Meetings - Revised Schedule, starting in October
Tuesday 10/7, 10/28, 11/11, 12/2
10:30 - Carin Bortz
Thursday 10/9, 10/30, 11/13, 12/4
8:30 - Andy Drachenberg
9:00 - Andrea Gonzales
9:30 - Daisy Lidz
10:00 - Beth Slutzky
10:30 - Michelle Lewin
11:00 - Anna Rushford
11:30 - Hayden Seder
12:00 - Liz De Siena
2:30 - Morgan Hufstader
3:00 - Naomi DeHart
3:30 - Adam Kaz
4:00 - Brianna Leone
Friday 10/10, 10/31, 11/14, 12/5
10:00 - Erin Gutowski
10:30 - Anthony Carter
DURING THE WEEK STARTING MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, ADDITIONAL CONFERENCES WILL BE
AVAILABLE BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.
N.B.: THIS SCHEDULE MAY NOT FOLLOW THE A-WEEK/B-WEEK PATTERN.
Guidelines for the prospectus and preliminary bibliography, due November 11
- State the central question that informs your project, and summarize your preliminary thesis in response to that question. (Rhetorical questions aren't helpful here. Zero in on whatever it is you are actually trying to figure out.)
- Comment on your project's significance to students of the sixties or a closely related topic. What will you add to existing knowledge?
- Identify the form your paper will take--research paper? review essay? annotated bibliography or collection of primary documents? short story? something else?
- Summarize your research plan: What specific topic (event, organization, social policy, etc.) are you studying? What have you done to track down relevant scholarship and historical documents? If you need to consult texts that aren't at the campus library, where are they and how will you get your hands on them? If you need to interview people, what arrangements have you made?
- Outline your timetable for completing various phases of your research. (Be circumspect. It's better to complete a relatively small project than to leave a big one half done.)
- Include a bibliography of published material you plan to use (not every pertinent text you've identified). If you will also use unpublished material, describe it briefly and note its location.
Guidelines for the outline, due December 16
The outline should organize your paper paragraph by paragraph. Note the main argument each paragraph will make and the evidence it will present in support of that argument. Use the outlining process to work through conceptual issues and organizational problems. Don't stint on this part of the project. If you do the job right, outlining your paper may require more time than writing it, and your outline may be almost as long as your first draft.
Document the outline. Note the source(s) of evidence each
paragraph will present. Append a bibliography that covers all of your sources,
published or archival.
Guidelines for the conference paper's first draft, due January 27
Please proofread and copyedit your work. To document the paper, follow the rules outlined in Mary Lynn Rampolla's Pocket Guide to Writing in History (5th edition), on sale at the bookstore and on reserve at the campus library.
Previews - click on names for previews
of conference papers by:
Carin Bortz
Anthony Carter
Naomi DeHart
Liz DeSiena
Andrew Drachenberg
Andrea Gonzales
Erin Gutowski
Morgan Hufstader
Adam Kaszynski
Brianna Leone
Michelle Lewin
Daisy Lidz
Anna Rushford
Hayden Seder
Beth Slutzky
Carin Bortz
How is female sexuality represented in the popular (high-grossing)
films of the 1960s? What does this sexuality (permissible and desirable on a
consumer level) reflect about changing gender roles and the taboo? Does the
female sexuality present in these films indicate a progressive societal shift
or just some kind of temporal transformation?
Although the film industry in the 1960s experienced a kind of tenuous "sexual liberation"-a post- [Hollywood] Code period of increasingly provocative, sexualized, and daringly-themed movies-the sexual subjects in these films were, concordantly, precariously oriented in this liberation. The popular films of the time, indeed, reflected a desire for more sexualized content, but the films themselves regarded the content uneasily (whether intentionally or no). In particular, the sexual roles of women in 1960s films, while ostensibly modern in their sexed-up autonomy, were awash in inarticulate sexual expression. Stunted, confused, over-compensating, the women in these films are frequently at ends, rather than in harmony, with their sexuality. While freer sexual exploration on the surface extends women's' societal scope, the paucity of positive feminine sexuality in the films of the time, inherently limits them.
I think this project is relevant to studies of the 1960s because it will (hopefully) conjoin feminist ideas (ideals) with their actual articulation in art. One of the misconceptions of the time period is that women enjoyed total sexual liberation-armed with their birth control pills and their equal right to orgasm, they were unstoppable, informed, movers-and-shakers. And yet, 1960s films reflect a more complicated, and perhaps more retrograde, attitude toward female sexuality. These films, importantly, showcase lingering anxieties in allowing total female self-expression, and remind us that the "sexual revolution" was maybe not as widespread as our imaginations.
