Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Undercover Heroines: The Role Of Women In The Oss, Alexander Pearson

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Women played significant roles in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Aline Griffith’s memoir The Spy Wore Red: My Adventures as an Undercover Agent in World War II recounts her work in preparation for the southern invasion of France following D-day, known as Operation Dragoon. Other written accounts from other female agents indicate that the leadership in Washington wanted women to fulfill traditional gender roles. For example, William J. Donovan stated that women in the OSS should be “behind desks and filing cases in Washington, invisible apron strings of an organization which touched every theater of …

“Now It’S All Simple:” Ideology And Solidarity In Mckay’S Romance In Marseille, Reilly Flynn

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Survival strategy, or an individual’s chosen method of living with dignity and security in an oppressive social order, can be viewed as a reflection of identity. Claude McKay’s recently published 1932 novel Romance in Marseille presents a wide variety of survival strategies practiced by many diasporic Africans. These characters hail from a variety of backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations, and disability statuses, but they are nevertheless united by common class conditions. Through this, solidarity and shared ideology emerge. Solidarity is crucially an important revolutionary force, but it is not infallible. With an eye on manifestations of ideology and identity in …

'Household Managers': Women's Employment In Japan, Elizabeth Gaver

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Despite modern Japan’s evident economic success, persisting inequality between men and women is still apparent in the work field, furthered by societal expectations that drive women away from employment and overwork men. This presentation argues the causes of inequality for women in the work field, including societal expectations and the two-track system, as well as analyzes the effects on women’s lifestyle and careers, including the wage gap and prevalence of non-standard employment. Furthermore, this presentation argues the increasingly detrimental effects of employment inequality on Japanese society as a whole, such as the declining fertility rate. Lastly, this paper will focus …

The Committee On Public Information And The Four Minute Men: How The United States Sold A European War To American People, Madison Mcternan

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Shortly after America’s entry into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson created the Committee on Public Information to garner public support for the War. This committee was created not only to drum up support for the war, but to ease a public frustrated by an isolationist president’s entry into such a conflict. Notable reporter and writer George Creel served as its chairman, and together with countless others created a massive propaganda campaign. The Committee was incredibly successful in its mission of “selling the war.” This was largely due to the fact that Creel and his men revolutionized the way propaganda …

A Safavid Royal Bathhouse Uncovered: Re-Evaluation Of The Sa‘Ādatābād Garden Of Qazvin With New Archaeological Evidence, Sean Silvia

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

In 2019, archaeologists broke ground at the site of Shah Ṭahmāsp I’s Sa’ādatābād in Qazvin, a royal garden and palace complex finished in 1557. There they discovered remains of a Safavid bathhouse. There have been many recent efforts to reconstruct Sa’ādatābād as it originally was, but none of them include the recently unearthed baths in their models. The archaeological team’s dig reports also do not perform this sort of analysis. This paper will consider historical and archaeological evidence to incorporate the bathhouse discovery into the reconstruction of Sa’ādatābād. It will situate the baths within the context of a garden city, …

8:46, Riell Swann

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The multimedia poetic work, 8:46, attempts to shed light on the lengthy history of systemic racism in America. Through curated images meant to visually represent the spoken word, this creative piece guides the viewer through this reality via the eyes of the most enigmatic and stereotyped figures of modern times, a young black man. This poetic work seeks to enlighten others, as to potentially cultivate a bridge of understanding and empathy. Despite background, creed, or color, discussion of the issues is the most direct method towards progress. Through the use of text and imagery, the hope of this poetic work …

African American Women In The Domestic Service Industry During Reconstruction. An Intersectional Analysis, Kathryn Small

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

African American Women in the Domestic Service Industry during Reconstruction. An Intersectional Analysis.

