Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Role Of Black Women In The American Civil Rights Movement, Ashley Levins

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This essay examines the role of Black women in the American Civil Rights Movement. This is achieved through a review of literature, followed by an analysis of the First Wave of Feminism, prominent Black female leaders, and the issue of erasure of Black women. Ultimately, the essay argues that Black women were the spine of the American Civil Rights Movement, despite their historical erasure.

Making The Case For The Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area: A Scoping Review, Madelyn Newton, Chandler J. Berry, Bethany Arrington, Nick Wilson, Colin Mccormack, Michael Wilcox, Alexis Barmoh, Chris A. B. Zajchowski

Human Movement Sciences Faculty Publications

National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are nationally distinct landscapes that represent unique cultural, historical, and/or natural attributes significant to the legacy of the United States of America (U.S.). The Great Dismal Swamp, located in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, is a prime candidate for NHA designation with diverse qualifications, among which was its antebellum role as a refuge for formerly enslaved people. The goal of our research, conducted in 2022 during the period of the U.S. Congressional debate on designation, was to investigate and expound upon the rationale for NHA designation of the Swamp. To do so, we used a …

Southerners On New Ground: The Battle For Civil War Memory Since 1993, Andrew William Hoffman

History Theses & Dissertations

Between the years 2015 and 2020, over 300 Confederate symbols, including over 140 monuments, were removed from public land across the United States. This unprecedented movement to discard Confederate symbols reflected a shift in how Americans chose to remember the Civil War. By 2015, the wide-spread attack on the legacy of the Confederacy was much-anticipated. In fact, its foundation was laid during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. This thesis fills a gap within the historiography of Civil War memory by exploring controversial events that reflect Americans’ contrasting interpretation of the American Civil War from the years 1993 to …

Reenvisioning Richmond's Past: Race, Reconciliation, And Public History In The Modern South, 1990-Present, Marvin T. Chiles

History Faculty Publications

The article explores the history of race relations and slavery in Richmond, Virginia with regard to the 2020 removal of Confederate monuments in the region. Topics discussed include the order issued by Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney to remove Confederate statues in the city, the efforts of neighborhood groups and grassroots organizations to acknowledge the African American history in Richmond's public history narratives, and the racial violence in the Oregon Hill neighborhood of Richmond.

Armageddon Revisited: The 1973 Gubernatorial Election In Virginia, James R. Sweeney

History Faculty Publications

Threatening a lawsuit, Howell prepared a memorandum to NBC citing evidence of voters changing their votes to Godwin, because as one put it, "A national network can't be wrong."⁷⁸ Howell's memorandum also mentioned an indirect tie of McGee to Godwin. Godwin constantly demanded that Howell disclose how he would replace the revenue under his tax plan.⁴³ Throughout the campaign, Godwin stressed inconsistencies between positions Howell took on various issues in 1973 and what he had said in the past. Godwin also cited Howell's endorsement of his candidacy for governor in 1965 and his comment in April that Godwin …

Interpreting Summer In The Parks In The National Capital Area Of The National Park Service, Brendan J. Kane

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Washington D.C. has witnessed many watershed events throughout the history of the United States of America. One of these events was the Summer in the Parks (SITP) program organized by the National Park Service (NPS) from 1968-1976. Summer in the Parks was a community-based series of events including concerts, park visits, and exhibitions designed to quell racial tensions and promote park usage. Researchers have begun chronicling SITP, but have yet to explore how the story of SITP is conveyed by park interpreters to visitors and subsequently what themes are shared to inform public understanding of the historic relationship between NPS …

"A Period Of Misunderstanding": Reforming Jim Crow In Richmond, Virginia, 1930-1954, Marvin T. Chiles

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: "America's Hometown" Revisited, Drew Lopenzina

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

"In-Betweening" Disney: An Animated History Of Hollywood Labor And Ideological Imagineering, 1935-1947, Bradley Edward Moore

History Theses & Dissertations

The Walt Disney Company’s meticulously-crafted corporate mythos, as it developed in the mid-twentieth century, hid a conflicted history of anti-New Deal, nationalist ideology that was popularized during the clashes of the Hollywood labor movement in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act was passed as Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) entered full-scale production, and each were central to the labor-management conflict that lurked behind the scenes of the motion picture industry. By the mid-1940s, following the conclusion of the Second World War, Congress passed the Labor Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act and imposed a …

Peaceful Collaboration: The Truman Administration's Response To The Costa Rican Revolution Of 1948 And The Costa Rica-Nicaragua Crisis Of 1948-1949, James Wilkerson

History Theses & Dissertations

Before, during, and after the Costa Rican Revolution of 1948 and the Costa Rica-Nicaragua Crisis of 1948-1949, the Truman Administration maintained a posture of strict neutrality and helped to isolate, and bring a quick end to, both conflicts. This thesis attempts to revise the historiography of the Costa Rican Revolution by challenging the common view that the United States inaugurated the Cold War in Latin America by facilitating the overthrow of the communist-supported government in Costa Rica. The Truman Administration did not care who won and only wanted the Revolution and Crisis to come to a quick end. The United …

