American Studies Commons^™

The Evolution Of The “We Can Do It” Poster And American Feminist Movements, Reina Aguierre

McNair Research Journal SJSU

World War II created mass destruction and economic distress but was also responsible for creating new opportunities for women. The war had torn families apart and had altered family dynamics. The high demands of the wartime economy called for a reevaluation of American women’s roles in society. In 1942, Pittsburgh artist J. Howard Miller was hired by the Westinghouse Company’s War Production Coordinating Committee to create a range of propaganda posters to encourage women to join the war effort.¹ The most iconic was christened “Rosie the Riveter” and further popularized by Norman Rockwell. These images exemplified how the government …

At Risk Youths: Schools, Juvenile Delinquency, And The Prison Industrial Complex, Ashantia M. Day

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

Juvenile delinquency has been a social issue for many decades. While much research has studied the deviant behaviors of the adolescent, little focus has been placed on the degree to which the school environment plays on delinquent behavior. The purpose of this project is to use schools as the subject to contextualize the !ink bet\"Jeen racia!ized criminalization and the disproportionate rate at which black youths are in contact with the Juvenile Justice System. This work will apply labeling theory, theories of academic tracking/grouping, use of analytic autobiography, critical race theory and a Marxist critique of capitalism to investigate the significant …

Sequels And Sams: Re-Contextualized Media And Affective Memory, Ben Rogers

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

Electronic media allows for the repetition of the audiovisual in new contexts. Bernard Stiegler argues that, as people are exposed to these contexts (television, commercials), consumer-based art threatens the singular, a connection to a particular aesthetic in a particular space. When art is repeated, films remember for the audience. This allows for history to be continually re-written according to dominant media institutions.

While there are other ways to combat this grand narrative, I argue that there are memories that, like the singular, are not consumer-based. I refer to these as staple associative memories (SAMs). These are not memories …

Enduring Music: Migrant Appalachian Communities And The Shenandoah National Park, Madeline Marsh

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is an archival study of the displaced children of families formerly living in the Shenandoah National Park which spans from Strasburg to Waynesboro, Virginia. The study looks at interviews, from the JMU Special Collections archives, of these children in the 1970-80s, nearly fifty years after their forced migration from the 197,438 acres that comprised the park. Change and pressure during the 1930s-40s combined with national policy began the nostalgic preservation and veneration of the culture of these people of the Blue Ridge Mountains; through the archives, a clear and diverse picture of the perspectives and lifestyles of people …

Performing Authentic Savagery: National Myth-Making And Indigenous Survival At American World's Fairs, 1893-1904, Hannah Facknitz

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The late nineteenth century in America was a period of intense change, where society took on the project of describing what exactly made America what it was. An important vehicle for this exploration of identity was the world’s fair. This paper analyzes the Chicago World Columbian Exposition of 1893, the Omaha Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898, and the St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and their depictions of Indigenous North Americans which were closely tied up in the current project of national myth making. A three-way conflict emerges in this study between contemporary anthropologists, entertainment professionals, and so-called …

A Quiet Place (Movie Review), Joshua Matthews

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The great accomplishment of A Quiet Place is its own soundscape, which gets us to listen to everything in it."

Posting about the movie A Quiet Place In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/a-quiet-place-review/

Suspense Radio Series, Gothic Literature, And The American Family, Kelly Kirkham

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

My plan B thesis argues that the Suspense radio series, which aired from 1942-1963, served as a cathartic release for Americans during the Golden Age of Radio; the program accomplished catharsis by borrowing characteristics originating in 19th century gothic literature: sound effects, domestic space as setting, and the uncanny. The evidence I use in my argument includes radio show recordings, magazines, and published works from prominent radio scholars to analyze the effects of the Suspense program, specifically the 1960 season. Scholarly works include books and articles from Neil Verma, author of Theater of the Mind and assistant professor in Radio/Television/Film …

A Martin Luther King Jr. Amendment To The U.S. Constitution: Toward The Abolition Of Poverty, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prescribed that we add an economic bill of rights to the U.S. Constitution. A King-Inspired bill of rights should include a constitutional amendment that enumerates a natural human right to be free from economic poverty, and appropriate enforcement legislation.

For the sake of abolishing slavery, the Thirteenth Amendment says:

(Section 1) Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

(Section 2) Congress shall have power to enforce this article by …

Lg Ms 045 Howard Solomon Collection, Anthony Marvullo

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

The Howard Solomon Collection documents the art, activism, and scholarship of Howard Solomon, spanning the late 1960s to 2017.

Because Howard was the scholar-in-residence from 2002 to 2008, much of the material acts as a survey of the larger LGBTQ+ Collection. See Appendix C for a full list of cross-referenced papers, archives, and collections.