My paper focuses on the experiences of African American women, within the workplace, during Reconstruction. Whilst the Civil War resulted in the emancipation of the African American population, the day-to-day attainment of freedom posed a very different reality, most notably in respect of limited opportunities for economic advancement. All working women of this time were subjected to discrimination. However, black women were especially discriminated against due to their race. Most markedly, this can be seen in the fact that work opportunities available to black women were restricted …

Women's Self-Definition Through Poetry, Olivia Samimy

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This project looks at five female poets across history – Anne Bradstreet, Aphra Behn, Forough Farrokhzad, Anne Sexton, and Sylvia Plath – to explore the various challenges they faced writing in their patriarchal societies. Further, it looks at the way they each used their poetry to define themselves and their own identity. This project seeks to explain why this act of self-definition is significant, and why it so often drew criticism from the writers’ respective societies. What was discovered, is that the act of a woman crafting her own self-definition through poetry is a privilege in a patriarchal society, where …

Burr: An American Conspiracy, Kathleen J. Brett

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Former vice president and political figure Aaron Burr was one of the most ambitious and controversial Americans of the early 18^th century. After killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, plotted against the United States in order to create his own country. This plot became known as the Burr Conspiracy. Within this conspiracy, Burr consulted not only the Spanish for support, but America’s rival, England. Burr’s detailed scheming against his own country served as enough to arrest him under the charge of “high treason.” The trial proved to be crucial in American history, as the definition of “high treason” was …

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 …

Bomb-Dropping Bombshells: An Analysis Of The Motivations And Accomplishments Of The All-Female 46th Taman Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment, Yasmine L. Vaughan

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The 46^th Taman Guard Bombers Aviation Regiment was an all-female regiment of bomber pilots enlisted by the Soviet military during World War II. Nicknamed the Night Witches by Germans soldiers, they flew over 24,000 combat missions in three years and produced twenty-four Heroes of the Soviet Union. Although gender equality in Soviet Russia made this regiment possible, equality was not what made them successful. To understand their achievements, their motivations must be examined. When the Germans invaded, these women were driven by patriotism to join the fight. Enduring the harsh frontlines, this regiment owed their success to their …

The Stories We Tell, Abigail A. Hoekstra

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure tells the story of Dorothy Allison as she comes to terms with her past and strives to move beyond it, to be empowered and embodied by it. In this short memoir, Allison explores the relationship she has with her mother and how that relationship has influenced her individuality and character, whose complacency has restricted Allison. Allison breaks away from the stories she has been told to tell a new story of abuse and disembodiment in which she finds love, and in turn, embodiment; the unification of her body and spirit. Story-telling and …

Dorothea Lange: Capturing The Reality Of The Great Depression And New Deal Era, Laura H. Vandemark

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Dorothea Lange’s training in traditional pictoralist photography combined with her growing passion for documentary photography allowed her work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) during the Great Depression and New Deal era to tell the stories of suffering Americans. While most well-known for her image entitled Migrant Mother, Lange’s work focused on representing her subject(s) with dignity and pride no matter the conditions surrounding them. Lange’s attention to creating authentic images and detailed field notes recorded conditions of migrant famers in the west and sharecroppers in the southwest. Her unique approach to the open ended FSA assignments allowed the FSA …

Blade Runner And The Divine Menace, Alexander W. Pickens

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Following the decline of Christianity in mainstream Western culture, a void rose in the moral and societal code. Those writers that emerged presented alternate visions that worked their way into the literature of the 20th century. Karl Marx's interpretation of the structure of labor in capitalism presented a new societal hierarchy whose finer points have been worked out in the complex film Blade Runner. This dystopian nightmare, in which a Marxist interpretation of current society bogged down by the ennui of capitalist accumulation is confronted, describes a new religious order based upon this economic theory. Central to this reimagining …

The Influence Of Roman Politics On The Imperial Cult Ad 69-193, Elena W. Hin

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The imperial cult, defined as worship of dead emperors deified by the Senate and worship of the guiding emperor’s spirit, was ubiquitous throughout the Roman empire and provinces from the Flavian to Antonine dynasties (AD 69-180). It served as a method to unify the provinces to each other and the emperor himself, and strengthened political power. The connection between the imperial cult and the Roman politics is seen in the changes occurring within the empire and subsequent changes within worship. The imperial cult served as a reflection of the Roman empire’s political environment, and its provincial differences illustrate the change …

The Position Of Freedmen In Roman Society, Cory R. Dibacco

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The Position of Freedmen in Roman Society

By Cory DiBacco, Undergraduate History Major, James Madison University

This research investigates the methods of integration into Roman society by freedmen and how their positions in the public were met with significant countervailing tension because of the macula servitutis, or stain of slavery. This paper analyzes the examples and ways in which freedmen overcame the macula servitutis and disapproving perspectives regarding manumission to become respectable members of society. The research for this analysis relies on excellent historical monographs and primary sources of freedmen epitaphs, the writings of Cicero, Pliny, and many other …

Plato’S Charioteer: On Mythos And Logos In The Dialogues, Tyler Palombo, Augustus Morrissey Snyder

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Plato [ca. 427-347 BC], a citizen of ancient Athens wrote dialogues not only for philosophically trained readers of the Academy, a center of learning established by Plato around 387 BC, but also to interest, instruct and persuade those outside of the Academy of the value of choosing and living a morally good life. The dialogues contain both marvelous stories [mythoi] and extended arguments [logoi].