Pueblo Sovereignty And Voting Rights: Miguel Trujillo And A New Tactic For Self-Determination, Alexander Douglas Bright

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the 1948 Trujillo v. Garley case and contextualizes it with the long history of Pueblo sovereignty in New Mexico. Recent literature on Indigenous electorates in the U.S. southwest has led to new understandings about Pueblo participation in elections. Given this new context, this thesis argues that the Trujillo v. Garley decision has been a misunderstood moment of Indian activism. Rather than marking the end of a long campaign for voting rights, the 1948 court decision was pushed by non-Pueblo advocates and only supported by a handful of Pueblo Indians. When Pueblo Indians, like Miguel Trujillo, began to …

An Oceanographic Perspective On Early Human Migrations To The Americas, Thomas C. Royer, Bruce Finney

OES Faculty Publications

Early migrants to the Americas were likely seaworthy. Many archaeologists now agree that the first humans who traveled to the Americas more than 15,000 years before present (yr BP) used a coastal North Pacific route. Their initial migration was from northeastern Asia to Beringia where they settled for thousands to more than ten thousand years. Oceanographic conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (18,000-24,000 yr BP) would have enhanced their boat journeys along the route from Beringia to the Pacific Northwest because the influx of freshwater that drives the opposing Alaska Coastal Current was small, global sea level was at least …

Harbored: Like Museums, Videogames Aren't Neutral, Stephanie Hawthorne

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The following is comprised of: (1) an analysis of scholarship and contemporary works regarding videogames and museums that demonstrate the theory and method behind this project, (2) research regarding an historic maritime event that will serve as the subject matter for the proposed videogame, and (3) a conclusion that summarizes the game design. The historical research at the heart of this project surrounds the SS Quanza, a steamship that in September of 1940 carried Jewish refugees from Portugal to the US and Mexico only to be faced with the possibility of a return trip to Nazi Europe. Elevating the voices …

Interpreting The Other: Natives, Missionaries, And Colonial Authority In New England, 1643-1675, Violet Galante

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis studies the rise, maintenance, and decline of New England praying towns from 1643-1675. Nestled between the Pequot War and Metacom’s War, the mid-seventeenth century was a period of relative peace between Indians and English settlers. Despite this supposed peace, violence continued between the two sides. The decades of peace were uneasy, and marked by increased tension over land and resources. Missionaries went to natives in Massachusetts and established towns aimed at converting large numbers of Indians. These towns would become a volleying point for local authorities, missionaries, and royal governors as natives, missionaries, settlers, and elites vied for …

“Mixed Up In The Coal Camp”: Interethnic, Family, And Community Exchanges In Matewan During The West Virginia Mine Wars, 1900-1922, Lela Dawn Gourley

History Theses & Dissertations

The West Virginia Mine Wars are etched in the popular memory of West Virginians, who view these events as an important part of their identity as Mountaineers; yet, there is still much historians do not know about the Mine Wars, especially when concentrating on the perspectives and experiences of the working-class miners. These everyday miners and their families are the topic of this thesis. Using oral histories from the Matewan Development Center Records housed in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, this thesis argues that community-building across ethnic and racial lines within Matewan’s …

Black, Megan: The Global Interior: Mineral Frontiers And American Power, L. M. Lees

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The American Flag: An Encyclopedia Of The Stars And Stripes In Us History, Culture, And Law, By J.R. Vile [Book Review], Rob Tench

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Technology Education In The United States, Johnny J. Moye, Philip A. Reed, Steven A. Barbato, Shinichi Fujita

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Technology education has a long history in the United States as manual training in the 1870s, industrial arts through most of the twentieth century, and now as technology and engineering education in most states. Federal legislation has helped define and finance technology programs while organizations such as the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association, National Academies, National Science Foundation, National Assessment Governing Board, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration have shaped content and pedagogy. There are many opportunities in the U.S. such as Integrative STEM Education, growing informal education experiences in makerspaces, and expanding elementary technology education, but there are …

“For The Homeland”: Die Deutsche Hausfrau And Reader Responses To World War I, Julie Sliva Davis

History Theses & Dissertations

When the Great War broke out in the summer of 1914, many German Americans living in the United States expressed renewed support and loyalty for Germany in the German-language press. While scholars have thoroughly examined the collective experiences and sentiments of German Americans in the U.S. during World War I, particularly in their press, German-American women and their press have remained largely underrepresented. Notably, however, as evidenced by the largest nationally circulated monthly women’s journal of the time, Die Deutsche Hausfrau (The German Housewife), German-American women did indeed use their press as well to convey increasingly pro-German rhetoric in support …

Hopkins, A.G.: American Empire: A Global History, L. M. Lees

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sklar, Martin J.: Creating The American Century: The Ideas And Legacies Of America's Twentieth-Century Foreign Policy Founders, L. M. Lees

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Changing The Message: Battered Women's Advocates And Their Fight Against Domestic Violence At The Local, State, And Federal Level, 1970s-1990s, Clara Amy Van Eck

