American Material Culture Commons^™

Nomadland: The New Frontiers Of The American Dream At The Periphery Of The Market, Aleksandrina Atanasova, Giana Eckhardt

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This Dialogue contribution is based around the film Nomadland, which won five Oscars, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress. Nomadland, a captivating ode to resisting market logics of accumulation, delivers a gripping image of what life looks like in the absence of possessions. Navigating between the extremes of lack and social displacement, and community and newfound ability to live life with little, the nomads find ways to live in the face of despair and disenchantment. Nomadland is a critique of the death of the American dream while at the same time a story of solidarity amongst the dispossessed.

Atlantic Legacies: Free Women Of Color And The Changing Notions Of Womanhood In The Long Nineteenth Century, Marie Stephanie Chancy

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on three free-born African-descended women who defied expectations and prejudices to live previously unthinkable lives in the nineteenth century. The project uses their biographies to illustrate how, as black and mixed-ancestry émigrés from the Americas living in Europe, they adopted and adapted the evolving notions of ideal womanhood. As a result they expanded who could be identified as a true, redemptive or new woman. The project shows how they used the tenets of these ideals to live life on their terms. The dissertation is set in an era dominated by white males, and defined by the enslavement …

The U.S.–Mexican War: Visualizing Contested Spaces From Parlor To Battlefield, Erika Pazian

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The U.S.-Mexican War[1] (1846-1848) was a watershed event that transformed the North American continent politically, socially, and ideologically. With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico lost approximately half of its national territory in the north, and the United States acquired the modern states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and portions of Colorado and Wyoming. Both nations were plagued by internal conflicts after the war, and each was plunged into civil war within fifteen years of its conclusion.

During this time of turmoil, Mexican and U.S. artists created and recreated myriad images …

"Never Forget": Embodied Absence And Extended Relations Of Care After 9/11, Sophie L. Riemenschneider

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a reflection on how loss was articulated in the wake of 9/11. The terror attacks engendered a memorial style that sought to give shape to grief, acknowledging it without filling it in or erasing it. This new style, which I term embodied absence, exists across a range of mediums, from literature to architecture. It is such a potent memorial form because it also captures the traumatic process, which is prolonged, layered, and potentially open-ended. However, despite their ability to mirror the nature of trauma, instances of embodied absence never verbalize the attacks’ root trauma—the disconnect between our …

Below-Deck: The Specialist Sailor In World War Ii, Gregory Falcon

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

U.S. Navy ships were made up of many unexpected jobs during World War II. Traditional war histories say little about sailors who rarely saw direct combat below active war decks but instead worked skilled jobs. Specialized sailors were often unseen as they worked below the waterline as, for example, electrician’s mates and boiler room firemen. These jobs were pivotal to keeping the ship running and allowed men to make use of their valuable time in the navy. This thesis argues that, although evolving naval culture led men to enter for various reasons, many entered to enhance their future career during …

"Rainbow Is The Way To Go" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "Rainbow is the Way to Go!"

Multicolored marker on white posterboard.

"Thou Shalt Not Eat Clams" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "Guess What... The Bible Also Says: 'Thou Shalt Not Eat Clams' )do you eat clams, Mr. Phelps?) What Now?

Black marker on white psterboard.

The "Mr. Phelps" referenced in the text is likely Fred Phelps (1929-2014), former pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church.

"We Are A Land Of Many Colors" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "We Are A Land of Many Colors America the Beautiful"

Multicolored marker on white background. Rainbow details.

Gsta "Crest" Poster, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Poster created by Betsy Parsons for conference, workshop, or training. Poster feature a drawing of a crest divided into four quadrants, with each listing goals, positive affirmations, and well-known public figures.

Multicolored marker on posterboard.

"Never Be Ashamed Of Love" Poster, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Poster created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "Never Be Ashamed of Love".

Black and multicolored marker on white posterboard.

"Proud Lesbian Teacher" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign carried by Betsy Parsons for a march or demonstration. Text reads: "Proud Lesbian Teacher 30 (x29) Years ~Portland Public Schools~.

Hand-painted, purple, red, and blue paint (likely acrylic or tempera) on white poster board.

:Anti-Gay Discrimination Is Illegal..." Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for protest or march. Text reads "Anti-Gay Discrimination is Illegal in Maine Schools and Universities".

Handpainted. Blue and red paint, likely acrylic or tempera on white poster board.

