History of Gender Commons^™

Influence Of Neo-Colonial Relationships On The Gender Norms Of The Pacific Islands, Katelynn N. Nicholas

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

The intersection between domestic violence and formerly colonized countries has long drawn the attention of scholars and researchers. Many of the Pacific Islands are known for their low Human Development Index scores. Because of their treatment of women, they also often have very low Gender Development Index scores. The understanding that there will be no receipts after the exchange of a human being, usually a child, has encouraged British men to seek out sex work in Thailand. Arguably domestic violence and colonization fully overlap in the sexual objectification of ethnic groups in Oceania and the woman there who fall into …

“Mimicking Straights”: The Legacy Of Conservatism In Homophile Activism, 1950-60s, Brock Manasseri

History Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this thesis I explore historical misconceptions about the homophile movement that was active during the sixties and 1950s. Scholarly narratives have borrowed Gay Liberation’s perspective that narrowly defined homophiles as conservative, respectable, and tied to gendered roles. This representation only reflects the ideas of leadership, rather than the membership. Homophiles were a highly diverse group of people, both intellectually and demographically. Assumptions about their politics and practices began in straight society but did come to be repeated by their critics. In truth, homophiles included radicals and conservatives and their publications served as the stage on which to debate the …

Pedro Aceves Mfa Thesis, Pedro M. Aceves

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

My Work is about looking at Cruising through a queer decolonial lens. Using multiple mediums such as photo, glass, Augmented reality, and film, I explore these queer histories and aesthetics through not just an anthropological approach but also an artistic epistemological approach weaving together narratives of prehispanic and modern queer Latinidad.

Forced Sterilizations And Reproductive Control: A Legacy Of Eugenics And White Supremacy In The United States, Bshara Alsheikh

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Women of color have suffered racial reproductive abuse by the hands of government-funded white supremacist institutions. From federal government agencies to the highest court of the land, they have all played a crucial role in the reproductive oppression of women of color and have failed to protect their bodily autonomy. This thesis examines legal cases like Buck v. Bell, Madrigal v. Quilligan, and Relf v. Weinberger to showcase how the bodies and reproductive capacities of women of color have been targeted and controlled under the guise of public health, to advance supposed economic stability, and through a racially charged eugenics …

Race, Sex Work, And Spatial Segregation In Storyville, New Orleans, Paige M. Magoto

All Theses

Storyville, New Orleans, operated as a legalized vice district from 1897 to 1917. This 38-block area facilitated sex work and prostitution “across the color line,” perpetuating and encouraging the practice of white men seeking sexual acts from Black women and women of mixed-race descent. I engage with multiple interacting subsections of historiography within this thesis project. The historiography spans Southern history from the early nineteenth century in the Old Antebellum South until the early twentieth century in the Progressive Era. The broader historiographic dimensions of labor and sexuality were also influential in curating this research project, engaging with the evolving …

The Rise And Fall Of The Contagious Diseases Acts: An Examination Of The Legislative Influences, Medical Discourse And Repeal Arguments, Elizabeth Henderson

All Theses

The Contagious Diseases Acts (CDA) were the most important legislative intervention concerning sexuality in the nineteenth century. The CDA was a public health measure passed to address the spread of venereal disease amongst the British Army and Navy, and targeted Britain's most vulnerable women – sex workers – because they were blamed for being the presumed cause and primary mode of spreading venereal disease. This resulted in the legalization of what critics of the CDA would call surgical assault, or instrumental rape, of working-class women suspected of being sex workers. Historians who study sexuality and sex work in Britain have …

From Tragedy To Triumph: Maine’S Lgbtq+ History (1984-2005), Aidan King '25

All Student Scholarship

Maine’s LGBTQ+ history may be very rich, but true acceptance was an uphill battle. For decades, queer residents of Maine fought for equal rights in the state. The Stonewall riots in 1969 in New York City were an early sign that LGBTQ+ citizens were not going to continue to let their identities be suppressed, but as the years progressed, so too did the confidence of queer people to be open about their identities, including in Maine. In 1973, at the University of Maine, the Wilde-Stein Club was established, to the deep chagrin of homophobic fundamentalist preachers whose protests against the …

'No Nose Club': The Quackish Consumption Of Pox Care In Long Eighteenth-Century England., Sasha Jones

Madison Historical Review

(World History) This article explores the rise of non-institutional syphilis care in eighteenth-century England and the growing popularity of the barbershop as a centre of pox care among middle-class men. It argues that middle-class pox sufferers sought out the barbershop as a primary location of health care because of the invasive treatments offered by physicians at institutional centers of pox care – including those offered in private offices. The social stigma that was associated with syphilis also encouraged middle-class men to seek pox treatment at the barbershop, since its location in bustling downtown entertainment districts and its reputation as a …

The Ideology Of Isolation, Chase Robbins

SPARK Symposium Presentations

No abstract provided.

