Digital Commons Network^™

Space-Praxis: Towards A Feminist Politics Of Design, Mary C. Overholt

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

Outside of the academy and professionalized practice, design has long been central to the production of feminist, political projects. Taking what I have termed space-praxis as its central analytic, this project explores a suite of feminist interventions into the built environment—ranging from the late 1960s to present day.

Formulated in response to Michel de Certeau’s theory of spatial practices, space-praxis collapses formerly bifurcated definitions of ‘tactic’/‘strategy’ and ‘theory’/‘practice.’ It gestures towards those unruly, situated undertakings that are embedded in an ever-evolving, liberative politics. In turning outwards, away from the so-called masters of architecture, this thesis orients itself toward everyday practitioners …

Partying Like It's 1925: A Comparison And Contrast Of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby And Azuela's The Underdogs, Sarah N. Valadez

English (MA) Theses

This work is an assessment of themes, ideas, and structure between two iconic novels published during the nineteen-twenties: The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela (originally published in 1915, re-written and redistributed in the 1920s, and then given a final version in 1925 that was translated into many languages). Both novels were written during times of great change, cultural innovation, and revolution. Many characters from both works also comment, observe, or partake in the politics and the seemingly accepted or tolerated social interactions of their daily lives. For the sake of cross-cultural understanding …

Folklore Of The Shenandoah Valley, Heather Good

Honors Projects

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia has a long and storied history, which has resulted in the development of a rich folklore unique to the area. Stories and traditions have been passed down through generations, often by family and community members but also through the few texts that have been written on the subject. As a writer and local of the area, this cultural tradition has played a significant role in helping me to discover my own voice through looking at the voices that came before me.

This project will fist focus on two significant periods in the history of the …

Willie Ricks Biographical Sketch, Mary Comperry

Chattanooga Racial Justice Biographical Sketches

No abstract provided.

Journeying To A Third Space Of Sovereignty: Explorations Of Land, Cultural Hybridity, And Sovereignty In Ceremony And There There, Jillian Eve Sanchez

English (MA) Theses

In Native American literature, there is a discourse that solely focuses on the relationship between Indigenous people and the land. This relationship is vital to understanding the traditions, rituals, storytelling, and practices of Native Americans. The presence of settler colonialism changes the relationship, effectively changing the nature of cultural and spiritual relationships as well. Indigenous literature provides examples of the modern relationship Native people have with their land; an example of this is Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony and Tommy Orange’s There There Despite modernity, assimilation, and ways of life introduced by settler colonialism, Native people maintain a relationship to the …

"I Love Judges, And I Love Courts:" Chief Justice William H. Taft And Reform In The Federal Judiciary., Alexandra M. Michalak

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

As the only former president to ever serve as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, William Howard Taft’s legacy is best exemplified through his impact on the federal judiciary. Taft proved in time that the judiciary was his one true passion, undertaking revolutionary federal court reform that expanded the federal district courts, introduced the Judicial Conference, strengthened the chief justiceship, expanded the Supreme Court’s discretionary jurisdiction, and established a freestanding Supreme Court building. Following the reform trends of the period, Taft accomplished his reforms with the help of his political connections and experience, his colleagues on his …

Amplifying Collections With Oral Histories In A Virtual World: The Student Help Lived Experience Project At Queens College Cuny, Annie E. Tummino, Victoria Fernandez

Publications and Research

In response to the challenges brought on by the onset of the pandemic, the Queens College Special Collection and Archives (SCA) created the “Student Help: Lived Experience” student fellowship, designed to be completely remote. The project is an initiative to further document the activities of Queens College students who participated in both the Virginia and South Jamaica Student Help Projects in the early to mid-1960s. The Virginia Student Help Project was an intensive education effort during the summer of 1963 in Prince Edward County, Virginia where public schools were closed for five years in massive resistance to integration. The Jamaica …

Reading On The Home Front: The Evolution Of U.S. Children’S Literature And American Values During Wartime Conflicts, Sophie Barton

Honors Theses

Children’s print culture is an understudied dimension of American history. It is well established that children’s history is vital to understanding the role of the child in American history and how modern childhood has developed. This study aims to uncover how children’s print culture plays a vital role in understanding how children’s perspectives changed and the varied messages adults imposed on children during the Civil War, World War One, and World War Two. In this Honors Thesis, I study various types of print productions including short stories, comics, and school textbooks in order to understand the various ways adults attempted …

