An “object lesson” is more than a timeworn metaphor used to describe a way of reasoning from the concrete to the abstract. From the 1860s onward, object lessons were classroom exercises organized around the study of material things and were popular across the United States. Using items like penknives and whalebone, teachers employed this methodology to teach children how to perceive their material worlds and to use their heightened observational skills to reason, both critically and morally. “Object Lessons in American Culture” links this historic classroom practice to the ways nineteenth-century Americans came to understand the matter that surrounded them. It argues that the systematic study of material things via object lessons shaped the ways adults and children found meaning in their possessions, considered the connections between objects and pictures, and viewed and talked about race and citizenship. Furthermore, this dissertation establishes object lessons as a historical way of learning from and engaging with objects and pictures. The practice of object lessons parallels and prefigures certain aspects of current material culture scholarship, a connection that historicizes material culture methodologies. The dissertation is divided into five chapters. “Through a Window” I) introduces the practice that would become object lesson pedagogy moving from Johann Heinrich Pestalozzis Swiss schoolroom to the antebellum United States. “Thinking with Things at School” II) examines Civil War-era reforms that crystallized European ideas about object teaching into classroom-ready object lesson pedagogy. “Picture Lessons” III) looks at what object lessons on pictures may reveal about nineteenth-century visual culture. “Object Lessons in Race and Citizenship” IV) considers how African American and Native American students were taught via object lessons and simultaneously described and represented as living object lessons. Finally, “Objects and Ideas” V) investigates the ways politicians, advertisers, and authors employed the concept of the object lesson and what their projects may reveal about object-based epistemology at the end of the century. This dissertation explains how object lessons, as pedagogy and metaphor, patterned the ways many nineteenth-century Americans thought about their material worlds.
Archive for the ‘American Studies’ Category:
The Resonance of Place Music and Race in Salvador da Bahia
Geography, and the social sciences more broadly, have long operated within what is arguably a paradigm of the visual. Expanding the reach of geographical consideration into the realm of the aural, though in no way leaving behind the visual, opens the discipline to new areas of human and cultural geography invisible in ocular-centric approaches. At its broadest level, my argument in this dissertation is that music can no longer be simply an object of geographical research. Re-conceptualized and re-theorized in a geographical context to take into account its very real, active, and more-than-representational presence in social life, music provides actual routes to geographic knowledge of the world. I start by constructing a theoretical framework and methodological approach for studying music beyond representation. Based on these theoretical and methodological arguments, I present four narratives that unfold at the intersections of race and music in the northeast Brazilian city of Salvador. From the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the troubled neighborhood of the Pelourinho , from the manic tempos of samba to the laid back grooves of samba-reggae, and in the year-round competition between the oppressive forces of ordinary time and the fleeting possibility of carnival, music emerges as a creative societal force with affects and effects far beyond the realm of representation. Together, these narratives exemplify the importance of expanding geographical considerations beyond a strictly visual framework. These narratives contribute to the musicalization of the discipline of geography.
Art on the Border: Political Dialogue and the Use of Visual Art in the U.S.-Mexico Border Debate
This thesis seeks to answer the question: “What do artistic representations add to the dialogue about the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration beyond political rhetoric and popular media portrayals?” Drawing on political communications as put forth by Edelman and Altheide), socio-political construction particularly the White Racial Frame put forth by Feagin), and collective memory theory especially those of Halbwachs and Pollak), this thesis uses a dual-coding, content analysis to examine the linguistic and visual messages disseminated through news media. Then, interviews with and the work of six immigrant artists are examined for their contribution to the information put forth in the news media. This study finds that news reporting bias falls along a continuum from pro-immigration to extreme anti-immigration labeled “fearful” reporting). The news media skew strongly toward anti-immigration to fearful in bias, and there is no opposite pro-immigration bias. Through observations of artists work, the study concludes that artistic representations of the border can fill this strongly pro-immigration void on this bias continuum.
