New Errands: The Undergraduate Journal of American Studies
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Great Job Ladies, Now Give Us Our Jobs Back!
Full text link"The Angel of No Man\u27s Land" is full of conservative themes relating to the experience of women in America during the early 1900s. Women during the early 20th century were expected to follow several guidelines or social norms, mostly revolving around religious piety and caregiving. The socalled "angel" in this image is depicted as a nurse, rising high above the battlefield with heavenly rays of light emanating from her. Despite progress being made by suffragists, images such as this still appeared to the public in an attempt to glorify the traditional woman. Men were afraid that women were going to rise up and demand their rights and freedoms, so they continued to pump out propaganda such as this work in order to reinforce the motherly, loving image of women. The three major themes of religion, motherhood, and domesticity are the driving forces behind this particular piece
Ritual Components of Black Friday
Full text linkEach year, just as the Halloween moon is setting, retailers are preparing for what has become the single highest grossing retail day in America, Black Friday. Throughout November, as stores are filling their stock rooms, shoppers from Connecticut to California are readying their lists and honing their bargain hunting skills, in preparation for the biggest shopping day of the year. The Christmas season, and its abundance of shopping, is typically seen as a boon for retailers and a well needed boost to a struggling economy
Pretzels with a Purpose: The Role of Christianity in the Auntie Anne\u27s Brand
Full text linkAuntie Anne\u27s pretzel company began in 1988 as a single stall in a Pennsylvania farmer\u27s market. Founder and owner Anne Beiler grew up in a Lancaster County AmishMennonite community and sought to embed her religious values within the business. Once FOCUS Brands Inc., an affiliate of Roark Capital Group, purchased the company in 2010, the business maintained success through the perception that the Auntie Anne\u27s brand had a higher purpose beyond profit. This business performs as an example of Christianbased companies that can expand successfully in the United States and abroad by projecting an altruistic image. Auntie Anne\u27s marketing materials and employee opportunities imply that working for or buying their products contributes to ethical and Christian consumption. But the company does not clearly abide by Christian principles in all aspects of business. Instead, the benevolence of Auntie Anne\u27s is created by its executives rather than represented through tangible actions. Bread products are laden with religious associations. According to many scholars, "Food has long ceased to be merely about sustenance and nutrition. It is packed with social, cultural, and symbolic meanings."[1] Bread is important to Christians as the figurative body of Jesus. Muslims eat bread at the celebration following the monthlong fast of Ramadan. Jews have challah for Shabbat and matzo for Passover. In this way, Auntie Anne\u27s utilized the preexisting connotations of bread to create spiritual significance in their pretzel product
Splish Splash, Splish Splash: Concepts of Hygiene in Women\u27s Prescriptive Literature Making of the Middle Class
Full text linkAs the author of the conduct guide, Hints to Young Ladies, Porter is significant for several reasons. First, Porter\u27s geographic situation and proximity to the Boston publishing market is important because this essay examines early nineteenth century urbanization and the expansion of the book industry in the Northeast and MidAtlantic. Changing demographic patterns as Americans moved to urban areas renewed debates over how one should fashion their appearance as a marker of socioeconomic status. Because this essay draws from prescriptive literature, it is also important to trace the growth of the book industry to understand where these works were published and distributed. In addition to locale, the content of Porter\u27s guide is equally important
Frankenfoods: Conceptualizing the Anti-GMO Argument in the Anthropocene
Full text linkSeventy-five percent of processed food consumed in the United States contains one of the eight commercially available genetically modified organisms (GMOs); corn, soybeans, alfalfa, sugar beets, canola, cotton, papaya or squash. GMOs are organisms that have been developed by taking the DNA of a desired trait from a particular organism and inserting it into another. i This accepted reality of food production has gradually begun to be challenged as an anti-GMO movement has formed, the conceptualization of which can be understood through the word Frankenfood.Frankenfoods: Conceptualizing the Anti-GMO Argument in the Anthropocene by Catherine Mazanek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licens
Title IX: The Obstacles Still Faced in Leveling the Playing Field
Full text linkSports hold an immense amount of power. They have been a common passion and past time for Americans throughout the centuries, providing mutual grounds for those who may otherwise be divided. Sports are also vital aspects of American schooling- a concept that is uniquely promoted in the United States- as they are seen to be beneficial in educating the whole person. By combining the rigors of academics and intellect with sports, it was believed that a person\u27s full character could be developed efficiently. It is no wonder, then, that sports became the central debate of an act passed under the Higher Education Act called Title IX. The provision of the act stated simply that no one, on the basis of sex, could face discrimination or be denied participation in any educational institution that received federal aid but ironically did not include the words "athletics" or "sports" anywhere in the law. Title IX changed the face of athletics for women and continues to do so today especially on college campuses. Despite the increased participation of women in sports, often promoted vociferously using statistical evidence, there are still major obstacles that need to be addressed inregards to Title IX. The deficient implementation and enforcement of the law, the lack of support it offers inincreasing women in administration and coaching positions, and the focus on revenue-producing sports are all areas where Title IX falls short in ensuring total gender equality; however, these issues can be countered with a more positive promotion of women in sports in our culture and a more structured program at the federal level that will assist in guaranteeing the implementation of the law on all college campuses across America. Title IX: The Obstacles Still Faced in Leveling the Playing Field by Maura McKenna is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licens
"On My World, It Means Hope:" Superman as Symbolic Propaganda to Cultural Icon, 1939-1945
Full text linkTruth, justice, and the American way. This iconic phrase is instantly familiar to anyone who has interacted with popular culture in the past seventy-five years, and immediately recalls an image of the paragon of American comic book heroes: Superman. Superman\u27s idealistic motto has endured throughout American culture almost as long as Superman himself. These well known words can be first attributed to a 1942 Superman radio serial, and were originally conceived as encouragement for home-front audiences struggling to come to terms with a war not yet going in the Allies\u27 favor. Once American forces began to experience success during World War Two, the phrase was largely forgotten until the Cold War, when it became popular to contrast American values with those of the Soviet Union.1 With the removal of such a direct reminder of these patriotic values, how did Superman become such a cultural icon, connected so strongly with American ideals? Why did his character endure as a symbol of American virtue and hope beyond World War Two, while other more explicitly patriotic comic book characters faded out of the limelight once victory was secured? This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licens
Legends from Home Still Count
Full text linkThere is nothing that disturbs law-abiding adults more than a group of hooligans invading the local cemetery in the middle of the night looking for ghosts and demons. It is often impossible for teenagers to fulfill their horror-driven desires while being so closely watched. However, in the age of the internet, that impossibility becomes relatively easy to overcome. First, it is necessary to understand what drives youngsters to partake in scary activities. Jih-Hsuan et al. suggest that this desire, especially for horror video games, comes from a feeling of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined as "an individual\u27s belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments" (Carey and Forsyth). Essentially, people enjoy being scared because they enjoy satisfying the belief that they would perform well in the same situation they see in front of them. So many "bad" horror movies are watched over and over because the viewers satisfy their self-efficacy by making fun of the characters\u27 decisions or inserting themselves in the situation and surviving