Cultural History Commons^™

Review Of Bad Land Pastoralism In Great Plains Fiction By Matthew J. C. Cella, Becky Faber

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Matthew Cella's Bad Land Pastoralism in Great Plains Fiction is based on the concept of "the dialogue between human culture and nonhuman nature on the Great Plains" as explored through the region's literature. Cella defines "bad land pastoralism" as "a persistent effort to both confront and transcend the losses accrued during the ongoing attempt to permanently inhabit a bioregion defined by motion and transience." The reader, to follow Cella's argument, must consider and reconsider the stereotypes of the Great Plains, particularly as they apply to how the region was populated and what the concept of land can mean to Plains …

Guggenheim For Governor Antisemitism, Race, And The Politics Of Gilded Age Colorado, Michael Lee

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

In the summer of 1893 financial panic struck Colorado. The price of silver, in a protracted downward spiral since the conclusion of the Civil War, finally crashed. The British government announced that its Indian mints were ceasing the coinage of silver rupees. The news of that decision caused a torrent of selling on the international market. In a matter of hours, the price of silver plummeted from eighty cents to sixty-four cents an ounce. The collapse in value of Colorado's most important commodity precipitated runs on local banks. Twelve banks alone collapsed in Denver during the month of July. By …

Review Of Tillie Olsen: One Woman, Many Riddles By Panthea Reid, Cinzia Biagiotti

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

The large book by Panthea Reid (449 pages, 16 chapters, a prologue, epilogue, and three appendices) tracks Tillie Olsen's long life (1912-2007) step by step, beginning from the Jewish-Russian origins of both her maternal and paternal families, up to her death on January 1, 2007.

The book could have been a useful addition to Olsen scholarship, if not for the biographer's insistent efforts to destroy the image of a writer and a woman who was committed so extensively to unhinging the political, social, and cultural stereotypes built up to contain the action of women in America and elsewhere.

Review Of West And West: Reimagining The Great Plains By Joe Deal, Larry Schwarm

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

The geography of the Great Plains defies conventions of what a beautiful landscape is supposed to be. There are no mountains, forests, or pristine streams and lakes. It is mostly a flat horizon line, broken by an occasional tree, and bodies of water are almost always muddy ponds. To the untrained eye, it appears featureless.

It takes a special understanding to appreciate its vastness and subtleties. It requires an especially acute sensitivity to be able to translate these qualities to a photographic image. Most photographers approach this landscape looking for atypical qualities, anomalies rather than the common.

Joe Deal in …

Review Of Reopening The Frontier: Homesteading In The Modern West By Brian Q. Cannon, Mark Engler

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

FREE LAND was the Cry! For 123 years the Homestead Act provided millions of people the opportunity to pursue the American Dream of land ownership. Moreover, it had a tremendous impact beyond individual people or families, profoundly changing the nation and the world.

Brian Q. Cannon's Reopening the Frontier: Homesteading in the Modern West is one of several recent titles exploring America's epic homesteading story. Within Cannon's book readers will find events tying back to the early years of the homestead movement that have been repeated time and again. While one may believe that modern homesteading between 1946 and 1966 …

Review Of Deep Waters: The Textual Continuum In American Indian Literature By Christopher B. Teuton, Lindsey Claire Smith

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Christopher Teuton's study of four American Indian writers-No Scott Momaday (Kiowa), Gerald Vizenor (Anishinabe), Ray A. Young Bear (Meskwaki), and Robert J. Conley (Cherokee}-offers a useful model for theorizing the interdependence of oral and written traditions within Indigenous communities. In Teuton's view, a limiting separation between oral and written discourse has prevented scholars from recognizing the balance among various forms of signification that, reflecting community histories and identities, has long been a mainstay for Native peoples amid contexts of both tradition and change. This unnecessary divide, which he terms the "oral-literate binary," has informed scholarly practice, comprising "oral-literate theory." Despite …

Review Of Vernon Fisher By Vernon Fisher, Matthew Bourbon

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Internationally acclaimed artist Vernon Fisher is known for making paintings that contain complex, and frequently competing, renderings of the world. His carefully crafted art is crowded with stylistically variant depictions of colonial maps, portraits of classic movie stars, and cartoon drawings of Mickey Mouse. The arrangement of such disparate imagery within discrete paintings encourages the viewer of Fisher's art to make comparisons between the different subjects portrayed. Reconciling the often discordant narrative implications remains an enduring entertainment of Fisher's work.