By drawing on cultural writings (both primary and secondary)
and film theory, I will establish a context for the films I view. Focusing on
the top grossing (and a few just simply popular, but significant movies), I
will write my own critical analysis of their representations of female sexuality.
Comparing, contrasting, and rooting my analysis in articles about the films
themselves and about the cultural climate at large, I hope to write a comprehensive
research paper.
Anthony Carter
For my conference project, I decided against writing some type
of research or review paper in favor of attempting to write my feelings and
findings on the Sixties into politically aware and thoughtful pop songs, possibly
to compile together at the end of the year as a (cohesive) album. The central
question, as best as I can tell at the moment, focuses on the issue of race
as it stands in this country; specifically, what does it mean to be a black
male in America?
As I matured and began paying attention to the composition, lyrical style and
main message/focus of American pop music, I noticed that, during the Sixties
and Seventies, especially, songs carried a message that pertained to the current
events of the day. In most cases, pop music openly challenged the status quo
regarding issues such as the war in Vietnam, gender roles and, most important
as it pertains to my project, race.
These songs were artful and able to express a wide range of emotions, all the
while being rather catchy, and above all, popular (e.g. the music of Bob Dylan,
various members of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield,
the Isley Brothers, etc.). However, it seems as America reached the mid-Nineties,
record companies and artists shied away from releasing or possibly recording
songs that challenged those in control (I know there are exceptions to this
rule-citing the music of NWA, Pearl Jam, Ice-T, etc.-but I feel that proportionally
the ratio of politically conscious songs to those that aren't is closer to even
forty years ago than in recent memory).
Another issue that I came to notice was that, as time has passed, racial issues
are being pushed farther into the background of political discourse. Taking
into account the recent election of America's 44th President, I fear that the
assertion that we are living in a "post-race" society will take an
even greater hold, furthering hampering the possibility of a discussion on the
problem of race.
Basically, I am trying to digest all of these things-the nation's history of
race relations, including the Movements we have studied thus far, their accomplishments,
shortcomings and aftermath-and create a work that expresses how it feels as
a black male to live and grow in said aftermath. I want to write about how the
events and lingering results of the actions taken in the Sixties are still affecting
those of us growing up today. I am writing songs, those of the 3 to 3 and a
half minute variety, that deal with this history, as well as current events
and recent developments. I will attempt to create a soundscape that appeals
to my tastes and (hopefully) the tastes of others.
Naomi DeHart
I'm interested in the way obscenity is defined in People v. Ferlinghetti--the
case in which the publisher of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" (Lawrence
Ferlinghetti) was prosecuted for printing, publishing and selling obscenity.
I think that this is an instance of U.S. citizens confronting how our ascetic
morality has turned our aggressive impulses inward and against our selves; this
morality has, I think, resulted in mediocrity.
My research paper will look at an example of some of key the principles of democracy (a government for the people by the people) rendering society a more unremarkable place via an emphasis on majority rule. This may cause students of the sixties to genuinely question whether the principles of majority rule are really in our best interest, or whether they a means of dwarfing the potential of mankind in favor of a more mediocre existence. This is something that strikes me as lacking in the existing evaluations of this period.
Liz DeSiena
Throughout the course of my conference project, I plan to answer
the following question: how did folk music in the sixties develop as a political
tool and how did politics carry over into its role as a popular music genre?
Folk music entered the sixties bearing the stamp of communist and union politics
of the previous decades. The influence of this history undoubtedly had a great
effect on the music and subsequently the politics of the young people that adopted
it. I will look at what developed as a politics of folk music and how it was
retooled to fit the new leftist ideas of the sixties and was used in political
movements. In addition to this use, I will look at how its role in the world
of commercial music carried politics over into the popular realm. Because of
the prevalence of folk music within political movements and its popularity among
a broader audience, looking at the marriage of the music and politics will establish
a view of a wider politicization during the sixties.
The final product will contain a selection of songs while following the development
of the music and political ideas. Though the actual written part will take the
general form of an essay, it will be written in such a way that each song can
listened to while it is being discussed. I tend to shy away from an annotated
discography in favor of being able to follow the development of politics and
ideas in a cohesive fashion along with the development of the music, which at
times may not be as chronologically important.
Initially in my research, I will likely rely somewhat heavily on secondary sources.
These will focus on development of the folk revival and on its predecessors.
