Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Interlocking Oppressions Of Sisterhood: (Re) Presenting The Black Woman In Nineteenth Century Blackface Minstrelsy, Catherine Downing

Senior Scholar Papers

Blackface minstrelsy began as a racially derisive form of early nineteenth century white working class stage entertainment that essentialized blackness into an object of social ridicule. Racial burlesque coupled with gender performance stigmatized. popular representations of black womanhood. Repetition of blackface minstrelsy's negative images solidified the black woman's stereotyped mainstream identity as a subordinate group with equally overlapping social forms of oppression. Within the first fifty years of repetitious blackface performance, the objectifying images of black female inferiority constructed a dominant American racist and sexist ideology. The black woman was either the Mammy or the Jezebel. For blacks, the only …

Motorized Obsessions: Life, Liberty, And The Small-Bore Engine, Paul R. Josephson

Faculty Books

From dirt bikes and jet skis to weed wackers and snowblowers, machines powered by small gas engines have become a permanent—and loud—fixture in American culture. But fifty years of high-speed fun and pristine lawns have not come without cost.

In the first comprehensive history of the small-bore engine and the technology it powers, Paul R. Josephson explores the political, environmental, and public health issues surrounding one of America's most dangerous pastimes. Each chapter tells the story of an ecosystem within the United States and the devices that wreak havoc on it—personal watercraft (PWCs) on inland lakes and rivers; all-terrain vehicles …

Getting Hitched: Weddings And Reality Television, Amanda Vickerson

Undergraduate Research Symposium (UGRS)

From watching reality shows like A Wedding Story on TLC, I have learned that planning a wedding is stressful, kills friendships, and is generally not fun. In my opinion, I think it’s crazy. So why do people do this? What is the allure of this madness? In addition to the general insanity of weddings, the institute of marriage has been shown to be deeply flawed and quite unequal, but we are still tuning in to watch Engaged & Underage and Perfect Proposal. The fantasy shows that we watch and the glossy magazines we read seem to cover up the fact …