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Full-Text Articles in African American Studies

Military Occupation, Sexual Violence, And The Struggle Over Masculinity In The Early Reconstruction South, Cameron T. Sauers Oct 2020

Military Occupation, Sexual Violence, And The Struggle Over Masculinity In The Early Reconstruction South, Cameron T. Sauers

Student Publications

This inquiry centers on the way that sexual violence became the terrain upon which the struggles of the postemancipation and early Reconstruction South were waged. At the start of the Civil War, Confederate discourse played upon the fears of sexual violence engulfing the South with the invasion of Union armies. The nightmare never came to Southern households; rape was infrequently reported. However, Southern women, especially if they were African American, were subjected to sexual violence, which likely increased as the war dragged on. Sexual violence includes, but is not limited to, rape. Destruction of clothing, invasion of domestic spaces, and …


"We Are Americans, Too:" Interracial Relations In Detroit's Postwar Auto Industry, Andrew C. Nosti Oct 2016

"We Are Americans, Too:" Interracial Relations In Detroit's Postwar Auto Industry, Andrew C. Nosti

Student Publications

This analysis looks at the interracial relations and conflicts within the postwar Detroit auto industry. In doing so, it examines the role the UAW, the government, the corporations, and the workers themselves played, and how race and/or gender contributed to interactive negotiations within the employment sector at the time.


Peering Into The Jezebel Archetype In African American Culture And Emancipating Her From Hyper-Sexuality: Within And Beyond James Baldwin’S 'Go Tell It On The Mountain' And Alice Walker’S 'The Color Purple', Zakiya A. Brown Apr 2015

Peering Into The Jezebel Archetype In African American Culture And Emancipating Her From Hyper-Sexuality: Within And Beyond James Baldwin’S 'Go Tell It On The Mountain' And Alice Walker’S 'The Color Purple', Zakiya A. Brown

Student Publications

Literary authors and performing artists are redefining the image of the Jezebel archetype from a negative stereotype to an empowering persona. The reformation of the Jezebel’s identity and reputation, from a manipulating stereotype to an uplifting individual may not be a common occurrence, but the Jezebel archetype as a positive figure has earned a dignified position in literature and in reality. Jezebel archetypes wear their sexuality proudly. Her sultriness may be the first aspect of her identity that readers see, but readers must be cautious not to overlook her merit and moral standards as a character that has the potential …


The Ideal And The Real: Southern Plantation Women Of The Civil War, Kelly H. Crosby Oct 2014

The Ideal And The Real: Southern Plantation Women Of The Civil War, Kelly H. Crosby

Student Publications

Southern plantation women experienced a shift in identity over the course of the Civil War. Through the diaries of Catherine Edmondston and Eliza Fain, historians note the discrepancy between the ideal and real roles women had while the men were off fighting. Unique perspectives and hidden voices in their writings offer valuable insight into the life of plantation women and the hybrid identity they gained despite the Confederate loss.


She's A Brick House: August Wilson And The Stereotypes Of Black Womanhood, Amelia Tatum Grabowski Jan 2013

She's A Brick House: August Wilson And The Stereotypes Of Black Womanhood, Amelia Tatum Grabowski

Student Publications

In his Century Cycle of plays, August Wilson tells ten distinct stories of families in or linked to the Hill District, an African American community in Pittsburgh; one play taking place in each decade of the twentieth century. Through these plays, Wilson's audience sees the Hill District and America evolve, while prejudice, oppression, and poverty remain constant. Many scholars argue that sexism provides a fourth common factor, asserting that Wilson portrays the female characters in the male-fantasized, stereotypical roles of the Mammy or the Jezebel figure, rather as realistic, empowered, and complex women. However, close examination of the women with …