American Popular Culture Commons^™

Sequential Art, Graphic Novels, And Comics, Brian Kelley

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

The first global distribution of a paper prepared for the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Graphic Novels Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association,the Executive Board of the New Jersey Reading Association, and the Legislative and Professional Standards Committee of the NJRA.

Girl Empowerment And Unspoken Discourses On Girl Sexuality In Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga, Caitlin Gulliford

Honors College Theses

In this paper, I explore how Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga employs a form of girl sexual citizenship that recognizes girls as sexualized, but maintains unspoken structures of compulsory heterosexuality, regressive gender norms, and hyperconsumerism in order to police girls as a protection of patriarchy.

The Bride Is Keeping Her Name: A 35-Year Retrospective Analysis Of Trends And Correlates, Richard J. Kopelman, Rita J. Shea Van-Fossen, Eletherios Paraskevas, Leanna Lawter, David J. Prottas

WCBT Faculty Publications

We used data obtained from wedding announcements in the New York Times newspaper from 1971 through 2005 (N=2,400) to test 9 hypotheses related to brides' decisions to change or retain their maiden names upon marriage. As predicted, a trend was found in brides keeping their surname, and correlates included the bride’s occupation, education, age, and the type of ceremony (religious versus nonsectarian). Partial support was found for the following correlates: officiants representing different religions, brides with one or both parents deceased, and brides whose parents had divorced or separated. There was mixed support for the hypothesis that a …

Cover To Cover: Contemporary Issues In Popular Women’S Magazines, Debbie Danowski

Communication, Media & The Arts Faculty Publications

Exposure to popular magazine covers is widespread among even those choosing not to read a particular magazine. With news racks in all grocery and convenience stores, the American public cannot escape at least a quick glance at the material presented on the cover. Because of this, it is vital that we analyze the messages being disseminated each month through these publications.

This study will attempt to analyze and categorize the messages sent out via the covers of the five most popular general interest women's magazines with the highest circulation during the year 2000: Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, …

[Introduction To] With The Weathermen: The Personal Journal Of A Revolutionary Woman, Susan Stern, Laura Browder

Bookshelf

Drugs. Sex. Revolutionary violence. From its first pages, Susan Stern's memoir With the Weathermen provides a candid, first-hand look at the radical politics and the social and cultural environment of the New Left during the late 1960s.

The Weathermen--a U.S.-based, revolutionary splinter group of Students for a Democratic Society--advocated the overthrow of the government and capitalism, and toward that end, carried out a campaign of bombings, jailbreaks, and riots throughout the United States. In With the Weathermen Stern traces her involvement with this group, and her transformation from a shy, married graduate student into a go-go dancing, street-fighting "macho mama." …

Mining The Meaning Of Collective Memory And Imagination: The Construction Of Identity In The Puerto Rican Diaspora, Courtney Hooper

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

This project illuminates the relationship between cultural resistance, cultural production, and cultural identity in the poetry of Puerto Ricans in New York (“Nuyoricans”). Through textual analysis, informal interviews, and participant observation conducted in the South Bronx, this project is interested in how the descriptions of the island as “home” are used to mediate a cultural or ethnic identity, particularly amongst a people who do not live there, or perhaps never have. While the construction of an ethnic identity and a conceptual homeland in a diasporic community has been studied in past research, the intention here is to elaborate upon the …

[Introduction To] Her Best Shot: Women And Guns In America, Laura Browder

Bookshelf

The gun-toting woman holds enormous symbolic significance in American culture. For over two centuries, women who pick up guns have disrupted the popular association of guns and masculinity, spurring debates about women's capabilities for violence as well as their capacity for full citizenship. In Her Best Shot, Laura Browder examines the relationship between women and guns and the ways in which the figure of the armed woman has served as a lightning rod for cultural issues.