The Infinite Crisis: How The American Comic Book Has Been Shaped By War, Winston Andrus

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

This thesis project argues that war has been the greatest catalyst for the American comic book medium to become a socio-political change agent within western society. Comic books have become one of the most pervasive influences to global popular culture, with superheroes dominating nearly every popular art form. Yet, the academic world has often ignored the comic book medium as a niche market instead of integrated into the broader discussions on cultural production and conflict studies. This paper intends to bridge the gap between what has been classified as comic book studies and the greater academic world to demonstrate the …

The Legend Of Neptune: A Portrait Of Enslavement And Emancipation In 18th-Century Worcester County, Massachusetts, Brigitte Lewis

Honors Theses

“The Legend of Neptune” tracks the life of a man named Neptune, who was enslaved at my childhood home in Still River, MA 01467 for fifteen years during 1742-1757. The general topic of this undergraduate thesis is slavery in seventeenth and eighteenth-century central Massachusetts; the main topic is uncovering the voice, history, and stories of an identified enslaved and then free Black man named Neptune. The project uses a vast array of primary sources to construct a narrative that centers Neptune’s life and experiences, supported by secondary historical research. This project also tells a counternarrative to the official history of …

Distinctly American: The Roots Of Secessionism And Nullification In The United States, Patrick F. Ryan

History Theses

A retrospective study of the role that secessionism played throughout American history, beginning in the late 18th century. The purpose of this work is to show how John C. Calhoun's (and other Southerners') ideas and rhetoric were not novel. This paper investigates the early whispers of nullification and secessionism in the United States; the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, Essex Junto, Hartford Convention, indecision by the founders, and how they shaped later American politicians in the mid-19th century.

Failoure On All Fronts: The United States Army In The First Year Of The War Of 1812, Gary H. Nobbs Jr.

History Theses

The United States declared war on the United Kingdom in the hopes of defending the nation's national honor. However, the United States Army was unprepared to go wage war. The army's supply system, militia system, and field commanders failed and led to a disastrous first year of conflict.

“Did Emmett Till Die In Vain? Organized Labor Says No!”: The United Packinghouse Workers And Civil Rights Unionism In The Mid-1950s, Matthew Nichter

Faculty Publications

Emmett Till’s mangled face is seared into our collective memory, a tragic epitome of the brutal violence that upheld white supremacy in the Jim Crow South. But Till's murder was more than just a tragedy: it also inspired an outpouring of determined protest, in which labor unions played a prominent role. The United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA) campaigned energetically on behalf of Emmett Till, from the stockyards of Chicago to the sugar refineries of Louisiana. Packinghouse workers petitioned, marched, and rallied to demand justice; the UPWA organized the first mass meeting addressed by Till’s mother, Mamie Bradley; and an …

Memories From The Great War: An Analysis Of Jackson Purchase Veterans’ Changes In Perspective Since 1914, David Wallace

Honors College Theses

The First World War affected the lives of millions, creating collective memories of hardships, uncertainty, political tension, and animosity toward foreign enemies. In the United States, World War I was a turning point in the nation’s growth and development, but on a smaller scale it was a critical historical moment in the individual lives of the veterans who served. This research project showcases the experiences of the Jackson Purchase’s WWI veterans with an emphasis on their perceptions during the war, their reasons for enlisting, the countless once-in-a-lifetime experiences they had along the way, the hardships they faced, and the remarkable …

The Frontier Of The Labor Movement: Latinas And The Longest Strike In Twentieth-Century Las Vegas, Maribel Estrada Calderón

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

After the mid-twentieth century, the American labor movement began to decline. Across the U.S., Union memberships and the rate of work stoppages decreased. In the hospitality-industry-driven city of Las Vegas, Nevada, however, the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 more than doubled its membership. In 1989, the Elardi family purchased the Frontier Hotel and Casino and began to eliminate workers’ benefits. Led by the Culinary Union, workers went on strike on September 21, 1991, beginning one of the longest strikes in twentieth-century Las Vegas. Latina workers played critical roles in organizing and maintaining this successful, six-year-long battle against the Elardis. Positioning …