"Trans Gay-Straight Alliance..." Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for march or demonstration. Text reads: "Trans Gay-Straight Alliances: Youth Leading for Equality".

Red and black text with a rainbow in the background. Acrylic or tempera on posterboard.

"Proud Glbt Students + Teachers" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "Proud GLBT Students and Teachers".

Black text with rainbow-colored hand prints. Acrylic or tempera on posterboars. GLSEN bumper sticker.

"Equality" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march.

Text reads "EQUALITY"

Black text on red posterboard.

"Free To Learn..." Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "Free to Learn Teach LEad".

Green, red, purple, and black text on white background with a rainbow. Acrylic or tempera on poster board.

Safe Schools For All" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "GLSEN Safe Schools for All".

Black and rainbow text on white background with GLSEN bumper sticker. Acrylic or tempera on poster board.

"Glsen" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for event. Text reads: "GLSEN Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network

Black text on yellow background. Acrylic or tempera on poster board.

"Gsta Youth Testimony" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: " GSTA Youth Testimony Helped Protect the Maine Human Rights Act".

Black, red, green, and blue text on white background. Acrylic or tempera on posterboard.

"Love Is Compassion..." Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "Love is Compassion Love is Caring Love is Beautiful Love is Love"

Pastel marker on white background.

"Safe Schools For Glbt People" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads: "GLSEN Safe SChools for GLBT People".

Black and red text on white background. GLSEN bumper sticker.

"We Are All In This Together" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for demonstration or march. Text reads "We Are All In This Together" in several languages.

"Proud Gay Student" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created for march or demonstration. Text reads: " Proud Son Christian Student Gay". Note, the word "Gay" is written vertically next to "son", "Christian" and "Student".

Acrylic paint on white background.

"Trans Students Are Everywhere" Sign, Betsy Parsons

Betsy Parsons Collection

Sign created by Betsy Parsons for protest or march. Text reads "Trans Students Are Everywhere".

Handpainted rainbow text, likely acrylic or tempera on posterboard.

Remembering Kate Gleason: Introducing A Twentieth-Century Businesswoman To Twenty-First Century Students, Michael J. Brown, Rebecca Edwards, Tina O. Lent

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

In the fall of 2015, the faculty of the Museum Studies Program at RIT mounted an exhibition titled "Kate Gleason, Visionary: A Tribute on Her 150th Birthday." While Kate Gleason’s name is familiar on the RIT campus because the College of Engineering is named for her, this association obscures recognition of her many and varied accomplishments. The challenge we undertook was to contextualize her work in engineering within her other entrepreneurial endeavors in manufacturing, banking, and building, focusing on the innovation and vision that united them. In addition, we wanted Gleason’s career and accomplishments to be compelling and relevant to …

Conditional Recognition And The Popularization Of The Contemporary Wellness Industry, Janina Misiewicz

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

During the second half of the twentieth century, liberalism gave way to neoliberalism, and as a result, the cultural role of wellness also expanded, leading to the creation of what Carl Cederström and André Spicer call “the wellness syndrome.” Now, in a society inundated by yoga studios, corporate mindfulness programs, and data tracking apps, wellness has expanded into a multibillion dollar industry. Yet the allure of wellness is not immediately understandable. What is it about wellness that has created an almost religious fervor among its adherents? This thesis offers a solution to this question in the form of what I …

Material Encounters: Making Memory Beyond The Mind, Ariel Wills

Masters Theses

Can acts of making carry the memories of our embeddedness within the world? This thesis explores how making things can nurture a sense of kinship that cuts across the organic and inorganic, erasing the distinction between living and dead, material and spiritual. Through handwork such as art-making, sewing, knitting, cooking, woodworking, and beyond, the burden of remembering and of archiving is shared across human and non-human bodies, cultivated through practices of making, and through the materials themselves. By recounting the stories of my family’s experience as Jewish immigrants in the United States, I aim to reveal how their domestic practices …

Some (Im)Material Girls, Living In (Im)Material Worlds, With Seeds, Stars, And Shit, Matthew Weiderspon

Theses and Dissertations

This writing situates material and gestural vocabularies cultivated in my artwork in relation to my lived experience; primarily my rural upbringing in Colorado. Scattered floor dispersals, calling sounds, and bodily movements desire reconsiderations of hope in precarity through a disorientation of place, association, scale, and language.

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 …

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 …