Cultural History Commons^™

Review Of West-Words: Celebrating Western Canadian Theatre And Playwriting Edited By Moira J. Day, Scott Sharplin

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Collecting essays from a 2007 national conference hosted by the University of Saskatchewan Drama Department and the Canadian Association of Theatre Research, West-words purports to be "the first comprehensive study of contemporary theatre across the [Canadian] prairies" since 1977. It is certainly wideranging, in terms of style, subject matter, and theme; "comprehensive," however, is beyond the reach of this scattershot anthology.

Editor Moira J. Day divides the entries according to provincial content, moving east to west like the colonists' path across the three prairie provinces. A fourth heading, "Crossing Regional Borders," seems to undermine the tidy geographical categorization of Manitoban, …

Review Of Will Rogers: A Political Life By Richard D. White Jr., Paul F. Lambert

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

A child of the Southern Plains, Will Rogers became an iconic national figure in the 1920s and '30s. Renowned as a vaudevillian, a comedic movie star, a syndicated newspaper columnist, a radio commentator, and an author, Rogers's significance as a political figure has largely been minimized or overlooked. Richard D. White Jr. demonstrates successfully that Rogers indeed was an influential political commentator whose support on behalf of various issues was sought and coveted by presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt.

Review Of Masculine Style: The American West And Literary Modernism By Daniel Worden, Blake Allmendinger

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Daniel Worden argues that masculinity isn't a biological identity or a fixed construct, but a type of performance that allows for fluidity, enabling individuals "the freedom to refashion the self and live as an equal among others." The men and women who assume such a style challenge a hierarchical system in which men are equated with power and dominance. They reveal a complex subjectivity, sometimes engaging in sentimental relationships and forming unorthodox friendships and unions-unlike the traditional cowboy, who is portrayed in literature as a rugged and isolate, though presumably heterosexual, male. Worden examines the subversion of stereotypical western masculinity …

Review Of Scenery, Curiosities, And Stupendous Rocks: William Quesenbury's Overland Sketches, 1850-51 By David Royce Murphy, With Contributions By Michael L. Tate And Michael Farrell, James Peck

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

This handsome volume is a welcome addition to the growing literature detailing nineteenth- century overland migration, especially travel in and through the Great Plains. Its subject is the Omaha World-Herald's William Quesenbury sketchbook, published here in its entirety for the first time. Quesenbury, who traveled west from Arkansas to California seeking gold in 1850 and returned east with John Wesley Jones as part of his team of Pantoscope artists in 1851, produced more landscape drawings of the North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers High Plains regions than any other historical figure.

Review Of Imprisoned Art, Complex Patronage: Plains Drawings By Howling Wolf And Zotom At The Autry National Center By Joyce M. Szabo, Phillip Earenfight

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Imprisoned Art adds to its author's growing list of impressive publications that consider the so-called ledger drawings created by Plains Indian warriors incarcerated, as prisoners of the Southern Plains wars, at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida, between 1875 and 1879. It focuses on what were once two fully intact books of drawings, one by Zotom (Kiowa), the other by Howling Wolf (Cheyenne). Treated earlier in Dorothy Dunn's 1877: Plains Indian Sketch Books of Zo-Tom and Howling Wolf (1969), and, with respect to Howling Wolf, in Szabo's Howling Wolf and the History of Ledger Art (1994), the books receive here …

Review Of American Indian Nations From Termination To Restoration, 1953-2006 By Roberta Ulrich, James Allison

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Roberta Ulrich's blistering, 2S0-page tour of dozens of different Indian groups undergoing termination and restoration can at times leave the reader dizzy and gasping for air. With so many different communities undergoing such diverse experiences, it is often hard to see the utility of housing these stories under one roof. Convenience is welcome, but analytical coherence is better. Ulrich herself provides little justification for the project and rarely draws illustrious conclusions across tribal experiences. She does, however, dutifully collect all the stories together and provides a clear structure that allows readers easily to discern common themes and patterns. For that, …

Review Of This Is Not The Ivy League: A Memoir Y Mary Clearman Blew, Julene Bair

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Mary Clearman Blew reports that her "gorge still rises" recalling "the dearth of expectations" held out for her during her remote Montana childhood. In passages reminiscent of Alice Munro's Lives of Girls and Women, we see a smart girl who, to realize her potential, must bring her own volition ruthlessly to bear.

