Women's History Commons^™

“Madam” Elizabeth: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley’S Sisyphean Attempt To Join The “Cult Of True Womanhood”, Bella Biancone

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Nineteenth century notions of femininity and etiquette were governed by strict societal standards. “True Womanhood” was defined by four fundamental virtues– piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. However, there was another pre-requisite for joining this revered cult¬: whiteness. No matter how pious or domestic a woman of color was, she could never hope to be considered a proper lady by Victorian standards. In discerning what it meant to be a member of that “cult of True Womanhood,” Black women were used to determine the boundaries of white womanhood; a “True Woman” was to be the antithesis of the stereotypical sexual and …

Gendered Norms In Community-Based Engagement: Oral Histories Of The Women In The Elsinore Bennu Think Tank For Restorative Justice, Kathleen Burch

Graduate Student Research Symposium

The state of the criminal justice system in the United States is one in need of repair. A local Pittsburgh group – the Elsinore Bennu Think Tank for Restorative Justice – challenges its members and the community to engage in restorative justice. The group comprises professors, returning citizens, police officers, and lawyers to initiate change through restorative justice in communities impacted by crime.

The Elsinore Bennu Think Tank for Restorative Justice (EBTT) Oral History Project at Duquesne University uses the methodology of oral history to gather stories of change, inspiration, and trauma from EBTT members. I will analyze the aural …

Mary Todd Lincoln: Duty And Depression, Bella Biancone

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln was perceived by Victorian America as materialistic and unbalanced. Behind the closed doors of the Executive Mansion, however, lie a grief-stricken mother struggling to manage an undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. Her fragile condition was exacerbated with each death of her beloved family. Yet, this First Lady played an integral role in the White House, acting as hostess, advisor to the President, and activist in her own right. She was not a passive bystander as her husband worked tirelessly to preserve the Union, but an active participant in the war effort. Following Abraham Lincoln’s premature …