I will look at folk music's connection to union politics and communism as well
as the views of prominent figures of that time. This will take up a relatively
small part of both my research and of the final paper. My research will then
focus on the use of folk music in developing political movements. This may begin
with the Civil Rights Movement and how the strong precedent it set for subsequent
movements involved the use of music. I will also look in detail at the Free
Speech Movement, specifically dealing with the "Free Speech Songbook"
which I have gotten a copy of. This will serve as an example of individuals
within movements writing their own songs and fitting their own lyrics to familiar
old tunes. Concluding this part of my research, I will start thinking about
how the shared use of music creates an underlying connection between widely
varied movements. I will also research the growth in popularity of commercial
folk music and look specifically at the musical and ideological development
of popular folk musicians whose music became political and the growth of topical
song writing as commercially viable. I will look at the commercial aspects as
a way of judging the growing popularity. In addition to researching this in
secondary sources, I will look at contemporary commentary and criticism both
from widely read publications and those aimed at the folk community. To keep
my research from becoming too widely varied, I will look at it as a means of
identifying what, if any, common trends are present. In the final version of
my project, the discussion with chronologically and topically follow a selection
of music which will be the sources most heavily relied on. However,
I do not plan to assemble the music until the second semester when I will have
finished a cohesive view of the ideas I have laid out. The songs chosen will
serve as examples of ideas being discussed but will more importantly serve to
flesh out how the people using the music expressed their politics. Therefore,
I think it will be more beneficial to work in the music after the first draft
of the paper is finished.
Andrew Drachenberg
TITLE: "using their voice : theater"
The function of theater throughout history has changed from public
forums in ancient Greece to mockery of the hierarchy through commedia dell'Arte
in Italy and France, court entertainment in Victorian Europe to pure entertainment
in the Broadway musical. Yet, the role of theater in society is constantly re-assessed
and questioned. Why do we do it? Why does it continue to exist? The primary
question I wish to focus on is why theater continues to serve a very important
role in modern social structures-specifically during periods of change and expansion.
The final product of my research will become an exploration through comparative
analysis of theatrical development in relation to time and setting, focusing
specifically on this relationship as seen during the sixties era. Placing emphasis
on the explorative and experimental atmosphere found in the theater of this
period, a contemporary application of these methods in relation to understanding
their function today will be used in the formation of a new theatrical production
titled "the beckett show," which I will write and adapt from the dramatic
works of Samuel Beckett before directing the project with the "BlackList
at Downstage" student theater group on campus. The basic structure of the
analysis will be comprised of five main sections:
I. The Sixties in Theater; A Summary
The sixties has grown to be recognized as a complex grouping of intertwined
cultural and political inclinations that ranged in focus from pop culture fashion,
music, and art to social revolutions that confronted hierarchal systems historically
rooted in the influence of western European colonial powers from the previous
centuries. In addition, this transitional era is renowned as having encompassed
a radical shift in the practices of theatrical creation and performance, shaping
an eclectic compilation of experimental theatrical styles that have formed the
medium's uses, capabilities, and possibilities for today's artists. From street
theater to live nudity onstage, stories about drug addictions to the encompassment
of political movements' messages, the theater of the sixties was a period in
theater history that left its audiences far from being bored to tears.
II. The Theater Companies
Theater artists of the 1960s, like all time periods, were a large assortment
of characters and sorts. While hundreds of these companies were focused on the
commercialization of dramatic work (let's give the suggested name "Broadway"
here), dozens of others were suddenly being described by the word "experimental."
Our question here, however, is not what the term "experimental" means,
but rather "who were these people, and who were these companies?"
The primary aspects of these companies explored here will contain the ages of
these artists, their companies, and their history, how they defined themselves
as a company through a mission statement or slogan, their relationships with
illegalities and incarceration, and what exactly was the definition of theater
and drama to them.
III. Approaches to Spaces & People
The relationship of drama to the world it is created for had in the 1960s become
one of the most unconventional and experimental approaches to change seen around
the world. Theater company after theater company within the United States and
other European countries were witnessed as having completely shifted the use
of theater and drama for a live audience. While the fourth wall may have become
more of a mirror, a glass window, or a non-existent substance, at the same time
the ways in which theater companies accepted and used space was also transformed
into a new methodology. Public spaces suddenly were put in the theatrical spotlight
for its relationship to non-commercialized "Broadway-style" drama.
And yet, at the same time that these once commonly used practices were questioned
and challenged, even the product itself was transforming before the audiences
eyes. Instead of a carefree script retelling the same old dramas, bold new pieces
were coming to life onstage-reflecting pieces of the very society they were
being presented to more than ever before!
