Public History Commons^™

The Students’ Army Training Corps In Virginia, R. Matthew Luther

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The Students’ Army Training Corps (SATC) is an overlooked part of the United States’ military training system during World War I. In early 1918, the War Department realized that they would need more military officers due to the rapid expansion of the Army for the war, the high expected casualty rate of officers, and the planned spring 1919 offensive. To help fix this problem, the Committee on Education and Special Training, a subsidiary of the War Department, created the SATC. College campuses served as training locations and male students enrolled at the schools received military training in addition to their …

Constructing Memories Of The Civic-Military Dictatorship In La Plata, Argentina, 1976 To The Present, Anna Neubauer

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis examines how different organizations constructed memories of the civic-military dictatorship in Argentina. Although Spanish language literature on this topic is very rich, not much English language scholarship is present in the historiography. Using a local history approach and by analyzing primary sources such as newspapers, memoirs, flyers, and police archives, this thesis demonstrates how two groups: the Unión de Estudiantes Secundarios (High School Students Union, UES) and the Montoneros in the city of La Plata drew on the history of their fallen comrades during the civic-military dictatorship to fight for a better future in Argentina.

I Belong Here Too: An Oral History Of The Immigration Of Bangladeshis To New York City, Subat Matin

Masters Theses, 2020-current

I Belong Here Too is an oral history project which consists of twenty interviews of the Bangladeshi community in New York. The oral histories touch on many aspects of Bangladeshi-American life, history, memory, identity, culture, and the struggles of being an immigrant. It tries to put the interviewees experiences in a larger historical context in order to understand how the Bangladeshi community in Brooklyn, New York has grown and the challenges they faced as immigrants in a new city. The two chapters of this thesis examines the oral history processes and the difficulties of Bangladeshi immigrant women. The project is …

The Daniel Harrison House Project: Heritage Education Programs At A Historic House Museum, Megan Schoeman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis project attempts to identify and address outdated interpretation and education programs of the Daniel Harrison House, a historic house museum commonly known as Fort Harrison, in Dayton, Virginia. The project consists of two parts, a written component and an online digital exhibit. The written component of the project evaluates the Daniel Harrison House’s current educational programs and provides updated suggestions to reflect current trends within the heritage education and public history fields. The Interpretation Plan identifies the organization’s existing interpretation methods, historical content, artifact collection, education programs, staff and volunteers, accessibility of information to the public, and development …

I Belong Here Too: An Oral History Of The Immigration Of Bangladeshis To New York City, Subat Matin

Masters Theses, 2020-current

I Belong Here Too is an oral history project which consists of twenty interviews of the Bangladeshi community in New York. The oral histories touch on many aspects of Bangladeshi-American life, history, memory, identity, culture, and the struggles of being an immigrant. It tries to put the interviewees experiences in a larger historical context in order to understand how the Bangladeshi community in Brooklyn, New York has grown and the challenges they faced as immigrants in a new city. The two chapters of this thesis examines the oral history processes and the difficulties of Bangladeshi immigrant women. The project is …

Republican Party Doctrine And The West Virginia Coal Mine Wars, Thomas Kidd

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The West Virginia Coal Mine Wars of 1912-1913 and 1920-1921 are most strongly associated with the use of government and military force against organized labor. A deeper examination of the contemporary newspapers in the state, associated with the Republican Party reveals the attitudes of the party toward labor. Looking at how these editors reacted to the key events of the mine wars reveals that the Republican Party of the time supported two principles: free enterprise and rule of law. This study shows how the importance of these key principles caused the editors loyal to the party to shift the blame …

A Comparative Analysis Of Montpelier's, Monticello's, And Mount Vernon's Collaborative Effort With Their Descendant Communities, Rachel Gregor

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Historical homes and plantation sites focus interpretation on the life and legacy of the white owners of the property and the architectural and decorative elements of the home. In order to tell the whole-truth history of these sites, there must be an active discussion regarding the lives of the enslaved population, especially since the enslaved individuals were the reason the white owner was able to be successful. While very little written historical records exist for enslaved communities in comparison to those that survive for the white plantation owner, the surviving documentation, when coupled with archaeological evidence and especially the oral …

