Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Tight Void, Brooke Burns

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a memoir that draws on the life experience of two promiscuous women, Brooke and Karen. Both characters come from upper-middle class backgrounds, have extremely similar family lives, and take two very different paths in both their education and sexual behavior. While the women both retain their strong friendship throughout the narrative, eventually, Karen, and her decision to become a prostitute, takes its toll. Though they remain supportive of one another, Karen's lifestyle of sex, drugs, and partying begin to create a disconnect between them. This thesis sheds light on the true nature of female promiscuity: its relation …

Women And The Wiener Werkstätte: The Centrality Of Women And The Applied Arts In Early Twentieth-Century Vienna, Caitlin J. Perkins Bahr

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I explore the importance of elite women in early twentieth-century Vienna in relation to the Wiener Werkstätte. My research has led me to believe that the Werkstätte held a more egalitarian view of women than other contemporary European applied arts workshops. Unfortunately the art-historical canon has generally overlooked the applied arts of the Wiener Werkstätte, as well as the significant roles of women in the Werkstätte as artists, clients, patrons, and promoters. In this thesis, I consider cases of women in these roles in early twentieth-century Vienna in order to gain a greater understanding of Viennese women's …

Devastating Diva: Pauline Viardot And Rewriting The Image Of Women In Nineteenth-Century French Opera Culture, Rebecca Bennett Fairbank

Theses and Dissertations

Historically vilified, the vocalizing woman developed a stereotyped image with the emergence of the prima donna in eighteenth-century opera. By the nineteenth century, the prima donna became the focal point for socio-cultural polemics: women sought financial and social independence through a career on the operatic stage while society attempted to maintain through various means the socio-cultural stability now threatened by women's mobility. The prima donna represented both a positive ideal for women as well as a great threat to western patriarchy. A discourse emerged in which the symbol of female independence and success ”the prima donna" became the site of …

The Historical Influence Of Politics And Society On Women's Experiences Of Abortion, Sandra Ruth Schumacher

Theses and Dissertations

One out of every three women in the United States will experience abortion (Guttmacher Institute, 2008). The purposes of this feminist qualitative research were to: 1) examine historically the context of legal abortion in the United States, 2) describe and explore women's experiences of abortion and 3) better understand the historical impact of the sociopolitical climate on women's perceptions of their abortion experiences. An historical review of political, legislative, and social contexts surrounding legal abortion revealed an increasingly hostile environment toward women seeking abortion since 1973. By challenging existing abortion laws in state and federal courts, anti-abortion legislators have removed …

Toward Collective Liberation: The Rise And Fall Of Anti-Sweatshop Activism In The United States, Beth Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the ebb and flow between the purveyors of sweatshops and their activist opponents. I identify three different moments in the 20th century when activists succeeded in creating a mainstream movement to fight for worker justice by applying pressure to industry, consumers, and lawmakers. During the late Progressive Era, Great Depression, and neoliberal era, cross-class alliances formed to challenge capital's desire to maximize their profits. The solidarity demonstrated by these alliances provides important examples of the power that consumers hold when using market-based activism against business interests.

By examining the solidarity movements and their subsequent backlash, I aim …

Fem And Funny: Three Women Who Changed The Face Of Stand-Up Comedy, Rachel Eliza Blackburn

Theses and Dissertations

Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, and Lisa Lampanelli as performers demonstrate an arc of evolving female empowerment in the world of stand-up comedy. In this thesis I shall study the development of each woman’s career by examining her material, progression of her comic persona, and relationship to women’s gender roles, both personally and professionally. While there are many other female comics who contribute to the story of women’s stand-up comedy in the contemporary period (in particular, Moms Mabley and Elayne Boosler), Diller, Rivers and Lampanelli each represent a distinct shift in how their persona combined with subject matter, allowing women to …

Building Morale In A Soldier Town: Home Front Women And The Gi In Columbia, South Carolina, 1941-1945, Jessica Kathleen Childress

Theses and Dissertations

As the United States mobilized for war in 1941, cities and towns across America, especially those closest to military bases, were faced with an unprecedented influx of soldiers, airmen, and sailors. To cope with these waves of servicemen in their off-duty hours, particularly to provide for wholesome entertainment and lessen the emotional weight of wartime, Columbia, South Carolina solicited participation in morale-building programs from its residents. Community leaders recognized their responsibility for funding programs and providing buildings to meet the soldiers' recreational needs, but they relied on women's organizations and female students to build morale through meaningful social interactions with …