Contact and contrast in valley Spanish
Linguistic features that are transferred through language contact are distributed over social contexts as a result of their role in a system of social meaning. In this dissertation, I investigate the distribution of Quechua contact features in Spanish over different social contexts in a community in central Bolivia. Through the process of enregisterment, contact features participate in a system of social meaning that contrasts “traditional” categories encompassing the feminine, rural, highland, Quechua-speaking, etc.) with “modern” categories associated with male, urban, lowland, Spanish-speaking, etc.). Local identity, however, is produced through a fusion of these categories, often associated with a particular style of speech centrally involving contact features. The question of how and why contact features are distributed leads inevitably to the question of what contact features mean for speakers. I suggest that the meaning of contact features is not fixed, but rather is accomplished through comparison to, and in contrast with, expected patterns of speech, both in terms of contexts of speech and in terms of individual speakers. In order to understand why contact features are used, it is necessary to develop a model of what is expected of certain speakers in certain situations. Yet it is equally important to recognize that the way speakers depart from expected templates is as meaningful as the way they conform to them. Both events and speakers are always textured by reference to diverse parts of a semiotic field of meaning. Contact features participate in a local, and locally dynamic, system of social meaning. It is speakers reference to this system that governs the distribution of contact features over different contexts of speech. Through participation in this system, contact features become an integral part of the representations that speakers construct of themselves and for others. The role of enregistered contact features as indices that speakers use to position themselves with respect to a semiotic field influences their distribution, and ultimately, their persistence or disappearance.
Ethnohistory of the stingless bees Melipona beecheii (Hymenoptera: Meliponinae) in the Mayan Civilization, decipherment of the Beekeeping Almanacs part I in the “Madrid Codex” and the study of their behavioral traits and division of labor
The tropical stingless bee Melipona beecheii is the most important domesticated species documented in the history of the Mayan civilization. Mythological accounts show that these bees have played an important role since the origin of life on this planet. Using ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence is demonstrated that their honey was used in the Mayan pharmacopoeia especially in human fertility and other aspects of health and social culture. One of the four ancient Mayan painted books in the form of glyphical texts that survived the destruction by the colonial Spaniards was the Madrid Codex. This book has the most extensive descriptions of Mayan meliponiculture with M. beecheii. The identification of the glyphic lexicon in the process of deciphering these almanacs involved the use of three lines of evidence: meaning, phonology, and grammar morphology and syntax). This approach was fundamental in understanding the contents of the narratives of such almanacs. This dissertation uses a multidisciplinary approach which involves different areas of the sciences including: ethnohistory, linguistic anthropology, Mayan studies and entomology which represent the study of biology of the bees in question. I specifically explore the behavioral traits of the M. beecheii in their task allocation, division of labor and behavioral trends associated with the provisional oviposition and operculation process, and the disruptive behavior of the gyne, along the queen- worker relationship. These particular elements were studied through the ethological methodology, in order to understand if their sociobiological development in reality corresponded with the sociopolitical model of the Mayans during the splendor of their civilization as it was consistently described in their narratives. Results indicate that Maya may have determined that successful societies were developed by the effective division of labor of successive task performances of individuals who responded to a unified family of organisms and that their expansion and development was conditioned on the accessibility of the natural resources of their surrounding environment. Respecting and understanding these harmonious cycles of growth and reproduction in order to avoid over exploitation must have been one of the most important lessons they included in their life style. Consequently, these quantifiable and observable parameters must also be the principles on which the Maya based their development as a society and their geo-cultural expansion. All these intricate connections became clear when I was able to discover the linguistic principals on which the Mayan writing system was developed. Amazingly the Melipona beecheii show me the path to decipher it.