May 2018, Temple Shalom Synagogue Center

Newsletter Archive

Contents: Café Shalom; From the Rabbi; Presidents Message; Announcements; Book Group; Community Notices; Food,Film and Commentary; Passover Seder Success

Constraints Of Haunted Heritage Tourism In Logan, Utah, Kylie Schroeder

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

It has become common in Salem, Savannah, New Orleans, Edinburg, or Gettysburg, to witness groups of people being led through the darkened streets as part of a ghost tour or haunted history walk. An altered form of commercialized legend tripping, these companies offer guided tours, feature spooky stories, and often showcase local history. However, the trend of haunted heritage tourism, especially in the form of ghost walks and haunted history tours, has spread beyond places with national or international reputations for hauntings and is now growing in small towns whose stories are rarely shared beyond the local populace.

This thesis …

Amjambo Africa! (May 2018), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

Welcome to Amjambo Africa! Welcome to Amjambo Africa! We are Maine’s free newspaper for and about New Mainers from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Amjambo Africa! is here to help New Mainers thrive and to help Maine welcome and benefit from our new neighbors.

Amjambo Africa! will serve as a conduit of information for newcomers as they navigate life in Maine.

Amjambo Africa! will include background articles about Africa so those from Maine can understand why newcomers have arrived here.

Amjambo Africa! will profile successful New Mainers from Sub-Saharan Africa in order to give hope to those newly arrived as well as make …

Cowboy Art Song: A Contextual And Musical Analysis Of Libby Larsen's "Cowboy Songs", Ann Gabrielle Richardson

Dissertations

This dissertation sprang from a combination of two personal interests: cowboy culture and classical art song. The union of my cowgirl heritage with my career as a classical vocalist has long fueled an interest in a particular niche of repertoire: soprano art song with thematic connections to the North American cowboy. A conducted state of research reveals no scholarly literature exploring this specific topic. Libby Larsen’s collection, Cowboy Songs, fulfills the aforementioned niche, successfully capturing the spirit, musical idioms, and cultural themes of the North American cowboy.

Chapter I lays a contextual foundation for cowboy song, providing a catalogue …

Storytelling Through Movement: An Analysis Of The Connections Between Dance & Literature, Zoe Hester

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Movement and storytelling are the links between past and present; both dance and literature have the same artistic and primal origins. We began to dance to express and communicate, to worship and feel. We tell stories for the same reasons: to learn from the past and to be able to communicate in the present.

This work explores the many connections between literature and dance through examinations of six dance forms: Native American, Bharatanatyam, West African, Ballet, Modern, and Post-Modern dance.

Racial Peeves: The Exploitation Of Microaggressions, Olivia Gabrielle Ellis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Racial Peeves: The Exploitation of Microaggressions documents my personal experience of dealing with microaggressions throughout my life, as well as the history of these racial issues. This thesis also documents the creation of my Senior BFA Exhibition of the same title inspired by 1970s Blaxploitation posters.

University Of Southern Maine Commencement Program 2018, University Of Southern Maine

Commencement Programs

University of Southern Maine Commencement 2018

Little Red Riding Hood In The Dialogic Tension Of Wolf Politics In The U.S. West, Kaisa T. Lappalainen

American Studies ETDs

The reintroduction of wolves opened a new chapter in the story of wolves in the U.S. West. But what the conservation community considers moral progress, welcoming the once violently eradicated wolves as an important part of a healthy ecosystem, those opposing wolf restoration consider their return a decivilizing, regressive move back to a by-gone era. In the contentious discourse over wolf politics, the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood is used as a common metaphor; its prevalence and persistence in this discourse indicates that more than an innocuous children’s bedtime story is in question.

To examine the potential cultural …

Analyzing Union Voting By Workforce Sector In The 2016 Presidential Election, Galen Hlavsa

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In the 2016 presidential election, there was evident change in the voting behavior of both blue and white collar workers in states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania that assisted in Donald Trump’s win. While there was some realignment in party backing in a handful of unions, there were a number of union members that went against their union recommendation and voted for Trump. I research how union members in private and public sectors voted in the 2012 and 2016 election to compare the rate of union members defecting to Trump across the various sectors of the workforce. In order to …

Of Life And History, Vol. 1 (May 2018)

Of Life and History

No abstract provided.

Manufacturing Progress, Prosperity, And Pride: The Social Construction Of Worcester’S Industrial Identity, 1850-1910, Michael T. Desantis

Of Life and History

No abstract provided.

Gongshi Meditation On The American Prairie, Brandon A. Henry

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The following collection deals largely with autobiographical work. Created primarily between 2007-2018, the following poems reflect the life experiences and reflections of a poet throughout his thirties. Largely tied to regionalism of the Ozarks, many poems in this collection highlight specific locales throughout southwest Missouri and/or northern Arkansas, and explore, thematically, feelings of loneliness, isolation, the struggle of faith, and the impact of displacement, both physical and metaphysical. Further, many of the poems feature a through-line, thematically, involving the bonds of family and the impact of death on relationships and the human psyche. Lastly, an appreciation for, and connection with, …

Variations In Black Media Coverage Of The East St. Louis Race Riot, Angela Rene Womack

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Research for this thesis was undertaken after first researching the East St. Louis Race Riot and seeing that there was an insufficient amount of analysis that had been done on black media coverage in US history overall as well as with the riot specifically. Three significant trends of black media were found my during research. East St. Louis Race Riots black media coverage during and after the events varied at the local, regional, and national levels. My research showed that three media outlets varied. The local media provided information that guided victims and volunteers as to where to go for …