A long-time resident of Fort Worth, Texas, the artist creates his paintings by co-opting and manipulating images he considers slightly …

Review Of Steamboats West: The 1859 American Fur Company Missouri River Expedition By Lawrence H. Larsen And Barbara J. Cottrell, Ken Robison

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Using two exceptional traveler journals, Steamboats West takes the reader on a remarkable journey "on one of the most memorable feats of steamboat navigation in North American history." The adventurous travelers, Elias J. Marsh, medical officer, and Charles Henry Weber, tourist, boarded the steamboat Spread Eagle for the annual American Fur Company expedition up the Missouri River to Fort Union in Dakota Territory.

In the words of historian Hiram Chittenden, "The incidents of a single steamboat voyage from St. Louis to Fort Union would make an entertaining chapter in any book of adventure." But, for Marsh and Weber, their adventure …

Review Of The North American Journals Of Prince Maximilian Of Wied, Volume 2: April-September 1833 Edited By Stephen S. Witte And Marsha V. Gallagher, Michael G. Noll

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

The travel accounts of Prince Maximilian of Wied have long been considered one of the finest early scientific and ethnographic descriptions of North American landscapes. Maximilian journeyed with the Swiss painter Karl Bodmer through the United States in 1832-34 to study its natural environments and Indigenous peoples. His keen observations were published in German in 1839-41, were translated into other languages in the following years, and have been harvested ever since for their factual information. Maximilian's publication, however, left out a good portion of his original observations.

With this, the second of three volumes of Maximilian's journals, Stephen S. Witte …

Public Opinion Is More Than Law Popular Sovereignty And Vigilantism In The Nebraska Territory, Sean M. Kammer

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

While debating Senator Stephen A. Douglas in the fall of 1858, Abraham Lincoln declared the principle of popular sovereignty, as applied to the Kansas Territory, to be "nothing but a living, creeping lie from the time of its introduction till today."¹ While Lincoln conceded the right of majorities to rule and to shape policy, he maintained that there were moral limits to this right-a line beyond which democratic majorities could not govern. This view contrasted sharply with that of Douglas, who argued that the ultimate source of authority was the will of the people, and that this authority was …

Review Of The Rhythm Boys Of Omaha Central: High School Basketball At The '68 Racial Divide By Steve Marantz, Amy Helene Forss

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

During the school year of 1967-68, African American basketball sensations John Biddle, Willie Frazier, Dwaine Dillard, Roy Hunter, and Phil Griffin electrified the predominantly white student body, coaches, and administrators of Omaha Central High School. These five "Rhythm Boys" and the racially tense times they lived through inspired Steve Marantz, a 1966 Omaha Central graduate, to write an examination of the first-string basketball players and the surrounding discrimination and racism they faced on and off the court. It was a year in which their high-school principal, J. Arthur Nelson, privately referred to black students as "Smoky Swedes" and employed only …

On Lewis Sorley's Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, Gregory A. Daddis

History Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, by Lewis Sorley.

Baseball's Night, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was approximately 12:45 a.m. in London when Mark Teixeira’s bases loaded blast reached the seats in The Can, and the Yankees added four runs to the one they were gifted in the first inning. It was 5-0. David Price had very little, and I turned off my computer and went to bed. At the time the Braves were 1-1 with Philadelphia, the Red Sox and O’s were scoreless and that seemed not to matter at that point. The Cardinals and Astros had not yet begun.

The Grizzly, September 29, 2011, Liz Kilmer, Nick Pane, Jacquelyn Heikel, Jordan Demcher, Lisa Jobe, Rosie Clark, Leah Mele, Sarah Bollert, Michele Snead, Jenna Yaich, Emily Duffy, Kahlil Pitman, Dave Muoio, Kyu Chul Shin, Sara Sherr

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Fringe Festival Mixes Students, Pros • Homecoming Welcomes Clear Skies, Alumni • Pre-Law Program Offers New Opportunities • Harvard Professor Speaks on "Gilgamesh" • Internship Profile: Shelter Overseas • New Lantern Editor Appointed • Investment Club Undergoes Revival, Expansion • Steer Your Career in the Right Direction • UC Bike Share Returns • Opinion: Abbas' Bid for Palestinian State Raises Questions • UC Honors Hall of Fame Class of 2011 • Bears Sneak by in Wins on Homecoming Weekend • Bears Terrorize McDaniel in Homecoming Win

"That All Men Are Created Equal...": Universal Relevance And The Civil War, John M. Rudy

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

One of my favorite movies is Back to the Future III. I know that is a terrible choice in some folks' eyes. The response I usually get is an, "ugh!" and a snarl of the lip. Still, I think there is so much going on in that film, from the struggle between fatalism and free will to the themes of love and sacrifice, heartache and heartbreak.