IV. What Was Shown?
Images on the stage have become symbols of a period in time. From ancient Greece,
we remember the Chorus proclaiming the truths of life that all must learn. From
the Renaissance courts of Europe we envision the balcony of Juliet with Romeo
direly pining for her from below and also a skull in the hand of a young prince
Hamlet, struggling with his conscience over revenging his father's murder. The
stories of the stage have grown throughout time to become reflections of a time's
history, its people, its problems, fears, and aspirations. The 1960s was no
different. At this point in dramatic history, we begin to see a complete shift
in what was witnessed in front of the audience. It was during this decade that
imagery of what was onstage replaced that of the imagination of what happened
offstage. The tonal quality of the plays, the writers, and the themes shifted
one year from vivid lively colors to dreary dank black and white tones. The
inspirations and origins of plays and theatrical forms became more apparent.
Thus, through the use of new methods of creating art and expressing oneself,
the social inhibitions of a period were turned on end.
V. The beckett show
Of all the English-language modernists, Samuel Beckett's work represents the
most continuous challenge to the traditional realist approach. More than any
other playwright, Beckett opens the possibility of drama that removes the conventional
functions of time, setting, and plot as a method that focuses on the most necessary
elements of life. By the time he was creating his last dramatic works in the
early 1980s, Beckett's use of dis-compiled language, body, and story introduced
the dramatic world to a new level of theater driven by a deeply personal understanding
of the human psyche. His dramatic works, which began with Waiting for Godot
in 1952, range in length from complete two act dramas to radio dialogues, to
an actor-less production entitled Breath. His life's work towards the complicated
and absurd have led him to become one of the most discussed and controversial
theatrical artists of the twentieth century.
Today, the production rights for Samuel Beckett's works deny artists any liberty
in adjusting his scripts from their printed forms. As this is one of my most
beloved writers and theatrical artists, I have chosen to take several of his
shorter dramatic works and adapt them into a new production, entitled "the
beckett show." Based on Beckett's well-known Krapp's Last Tape, "the
beckett show" moves the story into a television set placed in the future,
with the central character's nostalgia literally coming to life on his show's
stage. Obsessed with the failures of his life up to this point, and incapable
of living in the present moment without regret, "the beckett show"
includes adaptations of Play, Breath, Rough for Radio I, Ohio Impromptu, That
Time, What Where, Catastrophe, Come and Go, Cascando, Words and Music,…but
the clouds…, and Human Wishes, and aims to capture the distorted and distressed
emotional undertones of his characters and work while transplacing it into the
modern 21st century's environment.
________________________________________________________________
How can history and its relation to drama tell us something of ourselves? In
the 1960s, this question became a focal point from which hundreds of re-evaluations,
new creations, and social norms were challenged. The function of theater has
always been to express elements of the world we live in, and the sixties offers
us an incredible sampling of how much that is true-how unheard voices could
call out, how conceptions of the self could be entirely changed, and how form
is never the definitive limits of its matter's existence.
Andrea Gonzales
La Conferencia de Mujeres por La Raza
The sixties were a time of revolution. People everywhere
found themselves in the midst of unyielding opposition. The emergence of demonstrations
and protests brought civil rights to the forefront of many Americans' lives.
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. led the way for Black Americans in the
fight for civil rights within the United States. Richard Oakes helped the Red
Power Movement gain strength with his leadership during the occupation of Alcatraz.
People taking part in the Chicano Movement looked to men like César Chavez
and Reies Tijerina to look to for direction.
All of these movements had strong male leadership. It is important, though,
to remember that Chicana feminist movement was also taking root during this
time. Women like Anna Nieto-Gómez and Elma Barrera helped Chicanas fight
for rights within the larger Chicano Movement. The first step in getting their
voices heard came with the organization of La Conferencia de Mujeres por La
Raza- the first national Chicana conference-held at the Magnolia branch of the
YWCA in Houston, Texas on May 28-30, 1971.
In my research paper, I plan to answer the following questions: What was the
Conferenceia de Mujeres por La Raza? What were the conditions under which the
conference was conceptualized? What did the conference accomplish and was it
successful in its mission? I will look at primary documents from the women who
organized the conference, some of which I will find at the YWCA archives at
Smith College in North Hampton, Massachusetts. I have also found multiple books
with articles pertaining to Chicana feminism in the 1960s and 70s. These articles
will be helpful based on the fact that the majority of them are written by women
who either attended the conference or were part of organizations that used the
conference as a starting point from which to expand their political activity.