The United States And Portuguese Angola: Space, Race, And The Cold War In Africa, Alex J. Marino

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an international history of the role of the United States in the process of decolonization in Angola, a former colony of Portugal. I argue that the United States embraced Portugal, Angola, and neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo as irreplaceable Cold War allies. Decolonization in Africa challenged America’s relationship with all three countries, as competing forces within the American public called for Washington to adopt an anti-colonial, anti- racist ideology, while others demanded their government to support white supremacy at home and abroad. Decolonization in Angola, a protracted liberation struggle that started in 1961 and lasted until 1974, …

Eagle Eye Vs. Gear Jammer, Jessica Danielle Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

Where similarities in class struggle have historically operated as a unifying force globally, the American crafted mythos isolates the individual and dehumanizes those that do not fall within the parameters of the cowboy archetype. The national protagonist is turned into a class traitor and an extension of government power.

Restoring Balance – Reconstructing Indigenous Strategies In King Philip’S War, William G. Merritt

Honors Program Theses and Projects

King Philip’s War (1675 – 1678) was one of several "Indian Wars" in 17^th-century colonial America. It was also referred to as “the first Indian war." However, there had been a previous conflict known as The Pequot War (1636 – 1638). Unlike the previous war and unrelated skirmishes over the years, King Philip’s War was a regional conflict that quickly spread throughout coastal and interior Native homelands in what is now called New England. While issues that caused the war built up over decades, the war formally began on the 25th of June,1675, when a band of Pauquunaukit …

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story? A Marxist Analysis Of "Hamilton" And Its Relationship To The Broadway Economic System, Alana Ritt

Honors Projects

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s mega-hit Hamilton: An American Musical has been both a critical and academic darling since its premiere in 2015. A historical retelling of America’s inception through the eyes of an oft-ignored founding father, the musical weaves together a diverse cast and hip-hop musical stylings in order to tell the story of “America then, as told by America now.” While many critics and scholars alike have praised the musical for putting an exciting and accessible twist to American history, others have argued that the musical is not nearly as “revolutionary” as it claims to be. This essay is designed to …

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story? A Marxist Analysis Of "Hamilton" And Its Relationship To The Broadway Economic System, Alana Ritt

Honors Projects

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s mega-hit Hamilton: An American Musical has been both a critical and academic darling since its premiere in 2015. A historical retelling of America’s inception through the eyes of an oft-ignored founding father, the musical weaves together a diverse cast and hip-hop musical stylings in order to tell the story of “America then, as told by America now.” While many critics and scholars alike have praised the musical for putting an exciting and accessible twist to American history, others have argued that the musical is not nearly as “revolutionary” as it claims to be. This essay is designed to …

Contributors, Florida Historical Society

Florida Historical Quarterly

Contributors to this issue

Book Reviews, Florida Historical Society

Florida Historical Quarterly

Reviews of William Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World, 1676-1701: The Fitzhugh Letters and Other Documents. Edited with an introduction by Richard Beale Davis. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1963. xvi, 399 pp. Map, illustrations, index. $7.50.); The South Carolina Regulators. By Richard Maxwell Brown. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1963. xi, 230 pp. Notes, appendix, bibliography, index. $5.50.); The Papers of John C. Calhoun. Volume II, 1817-1818. Edited by W. Edwin Hemphill. (Columbia: The University of South Carolina Press, 1963, xciv, 513 pp. Introduction, notes, bibliography, index. $10.00.); Ante-Bellum Thomas County, 1825-1861. By William Warren Rogers. Florida State …

Wakulla Spring: Its Setting And Literary Visitors, Lou Rich

Florida Historical Quarterly

Wakulla Spring, situated on the coastal lowlands about midway between Apalachee Bay and Tallahassee, has a surrounding area comprised mostly of woodlands of cypress, liveoak, magnolia, and pine. The spring itself is semi-circular with a diameter of 400 feet, and it covers an area of approximately five acres. It is 103 feet deep and has an average flow of 283 cubic feet per seoond. The water is moderately hard and typical of most Florida springs.

Memoir Of A West Pointer In Saint Augustine: 1824-1826, Cecil D. Eby, Jr.

