Author: cluna3

Women and Children

April 12, 2017 / cluna3 / 0 Comments

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Kozol’s work on photography of women during the depression was insightful. We are informed that the “images ask to alleviate the madonna’s immediate need rather than demand political or economic exchange.” (pg 2) So what is the author’s point with this quote? As REBEKAHBENNINGER1 tells us “An author’s intent changes depending on the type of person an author is and also what type of book is being written.” Throughout the depression the female idea of motherhood was worshiped. (pg 1) In this article RA/FSA photos focused on the victim, woman and child. Kozol, almost sarcastic, tells us that the best way to justify the need for relief programs was through women and children. (pg 7) During the depression it was hard for anyone to get a job, let alone a woman. While these photos might have meant well, they were quite damaging to the working women. They created a stigma that women were helpless and they needed to take care of their family. There were efforts to bring the United States back to a patriarchal society and these photographs helped move that along. It is still true today that women and children are the central theme when portraying poverty. There are programs that are available to women and children in need. One such program, is only available to this select group. Women, Infant, and Children, also known as WIC, is a food “stamp” program to those in poverty. In order to be illegible for this program you must: be a woman, have a child younger than 5, and make no more than 800 dollars a month. While many people have mixed feelings about government aid programs and if they promote those receiving benefits not to work, one thing remains. The majority of the programs were meant just for women and children.

Gender

April 9, 2017 / cluna3 / 3 Comments

In Gender a Useful Category Joan Scott discusses the word gender. Scott analyses where the term came from, in what context it has been used, and the different meanings it holds. First we must understand what the dictionary definition of gender is: this is to label something or someone masculine or feminine meaning the male or female sex. Scott states that women began to use the term gender to refer to the “social organization between the sexes.” (pg 1053) This word first appeared among American Feminists to stress normative femininity. (pg 1054) What are the different views of gender according to Scott? What is more important, how do they apply to us today?

Feminist historians classify gender in two theoretical formulations. The first is a case study that shows the continuous accounts of inequalities as a social experience. The second does not address dominant disciplinary concepts, this is because they can’t prove women had a history or participated in it. (pg 1055) Feminists historians then began to further theorizes about gender in two categories. First was in a descriptive context referring to existence of phenomena. Second is casual, in relation to nature and realities. They then claimed gender is a social category imposed on a sexed body. (pg 1056)

Marxist feminists also have a historic approach, that there must be a “material” explanation for gender. (pg 1059) Marxist’s state that “gender has had no independent analytical status of its own.” This view of feminism share the concept of work that Marxism classifies. As zhedrick says in their post, Marxism focuses on the disenfranchised workers and lower class. This ties in with the feminists in that they too also believe class structure has a role in gender.

Lacanian theory is “the key to the child’s induction into a symbolic order.” This theory talks about how children learn the meaning and behavior of words depending on their sexual differences. Therefore, depending on how a child is raised the words can have different meanings. This theory however can be very problematic because it suggests that males and females aren’t the same.

Ultimately, Scott calls for us to refuse “the fixed permeant equality of the binary opposition,” and to deconstruct the terms of sexual differences. She also calls for us to “replace the notion that social power is unified.” She then states her definition of gender: the social relationships between the sexes, and it is the primary way of signifying relationships of power. (1067) With multiple views on gender, which is the “correct” approach? There is no right or wrong way to view gender, it ultimately depends on your viewpoint in life. While each has their own way of viewing gender the theory that applies to us most today is Lacanian. This idea of learned behavior is what makes up our society today. Young children have easily learned to use electronics. With this in mind, the youth of today was sponge up any viewpoint you feed into their minds.

Up and down/ smoke and mirrors

March 22, 2017 / cluna3 / 1 Comment

What Comes up must go down is written about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. This was a massive point of destruction, with about five acres destroyed. Rozario’s states that people thought this was a “blessing in disguise.” (Rozario, pg 73) He points out that townspeople thought this disaster was tied in with faith. Rozario then questions why people view disasters as a blessing, or act of God. (Rozario, pg 73) He states the reason people tied faith with disasters is because they thought it was a sign from God to recall his chosen people. (Rozario, pg 75) The Chicago fire was also thought to be product of God. In an earlier post Chriscobar tells us that the people of Chicago believed God was punishing them for being sinful. Was it really a blessing or curse from God? In this point of time faith, was present in every day life. When something tragic occurs in someone’s life it may be common to turn to God fore explaining for the unknown. This could be said about the Chicago fire and the San Francisco earthquake.

Another thing Rozario mentions ties in with Cronin is nature. Despite the destruction prospective investors continued to invest in San Francisco because it is a “natural metropolis.” This ties in directly with the Cronin reading, first and second nature. A similar scenario occurred, as Gravity21 mentions, investors wanted to rebuild because they knew the surrounding land, first nature, has advantages. Why is it that we see these two similarities? The time era might have something to do with it. I think the logical reason is that townspeople from San Francisco must have drawn comparisons themselves with the Chicago fire. The Chicago fire happened twenty years earlier, they could have looked to how they rebuilt and their mindset.