By the end of this semester, I will have gathered my textual sources and created
an outline. During winter break, I will return home to New Mexico where I will
spend time looking through the microfilm collection at the Main Library for
articles pertaining to the conference. I will also spend time at the Zimmerman
Library at the University of New Mexico looking through the Center for Southwest
Research they house in their special collections section. When the new year
comes, I will have collected all of my research texts and will begin writing
my first draft.
With this paper, I hope to produce a comprehensive study of La Conferencia de
Mujeres por La Raza. The conference played a significant role in the Chicana
Movement. The workshops offered and the experiences lived not only helped many
Chicanas form networks of women with the same plight, but it also helped many
women figure out their own place within the larger Chicano movement.
Erin Gutowski
Who was Andy Warhol and how did he directly and indirectly influence
change within the artistic and social worlds during the generation of the 60s?
Understanding Andy's through understanding who Andy was as a person and how
he created the Pop Culture Phenomenon that occurred during the 1960s. Trying
to understand how his art influenced a generation of people as well as completely
redefining art in the sense that we knew it before the sixties. How the Pop
movement was able to occur and flourish under the sensitive Andy Warhol's wings.
I want to be able to describe a popular artistic movement during the sixties
through the understanding of one man and how he established such a movement
during this period of time. To add to existing knowledge I plan to bring up
my own ideas and understandings of the matters that unfold in coming to understand
Warhol and his work better. I want to be able to establish a distinct connection
between Andy and his social ties as well as his artistic bravery in creating
the change that we see in the artistic world today. I want to allow for a better
and more conclusive understanding of Andy Warhol and his revolutionary movement
within the world of art as well as popular society.
My paper will be taking form in an artistic
collection of writings/artwork on and in relation to the life and work of Andy
Warhol and how it influenced the 60's. Creating a somewhat "Andy Warhol
for Beginners" manual as a guide to understanding one of the most influential
artists of his time as well as how he made such an impact in the society of
the 60s with his artwork and personality. I want to illuminate the major details
in Andy's life that influenced his work as well as molding him as a person.
I would like to create an understanding of how Andy managed to formulate his
level of artistic ability and how his background proved inspirational throughout
his years as a famous artist and socialite during the 60s. I want to write my
own book on Andy Warhol and his phenomenal accomplishment within the artistic
world during the 1960s, gaining my own perspective of the topic by creating
something to work towards my own and others ability as visual learners.
Currently I am reading "The Life and
Death of Andy Warhol", so as to establish a firmer understanding of the
life Andy lived to bring him to the period during the sixties where he was making
artistic history. I am also reading different novels written by Andy himself
to gain information of how Andy thought of himself in relation to society and
art throughout his lifetime. I have taken out books from the library, placed
requests for interlibrary loans and have sampled films of Andy's.
By reading various texts on and by Andy Warhol,
as well as study his art in all its different forms, I hope to glean a rounded
image of who he was as a person and there in be able to write thoroughly about
how he impacted the 60's artistic world and how he captured the social world
as well. Taking examples from his artwork, his shows and films I want to be
able to conjoin relate his sense of self to his artwork and his social life
during the generation in which he made his significant mark. I want to focus
on specific pieces of Andy's work that exemplify his background as well as political
and social movements that were occurring during the time when he was mass producing
most of his artwork. I strive to better understand Andy through his artwork
as well as understanding how he created the form of art that was his defining
trademark in life. Understanding how Andy managed to change the face of art
forever.
Morgan Hufstader
For my conference project, I focus on the theme of how violence
shaped events around the civil rights movement. Through the lens of Detroit
Riot of 1967, I am zeroing in on the way violence unfolded throughout that week.
To accomplish this, I am writing a short story from the perspective of a soldier
in the 82nd airborne, an army troop that was sent in to-in short-keep the rioters
and the police from harming one another. However, it's clear through the events
of the riot that most-if not all-of the violence was committed by the police
and the national guardsmen, not the rioters. The only crime of the "rioters"
was their looting. Looting, while a criminal offense, was not an act that warranted
the excessive shoot and deaths caused by the officials who should have been
keeping order. The soldiers, on the other hand, only fired when necessary, and
throughout the whole event, only killed one person, while the police and national
guardsmen killed over 40. By watched the events through a soldier, the riot
can be looked at from a mingling of the perspectives of the policemen and the
rioters. It is only through observing both sides of the story that some truth
is gleamed as to whether the riot was a case of uprising or police brutality.