Florida Historical Quarterly

In May, 1824, Second Lieutenant Alfred Beckley of the Fourth Artillery, United States Army, reported for duty at Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida, where he remained until April, 1826. He was green and untried - a twenty-two year old West Pointer who had graduated ninth in the Class of 1823- and except for his aversion to “French brandy” and “Old Sledge,” he was perhaps a typical example of the officer-gentleman that was the backbone of the peacetime army of that time. Born in Washington City in 1802, Beckley could recall as guests in his home such dignitaries as Joel Barlow, …

Oregon's Racial Purity Regime: The Influence Of International Scientific Racism On Law Enforcement, Legislation, Public Health, And Incarceration In Portland, Oregon During The Victorian And Progressive Eras (1851-1917), Katherine N. Bush

Dissertations and Theses

In 1983, the Oregon State legislature repealed the eugenic sterilization law that had been in use for 60 years. Initially passed during the Progressive era, this law epitomized the State's legacy of surveilling, policing, caging, and inflicting brutality on marginalized and racialized communities who were deemed dangerous, threatening, or contagious. Public health leaders, political officials, law enforcement authorities, and private charities worked together as a multivalent system to maintain racial purity in the State. This racial purity regime drew upon a legacy of international pseudo-scientific racism to justify and bolster policies, legislation, and practices that targeted impoverished communities, people of …

Book Reviews, Florida Historical Society

Florida Historical Quarterly

Reviews of City Managers in Politics, An Analysis of Manager Tenure and Termination. By Gladys Kammerer, Charles D. Farris, John M. DeGrove, and Alfred B. Clubok. University of Florida Monographs, Social Sciences, No. 13. (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1962. 93 pp. Preface. $2.00.); Hillsborough: A Parish In The Ulster Plantation. By John Barry. (Belfast: William Mullan & Son Ltd., 1962. 124 pp. $2.50.); The Fighting Elder: Andrew Pickens (1739-1817). By Alice Noble Waring. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1962. viii, 252 pp. Index. $6.00.)

The Alonso Solana Map Of Florida, 1683, Luis Rafael Arana

Florida Historical Quarterly

Map No. 7 at the end of Verne E. Chatelain’s The Defenses of Spanish Florida 1565-1763 is entitled Mapa de la Ysla de la Florida. It is of Spanish origin, but its printed legend admits the anonymity of the cartographer and the uncertainty of the date. Although Woodbury Lowery listed maps from the same repository, he was unaware of the existence of this one. It was Professor Louis C. Karpinski of the University of Michigan who discovered this paper representation of Florida in the war ministry in Madrid, while searching for American history materials in Spanish archives. His original typed …

The Settlement Of The East Florida Spaniards In Cuba, 1763-1766, Robert L. Gold

Florida Historical Quarterly

Ten months were required to complete the evacuation of the Spanish population from the St. Augustine presidio. From April 12, 1763, to January 21, 1764, a junta of Governor Melchor Feliu, Don Juan Elixio de la Puente, and Esteban de Pena carefully escorted 3,103 persons to wafting vessels bound for Cuba or New Spain. The evacuees embarked for Havana, Cuba, except for thirty-four people who were later transported to San Francisco de Campeche, New Spain. During the entire movement there were only four casualties from the shipwreck of the sloop “Nuestra Senora del Rosario.” By April 16, 1764, former Governor …

News And Notes, Florida Historical Society

Florida Historical Quarterly

Mission of Nombre de Dios, local historical societies

Book Reviews, Florida Historical Society

Florida Historical Quarterly

Reviews of General Leonidas Polk, C. S. A., The Fighting Bishop. By Joseph H. Parks. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1962. x, 408 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, critical essay on authorities, index. $7.50.); Josephus Daniels Says: An Editor’s Political Odyssey From Bryan to Wilson to FDR, 1894-1913. By Joseph L. Morrison. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1962. x, 281 pp. Notes, bibliography, index. $7.50.); Boss Cermak of Chicago: A Study of Political Leadership. By Alex Gottfried. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1962. xiii, 459 pp. Index. $6.50.); The South and the Southerner. By Ralph McGill. (Boston: Atlantic-Little, …