History Commons^™

Truffaut’S L’Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child, 1970): Evoking Autism And The Nascent “Eugenic Atlantic”, Joy C. Schaefer

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This essay analyzes François Truffaut’s L’Enfant sauvage (The Wild Child, 1970) as an early representation of autism that metaphorizes the neurodiverse child as the colonial subject. The film takes place in 1798, only a decade after the French Revolution, and depicts the true events of the “wild boy of Aveyron,” a feral child found in the Southern French forest when he was twelve years old. Before the film’s production, Truffaut—who also plays the boy’s teacher, Dr. Jean-Marc Itard—collected articles and books on autism and viewed videos of autistic children to create his main character’s behavioral patterns. The film …

Divorce And Family Life In Nineteenth-Century Vanderburgh County, Megan Owens

Grand Valley Journal of History

In the nineteenth century, private family life was meant to mimic the ideal republican society, providing the necessary foundation for future patriotic citizens. When families failed to adhere to the idealistic notions of the private sphere and descended into conflict or divorce, however, the very foundation of American society was in danger. An analysis of divorce and family disputes in local contexts like Vanderburgh County can provide a window into the realities of private conflict within American families, especially in comparison to wider national trends.

This paper uses a small sample of divorce records from Vanderburgh County in Indiana to …

Were They Spat On? Understanding The Homecoming Experience Of Vietnam Veterans, Heather Vlieg

Grand Valley Journal of History

This project investigates the contentious question of how American Vietnam veterans were received by family, friends, and society in general upon their return home from the Vietnam War. The goal is to discover how accurately published literature has portrayed the veterans' individual experiences. This has been done by comparing a large number of Vietnam veteran oral history interviews gathered by, and archived with, the Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project to that which has been written on the subject. This comparison clearly reveals that although there is a fair amount of published material on this topic, the majority of …

The Great Leap Famine And Amartya Sen, Chang-Dae Hyun

Grand Valley Journal of History

Amartya Sen, a Nobel Laureate argues, “in the terrible history of famines in the world, no substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press.”[1] According to Sen, severe famine does not happen if a country is autonomous (independent), fair and accountable (democratic), and encourages free exchange of ideas (free press). Autonomous government has the power to allocate resources according to domestic concerns, and democratic government has duty to accommodate societal concerns guided by the rule of law. Relatively free press allows citizens to express their concerns freely and notifies government with …

The Russian Revolution, Chang-Dae Hyun

Grand Valley Journal of History

The Russian Revolution was caused by the consequences of World War I: economic crises, and demotivated soldiers. In both cases, governments – the Romanov Dynasty and the Provisional Government that first seized power from the Tsar – were unable to resolve these problems. But these factors alone were not sufficient enough to cause the Russian Revolution, rather they should be understood as preconditions. What was also needed was a strong party – the Bolshevik Party – willing and able to capitalize on such preconditions. First, this paper will argue that economic crises such as food shortages, inflation, and poor working …

Ohio, Evangelical Religion, And The Merging Of The Antislavery Movement: Joshua R. Giddings, Salmon P. Chase, And Their Remarkable Crusades Against Slavery, Douglas Montagna

Studies in Midwestern History

This article will treat the antislavery careers of Joshua R. Giddings and Salmon P. Chase in three parts. The first part will show that they were exposed to evangelical religion early in their lives and that their religious lives continued to develop throughout their childhoods and young adulthoods. The second part will show what experiences inspired each to become antislavery activists. And the third part will show how religion remained the cornerstones of both of their fights against slavery while working within the American political system. Both themes of this essay—the importance of the Ohio society and environment in fostering …