Connected to this is the theme of poverty-and the conflict in poor people looting,
but police targeting the black population for their violence.
I've already uncovered a lot of newspaper articles and books written at or around
the timeframe of the riot. At this point I plan on delving into the details
of the city and the people who lived in it. Maps of the city and information
of the city around that time will be useful for this, as will be personal interviews
I've found through radio programs. I plan on first getting more detailed in
my outline of the story and a specific event to focus on. Then, I can gather
up my information and start in on the story a couple pages at a time-reviewing
and editing my details to make them parallel to those in my research.
Adam Kaszynski
Through a historical profile of the League of Revolutionary Struggle's
ideology and practice I seek to uncover and examine their relevance and importance
as a revolutionary organization. Using mostly primary sources I intend to display
the ideological line of the League of Revolutionary Struggle and it's context
historically. The LRS was an organization that sought to bring Marxist-Leninist-
(and what would come to be called "Maoists") together, around a few
key points of contention in the American communist movement. Most notably, the
LRS chose to support the overthrow of the gang of four in China, they upheld
the black and Chicano nation theses, and kept their organization deeply rooted
in anti-racist class struggle (in opposition to other groups of the time such
as the Revolutionary Communist Party, Revolutionary Workers Headquarters, Workers
Viewpoint Organization, and Communist Party USA who were charged by the LRS
with white chauvinism). Unlike many groups of the same time its leadership and
membership was mostly made up of people of color, and I posit that any organization
or revolutionary grouping dedicated to eradicating white supremacy must have
its leadership made up of and accountable to non-white people. Many groups on
the left believed this, however far fewer admitted white members. Through interviews
with people involved in the New Communist Movement, I want to address this policy
of open membership. Specifically, did white members add to the organization
or stall its progress?
Students of the sixties may show interest in this project due to its extensive
focus on one of the more inspiring (but under researched) new communist groups.
The LRS can be seen as one of the matured forms of the sixties left. In the
Marxist left during the sixties, there was a lot of struggle, self-criticism,
and collective growth. A general synthesis would constantly emerge and be changed
within advanced organizations like the LRS. This created an ever changing but
always growing revolutionary analysis. I feel as though the revolutionary left
has lost this kind of momentum within the realms of ideology and practice. By
looking back to the LRS I hope to understand the ideological advancements of
the New Communist Movement and search for their relevance today. Additionally
I would like to include a critique on their support for the Communist Party
of China, and the political line that came with it. Specifically, after the
death of Mao Tse-Tung the LRS identified the U.S.S.R. as the principle enemy
in the struggle against the two super powers (the U.S. and U.S.S.R.). This lead
to a less focused front against U.S. imperialism. If resources allow, I would
also like to look at the LRS's controversial work in the M.E.Ch.A. movement.
As far as the progress of my research, I wish there was more out there! I have
contacted a former leader of the LRS about an interview and additional sources.
Also, a friend of friends manages the only Internet accessible information on
the LRS, and he has been contacted for more of his archival information. At
his blog, Leftspot.com, he has made available a number of LRS and RCL polemics.
The main source of my information thus far has come from the Taniment library
at NYU, where I reviewed and took notes on 2 years worth of the LRS newspaper
"Unity" and made a photocopy and notes of their 117pp founding document.
Additional information regarding the Revolutionary Communist League (a group
that merged with LRS) is stored on microfilm in the Sarah Lawrence College Library.
Brianna Leone
How has Sarah Lawrence College been influenced
by the "hidden" curriculum from its inception through today?
Sarah Lawrence began as a training ground for wives of men
destined for success and wealth. While the College has evolved, becoming the
first American college or university to offer a Masters in Women's History and
becoming one of the most reputable liberal arts schools in the country, there
remains minimal courses concentrating on the study of women and feminism within
the undergraduate curriculum. I believe this is a result of a variation on the
"hidden" curriculum; the study of women has long been considered secondary
to the study of influential men and their writings and the lack of representation
of intellectual women within the Sarah Lawrence curriculum is an extension of
this chauvinism. Though individual students can pursue their own ambitions towards
expanding their knowledge of Women's and Feminist History in conference, by
not offering courses concentrated on this study the administration undermines
the struggle of women for recognition, respect, and equality.
The 1960s were a time of social change stemmed from an optimistic belief that
equality could one day be accomplished. Critical of the government and the social
and cultural precepts of the country, nationalists and activists of the time
period challenged these with deliberation and determination. While the US has
made great strides in creating a nation closer to equality, there still remains
bigotry and prejudice within its borders. The work that remains to be accomplished
to abolishing discrimination must be recognized. I love Sarah Lawrence and its
values but I expect it to recognize and adhere to my educational needs and desires.
