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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in American Material Culture
Sustaining Autonomous Communities In The Modern United States (The United Communities Of America), Lucas Hester
Sustaining Autonomous Communities In The Modern United States (The United Communities Of America), Lucas Hester
Senior Theses
America has become industrialized and characterized by social anxiety and overconsumption. The inability to be sustainable has led the once plentiful and flourishing nation into an ongoing sustainability crisis. Even if there is a deep connection between them, this essay focuses on social sustainability rather than ecological. It argues for an intentional community-based framework to keep American life sustainable. Pollution, civil unrest, and intense social anxiety create unfulfilling life conditions for many American citizens. Using examples from modern American intentional communities, I will explain the need for self-directing, close-knit communities. Flourishing community members, as it will be considered from sociological …
Barbie As Cultural Compass: Embodiment, Representation, And Resistance Surrounding The World’S Most Iconized Doll, Hannah Tulinski
Barbie As Cultural Compass: Embodiment, Representation, And Resistance Surrounding The World’S Most Iconized Doll, Hannah Tulinski
Sociology Student Scholarship
Since 1959 the Barbie doll has held the status of cultural icon in American society. In the past six decades Barbie has dominated the toy industry as an unmatched competitor among girls’ dolls, generating approximately $1 billion in annual sales. Originally intended by her creator Ruth Handler to “allow girls to project their future self,” Barbie continues to remain a household name, and it has been estimated that each American girl owns an average of eight Barbie dolls (Newman 2013). As a cultural object, Barbie continues to re-enter the “human circuit of discourse” (Griswold 1987) with each changing public appearance, …
Fandom, Racism, And The Myth Of Diversity In The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ashley S. Richardson
Fandom, Racism, And The Myth Of Diversity In The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ashley S. Richardson
Undergraduate Honors Theses
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently one of the most commercially successful entertainment brands in American popular culture, with a range of film franchises and television series under its banner. Although the brand maintains its popularity with various demographics, the casting choices in Doctor Strange (2017) generated controversy among Marvel fans and critics alike for excluding people of color or reducing them to villains and sidekicks. This thesis examines the online commentary surrounding the casting and marketing of Doctor Strange to evaluate how social media users on Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter come to understand race and gender through the Marvel …
America Through Rose-Colored Glasses: How American Girl Dolls Shape American Girlhood And Identity, Kelly M. Vaughan
America Through Rose-Colored Glasses: How American Girl Dolls Shape American Girlhood And Identity, Kelly M. Vaughan
Senior Theses and Projects
This thesis examines the contributions that American Girl dolls make to the development of girlhood, as well as doll and toy culture. I argue that the BeForever collection of historically centered dolls both informs consumers of United States history while instructing them of what it means to be a wholesome, virtuous girl. American Girl provides timeless stories about overcoming hardship in various periods of U.S. history while utilizing common themes in children’s literature to construct an attractive narrative. These dolls and their stories contribute to consumers’ understanding of girlhood, their sense of self, and broad comprehension of history. Recent developments …