Smoke and mirrors by Ted Steinberg talks more about the fire after the San Francisco earthquake. Steinberg argues about the class structure and how it was maintained in the rebuilding of the city. The business class was behind trying to make people forget the disaster and rebuild. (Steinberg, pg 109) Newspapers were also noted for maintaining social order, they did this by down playing the disaster. This is the opposite of what happened in the Johnstown flood. As SANCHEZRON13 reminds us, this was a weird amusement for disaster tourism. So why the differences in how the news portrayed the disaster? The San Francisco flood wanted to rebuild the city while maintaining old class structures. Down playing this event meant less outside investors and influence.

Mid Semester Post

March 14, 2017 / cluna3 / 1 Comment

When the class started the blogs, it seemed no one really knew the parameters to what we needed to post. If you look back at the first posts it reads a summaries with little interpretation. As a class, we have progressed into summary highlights that stem off the authors main arguments, theory and or method. From there we have taken this blog structure into our class. When someone posts for a particular assignment, they are usually the ones to speak more in class that day. The class has favored the theme approach.

One post that can help the class better understand a historiography is JPEREZ29. Jperez29 states that, To do this we need to question where the author got his source. This is one of the primary steps in understanding history writings. Progressing forward it is becoming easier to link other works together. Topics sometimes have similar themes, such as racism in GRAVITY21 and JESSICABODE‘s post. In Gravity21, he mentions how the author puts emphasis on blacks looting the dead bodies. While in Jessicabode’s post she talks about how O’Leary was to blame for the fire. If we take a look at a more recent post by JESSICABODE , we can see how her understanding of a historiography has changed. She mentions why the author broke up Isaac’s Storm into storytelling because “it gives different viewpoints of people that saw the start of the hurricane as it made its way to Galveston.” GRAVITY21 has also questioned the authors work more. In their last post, he questions the title of the book, Isaac’s Storm, stating it can lead people to investigate why it was done this way.

What has surprised me as I have reread theses works is the content in my classmates. The writing structure, use of sources, and ideology has significantly improved. The main idea that might be worth revisiting is how to structure the blog posts. I know for me, I not always positive on what needs to be covered.

Make it safe

March 11, 2017 / cluna3 / 1 Comment

“It Must Be Made Safe.” After the tragedy of the Galveston hurricane citizens were desperate for a reconstruction of their town. Scarred by the destruction and massive amounts of deaths, people were desperate to write themselves a new story. Biel makes the argument that the Galveston hurricane had two key effects: political reform, and reliance on modern technology to solve their problems. (Biel, 224)So why does Biel make this conclusion? As REBEKAHBENNINGER1 states “An author’s intent changes depending on the type of person an author is and also what type of book is being written. “ With that in mind, I found this historiography persuasive because the Progressive period did launch new forms of technology, and with the rebirth of the city politics usually come into play.

After the storm the main plan was to protect the city from future storms. A plan first had to be established, in order to do that a committee was needed. It was not just the citizens who wanted to rebirth, it was wealthy individuals. The wealthy would lose millions of already invested money in island enterprises. This is the start of political reformation. This group named themselves the Central Relief Committee (CRC). Another group the Deep Water Committee (DWC), began meeting to make a proposal for a new city charter. (Biel, 229) The DWC suggested that there be five city commissioners. This plan was so successful that citizens willingly gave up their right to vote. (Biel, 230) Biel draws all of this evidence from “The Galveston Plan of City Government by Commission: The Birth of a Progressive Idea.” This novel was written in 1975 and is the backbone to many notes and statements that Biel makes.

So what about the Progressive era? Biel states that the Progressive movement raised awareness to problems as well as solutions. (Biel, 231) Citizens of Galveston already had a positive predisposition to technology. This made the rebuilding process more interesting, if engineers suggesting trying something new, the townspeople had faith in trying it. (Biel, 233) The first action the city took was to build a seawall three miles long. Biel uses records from the board of engineers to state this fact. The city was then to be raised, doing this by dikes, lifting everything up and placing fill under. This process made the city look like it was on stilts. (Biel, 237) Biel uses newspapers and GDN to confirm this.

Biel writes this historiography in a “matter of fact” kind of way. Using factually primary sources to prove his point. While the sources Biel uses are correct his interpretative framework speaks to the type of source being written. This is an informative piece about the rebuilding of Galveston.

Isaac’s Storm chapter 5&6

March 6, 2017 / cluna3 / 0 Comments

In this section of the book it is clearly stated that the Galveston storm was Isaac’s storm. “What he knew of it came from living it” (pg. 149) So what exactly does this section of the book cover? Most of these two chapters recall Isaac’s personal events, within that it talks about the incorrectness of the news and the Weather Bureau. Were both of these sources actually in the wrong?

