, Shannon Pensa

DEI Library Display Posters

Each March UTRGV Special Collections & Archives recognizes the historical contributions and achievements of women to the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This year we focus on women writers and poets and highlight their works.

Business Card With Survey, Clarke & Kleisdorff, Ltd.

Glover Family Papers, 1871-1937

Card: on front: Clarke & Kleisdorff, Ltd., 1301 Tulane Ave., New Orleans, La. On back: questions answer by Lane Glover, 517 Bridge, Jacksonville Florida, regarding amputation and purchasing an artificial limb. Circa 1905-1907.

Donna Loring, Interviewed By Mazie Hough And Carol Toner, Donna Loring

MF144 Women in the Military

Donna Loring, interviewed by Mazie Hough and Carol Toner, June 19, 2001, in Augusta, Maine. Loring, age 53, talks about enlisting in the Army in the Vietnam War; her experiences of discrimination as a Native American in Maine; boarding school; taking an aptitude test after enlisting; basic training; her role as a member of the Signal Corps; the dangers of the job; rising through the ranks; the detachment of the Women’s Army Corps from the rest of the Army; women soldiers and weapons; leaving the base against orders; racism in the military; diversity within the W.A.C.; the psychological effects; leisure …

Donna Loring, Interviewed By Mazie Hough And Carol Toner, Part 1, Donna Loring

MF144 Women in the Military

Donna Loring, interviewed by Mazie Hough and Carol Toner, June 19, 2001, at the CATS Library in Augusta, Maine. Donna talks about enlisting in 1966; training in California and going to Vietnam; serving in the Military Occupational Specialty Signals Corps and as a soldier of the Women’s Army Corps. Text: 9 pp. transcript. Time: 01:20:59. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.

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Part 1 mfc_na3207_c2308_01
Part 2 mfc_na3207_c2308_02

Donna Loring, Interviewed By Mazie Hough And Carol Toner, Part 2, Donna Loring

MF144 Women in the Military

Donna Loring, interviewed by Mazie Hough and Carol Toner, June 19, 2001, at the CATS Library in Augusta, Maine. Donna talks about enlisting in 1966; training in California and going to Vietnam; serving in the Military Occupational Specialty Signals Corps and as a soldier of the Women’s Army Corps. Text: 9 pp. transcript. Time: 01:20:59. Restrictions: None. Approval to release provided by James Francis of the Penobscot Historic Preservation Committee, 2024-02-23.

Listen

Part 1 mfc_na3207_c2308_01
Part 2 mfc_na3207_c2308_02

Envelope, The Progress Tailoring Co.- Warren Glover

Glover Family Papers, 1871-1937

Envelope, The Progress Tailoring Co.- Warren Glover. Circa 1900-1902.

Navigating Archival Silences: Black History At Purdue, Sammie L. Morris

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

There are gaps in the historical record of Purdue University as evidenced in the lack of source materials in the University Archives. In particular, researching history on Black alumni, faculty, and staff and other people of color in Purdue's past is challenging due to the scarcity of source material. This presentation discusses gaps or archival silences in the University Archives and measures being taken to preserve and share access to Black history at Purdue.

List Regarding Payment And Acreage

Glover Family Papers, 1871-1937

Note: List payment to Henry Glover, Butler Glover and [illegible] Dobson. Lists portions of land for Butler Glover, Stephen Glover, and estate Abram Dobson. Circa 1871-1888

"My First Best Love": Women's Writing On College Friendships 1880–1905, Alyssa J. Kayser-Hirsh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, American society encouraged strong bonds between women. As separate sphere ideology took hold, highly-structured female relationships were created and maintained through shared rituals, language, and expectations. The resulting friendships enabled women to build a range of emotional ties with one another. At the same time, an expanding array of gender segregated educational institutions further promoted homosocial networks. Women’s college students built community through their shared experience inhabiting a collective space, forging social circles as well as one-on-one intimate relationships. This thesis examines women’s experiences of friendship within the college setting between 1880 …

Death, Dreaming, And Diaspora: Achieving Orientation Through Afro-Spirituality, Liz Johnston, Jaime Elizabeth Johnston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Enslavement, colonization, and the systems that uphold racial injustice were and still are a series of new, unfathomable, and challenging experiences that prompt individuals within the diaspora to seek orientation. How does a human cope with centuries of attempts at the systematic destruction of their humanity, culture, and identity? How can they reclaim that identity, especially when so much of it seems lost? I address these questions by utilizing texts from the expansive body of work regarding ethnographic-historical-religious studies on Afro-spiritual practices to better analyze instances in literature in the ongoing practice of diasporic orientation. In this project, I argue …

Of Sacrament And Safety: How Two 1970s Home Birth Services Magnified The Power And The Limits Of Women's Voices, Kristen S. Burgess

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

Two home birth services faced changes in the early 1970s, resulting in a watershed moment for maternity care and childbirth options throughout the United States. One service began in Summertown, Tennessee, where a counterculture group believed birth was sacramental and home birth was essential to honoring that sacrament. Still, these resourceful pioneers embraced technology for prenatal care and safe birth practices, leading to the establishment of the Farm Midwifery Clinic and contributing directly to the rebirth of midwifery in the United States. Chicago, in contrast, offered home delivery to urban Chicago's racially diverse, low-income population through The Chicago Maternity Center. …

What Is A Lesbian Document? Platforming Archival Description, Documents, And History In Sweden, Rachel Pierce

Proceedings from the Document Academy

As Joanna Drucker (2014) convincingly argues, “Most information visualizations are acts of interpretation masquerading as presentation" (p. 10). This article investigates the visuality and built-in argumentations of the Alvin interface for digitized Swedish cultural heritage, focusing on how the platform defines a document and the effects this definition has on the accessibility and interconnectedness of documents related to lesbian and feminist histories. This paper addresses how (failed) systematization and an emphasis on large quantities of documents and metadata breathes new life into outdated historiographies and renders documents and information related to feminist and lesbian histories and connections between these histories …

Digital Resurrection Of Historical Figures: A Case Study On Mary Sibley Through Customized Chatgpt, James Hutson, Paul Huffman, Jeremiah Ratican

Faculty Scholarship

This study investigates the emerging realm of digital resurrection, focusing on Mary Sibley (1800–1878), the esteemed founder of Lindenwood University. The core objective was to demonstrate the capability of advanced artificial intelligence, specifically a customized version of ChatGPT, in revitalizing historical figures for educational and engagement purposes. By integrating comprehensive diaries from Sibley with Claude 2.0, the research utilized a substantial autobiographical dataset to develop a GPT beta version that replicates her distinct voice and tone. The incorporation of her official portrait and diaries into the GPT Builder was pivotal, creating an interactive platform that accurately reflects her perspectives on …