Of course, she is not forgiven for overstepping her bounds. Most critical of her are her husband's parents. When, after marrying at age eighteen, she becomes pregnant within the year, her mother-in-law is triumphant: "I guess this is finally the end of college for you!" Instead, Blew …

Review Of After Custer: Loss And Transformation In Sioux Country By Paul L. Hedren, Rani-Henrik Andersson

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Paul Hedren is well known for excellent studies focusing on the Sioux wars and the Northern Plains. In After Custer: Loss and Transformation in Sioux Country, Hedren returns to his favorite topics, but this time telling a story no longer focused on Northern Plains conflicts between Indians and whites, but on the changes that took place in the years following the Plains Indian Wars. His approach is admirable, since for most people-scholars and general readers alike-interest often ends with the conclusion of open combat. The years between Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee are seldom treated so thoroughly as in …

The 2012 Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize, Andrew Jewell

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Selecting a single book to win a prize is a tremendous challenge. There can be something unsatisfying about ranking creative scholarly works knowing there is no such thing as a sole "best" book in a group of quality titles. And yet, each year that I've been a part of the Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize committee, it has happened relatively easily: a book is chosen as the prize winner. The ease does not emerge from a casual attitude toward the selection. On the contrary, the many people involved with choosing the Book Prize winner take it very seriously. I also …

Indians And Empires: Cultural Change Among The Omaha And Pawnee, From Contact To 1808, Kurt E. Kinbacher

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

The Great Plains is in the middle of everywhere. It has been crossed and recrossed for tens of thousands of years. Because of its central location, the region served as a historical laboratory where people were "forever imagining new environments and trying to muscle them into being." In what is now the state of Nebraska-the very center of the middle-divergent groups of Native Americans claimed vast territories and created dynamic cultures. Among these peoples were the Omaha, who settled on the Missouri River, and the Pawnee, who lived in the Platte Valley. Four empires--Spain, France, Great Britain, and the United …

Transcript Of Everybody Helps Everybody, Dave Larkins

All Story Transcripts

This story is an excerpt from a longer interview that was collected as part of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project. In this story, Dave Larkins describes his experience with the supportive nature of the dory community.

Transcript Of When Your Motor Quits, Michael (Mike) Dixon

All Story Transcripts

This story is an excerpt from a longer interview that was collected as part of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project. In this story, Michael (Mike) Dixon describes what happens when a boat’s motor dies at sea.

Transcript Of First Day On The Water, Michael (Mike) Dixon

All Story Transcripts

This story is an excerpt from a longer interview that was collected as part of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project. In this story, Michael (Mike) Dixon describes his first experience of fishing on the ocean.

Transcript Of Breaking Into The Sunset West, Dave Larkins

All Story Transcripts

This story is an excerpt from a longer interview that was collected as part of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project. In this story, Dave Larkins recounts breaking into the local bar with friends.

Every Man A Historian Means Every Man: Speaking With The Fringe, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

The amazing power of the internet age is the pure democratizing ethic it has injected into our culture. We aren't simply pleased when the world around us solicits and listens to our opinions, we've come to expect it. Every news story has a comment thread; every article asks for our feedback. The White House solicits input from the American "user" and offers meaningful responses. In short, we are a people who are growing more vocal in our daily lives. The brilliant constitutional law professor and master of cultural understanding Lawrence Lessig has called our culture "Read-Write" as opposed to "Read-Only." …

Identifying And Analyzing The Use Of Space In Ancient Mayan House Mounds In Kancab, Yucatan, Mexico, V. Camille Westmont

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Measuring Maya Politics: Demographic Research On Ancient Community Relations, Jacob A. Welch

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Baseball Verdicts, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It ended last week with the jury foreman announcing to the court that the jury had found Roger Clemens “not guilty.”