Freedom Lyrics, Lily Allan

The Civil Rights Movement (HIS/BLS 347) Zine Project

No abstract provided.

Flourish, Chanel Perez

The Civil Rights Movement (HIS/BLS 347) Zine Project

No abstract provided.

Res Historica, Volume 4, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2025 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Samuel Sanders, and Julia Ackerman. The cover art for this volume is an open access image.

“La Flor Más Autóctona De La Revolución:” Celia Sánchez And The Complexities Of Constructing A Distinctly Nationalist Feminist, Hayley Lonergan

History & Classics Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Women’S Voting Registrations In Marquette County, Lauren E. Mccollor

HS 390 Primary Research Papers

Following the Michigan state amendment of 1918, which granted women the right to vote, the women of Marquette County began registering. This paper looks into the Ishpeming women’s voting records from 1919 and 1920, as well as news paper articles that document early voting registration turnouts in Marquette and Negaunee. The research focused on the patterns of registration in the context of amendments, elections, and political movements at the local, state, and national levels. While there has been extensive research and analysis of early women voters across the United States, no previous studies have analyzed the Ishpeming voting records. Women …

Under The Veil: Women's Head Coverings In Tudor England, Savannah Toth

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis seeks to discover and analyze the agency and meaning of the role of women’s head coverings and veils within the context of Tudor Christianity, society, and the fashion world of English culture. By observing the usage of the veil through various lenses, this thesis examines the nuance of the veil as an object and actor in Tudor society that enables yet prohibits personal choice for women. This research uses various sources such as Tudor paintings and portraits, surviving pieces of garments, and written accounts to paint a picture of the impact and significance the veil had in every …

Uncovering Maria Edgeworth’S Strategic Political Influence Through Her Unpublished Letters, Autumn G. Hall

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) was one of the most prolific Anglo-Irish novelists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While Edgeworth’s novels are regularly discussed among Regency-era scholars, researchers have rarely considered her letters and correspondence, especially in relation to her role in contemporary politics. During my time on the Maria Edgeworth Letters Project team, I researched Edgeworth’s previously unpublished letters, which provided a unique view of her strategic political correspondence network. Through her writing, Edgeworth was able to voice her thoughts while also remaining publicly complacent with restrictive societal norms imposed on women. In my article, I argue that through her …

The 1920s Klan, More Than Just The South: A Historiographical And Pedagogical Assessment, Nicolas Soucy

History - Master of Arts in Teaching

I. Synthesis Essay..............................3

II. Primary Source Documents.........16

III. Textbook Critique.........................28

IV. Textbook Rewrite.........................31

Tracing The Dry Line: A Historiographical And Pedagogical Inquiry To American Prohibition And The Politics Of Belonging, Abigail Carney

History - Master of Arts in Teaching

I. Synthesis Essay ................................…………...7

II. Primary Sources with Headnotes………………29

III. Textbook Critique………………………………..41

IV. New Textbook Entry…………………………….45

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 …

Remember The Ladies: A Consideration Of The Subtle Contributions Of Women To The Patriot Cause, Davon Howard

Theses

Before the American Revolution, colonial women lived in a hierarchical society. When the fighting began, the constructs of that hierarchy were challenged and, in some cases, broken down, with only few remaining while the fight for freedom was in full effect. The battle for independence was not fought only on the battlefield. Women were left at home to survive in a harsh wartime world and desperately doing what they could to make sure there was a home to come back to. Even with such tremendous responsibility on their shoulders, and in addition to their struggles to secure the home front, …

Invisible No More: Looking And Listening Locally To Build Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Resilience, Anjali Thakore

CMC Senior Theses

The ubiquity of sexual violence, with its devastating physical and psychological consequences, has rendered conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) one of the most effective and enduring “invisible crimes” of war. Despite receiving growing attention across academic, political, and activist circles, wartime sexual violence remains pervasive in contemporary conflict zones. Against the backdrop of these frequent and recurring violations, this thesis explores the dissonance between high-level rhetorical commitments to preventing and punishing CRSV and on-the-ground realities. What soon emerges is a troubling pattern in which gendered violence—and women’s lived experiences more generally—while increasingly visible in theory, remains marginalised in practice. By investigating …

Reconceptualizing Madness: Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Autobiography And The Cultural Landscape Of Insanity, Gender, And The Illness Experience, Claire Paley

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Waking The Witch: Exploring Gender, Magic, And Power Dynamics In Ancient Rome, Diana Gibson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis explores the presence of witches and magic in the literature of the Roman Empire. The study ranges from the 1st century BCE to the 6th century CE, and relates the prevalence of female witches in the Roman literature to particularly turbulent social contexts, such as the fall of the Republic and the rise of Christianity. The piece considers the rhetorical nature of accusations of witchcraft, and how the concepts of magic and witchcraft themselves were defined and shaped by those in power to uphold imperial hegemony and structures of patriarchy. The project seeks to highlight a distinction between …