My intent with this research paper is to contribute to the work of writers while
discussing something that holds great personal significance to me.
While studying the history and progression of the SLC curriculum within the
context of Women's History I will look through course catalogues to evaluate
the emphasis placed on Women's Studies, or lack thereof, through the library's
archives. I have also recently discovered that the Admissions Office possess
copies of old catalogues, which I have been taking advantage of in my free time
as a tour guide. I would also like to read through articles from campus newspapers
that may have addressed the topic.
Michelle Lewin
Miss Baker
There are few activists in the world who can claim the same breadth and depth
of political organizing as Ella Baker. For almost a half-century Miss Baker,
as she was respectfully called by her co-organizers and friends, profoundly
transformed the ideas of individual empowerment and collective movement building,
beginning in the early 1940s up through the 1970s. Through an investigation
of her work with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee and other projects
of the New Left, Miss Baker emerged as an essential figure, not only because
of her ability to organize and her long history of resistance and struggle,
but because of her commitment to collective leadership and her dedication to
the destruction of the multiple hierarchies that permeated through the movements.
Miss Baker's famous saying, "strong people don't need strong leaders,"
elegantly defined her approach to organizing, and served as the platform from
which all of her actions took cue.
For young activists of the 1960s Miss Baker was the essential bridge between
the past and present. She was the nexus of translation and the connector of
all ideas. In her own radical tradition, she served as the foundation of many
movements and the thread that tied together the ideology and individuals of
generations. This paper will not only attempt to reveal the history of Ella
Baker, but will map out her profound contributions to these struggles. It will
investigate her theories of organizing and attempt to connect her involvement
across each decade.
This paper will take the form of a biographical essay that hopes to contribute
to the often dismissed and disregarded scholarship on women of color as agents
of change. The primary focus of this paper is retell the story of Ella Baker's
life from the lens of both an organizer and a historian. The primary purpose
of this paper is to collect material on Miss Baker and attempt to not only craft
a chronological narrative, but to reveal the implications of her presence and
the profound impact she had on the movements of the 1960s.
The majority of the primary sources used for this paper will be from multiple
interviews conducted with Ella Baker by various oral historians. Many of these
materials are fortunately available online. Other sources for this paper include
the archives of the Highlander Folk School now located in New Market, TN, articles
from the NAACP Papers, and articles written by Ella Baker herself. The main
challenge with the primary sources is their location. Many of these documents
are buried in the archives in Wisconsin, Tennessee and Washington D.C. I am
putting the majority of my faith into the mysterious although often disappointing
magic of the interlibrary loan system. I am also planning a trip to the Highlander
Folk School archives, hoping to uncover and find access to some essential documents.
The majority of my secondary sources come from anthologies on historic Black
female figures of the 1960s. These anthologies, while often problematic, do
serve as an essential resource for connecting themes and ideas within the primary
sources. Many of my secondary sources will also come from articles written in
response to many of those anthologies, as well as articles that serve as supplemental
material to the original publications. I am also utilizing several multimedia
sources, including one film, Fundi, produced and directed by Joanna Grant.
Daisy Lidz
The central question of my project is: What are the politics
surrounding and bound up in advertisements for African American beauty products
immediately following the end of legalized slavery up through the sixties? Since
beauty products began to be peddled around black communities in the late 19th
century they were a highly politicized area because they implied black women
weren't beautiful. Many of the advertisement campaigns (especially those of
white owned businesses) suggested that black features could and should be extracted.
Marcus Garvey and W. E. B. Dubois immediately began publishing articles saying
no women should straighten their hair or try and transform their natural beauty.
As the number of black print sources and beauty markets in black communities
grew the advertisements adjusted both their style and phrasing whether or not
the product changed. Particular political agendas such as integration, segregation,
the back to Africa movement and the Black Power movement were articulated in
these advertisements. This project will be a series of primary documents, taken
from a wide variety of print sources, with detailed analysis provided for each
one.
This project will be significant to students studying the sixties or a related topic because it puts the political movements in the context of the popular world. Movements of incredible importance and seriousness were used to sell hair straightener and pomade. It also informs the student of the history of beauty culture, a market that has always been deeply connected to the betterment of social and political movements and the independence of blacks from white supremacy. Image played a role in the history of these movements, and this project tells this story through palpable means. Everyone knows the Marcus Garvey advocated that blacks should return to Africa, and this paper will explain how this idea influenced people's everyday look. Likewise, the afro and the Black Power movement are well known and this project will examine how it became popular and depoliticized.