“What a Woman Can Do With an Auto”: American Women in the Early Automotive Era
Women used automobiles as soon as they had access to them. This dissertation explores ways in which Black, Native, and White women utilized the automobile to improve their quality of life and achieve greater freedom as they navigated the restrictions of early twentieth-century mainstream society. With the automobile came a new freedom: freedom from the insult and danger Black women encountered on public conveyances in the era of increasing segregation； freedom for Native women to reconnect with kin, maintain cultural networks, and pursue expanded economic opportunities despite the restrictions of the policies of the federal government； and freedom from the restrictions of the idealized image of a sheltered, home-centered life of the Victorian-era White woman. Black, Native and White women had unique concerns and common aims as they negotiated their way in mainstream society at a time when advocacy for social change that would affect society in the coming decades was undergoing a resurgence. For women the automobile was a useful tool to improve quality of life. In the 1890s racism and gender stereotypes were prevalent in the United States. The automobile provided a means for Black, Native and White women to pull away from those limitations and claim their individual freedom.
Skin drums, squeeze boxes, fiddles and phonographs: Musical interactions in the western Arctic, late 18th through early 20th centuries
This dissertation explores the nature of early globalization in the Western Arctic with a focus on musical interaction between indigenous and foreign populations during the late 18th through the 20 th centuries. The region experienced an unprecedented amount of cultural contact represented by various cultural groups including Native Alaskan, Canadian, Chukotkan, European American, African American, Latin American, Asian American, Oceanic peoples and others. Numbering in the thousands, natives and non-natives developed continuous and long-term relations working as explorers, whalers, traders, missionaries, miners, hunters, trappers, seamstresses, educators, law enforcement officials, and scientists. The Western Arctics ethnically diverse population, relatively harsh physical surroundings, and absence of a common language allowed musical activity to serve as an important means of communication and increase awareness of the world. Music and dance helped to promote social bonding, trade, and religion. They also expressed cultural identity and contributed to ethnic differentiation. An examination of this musical interchange forms the first part of this study. Local indigenous communities during the late 18th, 19 th, and early 20th centuries interacted most extensively with the influx of explorers, commercial whalers, traders, and missionaries. Throughout the year but especially during the long winter season, these groups often participated in formal, informal, and impromptu gatherings featuring various types of music such as indigenous drum dance and song, folk, popular, church, and classical. Musical instruments including frame drums, fiddles, accordions, harmonicas, organs, pianos, guitars and devices such as phonographs, organettes, and music boxes played an essential role in musical exchange. Just as significantly, these objects also ranked as some of the regions more popular trade commodities. Perceptions of northern indigenous peoples through music and dance constitute a second part of this study. Outside fascination with the Arctic and its inhabitants as reflected in the many examples of late 19th and early 20 th century sheet music, piano rolls, and recordings suggest that cross-cultural interests, though often superficial and caricatured, were also reciprocal. Early musical representation of Arctic culture via southern compositions and performances shares crucial links to the expansion of globalization in North America and beyond.
Con-scripting the masses: False documents and historical revisionism in the Americas
Dominick LaCapra argues that historians continue to interpret legal documents in a hierarchical fashion that marginalizes intellectual history, as fiction is perceived to be less important. This dissertation analyzes contemporary literary texts in the Americas that exploit such a narrow reading of documents in order to interrogate the way official history is constructed by introducing false forms of documents into their narratives. This type of literary text, or what I label “con-script,” is not only historical fiction, but also historicized fiction that problematizes its own historical construction. Many critics propose that the new historical novel revises historical interpretation, but there exists a gap between theory and textual practice. Adapted from E.L. Doctorows notion of “false documents,” the con-script acts as an alternative that purposefully confuses fiction and nonfiction, providing tools to critically examine the authority maintained by official narratives. By revealing the fictive nature of these constructions, the con-script alerts readers to the manipulation of documents to maintain political authority and to misrepresent or silence marginalized groups. The recent revision of American Studies to include a hemispheric or Inter-American scope provides a context for applying such political claims within a transcultural framework. I compare texts from English, Spanish, and Portuguese America in order to identify shared strategies. After a survey of the historical novels development across the Americas and a critical theory overview, I analyze three types of con-script. “The Art of Con-Fessing” juxtaposes texts from the three languages via Jay Cantors The Death of Che Guevara, Augusto Roa Bastos Yo el Supremo, and Silviano Santiagos Em Liberdade. These false documents present themselves as apocryphal diaries written by revolutionary leaders or activists. The authors demythologize untouchable public figures through the gaps in their “own” personal writing. “Mediations of Media” features Ivan Angelos A Festa, Tomas Eloy Martinezs La novela de Peron, and Ishmael Reeds Mumbo Jumbo. These journalists interrogate the role of media and political corruption within the construction of national identity； the false documents appear as newspaper clippings, magazine articles and media images. Finally, the subjective process of archiving is examined in “Con-Centering the Archive” via Aguinaldo Silvas No Pais das Sombras, Francisco Simons El informe Mancini, and Susan Daitchs L.C.