After the storm had hit telephone lines were down for days, from Saturday to Tuesday. (pg. 116) This is a key contributor to why information could have been incorrect. The news became the city’s main source of information about friends and relatives. So what happens when the news is not being reported correctly? In the Newspaper there was a “Not Dead” list, however this list was not completely accurate. People could be named here then found a few days later. It should be noted that people could not tell the difference from a white or black corpse, another reason this list could have not been accurate. The news also made false claims about black citizens. The news claimed that black men were looting bodies and “chewing off fingers to get diamond rings.” (pg 242) This was due to racism, while the looting did occur, people over exaggerated stories and claimed only blacks participated. Days after the storm, one the telephone lines were open, other weather reporters and newspapers began reporting about Galveston. These accounts were also wrong. Stories came in changing Isaac’s story and debating if people were actually notified by the coming storm of not. However, Moore was another weather reporter that under estimated the storm, yet Isaac got the heat. (pg. 252) It was due to these inaccurate accounts that people began to embarrass the Weather Bureau and try to eliminate them. Then on Monday September 10^th the Weather Bureau reported that the storm had left. However, in Medina Ohio they did not believe this. When high winds came through they messaged back asking for why nothing was mentioned about the large “blows”. (pg. 263)

So why did so many people write about the Galveston storm, even if their information was wrong? Humans like disaster and are drawn to it. For example, after the flood was over the fathers vowed to rebuild the city. They created an exhibit at the World Fair of 1904. This exhibit explained the city’s plans to build a seawall and a new city. At the World Fair the Galveston exhibit became one of the most popular. Just like McKennedy21 states the Johnstown Flood went from a natural disaster to a leisure event.

Johnstown Flood of 1889

February 22, 2017 / cluna3 / 3 Comments

Throughout American history there are multiple disasters that have shaped our nation. This flood occurred because the dam had been poorly patched with straw and horse manure. In the Johnstown flood over 2,200 people lost their lives. As horrific as this flood was, it brought the onset of sightseers. The amount of tourists that came to see the floods aftermath was unfathomable. So why is it that Americans are drawn to trauma and disasters? American’s view tragic tourism as a form of entertainment for two reasons: the human mind is a curious thing, and this was a new form of entertainment.

After the flood an outbreak of sight seers arrived. People came down so fast and in so many there had to be signs and articles written telling people to keep away. One of the hardest things the native population had to deal with is people’s curiosity. Tours were soon held to see the ruins caused by the floods. This act of tourism, or rubbernecking took forms in large groups. People might say that they did want to see such things, but their actions told another story. Tourists were said to have even taken objects from corpses, such as shoes, and bandannas. Everyone that came to visit wanted a souvenir to remember their time at the Johnstown flood. This was not uncommon, even after the Chicago fire people wanted a relic. Just like in the Chicago fire people had and optimistic and pessimistic way of viewing things. A new term, tragic tourism, was invented to describe the dark side of tourism. The fact that people liked to come down on their day off to see corpses, and disaster. This is human nature at its finest, morbid curiosity. The site of the Johnstown flood became a memento where people could contemplate good and evil.

The cow and the fire

February 12, 2017 / cluna3 / 0 Comments

On October 8, 1871 the Chicago fire began. The Chicago fire is said to have cost about 192 million dollars in destroyed property. This fire was an American Disaster. So who started this fire? It has been passed down that O’Leary and her cow were to blame. However, the fire department was unable to determine the actual cause. Smith gives us an insight at why O’Leary was targeted. Smith believes it may have been due to prejudices and stereotypes. The upper middle class had a common belief that immigrants were the “dangerous class.” This mindset can explain why this one accusation stuck throughout history. Smith, like most historiographers, “tries to take a new angle at another scholar’s work” and tries to “disprove what their statement is with their own facts and interpretations.” Smith takes a deeper look into all of the testimonies during the Chicago fire court case. Smith also compares to Musham, and gives ample evidence and thought to disprove his theory. When recounting the testimonies Daniel Sullivan stated that he saw the fire. Sullivan also testified that he tried to free the animals from the fire. Smith claims that this seems somewhat implausible, given all of the circumstances. Sullivan’s testimony about his whereabouts is a major loophole. He could not have seen the fire from the fence he claimed to be sitting on. Smith then concludes that it is in fact Sullivan that started the fire. The goal of this historiography was to take the blame off O’Leary and the cow, and to take the evidence and interpret that Sullivan was the culprit.

Historical Presentation-The Last Samurai

February 9, 2017 / cluna3 / 0 Comments

For this presentation, I am recalling the movie, The Last Samurai, or as some people like to say, yet another movie that Tom Cruise didn’t die. When this movie came out, I was amazed and amused. As we have recently learned once you become a historian you can go back at things that used to inspire you, and realize that they are wrong or distasteful. I went back and watched the Last Samurai, and it is a historical disaster. I watched this movie with a historical approach, which means reading or watching something and thinking about that moment in history. So, what from this movie is factual? I could pick up on historical facts that were wrong because this semester I signed up for a Modern Japan class. What I have learned is that yes, the Samurai did not want to modernize and they were unhappy. The 1977 Satsuma rebellion was a real historical event. The movie played this important rebellion down. The Emperor Meiji wanted to take away their titles, since the Samurai were no longer needed. The Emperor was trying to modernize, or “westernize” Japan. While there is more in this movie that I could nitpick, the important concept I have learned from history is that it changes your view on movies.