Other American Studies Commons^™

Tryna Be A Mountain, Aru Apaza

Senior Projects Fall 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

“A Certain Brauch:” German-Georgian Palatine And Rhenish Immigrant Houses In Columbia County, New York And Their Vernacular Architectural Roots, Andrew J. Roberge

Senior Projects Spring 2022

In this archaeological and architectural survey of 18th Century Palatine and Rhenish immigrant houses in New York's Hudson Valley, specifically in Columbia County, I track the development of three houses from their earliest vernacular forms to those touched by the Georgian influence. The Georgian worldview, stemming from European Enlightenment ideals, began permeating colonial American society in the 18th Century. It's influence first began to touch the wealthy and elite most connected with mother Europe, and then trickled into more common society. I chronicle and analyze Germantown, NY's Reformed Sanctity Church Parsonage, Germantown, NY's Simeon Rockefeller House, and Clermont, NY's "Stone …

A Dazzling Détente: Exploring The Cultural Facets Of The Kennedys’ 1961 Visit To Paris And The Instrumental Role Of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Maxwell Riley Toth

Senior Projects Spring 2022

This project is an exploration into John and Jackie Kennedy’s 1961 trip to Paris, France, only four months after the former was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States. In discussing this state visit, scholars often analyze it through a political lens—specifically, the gravity of the issues a novice President Kennedy (1917–1963) and an avuncular President de Gaulle (1890–1969) discussed tête-à-tête, and the visit’s role as a stepping stone to Kennedy’s weighty conversation with Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna days later. Yet, outside of the conference room at the Élysée, cultural moments and gestures throughout the sojourn offer insights …

A Biomythography Of Mommy, Immanuel J. Williams

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

9/11: News Media As Prism, Luka L. Murro

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

She Is Clothed With Strength And Dignity; She Can Laugh At The Days To Come!, Immanuel J. Williams

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Motherhood in the words of Aunt Brenda.

See, we look at our parents first as these godlike figures like they're going to figure it out, not realizing that they were children. They were people. They had dreams and aspirations and all that. And when you strip that away, the title of mother– parent– this woman…. Who is that person?

Well, they're a person. They bleed just like you. They had dreams and thoughts and all that, just like you.

You know, I challenge everybody, you know, take your mother or father off of that godlike pedestal because you'll find that …

Shifting Center, Walker Bankson

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

Feta, Blintzes, And Burritos: The Evolution Of The Diner And Immigrants' Role In Defining American Food Culture, Alexis Kimberly Maresca

Senior Projects Spring 2020

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

From Colonial Agriculture To Community Resilience: A History Of The United States Gulf Coast, 1718-2005, Olivia Champion Johnson

Senior Projects Fall 2020

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Civil Rights And The Black Experience During The New Deal Era: Limitations And Possibilities 1932–1948, Garth Sutherland

History - Master of Arts in Teaching

I. Synthesis Essay………………………………3

II. Primary Documents and Headnotes……….27

III. Textbook Critique……………………………39

IV. New Textbook Entry…………………………47

V. Bibliography…………………………………..53

From The Church Of Disco To Waterfront Ruins: An Analysis Of Gay Space, Liam Nolan

Senior Projects Spring 2019

My senior thesis is an analysis of gay space from the late 1970s to 1980s New York, and I’m questioning how themes of private vs. public, accessibility, race, and economic status dictated where one searched for gay self-expression and community in the built environment. In order to understand how queer spaces functioned architecturally and socially, I’ve chosen to research two opposites: The Saint and the west side piers. The former was a private club in New York City from 1980-1988 and was considered to be the “Vatican of Disco” with a planetarium that could hold over a thousand men, two …

Bound To Rise, Morgan P. H. Bielawski

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College.