Utilizing autobiographies, advertising, journalism, novels, and political tracts, among other sources, Browder traces appearances of the armed woman across a chronological spectrum from …

Race For The Senate–A Content Analysis Of The Campaign Coverage Of West Virginia Senate Candidates Marie Redd And Tom Scott In 1998 And Marie Redd And Evan Jenkins In 2002, Lynne Marsh

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In the 1998 general election, Marie Redd became the first African American elected to the state senate in West Virginia. In the 5th District Senate race for her seat in the Legislature, Redd overcame the influence of opponent Tom Scott's incumbency, as well as his race and gender. Then, in the 2002 primary election, the freshman senator lost her seat to Evan Jenkins, also a caucasian male and a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Previous research has shown that media treat candidates differently according to their race and gender and researchers have indicated the need for …

Ms. Joanna Boley-Lee On Leisure, Maureen Elgersman Lee

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee.

Interviewee: Ms. Joanna Boley-Lee (age 66; born 1937 in Newark, New Jersey; lived in Maine for 8 ½ years)

“I think my closing reflections would be that when I came to Lewiston I remember walking across the bridge that goes across the Androscoggin, the extension of Main Street, just sort of looking out, and there was a black man with a camera and I thought, good, there's a black person. So I went up to him and I introduced myself, told him I was new in the area and he tells me he was visiting. I …

Reverend Albert Jackson And Mrs. Clemmie Jackson On Leisure, Maureen Elgersman Lee

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee

Interviewees: Reverend Albert Jackson (born in Slabfork, Virginia; age 61; lived in Maine for 43 years) and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson (born March 1948 in Marengo County, Alabama; age 55; lived in Maine for 3.5 years)

“Well I like it. You know, I describe it as, ah, a place where you can shop. I notice when it rain, a lot of people go out to eat. They like to eat here in Maine. And I've noticed -- I've (inaudible) –but this is a good area to live in.”

Interviewer: “Are there any events in Lewiston and Auburn's …

Mr. James Sheppard On Leisure, Sanela Zukic

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Sanela Zukic

Interviewee: Mr. James Sheppard (born in New York City in 1924; both his parents immigrated from Antigua in the West Indies to Canada, then they came to the United States in 1923; moved to Maine in 1971).

“But in addition to that we'd have lots of summer events: picnics and that sort. But that's separate; that's a different thing.”

“Between my wife and I, we saw to it that they did a lot of reading. And we did a lot of traveling. We did a lot of traveling to the Caribbean and South America, and we took …

Mr. Richard Terrence On Leisure, Rachel Talbot-Ross

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Rachel Talbot-Ross

Interviewee: Mr. Richard Terrence (age 57; born 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio; moved to Maine in October 1975)

“And, you know, raising my children is interesting in that as they grew older and as they noticed the very differences, they were starting to mix in very well. They were making friends, and, you know, they were involved in sporting activities and community.”

Mrs. Emma Jackson On Leisure, Maureen Elgersman-Lee

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee

Interviewee: Mrs. Emma Jackson (age 62; born 1941 in Atlanta Georgia; lived in Maine for 46 years; has three children)

“Because it wasn't ever in the - the -- the, ah, club scenes, or any scenes like that. Actually, we live, ah, a really sheltered life. We went to church. We were involved. But the church was our main focus and our main goal. And I -- and -- and our lives were wrapped -- revolved around that. So that might be -- which would be a reason why we didn't--”

Chronological Bibliography Of The Works Of Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Lucinda Damon-Bach, Allison Roepsch, Melissa J. Homestead

Department of English: Faculty Publications

This two-part bibliography has been built by consulting the Bibliography of American Literature (BAL) and the bibliographies compiled by Sister Mary Michael Welsh ("Catharine Maria Sedgwick: Her Position in the Literature and Thought of Her Time up to 1860," Ph.D. diss., Catholic University of America, 1937) and Richard Ranus Gidez ("A Study of the Works of Catharine Maria Sedgwick," Ph.D. diss., Ohio State University, 1958); library cataloging records; and the personal records of Lucinda Damon-Bach and Melissa J. Homestead. In most cases, entries have been confirmed through books, periodicals, photocopies, or microfilm received through interlibrary loan. We were not able …