I am studying the major black political movements from Garvey to the decline of the Black Power movement. To find relevant sources I have searched Sarah Lawrence's archives both online and in the library, found books and articles on World Cat, Interlibrary Loan, and Jstor, and followed up advice by professors Pricilla Murolo and Tara James. I have planned a time to go to the Schomburg Center to look at The United Negro Improvement Association papers and Jet magazine as well as several other papers that I would like to see in person. I also plan to go for a library consultation to try and find at least some of the business and advertising magazines that have been quoted in various texts but I have not been able to find on my own.
Anna Rushford
The purpose of my conference project is to examine the point
at which The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee split from being a strictly
non-violent organization to advocating armed self-defense. This project will
study birth of this chasm and its origins in the severely violence nature of
the rural south. In relation to the sixties, this separation signaled a division
in the Civil Rights Movement and counters what is what the master narrative
of American history teaches us as the pacifist oriented Civil Rights Movement.
This will challenge the notion that black self-defense directly counters nonviolence
and this project will seek to diminish the idea that both cannot be used intermittently
with success.
This project will take the form of a review essay. I will respond to the texts
individually with a critical analysis of the ideas they presents based on the
switch from non-violence to armed self-defense. For relevant text I will be
using texts from the Sarah Lawrence library and other college and public libraries
have access to. I will be looking at The Deacons for Self-Defense by Lance
Hill, In Struggle by Clayborne Carson, Radio Free Dixie by
Timothy B. Tyson, and Up Against the Wall by Curtis J. Austin.
Hayden Seder
What one eats is one of the most personal choices a person can
make and thus can become about something much more than just food; it can become
a political statement and a questioning of the values that have been pressed
upon us. In studying the counterculture food movement of the sixties and communes
and food co-ops in particular I am trying to assess whether it is still possible
in today's age to take oneself out of our capitalist, industrialized system
that discourages growing one's own food, providing food for people in bulk,
etc. Though many related movements have been studied such as the radical environmentalist
movement or the move to communes in general the study of counterculture food
and how that plays into other movements is something I feel has been greatly
ignored. By studying how Americans have gotten to this place where few people
seem to care about their food I hope to generate an understanding of whether
we can ever get back to the kind of lifestyle these "experiments"
were promoting. This paper will be a juxtaposition of secondary sources describing
the counterculture food movement with primary sources from people who participated
in the actual experiments. By using participants own testimonies I hope to assess
whether they felt their experiments were successful, whether they contributed
historically to the way we view food, and whether it would be possible to relive
this kind of movement today.
Beth Slutzky
Over the past century, white elites in the US have
actively limited the reproductive freedom of working class women and women of
color. Federally funded, forced sterilization procedures were routine until
recent decades, while legislation and lack of economic access has blocked safe
abortion for working class women and women of color. White middle class women
have often been more able to find access to safe abortions. The early birth
control movement associated with Margaret Sanger was fundamentally linked to
the eugenics movement, having aimed to secure individual birth control for wealthy
white women while imposing structural birth control (and segregation) for women
who were perceived to have "undesirable" genes due to their race or
class.
Given this history, I am interested in two main questions: 1) How have the historical
experiences of white women, women of color, and working class women shaped the
race and class dynamics in the reproductive rights movement? How have different
experiences surrounding anti-sterilization and access to abortion affected the
organizing around these isses? 2) How have women of color organized to shake
the Black Nationalist sentiment equating birth control with genocide, in the
struggle to obtain abortion rights and access? Overall, I am interested in the
strategies for forging solidarity across race and gender lines to achieve liberation
for women and people of color. Another focus is also on the core ideologies
of different social actors across the 20th century and how their frameworks
have influenced later generations.
My paper will take the form of a review essay, comparing
historiography to get to the perspectives and issues within the discourse on
the struggles for reproductive freedom. I have already looked at some books
on race and gender within the reproductive rights movement and Black Power Movement
and hope to follow them to their own sources. I plan on widening my scope of
secondary sources to draw from before Thanksgiving Break, including mainstream
texts like The World Split Open by Ruth Rosen which mention women of color in
the women's movement as an afterthought.
I have also read some primary source literature from groups like the Committee
for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization Abuse (CARASA), which was formed
in reactiton to the Hyde Amendment and Supreme Court Ruling (1977) which banned
Medicaid support for abortions. I would like to find more primary sources so
that I could have my own reading of the period while comparing it to the historiography.