The reason Back to the Future III comes up in my mind today, though, is because of a dialogue within the public history world that appears to be heating up, thanks in part to …

The Grizzly, September 22, 2011, Liz Kilmer, Nick Pane, Jordan Demcher, Rosie Clark, Lisa Jobe, Michael Schmidt, Jenna Yaich, Sarah Bollert, James Noebels, Annabel Clarance, Connor Gregory, Sara Mohler, Sabrina Mcgettigan, Christiana Gross, R. Erich Bassler, Marina Mccann, Victoria Cameron

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Hundreds Gather for Family Day • Fefu Offers Questions, not Answers • Phonathon Raising the Bar • Internship Profile: The Hill School • New Psychology Professor Looks to Promote Research • Woman to Watch: Kelly Reynolds • Campus Alcohol Policies Being Strongly Enforced • Organization Helps with Self-Esteem Issues • Opinion: Students Should Question the Meaning of Education; Academics Should Take Precedence Over Parties; Letter to the Editor: "An Open Letter" Too Closed-Minded, Rude • Coach's Corner: Meet Diana Clavin • Turf Field Among New Traditions of Homecoming • Field Hockey Aims to Continue Championship Ways

Speaking A Different Language, John M. Rudy

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

[Video available below] OK, so what are we looking at? First and foremost, we are looking at someone who has thought deeply about the meaning of Lincoln's words at Gettysburg. "President Lincoln changed history / he honored the dead but did so much more / he changed the meaning of the Civil War." MC Lala gets the deep meanings of the two minutes Lincoln spent on a platform in Gettysburg. MC Lala grasps the deep importance of Lincoln's re-dedication of America at Gettysburg using the Declaration of Independence's ever inspiring promise that, "all men are created equal." [ …

The Grizzly, September 15, 2011, Liz Kilmer, Nick Pane, Ron Stranix, Jenna Yaich, Lisa Jobe, Lauren Tedesco, Pearl Steinberg, Marina Mccann, Annabel Clarance, Dave Muoio, Lauren Goldstein, Rosemary Clark, Kyu Chul Shin, Jacquelyn Heikel, Connor Gregory, Victoria Cameron

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

New CAB Events Coming This Fall • UC Commemorates 9/11 • CAB Hosts Activities Fair in Zack's • GSA Welcomes New Board • Tips to Assist with Time Management • New Math Professor Brings Biostatistics Expertise • Peer Docent Program Returns to Berman • Senior Reminisces on Semester Spent Abroad • Opinions: Updated Sexual Assault Policy Needs Awareness; Libya Should Look to Spain When Rebuilding Government • Fast Start has Volleyball on Track for the Playoffs • Cross Country Eyes Continued Improvement in 2011 • Men's Basketball Team Goes Abroad

In Another Sesquicentennial, John M. Rudy

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

On Tuesday, Jake wrote asking who controls the memory of 9/11. The ownership of memory is such an interesting thing. This tenth anniversary was an interesting event, fraught with conflicted memory and different voices. It was intriguing to watch all of the slight conflicts which emerged last week leading up to the ceremonies on Sunday morning. [excerpt]

Penn State, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

The world of intercollegiate athletics, particularly the world of elite football and basketball programs, is a world unto itself. It has a connection to reality analogous to that of Disney World, and is shrouded in a veil of secrecy rivaling that of the CIA. Those who run these programs live in a paranoid environment that sustains a bunker mentality, while at the same time is invested with a sense that the rules, of any world beyond their offices, do not apply to them. They are vigilant in maintaining their splendid isolation in a vacuum of privilege.

Reading 9/11 Through The Holocaust In Philip Roth’S The Plot Against America And Art Spiegelman’S In The Shadow Of No Towers, Stella Setka

Re-visioning Terrorism

This essay argues that Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America and Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of New Towers open up new spaces for reading the trauma of 9/11 not simply as the tragic story of a single day in 2001, but as a traumatic event that shares referents with other catastrophes in history, most notably the Holocaust. Further, the author demonstrates that these works are more concerned with the politicization of 9/11 than they are with the terrorist attacks themselves.