Bound to Rise is a collection of short stories about people who discover themselves in the “fine drizzly rain” (or smirr, in Scottish lingo) of everyday life. They orient themselves and find some way forward, or they realize they have to. Thematically, it addresses a carnival (the carnivalesque), a demolition derby, multiple fires, photography, drinking, music, an eating disorder, and a birthday cake. It includes one original children’s story written in Russian and translated into English by the author.

“The Educated Indian:” Native Perspectives On Knowledge And Resistance In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries, Madison Michelle Kahn

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Mud Bog: Reconsidering Rural America, Michael Vincent Bodnar

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Mud Bog is an examination of the social and economic realities that present-day Americans living in rural communities endure, and how circumstances beyond their control have prodded them toward narcissistic displays – which can often be troubling expressions of darkness and intolerance.

I hasten to add that my artistic goal is not to wag a finger of disapproval at those depicted, or to punch down at them. I strive to treat this material with sensitivity and empathy. My intent is to shed a light on the conditions that have contributed to the current rancorous state of political and cultural division …

“I Wanna Be Like Mike:” A Synthesis Of Sports Marketing From Babe Ruth To Michael Jordan, Michael John Duffy

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This project examines the rise and development of modern sports marketing, as well as its impact on the economy, society, culture, and professional sports. The project explores sports marketing through the lens of two legendary athletes – Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan. Ruth and Jordan are two pivotal figures that were major catalysts for elevating the role of sports and sports marketing to new levels in each of their time periods. Ruth was the first major athlete to sign lucrative endorsement deals as he opened the floodgates, fostering the rise of sports marketing and changing the sports economy. Moving to …

The Delicatessen Kids, Raina Nicole Dziuk

Senior Projects Spring 2018

The Delicatessen Kids is a collection of short stories that follows 4 Ukrainian-American siblings as they grow up in 1960s Brooklyn, New York.

Back To The Country: America's White Working Class In Literature And Culture, Quentin Robert Lundstedt

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

American Idyll: A Place To Call Home, Bowen Walsh Fernie

Senior Projects Spring 2018

I was raised in Italy from the age of five and when I returned to the United States at eighteen, I was surprised by the way I was affected by the landscape I had never known or explored. I found myself drawn to American culture as it is stereotypically represented in movies and TV - the quaint houses, the schools with cheerleaders and locker rooms, the drive-in movie theaters – and began to examine how those stereotypes are reflected in the real world. From this initial interest I began exploring the American space that I envisioned myself inhabiting throughout my …

The [E]Motionless Body No Longer: Tracing The Historical Intersections Of Mental Illness And Movement In The American Asylum, Holly Adele Herzfeld

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College.

Pawns: Value Perception, Need Diversity, Soraya Jo-Anna Cain

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

The History And Democratization Of Men's Lacrosse, Samuel Woodward Funnell

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College

Unusual Lavas, Caily Begley Herbert

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Languages and Literature of Bard College

"Disreputable Houses Of Some Very Reputable Negroes": Paternalism And Segregation Of Colonial Williamsburg, Nora Ann Knight

Senior Projects Spring 2016

This project attempts to intertwine the intentionally separated narratives of the foundation of Colonial Williamsburg and the narrative of Williamsburg's black community.

As American As Apple Pie: The History Of American Apple Pie And Its Development Into A National Symbol, Rebecca Claire Bunschoten

Senior Projects Spring 2014

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

This Must Be The Place: A Return To The Borscht Belt, Ezra Glenn

Senior Projects Spring 2012

This Must Be the Place: a Return to the Borscht Belt

The Borscht Belt is a region in and around the Catskill Mountains, primarily in Sullivan and Ulster counties, which was once home to over 1,100 resorts, country clubs, golf courses, hotels, and bungalow colonies.

Shortly after the beginning of the 20^th century, the first waves of Jewish immigrants arrived from Eastern Europe to New York City in droves. Small Jewish farming colonies that had sprung up in the mid-19^th century began opening their doors to vacationers from the city as makeshift boarding houses, in order to supplement …