Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Slashing Signs: Mary Richardson's Attack On "The Rokeby Venus" As Semioclasm, Robyn Epstein

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

When art is the victim of violence the object itself isn’t the only thing under attack. I see acts of violence against art as a two-step process: an attack on the physical art object and an attack on the icon, symbol, or sign it represents. This paper examines the 1914 slashing of the Diego Velàzquez painting The Rokeby Venus (1647-51) by British suffragette Mary Richardson. Using this attack as a case study, I argue that the event is semioclastic, as opposed to iconoclastic or vandalistic, meaning that it is an attack on the painting as a sign and is therefore …

“The Living Nightmare: Deathlok And African American Slavery In Contemporary Society”, Christian Organ

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Deathlok #1-4 (July-Oct. 1990), produced by an African-American team lead by writer Dwayne McDuffie, features the first iteration of a black man, Michael Collins, being Deathlok, a character who had previously seen multiple rewrites through the lens of different white men. Along with the skin of the character changing, the tone of the comic changes to highlight the subservient, slave like, nature of Collins’ relationship to corporate America. While other research has correctly observed the prominent parallels to slavery in Collins relationship to corporate America after his transformation into the killing machine Deathlok, this paper asserts that Collins’ slavery and …

Move: Philadelphia's Forgotten Bombing, Charles Abraham

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

On May 13^th, 1985, the city of Philadelphia erupted into flames. Under the orders of Mayor Wilson Goode, the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb onto the rowhouse containing MOVE, a cult-like organization, on Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia causing a fire which killed eleven people, including five children, and burning down sixty-one other houses. But instead of the bombing ending his political career, Mayor Goode was reelected, and the bombing slipped into obscurity outside of Philadelphia. This major event in the history of Philadelphia was forgotten because of the lack of connection between the city and the …

Love, Sex, And Marriage In Ibn Battuta's Travels, Rachel Singer

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Abu ‘Abdallah ibn Battuta was a Muslim legal scholar who traveled nearly 73,000 miles in the mid-fourteenth century and wrote a popular rihla, or travel diary, of his experiences. The rihla was a public and impersonal genre that traditionally contained little, if any, biographical material about its author. However, Ibn Battuta’s rihla includes detailed narratives about its author’s marriages, concubines, and sexual exploits. Although discussion of these themes is virtually unseen in other contemporary rihlas, few historians have discussed why Ibn Battuta breaks tradition to include this material.

This paper argues that Ibn Battuta describes his marital and …

From Complaisance To Collaboration: Analyzing Citizens’ Motives Near Concentration And Extermination Camps During The Holocaust, Jordan Green

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The role of local peoples near concentration camps, extermination camps, and mass shooting sites in Europe during World War II is a widely unexplored area of the Holocaust. Although locals both knew of these sites and their purposes, many chose to be complaisant while others collaborated with the Nazi regime. Therefore, non-persecuted Germans and occupied peoples near the camps played a substantial role in the atrocities committed during the Holocaust. These civilians’ actions, or lack thereof, in response to the crimes against humanity before their eyes were driven by three main factors: economic gain, antisemitism, and fear. Regardless of motive, …

How Dumbledore Saved Europe: A Comparison Of Fascist Rhetoric In European History And In The Harry Potter Franchises, Emma Pederson, Natalie Rice

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

In recent years, the popularity of the Harry Potter franchise has seen a resurgence with the release of the first two Fantastic Beasts films and accompanying screenplays. As parallels have been drawn between Voldemort’s Death Eaters and Nazis, it is time to examine the relationship between Gellert Grindelwald and real-life fascists. Through such a comparison, we can see common rhetoric in both real and fictional fascism.

Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore have not only a Nazi-like goal of racial purity, but employ Nazi-like language to defend themselves. Related fascist rhetoric is woven throughout other European history, particularly in the dialogues …

Dissent And Disruption: How Artists Redefine Museum Spaces And Audience Engagement, Paige E. Sellars

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper delves into the concept of artistic creation from engagement with museum collections and the intimate connection between museum curation the post-modern and contemporary artist. I discuss the work of Nedko Solakov at the Frans Hals Museum, Jenny Holzer and Donald Judd at the Museum of Applied Art in Vienna, and Fred Wilson at the Baltimore Historical Society. These artists intentionally reengaged with art and museum objects via deliberate installations and clever interventions to broaden the narrative and in some instances, contest the hierarchical dissemination of knowledge provided by the curator and the museum. Museums of the past espoused …

Blood, Meth, And Tears: The Super Soldiers Of World War Ii, Nicholas Racine

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Day and night, soldiers in World War II were physically and mentally strained by fatigue and psychiatric distress. Consequently, many soldiers were left exhausted and demoralized. War efforts hinged on soldiers succeeding in missions, thus a fast-acting solution was needed. Development of the psychostimulant drugs Benzedrine and Pervitin in the 1920s and 30s spurred enthusiasm among scientists, the media, the public, and various governments. Potent and powerful, these drugs exert effects that promote wakefulness, elevated mood, and improved field performance. Governments quickly began researching use of stimulants to improve their war efforts. By the early 40s, both drugs had millions …