Walking The Line: The Legacy Of The Lost Cause In Redefining Femininity At The Normal, 1909-1942, Jennifer D. Page

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The students who attended the State Normal and Industrial School at Harrisonburg during the early period (1909 – 1942) used social organizations to echo, amplify, and rehearse Lost Cause hierarchies of class, gender, and race. The Lee and Lanier Literary Societies were the two elite groups on campus which provided spaces for the women to practice these societal norms. These groups created a system of gatekeeping that ensured exclusivity and elevated the social standing of those who were members. These organizations were spaces to rehearse refinement and to practice the white women’s own roles in society. Their understanding of their …

Shape-Note Music Traditions Of The Shenandoah Valley, Tyler Brinkerhoff

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Though over the years documents about shape-note music from Joseph Funk and Sons and the Ruebush-Kieffer companies have been spread throughout many archives, they are now being brought back together online in one digital archive. Interpreting the information contained in these documents and the ledger book of subscribers for The Southern Musical Advocate and Singer’s Friend magazine through graphs and maps makes the information contained in them easier to access for researchers. The collaboration between a physical museum site, a website, and a Omeka site allow for multiple ways to learn about the history of shape-note music in the Shenandoah …

America's Main Street Misremembered: The Myth Of Route 66, Jessica Corsentino

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Most Americans’ idea of Route 66 is misinformed. The collective memory of the iconic highway was built on the existing problematic image of the American West, shaped by early Route 66 boosters, and perpetuated through popular media and amateur preservationists, all of whom stood to benefit from a selective, marketable version of the highway’s past. The gaps left by these promotional revisions are indicative of problems with the transmission of collective memory on a larger scale, in which elements of history that do not align with the desired image are softened or removed. The sense of continuity and shared identity …

Walking The Line: The Legacy Of The Lost Cause In Redefining Femininity At The Normal, 1909-1942, Jennifer D. Page

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The students who attended the State Normal and Industrial School at Harrisonburg during the early period (1909 – 1942) used social organizations to echo, amplify, and rehearse Lost Cause hierarchies of class, gender, and race. The Lee and Lanier Literary Societies were the two elite groups on campus which provided spaces for the women to practice these societal norms. These groups created a system of gatekeeping that ensured exclusivity and elevated the social standing of those who were members. These organizations were spaces to rehearse refinement and to practice the white women’s own roles in society. Their understanding of their …

The Committee On Public Information And The Four Minute Men: How The United States Sold A European War To American People, Madison Mcternan

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Shortly after America’s entry into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson created the Committee on Public Information to garner public support for the War. This committee was created not only to drum up support for the war, but to ease a public frustrated by an isolationist president’s entry into such a conflict. Notable reporter and writer George Creel served as its chairman, and together with countless others created a massive propaganda campaign. The Committee was incredibly successful in its mission of “selling the war.” This was largely due to the fact that Creel and his men revolutionized the way propaganda …

The Law And The Household: Criminal Courts In Early Twentieth Century Rockingham County, Jennifer Taylor

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis examines the early twentieth century as a period of transition for rural, southern communities where the state began to increase its authority in matters of the family and the household. This prompted a transition from traditional patriarchal authority to state paternalism. Using the criminal court case records from the Rockingham Criminal Court, it is possible to evaluate the rural population’s reaction to this transition. Certain populations, particularly women, were willing to use the law as a place to find justice against male power, while men continued to perpetuate traditional ideas about masculinity and informal, violent retribution as a …

“Without Obscuring Deeper Truths:” Interpreting Slavery And Jefferson At Monticello, Andrew Miles

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis examines the paradigmatic shift in interpretation that occurred at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello during the 1980s and 1990s. For decades, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation presented the site as a marvel of architecture, décor, as well as exemplifying Jefferson’s tranquil domestic life and intellectual talents. Beginning in the 1980s, the Foundation began to address slavery at the site. Chapter one introduction of slavery interpretation during this period. Early attempts to interpret slavery became intertwined with the Foundation’s positive portrayal of Jefferson before becoming more varied and provocative in the 1990s. Chapter two examines the parallel evolution in Jefferson scholarship, …

