History of Gender Commons^™

"Either On Account Of Sex Or Color": Policing The Boundaries Of The Medical Profession During Reconstruction, Adam Lloyd-Jones

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

In 1868, the American Medical Association (AMA) was asked to permit consultation with female physicians and admit them as delegates. In 1870, a delegation of Black doctors sought entrance to an Annual AMA meeting. The AMA refused entrance to both female and Black physicians. This paper argues that these meetings, and the question of inclusion for Black and female practitioners, arose out of the political climate that Reconstruction created. Expanding from previous scholarship, this paper further analyzes the role of Chicago doctor Nathan Smith Davis in the perpetuation of a white medical profession.

Navigating Femininity: Queen Elizabeth I And The Armada Portrait, Julia Maurer

Capstone Showcase

By analyzing the iconographic program of the Armada Portrait, this essay demonstrates the various visual strategies that Queen Elizabeth I employed in order to navigate certain gendered, cultural barriers present in Early Modern England. I argue throughout this essay that Elizabeth was meticulous in her delicate dance of bolstering her individual authority, while not radically undermining the patriarchal dispensation in which she lived and ruled. In particular, I demonstrate that Queen Elizabeth I effectively utilized the visual arts to control the public perception of her reign in ways unique to female regnants, as she both confirmed and denied her femininity. …

Elite Women In The Mediterranean 31 Bc – 1380 Ad: An Investigation Into Female Agency, Identity, And Patriarchy Across Classical And Christian Paradigms, Julia Maurer

Capstone Showcase

This paper explores the responses of elite women to patriarchal regimes across the Classical Pagan and Medieval Christian paradigms in the Mediterranean from 31 BC to 1380 AD. While the current historiography acknowledges the radical differences between the two worldviews fundamental to the core values of Western Civilization, an investigation of three women that can be taken to be emblematic examples of the periods in which they lived reveals a striking continuity in the nuanced social roles available to women. This continuity contradicts expectations of significant changes reflective of this revolutionary paradigm shift.

I utilize Julia Augusti, Vibia Perpetua, and …

Deconstructing The Miniskirt Mythology: Clothing And Womanhood In 1960s London, Neva Miller

Departmental Honors Projects

This research investigates the role of the miniskirt in reflecting the concept of femininity as understood in London and abroad throughout the 1960s and 70s. Data is drawn from primary sources from the 1960s including newspapers, advertisements, and firsthand accounts related to wearers of miniskirts in London. Particular attention is given to the supposed “revolutionary” status of Mary Quant, who is commonly credited with popularizing the miniskirt and thus ushering in an era of emancipation in female dress. While the miniskirt is preserved in historical memory as an icon of youth revolution and sexual liberation, more emphasis should be given …

Re-Curation And Recognition: Addressing The Curation Crisis Through The Garnet Ghost Town, Jocelyn A. Palombo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As universities, federal curation facilities, public museums, and private collections struggle to create space on their shelves curators and archaeologists continuously evaluate what must continue to be stored and what needs to be deaccessioned. Utilizing a collection housed at the University of Montana I explore strategies for combating this issue. The collection originates from the Garnet Ghost Town and has been in the university’s care since its excavation. The objectives of this project are to obtain new information and incorporate innovative techniques to learn more about the collection itself and provide an updated analysis to one of Montana’s most complete …

Paternal Affliction: Emotions And Masculinity Among Eighteenth-Century Italian Jewish Merchants, Francesca Bregoli

Publications and Research

This essay focuses on the “rhetoric of paternal affliction” that late eighteenthcentury

Italian Jewish merchant patriarchs employed in letters and supplications

addressing threats to their intertwined paternal and commercial authority,

particularly when filial disobedience or apostasy was involved. I examine this

rhetoric as an emotional style that illuminates Jewish merchant masculinity.

Although the image of a suffering father seems to deviate from known early

modern models of hegemonic masculinity, within the context of the eighteenthcentury

culture of sensibility this rhetoric emphasized Jewish patriarchs’ honesty

and righteousness, beseeching male compassion and sympathy. By performing

vulnerability vis-à-vis Jewish associates, as well as …

Introduction, Francesca Bregoli

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Gregoria De Jesus At Ang Talambuhay Ng Babae Sa Himagsikan, Francis A. Gealogo

History Department Faculty Publications

Marami nang naisulat na talambuhay kaugnay ng Himagsikang Filipino. Malinaw sa nakararami dito ang mga pagtatangkang pahalagahan ang papel na ginampanan ng mga indibidwal sa kasaysayan, at ihayag ang mga kolektibong karanasan kaugnay ng kilusan. Sa maraming pagkakataon, sinasalamin ng mga pagtatala ng mga personal na gunita ang perspektiba, pananaw, tindig, at tahakin ng indibidwal na kasangkot sa himagsikan sa kanyang pagtatalambuhay ng mga gunita. Dahil personal na tala ito ng mga indibidwal na gunita, may mga pagkakataong ang talambuhay ang naglalahad hindi lamang ng mga pangyayari, kundi ng pagtatanggol o panlilibak sa papel na ginampanan ng ibang mga indibidwal …

Sustaining Ireland, Body And Soul: A Woman Leader's Story Of The Cooperative Movement, Elizabeth Summerfield

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

This article tells the story of the Cooperative Movement in Ireland during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from the perspective of one of its woman leaders. It does so in order to distil lessons for the contemporary thought leadership of sustainability from a period before the term was coined. It does so with the warrant of Albert Einstein:

The distinction between the past, the present and the future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.

Its evidence base is historical literature, but its argument and analysis draw on recent research in leadership studies, neuroscience and theology.

