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In this thesis I examine A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) by Mary Wollstonecraft and how it reflects the tension between conformity and rebellion that is an inherent component in the life of its author and therefore is a fundamental element of this treatise. In this paper I discuss how the personal struggles of Mary Wollstonecraft, as a woman living in a patriarchal society, influenced her perspective and moved her to address her concerns for her "fellow creatures." This treatise pushed the boundaries of conventional thinking, but it was also written in traditional terms in an effort to appeal to her contemporary audience. Another aspect of this study is the dichotomy between the public and private sphere that most women of Wollstonecraft's time experienced. This dichotomy is related to the struggle between conformity and rebellion within Wollstonecraft herself, and as Wollstonecraft suggests, is an underlying cause for the wastefulness of women as an important resource within society. Throughout her writing and indeed her life, Wollstonecraft experienced a struggle between the traditional values she grew up with and those she developed in response to her circumstances. This struggle cultivated a tension that became intrinsic to her being and is reflected in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Additionally, this study looks at how Wollstonecraft influenced other female figures of her time-specifically Anna Letitia Barbauld. Although Barbauld differed from Wollstonecraft in her ideas relating to women and their role in society as well as their rights to formal education, she was in fact inspired by the fervor with which Mary Wollstonecraft fought to bring her ideas to light. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the fact that Wollstonecraft concerned herself not only with her career as a writer, but also with the broader implications of such a career for the women of her time. She used the power of her words to open up discussion about women's place within society.

Even though jailhouses dominate the skyline of many small Texas towns, not much work has been done on what those buildings mean in the historic context in which they were built. These jailhouses held specific meanings for small Texas communities and their townspeople that also helped to shape present day society. Texas jailhouse architecture between 1880 and 1910 reflected the desire to be modern, the desire for changes in prison reform, and the position of women and family in a newly civilized society.

This is how the story goes: In 1964, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, America moved into a “post-racial” era. The passage of the act meant a significant shift in race relations, a shift that no longer defined individual opportunity on the basis of race. In this perfected nation, where a person was no longer discriminated on the basis of physical characteristics such as the color of his or her skin, colorblindness became the dominant ideology. People's success was judged on the basis of merit and hard work rather than racial distinctions. Blacks were welcomed into institutions of government, business, and higher education and were no longer legally banned from equal access to lunch counters, transportation, neighborhoods, schools, etc. Remnants of a centuries long history of black exploitation and subjugation, from slavery to Jim Crow, now lived only in the stubborn hearts of individual racists who were condemned by the rest of American society. Opportunity was open to all, success was attainable by all, and it was only a matter of time before the distinctions between black and white held the same weight as the distinctions between blonde and brunette, short and tall. But decades later, in the 80's and 90's, it became clear that this utopia wasn't so easily achieved. Blacks continued to be disproportionally poor and many continued to live in segregated communities—the innercity ghettos. Making sense of the continual significance of race in a supposedly colorblind nation became a hot topic in politics and in the news media. This thesis explores the mainstream national news media discourse of the 80's and 90's as it grappled with the question: Why did so many blacks continue to live in the “backwaters” of America?