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American Material Culture Commons

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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in American Material Culture

America Through Rose-Colored Glasses: How American Girl Dolls Shape American Girlhood And Identity, Kelly M. Vaughan Apr 2017

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 …


Purchasing The Past: Going, Going, Gone! New England Auctions: Palaces Of Intrigue And Theaters Of Commerce, Martha Kelly Apr 2017

Purchasing The Past: Going, Going, Gone! New England Auctions: Palaces Of Intrigue And Theaters Of Commerce, Martha Kelly

Senior Theses and Projects

Abstract

My thesis presents evidence that auctions are innately socially- constructed places where diverse actors and unique objects are brought together in a transformative theatre of commerce. Commodities offered can carry with them elements of social turmoil and expose intimacies when exchanged. In this culturally-constructed, social-economic landscape, animate participants in the social arena of an auction parallel the inanimate commodities to be exchanged, as commodities are also “thoroughly socialized thing[s]” with biographies and social implications of their own (Appadurai 1986, 6). Patterns of on-again, off-again commoditization of certain goods are part and parcel of the social construction of their complex …


The Fabric Behind The Doll - The Performance Of The Black Doll In Early 20th Century America, Madison Peterson Starr Apr 2016

The Fabric Behind The Doll - The Performance Of The Black Doll In Early 20th Century America, Madison Peterson Starr

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.


From Housewife To Sex Goddess: The Shifting Portrayals Of Females On The Covers Of Sports Illustrated Magazine, 1954-2000., Alison Blaine Apr 2015

From Housewife To Sex Goddess: The Shifting Portrayals Of Females On The Covers Of Sports Illustrated Magazine, 1954-2000., Alison Blaine

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.


A Leg Up For Women? Stereotypes Of Female Sexuality In American Culture Through An Analysis Of Iconic Film Stills Of Women’S Legs, Lauren E. Smith Apr 2013

A Leg Up For Women? Stereotypes Of Female Sexuality In American Culture Through An Analysis Of Iconic Film Stills Of Women’S Legs, Lauren E. Smith

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.


“A General State Of Terror”: The Enforcement Acts, The Ku Klux Klan, And The Struggle Over Education In The Post-Bellum South, Kathryn E. Murdock May 2011

“A General State Of Terror”: The Enforcement Acts, The Ku Klux Klan, And The Struggle Over Education In The Post-Bellum South, Kathryn E. Murdock

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.