Mr. Edgar Anderson On Leisure, Amber Panzella

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Amber Panzella

Interviewee: Mr. Edgar Anderson (Male; age 51; born 1950 in Chicago suburb called Harvey; Moved to Portland Maine in 1985)

“I just spent last weekend down in Massachusetts with-as I said before-with my daughter who played in basketball tournaments Saturday and Sunday, so we spent the weekend in Massachusetts playing basketball. This weekend her mom will spend time with her in Hudson, New Hampshire, playing softball. She's also a softball player…Yeah, and two weeks from now we're gonna be in Connecticut, and the week after that we'll be playing basketball in D.C. So we're very involved with …

Mrs. Odessa Barret On Leisure, Usm African American Collection

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: -

Interviewee: Odessa Barret (born in Port Arthur, Texas, 1948)

“Life for me as a child was bitter sweet. I was between the youngest boy and girl so I was never alone. Church was the focal point of our lives. It was a time of "White Only" restrooms and drinking fountains, but we were spared a lot of that because we owned our own car so public transportation was not a worry for us. Traveling food for us was a basket of fried sausage and biscuits if it was morning and fried chicken and bread if it was lunch …

Mrs. Rose Jackson On Leisure, Hamida Suja

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Hamida Suja

Interviewee: Mrs. Rose Jackson (age 66; born in Louisville, Mississippi; lives in South Portland for 39 years; married 34 years; has six children; had five children with her first husband; he died and she remarried and had a child with the current husband)

“And we would get together, like, have a fish fry on the weekend with our white friends, our white neighbors. And when we would get out and fish, my daddy and them would go down and get in the water and just muddy the water up with hoes-what you chop cotton with-and the fish …

Ms. Lucille Young On Leisure, Anab Osman

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Anab Osman

Interviewee: Ms. Lucille Young (age 73; born 1928 in Jackson, Mississippi; moved to Maine in 1967) “[Barbeque] Yeah. We have four picnic tables in the backyard, and chairs, and we have a grill. And I have a swimming pool, so they’re always there. They’re always at my house. Which I’m trying to get rid of half of them, but I know it’ll never happen.”

Mrs. June Mckenzie On Leisure, Aretha Williams

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Aretha Williams

Interviewee: Mrs. June McKenzie (age 72; born 1929 in Portland Maine; fifth-generation Mainer; lived in Maine all her life)

“Oh, yes we do, and they're really big. My sister in Connecticut has, what, seven children, and my sister in the islands has three, and my other sister has one. And all our families and our grandchildren and everything, we all get together on Fourth of July and have a picnic at Sebago Lake, which started out as a big church thing. Our church did it every year, and we've just kept up the tradition.”

“Well, my neighborhood …

Mr. James Mathews On Leisure, Maureen Elgersman Lee

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee

Interviewee: Mr. James Mathews (age 59; born 1941 in Portland Maine; married with five children; lived in Maine all his life – lived in South Portland for over 26 years)

“Well, when we talk about the Mathews family reunions and also the Fisher family reunions, because they're a part of our family. We all evolved from the Mathews really, and, of course, my name is Mathews. We had a family reunion in Nova Scotia that I went to in 1998. It was July; I think it was the 14th thru the 16th, or something like that, …

Ms. Beverly Bowens On Leisure, Vanessa Saric

We Exist Series 4: Quotes

Interviewer: Vanesa Saric

Interviewee: Ms. Beverly Bowens (born in Maine; age 67; left at 21 years old for about 35 to 40 years and then returned to Maine)

“Actually, I'm a product of my environment. So when I went to New York, I had difficulty getting used to, for instance, going to a party, 8 o'clock. And even though in New York a party starts at eight, no one comes until ten. I go to bed early, and I get up very early. And this is something that I found a little bit different when I was in New York. …