Female (Em)Bodied Justice: Terrorism, Self-Sacrifice, And The Joint Primacy Of Gender And Nationality, Renee Lee Gardner

Re-visioning Terrorism

In The Terror Dream, Susan Faludi asserts that instead of processing the events of 9/11 – what they might reveal about our culture, how we might thoughtfully grieve them and respond to those who perpetrated them – Americans reverted to a 1950s style domesticity, with the media representing men as heroic rescuers and women as victims of terrorists, in need of rescuing. This is ironic in that the majority of that day’s casualties were men, and the attacks themselves were perpetrated within our commercial and governmental centers. Yet much of the literary fiction that has emerged from 9/11 can …

From Hydra To Al-Qaeda: Depictions Of Terrorism In Comic Books, Cord Scott

Re-visioning Terrorism

Comic books have often reflected the world at the time of publication. Terrorism became a prominent aspect of several comic storylines after 9/11, but the concept of terrorist groups in comic books is far more common than one might think. This paper looks at how terrorist groups have been used in US comic books, how events in comics have later come true, and how depictions of terrorists have changed in both positive and negative aspects.

No More Tall Buildings: American Superhero Comics And The Shadow Of 9/11, Mauricio Castro

Re-visioning Terrorism

No abstract provided.

The Grizzly, September 8, 2011, Liz Kilmer, Nick Pane, Ron Stranix, Lisa Jobe, Lauren Tedesco, Pearl Steinberg, Jane Helmick, Sabrina Mcgettigan, Dave Muoio, Sarah Bollert, James Noebels, Anna Larouche, Hilary Gibbs, Jacquelyn Heikel, Sara Sherr

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

President Fong Praises Liberal Arts • New Patterson Field Changes Game for UC Sports • Class of 2015 Arrives Early for Freshman Orientation • Students Faced with Room Damage Charges Urged to Take Better Care • Frosh Advice from Upperclassmen • Collegeville Welcomes "Unique" Movie Tavern • New Professor Plans to Boost Music Tech Program • Students and Administration Return, React to Renovations in Wismer • Internship Profile: Fox 29 • Opinions: An Open Letter to Freshman Women; Students Should Consider Pros of Off-Campus Living • Football Drops Season Opener to Albright, 24-17 • Women's Soccer has Sight set on …

Holy Writ: Thinking Beyond Enabling Legislation To Modern Relevance, John M. Rudy

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

Why trust a bunch of dead guys? I know it sounds trite, but it's very important when we begin approaching how we talk about Civil War sites (or any historic site). Oftentimes, the folks who voted the site into existence and decided its primary reason for being are dead and gone. The world has changed radically since they were here. The pieces of legislation they created (at the federal level they're typically called "enabling legislation," at lower levels they have varied other names) were distinct products of their times. The themes and significances they outline are likewise products of their …

“Above All Greek, Above All Roman Fame”: Classical Rhetoric In America During The Colonial And Early National Periods, James M. Farrell

Communication

The broad and profound influence of classical rhetoric in early America can be observed in both the academic study of that ancient discipline, and in the practical approaches to persuasion adopted by orators and writers in the colonial period, and during the early republic. Classical theoretical treatises on rhetoric enjoyed wide authority both in college curricula and in popular treatments of the art. Classical orators were imitated as models of republican virtue and oratorical style. Indeed, virtually every dimension of the political life of early Ameria bears the imprint of a classical conception of public discourse. This essay marks the …

Memory In Paintings Of Quattrocentro Renaissance Florence: Religious Paintings And Secular Portraits, Ashley Matcheck

Psi Sigma Siren

Collective memory studies as a field has always been the interdisciplinary study of how and why memories have been created. The difference between collective or cultural memory studies and that of a strictly historical study is often discussed and debated as people question whether memory or history is more valuable regarding past events. Jan Assmann explains that “in the context of cultural memory, the distinction between myth and history vanishes. Not the past as such, as it is investigated and reconstructed by archaeologists and historians, counts for the cultural memory, but only the past as it is remembered.” Assmann has …

College Football, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Staged events are seldom convincing and often offensive. About two weeks ago the President of THE Ohio State University, Gordon Gee decided to stage a public apology for his comments several weeks earlier in which he used the Little Sisters of the Poor as a punch line for criticism of scheduling by lesser football teams than his group of tainted national champions.

"Gold Coast Slave Ship Bound For Cotton Fields...": Altamont And The American Civil War, John M. Rudy

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

A couple weeks ago, I put up a post about a flag flying at Manassas during the Sesquicentennial commemoration. It elicited a nice response from a friend of mine, Robby, who hails from the great state of North Carolina. Robby loves to play devil's advocate, so I'm always happy to wade further into a friendly conversation:

...When a historian is unable to understand the southern affinity for the men who fought the war, almost to a person you see the slavery straw man emerge. This action is akin to politicians playing the race card, an easy way out of a …