The Grace And Leigh Oral History Project, Spencer Law

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

At a critical time in examining the bias of our institutions, the Grace and Leigh Oral History Project is collecting and archiving stories of three educational institutions in Richmond, Virginia. These oral history interviews share personal experiences with race and privilege in Richmond Public Schools, the experiment of the Virginia Governor's School initiative, and the legacy of Maggie Lena Walker. An accompanying contextual essay provides background on the author’s personal connection to the project, relevant historical information, and detailed plans for the future of the project. Currently, the project includes a total of 24 oral history interviews, roughly an hour …

Diplomacy And The American Civil War: The Impact On Anglo-American Relations, Johnathan B. Seitz

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Modern historical memory of the American Civil War is dominated by the domestic elements of the four-year conflict between the Union and Confederacy. The military figures, battles, and major political changes of 1861-1864 are central elements to public interpretation of the Civil War. But there is an additional dimension to the events of this period in American history, one that, outside of secondary scholarly research in the past century, remains distant from public knowledge. This research explores the nature of international reaction to the American Civil War, focusing on interaction between the combatants and the United Kingdom. The heart of …

Perceptions And Identity: Poverty In 19th Century Rockingham County, Kayla Heslin

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The historical analysis of poverty has lain silent for nearly two decades, with only recent authors, such as Nancy Isenberg and Kerri Leigh Merritt, broaching the topic. While several others have taken a deep dive into understanding the causes and effects of contemporary poverty, it seems to me a great deal has yet to be written on the identity of those impoverished and their active endeavors to define themselves in economic circumstances largely beyond their control. Until we truly explore the complexity of economic dearth and its relation to collective identity, we cannot fully understand the topic of “poverty.”

In …

Prohibition In Rockingham County: Exploring A Digital Archive, Craig Schaefer

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Prohibition in Rockingham County: Exploring a Digital Archive, is a digital prehistory thesis project that preserved and made select Prohibition-era records publicly available from the Rockingham County Courthouse. The records are now part of Exploring Rockingham’s Past (ERP), an ongoing collaboration between James Madison University’s (JMU) History Department, JMU Libraries, and the Rockingham County Circuit Court. These digital documents have been released into the public domain as keyword searchable and fully described PDFs at https://omeka.lib.jmu.edu/erp/. A digital exhibit is used to showcase the records: https://sites.lib.jmu.edu/prohibition/. The website introduces the reader to Prohibition but mainly strives to put the records …

Memorializing Men Of The Lost Cause: Public Opinion Of Confederate Monuments In Virginia 1900-Present, Morgan Brittany Pendleton

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Prior to the events in Charlottesville, Virginia in August of 2017, there has been debate about what should or should not be done with Confederate monuments that dot the Southern landscape. The debate continues as to what these monuments mean to those in the communities they are located. Many individuals see them as a symbol of heritage and history, while others see them as racist and glorifying men who fought to maintain slavery. Public opinion and memory surrounding these monuments has not always been negative however. During the time of their creation Lost Cause ideology played a large part in …

Producing Historical Knowledge On Wikipedia, Petros Apostolopoulos

Madison Historical Review

The aim of this study is to show how Wikipedia establishes a public and digital space, where users produce historical knowledge following specific guidelines and methods.This article intends to show how Wikipedia’s methods and tools can constitute an exemplar for digital public history project in the future. Both the methods and guidelines that Wikipedia establishes to gather, select and produce historical knowledge can inspire the creation of new digital public history projects, in which history will not be consumed passively, but it will be produced actively by the public.

