History of Gender Commons^™

Chenoweth Prevails: The Connection Between Social Standards And The Marimba’S Development In The Western Art Music Tradition, Jackson Hall

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Among percussionists, the names of many marimbists come to mind before that of Vida Chenoweth (1928-2018), the pioneer of the modern marimba recital. Chenoweth began her first recital tour in the early 1950s at a time when the marimba did not yet have a dedicated solo repertoire, and women were largely excluded from performing on orchestral instruments. This thesis explores the musical and social contexts in which Chenoweth performed and worked, with particular attention to her recital history, critical reviews, and, through works written specifically for her performance, her technical abilities. She not only sparked the evolution of marimba technique …

Be A Man: Childhood, Masculinity, Mental Hygiene, And The Asylum In The 1950'S, Emily Lonna Miller

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This project studies the use of mental hygiene films in the 1950s to understand the American ideal of gender, sex roles, and mental health. Focusing specifically on masculinity, this project shows that psychologists and psychiatrists of the mid-twentieth century helped to define what it meant to be a real man in America. Sources for this research included mental hygiene films, psychological studies and articles from the 1950s, and news broadcasts. Upon examination of these sources, it becomes clear that mental health specialists were concerned with the development of correct masculinity in male children and becoming the modern doctors that could …

Marriage Vows And Economic Discrimination: The Married Teacher Problem, Sabrina Thomas

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study analyzes the rapid increase of economic discrimination against married women teachers in the early twentieth century, particularly during the Depression. It challenges the notion that economic discrimination against married women teachers was simple, easy, and largely was unchallenged. I argue that the creation and proliferation of marriage bars in the early twentieth century involved a compounded and multifaceted set of economic and social concerns. Support for this argument is accomplished by examination of the national debate on marriage bars as well as careful investigation of the local debate illustrated in Huntington, West Virginia.

Knights In White Satin: Women Of The Ku Klux Klan, Kelli R. Kerbawy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Ku Klux Klan is often thought of as a male-dominated organization; however there is evidence that women contributed to Klan efforts and participated in their own group, Women of the KKK. This study analyzes women’s involvement within the KKK during the 1920s. Women’s participation in early progressive movements, including temperance and suffrage, served as a catalyst for women’s involvement with the KKK. This paper explores women’s roles in the Ku Klux Klan as leaders within the WKKK. From earlier social movements, women gained knowledge needed to promote and expand the WKKK and other white supremacist women’s organizations. This paper …

A Heart Of Glass: Women, Work Culture, And Resistance In Huntington, West Virginia’S Glass Industry, Ginny Young

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study analyzes women in Huntington, West Virginia’s glass industry through an examination of interviews with retired selectors of the Owens-Illinois plant that operated on Huntington’s west end for nearly eighty years. It explores the particular ways in which those selectors formed their own work culture and a collective identity of themselves as a group in the years prior to their being organized into the Glass Bottle Blowers Association Local 256. This project argues that the work culture of selecting acted as an “informal organization” through which selectors at Owens-Illinois could act together and separately to resist gender discrimination in …

Discourses Of Disappointment: The Betrayal Of Women's Emancipation Following The French And Russian Revolutions, Crystal Denise Helton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Questions relating to gender are worth pursuing in order to more accurately discern the impact of the French and Russian Revolutions on society more broadly as opposed to just political leaders, well-known historical figures, or those predominately male citizens that comprised the upper echelons of their respective movements. A careful analysis of secondary sources, or the historiography on women’s place within the French and Russian Revolutions, reveals that, in spite of their use of egalitarian rhetoric, the revolutionary governments in France and Russia continued to view women based upon conventional standards. Discourses written by and about women before, during, and …

Emily Greene Balch: Crusader For Peace And Justice, Tara S. Lambert

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Emily Greene Balch was the second American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and worked throughout her lifetime to better the world for her fellow humans. As one who was shaped by the Progressive Movement in both character and action, she has nonetheless never received the historical spotlight given to other workers of her time such as Jane Addams. A survivor of protest against war, she has been virtually ignored despite her many activities and writings on behalf of peace, suffrage, and social reform. Even Mercedes M. Randall, who wrote the only biography of Balch, fails to fully examine …

Spanish Women And The SeccióN Femenina: Rhetoric, Imagery, And Ideology, Julia Hudson-Richards

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Women never discover anything; they lack, of course, the creative talent; reserved by God for male intelligence. We can do nothing more but perform for better or worse, the tasks which men give us.

Pilar Primo de Rivera, 1942.

Though at the time of its founding in 1934 the women’s section of the Spanish fascist party may have been insignificant to many, the Sección Femenina in a few short years was installed as the premier government agency with regard to the political status of Spain’s women. With the consolidation of the Franco regime, the Sección Femenina was placed in charge …

Thy Will Be Done, My Will Be Done: A Comparative Analysis Of The Diary Of Susanna Gordon Waddell, 1863-1867 And Selected Letters Of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, 1862-1864, Leann Elizabeth Ginther

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

“Renew my will from day to day.

Blend it with thine, and take away

all that new makes it hard to say

Thy will be done.”

December 17, 1863

Susanna Gordon Waddell transcribed the above passage in her diary to reflect her pervading belief and conviction: a resignation to God’s will. She does not indicate the author of the verse, and it so aptly describes the beliefs expressed in her diary she may have written it herself. Interestingly, this particular passage contains an inherent contradiction. The prayer asks God to renew my will while simultaneously asking that it be taken …

Women In The West Virginia State Legislature 1923-1997, Jo Boggess Phillips

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A total of 125 women legislators have served in the West Virginia State Legislature (see Appendix A). Although every state legislator, both male and female, has played a role in molding the destinies of the citizens of this state, the past 70 years have been an uphill climb for the women who have served in the West Virginia Legislature.

This thesis examines the careers of some of the pioneering women who broke the gender barrier and entered into the male dominated world of state politics and those who have followed their lead. This paper is by no means meant to …