Sojourner Truth’S Vision: A Life Dedicated To Ending Injustice, Nyla R. Stokes

Emerging Writers

This essay explores the profound legacy of Sojourner Truth, a pivotal figure in the fight against injustice. Through a personal narrative interwoven with historical analysis, the author reflects on their initial ignorance of Truth's significance and how a school project transformed their understanding. The paper delves into Truth's life, including her experiences as a formerly enslaved woman, her impactful speeches and her collaboration with other notable activists. It examines the complexities of her identity as a Black woman in the 19th century, the societal perceptions of femininity, and the challenges she faced within the feminist movement. The author also draws …

Promesas Incumplidas: The Reconfiguration Of Gendered Expectations And Relationships During The Bracero Program (1942-1964), Adriana Justo Ortiz

Undergraduate Research Awards

The Bracero Program led to the breakdown of domestic roles, disruptions of female and Braceros’ partnerships with women, and the creation of new friendships among the male Braceros themselves. After the Braceros left for their work contracts in the United States, Mexican women took on additional responsibilities that were customarily done by their husband. In contrast, the Braceros had to undertake domestic chores in their temporary labor camps that their wives would have generally done in Mexico. Because Anglo- American employers and entrepreneurs, specifically those from Tulare, California, as demonstrated by the work of historian Ana Elizabeth Rosas, had certain …

Virginia Woolf And The Lesbian Literary Tradition, Hunter Candrian-Velez

English and Creative Writing | Senior Theses

Modernist English authors, such as Virginia Woolf in her novel Orlando: A Biography, built upon a pre-existing and long tradition of underground lesbian literature dating back to Sappho in Ancient Greece. Before Woolf, female writers of the 19th century continued this tradition by establishing the literary trope of the “Victorian Romantic Female Friendship,” which would later take on different shapes and connotations with discoveries made in the early 1900s related to sexology and homosexual inversion. These discoveries would lead writers to code their work in the hopes of avoiding censorship and government punishment. Writers such as Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Gaskell, …

The Horrors Of History: Gender, Folklore, And Puritanism In Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Trinity Stuckey

Undergraduate Scholarship

This paper examines Robert Eggers' 2015 folk horror film The Witch as a legitimate form of historical interpretation that illuminates the intersection of gender, folklore, and religious belief in 1630s colonial New England. Through analysis of primary sources including Cotton Mather's Memorable Providences, Samuel Willard's possession accounts, and Salem witch trial records, this study demonstrates how Eggers' meticulous attention to historical detail creates a narrative that captures the psychological and sociocultural dimensions of Puritan experience. The paper argues that by taking seriously the theological worldview of its subjects rather than dismissing supernatural elements as superstition, The Witch achieves a …

Feminine Felons: Violent Offenders' Intersectional Experiences In Twentieth-Century Montana, Cassidy Ann Vander Voort

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper explores the treatment of violent female offenders in Montana in both the media and prison system from 1900-1960. Women of all races faced gender discrimination from both the carceral system and popular media. Local newspapers sensationalized crimes committed by female offenders, portraying them as women who lived outside of the expectations of womanhood in the twentieth century. Newspapers and courts placed women into two categories: “mad/sad” female offenders, who received forgiveness for their crimes; or unforgivable, “bad” offenders. Crime did not determine these categorizations; instead, gender expectations of the white middle class shaped female criminals’ treatment. If these …

"A Changed Understanding Of Our Present": Moby-Dick As Prophetic Ecological Activism, Katie Ann Schini

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Moby-Dick: Or, The Whale is a classic of American literature, spanning multiple genres and remaining culturally relevant nearly 175 years after its original publication. Though on the surface Moby-Dick reads as an adventure story of a man who experiences the whaling industry firsthand, Herman Melville’s text continues to invite new generations of readership through the framework of the twenty-first century climate crisis.

In this thesis, I position Moby-Dick as a text that can be used to understand our modern society’s current dispositions of ecological grief. My thesis operates at the intersection of three main literary critical theories: ecocriticism, affect, and …

Rifles And Riflemen: Material Culture, Violence, And Early American Identity, 1720 -- 1820, John Bradstreet Weaver

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The rifle was one of many material objects which colonists of British North America brought with them from Europe. Starting in the early eighteenth century, German-speaking settlers in Pennsylvania began to manufacture rifles from locally made and imported parts. These rifles became associated with other material objects – namely a system of dress, which included wearing a whitetail deer’s tail in the hat, the hunting shirt, and forms of Native American dress – which became emblematic of some British colonists who used rifles in hunting and war. Rifles became militarily important in the Seven Years’ War, where Native American warriors, …