Thesis (doctoral)--Freie Universität Berlin, 1980. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-229).

Thesis (M.A. in Theological Studies)--Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-105).

Thesis (M.A. in Theological Studies)--Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-105).

Thesis (M.A.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Classical Languages and Literature, August 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A. in Theological Studies)--Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-105).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Bernard L. Herman, Dept. of Art History. Includes bibliographical references.

This work focuses on the use of anthropological and museum theory, methods and practices in the development and construction of a museum. It also illustrates how museums can be used as active research sites for anthropologists. This dissertation uses the Hotel Metropolitan Museum, a new African American museum in Paducah, Kentucky, as an example to demonstrate this research process. I approach this work as a museum professional and academic making a living outside the safety of the "Ivory Tower." I examine how the use of anthropological theories, case studies and methods can be used to help independent consultants understand interpersonal interaction/communication, community development and political structure. Also, I examine how these theories and methods can be applied and/or modified to construct situations that result in outcomes beneficial to the consultant and to the group for which s/he is working.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Sue Zschoche / In 1942, the U.S. Army and Navy announced the creation of their respective women’s military services: the WAAC/WAC and the WAVES. Although American women had served alongside the military in past conflicts, the creation of women’s military corps caused uproar in American society. Placing women directly into the armed services called into question cultural expectations about “masculinity” and “femininity.” Thus, the women’s corps had to be justified to the public in accordance with American cultural assumptions regarding proper gender roles. “Fashioning Femininity for War: Material Culture and Gender Performance in the WAC and WAVES during World War II” focuses on the role of material culture in communicating a feminine image of the WAC and WAVES to the American public as well as the ways in which servicewomen engaged material culture to fashion and perform a feminine identity compatible with contemporary understandings of “femininity.” Material culture served as a mechanism to resolve public concerns regarding both the femininity and the function of women in the military. WAC and WAVES material culture linked their wearers with stereotyped characteristics specifically related to contemporary meanings of “femininity” celebrated by American society, while at the same time associating them with military organizations doing vital war work. Ultimately, the WAVES were more successful in their manipulations of material culture than the WAC, communicating both femininity and function in a way that was complementary to the established gender hierarchy. Therefore, the WAVES enjoyed a prestigious position in the mind of the American public. This dissertation also contributes to the ongoing historiographical debate regarding World War II as a turning point for women’s liberation, arguing that while the seeds of women’s liberation were sown in women’s wartime activities, those same wartime women were firmly convinced that their rightful place was in the private rather than the public sphere. The war created an opportunity to reevaluate gender roles but it would take some time before those reevaluations bore fruit.

abstract: For the past few decades, feminist researchers have worked tirelessly to recover the history of American women’s sewing – both the artifacts made and the processes, practices, and identities linked to the objects produced. With the transition to the digital age, women are still sewing, but they are inventing, making, and distributing sewn objects using platforms and pathways online to share knowledge, showcase their handicrafts, and sell their wares. This dissertation examines contemporary sewing and asks how digital practices are extending and transforming the history of women’s sewing in America. I place my findings against the backdrop of women’s history by recounting how and why women sewed in previous eras. This dissertation demonstrates how past sewing practices are being repeated, remixed, and reimagined as women meet to sew, socialize, and collaborate on the web. The overall approach to this project is ethnographic in nature, in that I collected data by participating alongside my female subjects in the online settings they frequent to read about, write about, and discuss sewing, including blogs, email, and various social media sites. From these interactions, I provide case studies that illuminate my findings on how women share sewing knowledge and products in digital spaces. Specifically, I look at how women are using digital tools to learn and teach sewing, to sew for activist purposes, and to pursue entrepreneurship. My findings show that sewing continues to be a highly social activity for women, although collaboration and socializing often happen from geographically distanced locations and are enabled by online communication. Seamstresses wanting to provide sewing instruction are able to archive their knowledge electronically and disperse it widely, and those learning to sew can access this knowledge by navigating paths through a plethora of digital resources. Activists are able to recruit more widely when seeking participants for their causes and can send handmade goods to people in need around the globe. Although gender biases continue to plague working women, the internet provides new opportunities for female entrepreneurship and allows women to profit from their sewing skills. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2016