Title Ix, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

This weekend marks the fortieth anniversary of the passage of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 whose section, Title IX, transformed sport in America. After forty years the achievements of Title IX are impressive, while some controversy persists and some misinformation continues to persist. In the past decade the conservative political attack has subsided and Title IX seems to have been removed from those still fighting the culture wars particularly on the issue of feminism.

Lost And Found: Where The Iconic Meet, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I know exactly when I began believing in the Muppets again. I am a child of the '80s. I was five years old when Jim Henson died. I remember watching the TV with my Mom crying beside me as Frank Oz's Fozzie, Richard Hunt's Scooter and Dave Goelz's Gonzo read to their friends the condolence letters sent by thousands of grieving fans. I remember the slow building of "Just One Person." [excerpt]

Father's Day, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

This was first written in 1992 for Father's Day shortly after my father's death which is now 23 years ago. It was originally a radio commentary for WUCF-FM in Orlando. I send it out each year as a tribute to my father and as a tribute to all fathers on Father's Day.

Good Morning To The Night: Requiem For My Battlefield, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

The fireflies have started to appear around Gettysburg. We have a new sliding glass door in the kitchen that I can press my face against and see them. I did it the other night when Jess mentioned they're out there. [excerpt]

Triple Crown, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It has become one of the rarest of rarities in American sport. This Saturday for the twelfth time in the past thirty-four years a horse will come to the Belmont with an opportunity to become the twelfth horse in the history of the Triple Crown to achieve this elusive fete. The last time it was done was in 1978 by Affirmed.

College Kids With Guns: Hidden In Plain Sight, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Sunday morning found me out in the field with a stalwart group of Gettysburg devotees: the Gettysburg Discussion Group's annual spring Muster. When the coordinator of this year's Muster put out the call for something a bit different, perhaps something in town for Sunday, my ears perked up. I've been looking for groups to test out the nuggets of the College's Civil War story on and the GDG seemed like the perfect group of guinea pigs. [excerpt]

Transcript Of Fishing Politics And Frustrations, Susie Wenrick

All Story Transcripts

This story is an excerpt from a longer interview that was collected as part of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project. In this story, Susie Wenrick explains how she and her husband, Craig Wenrick, have adapted to the fishing policies.

Transcript Of Our Own Little Fish Company, Susie Wenrick

All Story Transcripts

This story is an excerpt from a longer interview that was collected as part of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project. In this story, Susie Wenrick explains why and how she started a private fish company with Craig Wenrick.

Transcript Of Providing Scholarships And Feeding Hungry Students, Susie Wenrick

All Story Transcripts

This story is an excerpt from a longer interview that was collected as part of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project. In this story, Susie Wenrick describes the efforts of the Nestucca Valley Backpack Program through the Dorymen’s Association.

Peace, Politics, And Vortex: The Cultural And Political Consequences Of Oregon's Only State Sponsored Rock Concert, Kathryn J. Van Marter-Sanders

Lawrence University Honors Projects

As the 1960s drew to a close, mainstream America realized that the rebellious youth counterculture was not going to go away quietly. Meeting the problem head on as the authorities had in Kent State resulted in violent deaths and even more protests. This trend broke, possibly for the first time, at McIver Park in Portland, Oregon during the first ever state-sponsored rock concert. To make the concert, called ‘Vortex One,’ possible, Governor of Oregon Tom McCall, and The Family commune joined forces to create a peaceful alternative to possible violent opposition of the American Legion National Convention. The concert, however, …

"The People For Whom He Saved The Union": Ninety Years Ago In Dc, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Reading the official Facebook page of one of my favorite history authors yesterday, I saw a pithy note about a "day of note." Ninety years ago this week, President Warren Harding dedicated the Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. [excerpt]

Haupt-Enstance: Whatever Became Of Herman?, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Tom Lehrer, on his 1965 album That Was The Year That Was, sang a send-up of then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey with his, "Whatever Became of Hubert." The song's been going through my head this past week or so, but with the name "Herman" taking the place of LBJ's second-in-command. [excerpt]