Diversification Of Suffering: An Analysis Of The Historiography Of The Home Fronts Of First World War Germany And Austria-Hungary Of The Past Quarter-Century, Gage Overton

Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The scholarship analyzing the home fronts of Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War has grown sharply in the past quarter-century. These studies revealed many details that were scarcely known to many historians and introduced perspectives of the home front that were largely ignored beforehand. The scholars highlighted in this analysis all provide discussions which have deepened our understanding of the war, like the German government's punishment of women for "sexual treason," the extent of Vienna's devastation caused by hunger and disease, and the relationship between theatre and Austrian identity. Overall, the recent scholarship on this subject has demonstrated …

A Legacy Of Homophobia: Effects Of British Colonization On Queer Rights In India And Uganda, Kelly Christensen

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Globally, there are 69 countries where homosexuality is still illegal, of these 69, 36 countries are current or former British Colonies, creating a statical connection between the era of British Colonization and homophobic practices. This paper researches how moral regulations were used during the act of colonization to control and separate populations, using India and Uganda as case studies.

Warnock, Kyle, Jen Butler, Rachel Shanks

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Kyle Warnock is a young queer person living in southern Maine whose non-profit, QueerlyME, has taken off to provide resources for the queer community in Maine. Starting as a photo documentary, QueerlyME is that, a resource directory and an event planning organization that focuses on queer activities outside of the traditional queer nightlife scene. Warnock talks about his experience growing up in South Dakota, coming out and the impacts of that. He also talks about his passion for connecting queer people with QueerlyME and the impact the organization has had on his life and the lives of many queer Mainers. …

Geist, Dale, Abby Milewski

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Ever since his coming out in a Facebook post, Dale Geist has championed queer representation in one of the most conservative music genres. Country. He is the founder of the online blog called Country Queer, where his goal is to shine a light on LGBTQ+ country and Americana music artists. He talks about influential artists such as Bob Dylan, The Indigo Girls, Elton John, Brandie Carlile, and David Bowie. In this 50-minute interview, Geist covers many stories from his life, including discovering his sexuality, the importance of media representation, David Bowie’s positive influence on the bisexual community, and the cultural …

Mcconnell, Mickey, Christina Miner

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Mickey is a graduate student at USM studying Social Work and is an Adult Learning Coach at USM. She is 31 years old and is bi-sexual. Mickey grew up in Brunswick, Maine and her mom raised her and her two sisters. She has been in a seven year relationship with her partner David. She came out about 14 years old, however, it was not well received by her mother, and Mickey remained quiet about it for several years until more recently. Her mother has relaxed more about it, is more accepting and wants her to be happy. As a result …

Lo, Q, Rheros Iliad Kagoni

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Q Lo is a 45 year old transgender man, the son of two Chinese immigrants who grew up in New York. Q discusses growing up as a queer person of color, how his gender and sexual identity was impacted by the lack of representation he saw around him, how his upbringing in Chinatown influenced his view of the world, and how his immigrant parents influenced his relationship with school, work and creativity. Q talks about attending college, dropping out of college, and his experiences going to MECA in Portland Maine while grappling with the classism and privilege he was experiencing …

Marine, Benn, Andrea Carpenter

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Benn is a 37-year-old trans man living in Maine. He identifies as being pansexual because he feels that he falls in love with personalities regardless of the person’s gender. He grew up with his family in rural southern Maine. He describes feeling that he was different than others from a young age and that, as he describes it, God made a mistake and he was supposed to be a boy. Yet he pushed those feeling under the rug for a long time. He first came out as gay, and much later he came out as trans in his mid-20s, and …

Farnsworth, Susan, Larisa Filippov

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Susan Farnsworth is a 75 year old lesbian who has lived in Maine for over 50 years. She currently resides in Hallowell, ME, but has lived all over Maine and other places in New England. Farnsworth is an attorney and has her own law practice where she helps a variety of clients with their legal problems. She realized she was a lesbian while she was in law school during her marriage to a man. Farnsworth attended Bates College for her undergraduate degree before going to the University of Maine School of Law in Portland. The multiple political organizations she has …

Blanchard, Mike, Micaiah Wert

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Mike Blanchard is a 60 year old gay man from Westbrook Maine. He has struggled as an alcoholic due to repressing his queer identity, but has been sober for 33 years (since 1989). Through addiction recovery he was able to come out as gay in 1992. After years of struggling with alcohol and rough relationships, Mike met his husband at Blackstones in Portland, and describes their relationship as, “nothing I ever chased and everything I could have hoped for.” Mike worked for a long time in the field of recreation, but left after feeling as though he could not be …

Rand, Erica - 2022 Follow Up, Sofia Oliveri

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Erica Rand is a professor of Arts and Visual Culture at Bates College, an adult figure skater, author and activist. This is a follow-up interview to her previous interview for Querying the Past in 2017. Erica Rand was heavily involved with ACT- UP Portland and more specifically the branch of ACT UP called: Pissed Off Dyke Cell and Women’s Health Action Crew. But more recently she has been involved with a new form of activism through sports and writing. At Bates, she is pushing the importance of trans-inclusion policies in sports and even testing the gender limitations put in place …

Brownlee, Margaret, Gretchen Muehle, Shelice Wilson

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

Margaret Brownlee is a multi-racial/Afro-Latina Lipstick Lesbian who was born and spent most of her life residing in Maine. Margaret was 16 when she came out and is now married to a woman and has a daughter. Margaret attended multiple universities–including Wells College, Lesley University, and the University of New England–as a first generation college student in her family with the goal of becoming a dancer. Margaret is currently a Burlesque dancer and instructor and is also employed with the Maine Department of Education. She has been involved in political activism and a number of organizations based in Maine–including Portland …