A self-forgiving module for Latina spouses participating in the Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) model
Systemically, alcoholism impacts the way in which family members relate to each other and the function of the family unit. In other words, the alcoholic and members of the family mutually influence one another through their actions and behaviors. Spouses of alcoholics often engage in enabling behaviors to attempt to bring a sense of stability to an otherwise chaotic household. Many spouses seek help to address their emotional state and learn ways to help their alcoholic spouses to enter treatment. The empirically validated Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) model offers help to family members (e.g., concerned significant other or CSO) and substance abusers (e.g., identified patient or IP). However, CRAFT lacks cultural sensitivity in providing treatment to Latina CSOs. Several suggestions are presented to make CRAFT more responsive in treating Latina CSOs. As part of CRAFT treatment, many CSOs become aware of hurtful behaviors that have unintentionally reinforced the continued use of alcohol by their spouse. This realization produces a profound sense of disappointment and often elicits feelings of guilt or shame. As a result, this proposed self-forgiving module attempts to help Latina CSOs reduce the feelings of distress associated with their transgressions against an IP. The self-forgiving module refines an existing self-forgiving model as well as an established process of understanding self-forgiveness. The new self-forgiving module acknowledges and incorporates Latino cultural variables which can be employed by Latina CSOs seeking self-forgiveness. The proposed module sought evaluation from three experts with extensive experience working in the substance abuse field and with Latino clients. The clinical application study also includes a discussion of their assessment and limitations of the proposed self-forgiving module.
U.S. and Domestic Migration Decisions of Mexican Workers
The number of Mexican workers in the U.S. has surged over the last few decades. With about 500,000 new Mexicans arriving each year, among which 80 percent are undocumented, illegal immigration has become one of the most controversial issues confronting U.S. policymakers. My dissertation focuses on the determinants of the large scale Mexican out-migration to the U.S. and examines the impact of alternative U.S. immigration policies on the influxes of illegal immigrants. In this dissertation, I develop a discrete choice dynamic structural model that explains migration decisions of Mexican workers within Mexico and across the American border. Each Mexican worker in the model chooses where to locate each period to maximize the discounted sum of expected lifetime utility. When the agent chooses out-migration to the U.S., he has an option to apply for an immigration document which may become available after an uncertain length of time. Border crossings also involve an uncertain probability of being apprehended which depends on U.S. border enforcement policy. The model accounts for differentials in wages and location-specific amenities as determinants of migration decisions, and previous migration decisions of individuals from the same village influence the value of the U.S. location choice. I estimate the structural parameters of the model using a source-country based retrospective panel data from the Mexican Migration Project. I use the results to evaluate the impact of three alternative immigration policies: an increase in the number of available visas, an increase in the number of border patrol officers, and tougher control on unauthorized residence in the U.S. Simulation results show that Mexican migrants are very responsive to more stringent policies against illegal employment, as the number of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. decreases by as much as 60% in response to a policy that reduces the U.S. wages of undocumented workers by 30%.