Self-Executed Dramaturgy : A Journey With Miss Ida B. Wells., Sidney Michelle Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents my experience with the production of Miss Ida B. Wells by Endesha Ida Mae Holland. I used self-executed dramaturgy to enrich my process as an actor and create multiple vocally and physically dynamic historical characters. Throughout this document, I explore how my personal acting process and development as an artist are heavily influenced by the practices of the Alexander Technique. I discuss the unique challenges that I faced with scoliosis and vocal trauma and how I used the training I received during my graduate career to address those challenges. My personal account details the specific methods by …

Black Lives Matter: An Analysis Of Social-Political Activism In Social Media, Ivy Lutz

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Using the contexts of institutionalized racism, ideological dogmatism, and oppression of people of color, this paper will argue the following hypothesis in regards to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and social media activism. People who post on social media about social-political issues have positive relationships with boycotting, protesting, or attending political meetings outside of the online sphere. However, this positive relationship does not correlate to a positive relationship or engagement in regards to their feelings on BLM movement, discrimination of blacks, and police treatment of blacks. If this is the case, then the data for social media postings will …

Tracing Moral Injury In Us Wars And Implications For The Year 2050, Robert A. Jensen

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Throughout conflicts in history, the psycho-spiritual construct known today as “moral injury” can be found. This term was coined in 1994 out of conceptions of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to describe intense shame and guilt aspects resulting from military service. The challenge comes with extrapolating this injury in the wake of nuances in terminology about related symptoms in conjunction with an evolving consciousness in identifying invisible military-related injuries. With current research and a historic pattern of unnamed moral injuries, this study explores the following: How did military chaplains address moral injuries without this construct? What are Unitarian Universalist (UU) military …

Middle Eastern Themes In Contemporary American Fantasy: The Political And Socio-Religious Implications, Sait Ibisi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What follows is a Master’s Thesis in which an insight is given into four Middle East-inspired contemporary American fantasy novels: The Desert of Souls (2011) by Howard Andrew Jones, Throne of the Crescent Moon (2012) by Saladin Ahmed, The City of Brass (2017) by S. A. Chakraborty, and Alif the Unseen (2012) by G. Willow Wilson. In the first part of the thesis I disclose the political implications which the mentioned novels carry. These are inspired by the past and contemporary political developments in the Middle East, and are meant to both criticize the said, but more importantly, to depict …

Leonard Bernstein's Piano Music: A Comparative Study Of Selected Works, Leann Osterkamp

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Much of Leonard Bernstein’s piano music is incorporated in his orchestral and theatrical works. The comparison and understanding of how the piano works relate to the orchestral manifestations validates the independence of the piano works, provides new insights into Bernstein’s compositional process, and presents several significant issues of notation and interpretation that can influence the performance practice of both musical versions.

The chronological and historical significance of his piano music has been sometimes inaccurately recorded and/or generalized. In understanding the factual chronological, social, and political relationships behind the piano works and their orchestral manifestations, I argue that the piano works, …

Swimming In A Sea Of No's: Controlling And Managing The New York Public Pools, Mette L. Jensen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Swimming in a Sea of No's: Managing and Controlling the New York Public Pools traces the genealogy of the regulations, surveillance, and rules employed at New York public pools. The thesis discusses the intent and implications of the spatial strategies created to order and control the environment surrounding the swimming pools, and discusses how municipal public pools as specific, local landscapes manifest broader social and cultural processes. The main focus is on the transformation of the pools during the 1980s and 1990s, two decades after the fiscal crisis in 1975, when the pools had become defunded, dysfunctional spaces. By tracing …

Insurgent Knowledge: The Poetics And Pedagogy Of Toni Cade Bambara, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, And Adrienne Rich In The Era Of Open Admissions, Danica B. Savonick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Insurgent Knowledge analyzes the reciprocal relations between teaching and literature in the work of Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Toni Cade Bambara, and Adrienne Rich, all of whom taught in the Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) educational opportunity program at the City University of New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing on archival research and analysis of their published work, I show how feminist aesthetics have shaped U.S. education (especially student-centered pedagogical practices) and how classroom encounters with students had a lasting impact on our postwar literary landscape and theories of difference. My project demonstrates how, …

Brother Outsider: Queered Belonging And Kinships In African American Men’S Literature, 1953-1971, Debarati Biswas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Brother Outsider: Queered Belonging and Kinships in African American Men’s Literature, 1953-1971 builds on the work of women-of-color feminists since the late 1960s and queer-of-color critique in the works of José Esteban Muñoz, Robert Reid-Pharr, Roderic Ferguson, and Nadia Ellis, in order to chronicle the emergence of a queer tradition in mid twentieth century African American men’s literature. Through literary analysis and archival research on marginal figures of African American culture during this period, this dissertation proposes that the black pulp novels of Chester Himes, Robert Deane Pharr, Clarence Cooper Jr., and Iceberg Slim perform a queer critique of and …