Where No Fandom Has Gone Before: Exploring The Development Of Fandom Through Star Trek Fanzines, Jacqueline Guerrier

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Where No Fandom Has Gone Before: Exploring the Development of Fandom Through Star Trek Fanzines is a digital archive and exhibit project centered around a collection of forty earlyStar Trek fanzines. The website serves two functions: primarily to archive these fanzines, and secondarily to showcase their viability as research tools which can provide valuable data. Through the use of several digital exhibits, this project supports the argument that fanzines had an integral role in the development of early Star Trek fandom and served as a primary means of communication between fans. The website project can be found at: https://guerrijd.wixsite.com/wherenofandomhasgone

Der Hungerwinter: Family, Famine, The Black Market, And Denazification In Allied-Occupied Germany (1945 - 1949), Tyler Stanley

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper analyzes numerous letters written among several members of a German family living under the Allied occupation. The Lingenhoel family were one of a great many Germans enduring hunger, famine, and denazification in the immediate postwar period. Using the Lingenhoel family as the lens of analysis, this paper ultimately assesses the Allies' efforts to alleviate the widespread hunger and the Germans' responsibility of collaborating with the former Nazi government.

Making An Impression: Butter Prints, The Butter Market, And Rural Women In Nineteenth-Century Southeastern Pennsylvania, Jennifer L. Putnam

Madison Historical Review

Pre-industrial butter-making was an arduous process, involving milking, churning, proper storage, printing, and, sometimes, transport to market. The 19th-century economy in Philadelphia was forever changed by the practice of rural women selling their surplus butter as a response to the rise of consumerism. Butter-making provided rural women with the means to earn their own income, providing economic agency and increasing their independence by allowing them to work outside of the home. Butter prints emerged as a way to brand one’s butter with a signature trademark. A print’s size and shape, the materials and methods used in its construction, and the …

Interview Series, Kimberly Mccray

Madison Historical Review

No abstract provided.

Note From The Editors, Joel Webster, Rachel Carey

Madison Historical Review

No abstract provided.

Fort Hunt's P.O. Box 1142, Lindsey Wood

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Fort Hunt is a World War Two prisoner of war camp in Alexandria, Virginia. It housed more than 3,000 Axis prisoners and several war related programs, MIRS, MIS-Y and MIS-X. The World War Two POW experience is a missing part of the story, and Fort Hunt can help illuminate an important part of the United States’ war effort and responsibility. Fort Hunt was a secret location, and its activities included gathering and deciphering German written materials, interrogating Axis, mainly German, prisoners of war, as well as creating and distributing Escape and Evasion packages to air and ground forces in Europe. …

The Inuit Vs. The Steamboat: Human Exhibitionism And Popular Concerns About The Effects Of The Market Revolution In The Early Republic, Ryan Bachman

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In the early nineteenth century, a new form of human exhibitionism spread through eastern American cities. While public displays featuring live human beings had existed since the colonial era, these new shows specifically focused on Native Americans. This paper examines one such show, the Inuit Exhibition of 1820-1821, as a case study of this phenomena. Primarily through the use of contemporary newspaper accounts, this project argues that shows like the Inuit Exhibition occurred within a cultural context that legitimized the practice of human exhibitionism as a genuine, post-Enlightenment method of educating citizens about the natural world. Furthermore, so-called “Indian Exhibitions” …

Interview Panel With Adam Erby, Emilie Johnson, And Teresa Teixeira, Adam Erby, Emilie Johnson, Teresa Teixeira

Madison Historical Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Contested Ground: Civil War Interpretation In The Shenandoah Valley, Kyle P. Rothemich

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This research focuses on how three distinct Civil War sites in the Shenandoah Valley interpret the American Civil War. The Virginia Museum of the Civil War in New Market Virginia, the Visitor Center housed by the Kernstown Battlefield Association in Kernstown Virginia, and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park information center in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Each of these three organizations is administered by a different governing body ranging from the National Park Service to the State of Virginia, and lies in the geographical and cultural region of the Shenandoah Valley. Research is based off; interviews conducted with interpretative managers at …

Interpretation Training Manual For The Frontier Culture Museum, Megan T. Sullivan

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia is an outdoor living history museum that uses costumed interpreters to tell visitors about their major themes. By understanding that the Museum seeks to talk about the daily lives of people from West Africa, England, Ireland, and Germany; their immigration experience to America; and how these people interacted with each other and Native American groups to form an American culture, interpreters can pass on this information to visitors. Interpretation, as a bridge between the historical information and the visitor, is a conversation between the interpreter and the visitor where the interpreter can use …