Why Do They Strike Us?, James Polchin

Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS)

Over the past two years since the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie Wyoming, the circumstances of his death have held a symbolic place in the story of violence against gay men and lesbians nationally. University of Wyoming Professor Beth Loffreda's book Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder is on the "Lambda Book Report" best-sellers list and MTV has recently premiered "Anatomy of a Hate Crime: The Matthew Shepard Story" that dramatized the events of October 6th, 1998. The telling and retelling of Shepard's murder in both academic books and popular culture suggests …

The Gendered World Of Disney: A Content Analysis Of Gender Themes In Full-Length Animated Disney Feature Films, Beth A. Wiersma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has focused on the gender messages portrayed in television programs, cartoons, advertisements, literature, picture books, and fairy tales. One venue that has not received as much attention in the research is the Disney 1 full-length animated feature films. This is a qualitative study of the gender themes and portrayal of gender roles in full-length animated feature films by The Walt Disney Company. The findings in this research indicate there has been little change in the stereotyped portrayals of Disney characters from the release of the first full-length animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 to …

Cummings Guest House Register Pages 097 And 098, Usm African American Collection

We Exist Series 4: Cummings Guest House Register Excerpts

This is a detail from the Cummings Guest House Register. You can see a digital version of the full text HERE.

Cummings Guest House Register Pages 099 And 100, Usm African American Collection

We Exist Series 4: Cummings Guest House Register Excerpts

This is a detail from the Cummings Guest House Register. You can see a digital version of the full text HERE.

Martha Stewart Weekdays: A Symbolic Construction Of The Image Of Woman, Holly Lorraine Dent

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Today the American culture makes the claim that “image is everything.” Messages bombard the public with how to think, feel and look via the media. Programs on television that target women vary in topics from fitness, talk shows, movies, and home shopping to an endless array of soap operas. Television has provided a medium that visually and aurally appeals to viewers in a way that no other medium can. The messages of the ideal woman on television are often subtle and couched within the pretense of entertainment. Television has produced many ideal images of women through the years: June Cleaver, …

An Activist's Guide To Lesbian History: A Companion To The Video Not Just Passing Through, Polly Thistlethwaite

Publications and Research

This guide, designed to accompany the video Not Just Passing Through, contains guidelines for conducting oral history, forms for donating material to mainstream and community based archives, and lessons for engaging lesbian history with activism.

To Tell The Truth: The Lesbian Herstory Archives: Chronicling A People And Fighting Invisibility Since 1974, Polly Thistlethwaite

Publications and Research

A portrait of the Lesbian Herstory Archives by a volunteer, describing the archive in its original home in Joan Nestle's Upper West Side New York City apartment that she shared with Mabel Hampton. Originally published in Out/Week Magazine.

Betty Wiseman's Scrapbook, 20, 1983-1984, Betty Wiseman

Scrapbooks

Betty Wiseman graduated from Belmont College and began teaching health and physical education in 1966. She was the founder and coach of the Belmont women’s basketball team, the Rebelettes (now Bruins), in 1968. At the time, it was one of the first women’s collegiate teams in the southeast. She was inducted into the Belmont Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981. She was also inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Wiseman coached the women’s team for 16 years (1968-1984) before moving into athletic administration at Belmont. She served as Assistant Athletics Director until her retirement in 2013. …

Betty Wiseman's Scrapbook, 19, 1977-1978, Betty Wiseman

Scrapbooks

Betty Wiseman graduated from Belmont College and began teaching health and physical education in 1966. She was the founder and coach of the Belmont women’s basketball team, the Rebelettes (now Bruins), in 1968. At the time, it was one of the first women’s collegiate teams in the southeast. She was inducted into the Belmont Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981. She was also inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. Wiseman coached the women’s team for 16 years (1968-1984) before moving into athletic administration at Belmont. She served as Assistant Athletics Director until her retirement in 2013. …