The first section of the paper considers the nature and purpose of myth and its effects on the hearer or reader. The second section describes the various argumentative techniques used in the dialogues, their purpose and …

Hitler's Inconsistent Jazz Policy And How It Weakened His Control, Emmy Freedman

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

In my paper, I discuss Hitler’s ironclad regime and how jazz music played a role in weakening it. Jazz music, with its democratic style and history, served as the antithesis to Hitler’s favored classical compositions. Although he tried to control the music and its supporters, Hitler never fully understood the genre and therefore was never able to stop its spread across Germany. In the paper, I also discuss how jazz music played into race relations and its distinctions among the social strata. Jazz music and Hitler’s opposition to it also had an impact on technology, the 1936 Olympics and propaganda.

Kings, Wars, And Duck Eggs: Interpretations Of Poetry In Egil’S Saga, James C. Daughton

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper examines the function and cultural implications of poetry in Egil’s Saga, an Icelandic saga written around the thirteenth century A.D. The title character, Egil Skallagrimson, is a renowned warrior and obstinate maverick, but perhaps his most singular trait is his gift for crafting poetry—a talent reflected in the nearly sixty sets of his verse that appear throughout the prose text. Obviously, these poems allow the reader to tap into Egil’s psyche, but they also fulfill the more profound purpose of illuminating the values and experiences of medieval Icelanders. Egil eternalizes the heritage he shares with his countrymen, explores …

The Regendering Of The White Savior, Brett Seekford

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Filmmakers have long employed white characters that serve to lift African American characters out of destitution or hardship through inherently benevolent qualities; these heroes have been branded the central figures in the “white savior model” that has come to dominate films about race relations. The white savior centers whiteness while relegating blackness to the margins. In an analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Help (2011), however, this paper will argue that gender also plays a significant role in the development of a white savior. Through discussions of characterization, narrative structure and setting, it becomes clear that the …

Holly Martins And The Impartial Spectator: The Economics Of The Third Man, Alexander W. Pickens

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The film The Third Man is often critiqued for its portrayal of post-war Vienna and the abusive nature of totalitarian regimes in a nearly-anarchic state. However, this film does something that few other films do: it tackles the primary dilemmas facing economists using a visual medium and featuring some of the debates that have been plaguing economic thinkers for years (what is a just allocation of resources, competition in free markets, what happens when corrupt governments control resource allocation). Ultimately, the film is a unique analysis tension between the costs and benefits of the philosophies of Keynes and F. A. …

Useful By Nature, Defensive On Demand: Topography And Sieges Of Rome In The Gothic War, Peter Francis Sian Guevara

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This project shows how the use of topographical elements impacted the development of siege warfare during the Gothic Wars in the 6^th century A.D. Scholars studied topography and archaeology within the context of warfare in Late Antique Italy but they omit non-natural topographical features such as tombs, bridges, and aqueducts. Analyses undertaken include comparison and contrast of the sieges that the city of Rome endured during the Gothic Wars of a contemporary eye-witness, the Greek historian Procopius of Caesarea. The analysis includes other sieges such as Ravenna and Rimini. Christopher Lillington-Martin’s essay Procopius on the Struggle for Dara in …

The Land Of Steady Habits: Anti-Abolition And The Preservation Of Slavery In Connecticut, Griffin R. Watson

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper explores the history of slavery in Connecticut from its inception during the Pequot War in the 1630s to its abolishment in 1848. The research pays particular attention to the reasons for the persistence of slavery as a formal institution in Connecticut while so many other northern states had abolished it. What was uncovered is that slavery was not supported as much in Connecticut as abolition was opposed. The people of Connecticut saw immediate abolition as a threat to the preexisting social order, despite their view of slavery as immoral. Slavery persisted as a means of preventing social upheaval.