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis analyzes congressional hearings, reports to Congress, government statistics, acts of Congress, Supreme Court rulings, and newspaper articles to examine how, in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, battered women's advocates altered their rhetoric when dealing with local, state, and federal governments in order to change policies, laws, and to obtain funding for domestic abuse shelters. In the 1970s, battered women's advocates used anti-patriarchal language to help survivors of sexual assault and of domestic violence understand the pervasive and systemic nature of violence against women to liberate survivors from the belief that the violence was their fault. In the 1980s, …

Black Gold: Molly Maguireism, Unionism, And The Anthracite Labor Wars, 1860-1880, Samantha Edmiston

History Theses & Dissertations

The class and ethnic tensions that manifested in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania were a microcosm of the broader, nation-wide labor wars of the late-nineteenth century. These labor wars, violent and sometimes bloody, shaped workingmen’s condition and the larger history of unionism. The Molly Maguires, in both their real and imagined form counted as key protagonists in these wars between big business and unions. More local wars also occurred between workers, those like the Mollies who wanted to use violence to encourage change, and others who instead sought to peacefully organize and bargain collectively with their employers.

This thesis …

Displaying Race At The Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition, Bryan Patrick Bennett

History Theses & Dissertations

World expositions of the nineteenth and early twentieth century often displayed the latest anthropological, ethnological, biological, and technological research on race and ethnicity, promoting the view that whites were superior to all other peoples. The Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition of 1907, held in Norfolk, Virginia to commemorate the three-hundred anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown settlement and its contribution to the building of the United States, offers an opportunity to examine American perspectives on whiteness, race, and society.

First, the Jamestown Exposition offered a glimpse into the historical memory of white America, especially the influential citizens that comprised the controlling …

Achieving Sourdough Status: The Diary, Photographs, And Letters Of Samuel Baker Dunn, 1898-1899, Robert Nicholas Melatti

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines Samuel Baker Dunn and other prospectors from Montgomery County in Southwestern Iowa who participated in the Yukon Gold Rush of 1896-1899. The thesis explores three min research questions: Why was there such an exodus of people to the Yukon from Montgomery County and the town of Villisca in particular? 2) How did Montgomery County citizens experience the Yukon Gold Rush and furthermore, what meaning did they attribute to the journey and the mining experience? How did they measure success? 3) What particular insights do letters, diaries, and photographs – and in particular Samuel Baker Dunn’s personal documents …

Residential Segregation In Norfolk, Virginia: How The Federal Government Reinforced Racial Division In A Southern City, 1914-1959, Kevin Lang Ringelstein

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines how Norfolk, Virginia maintained residential segregation between the years 1914, when the city passed its first segregation ordinance, and 1959, when it received the All-America City Award for its massive slum clearance projects. By focusing on federal government initiatives in Norfolk, it shows that Norfolk’s leaders used the federal government’s assistance to map, analyze, and remove the city’s African American slums. Ultimately, it highlights the central role the federal government played in perpetuating residential segregation in Norfolk and how it opened a space for Norfolk’s leaders to act on their prejudice.

This thesis demonstrates that in the …

Ethnic Historians And The Mainstream: Shaping America's Immigration Story, Elizabeth Zanoni

History Faculty Publications

Historians rarely reflect publicly on how lived experiences in families and communities influence academic trajectories. For this reason, Ethnic Historians and the Mainstream: Shaping America’s Immigration Story is a welcome and invaluable collection for scholars and students of immigration and US history. Editors Alan Kraut and David Gerber recognize that “historians often seem to write their autobiographies with the subjects they address in their books and articles” (189). This speaks especially to immigration historians writing about their own ethnic communities; for them, concerns about navigating the rich, but oftentimes difficult, terrain of family life and identity politics are particularly pronounced.

Talking Less But Saying More: Teaching Us History Online, Carolyn J. Lawes

History Faculty Publications

After years of teaching in person at a large public university in Virginia, I decided to move my undergraduate U.S. history courses for that school online. I did so for one reason: the online format allows me to off er a better history class.

Le Jeune Dreams Of Moose: Altered States Among The Montagnais In The Jesuit Relations Of 1634, Drew Lopenzina

English Faculty Publications

This article explores ruptures of colonial representation in the 1634 contribution of Paul Le Jeune to the Jesuit Relations, particularly in regard to Le Jeune’s intense antipathy to the faith Native Americans placed in dreams and dream interpretation. Native peoples had highly ritualized frameworks for interpreting dreams that stood in stark opposition to the expressed evangelical agendas of the Jesuits. The Montagnais, with whom Le Jeune wintered in 1633–34, used dreams to speak to manitous, who would assist them in finding game and other endeavors. Dreaming itself, with its claims to prophetic vision, was a phenomenon that threatened to override …

Appalachian Migrant Stances, Bridget L. Anderson

English Faculty Publications

The article explores the economic and industrial opportunities for Appalachian native speakers in the industrial Midwest countries after the World War I. Topics discussed include the characteristics of migration diaspora in Appalachian migrants, the Southern migrants metropolitan area lifestyle in Detroit, Michigan and the impacts of ethnographic factors to Appalachian migrants. Other topics include the social and identifiable factors for migrants.